Then the group continued.
As evening approached, the mountains grew darker.
The temperature finally began to fall.
Eli knew they were close.
But he also knew something was wrong.
He stopped.
Everyone behind him stopped as well.
"What is it?" Nantan asked.
Eli crouched.
He touched the dirt.
There were fresh tracks.
Horse tracks.
Several horses.
Moving toward the canyon.
Eli's face hardened.
Someone else knew about the spring.
He stood slowly.
"How many riders?" Nantan asked.
"Six. Maybe seven."
"Friends?"
Eli shook his head.
"No."
Nantan looked at him.
"You know them?"
"I know what they want."
"And what is that?"
Eli looked toward the cliffs.
"Our water."
The riders belonged to a man named Harlan Voss.
Eli had known Harlan for years.
That was unfortunate.
Because Harlan was not the sort of man Eli wanted anywhere near the spring.
Voss owned a large cattle operation north of the territory.
He had spent years buying up wells, grazing land and abandoned claims.
People called him successful.
Eli called him dangerous.
Harlan believed everything had a price.
Land.
Water.
People.
Promises.
Even silence.
And three months earlier, Harlan had heard rumors about a hidden spring somewhere in the red cliffs.
He had been searching for it ever since.
Now he had found the trail.
Eli realized what had happened.
Someone must have seen him visiting the canyon.
The secret was no longer his.
He turned to Nantan.
"We need to move."
"How far?"
"Less than an hour."
"Then why stop?"
"Because we're not the only ones going there."
Nantan looked toward his warriors.
"They will attack?"
"If they think the spring can make them rich."
Nantan's face became hard.
"We will defend ourselves."
Eli nodded.
"I expected you would."
He looked toward the children.
"But if there's fighting, they are the ones who suffer."
Nantan understood.
"So what do we do?"
Eli looked at the cliffs.
Then he smiled faintly.
"We get there first."
The final stretch was brutal.
The group moved through a narrow passage between two walls of stone.
The sun had disappeared.
Stars began appearing overhead.
Eli led them by memory.
He did not need a map.
He had memorized every bend.
Every rock.
Every crooked tree.
Every place where the ground changed beneath a horse's hooves.
Finally, they reached a wall of red stone.
At first, it looked solid.
Eli walked toward it.
He placed his hand against the rock.
Then he moved left.
Seven steps.
He stopped.
There was a narrow opening hidden behind hanging vines.
He pushed them aside.
Cold air flowed from the darkness.
The children noticed immediately.
One little girl lifted her head.
"Water?"
Eli smiled.
"Yes."
The group entered.
Beyond the narrow passage was a small underground chamber.
At its center lay a pool.
Clear water.
Still as glass.
For several seconds nobody moved.
Then a child began crying.