"You deserve more than my anger."
The old warrior nodded.
"I know."
For one terrible moment, Elias imagined striking him.
He imagined reaching for the revolver at his hip.
He imagined forcing Two Feathers to feel even a fraction of what his father had suffered.
Then Ren stood beside him.
She did not restrain him.
She did not command him to forgive.
She simply placed one hand against his chest.
"Elias."
He looked at her.
Her eyes were wet.
One brown.
One pale blue.
Both filled with sorrow.
She whispered, "Stay with me."
Elias drew a shaking breath.
Then another.
He looked back at Two Feathers.
"Tell me the rest."
The older man nodded.
And continued.
Thomas Whitlock had not died on the trail.
Not immediately.
Two Feathers managed to pull him beneath a narrow overhang near the spring.
The surveyor was badly wounded.
He knew he would not survive the journey back to camp.
Crane's men had taken his satchel, but Thomas had hidden a second packet inside his clothing.
It contained the sworn statement and copies of the most important boundary records.
He gave the packet to Two Feathers.
Then asked him to make a promise.
Elias sat slowly.
"What promise?"
Two Feathers looked at him.
"That I would take the papers to Iron Elk."
Elias swallowed.
"And?"
"That I would tell his son he had tried to come home."
The words struck Elias with such force that his vision blurred.
He looked down.
Two Feathers continued.
"Your father knew he was dying."
A tear slipped down the older man's cheek.
"He told me about a little boy waiting for him."
Elias pressed one hand against his mouth.
Two Feathers looked toward the watch resting against Elias's vest.
"He said the boy had his watch."
Elias closed his eyes.
"He told me to tell you that he was sorry he couldn't keep his promise."
For a long moment, no one moved.
Then Elias whispered, "Did he suffer?"
Two Feathers lowered his head.
"Yes."
The answer was quiet.
Honest.
Terrible.
Elias felt Ren take his hand.
He held it tightly.
Two Feathers continued.
"I stayed with him until he died."
His voice broke.
"Then I buried him beneath the stone shelf, near the spring."
Elias looked up sharply.
"You know where?"
The older warrior nodded.
"Yes."
Elias stared.
For twenty years, his father's resting place had remained somewhere in the red mountains.
Not because no one knew.
Because the man who knew had been too frightened, ashamed, and compromised to speak.
Anger rose again.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?"
Two Feathers looked toward Iron Elk.
"Because I was afraid Crane would kill me."
Elias's jaw tightened.
The warrior continued.
"And because every year I remained silent, telling the truth became harder."
Willow Song closed her eyes.
Iron Elk lowered his head.
Two Feathers looked at Elias.
"I kept the papers. I hid them near the spring."
He swallowed.