Dead Before Sundown

by William W. Johnstone

  “My great-great-grandfather Seamus MacCallister, was a captain during our Revolutionary War. He was with Washington at Valley Forge, crossed the Delaware with him, and was at his side at the final Battle of Yorktown. In doing family research, I came across a letter written to him by George Washington in which he praises Seamus for his military skills and courage.

  “My great-great-great-grandfather, Hugh MacCallister, was a captain in the service of Governor Joseph Dudley of Massachusetts during the Queen Anne War. Hugh MacCallister was the first of our family to emigrate from Scotland, and was the brother of Braden MacCallister, your great-great-great-grandfather. Both were sons of Falcon MacCallister, and that, my dear cousin, is where our family lines cross.”

  “You said in the letter that you have a brother named Falcon,” Duff said.

  “Indeed we do,” Andrew said. “And I hope you will forgive the familial pride, but Falcon is one of the most storied people in our American West. Have you heard of General Custer?”

  “Of course, I have read much of him,” Duff said.

  “Falcon was with Custer on his last scout.”

  “But how can that be? I thought all who were with Custer were killed.”

  “Custer divided his forces into three elements,” Andrew explained. “All who were with him were killed, that is true. But most of the other two elements survived.”

  “I must confess that since Uncle Hugh took the MacCallister name to America it sounds as if he, and all who followed, have done the name proud,” Duff said.

  “Do you know much of our mutual ancestor, Falcon?” Andrew asked.

  “Aye,” Duff responded. “On February 7, 1676, Fingal Somerled and his clan set out to destroy the MacCallisters and steal all their cattle. But our mutual grandfather, Sir Falcon MacCallister, Earl of Argyllshire, learned of the threat and set a trap for the Somerleds. When Somerled and his men entered Glen Fruin, he encountered a large force of men led by Falcon MacCallister. Somerled tried to withdraw, but he found his exit blocked by a strong force that Falcon had put into position for just that purpose. The Somerleds were trapped with MacCallisters in front and at the rear, and the walls of the glen on either side. They were completely routed, many were killed, and Fingal barely managed to escape with his life. That was the start of a feud between our two families that continues to this day.”

  “You mean you are still killing each other?” Rosanna asked.

  “Oh, no, thankfully we have put that aside.” Duff thought of the recent fight he had with Donald, Roderick, and Alexander Somerled, and he chuckled. “But we do still have our moments,” he added.

  “Do you know the history of any of your other ancestors?” Andrew asked.

  “Oh, yes. We have kept an oral history as part of our lives, so much so that I feel I actually know ancestors whom I never met. Duncan MacCallister is an interesting ancestor, but I’m afraid my great-greatgrandfather, Duncan fought against your great-great-grandfather Seamus in your revolutionary war. He was with General Cornwallis at Yorktown. As a result, he was part of an ignoble surrender. I am proud to say, however, that he fared much better at Waterloo, where Napoleon was defeated. Duncan was a sharpshooter with the 95th Rifles, part of the Duke of Wellington’s army.

  “My grandfather, Alair MacCallister was a Brigadier with Sir Harry Smith in India when Ranjodh Singh was defeated. My father was a captain with General Simpson during the Crimean War, at the Battle of Sevastopol.”

  “And you?” Andrew said.

  “Ah, yes, my uniform. I am a captain in the reserves.”

  “You may be in the reserves now, but I know for a fact that you are not wearing the uniform of the Black Watch merely for show,” Andrew said. “You took part in the battle of Tel el-Kebir in Egypt. That is where you received the Victoria Cross you are wearing.”

  Duff smiled self-consciously. “You have done your homework, haven’t you, Andrew?”

  “I wanted to find out as much as I could about our Scottish cousin,” Andrew said. “And while, admittedly, the blood lines that connect us have grown thin with succeeding generations, I believe that the spark of kinship can quite easily be fanned into a flame of genuine friendship.”

  “For anyone else, the blood might be too thin at this point to claim kinship,” Duff said. “But not for the MacCallisters. Sure, and we are as kin as if ye were my brother.” He glanced over at Rosanna. “And a more beautiful and talented sister I could scarcely envision.”

  Rosanna extended her hand across the table and, once more, Duff raised it to his lips for a kiss.

  After they enjoyed their dinner, Duff took them to the White Horse Pub. Duff was greeted warmly by nearly every customer in the pub. Ian was behind the counter, and he smiled broadly as he saw Duff arrive with Andrew and Rosanna.

  “Ian, my friend, may I introduce to you my kith and kin from New York,” Duff said.

  Ian, who had been drying glasses, put the towel over his shoulder and extended his hand toward Andrew. “Sure and ‘tis a pleasure to meet the American cousins of my dear friend, and soon to be son-in-law, Duff MacCallister,” he said. He looked toward Rosanna. “And what a beautiful woman you be,” he said. “’Tis no wonder you are so successful in the theater.”

  “Are all Scots so gallant?” Rosanna said.

  Ian laughed. “’Tis our way,” he said.

  “Where is Skye?” Rosanna asked. “I must meet my cousin’s fiancée.”

  “She is there waiting on yon table,” Duff said, pointing her out.

  “Oh, my,” Rosanna said. “What a beautiful young woman she is. Duff, I can see why you are so smitten with her.”

  “As can I,” Andrew said. “What I can’t see is why she should be smitten with you.”

  Andrew’s jibe drew a laugh as Ian put mugs of ale on the bar in front of each of them.

