Eli looked ashamed.
"Jon Bell."
Samuel's face hardened.
"Where is he?"
"Gone."
"How long?"
"Two weeks."
Samuel looked toward the western hills.
Two weeks.
That was when the windmill first began making strange noises.
That was when cattle started disappearing.
That was when Voss began making offers.
Everything connected.
Clara looked at her father.
"What do we do?"
Samuel looked at the old map.
"We find the reservoir."
"Why?"
"Because if we can prove where the water comes from, Voss can't control it."
"And if we can't?"
Samuel looked toward the burning barn.
"Then Black Hollow dies."
Beneath the Mountain
Samuel, Clara, Eli, and Daniel Cross entered the mountain before dawn.
The entrance was hidden behind a collapsed section of canyon wall.
Daniel carried an old lantern.
Samuel carried rope.
Clara carried the map.
They crawled through a narrow tunnel.
The walls were wet.
That alone told Samuel they were close.
After nearly an hour, they heard it.
Water.
A deep underground roar.
Clara held up the lantern.
The tunnel opened into a massive cavern.
Below them was an underground lake.
It was enormous.
Water stretched into darkness.
Samuel stared.
"My God."
Daniel shook his head.
"That's why Voss wants this place."
Clara studied the map.
"There should be another passage."
She pointed.
A stone bridge crossed the cavern.
They began walking.
Halfway across, a rifle shot echoed.
Eli fell.
Samuel caught him.
Blood covered his sleeve.
"He's hit."
Another shot.
Daniel fired back.
"Move!"
They reached the opposite side.
Five men appeared on the bridge.
And behind them stood Caleb Voss.
He removed his hat.
"Samuel."
Samuel raised his revolver.
"You're finished."
Voss smiled.
"No."
He pointed toward the lake.
"I'm just beginning."
He explained the plan.
Voss had already purchased the majority of the surrounding land.
He had bribed county officials.
He had falsified water surveys.
Once the new agreement was signed, he would control the reservoir.
He would build pipelines.
Every ranch in the valley would pay him for water.
Those who refused would lose their cattle.
Their land.
Eventually, everything.
Samuel said:
"You'll destroy the valley."
Voss shook his head.
"I'll save it."
"By owning it?"
"By controlling it."
Clara stepped forward.
"You don't understand water."
Voss looked at her.
"I understand money."
"No."
She pointed at the lake.
"You understand scarcity."
Voss frowned.
"What's the difference?"
"Scarcity makes people desperate."
She looked at Samuel.
"But water makes people equal."
Voss laughed.
"Beautiful."
Then he nodded toward his men.
"Take them."
Samuel fired.
The cavern erupted.
Daniel returned fire.
Clara pulled Eli behind a rock.
Samuel fought his way toward the bridge.
Voss disappeared into the tunnel.
Then came the explosion.
The entire cavern shook.
Stone fell from the ceiling.
The underground lake began draining.
Samuel looked at Daniel.
"What did he do?"
Daniel's face went pale.
"He opened the main channel."
"Where does it lead?"
Daniel stared at the map.
"Black Hollow."
Samuel understood.
Voss wasn't trying to destroy the water.
He was flooding the valley.