Chapter 19The wooden bridge groaned like it was about to come apart as six horses thundered across it and pulled to a noisy halt. Churning hooves chopped up grass trying to take root in my yard and tromping some honeysuckle I’d been coddling beyond salvation. The leader of the group was a stranger, a thin man in a mixture of military and common dress. A sparse, dark beard over sunken cheeks gave him a rough look, even though there seemed to be something fragile about him. He motioned to the left and the right, sending two of his riders circling around the house.
“Thought this was that major at the fort’s farm.” The man’s rolled-brim, black felt hat was fastened down with apron strings tied beneath his chin.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bear come out of the house in loincloth and mo
