Roland looked around. There stood Wayne Overholser, with his hat in his hands. Standing thus, he looked more like a wandering saddle-tramp down on his luck than the Calla's big farmer. His eyes were large and somehow mournful.
"No need to cry my pardon when I'm still wearing the dayrider hat you gave me," Roland said mildly.
"Yar, but..." Overholser trailed off, thought of how he wanted to go on, and then seemed to decide to fly straight at it. "Reuben Caverra was one of the fellas you meant to take to guard the children during the fight, wasn't he?"
"Aye?"
"His gut busted this morning." Overholser touched his own swelling belly about where his appendix might have been. "He lays home feverish and raving. He'll likely die of the bloodmuck. Some get better, aye, but not many."
"I'm sorry to hear it," Roland said, trying to think who would be best to replace Caverra, a hulk of a man who had impressed Roland as not knowing much about fear and probably nothing at all about cowardice.
"Take me instea', would ye?"
Roland eyed him.
"Please, gunslinger. I can't stand aside. I thought I could - that I must - but I can't. It's making me sick." And yes, Roland thought, he did look sick.
"Does your wife know, Wayne?"
"Aye."
"And says aye?"
"She does."
Roland nodded. "Be here half an hour before dawn."
A look of intense, almost painful gratitude filled Overholser's face and made him look weirdly young. "Thankee, Roland! Say thankee! Big-big!"
"Glad to have you. Now listen to me a minute."
"Aye?"
"Things won't be just the way I told them at the big meeting."
"Because of Andy, y'mean."
"Yes, partly that."
"What else? You don't mean to say there's another traitor, do'ee? You don't mean to say that?"
"All I mean to say is that if you want to come with us, you have to roll with us. Do you ken?"
"Yes, Roland, Very well."
Overholser thanked him again for the chance to die north of town and then hurried off with his hat still in his hands. Before Roland could change his mind, perhaps.
Eddie came over. "Overholser's coming to the dance?"
"Looks like it. How much trouble did you have with Andy?"
"It went all right," Eddie said, not wanting to admit that he, Tian, and Rosalita had probably all come within a second of being toast. In the distance, they could still hear him bellowing. But probably not for much longer; the amplified voice was claiming shutdown was seventy-nine per cent complete.
"I think you did very well."
A compliment from Roland always made Eddie feel like king of the world, but he tried not to show it. "As long as we do well tomorrow."
"Susannah?"
"Seems fine."
"No... ?" Roland rubbed above his left eyebrow.
"No, not that I've seen."
"And no talking short and sharp?"
"No, she's good for it. Practiced with her plates all the time you guys were digging." Eddie tipped his chin toward Jake, who was sitting by himself on a swing with Oy at his feet. "That's the one I'm worried about. I'll be glad to get him out of here. This has been hard for him."
"It'll be harder on the other boy," Roland said, and stood up. "I'm going back to Pere's. Going to get some sleep."
"Can you sleep?"
"Oh, yes," Roland said. "With the help of Rosa's cat-oil, I'll sleep like a rock. You and Susannah and Jake should also try."
"Okay."
Roland nodded somberly. "I'll wake you tomorrow morning. We'll ride down here together."
"And we'll fight."
"Yes," Roland said. He looked at Eddie. His blue eyes gleamed in the glow of the torches. "We'll fight. Until they're dead, or we are."
Chapter VII: The Wolves
ONE
See this now, see it very well: