Lindsey Pieth buttoned his collar and stepped back to admire himself in the polished glass. He looked the part of a heartbroken desperado. He'd donned every black article he owned. It was a pity the sheriff hadn't told him about this unfortunate turn of events earlier. His face lacked stubble and stubble, Pieth decided, was key to selling the drama. A man focused on revenge didn't tend to his appearance. If he'd been informed that morning, he might have gone untrimmed in lieu of his daily shave. The more he thought about it, the more unfair it felt. Sheriff Cherry always looked disheveled. He might have done the Christian thing and given a few pointers.

Riding up to the Tate ranch, Pieth wasn't terribly surprised to see his uncle's men coming back the other way. He waved as they passed, drawing them closer. "What do you think?"

"About what?" asked Declan Lewis. "Herman Tate's not here."

Pieth let out an exasperated sigh. "No, not Herman. My outfit!"

"Oh," said Bob. It was something, all right.

"It's very...black," said Declan diplomatically.

"Yes," said Pieth, beaming with pride. "I'm in mournin'."

"Weren't you in mournin' the other day?"

"A feller in mournin' don't usually wear chaps like those," observed Bob.

Pieth sniffled. "I'm in mournin' and I'm gonna get the snake who did it."

"Did what?"

"Killed her!"

The cowhands exchanged glances. "Lindsey."

"Don't try and stop me," huffed the young man.

Where folks generally agreed that Sheriff Cherry wouldn't take down a criminal, it would have been equally agreed that Lindsey Pieth couldn't. Bob snorted. "Look, Lindsey, don't get yourself killed messin' with the wrong hombre."

"Who are you out to get?" asked Declan.

Puffing his chest out, Pieth declared, "The man who killed Lacey Tate."

Without a moment's hesitation, Bob said, "Lacey Tate's not dead. She's in Texas."

"Went down to the coast to recover," said Declan.

Oh. This was unaccounted. Pieth blinked. "She's alive?"

"That's what the maid said," Declan shrugged. "Said she was retrievin' some more belongin's for the stay."

"The cook went ahead already," added Bob. "She should be back when she's feelin' better."

Pieth knit his brow. "Sheriff Cherry said the man who roughed him up also killed Miss Lacey."

"Sheriff Cherry was roughed up by somethin'," agreed Bob. "But it wasn't no man."

"If I were a bettin' man," said Declan, "I'd wager Sheriff Cherry doesn't want to get involved. He spun you some yarn to get you out of his hair."

"He's out of his mind from that fever too," said Bob. "You gotta remember that."

Pieth should have been relieved by the increasing likelihood that he'd been misled as to the sad fate of Lacey Tate. But Pieth was not. He whined with indignation. "No, that can't be right! Sheriff Cherry said she was dead. I'm gonna get the man who did it."

Declan cocked his head. "You'd rather she was dead?"

Pieth's cheeks grew rosy in a mix of embarrassment and anger. "I didn't say that!"

Bob gestured towards the Tate house and beyond. "If you hurry, you might catch the maid. She can tell you Lacey ain't dead." He turned back. "Declan and me, we're headin' back."

Rather than admit any foolishness, Pieth threw his head back. "Then I'll have a word with her," he said and trotted down the trail.

Rosa wasn't as far along as Pieth expected he'd find her. He almost rode past and had to stop to confirm. She was off the traveled way and hid herself partway behind the scrub as the young man approached, standing again only when she recognized him. "It's you," she remarked.

"Are you walkin' to Texas?" asked Pieth, recognizing the absurdity of finding her on foot. Rosa looked askance.

"I, uh, there is a wagon meetin' me further down."

Pieth frowned. "It's true, then. Miss Lacey is in Texas."

"Yes," said Rosa. "She absolutely is."

Peering down, Pieth took note of the items in Rosa's open pack. "You're bringin' bread and apples? Won't they go bad before you reach the coast?"

"They're very fresh," the maid replied.

"That'll do it," said Pieth as though he knew what he was talking about. "Say, any chance Miss Lacey left my ring behind?"

"You're not gettin' that back," said Rosa bluntly. It was to be a rehash of the earlier conversations. Rosa grew tired of these exchanges.

Pieth's attitude soured. "It's thievin'! You're a pack of jackals, robbin' me of my heirloom!"

"You gave it to Miss Lacey," asserted Rosa. "It's hers by rights."

"I gave it to her to marry me! If she's not gonna follow through, I want it--"

A distant howl echoed. Several other fainter howls joined in. Rosa turned pale.

"--back. It's hers only so long as she's mine!"

A second round of howling. Rosa pressed against Pieth's horse. "We have to go. Please!"

What an odd reaction. "I'm not finished!"

"We have to go!" Rosa reiterated. She held out a hand, urging the man to take it and help her up. There was no reason to acquiesce yet Pieth felt compelled. Rosa set her bag between them and hugged his back. She indicated, "Go down that way. I'll tell you where to go when we get there."

