Yeah, this one isn’t really planning to dawdle much.
…one fellow looked like he was a loudmouth before the slavers had smacked that habit out of him, and now that the bad men were dead and unburied the fellow looked like he was ready to indulge again in the luxury of bluster. “Now see here, drifter -” he began, only to be interrupted by Rex.
“I gave you a bunch of names at the start to use, mister. Pick one. Except for ‘Hey You’.” Rex pointed at Tabetha. “That one’s hers to use.”
Tabetha thought it was right informative just how quickly a calm tone and almost easy manner could shut up the loudmouth; but it seemed that Rex wasn’t done (maybe he was waiting for somebody to spout off, that voice in her head said) quite yet. He stood up. “Let me guess: now that it’s over, most of you want to go home,” Rex said.
There was a murmur at that, which got a half-nod out of Rex. “Can’t say I blame you,” he replied, then turned and waved one arm at the road, and the desert, and the night. “So go ahead! Feel free. Take your share of the water and the food and head on out. I’m no slaver.
“But I’m no slave, either,” Rex went on. “If I got no hold on you, you got no hold on me. I’m going west to Oasis, to yank out what’s rooted there. Anybody who wants to come along is welcome; anybody who doesn’t, well, that’s fine too.”