Sisson's horse hit a pile of scree resting against a dead and rotting sycamore branch and lost its footing on the right side, going down heavily and sending Sisson hard into the rocks. The horse went down near his feet and stayed there for a moment, then, in a panic, struggled and righted itself, coming up bloody on the right side. Sisson lay still on the rocks, which were now spattered with blood.

“Sisson. Sisson. You all right, Sisson?”

Sisson groaned, then rolled from his side to his back. He came partly upright, braced on his left arm, his right arm held to his side. He sighed. “I don't know.” Then, “I'm all right. I guess. I'm all right. How's the horse?”

The bay mare was bleeding from a cut on the shoulder and having a hard time putting her weight on the right foreleg, more trouble than one would expect from a cut to the shoulder. Tom Power touched the wound with his finger, and the mare snorted and skittered. “I don't know.” He bent down and ran his hands up and down the mare's leg, stopping every now and again to put some pressure on the bone. “I don't think anything's broke. Something wrong up at the shoulder, though. May have knocked it out. Just have to see if she can walk and take weight. What about your arm?”

“It ain't broke. It's the elbow. My hand's gone numb. That shouldn't be too bad.” He came over to his horse, took the reins from Power, and started walking ahead. The horse followed, limping but walking. “She'll get better. Or worse,” he said. “We'll see.”

They headed due west, then, toward the bosque, which would give them cover until nightfall. If necessary, they could hold off a good-sized posse from the cover of mesquite. Tom took the lead, with John bringing up the rear. Sisson, leading his horse, walked in the middle. The horse seemed neither better nor worse.

“I'm going to leave you two in the bosque while I take the horses over to Carlink. By the time I get back, it should be dark enough we can head out again. You all get rested up. It's going to be a long pull. We'll take the riverbed as long as we're able. Once we're out of there and onto the flat of the valley, we're going to need to beat it across fast as we can. We should be able to get into the Dragoons before they can get up any kind of posse.” The Dragoon Mountains, rugged and rocky, would provide good cover.

“I don't think they'll want this horse,” Sisson said.

“That ain't your problem. I'll take care of it. How's the arm?”

“No better. No worse.”

“That's half bad, which is better than all bad, I guess.”

“Usually. Not always.”