“That sounds good to me,” Tater said. “And, hell, Blue. I’ll even go huntin’ with you in the mornin’. Some fresh deer meat would suit my taste right now. And if I go with you, we won’t have to worry about missin’ the damn deer ’cause I’m a better shot than you are.”

“Ha,” Blue barked. “That’ll be the day when you can outshoot me.” That was the start of a playful discussion about who was the best shot. “I remember when ol’ Booth was settin’ in the meetin’house, singin’ and prayin’ with them Friends, and we were out there raidin’ their farms and scarin’ the hell out of ’em. Remember that one time, when you shot at a hog big as a cow, and missed him?”

“I wasn’t shootin’ to kill it,” Tater insisted. “I told you I was just tryin’ to scare him.”

“Yeah, right,” Blue japed, “but you’re gonna have to drag your lazy bones outta your blanket in the mornin’, if you’re goin’ huntin’ with me.”

* * *

It’s about time, Hawk thought when he saw the four deer break from the trees on the far side of the narrow canyon. A buck and three does headed for the shallow stream, but they didn’t stop to drink, which surprised him. Instead, they splashed on across the stream. Something must have spooked them, he thought. There wasn’t much time before they would reach the trees on the other side, so he quickly raised his rifle and placed a shot right behind the front leg of the hindmost doe. The deer collapsed a few yards short of the trees as the others disappeared into the thick growth of trees along the base of the canyon.

“What the hell?” Blue blurted when they heard the rifle shot ahead of them. “Who the hell . . . ?” He looked at Tater, who was just as surprised as he was. “Somebody just took a shot at our deer.”

“I’ll be damned,” Tater swore. “We sprung them deer and I ain’t aimin’ to let no damn Injun have ’em.” On foot, they hurried through the trees, leading their horses, until they came to the stream. They stopped abruptly when they saw the tall hunter on the other side, some forty yards away. Hawk saw them at the same time. Both parties were obviously startled.

No one spoke for a few moments. Then Blue called across the stream, “That there’s our deer you just shot, friend. We run ’em outta a thicket back up the side of this canyon. We ’preciate you stoppin’ that one for us. Maybe if you hustle on after the rest of ’em, you can get another shot at ’em and get one for yourself.” As an aside to Tater, he said, “If he puts up any fuss, we’ll shoot the son of a bitch.”