“You heard?”

“Thad Barfield rode by and told us,” said the older boy. “Is he hurt bad?”

“Bad enough. He’s shot in the chest. He was shot a lot worse back in the war, but he was a lot younger then. Ma’s with him. He seems to be restin’. His breathing seems okay and he hasn’t had any blood come out his mouth like you’d expect with a bullet in the chest. Maybe the bullet didn’t go deep enough to hit his lung. As big as he is, it’d have to go through an awful lot to get to his innards.

“I sent Joe for the sheriff. The girls have gone out to tell Gwendolyn about Charlie bein’ killed. Matt, I’d like you and Davy to follow those killers and leave markers for the posse to follow. They was ridin’ good horses, so they’ll be coverin’ a lot of ground before the sheriff can get on their trail. All the young, healthy men are off workin’ on the railroad. The sheriff is down there lookin’ into some fracas between a couple of the construction men. If some little storm blows up and covers the tracks, those killers will get clean away. But if you and Davy can follow along behind them and leave markers for the posse, they’ll get their day in front of a judge.”

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