One of his boys rested his foot on a rock so he could lean the buttstock of his rifle on his knee and aim the barrel at heaven. The other held his across the crook of his arms with fingers folded over the magazine. “We have no idea, ma’am,” said LeFors, “if it’s your brother-in-law or not. But you’re his nearest relative in these parts.” “You brought all these men because you think it’s not him?” said Mina. “Only got eighteen, ma’am.” “Twenty,” said the man on his right. “Twenty, well,” said Mina, “then it’s a fair fight.” LeFors and his boys looked at one another, not sure if it had been a joke. Mina, her little sister’s name for her, struggled with her emotions, as she was a naturally obedient woman who trusted authority, yet she found these men and their mission distasteful. LeFors had the cocksure look of a man with a grand idea, waiting for it to pay dividends.
