“We’ve got more work than me and Paul can handle by ourselves,” Ditch said. “Folks need horses and beef more than ever. We’re raking in money faster than you can imagine. Now that the Triple B is no more, I’m thinking of taking over that spread, too. If I can raise the money, I’m positive I can purchase Old Man Boone’s ranch from the county, especially since I have it on good authority it’ll soon be unclaimed land.”

“I heard that rumor, too,” Franchard said.

“Think about it,” Ditch continued, “We can double the size of the SD&P. We’ll become cattle, horse, and land barons. What do you say, Samuel?”

Ditch winced, realizing he’d just called Pritchard by his true name instead of Joe.

“Your friend’s proposition might be worth considering,” Franchard said. “You’ve always got a home in the Texas Rangers. But maybe there is something else out there, Samuel, just waitin’ for you to find it?”

“You knew?” Pritchard asked.

“Don’t worry,” the Ranger captain said. “Whatever your name is, your secret’s safe with me. Hell, half the Rangers I ever rode with used aliases and were runnin’ from one thing or another. It’s almost a requirement of the job. Most Rangers got things in their past they ain’t proud of.”

“You are the best man with a gun I have ever seen,” Ruiz spoke up, “and I have known many pistoleros. This I also know; a man does not become as skilled with a revolver as you are by living a life free from trouble. Death follows you, Señor Joe. It stalks you like a puma. You cannot elude it. You must learn to make death your friend, or die. There is no other way.”

“Don’t listen to that crazy Mexican witch doctor,” Ditch said, “and his superstitious mumbo jumbo. Come back to the ranch with us? All you have to do is go back to being who you used to be.”

Even as he spoke, Ditch doubted his own words. He was reminded of the death-shadow that hung over his friend; something he himself had witnessed on numerous occasions. He couldn’t help believing Ruiz must have sensed it, too.

“I don’t know who that is anymore,” Pritchard said. “With Caroline, I thought I knew. But I was wrong. That fella was dead and buried a long time ago.”

“You’re talkin’ foolish,” Ditch said. “You can be whoever you want.”

“No, Ditch,” Pritchard said, “Alejandro is right. For me, it’s either death or the way of the gun. There just ain’t no other path. It’s like a brand. I was a fool to think otherwise. My mistake cost Caroline her life.”

“You’re wrong,” Ditch said, not entirely believing Pritchard was. “What happened to her wasn’t your fault.”