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Chris’s head came up as she heard the blast of a shotgun from somewhere close.
Pilar leaned back against Asher. “It’s the old man,” she said. “It’s the man that found Tynan when he was born.”
“The miner?” Chris asked.
“Whatever he calls himself. Mostly he sells whatever comes his way.”
“Like six-year-old little boys,” Chris said with disgust as she recapped the canteen.
Pilar didn’t answer as she continued leaning against Asher, while Ash gave Chris a look that told her they needed to rest soon.
Tynan came back, moving silently through the trees, appearing almost as if from nowhere. “We have a place for a couple of days but no more,” he said as he watched Chris remount and looked at Pilar with concern. He stayed back and let Asher go first, then started out beside Chris. “He’s not like other people,” he said to her, his eyes on the narrow trail ahead of them. “Don’t turn your back on him and don’t trust him. Don’t tell him who your father is and don’t think there’s anything good about him. And don’t ask him questions.”
“You really hate him, don’t you?” she whispered.
“Yeah, I really hate him,” Ty said as he moved his horse forward to lead them up the steep hillside to the miner’s cabin.
It was a nasty little building, filthy beyond belief, clinging to the side of a rock wall that fell down into a ravine below. Chris thought that the rock probably wanted to rid itself of something so dirty. There were half rotted carcasses around the doorway and the flies were so thick that they were like a black, moving curtain. Nearby were piles of animal skins and a pot of rancid meat. A scrawny dog that Chris had at first thought was dead was tied to the front wall.
“We’ll leave Pilar out here while we clean this place up,” Ty said as he yanked away the rope that held the starving dog in place. The poor animal limped to a pot of water with scum on it and began to lap greedily.
Ty helped Pilar off the horse while Chris stood and stared at the place, brushing away flies, trying to cover her nose at the smell.
“I ain’t givin’ no charity,” came a voice from behind her. “You pay for what you take. I never asked for you to come here. What’d you let that dog loose for? He’ll eat ever’thin’ in sight.”
Chris turned to see a gnarled little man with black, rotten teeth, his face twisted into an agony of misery as he saw that Tynan had begun to throw the rotten meat carcasses into the canyon below.
The old man ran toward Ty. “What are you doin’?” he whined. “That’s myfood.You’re tryin’ to kill me, just like you done your own mother. You wanta starve me.”
Tynan ignored the old man’s hands clutching at his arm and looked over his shoulder at Chris who was staring dumbfoundedly. “See to Pilar,” he commanded, “and, Prescott, see if you can shoot us some fresh game. Chris, take that pot and scrub it out with sand and go up that hill to the stream and get some fresh water.”
“Take, that’s all you ever do. Took a woman’s life before you took your first breath. Now you want to take what’s mine.”
Tynan took a tool that had once been a shovel and began to use it to remove a half foot of debris from in front of the cabin, throwing it into the crevasse far below. At one animal carcass, he stopped to examine it, then tossed it to the dog that was cowering a few feet away, its breath coming quickly against its ribs.
The old miner made a lunge toward the dog to grab the meat from the starving animal, and the dog, reverting to instinct, began to fight for its life. As Chris watched, the old man took an ancient pistol from inside the layers of filthy clothes he wore and shot the dog in the leg. The animal began to whimper.
With a look of triumph, the old man took the half-rotten meat from the dog, put it under his arm, and started back toward the shack.
Tynan, with unhurried steps, walked to the old man, took the meat from him and went back to the dog. “Chris,” he said as he examined the dog, “can you look at this? I don’t think it’s bad. He never could shoot.”
It took Chris a moment to react and move from Pilar’s side. With eyes wide, she went to where Ty kneeled by the dog.
“Put a bandage on its leg and, here.” He handed her his gun. “If he bothers the dog again, shoot him. It won’t be any great loss to the world.”
Chris watched, with her mouth open, as Ty gave the dog the meat and the wounded animal began to eat.
Ty put his hand under her chin and shut her mouth. “With this many flies around here, you can’t afford to be astonished. Fix the dog then go get us some water. And then there’s the cabin to be cleaned. You think this place is bad, wait till you step inside.”
“Does he have a name?” she asked, nodding toward the old man.
“Not any that he ever gave anybody. Of course, I never tried paying him for it.”
“You mean, you’ve been around him since you were born and you don’t know his name?”
“That’s right.”
“You came after my gold, didn’t you?” the old man wailed. “You want everything I have.”
