Malvaise narrowed his eyes. "So you think you're the man to take on the job of getting rid of me and my boys, do you?" he said to Buchanan. "I never saw a fast gun yet that didn't meet up with a faster one."

"Amen, brother," Buchanan agreed.

"And you know what you're bucking here in Pasco County, don't you?"

"Me," Buchanan said, "I ain't bucking nobody."

"Then ride out fast," Malvaise told him. "Ride now!"

But Buchanan didn't like being told what to do. Not in that tone of voice.

Buchanan stayed. Until the last bloody patch of desert had dried.