Booth made no comment as he continued to stare at the dark hills and the mountains beyond them. The loss of Hawk’s trail led him into more serious speculation about the man who was stalking them. He had met and had a conversation with him, so he knew he was a white man. But he wore a shirt made out of buckskin, he wore a feather in his hat, and he had attacked Tater with a knife. All those things added up to make Booth think they were dealing with a half-breed, or at least a man who had lived with the Indians. On the other hand, he thought, he didn’t scalp Blue or Tater. The more he thought about it, the less he wanted to play hide-and-seek in those hills with a man who might be at home in them. Sensing his brother’s deep thoughts as usual, Jesse asked, “What’s on your mind, Booth?”

“I’m thinkin’ we’re in that jasper’s backyard and that ain’t the best place for us to be,” Booth answered.

“You think we oughta go back to the cabin and wait for him to come after us?” Jesse responded.

“No, I’m thinkin’ we’d best go back to the cabin, get our stuff, take it to Bodine’s, and move into one of those rooms he’s got over the saloon.”

Hearing his comment, Trip blurted, “I thought we said we was gonna track him down.”

“Yeah? Well, I’ve changed my mind,” Booth replied. “Runnin’ around out here in the woods, or holed up in that cabin, he’s got us where he’d rather have us. If we were stayin’ at Bodine’s, he’d have a lot more to deal with, and it won’t be so easy to get at us. He’ll have to come out in the open.”

“That’d be more to my likin’,” Trip claimed. “I would surely like to stand face-to-face with that sneaky bastard.” Then another thought entered his mind. “It would be a lot closer to the supper table at Bodine’s.” He grinned. “And Josie’s room is over the saloon. Everything’s handy.”

In line with his brother’s thinking, Jesse was inclined to agree. “I think that would be a smart move for us,” he said. “He’s gonna have to think twice before he steps into Bodine’s to make trouble. Ain’t no use to hide out in that cabin anymore, anyway. Hawk knows where we are, so we might as well make things a little bit easier on ourselves. I know we were planning to move on after a couple of days here, but I’d rather make sure that bastard’s dead and not trailin’ along behind us before we go.”