Samuel found him sitting outside a blacksmith shop.
He was seventy-one.
Thin.
Gray.
And blind in one eye.
He looked at Samuel.
Then laughed.
"You're late."
Samuel dismounted.
"You knew I'd come?"
"I knew you'd come when the water disappeared."
Samuel sat beside him.
"How?"
Daniel pointed toward the mountains.
"Because Voss isn't the first man to try."
"What happened before?"
Daniel's face became serious.
"Your grandfather stopped him."
"Who?"
"Voss's father."
Samuel went silent.
Daniel continued.
"They tried to control the underground channels forty years ago. Your grandfather discovered what they were doing."
"What did he do?"
"He blew the main tunnel."
Samuel stared.
"He destroyed the water?"
"No."
Daniel smiled.
"He redirected it."
"Where?"
"Black Hollow."
Samuel understood.
The hidden spring.
The old map.
The dry well.
It was all connected.
Daniel leaned closer.
"But there's something your grandfather never knew."
"What?"
"The main reservoir isn't beneath your ranch."
"Where is it?"
Daniel pointed toward the west.
"Under Voss's land."
Samuel's stomach tightened.
"Then he already owns it."
"Legally?"
"Yes."
"Then why does he need our ranch?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Because the reservoir cannot be reached from his land."
A long silence followed.
"The only natural channel runs beneath Black Hollow."
Samuel finally understood.
Voss didn't need to own the reservoir.
He needed the key.
And the key was his ranch.
The Night the Cattle Ran
They returned to Black Hollow before sunrise.
Something was wrong immediately.
The cattle were running.
Samuel jumped from his horse.
"Open the north gate!"
Clara ran.
Eli grabbed a lantern.
The animals stampeded toward the western pasture.
Samuel heard a gunshot.
Then another.
Someone was inside the ranch.
Three riders appeared near the barn.
Samuel drew his revolver.
"Stop!"
They fired.
Samuel dove behind a water trough.
Clara returned fire from the porch.
Eli took cover behind the stable.
The attackers weren't trying to kill them.
They were destroying the ranch.
Barn doors were burning.
Fences had been cut.
Water tanks were overturned.
One rider threw a torch onto the hay.
Samuel shouted.
"Get the horses out!"
Clara ran into the stable.
Samuel mounted and chased the nearest rider.
The man looked back.
Samuel recognized him.
The stranger from Black Hollow Canyon.
"You again."
The man fired.
Samuel ducked.
Then he rode closer.
The two horses collided.
The stranger fell.
Samuel jumped down and pinned him.
"Who sent you?"
The man smiled.
"You're already dead."
Samuel struck him.
"Who?"
"Voss."
Samuel grabbed his collar.
"Why?"
The man laughed.
"Because tomorrow morning the county signs the water agreement."
Samuel froze.
"What agreement?"
"The one giving Voss control of the valley."
The man kicked Samuel backward and escaped into the darkness.
Samuel returned to the ranch.
The fire was under control.
But the damage was enormous.
Clara stood beside the ruined barn.
"They knew exactly where everything was."
Samuel nodded.
"They had someone here before."
"One of our men?"
"Maybe."
Eli approached.
"I know who."
Samuel turned.