"Why?"
"Because the land transfer is scheduled for sunset."
Ethan stood.
"We have hours."
Chaska nodded.
"Less than that."
They began preparing.
Ethan checked his revolver.
Nohimana hid the journal beneath her coat.
Chaska carried the letter.
They moved through the tunnel toward the ranch.
But they were not alone.
Halfway through, they heard voices.
Ethan raised his hand.
Everyone stopped.
Footsteps.
Above them.
Someone was walking across the wooden floor of the ranch.
Ethan whispered:
"How did they find us?"
Chaska shook his head.
"They may have followed."
Nohimana looked at Ethan.
"Or someone told them."
They emerged beneath the barn.
Ethan pushed open the concealed trapdoor.
The barn appeared empty.
Too empty.
He stepped outside.
A gunshot cracked.
The bullet struck the door behind him.
Ethan dropped.
Nohimana pulled Chaska down.
Men emerged from behind the stable.
Graves's soldiers.
Ethan fired.
One man fell.
Another dove behind a wagon.
Nohimana crawled toward the barn wall.
Chaska grabbed her.
"Stay down."
"I am not a child."
"I know."
He looked at her.
"And that is why I'm trying to keep you alive."
She stared at him.
For the first time, she saw the regret in his eyes.
They fought their way toward the house.
Ethan reached the porch.
He kicked open the front door.
Inside, everything had been searched.
Drawers overturned.
Documents scattered.
Furniture broken.
Someone had been looking for the deed.
Ethan's deed.
But why?
He understood.
The original deed contained a hidden reference to the River Crown.
Graves needed it destroyed before the council meeting.
Nohimana found it beneath a broken desk.
"Ethan."
He took the paper.
There was a seal on the back.
Three mountains.
The same symbol as the pocket watch.
He stared.
"The deed was made from your father's records."
Nohimana nodded.
"My father must have helped create it."
"Why?"
"To hide the truth."
Ethan unfolded the final page.
A handwritten note appeared in the margin.
The land may be sold, but the river cannot be owned.
He looked at Nohimana.
"Your father knew."
"Yes."
"Then Graves couldn't legally own the river."
"No."
"So he created a chain of fake ownership."
"Yes."
"And my ranch was part of it."
"Yes."
Ethan clenched his jaw.
"He didn't sell me a ranch."
Nohimana touched his arm.
"He sold you a target."
Outside, a horse whinnied.
Graves's voice echoed across the yard.
"Ethan!"
Ethan stepped toward the window.
Graves stood near the fence.
He was alone.
At least visibly.
"You have something that belongs to me," Graves called.
Ethan opened the window.
"You mean the truth?"
Graves smiled.
"Truth is expensive."
"So is murder."
The smile disappeared.
Graves looked toward Nohimana.
"Give me the girl."
"No."
"The journal."
"No."
"The letter."
Ethan laughed.
"You seem to be missing the important part."
Graves waited.
"You don't get anything."
Graves's eyes hardened.
"Then I burn your ranch."
Ethan looked around.
The house.
The barn.
The fields.
Years of work.
Everything he owned.
For a moment he felt the weight of it.
Then he looked at Nohimana.
She was holding the pocket watch.
He understood.
The ranch could be rebuilt.
The truth could not.
"Burn it," Ethan said.
Graves looked surprised.
Ethan stepped onto the porch.
"You want my land?"
He spread his arms.
"Take it."
Graves stared.
"But you won't take what my land helped uncover."
Graves raised his pistol.
Nohimana shouted:
"Ethan!"
A rifle fired from the tree line.
Graves ducked.
The bullet struck the fence.
Ethan realized someone else had arrived.
Riders appeared along the ridge.
Not Graves's men.
Local settlers.
Farmers.
Ranchers.
People who had lived along the river.
The old warrior from the camp rode at their front.
He raised his rifle.
"Enough."
Graves turned.
"You have no authority here."
The elder smiled.
"Neither do you."
More riders appeared.
Dozens.
Men and women.
People who had heard rumors.
People who had lost land.
People who had been threatened.
People whose families depended on the river.
Nohimana stepped onto the porch.
She held up the silver watch.
"This belonged to my father."
The riders became silent.
She continued.
"Red Hawk was murdered because he refused to sell what did not belong to him."
She held up the journal.
"The men who killed him thought they could erase the truth."
Then she raised the letter.
"They were wrong."
Graves stared at her.
"You don't understand what you're holding."
"I understand exactly."
She looked at Ethan.
Then at Chaska.
"Someone finally told the truth."
Chaska stepped forward.
"My name is Chaska."
The settlers watched him.
"I betrayed Red Hawk."
A murmur passed through the crowd.
"I helped Colonel Graves find him."
Nohimana looked at him.
"But I did not pull the trigger."
Graves shouted:
"He's lying!"
Chaska turned.
"No."
His voice was calm.
"I am finally telling the truth."
He pointed toward Graves.
"You shot Red Hawk."
Graves raised his pistol.
Ethan moved.
The old warriors moved.
The settlers raised rifles.
For a moment nobody fired.
Then Graves lowered his weapon.
He smiled.
"You think this changes anything?"
He looked around.
"You think a few papers and an old man's confession can defeat men with money?"
Ethan answered.
"No."
Graves smiled.
"Then why are you smiling?"
Ethan pointed behind him.
Graves turned.
The road was filled with riders.
Not dozens.
Hundreds.
Word had spread.
The river communities were coming.
The men who depended on the water.
The women who farmed its banks.
The families whose homes stood along its course.
The people Graves had considered too scattered to matter.
Now they stood together.
Graves's expression finally changed.
Fear.
Ethan recognized it.
The same fear he had seen in Chaska.
But Graves had nowhere to hide.
The elder raised his rifle.
"Drop your weapon."
Graves didn't.
The first shot came from his side.
Then everything erupted.
Ethan grabbed Nohimana and pulled her behind the porch.
Bullets struck wood.
Horses screamed.
Men shouted.
The fight lasted only minutes.
But those minutes felt like hours.
Graves tried to escape toward the river.
Ethan followed.
They ran between the cottonwoods.
Graves fired backward.
Ethan ducked.
They reached the riverbank.
Graves turned.
His pistol was empty.
Ethan aimed his revolver.
Graves smiled.
"You won't shoot."
"Maybe."
"You need me alive."
"Why?"
"Because I am the only man who knows who is behind all this."
Ethan lowered the gun slightly.
"Then you're going to tell us."
Graves laughed.
"You think they'll let me?"
"Who?"
Graves's smile faded.
"The men who own the company."
"Names."
"You don't understand."
"Names."
Graves looked at him.
Then at Nohimana.
"The governor."
Ethan froze.
"What?"
"The governor knows."
Nohimana stared.
"Who else?"
Graves hesitated.
"Senators."
"Names."
"Bankers."
"Names."
Graves shook his head.
"You think this ends with me?"
Ethan stepped closer.
"No."
He lowered the revolver.
"It starts with you."
Graves looked behind him.
The settlers were approaching.
He knew there was no escape.
But then he smiled.
A strange, terrible smile.
"You should have asked about your father."
Ethan froze.
"My father?"
Graves said nothing.
Nohimana looked at Ethan.
"What does he mean?"
Graves turned.
"Your father wasn't the only man who refused."
Ethan's heart stopped.
Graves continued.
"Your father had help."
"Who?"
Graves smiled.
"Ask Chaska."
Then Graves ran.
Ethan chased him.
They reached the river.
Graves slipped on the wet stones.