I don’t have to spend any money, which makes it a bargain for me. Even so, giving it up leaves me hollow and empty. First Daddy’s rifle, and now his saddle.

“Sir,” I say, remembering one more thing. My remaining coins are going to disappear so fast.

“Yes, son?”

“Do you have any saddlebags for sale? Just something small, maybe.”

He gives me another studied look, and I’m suddenly glad to be covered in filth. Hopefully, I look more like a beggar boy than a runaway girl.

He rummages through a pile of leather on his workbench. “Here,” he says, handing me a bag. “I was going to cut this up for scraps, but you might get some use out of it yet.”

I swallow, choked up by his kindness. It’s worn, the leather cracking, but with a good oiling it should last awhile. He grabs a hat from a peg on the wall and plops it onto my head. There’s a small tear in the brim, but it’ll do.

“That makes the set complete,” he says. “Good luck to you, wherever you’re headed.”

“Thank you,” I gulp out, and turn and flee.

Peony regards the new saddle with disdain. I let her give it a good sniff, and she stops fussing when I tighten the buckles.

The portage trail over the mountain is steep and rocky and ugly as sin, because the whole mountainside is stripped of lumber and trampled. There are so many people traveling it that no one gives us a second look, which suits me just fine. The plodding, heavy-laden mules keep everyone at an agonizingly slow pace, and it’s hours before we crest the ridge and start down.

Halfway to the bottom, Peony stumbles. Her gait takes on a slight lurch.

I hop off. People stuck behind me grumble, but they go silent when I pull up Peony’s left front foot and reveal that she’s thrown a shoe, the same one that I thought might have loosened during our scuffle with the brothers.

I check her hoof thoroughly. No cracking or wear that I can see. Still, there’s no galloping in our near future, even if I see Hiram himself striding toward me.

My heart is heavy as I lead her down the awful, rocky trail, every step a slow agony that puts Peony at risk. Another crowded settlement clusters at the bottom, where the railroad starts right back up again. I wander around, looking for a farrier or at least a blacksmith, but there is only a small boardinghouse, a tavern, and a handful of shanties.