Umbo knew he couldn’t let the family see him. He laid Kyokay on the ground within easy earshot of the house and then jumped back in time a few minutes. Long enough to run out of the way, into a brushy patch where he could watch. In moments, there was himself, carrying Kyokay, laying him down roughly and abruptly.

No, I was careful.

But careful did not mean gentle, he could see now. He saw himself wink out of existence. Yes, that is disturbing, he thought. Good thing we try not to let other people see that too often.

Kyokay called out as Umbo had told him to do, and in moments Mother appeared, and soon Kyokay was surrounded by her and the other kids—whom Umbo now realized he missed more than he would have supposed possible. One of them was sent running for help, of course.

Umbo was about to jump back in time even farther, to make his getaway, when he saw Father rushing up, dragging young Umbo by his upper arm and making it almost impossible for the boy to walk or run alongside. “Does that look dead to you!” shouted Father.

“I saw him fall!” said young Umbo, terrified. “How could he live?”

“But you saved me from the water,” said Kyokay.

“His arms are broken,” said Mother. “Deal with Umbo later, we have to get his arms set.”

“We can set Umbo’s arms too, while we’re at it. We were going to kill Rigg because you said he killed Kyokay, do you know that, you lying little demon!” Father cuffed young Umbo so hard he sprawled out facedown on the ground. But Father wasn’t done. He ran into the house and came back, not with a strap as Umbo had expected, but with the heavy knife he used for cutting leather.

“No!” Mother screamed, and rushed to stop him, but Father flung her aside and stood straddling young Umbo. He pulled him up by the hair and Umbo thought he was about to witness his own murder, the knife drawn across his throat like a pig being slaughtered. But no, Father began striking him with the flat of the blade, hitting him on the shoulders and the side of his head, until young Umbo hung limp and unconscious.

By then some men were rushing from town, including Sellet the barber, who was the second-best bonesetter in town. They began shouting at Father to put down the knife, put down the boy, be glad that Kyokay was alive, there should be no killing, and after brandishing the knife a while to keep them back, Father finally gave in to Sellet’s obvious point that if Father kept him away, he couldn’t set Kyokay’s bones, which he could see from there were broken in many places.

“I need splints and leather thongs to tie them,” said Sellet. “Be a good father and fetch me what I need!”