"You're meetin' your wagon over there?" It seemed awfully rocky and mountainous.

Rosa didn't deign to answer.

After a period of quiet riding, Pieth asked, "What's got you worked up?"

The maid's grip tightened. "It's...nothin'."

Pieth remembered the sheriff's comments. "The wolves?"

Rosa gasped. "You heard them too!"

Was there a reason he should have missed the howling? "They sounded far out. You'd have been fine." The pair travelled a short distance before reaching a craggy outcropping. Rather unexpectedly, Pieth spied Martine, the Tate cook and Gordon, the Tate foreman, sitting by the mouth of a small cave. He glanced over his shoulder. "What are they doin' here?"

Martine responded similarly, rising from her roost and raising an eyebrow. "Why is he here?"

Gordon was more pragmatic. "Did you get the food?"

"Yes," said Rosa, sliding from the back of the horse as they came around. She offered up her supplies and turned to Martine. "We met on the road. There were...wolves howlin'."

"Mon dieu," said Martine.

Pieth disembarked and led his horse behind him. "If you're gathered here, where is Miss Lacey?"

"Texas," chirped the women in unison. Gordon rolled his eyes.

"...Texas," he sighed, several beats behind.

Pieth let out a dramatic sound, dropping the reigns and draping over a rock. His horse, indifferent to his theatrics, wandered away to feed on weeds. "Oh, what a fool I've been! I was told she had died and I believed it!" The Tate employees afforded the youth a passing glance before turning their attention to Rosa's delivery and taking stock. Pieth moaned, attempting to stir their sympathies. Failing to garner a reaction, he sat straight and mused aloud, "Why are you gathered here?"

"We're havin' a picnic," said Martine.

"A strange place for it." Then, "Wait a minute." He pointed at Rosa. "You said you were on your way to meet a wagon!"

"Yes," said Rosa. "But I think.. I think with the weather, it won't make it today."

Pieth tipped his eyes skyward. Delightful.

"We'll have to spend the night here to be certain we don't miss it," said Martine.

This was asinine. Hadn't these people considered the logistics of such a vehicle traversing the uneven terrain? "Why wouldn't you have the wagon come to the house?"

"Spooks the sheep," said Martine. Pieth nodded. He hadn't considered that. "Isn't that right, Gordon?"

The foreman waved his hand and shook his head. "...I can't do this." To the displeasure of the ladies, he said, "We're hidin' out, Lindsey. Not that I expect you to appreciate why." He gazed in the direction of town. "It's safer here. The winds go the other way."

"Why are you hidin' out here?" inquired Pieth, despite the foreman's words.

"Lindsey, go away," said Gordon, bereft of amusement.

Pieth pouted and crossed his arms. "No. I'm tired of bein' told to go here. and go there, and I still don't have my ring back! What about what I want? When do I get what I want?""

"In your mind, you imagine this is what we want?"

"It's a picnic, ain't it?" blinked the young man.

"Yes!" agreed Rosa heartily.

Gordon glared. "I didn't see half of what you saw. I don't understand how you both can put on smiles and pretend this is nothin'."

"What did you see?" needled Pieth, looking eagerly to the women.

"A rainbow!" insisted Rosa. Martine shook her head.

"Gordon's right," she said. And then, "Lindsey, we watched a man turn into a wolf."

Rosa shivered. "A bad man. He came with the others and took Miss Lacey away."

"But we had no idea until..." Matine covered her mouth. "What we've done, we've done to protect ourselves. We didn't want no trouble."

Pieth scrambled to his feet. "Then Lacey Tate is...!" She was dead after all! He could be her avenging angel!

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"We don't know," said Gordon glumly. "They took her off."

"But if they're wolfmen," said Rosa. She covered her face with her hands. "Oh, poor Miss Lacey!"

"Poor us," added Martine. "Poor Mr. Herman."

"...and poor me," reminded Pieth. "I'm sufferin' here too! I loved Miss Lacey and she's gone!"

"Nobody said she's dead," said Gordon. "It won't do any good to think the worst."

"Sheriff Cherry says she's dead," said Pieth.

"Sheriff Cherry says a lot of things," said Martine.

"Poor Sheriff Cherry," whimpered Rosa.

"Why do you feel sorry for him?" scoffed Pieth. "He didn't just lose his soulmate."

Martine frowned. "You didn't stop by the house, did you?"

"No," admitted the youth. "The boys sent me this way."

"If you had," said Martine, "You'd have seen the sorry state we left it."

"And where we left Sheriff Cherry," added Rosa.

"We had to," continued Martine. "Gordon had no idea of knowin' that wolf was that man. He thought he'd gotten lost goin' after the sheep."

"I never would have shot him," said Gordon glumly. "He could have done whatever he wanted to the sheriff. I didn't mean to make things worse between us."

Pieth waved a hand. "Start over. Who is the man who murdered my beloved Lacey?"

