Frank said, "In a few minutes Cooper and the Regulators will be here. All we have to do is hold Raoul and his men off a bit." "Please," Auguste said. "Let me go out and meet Raoul alone." Elysee said, "Absolutely not." He stood in his long nightshirt in the doorway of his bedroom. He gestured to Guichard, who had followed him out. "Load my rifle, Guichard." "Grandpapa, no!" Auguste cried. He wanted to throw his arms around the old man and protect him. Elysee shrugged. "Perhaps as Frank says, we can face them down without shooting. You stay out of sight, Auguste. They cannot know for certain that you are here." "I will not let this happen," Auguste said. "I'll leave now. I'll follow Woodrow." He strode to the door. _They could be out there._ _If they are, then I can face Raoul as I first planned._ He yanked the door open and saw Raoul grinning at him, his face yellow in the candlelight from the cottage. And beyond Raoul, filling the clearing, a crowd of men with rifles. * * * * * Raoul couldn't see the mongrel's face. The light spilling out of Elysee's house left Auguste in shadow. But he did see the split right ear, partly hidden by Auguste's long black hair. He hefted the cap-and-ball pistol held loosely in his right hand. This time there would be no missing. _Now. Point the pistol and pull the trigger. He isn't even armed._ But behind Auguste, Raoul saw Frank Hopkins with a pistol and Papa with a rifle. If he shot Auguste, he'd have no time to reload. They'd have the drop on him. And even if they didn't shoot back, they'd be witnesses against him. Looking past Frank he saw Nicole and Nancy Hale glaring at him, wide-eyed. At the sight of Nancy his jaw muscles clenched and his hand tightened on the pistol grip. _How could she turn away from me and take up again with that redskin bastard?_ "Come on out, mongrel," he said to Auguste. "Maybe a jury found you not guilty, but we know you're guilty as hell. You sent that Sauk war party here." He raised his voice. "And you, Papa, Frank--you're fools to defend him. His Indians were trying to kill you too." Auguste said, "Raoul, you were the cause of the Sauk coming to Victor. You are a liar and a fool and a coward. And a thief and a murderer." Auguste stepped forward and slapped Raoul's face. The blow came too suddenly for Raoul to react. It wasn't even hard enough to hurt much. It was purely a gesture of contempt. Then Raoul's rage came. It flared up like a forest fire. He brought up the pistol. Auguste's unprotected chest was less than a foot away. But Auguste spoke again before Raoul could fire. "Will you shoot an unarmed man now, Raoul? Go ahead, prove yourself a coward. When you took Victoire away from me, you wouldn't fight me. At Old Man's Creek--de Marion's Run--I stood before you with my hands empty, and then you tried to shoot me. You don't have the sand in you to face me fairly."