Evidence.
Enough to expose him.
But there was one problem.
Holloway still had twenty armed men.
And he knew Ethan had discovered the truth.
Before dawn, Ethan climbed the ridge.
Holloway's camp was visible below.
His men were preparing to attack.
Ethan could hear them.
Then he saw Holloway standing beside a wagon.
Beside him was Silas Vane.
They were arguing.
Ethan listened from a distance.
Vane pointed toward the valley.
"We can't kill all of them."
Holloway answered:
"We don't need to."
"What about Cole?"
"He'll come to us."
Vane looked nervous.
Holloway smiled.
"He's his father's son."
Ethan watched them.
Then he turned.
Tomas stood behind him.
"They know."
"Yes."
"What will you do?"
Ethan looked down at the flowing water.
"I'll give them what they came for."
Tomas frowned.
"Water?"
"No."
Ethan looked toward the rising sun.
"Proof."
The Men Who Came for the Water
Ethan did not attack Holloway's camp.
Instead, he walked toward it alone.
No rifle.
No revolver.
Only his father's compass and the documents tucked inside his coat.
Holloway saw him coming.
He stepped forward.
"Where is everyone?"
"Safe."
"You came alone."
"Yes."
Holloway smiled.
"Just like your father."
Ethan stopped.
"You admit it."
Holloway's smile vanished.
"You think you can threaten me with words?"
"No."
Ethan pulled out a document.
"I can threaten you with witnesses."
Holloway stared.
Ethan held up another.
"And records."
Another.
"Forged surveys."
Another.
"Payments."
Holloway's face became pale.
"Where did you get those?"
"Dry River."
Holloway looked toward the valley.
The river was flowing.
Not strongly.
But enough.
Enough to change everything.
"You don't understand what you've done."
"I understand."
"You've ruined the ranches."
"No."
Ethan pointed toward the valley.
"I saved them."
Holloway shook his head.
"You think that water will last?"
"It doesn't have to."
Holloway drew his pistol.
Ethan didn't move.
"Go ahead."
Holloway stared.
"You want to die?"
"No."
"Then why aren't you afraid?"
"Because everybody watching you now knows what you are."
Holloway looked around.
Some of his own men were watching.
Vane was among them.
Ethan threw the documents onto the ground.
"Your men know about the payments."
Nobody spoke.
"You paid the judge."
Silence.
"You paid Vane."
Vane's face turned red.
"You killed my father."
Holloway shouted:
"Enough!"
Ethan stepped closer.
"My father didn't fall from his horse."
Holloway's hand tightened around the pistol.
"He was going to expose you."
"So you killed him."
Holloway's silence answered.
One of the men behind him lowered his rifle.
Then another.
Vane looked at Holloway.
"I never agreed to murder."
Holloway turned.
"You were paid."
"For patrols."
"You took the money."
"For patrols!"
The valley became still.
Ethan knew the moment had arrived.
But Holloway wasn't finished.
He fired.
Ethan moved.
The bullet grazed his shoulder.
Tomas fired from the ridge.
Holloway's pistol flew from his hand.
His men froze.
Vane slowly lowered his weapon.
"It's over."
Holloway stared at him.
"You coward."
Vane shook his head.
"No."
He looked toward Dry River.
"I think I just got tired."
Holloway tried to run.
Ethan caught him.
They struggled beside the river.
Holloway was older, heavier, stronger.
But Ethan had spent his life working cattle, repairing fences, fighting weather, and carrying burdens nobody else wanted.
He drove Holloway to the ground.
For a moment Ethan wanted to kill him.
He thought of his father.
His lonely ranch.
Four years of unanswered questions.
Then he heard Tomas behind him.
"Do not become the man you hate."
Ethan froze.
Holloway breathed heavily beneath him.
Ethan stood.
"You'll face a judge."
Holloway laughed.
"Which judge?"
Ethan looked at the documents.
"The one who can't be bought."
It took three weeks for the case to reach the territorial authorities.
The documents from Dry River were undeniable.
Several of Holloway's men testified.
Vane confessed to taking payments.
The county judge resigned before the investigation reached him.
And the story of Dry River spread across the territory.
But Ethan cared about only one thing.
The water.
He returned to Cedar Ridge Ranch.
The three missing horses were back in the corral.
The cattle had survived.
The grass was still thin.