"We don't know," said Martine. "Mr. Herman knows him and the others but he never said anything to us. Then, when Mr. Herman didn't come home, they came lookin' for him. When we couldn't give them Mr. Herman, they took Miss Lacey and they come every day askin' for Mr. Herman."

This was fine and dandy but it didn't give Pieth an idea of who to hunt down. "What does he look like? Do you know his name?"

"Ugly," said Rosa.

"He has two different colored eyes," said Martine. "He's a big man."

"Outlaws," spat Gordon. "They're a band of outlaws. What Mr. Herman was doin' with 'em, I can't say."

"And he changed into a wolf?" Pieth had doubts. He also had curiosity and wasn't completely opposed to the possibility. "He didn't, maybe, whistle for a trained wolf or...?"

"How is that any better?" derided Martine. "We saw him change. We were talkin', Rosa and me, with Sheriff Cherry. Sheriff Cherry didn't say nothin' to him, just shot him at least five times. But then he says he's angry and like that, he's a wolf and he's got Sheriff Cherry in his mouth. It was... it was a sight."

"I heard the commotion," said Gordon. "I'd been hearin' howlin' at night but I didn't think... I'd bought it that mornin' to keep the sheep safe. But hearin' Miss Rosa screaming, I didn't know what to think. I rushed in and there was that wolf standin' over the sheriff."

"He didn't know it wasn't a regular wolf," said Rosa.

"I shot him. Then I shot him again. Then Martine told me to stop. The wolf was hurtin' but not hurtin' like he should. Even then, I could see his skin...movin', closin' and fixin' itself." Gordon sighed. "The wolf went through the window. I thought it was runnin' off and I was about to give chase when the women told me what happened'. We realized he'd come by and he'd be pissed about what I did. They already came after me once and I know they won't hesitate to do it again. And since we know what they are..."

"That's why we're here," said Martine. "I don't know what else there's to do. Shootin' 'em won't kill 'em. They want Mr. Herman. They're gonna keep comin' until we give him up."

"Yes," admitted Pieth. "My uncle would like to find him as well. He's monopolized Sheriff Cherry and I don't get a minute of his time!"

"Your uncle is the cherry on the top of our problems lately," said Gordon. Pieth chortled.

"'Cherry on top'. Like Sheriff Cherry. Since he's workin' for..." He trailed off.

"I wasn't making a pun," said Gordon.

Pieth changed the subject to protect his pride. "You're certain the man who took my sweet Lacey away is this same man?"

Rosa made a face. "'My sweet Lacey'. En tus sueños, tonto."

"Yes," said Martine. "The same man. Some sort of monster man who can turn into a wolf and doesn't think much 'bout pistol shots."

"Then Sheriff Cherry was right," declared Pieth. "I'm gonna find this 'monster' and I'm gonna kill him! Then you'll all see how deep our love ran!"

"While we'd love to see you get him," said Gordon, "That doesn't prove you and Miss Lacey had anythin' between you both."

"It does," asserted Pieth. "If she wasn't already dead, she might be grateful. She might have a change of heart and tell me how much she loves me and then we'd get married." Then, "I don't see any of the other fellers doin' as much for her! I don't see her brother doin' anythin' about this and it's his fault!"

Martine cut in with a solemn, "When did Sheriff Cherry tell you this was the same man who took Miss Lacey?" There was apprehension in her voice, as though she feared his answer.

Pieth tipped his head to the side. "Right before comin' out here."

"Oh no!" Rosa's hands were back over her mouth. "How? I thought when I didn't see his body there that they'd be back."

It wasn't clear what great sin Pieth had committed by mentioning Cherry. The Tate trio could stand to be more upfront with their recounting and finer details. "Well, my uncle has him at his house recouperatin'. That wolf, or wolfman, left him in a bad way."

Gordon grumbled, "We left him there as a token of goodwill. Why did your uncle have to butt in?"

"Goodwill?"

"Yes. That wolf was tryin' to kill the sheriff when I shot him. So we left him alone in case them outlaws wanted to finish the job."

"They can have the sheriff," said Martine. "We don't want any trouble."

"But my uncle wants to find Herman," said Pieth. "He thinks Sheriff Cherry knows where he is."

Martine sneered. "Why couldn't your uncle have waited to go lookin' for him a bit longer? If he'd bled out, Levi Asper'd have no use for him and those terrible men could have him. Then they might go gentler on us."

"I'm sorry!" jeered Pieth. "I don't imagine my uncle saw your plan from that! How was he to know you'd left Sheriff Cherry for dead?"

"Why was your uncle pokin' around our house in the first place? Why does he want our ranch so badly?"

Pieth shouted as loud as he could, "I don't know! It doesn't have anythin' to do with me! I'm gonna to get the feller who got Miss Lacey and I won't let none of you stop me!*"

Rosa side-eyed the youth and said, "Then go."