  Andrew reached into his pocket for money, but Ian held up his hand. “This is on the house,” he said. “Surely I can furnish a beer to m’ own cousins now, can’t I?”

  “Cousins?” Andrew said. He looked at Duff. “Did I not go far enough in my genealogy research?”

  “We aren’t cousins yet,” Ian said. “But when my Skye marries Duff, ‘tis cousins-in-law we shall be.”

  Andrew chuckled. “I suppose that is true, isn’t it?”

  Skye returned to the bar then and was introduced to Andrew and Rosanna.

  “’Tis most pleased I am to meet such famous theater people,” Skye said with a little curtsey as she greeted the pair.

  “It is true that we strut and fret our brief hour upon the stage,” Andrew said. “But thus far, fame has eluded us.”

  “He is being modest, Skye,” Duff said. “You should have seen the high esteem in which they were held by the people of Glasgow when I visited there to see their show.”

  “The people of Glasgow were uncommonly kind,” Rosanna said. “Certainly they treated us with more deference than we deserve.”

  “I think not,” Skye said. “I read of you in our newspaper. I have the article here.” Skye reached under the bar, then pulled out a newspaper that was carefully folded to display the article that held her interest.

  She began to read:

  Campbell’s Music Saloon has occasioned many theatricals and musicales of note, but rarely have the boards been so crowned as to be trod by that magnificent pair of thespians, Andrew and Rosanna MacCallister. Brother and sister they, the MacCallisters have long been the object of attention and admiration in New York. Should one be fortunate enough to attend a performance in which these two appear, they will indeed regard the evening of entertainment as time well spent.

  She put the paper down. “If the paper writes that of you, then you are truly famous.”

  “You read very well, young lady,” Andrew said. “You would make a fine thespian yourself.”

  Skye blushed at the flattery.

  At that moment Sheriff Angus Somerled came into the tavern, and much of the laughter and conversation grew quiet as he stood j
ust inside the door, perusing the place with dark and brooding eyes.

  “Skye, lass, see if we can be of service to the sheriff,” Ian said quietly.

  Skye approached the sheriff, then curtseyed. “Sheriff, may we serve you?” she asked.

  Sheriff Somerled looked over at Duff, then pointed at him.

  “Is it true that, last week, you fought with my sons for no reason?” he asked.

  “That is not true,” Duff replied.

  “How can you say it is not true when with my own eyes I saw the bruises you inflicted upon them?”

  “I am not saying that I didn’t fight with them,” Duff said. “What I dispute is that I fought with them for no reason. I fought with them because they attacked me.”

  “There are three of them and but one of you, yet they are the injured ones. Would you be tellin’ me, Duff MacCallister, that they attacked you first, and yet you bested the three of them? Because that I am not believing.”

  “You should believe it, Sheriff, for Duff is speaking only the truth,” Ian said. “All who were here that night will bear witness to the fact that your sons attacked MacCallister.”

  “Aye, Sheriff, ‘tis true enough,” one of the other patrons said. “Your sons started the fight.”

  The sheriff said nothing in direct reply, but a blood vessel in his temple began to throb, a visual display of his anger. He looked at Andrew and Rosanna.

  “Are you the theater people I have heard about?” he asked.

  “I don’t know if, or what, you might have heard of us. But it is true that we are theater people,” Rosanna replied.

  “Why dishonor yourselves by standing with one who is known to be a brigand?” Angus Somerled asked.

  “Duff MacCallister is my cousin,” Andrew replied. “Were he at the gates of hell, I would stand by him.”

  “You make claim that he is your cousin?”

  “Aye, of the self-same blood as Falcon MacCallister, he who defeated your ancestor at Glen Fruin,” Andrew said, perfectly adopting the Scottish brogue.

  “Ochh. It is worthless you are, the lot of ye,” Sheriff Somerled said as, spinning on his heel, he left the tavern.

  “And it is good riddance to ye, Angus Somerled!” Ian McGregor called out after the sheriff left. It wasn’t loud enough for the sheriff to hear, but it was loud enough for all in the pub to hear, and they laughed out loud.

  Two days later, Duff came to Glasgow to tell his cousins good-bye.

  “We have had a wonderful visit,” Rosanna said. “Especially so since we met you and were able to reconnect our family after all these years. And how wonderful it was to meet Skye. She is such a delightful young lady. I am sure the two of you will be very happy.”

  “Thank you, I am sure we will be as well. And I enjoyed meeting both of you,” Duff said. “It was an interesting experience, finding out what happened to those of my family who went to America.”

  “You should come to America as well,” Andrew said. “Yes, come to America after you have married, and bring your bride with you.”

  “Perhaps I will,” Duff said. “I would like to see America, and I would like Skye to see it with me.”

  “But if you come, you should come to live, not just to visit,” Andrew said. “You would love it in America, and Americans would welcome you. We are that kind of people.”

  “I have land here,” Duff said. “If I were to come to America, how would I live? I have no land there.”

  “Land is easily acquired,” Andrew said. “We have so much land in America that we give it away. It is called homesteading. All you have to do is move on to a piece of unoccupied property, work it, and file a claim. Then it becomes yours.”

  “Aye, that is an interesting proposition, but Skye still has her family here. I think it might be difficult to persuade her to undertake such an adventure.”

  “Perhaps not as difficult as you may think,” Rosanna said. “Skye strikes me as a young woman with an adventurous spirit. She may want to come. But, whether you come to visit or to live, you must spend some time with us.”