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door I’d left open. She disappeared right through it.
    I walked over to the window facing the yard. From there I had a good look at the rolling front doors of the barn. They were almost completely closed. There was maybe a foot between the two edges of them. Not so much as a glimmer of light from inside. The silence started to bother me again. It was unnatural. Maybe I’d guessed wrong. Maybe David had packed everything up and headed for the border. Now that he knew the Army was on to him, he might stay just across the Canadian border. He’d stayed there before. I needed to try the barn.
    I took another walk-through of the house. It was one of those irrational acts you give into because youdon’t know what else to do for the moment. I’d searched it thoroughly. I wasn’t going to turn up anything a second time through. And I didn’t.
    I went back to the window. I saw James and then Tib. They were making their way along the far side of the barn, keeping to the shadows of the chicken coop and a large shed. They were being careful, which told me that they probably hadn’t tipped David off to me coming out here. If they were working with him they wouldn’t have to worry about somebody spotting them and shooting.
    They probably weren’t all that brave. But they’d probably gotten bored sitting up on the hill waiting for something to happen. That’s one thing you learn to fight against when you have to assassinate somebody. You have to wait them out till the moment’s exactly right. A few minutes too early, a few minutes too late, can throw everything off. You might kill him all right, if you act too soon or too late, but you might blow your whole escape plan in the process.
    The kitten had strolled out in front of the barn and now stood before the sliding doors, apparently watching James and Tib. I wanted to get those two the hell out of there. Any chance we had of sneaking in was likely gone now. Surely they’d been spotted by somebody inside the barn.
    Maybe there was still time to wave them off. To proceed on the notion that they hadn’t been seen. And then figure out a way to sneak into the barn myself. Maybe there was a haymow door in the back.
    But for now I couldn’t afford to clutter up my mind with thoughts. Now was time for simple action. To get them the hell out of there.
    I got to the back door. Looked left, right, heftedmy carbine, proceeded along the back of the house as invisibly as I could. The moon didn’t help. The roof didn’t have but an inch or two of overhang. There were no deep shadows to hide in. The moon was like a huge cosmic lantern. If a shooter had a bead on me, the moonlight made me easy pickings.
    There was a stubby oak tree to the east of the barn. I crouched behind it and picked up a few small pebbles. I’d never been much of a pitcher in baseball. But I could throw well enough to get their attention. I launched the first, then the second, of the pebbles.
    I got Tib on the arm. The way he spun around, the way his face went startled and ugly, the way his gun sought out somebody to unload on—all these responses in just a second or two. I stuck my face out for him to see. You could almost feel his rage and curiosity drain away. He waved. I waved back.
    James saw what he was doing. His eyes narrowed and looked for me in the gloom around the trees. He saw me. Scowled. He was ready for action and I was stopping him. If he didn’t get action soon, maybe he’d turn on me.
    I waved them off again. They nodded, understanding quickly what I wanted them to do. To fade into the trees behind them. Tib went quickly. James lingered in the moonlight. He wore a big frown. By not moving, by glaring at me, he was challenging my authority. He would be thinking that I was some Federale from the East and what the hell did I know about how things were done out here in the West and I wasn’t paying him all that much money, anyway,