graze as Collier took aim. He fired and she saw a cloud of dust drift from the cow's shoulder. The cow did not move. If it hadn't been for the dust, Nell would have suspected a miss. The cow coughed blood from her nose and mouth.
   "Perfect shot," Collier whispered.
   The cow took a faltering step then seemed to go stiff-legged. She took a couple of jarring steps as if she couldn't get her legs under control. She fell on her side, her feet flailing in the dirt.
   "I'll give her a few minutes to make certain she's dead then I'll go down and cut us a piece of meat."
   "What about the others?"
   "They should take off when I make a commotion."
   "Why didn't they run when you shot?"
   "If an animal doesn't make too big a fuss when it's shot, the others don't realize what's happening. A good shot can kill many if he knows what he's doing before a herd will get wise and take off. It's called a stand."
   "Strange, isn't it? An animal as big as that can be so vulnerable."
   "I suppose so. It's a good thing for us. We can use the meat. It's hard to say when we might get another chance at a meal between here and the Fox place."
   It took another shot for Lane to put the buffalo away. He dug a shallow pit with his knife and built a fire of dried buffalo chips. He placed a haunch of buffalo meat directly in the fire and turned it with his knife . . .
   "Have you ever cooked like this before?"
   Collier smiled. "Looks terrible, doesn't it?"
   She nodded.
   "Yeah, you do the best ya can with what you've got. It'll be all right. I've done this several times."
   "How long have you been out here?" she asked.
   "I was born on the Santa Fe Trail. My father was a bull whacker from Missouri. My mother was a half-Pawnee daughter of an old time fur trader. She died of the pox when I was very young. I don't know what happened to my father.
"Who raised you?"
   "I lived with the Pawnee for a while with my mother's sister then became a cook's Mary at Fort Scott. An army cook by the name of Doolin raised me. I guess I grew up an army brat. I drifted into this business because I knew Pawnee and was a fair tracker. The army was short-handed during the war."
   Nell watched Collier as he turned the meat again. It looked burned. "What are your plans for the future?"
   "I don't know. Right now, getting out of this mess alive is number one."
   "Are we still in danger?"
   "We've got at least twenty miles to go to the Fox place. No one can say what is between here and there."
   "But, the food and the cooking. I thought maybe you felt the danger was passed."
   "Out here, you learn early to take advantage of a situation when it comes your way. There's thousands of buffalo out there and a dead cow with more meat than we could eat in three months. As quick as those buffalo appeared, they can be gone. There may not be another mouthful of food till we get there except what I have in my bags. If things turn bad or one of us gets hurt, we could be days covering those twenty miles. Neither of us has had a decent meal in two days. Right now that's more important than Cheyenne."
   "I'm sorry, Lane. I just thought"
   "Don't be sorry. People from the East don't realize what it's like out here. If they did, most would never come out here in the first place. There isn't any way of preparing someone for how hard this country can be."
   "Even you?"
   "I've been out here all my life. I thought I had seen about everything. Never have I seen anything like that massacre at the river. You take advantage when a chance for survival comes or you don't make it."
   Nell placed the Colt in her lap.
   "There you go! You're learning. In no time you'll be a real pioneer woman of
   "Perfect shot," Collier whispered.
   The cow took a faltering step then seemed to go stiff-legged. She took a couple of jarring steps as if she couldn't get her legs under control. She fell on her side, her feet flailing in the dirt.
   "I'll give her a few minutes to make certain she's dead then I'll go down and cut us a piece of meat."
   "What about the others?"
   "They should take off when I make a commotion."
   "Why didn't they run when you shot?"
   "If an animal doesn't make too big a fuss when it's shot, the others don't realize what's happening. A good shot can kill many if he knows what he's doing before a herd will get wise and take off. It's called a stand."
   "Strange, isn't it? An animal as big as that can be so vulnerable."
   "I suppose so. It's a good thing for us. We can use the meat. It's hard to say when we might get another chance at a meal between here and the Fox place."
   It took another shot for Lane to put the buffalo away. He dug a shallow pit with his knife and built a fire of dried buffalo chips. He placed a haunch of buffalo meat directly in the fire and turned it with his knife . . .
   "Have you ever cooked like this before?"
   Collier smiled. "Looks terrible, doesn't it?"
   She nodded.
   "Yeah, you do the best ya can with what you've got. It'll be all right. I've done this several times."
   "How long have you been out here?" she asked.
   "I was born on the Santa Fe Trail. My father was a bull whacker from Missouri. My mother was a half-Pawnee daughter of an old time fur trader. She died of the pox when I was very young. I don't know what happened to my father.
"Who raised you?"
   "I lived with the Pawnee for a while with my mother's sister then became a cook's Mary at Fort Scott. An army cook by the name of Doolin raised me. I guess I grew up an army brat. I drifted into this business because I knew Pawnee and was a fair tracker. The army was short-handed during the war."
   Nell watched Collier as he turned the meat again. It looked burned. "What are your plans for the future?"
   "I don't know. Right now, getting out of this mess alive is number one."
   "Are we still in danger?"
   "We've got at least twenty miles to go to the Fox place. No one can say what is between here and there."
   "But, the food and the cooking. I thought maybe you felt the danger was passed."
   "Out here, you learn early to take advantage of a situation when it comes your way. There's thousands of buffalo out there and a dead cow with more meat than we could eat in three months. As quick as those buffalo appeared, they can be gone. There may not be another mouthful of food till we get there except what I have in my bags. If things turn bad or one of us gets hurt, we could be days covering those twenty miles. Neither of us has had a decent meal in two days. Right now that's more important than Cheyenne."
   "I'm sorry, Lane. I just thought"
   "Don't be sorry. People from the East don't realize what it's like out here. If they did, most would never come out here in the first place. There isn't any way of preparing someone for how hard this country can be."
   "Even you?"
   "I've been out here all my life. I thought I had seen about everything. Never have I seen anything like that massacre at the river. You take advantage when a chance for survival comes or you don't make it."
   Nell placed the Colt in her lap.
   "There you go! You're learning. In no time you'll be a real pioneer woman of
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