Page 105 (1/2)

Chase knehat he was asking “He’s dead”

It was the word Jobe Garvey had been waiting to hear He reined his horse away froallop for camp

The discordant jangle of a horse chewing on its bit filled the silence that followed For a long minute, no one said a word Then Stumpy cleared his throat

“Did he say who killed hi

“No”

“I thought, maybe” Stu?”

It required much effort, but Chase looked Stuot here Stabbed”

Just as he had once withheld his father’s dying words, Chase did the same with his son’s It was better that he lived with the pain of therief would be enough to bear without adding such bittersweet knowledge to them

“You’d better ride back to careat weariness “Jessy will need you The rest of you go, too”

Stuhter was alive, but Chase had lost his only son “What about you?”

“I’ll stay here with Ty”

One by one the riders turned their horses around and rode out of the coulee, leaving Chase alone on the ground beside the body of his son

Chapter Twenty

Tension hung over the ca Only the tere i with Quint while Laura sat on Jessy’s lap and ave a look of normalcy to the scene that was taken away by Cat’s restless pacing As usual, she ripped everyone

Cat made a few attempts to occupy herself with the children, but after a short while the edginess took hold and she wandered off, usually to stare in the direction of the Three Fingers, watching for a rider to return with news of Ty