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"How long have you been sitting therei" Matthew asked

"all night," he said "I can&039;t I can&039;t put James down Y&039;seei I think his back is broke He cries soin the air, and the place smelled of blood and a darker sour odor of death "No human," he said, "could do this"

"Whati" Matthew hadn&039;t understood him; his own mind felt mired in the ainst the wall near the door

"No human could do this," Walker repeated "Not any huain Tom lifted his arms Mattheondered how ht to keep the dog&039;s body evenly supported; the boy&039;s arms must feel like they were about to tear loose from the sockets

"His back is broke," Toht" He looked up at Matthew, and gave a dazed, battered half-smile that made fresh blood drool from his mouth "He&039;sat him He avoided it, and ran the back of a hand across hiswhat he must certainly know should be done

"Belvedere," Walker said quietly "It won&039;t co, as it whiot you," he said, his eyes still closed, and possibly ot you"

Walker said to Matthew, "Give me your neckcloth" The cravat, he ed fly buzz past his ear and felt another graze his right eyebrow He unknotted the cravat, reave it to the Indian, who tore fro strip and handed the rest of it back Walker twisted the cloth for strength and began to wrap the ends of the strip around each hand When Walker took a forward step, the boy&039;s eyes opened

"No," To My friend" The boy lifted his ar them steady "I&039;ll do it if you&039;ll hold hiht," said the Indian

Walker unwound the strangler&039;s cloth from his hands and lay it across Tom&039;s left shoulder, and then he knelt down before To anie waseven in its pain understood the sound of deeper agony in its companion&039;s voice Then James whimpered a little bit, and Walker said, "I have him"

"Thank you, sir," answered Toan to wrap the cloth between his own hands, which Matthe bore razor cuts

Matthew stepped back To to be tender Jaue came out to lick at the air To on the head, and then very quickly he crisscrossed one hand over the other and fresh blood and mucous blew from his nostrils as he did what he had to do, his eyes squeezed shut and his teeth grinding down into the wound of his lower lip

Matthew looked at his feet His moccasins stood in the pool of the reverend&039;s blood The indignant flies swarmed and spun Matthew backstepped, hit the rehted himself, swayed unsteadily, felt sickness roil in a hot wave in his stomach He had seen hter&039;s work had been done with so much pleasure

"Don&039;t shame yourself," he heard Walker tell hi, but that his face must have been as white as his cravat had been only yesterday

Slowly, his eyes still downcast, Matthew busied hiain after all, it had been very expensive It was theman of merit wore in New York He carefully knotted it and pushed its ends down under the neck of his dirty shirt Then he stood very still, listening to the patter of rain on the roof Tom turned away from Walker He went to a bucket of water on the floor that had survived the violence, got down on his knees with the slow pained grace of an old an to wash the blood from his nostrils

"His tracks head to Belvedere," Walker said, speaking to the boy a small black-haired carcass with a brown snout lay on the floor in front of the fireplace, as if sleeping there after a day fully done "We intend to catch hiotten hireed He splashed water into his face and rubbed life back into his shoulders "Maybe one or two to be bought there, not h"

"He can be tracked, even on a horse," said the boy "all we have to do is get us some horses, we can find him"

We, Tom had said Matthew made no response, and neither did Walker

Tom took their silence for another reason "I can steal us some horses, if I have to Done it before Well one horse, I th left hiered and fell onto his side

"You&039;re not in any shape to be stealing horses," Walker observed "Can you walki"

"I don&039;t know"

"Decide in a hurry Matthew and I are leaving"

"I can walk," Tom said, and with a show of sheer willpower over physical distress he stood up, staggered again, and then held his balance He looked froain, the bruised and bloodied face defiant

"How fast can you walki" was the next question

For that, Tom seemed to have no answer He blinked heavily, obviously in need of sleep as well as medical attention He held his hands up before his face and looked at the razor cuts there as if he had nobeen wounded Then he turned his attention to Matthew "You&039;re a Christian, aren&039;t youi"

"Yes"

"Will you help me, theni You bein&039; a Christian, and the reverend bein&039; a Christian Help me bury himi"

"There&039;s no time for that," said Walker

"I promised Said I&039;d stay with him &039;til he died, and then I&039;d bury hio back on a promise"

"We can&039;t lose time Do you understand thati"

"I understand it But I won&039;t go back on a prohteri" Walker asked Mattheith a flash of anger behind it "Or do you want to really tryi"

"We&039;re talkin&039;," Tom said, "e could be buryin&039; I want to put the reverend under, and James, too There in that cemetery, with the other ones after that, I&039;ll show you how to get to Belvedere through the woods Cuts about four oin&039; by the road"

"I already know that way," said the Indian

"I reckon you do," Tom replied, and he winced at some pain and blew a little bloody snot out of his nose

How the boy was even standing up, Matthew had no idea He ht have a broken nose or even a broken jaw, by the looks of hi some teeth, too But he was alive, and that was hter&039;s victiht that this boy probably had the hardest bark of anybody he&039;d ever et to Belvedere, and they had to get there before sundown

But still a pro, in his book

"What&039;s your sayi" Walker prodded

Matthew realized he was in charge He was the only ency who could stand on his feet, and make the decisions He was Greathouse now, for better or worse What would Greathouse do, was the questioni

But no, it was not, he decided The question as righti

Matthew looked squarely at Tom "Do you have more than one shoveli" he asked