The ropes were cut.
One by one, they stood.
The tallest woman almost fell.
Emtt stepped forward instinctively.
She moved away from him.
He stopped immediately.
"Fair enough."
The first woman spoke.
Her voice was rough.
"My name is Mara."
The second said, "Lena."
The third looked at him for several seconds before saying, "Sera."
The youngest whispered, "Nell."
Emtt nodded.
"Emtt."
Mara gave him a strange look.
"We know."
He almost smiled.
"Right."
He walked toward his horse.
The animal followed him with its eyes.
Emtt removed the last item from the saddle: a small photograph wrapped in cloth.
He looked at it for a moment.
Then placed it inside his coat.
The horse was handed over.
The rifle was taken.
The money disappeared into another man's pocket.
The food was divided among several people.
Emtt stood in the dirt with nothing but his clothes, his revolver, and the photograph.
The elder pointed toward the western road.
"Leave before sunset."
Emtt nodded.
He turned to the women.
"Can you walk?"
Mara answered for all of them.
"We can."
"Good."
They began walking.
Behind them, Red Willow Valley remained silent.
But Emtt knew silence did not mean the matter was finished.
It meant someone was waiting.
And by the time the sun disappeared behind the western mountains, he would discover exactly how much the council had expected him to lose.
The road west was nothing more than two parallel tracks through hard earth.
Emtt walked in front.
The four women followed at different distances.
Nobody trusted anyone.
That was sensible.
Trust was something earned after danger, not before it.
After two hours, Nell stumbled.
Emtt stopped.
She immediately raised her hands.
"I can walk."
"I didn't say you couldn't."
"You were going to carry me."
"I was going to ask if you needed water."
She looked embarrassed.
"We have none."
Emtt checked the horizon.
There was no town.
No ranch.
No wagon.
Nothing but dry land.
He had once crossed a desert with half a canteen.
He had never attempted it with five people.
"There's an old well six miles west."
Lena looked at him.
"Does it work?"
"Sometimes."
"That's not reassuring."
"It wasn't meant to be."
They continued.
By dusk they reached a small ravine.
At its bottom stood the remains of an abandoned mining camp.
Three stone walls.
A collapsed roof.
A rusted cooking pot.
And, beneath a shelf of rock, a spring.
The water was slow.
But it was clear.
They drank carefully.
Emtt filled a tin cup and handed it to Nell.
She stared at him.
"Drink."
She did.
Then Mara drank.
Then Lena.
Sera waited.
"You too," Emtt said.
She shook her head.
"Why?"
"You first."
Emtt looked at her for several seconds.
Then he understood.
She was afraid that if she drank before him, something would happen.
He took the cup.
Drank.
Then handed it back.
Sera finally accepted.
That night, they made a small fire.
Emtt gave them the last of his dried meat.
He kept nothing.
Mara noticed.
"You should eat."
"I'm fine."
"You are lying."
"Probably."
She tore the meat in half and handed one piece back.
Emtt accepted.
That was the first thing they shared.
Not food.
Trust.
Only a little.
But it was enough.