Untitled Chapter

Red Feather had not lied. The bounty men were waiting. Jack unloaded two sacks of ore and hid them in a dry wash beneath stones and scrub. The remaining four sacks stayed on the horse. Bait could not be too light. Wolves ignored light bait. He led the horses down the slope. The two men under the porch looked up together. One wore a tall hat and had a wax-yellow beard. The other was missing half his left ear, and his fingers never left the butt of his pistol. Jack did not look at them. He went to the well first. The man there blocked the bucket rope. "Water's a dollar a bag," he said. "Sign says twenty cents." "Sign's old." Jack lifted his eyes. "You old too?" The man's face hardened. Someone laughed under the porch.