“Only one. An old man we found.”

“No one else?”

“We took a small boy. Fights with Bears was the leader. He claimed the boy and the horses. I took second coup on the old man, but I got only this.” He lifted a watch that hung around his neck on a leather thong along with his medicine bag. Its case looked like silver.

Vince Purdy’s! Andy thought.

He reached out. “May I see it?”

His host lifted the thong from around his neck. “It is of little use. It is but a pretty trinket.”

Andy clasped the watch with reverence, as if somehow it contained the spirit of Vince Purdy. In his mind’s eye he visualized the kind old gentleman, and his throat tightened. This keepsake would mean much to the Monahans if he lived to return it to them.

He saw that it had run down. Evidently its new owner did not know to wind it. He would not have understood the white man’s concept of time anyway. Andy started to wind it but changed his mind. He asked, “What will you do with it?”

“I may give it to my wife’s father. He is old and becoming foolish. He likes things that shine.”

“Would you trade it to me?”

The man’s eyes brightened. Comanches enjoyed the challenge of trading. “What do you have to offer?”

Andy knew he did not have much. “A white-man hat. It will keep the sun from your head in summer and snow from your hair in winter.”

“Not enough.”

“A white-man shirt. It will help protect you when the cold winds blow.”

The Indian shook his head. “My father-in-law would not like those. They do not shine.”

Andy considered long before offering, “The saddle, then. The white man’s saddle is comfortable. It will not rub sores on your legs.” He would regret giving it up, but he could ride bareback. He had done it for years with The People.

Nothing about the saddle was fancy. It was plain, its seat slick from long use. Someone had already ridden it for years before Rusty had acquired it for Andy. The Comanche rubbed his hands over it, his eyes shining with delight. He said, “I wanted the old man’s saddle, but Fights with Bears would not give it up. We trade.”

Andy wondered if the watch would still run, but he did not wind it. Its ticking might give his host second thoughts. He put it around his neck.

He said, “You mentioned a boy.” He trembled a little, fearing the answer. “What became of him?”

“Fights with Bears took him north.” The Comanche pointed with his chin. “He has not decided whether to keep him to raise as a slave or to kill him. The boy has caused him much trouble. Fights with Bears is not a man of much patience.”