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After the horses had drunk their fill, Sara and Hollis took a moment to let the animals wander The two of thee of the water The vegetation on the banks was thick--s, pecans, oaks, a scrub offroht A hundred yards upstream, the river paused in a wide, deep pool

"It’s so peaceful out here," Sara said

Hollis nodded, his face full of content of a certain place in the past It was o, when she and Hollis and all the others had traveled east with Aone by this time, left behind at the farmstead so Maus could have her baby They’d crossed the La Sal Range and descended to a wide valley of tall grass and blue skies and stopped to rest In the distance, snowcapped, the peaks of the Rockies loo in the shade of ashe’d never really had before--a sense of the world’s beauty Because it really was beautiful The trees, the light, the way the grassfaces of ice: how had she failed to notice these things before? And if she had, why had they seeed with life? She had fallen in love with Hollis, and she understood, sitting under the maple tree with her friends around her--Michael had, in fact, fallen asleep, hugging his shotgun over his chest like a child’s stuffed animal--that Hollis was the reason It was love, and only love, that opened your eyes

"We better go," Hollis said "It’ll be dark soon"

They gathered the horses and rode on

--

General Gunnar Apgar, standing at the top of the wall, watched the shadows stretching over the valley

He glanced at his watch: 2015 hours Sunset wasworkers in fro up the hill All of histhe top of the wall They had new guns and fresh ammunition, but their numbers were small--far too featch every inch of a six-ious man Many years had passed since a prayer had found his lips Though it made him feel a little foolish, he decided to say one now God, he thought, if you’re listening, sorry about the language, but if it’s not too much trouble, please let this all be bullshit

Footsteps banged down the catwalk toward him

"What is it, Corporal?"

The soldier’s name was Ratcliffe--a radio operator He was badly winded from his run up the stairs He bent at the waist and put his hands on his knees, taking in great gulps of air betords "General, sir, we got the e out like you said"

"How about Luckenbach?"