"You found this where?"
"Eastern trading post."
Mercer closed the door.
Then lowered his voice.
"My father was part of the Black Mesa Circle."
Elias said nothing.
Aayoka stepped closer.
"What was it?"
"A group of men who controlled land deals before the territorial government became involved."
"Rourke?"
"Yes."
"Your father?"
"Yes."
"Are you part of it?"
Mercer looked offended.
"No."
"How do we know?"
He stared at them.
"Because my father killed himself after the investigation began."
Aayoka's expression softened.
Mercer continued.
"He left me one thing."
"What?"
"A list."
He opened a drawer.
Inside was another document.
"The remaining members."
Elias read it.
Several names were familiar.
Merchants.
Landowners.
A banker.
A judge.
And one name that made Aayoka step backward.
Thomas Bell.
"The notary."
Mercer nodded.
"He wasn't merely a notary."
"Then what?"
"He was one of Rourke's closest associates."
Elias understood.
The forged deed.
The missing survey.
The land records.
Everything connected.
But Bell was dead.
So who was carrying on the work?
Mercer looked at them.
"Someone is rebuilding the Circle."
Aayoka asked,
"Why?"
"Because the land is worth more now."
"More than before?"
Mercer nodded.
"The railroad is coming."
Elias stared.
"Where?"
"Through this valley."
Suddenly everything made sense.
Land that had once been valuable because of water would soon be worth ten times more because of transportation.
Aayoka's ranch sat near the proposed route.
So did Elias's.
Someone wanted both.
The next morning, a representative from the railroad arrived.
His name was Jonathan Hale.
He offered Elias a large sum of money.
"For the ranch."
Elias refused.
Hale smiled.
"You should think carefully."
"I have."
"The offer doubles next week."
"Still no."
Hale looked toward Aayoka.
"Perhaps your wife would be more practical."
Elias stepped closer.
"Leave."
Hale's smile disappeared.
"You may regret refusing."
Aayoka walked beside Elias.
"We have heard that before."
Hale left.
That evening, Elias found a note beneath the front door.
One sentence.
You have until the first snowfall.
Aayoka read it.
"First snowfall is months away."
"That's not the point."
"No."
She looked at him.
"The point is they are patient."
"Yes."
They began preparing.
They moved important documents.
Stored supplies.
Built a hidden room beneath the barn.
Mercer investigated quietly.
The children were told nothing.
But children always noticed more than adults expected.
One afternoon, Clara asked,
"Papa, why do you keep looking at the road?"
Elias crouched.
"Because I like knowing who's coming."
"Is someone bad coming?"
He paused.
"Maybe."
"Will you fight them?"
He smiled.
"I hope I don't have to."
"But if you do?"
Aayoka answered from behind him.
"Then your father won't fight alone."
Clara smiled.
"Neither will I."
Elias laughed.
"You are six."
"I am brave."
"That you are."
She ran away.
Aayoka looked at him.
"She is exactly like you."
"That worries me."
"Why?"
"Because I know what happens to stubborn people."
She kissed his cheek.
"Sometimes they survive."
Summer passed.
Then autumn.
The railroad surveyors appeared.
Men arrived with maps.
The town grew busy.
Land prices increased.
And one night, a barn belonging to a neighboring rancher burned.
Then another.
Then a third.
No one could prove anything.
But everyone knew.
Fear spread through the valley.
Some families sold.
Others disappeared.
Elias refused.
Aayoka refused.
Mercer gathered evidence.
Then came the first snowfall.
It arrived early.
The warning had not been an empty threat.
That night, riders surrounded the ranch.
Elias woke to gunfire.
He grabbed his rifle.
Aayoka was already awake.
"Children?"
"With me."
They ran toward the bedroom.
Clara was crying.
Samuel was holding his blanket.
Aayoka gathered them.
Elias moved to the window.
Six riders.
Maybe seven.
Too many.
Then a voice shouted.
"Come outside, Ward!"
Elias recognized it.
Jonathan Hale.
He looked at Aayoka.
"Get them to the cellar."
"What about you?"
"I'll be there."
"No."
"Aayoka."
"We stay together."
He looked at her.
She was holding the rifle.
He smiled.
"All right."
They moved downstairs.
The children hid beneath the cellar stairs.
Elias and Aayoka took positions.
Mercer arrived unexpectedly.
Then two ranchers.
Then three more.
Word had spread.
The people who refused to sell were finally standing together.
Hale shouted.
"You are making a mistake!"
Mercer shouted back.
"No."
He held up the documents.
"You are."
Hale fired.
The night exploded.
Gunshots.
Horses.
Shouting.
Snow.
Elias fired toward the attackers' horses, forcing them back.
Aayoka moved with precision.
She did not panic.
She did not hesitate.
The attackers retreated.
One remained.
Hale.
He stood in the snow with his gun raised.
Elias faced him.
"Leave."
Hale laughed.
"You think this is over?"
"No."
Elias stepped forward.
"But it is over for you."
Mercer arrested him.
The remaining men surrendered.
In Hale's saddlebags, they found contracts.
Forged deeds.
Payments.
Maps.
And letters from someone in another territory.