That evening, Rell rode away to meet representatives from the land company.
He returned with a man Peter didn't recognize.
The stranger wore a dark coat and carried a leather satchel.
He spoke privately with Rell.
Peter heard only fragments.
The marker.
The approval.
The need to settle the matter before the records were filed.
Then the stranger said something that frightened him.
"The boy needs to understand the cost of making trouble."
Peter told Thomas.
Thomas became angry.
He said they should preserve their measurements and return to town.
Before leaving, he wrote a letter to Amos Boone.
He also copied several pages of field notes.
Peter believed he intended to give the sheriff enough information to challenge the company's records.
But the following afternoon, Rell announced they needed to make one final inspection near the quarry.
Thomas went.
Peter remained with the horses.
Then he heard shouting.
He hurried toward the ravine.
And saw Thomas arguing with Rell and the stranger.
Thomas held a leather case.
The stranger was trying to take it.
Rell shouted.
Thomas pulled away.
There was a struggle.
Peter couldn't remember every movement clearly.
It happened too quickly.
But he remembered the stranger striking Thomas with a heavy piece of wood.
Thomas stumbled.
Rell grabbed his coat.
Then Thomas fell toward the rocky slope.
Peter ran forward.
By the time he reached the edge, Thomas had disappeared below.
For several seconds, the room was silent.
Caleb stood motionless.
His face had become gray.
Peter was crying.
"I wanted to help him."
He swallowed.
"I tried to climb down."
Amos leaned forward.
"What happened?"
Peter looked toward the floor.
"Rell grabbed me."
His voice broke.
"He said Thomas was dead. Said if I told anybody what happened, they'd make sure my family lost everything."
Caleb's jaw tightened.
Peter continued.
"They took Thomas's papers. Then they told us to say rustlers attacked the camp."
He looked toward Caleb.
For a moment, he seemed unable to speak.
Then he whispered, "I'm sorry."
Caleb stared.
Five years.
Five years of searching for men who had never existed in the form described to him.
Five years of believing Thomas died in a fight with rustlers.
Five years of blaming himself for not riding north with his brother.
And now Peter was telling him the truth had been hidden by men whose business interests mattered more than a young man's life.
Caleb took one step forward.
Peter recoiled.
Clara moved immediately.
She placed one hand against Caleb's chest.
He stopped.
For a moment, he looked down at her as though he'd forgotten she was there.
Her eyes were filled with tears.
She shook her head slightly.
Not forbidding him to feel angry.
Reminding him that Peter was speaking.
That the truth was finally emerging.
Caleb took a slow breath.
Then another.