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Some soldiers were pitching horseshoes. The sharp clang of metal on metal came into Major Norton's office along with the yellow afternoon sunlight.
Puffing on his unlit pipe, the major asked, "You didn't happen to encounter Sergeant Crawford at any time?"
Milton Hare said, "No, Major. You've had no word from him?"
"Nothing, no," replied the major. "He's an especially good man, Crawford is. I anticipated he'd round up those two before now."
"As we told you, major," said Katherine, "there are Ute raiding parties up there. Your sergeant may...."
"He's smarter than any Ute," said Norton. "I have confidence in him." He sucked on the pipe a few more times. "It would be ironic if something happened to him. He only as a few more weeks to serve before retiring."
"About Robinson and Morisson," said Hare.
The major said, "I appreciate your telling me what you've told me about your encounter with those men, Mr. Hare. However, it only means that they treated you well. It in no way proves they aren't guilty of the crimes they've been accused of."
"Robinson," said Katherine, "Robinson especially, can't be a murderer. He's just not that sort of man, major."
"My point is, Mrs. Hare, I am not a judge. Even if I were, what you and your husband have told me isn't evidence of anything."
"I don't think Morisson killed Logan Brock either."
"Possibly not," admitted the major. "You've told me your brother is also dead, killed by Indians. And of John Robinson, there is no trace. Getting at the truth, it's going to be hard, impossible maybe."
"So in the meantime, you hang Morisson," said Hare.
"There will be a trial first."
"And then you'll hang him," said Katherine.
"You ought to realize, after what you've been through, that life here is much more primitive than it is back East. A man kills a man, he in turn is killed for it." Placing the pipe atop a pile of papers, he stood. "Is there anything else?"
Hare said, "Thank you for your time, major."
"As I told you, you should be able to find out about the ownership of your brother's claim in Tightbutte." He walked them towards the door. "Do you intend to stay out here?"
"We'll be going back to Boston," said Hare. "Though we intend to return here later."
"But," put in Katherine, "we're going to stay until we find out what's going to happen to Robinson and Morisson."
"I trust we'll find that out soon," the major said, then opened the door.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlvREzZExOb
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Morisson laughed, "All o' them roots I been eatin' musta done some good," he said. "I feel purty fine t'day." Imitating Robinson, he'd shaved off his beard and taken to combing his hair. Nobody meeting him now would automatically call him a "papa grizzly."
They were descending a slope, working their way down from the mountain forest to the tall grass of the lower slopes. "I am glad," Robinson told him warmly.
"'Ay, looky there." The big man stopped short, pointing. In the valley beyond they could see several thin columns of white smoke rising into the blue late-afternoon sky.
"Smoke from chimneys," Robinson said.
"Means people."
Robinson nodded silently.
"All o' these days," said Morisson, "comin' o'er th' mountains an' all. I liked it."
"Yes."
The big man rubbed at his now-bare chin. He watched the chimney smoke, a sad furrow creasing his scattered forehead. "Now it's all o'er," he said. "Now is people agin', people laughin' at me an' me gittin' into trouble."
"You forget what has happened, my friend, "Robinson reminded him. "You have been living with people. I have not laughed at you, nor did Katherine and Milton Hare. They liked you, treated you as they would any friend."
The slow-moving giant trampled over a patch of yellow wildflowers. "Jus' 'cause yew were 'round."
"No, it was because you gave them a chance to like you, to know you."
The giant halted completely. "Tell ya whut, Robinson," he said. "Iz been good up in th' forest. I like it, like bein' round th' animals an' all. I tell ya whut, I'll go back. That'll be a much better idee-er all 'round. I'll live up thar in th' woods a spell, y'know, till I figger I'm ready to try livin' with people agin'." He took a step backward, back the way they'd come.
"An' thar's plenny o' work, t' do thar," Morisson said.
"Work?"
"I seen a beaver dam all choked up wi' placer tailings," he explained shyly. "Sometimes th' deer starve in th' winner.....They don't know how t' put food 'side."
A long-forgotten memory stirred in Robinson. At the Hwarangdo temple, not so very long after Robinson himself had graduated from being a sweeper----of leaves, of snow---to be a true student there....the memory crystallized.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvAQgWuUp03
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Robinson, top-knotted, an earnest, still rather awkward adolescent, had been watching three grand masters throwing darts at a wooden target in the shape of a tiger. Too young to have mastered ambition, he pretended, as he observed the smooth precision of their throws, that he was one of them, infallibly perfect in his aim and style.
Then a movement to one side caught his eye, and he glanced over toward the boy they called the Silent One, whose mind, it seemed, would never develop properly.
The Silent One carried a broom, as he always did, limping as he pushed it with a misshapen arm. Perhaps because of his interrupted daydream of perfection, Robinson was troubled. When the Silent One stopped to watch the masters, the young goat that always followed him tugged with his teeth at the Silent One's robes, and the young boy bent with a gentle smile to pet the animal.196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqg6xba7iLg
As Robinson watched him return to his sweeping, Grand Master Kim came up to stand beside him. Grateful for the chance to ask the question, hesitant about how to phrase it, Robinson had said, "Grand master, the Silent One.....He is not one of us, yet he stays."196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHEEx5z5TD3
"Imagine the great Han River as the challenges we face in life," Kim responded. "Just like the water in the river, our journey through life seeks its level. It doesn't try to change or fit into every obstacle it encounters, just like the rock standing tall in the middle of the river. When the water encounters a rock,"---he paused----"it doesn't stop or give up. Instead, it gracefully flows around it, finding a way to continue its course. The rock becomes a refuge for the river; a place where it can gather strength and energy before continuing its journey downstream."196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Cawxi6KqT
Robinson tried to digest this. "But here you understand him. What if he were outside?"196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBK4Nn3klAD
"Have you ever wondered if there exists a world beyond what we can see?" Kim had asked in return "A place where nature's secrets are whispered through the wind and understood by those who truly listen? You see, my young friend, there is an outside that goes far beyond these walls that confine us. It is a vast expanse of wonder and beauty that holds countless mysteries waiting to be unraveled." Grand Master Kim paused for a moment, allowing his words to sink in before he continued with a gentle smile on his hawkish face. "And who better understands the Silent One than nature itself?" At this point Robinson's eyes had turned from the blind grand master to the Silent One, kneeling to hug the goat warmly. "It is," Kim added, "a gift so extraordinary that it outshines fame, beauty, or even the riches of our king."196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡokqVoQ1yuR
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Robinson studied Morisson's face for a moment, then said warmly, "When a man finds his way, Heaven is gentle." He held out his hand. "Goodbye, Morisson."196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSEQs9pvGtC
Tears came to the giant's eyes as the men shook hands. "Happy trails t' ya, too, Robinson. I---I shore do 'ope ya find Jonny."
Robinson smiled and turned away, striding down the slope towards the settlement. There he might find someone who knew where Jonny was or was likely to be heading. Once he turned and looked back. Morisson was gone.
He heard a dog bark in the valley, and a woman calling out to her child. The sunlight golden on the grass around him, Robinson moved steadily towards the village, not knowing what he would find there.
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THE END
