paused, at a loss. ‘I hope you’ll consider what I’m saying?’
He had been expecting the shotgun to ring out any minute. Instead it was suddenly swung high in the air and when it came down on his temple, he hardly felt the pain, although he stumbled backwards and fell down – and felt the wet, sticky blood trickling across his face.
As he crumpled to the ground, he received a second blow. Time and again the heavy butt of the shotgun rained down, dulling his senses and his thinking, until he knew that if he didn’t get up now, he would never get up again. But each time he made the effort, he was knocked back by another blow, or a kick of the older man’s heavy boot. Somewhere in his distant mind he could hear Jackson yelling obscenities, but the voice came from so far away, and his every bone jolted with the force of the beating.
Inside the farmhouse, Aggie had seen what was happening, and she ran to the door. As she flung it open, she saw with horror how John had scrambled back on his feet and was launching himself at Clem, his eyes blinded by the blood that was pouring down his head and face. ‘NO!’ Careering forward she tried to come between the two men but was driven back. ‘Stay out of it!’ she was told. ‘Unless you want some an’ all?’
But Aggie would not be stopped. Throwing herself between them, she screamed: ‘Leave him be! For God’s sake, Clem … you’re killing the lad!’
‘Out – of – my – way!’ With one mighty shove, Clem sent her sprawling to the ground. In a minute she was on her knees, her two arms round the young man, and her face upturned.
‘Kill him, and you’ll have to kill me too,’ she said, her eyes filled with hatred.
His answer was to reach out and drag her away, but she crawled back, fiercely protecting John with her own body. ‘I mean it, Clem. I won’t let you do it.’
‘I’ll do what I see fit. Get outta the bloody way!’
‘NO!’ She tried appealing to any sense of decency he might still have. ‘He’s just a boy!’ she cried. ‘Shame on you, hitting him with your gun … that’s a coward’s way!’
When at that moment John tried feebly to get up, she pressed the full weight of her body against his. ‘No!’ she hissed. ‘Stay down, John. Please! Stay down!’ She knew if he got up, it might be the last thing he ever did.
Eager to finish what he had started, Clem took a step forward. ‘LET HIM UP!’ Suddenly the muzzle of the shotgun was jammed into her side. ‘Let him up, or I swear to God I’ll finish the pair of you!’
‘No!’ Aggie knew, from the mad look in his eyes, that he meant every word. And still she wouldn’t budge. At the back of her mind she hoped and prayed that somewhere in that warped mind, he had a shred of compassion.
Instead he gave her a vicious kick that sent her flying. She coiled up, whimpering from the pain.
Enraged, John struggled to his feet and, staggering towards the older man, managed to send him backwards, but he was weak and hurt, and it was only a matter of seconds before he himself was at the receiving end again. Bloodied and dazed by the punishment he had taken, he found himself sprawled on the ground, with the shotgun pushed tight against his throat. ‘Yer pack a sizeable punch, an’ yer a hard man to put down, I’ll give yer that!’ Clem grudgingly admitted. ‘But it’ll do yer no good.’
Puffing and panting from John’s determined attack, he gave a harsh, mocking laugh. ‘Happen I shoulda took yer on, man to man. But I ain’t got time for all that. Not when it’s so much easier just to pull the trigger.’
The deadly click of the trigger-hammer being drawn back echoed against Aggie’s scream. ‘NO, CLEM … FOR PITY’S SAKE, NO!’
They didn’t see the old man as he sneaked out of the house. It was only when he was directly behind Clem that Aggie spotted him and her heart fell. Dear God! If Clem turned, her father-in-law wouldn’t stand a chance.
Thankfully, Clem was far too intent on training his eye on John, so that when he did hear a movement behind him and felt the cold sharp end of the shotgun thrust into his neck, it was too late. ‘You ain’t the only one who knows how to use one o’ these!’ Thomas Isaac chuckled. ‘I expect you thought I were too old and past it to shift outta my rocking-chair?’
Shocked and frightened, Clem began to plead. ‘Now then, Grandad, don’t do anything silly. Put the gun down.’
But the old fella had no intention of doing that, as he told Clem in no uncertain terms. ‘I can’t see yer hammer that young man into the ground, without doing summat about it.’ He slowly raised the shotgun, until it was level with Clem’s forehead. ‘Happen I should just blow yer ugly ’ead off, right now.’
Fearing for his life, Clem stretched his arms up. ‘All right, all right! What d’yer want from me?’
‘I want you to leave the lad alone!’
Searching for a way out of a bad situation, Clem appealed to him. ‘Open yer eyes, man! Can’t yer see the young scoundrel’s got a yearning for the girl? That’s what he’s ’ere for … to ask if the pair of ’em can couple up. Is that what yer want for yer granddaughter … to be tekken advantage of by this young thug?’
Thomas pursed his lips in thought. ‘I don’t reckon John has any such thing in mind, but even if ’e did want to see our Emily, then I’d say that was for her mammy to deal with, wouldn’t yer agree?’
‘If yer say so.’ It galled him to kow-tow to the old man.
‘I do say so.’ Thomas saw how Aggie was helping John to his feet. ‘Ain’t that right, Aggie, lass?’ he asked pointedly. ‘Anything to do with our Emily is first and foremost your business?’
She nodded. ‘Leave it now, Dad. It’s all right.’ She feared he might well have taken on more than he could handle. ‘I’m sure Clem knows the score, now you’ve spelled it out.’
She considered asking him to go back inside but it would have been of no use. From somewhere – she didn’t know where – her father-in-law had gathered enough strength and courage to come out and fight for his loved ones – and what right had she to interfere? No right at all, she decided, with a little burst of pride.
All the same, just now she had seen Clem eyeing the old fella with a cunning look on his face. And it worried her. One way or another, she needed to get them all back inside and out of harm’s way. ‘Come on now, Dad,’ she urged. ‘Give me a hand to get John inside, will you?’
Unfortunately her little ploy came too late, for just then, while her father-in-law was observing young John’s sorry plight, Clem made a sudden move that took everyone by surprise. With the cry of a madman, he lunged forward to wrench the shotgun out of the old fella’s hands. ‘Yer never learn, do yer?’ he snarled. ‘I should empty this barrel into yer dozy skull.’
Proud and defiant, the old man looked him in the eye. ‘You don’t frighten me,’ he declared. ‘I’ve had more experience of bullies in my life than you’ll ever know, and they’re allus brought down, somehow or another.’
Clem laughed aloud at his show of defiance. ‘Hmh! So, yer reckon you can bring me down, do yer?’ With a poke of his finger in Thomas’s bony ribs he jeered, ‘An’ how do yer plan to do that, might I ask?’
The
