“Miller, you can’t call me ma’am.  We’re the same damn age.”  He looked at her.  “Never mind,” she said.  “But you have to tell me and you’ve got to understand how afraid I am of the answer.  Who are they?  Why did he go with them?”

Miller put his fork down and waited, choosing his words.  “That’s her family.  His wife’s.”

Charlotte sat stunned.  She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of this, hadn’t seen it coming.

“They’ve been following us since early yesterday,” he said.  “Just letting Ellis know they were here.”

“Why?”

“It’s what the grandfather wants.  He’s the last of the old ones to stand up for his people.  They were given land and now the land’s being taken away from them, being sold, because in someone’s eyes it was too much land.  They were gonna raise cattle, but that would make them rich, and in someone’s eyes they shouldn’t be rich.  And then the valley happened.”

“What does this have to do with Ellis?  How can he be of any use to them?”

Miller worked at the answer until it came to him in the right way.  “The grandfather intends on going to Washington City and talking to the white people’s old ones.”

“He can do that?”

“He’s done it before.  He wears the peace medal they gave him the first time.”  Miller put his fork down again, trying to sort out his thoughts.  “He doesn’t blame Ellis, but he does hold him accountable, since it was soldiers that did it.  Doesn’t matter how it happened, whose fault it was in the end.  He wants Ellis to come with him to Washington, make the argument for him.  It won’t work, Ellis told him that, but sometimes the old ones don’t want to listen.”

“What does this mean for the wagon train?” Charlotte asked, watching Miller wade through the quagmire that the conversation had become, but appreciating his seriousness and care with the difficulties.

“Means finding a new captain.”

“What does it mean for me?”

“I think they’re dwelling on that right now.”

Charlotte suddenly had a thought, one she didn’t want.  “When do they want Ellis to leave?”

Miller slowly stopped eating and every trace of a smile was gone.  “Tomorrow,” he said.

“Tomorrow?”  She pressed her forehead against her knees.  Her life was over again and it hadn’t even gotten done being over the first time.  Now apparently what she had left would be the ashes.  Then it occurred to her that Miller wasn’t untouched.

“This affects you just as much, doesn’t it?”

“Yes…” he started to say ma’am, but stopped just in time.  “…it does.  Sometimes, though, things turn out not so bad as you thought they might.”

“Sometimes they turn out worse.”

“Maybe.”  Charlotte watched him.  He was innocent, but there was something else.