Send them out and perhaps we can resolve this matter peacefully. Wyatt opened the door just enough to make himself visible while keeping his body shielded. Let the boy go, Montgomery. He has nothing to do with this. On the contrary, he was most helpful in locating this charming retreat, Montgomery replied with mock pleasantness.
After some persuasion, of course. Wyatt's jaw tightened at the implications. What do you want? What's rightfully mine? Montgomery's voice hardened.
My wife and daughter. Return them to me and you can keep your miserable life. They're not yours anymore. Wyatt stated firmly. Lillian is my wife now, legally married before witnesses.
Emma is my daughter. Montgomery's laugh was cold and humorless. A frontier marriage to a runaway wife is hardly binding, Harmon. I have the law on my side, Eastern law, which takes precedence over your barbarian customs. Not out here it doesn't.
Wyatt raised his revolver, aiming deliberately at Montgomery. Let the boy go and ride away while you still can. Instead of backing down, Montgomery pulled his own pistol, pressing it against Billy's temple. Perhaps this will convince you of my sincerity. Send out Lillian and the child or the boy dies.
His blood will be on your hands. Behind Wyatt, Lillian made a small sound of distress. I can't let him kill Billy because of me, she whispered. He's bluffing, Wyatt replied, though uncertainty nawed at him. The cold calculation in Montgomery's eyes suggested a man capable of any cruelty to get what he wanted.
You have one minute to decide, Montgomery called out. After that, I start shooting. First the boy, then you. Lillian and Emma will still be mine, but with far less pleasant circumstances. The threat to his family ignited a rage in Wyatt that cleared his mind of all uncertainty.
With deliberate calm, he fully opened the cabin door, stepping onto the porch with his revolver trained on Montgomery. "Let him go," Wyatt repeated, his voice deadly quiet. "Your quarrel is with me." Montgomery's smirk faltered slightly at Wyatt's steady advance. "Stay where you are or the boy dies." In that moment, Billy made his move. Despite his bound hands, the young cowboy threw himself sideways, unbalancing Montgomery and causing his shot to go wild.