“Silver and gold around here. Prime country for it. Not that I know anyone who has pulled a good deal of it out. But that may just mean that there's more down there to be taken.”

“All right, then,” Charlie said. “Six hundred dollars.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Charlie Power. You certainly do. I would think you could silent a man out of his own boots. Bring me the money, and I'll be gone by the end of next week. I will require a handshake to seal the bargain.”

They shook, and Charlie remounted and went looking for his cattle, which were now grazing land that was as good as his own. He had been close to saying yes to the thousand-dollar figure. Usually, hesitating got you only sorrow and pain. He looked at the cienega, nearly knee-deep in grass—grama and tobosa—and at the fine, spring-fed pool at the other end. It wasn't quite the Garden of Eden, but it would do for Power Garden.

Pete Spence's cabin was too small for the five of them, so even before Spence had moved out, Jeff had Tom and John at work, felling trees while he and Charlie split the logs. “Don't you two little weasel turds drop one of those trees on yourself. Don't drop one on us, either.”

John was nineteen, Tom seventeen. They were grown men now, fully capable of felling trees, splitting logs, building fences and cabins, and just about any other thing Jeff might require. John especially had a knack for seeing which way a tree wanted to fall and to either drop it right in that spot or convince it to go another way. He lacked the cleverness of Tom, who was small and had learned early on to trust his wits to avoid the beatings his fists might not save him from, but John understood more than he was given credit for. He knew what he figured he needed to know and didn't worry on the rest. Since Tom was known for being smart, John was content to let Tom handle all the affairs John didn't want to be bothered with.

They built four additions to the cabin—a kitchen where Granny Jane would have the space to do what needed doing and a bedroom for Granny Jane and Ola May, who was now fifteen and needed a place of her own where she wouldn't be seen doing all that she needed to do and so that she and Granny Jane didn't have to look on what they didn't need to see. There were two more rooms—a dining and living area and a bunk for Jeff, Charlie, John, and Tom.