Summary

On a warm June Sunday, Lillian crests a hill and sees a cabin. She has come across some telegraph operators still managing stations who have been willing to feed or house her for as long as she wants, some hoping she’ll stay longer while others make it clear that they live in this isolation for a reason which doesn’t include her. She is almost at the step when she hears the rocking chair and sees the shotgun. She puts her hands up, knocking her hat to the ground. John Bishop has exiled himself in Refuge Cabin Number Nine, although there seems little need for operators these days, the messages past back and forth inane. One message however, had warned him she was coming, and he offers her a bath when he introduces himself. John makes four trips to...