Casper was walking his horse up to the stock car after returning from the prison. Reaching the top of the wooden plank and entering the train car, he noticed Badger was brushing his horse. Standing quietly, Casper listened while Badger vented to Sallie-May.

It was something cowboys, soldiers, and old mountain men took solace from time to time, when their world suddenly changed, or through tough times. Times when they come to understand the decisions they were forced to make could change their life forever.

"It was a long time ago, Badger. You should just let it go." Casper said from the open door of the train car.

Badger turned to face his old friend, "I made a promise, Casper. A promise I couldn't keep because the trail went cold." Casper closed the distance between them, "Let it go my friend." Then Casper's eyes noticed an old skinning knife at Badger's belt.

"I haven't seen that sense the day--,"

"Sense the day we rode into that village." Badger said, "You were there with me Casper, "It's been in my possables bag ever since. I have never taken it out, until today." Casper Hayes was quiet for a moment as the memory of that terrible day returned to him.

"Casper, I gave this knife to Sparrow-Hawk, and his mother made the sheath for it to rest in."

"I remember." Casper said.

"Casper, you know that James Hawkinburough was the man who took me in. He was the man who made sure that I understood everything that my Pa had taught me. He took me in and showed me how to use the knowledge that would make me the man that I am today."

"I know that Badger, Hawk was a good man. I know that he did for you, what you did for me."

Badger stepped to the door of the train car and stopped.

"Casper, we now know, the trail went cold because at some point, Bo Meadows was arrested and went to prison. Now he is out of prison and he has not changed his ways. He's going to bring trouble to everyone on this train."

Casper looked at his old friend, as he prepared to leave his horse. "Badger, wait a moment."

Badger waited until Casper had finished taking care of his horse, then he said, "Sparrow-Hawk was James son, and when James died, it was up to me to look after Sparrow-Hawk like he was my own son."

Badger put his hand on Casper's shoulder, "He was the only son I ever knew, and there is a debt that I owe to James, and the promise I made to Sparrow-Hawk's mother, I can't, let it go.." They both turned to leave the train-car, "Badger, we both know that is only part of the truth."

"What are you talking about, Casper?"

"In your eyes, you have adopted someone new, another son, and you have been teaching him everything you can about the old ways of living in the mountains, ever since you arrived in the Walla Walla Valley.

You have been teaching him, with the hope that when you're gone, your knowledge will not be lost forever." Casper waited for a response, but the old mountain man said nothing. "What about your promise to Elizabeth, to make sure that Levi makes it home safe."

There was a slow, pondering smile under his whiskers as Badger realized his friend, Casper, was speaking true. He was caught between two promises, that was sure enough, and he had to face the fact that he couldn't let go of either one.

"I don't think I can do this without your help, Casper."

Casper Hayes gave an understanding nod, and with that, they walked side by side looking for Levi who was watching the prison guards take the convicts from the wagons to the passenger car where they would remain in shackles until they reached Walla Walla.

Superintendent Paine, Warden Justice from Walla Walla, and Warden Billings from Seatco were taking care of the paperwork, while the other prison guards were making sure everything else was in order.

Steam bellowed as the man in the tender-box threw wood into the fire to heat up the engine. A whistle blew and word was spread from man to man. Ten-minutes, was the call. Ten minutes until departure.

Word passed from train car to train car, as everyone boarded. Another whistle blew as the man in the tender-box continued to work. The sound of metal on metal began as the wheels started to turn, and the train slowly moved forward. A burst of steam suddenly erupted from the sides of the engine, and another whistle was heard as the long metal snake began to slither down the tracks, slowly gaining speed as it left the town of Seatco.

Levi waited for Badger to begin making rounds on the train, checking on the prison guards who were positioned at different locations. Some were in different train cars, some on top of the train cars, and some were watching the convicts. When Levi saw that John Barnabus and Kyle were helping Badger, he approached Casper who was standing by himself at the back of the same train car he was in.

"You said we needed to talk."

Casper looked around, there was no-one near-by, "Have you noticed the knife that Badger now carries on his belt?"

"No, Why? What's on your mind, Casper."

"There is a story that goes with that knife." Casper said.

Levi said nothing more, he just waited. The look on Casper's face was one of concern. It told him whatever Casper had to say was important, and now he understood that it had something to do with Badger, a man who had become like a father to him. So he waited.

"Levi," Casper began, "Many years ago, a man by the name of James Hawkinburough roamed these mountains and when Badger was a young man, Hawkinburough took him under his care when he found out who his father was, and began to show him how to apply what Badger's father had already taught him. He showed Badger how to live in the mountains, and when I first met Badger, he did the same for me.

