Chapter One The Returning Cavalryman

All three had black cloth tied around their hatbands. Titan hired guns. The fat man saw the pried-up floorboard and whistled. "Old Thomas did hide something." The tall one cursed. "Mr. Crowe said if anybody came looking, we bury him." "Where?" the young gunman asked. The fat man glanced toward the grave and smiled. "There's room beside her." Jack moved before the last word finished. He did not charge through the doorway. He drove his shoulder into a half-burned beam. The brittle wood crashed down, and black ash burst like fog. All three gunmen lifted their hands to shield their faces. The Colt cleared leather. The first shot punched through the tall man's wrist. The Winchester dropped into the ash.