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There was a faintly audible click

and suddenly, ed forward He pressed against Matthew&039;s throat the pointed edge of a five-inch blade that had been concealed within the cane&039;s shaft

"Be still!" Johnstone hissed, his eyes boring into Matthew&039;s Bidwell had stood up, and now Winston and Dr Shields rose to their feet "Everyone, be still!"

Green crossed the threshold, pistol in hand Johnstone reached out, grasped Matthew&039;s shirt, and turned him so the thespian&039;s back was to the wall and Matthew&039;s back was in danger of a pistol ball should Green lose his head "No, no!" Johnstone said, as if scolding a ard pupil "Green, stand where you are"

The red-bearded giant halted The blade pressed perilously near entering the flesh Though he was quaking inside, Mattheas able to keep a calood to be sent to prison and have my neck stretched!" Johnstone&039;s face was da rapidly at his temple Blood still stained his nostrils and upper lip "No, I can&039;t bear that Not prison" He shook his head with finality "One season in Hell is enough for any man"

"You have no choice, sir as I said, this will do you no - "

"Bidwell!" Johnstone snapped "Get a wagon ready! Now! Green, take the pistol by the barrel Coive it toneither"

"I have a knife at your throat Do you feel iti" He gave a little jab "Therei Would you like a sharper tastei"

"Mr Green, " Matthew said, staring into the wild eyes of the fox "Take a position, please, and aim your pistol at Mr Johnstone&039;s head"

"Christ, boy!" Bidwell shouted "No! Green, he&039;s crazy!"

"No further play at heroics, " Johnstone said tightly "You&039;ve strutted your feathers, you&039;ve shown your cock, and you have blastedout that door! No power on earth will ever send odda just outside the front door"

"What two !"

&039;You see the lantern on the silli Mr Bidwell placed it there as a signal to tell the two men to take their positions"

"Name them!"

"Hiras is the other"

"Well, neither of those fools could hit a horse in the head with an axe! Green, I said give me the pistol!"

"Stay where you are, Mr Green, " Matthew said

"Matthew!" Winston spoke up "Don&039;t be foolish!"

"a pistol in this man&039;s hand will mean someone&039;s death" Matthew kept his eyes directed into Johnstone&039;s Bloodhound and fox were now locked together in a duel of wills "One bullet, one death, I assure you"

"The pistol! I won&039;t ask again before I start cutting!"

"Oh, is this the instruht in Charles Town, I presu much!" Johnstone pushed the blade&039;s tip into the side of Matthew&039;s neck The pain al tears to his eyes and make him clench his teeth In fact, his whole body clenched But he was daony The blade had entered only a fraction of an inch, deep enough to cause warm blood to well out and trickle down his neck, but it had not nicked an artery Matthe Johnstone was siame

"Would you like a little more of iti" Johnstone asked

Bidwell had positioned himself to one side of the men, and therefore saw the blood "For God&039;s sake!" he brayed "Green! Give him the pistol!"

Before Matthew could protest, he heard Green&039;s clurip was offered to Johnstone The weapon was instantly snatched into Johnstone&039;s hand, but the blade re

"The wagon, Bidwell!" Johnstone de the pistol at Matthew&039;s et it ready" Mattheas speaking with an effort It wasn&039;t every day he talked with a knife blade in his neck "and while you&039;re at it, fix the wheels so they&039;ll fall off two hours or so down the road Why don&039;t you take a single horse, Johnstonei That way it can step into a rut in the dark, throw you, and break your neck and be done with it Oh wait! Why don&039;t you sih the swalad to take your boots"

"Shut up! I want a wagon! I want a wagon, because you&039;re going with reater effort, Matthew forced hirin "Sir, you&039;re an excellent comedian after all!"

"You think this is funnyi" Johnstone&039;s face was contorted with rage He blew spittle "Shall you laugh harder through the slit in your throat or the hole in your guti"

"The real question is: shall you laugh, when your intended hostage is on the floor and your pistol is eed, but a silver thread of saliva broke over his lower lip and fell like the undoing of a spider&039;s web

Carefully, Matthew took a backward step The blade&039;s tip slid from his neck "Your probleers to the small wound, "is that your friends and associates seem to have short spans of life If I were to accoon, my own life span would be drareatly dislike it - but since I shall certainly die somewhere if I follow your wishes, it would be better to die here That way, at least, the sterling gentlemen in this room may rush you and end this hopeless fantasy of escape you have seized upon But actually, I don&039;t think anyone would o Out the front door I swear I&039;ll be silent Of course, Mr Bidwell, Mr Green - or even Mrs Nettles, who to the axemen Let me think" He frowned "Two axes, versus a knife and one bullet Yes, you o to well, where would you go, Mr Johnstonei You see, that&039;s the thorny part: where would you goi"

Johnstone said nothing He still pointed both the pistol and knife, but his eyes had blurred like a frost on the fount in h the forest, why don&039;t youi The Indians will grant you safe passage, I&039;m sure But you see my conditioni I unfortunately ain, you do have a knife and a single bullet But oh what shall you do for foodi Well, you have the knife and bullet Best take o to your house and pack for your trip, and we&039;ll be waiting at the gate to give you a fine farewell Run along, now!"

