Auguste said, "I would be a fool to trust you and your men."
"You have to," said Raoul. "I'm not giving you any choice. The men will see to it that it's a fair fight. That's what they want." He couldn't keep the bitterness out of his voice. "Come with us, or I'll shoot you down on this doorstep."
Frank Hopkins, pistol pointing at Raoul, crowded into the doorway beside Auguste.
The black O of the muzzle pointed at him chilled Raoul. He'd heard that Frank had fired on the Indians attacking the trading post. Seemed that day had changed him. Now he was a man like any other, taking up the gun like any other.
Frank said, "Auguste is not going with you. There will be no duel. Get away from this house now."
Seeing Frank's foolish defiance in the face of over twenty armed men, Raoul almost laughed.
But that pistol in Frank's hand could end his life. He couldn't shoot Auguste while Frank held it on him.
Raoul swung the barrel of his own pistol to cover Frank's chest.
"Get back inside, Frank," he said, putting a steel edge into it.
Instead, with a sudden movement that almost made Raoul squeeze the trigger, Frank came forward, stepping in front of Auguste.