Angry.
He carried a rifle.
"This is Thomas," Elena said.
Thomas looked at Daniel.
"You shouldn't be here."
Daniel nodded.
"Probably not."
Thomas pointed toward the road.
"You should leave before Crowe arrives."
Daniel looked at him.
"How old are you?"
"Twenty."
"You shoot?"
"Yes."
"Ever been shot at?"
Thomas hesitated.
"No."
Daniel nodded.
"Then you don't know what you're talking about."
Thomas glared at him.
Elena stepped between them.
"Enough."
Then they heard horses.
Four riders appeared at the far end of the valley.
The man in front wore a black hat.
Silas Crowe.
He stopped near the fence.
"Mrs. Ward."
Elena remained silent.
Crowe smiled.
"You've had all day to reconsider."
"I'm not selling."
"That isn't what I came to discuss."
Daniel stepped onto the porch.
Crowe looked at him.
"Who's this?"
"Nobody," Elena said.
Daniel glanced at her.
Crowe laughed.
"Nobody usually doesn't carry a rifle."
Daniel shrugged.
"Nobody usually doesn't care what you think."
Crowe's smile disappeared.
"Move along."
"No."
Crowe looked at Elena.
"He's going to get you killed."
Daniel answered.
"Maybe."
Crowe touched the brim of his hat.
"Tomorrow morning, Mrs. Ward."
Then he turned his horse.
Daniel watched him disappear.
Thomas lowered his rifle.
"You don't know what you've done."
Daniel looked at him.
"I've done this before."
"Then you know Crowe will come back with more men."
"Yes."
"How many?"
Daniel looked toward the dark hills.
"Enough."
Elena approached.
"You need to leave."
Daniel nodded.
"I know."
But he didn't move.
She looked at him.
"Why are you still here?"
Daniel stared at the road.
"I don't know."
That night, Daniel slept in the barn.
He did not sleep much.
Near midnight, he heard footsteps.
He opened his eyes.
Thomas stood in the doorway.
"You awake?"
"Yes."
Thomas entered.
"I need to ask you something."
Daniel sat up.
"What?"
"Did you ever kill anyone?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Yes."
"How many?"
"I stopped counting."
Thomas was silent.
"Was it hard?"
Daniel looked toward the moonlit pasture.
"The first time."
"And after?"
"It never became easy."
Thomas nodded slowly.
Then he asked:
"Why did you stay?"
Daniel had no answer.
That frightened him more than Crowe did.
What the House Was Hiding
Morning came cold.
Elena was already outside.
She was repairing a section of fence when Daniel approached.
"You shouldn't be doing that alone."
She looked at him.
"Neither should you."
"I've been doing things alone for eleven years."
"Then perhaps it's time you stopped."
Daniel said nothing.
She handed him a hammer.
He took it.
Together they worked.
For a while, the only sounds were the hammer striking wood.
Then Elena spoke.
"My husband wasn't killed by accident."
Daniel stopped.
She continued.
"His name was Samuel."
Daniel waited.
"Samuel found the spring beneath the house. He believed it could save the valley. He wanted to build a small irrigation system."
"What happened?"
"Silas Crowe offered him money."
"He refused."
"Samuel refused."
She looked down.
"Three nights later, Samuel was riding home from town."
"Ambushed?"
"Yes."
"Who witnessed it?"
"No one."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Then how do you know?"
"Because Samuel came home alive."
Daniel looked at her.
"Alive?"
"He made it back."