Glancing down, she realized it was the mountain cur.
She patted his smooth head, and he looked up at her with soulful eyes. She kept on petting him, and he leaned into her.
It was a comfort.
And when her brothers at last spoke, saying how sorry they were for what had happened here, she regained her composure.
“Thank you,” she said. “I wish you had seen it before those men came. It was a nice little house.”
George stared at her, likely struggling beneath the enormity of all she had endured.
James looked around, smiling at the fields and snow-capped mountains. “Gee, Mary. This sure is a pretty spot. It’s perfect with the creek and all. Just perfect.”
Mary nodded. “Yes, it was a wonderful place. And despite everything that happened, it still is.”
The boys nodded at that.
“Come on,” she said, and led them over to the tree. The dog followed at her side.
Then they were standing in front of the grave, blinking down solemnly at Cole’s final resting place.
James shifted his weight from foot to foot, looking like he might cry.
The mountain cur went over, and James petted him.
Interesting,Mary thought.
When George turned toward her, he looked lessGeorgeand more likeGeorgie. “I’m so sorry, Mary,” he said and hugged her tight. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Well, the men who did this will pay, anyway,” James said. “That’s for certain now.”
Mary nodded, confident that Conn would, indeed, make them pay. But she was puzzled. A newspaper reporter had hunted her down that morning, and she had given him a statement, but that wouldn’t be in the paper yet. How did the boys know about Conn?
“Yeah, guess who was on our train this morning?” George said.
“Who?”
“Mayfield!” the boys chorused.
“Mayfield? Who’s that?”
Her brothers stared at her in disbelief.
“Clayton Mayfield is the most famous U.S. Marshal in the whole West,” George said.
“Yeah, probably in the whole world,” James added.
“Oh,” Mary said. “Well, if he’s going to go after these men, he’d better hurry. Cole’s brother is already hunting them.”
“Conn?” James said excitedly.
Her brothers had never met Conn, but Cole had told them stories about him, and they had always wanted to meet him. Especially James.
“Yes, Conn,” Mary said.
“He’d better be careful,” George said. “These are some pretty bad men, and Pa said there were a bunch of them. Eleven?”
“Eleven,” Mary said. “But the last I heard, only seven remained.”