In time, I met James who had by then taken a Nez Perce wife and was raising a young boy in a small village. The half-breed son was named Sparrow-Hawk by his mother. Badger and I began to visit the village every winter.

Sparrow-Hawk was about ten years old when his father died, so Badger started teaching him everything he thought his father would have wanted him to learn."

Casper paused for a moment, it was difficult bringing those days back from his memory.

"Badger and young Sparrow-Hawk became very close, and if he were not so young, Badger would have taken him along on the hunt that day. But instead he told the boy to stay and to protect his mother. Not having any idea, the impact those words would have on him when we returned.
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His mother was, Spring Rain, she was a strong beautiful woman, who chose to raise her son in the way of the Nez Perce, knowing that Badger would teach him what he needed to know to live in both worlds.

Badger would take the young boy with us to hunt, and to trap beaver whenever we could, and on those days, we would never be gone for more than a few hours. But when Sparrow-Hawk was about fourteen years old, Badger, and the rest of us, along with some of the young warriors in the tribe, left the village for one of the last hunts before the heavy winter snow came.

That's when Badger left the boy behind, that's when he told him to stay and protect his mother. When we returned, we found the village burned to the ground. Small children, young women, and old men had been murdered. There were few survivors, but Young Sparrow-Hawk, had been killed, and his mother was dying. By that evening, we had put together the events of the day, best we could.

When Badger found the boy's mother, she was suffering a bullet wound. She had run to hide in the trees during the attack, clutching the hand of her son, but the attackers were destroying everything in sight and when Spring Rain approached the tree-line someone spotted their movement.

His mother fell in the chase, when her foot landed sideways in a small hole, forcing her to the ground. Sparrow-Hawk realized she could no longer run, so he told her to lay quietly in the tall grass, Since he could not move her to safety by himself he broke from his mother and got the attackers attention, then he ran, trying to draw the attackers away from his mother.

They turned, intending to run the boy down. That is, all but one man, who saw Spring Rain hiding low, in the grass.

He left his horse and began attacking her, she fought back, gripping a skinning knife she slashed him across the side of the face along the jaw line, taking most of his earlobe. The attacker stood, covering the side of his face with his hand, he screamed with pain, as blood ran between his fingers. The other men called him, by name, telling him they had the boy.

Bo Meadows skinned his revolver and fired one round. Then, while he stood over her dying body she told Meadows that Badger would find him. She said, the look on his face told her that he didn't understand.

Then he got on his horse and rode to where the other men were. Before Spring Rain died she told Badger about the attack and she told him about the scar she had left on the side of Bo Meadows face.

Levi, that knife was Sparrow-Hawks, he had given the only weapon he had to his mother so she could defend herself. Than he ran off trying to draw them away from her.

Badger promised Spring Rain that he would find the men who were responsible. He has carried that knife with him ever since. We spent two years looking for the men who made this attack. Some were killed in gunfights, some by misfortune, and then there were the three that we did find.

That left only one man, the man who murdered the wife of his close friend, and the only son he ever knew."

Casper paused again, to form his thoughts, then he said, "But when the trail got cold, Levi, we had no choice but to give it up for a time. Until something new would put us back on Meadow's trail, but nothing did. That's when we parted company."

Levi was taken in by the story and didn't know how to respond, but Casper wasn't finished.

"So I made plans to start up the Snake River and Badger told me while we sat around our last campfire together, that he needed to rest his soul for a while. He said he wanted to find an old friend who lived in the Walla Walla Valley. He said he was going to find someone named, Albert Danley.

The door to the back of the train car suddenly opened. "Are you boys gonna jack your jaws the whole trip,"

Levi smiled, "No Badger, as a matter of fact, were not."

"Well, that's good." Badger replied, "Because the conductor just told me, we will be going along the Columbia River, about the time the sun sets." He looked at Levi, "...and a sunset on the Columbia River is something you just don't want to miss." His gaze moved, as a big smile crossed his face, "....ain't that right, Casper."

"That's a fact," Casper said, as he looked at Levi, "Mother Nature can be a beautiful lady when she wants to be."

Badger huffed, "Yep, just don't piss her off. If you don't respect her, she'll lift you right up off the ground and spit you out a hundred miles away."

Levi laughed, and Badger wrinkled his brow.

"Son, I heard a story once many years back, of a man who set out to tame that woman. Why, she just scooped him, his horse, and his dog, right up off the ground and not a soul has heard from him, or his horse. Now his dog was found roaming around the Texas Pan-handle," Badger winked at Casper, "...But that poor dog, he ain't talkin'."

They all laughed, as Casper wiped the tears from his eyes, then he put his palm on Badger's shoulder.

"Come-on Badger it's time to make another round, and check on the men. I'll help with this one. Levi you should check-in with Warden Justice."