Summary

The Captain and Johanna are only one mile from the Brazos River when they the Captain decides to turn off the road and head uphill until they get to a clearing. Captain Kidd is exhausted from the entire night of driving, and as he rests, Johanna starts gathering wood for the stove. Though he wishes he could go down to the road to see how much of the wagon is visible, the Captain decides to settle on the stomach and watch the road from there.

Just as Captain Kidd notices a “thick billowing of smoke” (102) rising in the air about three or four miles from their wagon, gunshots assail the wagon. Both he and Johanna scramble to get under the wagon. As he pulls out the Smith and Wesson revolver, Captain Kidd tries to track where the shots are coming from. At the least...