“Dr. Favor says you shouldn’t ride in the coach,” Mendez said. “That’s the difference.”

Russell’s eyes raised to Mendez. “They all say that?”

“Listen, you wanted to ride with me before.”

“Do they all say I shouldn’t be in the coach?”

Mendez nodded. “Dr. Favor said they agreed to it. I said this boy isn’t Apache, did you ask if he was? Did you ask him anything? But this Favor says he isn’t going to argue about it.”

Russell kept looking at Mendez. “What did you say?”

“Well-I don’t know,” Mendez said. “Why have people unhappy? Why not just”-he shrugged-“let them have their way? It isn’t a big thing. I mean I don’t know if it’s something worth making trouble about. He’s got this in his mind now and we don’t have time to convince him of the truth. So why should we let it worry us, uh?”

“What if I want to ride in the coach?” Russell said.

“Listen, you wanted to ride with me before. Why all of a sudden you like it inside now?”

It was the first time I ever saw Mendez look worried, like something was happening that he couldn’t handle or have an answer for. He drank some of his coffee, but looked up quickly, holding the cup, as Braden and Dr. Favor rose from the table. Braden went outside. Dr. Favor went over to the bar where Delgado was, and Mendez seemed to relax a little and sip his coffee.

“Is it worth arguing about?” Mendez said. “Getting people upset and angry? Sure, they’re wrong. But is it easier to convince them of it or just forget about it? You understand that?”

“I’m learning,” Russell said.

Right there, again, I’d like to have seen what was going on in his mind, because you certainly couldn’t tell from his tone. He had such a quiet way of speaking you got the feeling nothing in the world would ever bother him.

While we were still sitting there, Dr. Favor motioned Mendez over to the bar where he and Delgado were. Mendez stood there talking to them for a long time, while we finished our coffee and had another. Finally Mendez came back. He didn’t sit down but took a drink of the brandy.