"Load my rifle, Guichard."
"Grandpapa, no!" Auguste cried. He wanted to throw his arms around the old man and protect him.
Elysée 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 Elysée'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.