He had always felt that when the end came it would be at the hands of Peacemaker MacDougal—but it was Johnny One-Note, making only his ninth kill, who finally hunted him down. He was sitting on his veranda, gazing tranquilly across the rolling fields of corn and wheat, when it happened, and he never knew what hit him. Johnny One-Note got to within half a mile of his ship before they tracked him down and killed him.

That afternoon there was a fourth unmarked grave in the small dell by the pond—under the gnarled tree, as Cain had requested. In the evening Moonripple came all the way out from town on foot.

A slender man, with sad eyes and a brilliant streak of white running through his dark hair, stood on the front porch and watched her approach.

“Yes?” he said.

“I’ve come to see Santiago.”

“Why?” he asked.

“I’ve been a barmaid all my life,” she replied. “Father William says that it’s time to do something more.” She paused uneasily. “He says that Santiago might be able to help me.”

“It’s possible.”

“Where can I find him?” asked Moonripple.

“Come, child,” he said gently, reaching out his bandaged right hand to her. “I am Santiago.”

-The End-

CHRONOLOGY

Chronology of the universe created in BIRTHRIGHT: THE BOOK OF MAN (through May 1, 2010), showing the year, the era, and the title:

1885 A.D. “The Hunter” (IVORY)

1898 A.D. “Himself” (IVORY)

1982 A.D. SIDESHOW

1983 A.D. THE THREE-LEGGED HOOTCH DANCER

1985 A.D. THE WILD ALIEN TAMER

1987 A.D. THE BEST ROOTIN’ TOOTIN’ SHOOTIN’

GUNSLINGER IN THE WHOLE DAMNED GALAXY

2057 A.D. “The Politician” (IVORY)

2908 A.D. 1 G.E.

16 G.E. Republic “The Curator” (IVORY)

264 G.E. Republic “The Pioneers” (BIRTHRIGHT)

332 G.E. Republic “The Cartographers” (BIRTHRIGHT)

346 G.E. Republic WALPURGIS III

367 G.E. Republic EROS ASCENDING

396 G.E. Republic “The Miners” (BIRTHRIGHT)

401 G.E. Republic EROS AT ZENITH

442 G.E. Republic EROS DESCENDING

465 G.E. Republic EROS AT NADIR

522 G.E. Republic “All the Things You Are”

588 G.E. Republic “The Psychologists” (BIRTHRIGHT)

616 G.E. Republic A MIRACLE OF RARE DESIGN

882 G.E. Republic “The Potentate” (IVORY)

962 G.E. Republic “The Merchants” (BIRTHRIGHT)

1150 G.E. Republic “Cobbling Together a Solution”

1151 G.E. Republic “Nowhere in Particular”

1152 G.E. Republic “The God Biz”

1394 G.E. Republic “Keepsakes”

1701 G.E. Republic “The Artist” (IVORY)

1813 G.E. Republic “Dawn” (PARADISE)

1826 G.E. Republic PURGATORY

1859 G.E. Republic “Noon” (PARADISE)

1888 G.E. Republic “Midafternoon” (PARADISE)

1902 G.E. Republic “Dusk” (PARADISE)

1921 G.E. Republic INFERNO

1966 G.E. Republic STARSHIP: MUTINY

1967 G.E. Republic STARSHIP: PIRATE

1968 G.E. Republic STARSHIP: MERCENARY

1969 G.E. Republic STARSHIP: REBEL

1970 G.E. Republic STARSHIP: FLAGSHIP

2122 G.E. Democracy “The 43 Antarean Dynasties”

2154 G.E. Democracy “The Diplomats” (BIRTHRIGHT)

2239 G.E. Democracy “Monuments of Flesh and Stone”

2275 G.E. Democracy “The Olympians” (BIRTHRIGHT)

2469 G.E. Democracy “The Barristers” (BIRTHRIGHT)

2885 G.E. Democracy “Robots Don’t Cry”

2911 G.E. Democracy “The Medics” (BIRTHRIGHT)

3004 G.E. Democracy “The Policitians” (BIRTHRIGHT)