Five riders on four horses and a buckboard were black shapes against a brightening prairie. With Checker leading the way, Rule Cordell, Emmett, Rikor and Morgan Peale rode silently. London Fiss had volunteered to stay behind in town to see what might happen. A cold wind intimidated any clouds from the sky, making the moment seem more depressing than it was. Checker was drawn sadly to memories of his best friend and the realization that they didn’t matter anymore. The old rancher drove his buckboard carrying the wooden casket with the wrapped body of A. J. Bartlett. The casket had been donated by the undertaker. Checker had bought a new suit—and new socks—to bury his friend in. Bartlett’s journal had been placed in the casket as well, along with a book of Tennyson’s poems. Their destination was a shallow rock pond the two Rangers had discovered when they had ridden from town to help Emmett. The pond was on the eastern corner of Morgan’s land. She had readily agreed to the burial there.
