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shrugged. “Those sonsabitches have messed with me and my sister for nigh on a year. They’ve put me through worse.”
    Callum shook his head. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
    “Ain’t your fault. My sister … did they mess her up bad?”
    Callum looked at La Roux and Anderson, and then simply nodded.
    The woman began to sob quietly.
    “Why don’t you and La Roux go get our gear. I’ll stay here with….”
    Anderson looked at the woman and asked a question with his eyes.
    “Me names Tilly … Tilly Maxwell.”
    On hearing the name, Tilly, Callum felt suddenly filled with old memories. Tilly had been his sister’s name, and hearing the word spoken aloud opened old wounds.
    “Are you alright?” La Roux asked as he took Callum’s arm.
    “I’m fine. It’ll be dark soon, so we best go get our gear.”
    La Roux led the way back up the path, and Callum’s gaze drifted back to Tilly as he went.

Chapter 4
    Night was already falling by the time Callum and La Roux returned with the gear, and they noticed Anderson had not been idle in their absence. A fire now burned in the clearing, and three rabbits roasted in its flames. He had also found time to throw the four dead bodies of the men they killed earlier into the river, thus washing them downstream and clear of the camp.
    “Where did you catch the rabbits?” La Roux asked as he sniffed the air. “They smell right good.”
    “I didn’t catch ‘em,” Anderson replied as he prodded one of the cooking animals. “The fellas we killed caught ‘em. I saw no reason to let them go to waste, so thanks to those disgusting pigs, tonight we eat well.”
    All thoughts of his sore leg left Callum’s mind as his mouth began to water at the smell of the cooking meat. His empty belly let out a loud growl, and as if to pacify an unsettled and hungry child, his hand unconsciously patted it.
    He heard the baby let out a slight whimper and his attention moved briefly to the woman, Tilly. She looked a lot better than when he had seen her last. She had taken the time to wash away a little of the filth that had covered her. In addition, she now wore an old and extremely tattered dress, but in spite of the dress’s battered state, it offered the poor woman at least a little more dignity than being half-naked. He also noticed how young she was. Earlier, covered in dirt and with the lack of hope etched in her face, she had looked old and almost at the end of her endurance. Now, with the dirt washed away and the protection of a group of Rangers, she seemed to be a different person. He knew he was reading a lot into his glimpse of her, but he was used to absorbing a lot in a short time. He could read more from a single glimpse, than most could ascertain in an hour.
    Callum moved to a log a small distance from both the fire, and the rest of the group. He sat down and finally attended to the bullet graze on his calf.
    With babe in arms, Tilly leaned toward Anderson, who only sat a foot or so from her side. “Is he alright?” she asked as she flicked her head in Callum’s direction.
    Anderson looked toward Callum and nodded. “He’s just a quiet type of a man. He don’t say much, but when he does it pays to listen. Don’t mind him none.”
    She got to her feet and approached the silent Ranger tending to his wounds on the log. Callum looked up at her briefly, and then returned his attention to his wound.
    “Mind if I sit down?”
    Callum looked up again. “Why would I mind?”
    “Well, yonder Mr. Anderson says yer the silent type. Silent types generally like being on their own.”
    Callum straightened. “If that’s what you think, then why are you bothering me?”
    She smiled and said, “Because I wish to thank ya.”
    Callum’s brow furrowed. “For what?”
    Tilly’s face filled with confusion. “Why, for saving me of course.”
    Callum returned to tending his wound. “No need to thank me. I was just doing my job.”
    “That’s as may be, but the man you dragged into