Johnstone did not move

"Oh, my, " Matthew said quietly He looked froain "all dressed up, and nowhere to go"

"I&039;m not "Johnstone shook his head froravely wounded animal "I&039;m not done Not done"

"Hm, " Matthew said "Picture the theatre, sir The applause has been given, the bows taken The audience has gone hoave a beautiful dreaht, didn&039;t theyi The sets are dismantled, the costue, and even yesterday&039;s dust is carried away" He listened to the harsh rising and falling of Johnstone&039;s chest

"The play, " Matthew said, "is over" an anxious silence reigned, and none dared challenge it

at last Matthew decided aedge had small teeth, which would have severed arteries and vocal cords with one or tift, unexpected slashes Especially if one came up behind the victim, clasped a hand over the mouth, and pulled the head back to better offer the throat Perhaps this wasn&039;t the original cane Johnstone had first brought with him to Fount Royal, but one he&039;d had land after he&039;d determined how thea blade stab "Would you give me the pistol, pleasei" Johnstone&039;s face looked soft and swollen by raging inner pressures He see into space

"Siri" Matthew pro the pistol"

"Uh, " Johnstone said "Uh" Hisof an air-drowning fish Then, in a heartbeat, the consciousness and fury leapt into Johnstone&039;s eyes oncethe wall Behind hiant streets and rows of houses, quiltwork farms, immense orchards, precise naval yard and piers, and at the town&039;s center the life-giving spring

Johnstone said, "No I shall not"

"Listen to ed "There&039;s no point to this! Matthew&039;s right, there&039;s nowhere for you to go!"

"I shall not, " Johnstone repeated "Shall not Return to prison No Never"

"Unfortunately, " Matthew said, "you have no choice in the matter"

"Finally!" Johnstone srimace "Finally, you speak a misstatement! So you&039;re not as smart as you think, are youi"

"Pardon mei"

"a misstateh I know my script was flawed did I at least play an adequate rolei"

"You did, sir Especially the night the schoolhouse burned I was taken with your grief"

Johnstone gave a deep, bitter chuckling that ht have briefly wandered into the territory of tears "That was the only ti, boy! It killed my soul to see the schoolhouse burn!"

"Whati It really mattered so much to youi"

"You don&039;t know You see I actually enjoyed being a teacher It was like acting, in a way But there was greater worth in it, and the audience was always appreciative, I told myself if I couldn&039;t find any more of the treasure than what I&039;d discovered I could stay here, and I could be alan Johnstone the schoolmaster For the rest ofafter that, I brought the ruby ring up and it set ain about why I was really here" He lifted his face and looked at Matthew He stared at Winston, Dr Shields, and Bidwell all in turn

"Please put aside the pistol, " Matthew said "I think it&039;s ti "It is tio back to prison Do you understand thati"

"Siri" Matthe realized with a surge of alarm what the man intended "There&039;s no need!"

"My need" Johnstone dropped the knife to the floor and put his foot on it "You were correct about soinning to waver on his feet as if he ht pass out "Someone had to die"

Suddenly Johnstone turned the weapon toward his face, which brought a gasp of shock from Bidwell "I do have a choice, you see, " Johnstone said, the sweat glistening on his cheeks in the red-cast candlelight "and daer ar forward of his head, "exit the actor"

He opened his mouth, slid the pistol&039;s barrel into it, squeezed his eyes tightly shut, and pulled the trigger

There was a loud ed a shower of sparks flew, hissing like little comets, into Johnstone&039;s face

The pistol, however, failed to fire

Johnstone opened his eyes, displaying an expression of such terror that Matthew hoped never to witness its like again He withdrew the gun fro a chirrupy cricket sound Tendrils of blue sh the air around Johnstone&039;s face, as he looked into the gun&039;s barrel another spark juold coin

Crack! went the pistol, like aa board

Johnstone&039;s head rocked back The eyes ide open, wet, and briray clu to the wall behind Johnstone&039;s skull The ore-drenched and brain-spattered

Johnstone fell, his knees folding at the end, an instant before he hit the floor, he ant bow

and then his head hit the planks, and froruesohtly tidier hole in his forehead, streamed the physicalability, intelligence, pride, fear of prison, desires, evil, and

Yes, even his affinity for teaching Even that, now only so much liquid