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on doubling back, they went to a lot of trouble to make me think they weren’t.”
    Cyrus said, “They didn’t look like soldiers, Pa.”
    Sean hung the Winchester on a couple of pegs near the door. “That’s because they weren’t.”
    “But that man was a colonel.”
    “Yeah, and he said he wasn’t in the army anymore. That means he’s not a real colonel anymore, no matter what he calls himself.”
    “Oh. I understand…I guess.”
    The Kid understood. Colonel Black was something of a wild card, but he had seen plenty of men who looked like the ones who’d been with the former officer. He knew without anyone having to tell him that they were outlaws, and that didn’t surprise him a bit, considering the circumstances under which he had killed their four missing friends.
    The question now was whether they had believed Sean and would ride on…
    Or whether they would be paying a return visit to the Williams ranch.

Chapter 5

    To The Kid’s relief, the men didn’t come back. Laid up as he was, he wasn’t sure if he would have been able to handle them, even with help from Sean and the four vaqueros. The rancher and his men were tough, sure. They had to be in order to survive out there.
    But those men with Colonel Black were killers. Stone-cold killers.
    Sean called his vaqueros into the house when they rode in a short time later and told them what had happened. He gave orders for them to set up guard shifts so that someone would be awake and keeping an eye on the place all night. That was a smart move, The Kid thought, and he hadn’t even had to suggest it to the rancher. Sean seemed to be a pretty canny young man.
    The stew tasted as good as it smelled, and as The Kid ate, he felt strength flowing back into him. It would take a while, but he was confident that he was on the mend.
    He slept soundly that night, a good honest sleep instead of the unconsciousness that had gripped him before. The rest revitalized him, so that when he awoke the next morning, he was actually anxious to get out of bed and try his legs again.
    Frannie wouldn’t hear of that, however, and The Kid sensed that she was so strong willed that arguing wouldn’t do any good. So he didn’t bother. He just lay there and rested and let her fill him full of good food for a couple more days. While that was going on, he checked frequently with Sean to find out if he or any of the ranch hands had seen any sign of Colonel Black and his men. Sean reported that they hadn’t.
    On the third day after he regained consciousness, The Kid was too restless to stay in bed any longer. Frannie brought him a heavy hickory cane with a carved wolf’s head for a grip.
    “This cane belonged to my grandfather,” she told him. “Be careful when you use it.”
    “I’ll take good care of it while I’m borrowing it,” The Kid promised.
    “I’m not worried about the cane. I don’t want you falling down and hurting yourself even worse.”
    “That’s not going to happen.” The Kid grinned at Cyrus, who stood nearby watching with a rapt expression on his face. “I’ll have Cyrus close by to give me a hand if I need one, won’t I, son?”
    “You bet, Mr. Morgan!” the boy replied.
    The Kid talked Frannie into turning around while he pulled his clothes on. Cyrus helped him with his boots. Then The Kid got a good grip on the cane and pushed himself to his feet. He felt a twinge of pain in his wounded leg, but it didn’t buckle. He took a tentative step, then another and another, keeping as much of his weight off the injured leg as he could.
    Suddenly he swayed a little, but Cyrus was right there so that The Kid was able to rest his free hand on the boy’s shoulder and balance himself. “Ma…” Cyrus said.
    Frannie turned around and fixed The Kid with a stern stare. “I think that’s enough for now, Mr. Morgan.”
    “I’m going to the door and back,” The Kid said. He knew he was being stubborn, but he didn’t care. He wanted to push himself, to