The sun tried to get in through the windows. The lush ornaments of the room looked sad in the dim daylight. Rennel looked at the piles of books, Carlotta lay with her eyes closed. I stepped out. The goat made noises somewhere, but I couldn’t see her. The chickens had scratched away all the grass inside the wire and sat blinking stupidly in the dust. I went looking for Kate. Found her snagged to a tree, her head twisted in the rope, tangled and knotted in the bushes. I untied it and spent a while walking around disentangling it while Kate jerked and riffled and twitched her ears. Her bags were swollen and mottled, purplish. They hung very low. As she moved, the right teat dragged a little and one of her yellow hooves kicked it accidentally. I held the rope short and bent to look. The teat was cracked; there were long, gaudy fissures in the strange flesh. A thin fluid seeped from them, shiny in the sunlight. I reached out to touch the bag and Kate trembled. When I felt the rough shiny scab, Kate screamed and jumped away from me. I wrapped the rope around my fist. Kate’s eyes were dark and bright. Sam came up the drive whistling softly.

“Your brother is a fine man!”

“Did he look at this goat?”

Sam frowned and crouched by the goat. “It’s worse.”

“I think you ought to get a veterinarian. And Carlotta better not drink any more of this milk.”

“That teat was tender when we got her. It got a little red. But I don’t think Rennel milked her while we were in New York. It was a lot worse when we got back. Poor Katie.”

“Well, tie her up someplace where she won’t get all hung up. I’ll get her some water.” I headed to the kitchen to find a pot.

There was bread in the oven. The smell was rich and fine. Rennel leaned in the doorway explaining the semantic delicacy of the Hopi language to Carlotta. She sat in the stiff chair with the shawl draped over her face.

“Carlotta, have you got any milk beside the goat’s?”

“No. Why? What are you doing?”

“I’m just getting some water for Katie. But her tits look pretty ugly and I don’t think you ought to drink the milk until a vet looks at her.”

“She won’t let me milk her anymore. She yells and kicks. I thought if I just left her alone she’d be all right. It’s because they took her baby away from her, I think.”

“Maybe Rennel can drive into town and get some milk.”

Rennel rolled his eyes.

“And look, how about while you’re gone? How are you fixed for supplies?”