Summary

In Chapter 1, six-year-old Rusty went to live with his father in Gros Ventre. Rusty’s mother had left when he was a baby, and since then he had lived in Arizona with his aunt. Occasionally his father (Tom) took him away for vacations, but this time he arrived unexpectedly to claim his son for good. They got to know each other better during the drive back to Montana. When they reached Gros Ventre, hundreds of sheep were blocking the road. Tom assured Rusty that this was normal, and introduced him to the sheep rancher, Dode Withrow, who mentioned an upcoming local derby. Rusty was excited at the prospect of taking part in a race.

Outside the Medicine Lodge saloon, Tom explained that he ran a respectable establishment. Inside, he introduced Rusty to the elderly Howie, who had been bartending in Tom’s absence...