As he approached the point where the path opened up to the shady bluffs where Bodine’s buildings stood, he had to pull his horse to a stop to make sure he wasn’t spotted following Booth and the others. When they rode through the willows and cottonwoods scattered around Bodine’s little cluster of buildings, he could see them as they led their horses straight to Bodine’s corral and began to unload their saddles and packs. While Hawk watched from his vantage point at the entrance to the river path, Booth and his two remaining gang members carried their saddles and packs into the barn. During the process, Bodine joined them when he was summoned by Tom Pointer, who took care of Bodine’s barn and stable. Pointer seemed to have been surprised when Booth and his two friends showed up with their horses and belongings. Hawk guessed that their arrival was as much a surprise to Tom as it was to him. From the distance Hawk watched from, it appeared to him that Bodine was making them welcome. After a short conversation between them, Bodine and the three walked into the store, with their saddlebags on their shoulders and their rifles in their hands. The exception was Tom Pointer, who stayed behind to take care of the horses that had suddenly come under his care.

So they moved into the store, Hawk thought. I wonder for how long. He felt certain that Booth and his partners had no intention to stay at Bodine’s for any great length of time. Until they catch me sleeping, he thought, answering his own question. This was going to change his plan of attack. They obviously felt they would be a great deal less vulnerable to his efforts to settle with them. On the other hand, they would have to come out of there, if they intended to kill him. Could he afford to wait them out? It could very well turn into a game of who became desperate enough to first take the big risk.

For the first time in the last couple of days, he wondered if his prolonged absence had already jeopardized his position as a scout for the army. He wasn’t sure Mathew Conner could save his job again. As quickly as the thought occurred, it was just as quickly discarded. His friend Bloody Hand would tell him that he was walking the path that had opened for him. He wasn’t sure about that, but he knew that he was already too heavily invested in the quest to avenge the families these men had destroyed. Maybe I’ll finish what I’ve started, then go up to Canada to find Bloody Hand.