17/03/2026 16:32

---

Let him play, Xavier said suddenly. She would lie in her quilt, watching the mists float over the Platte, until one or both of the girls tiptoed out. She's got a young child. By God, I'll get out, Jake said.

July had no reply. He felt like a cheat--he was the most respected man on the border, and yet a whore had a claim on him. The men on the blankets were amusing themselves by shooting their pistols at the buzzards that attempted to approach the corpse. She hadn't wanted to live, particularly not cheerfully.