CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
With a good deal of care, treading slowly, planting each step without making any noise, Channi approached the jittery, waiting horse before him. Soothing words came from his mouth, low and slow, “There, there, my lovely … Hush now … It’s all right … Shush, there’s my love …” Until, at last, he could reach out and take the reins. The relief rushed out of him, and he pressed his face against the horse’s neck, closed his eyes, and almost wept.
He checked the saddle bags, felt his knees buckling, and had to hold onto the stirrup to stop himself from falling. The money was there. Drawing in several deep breaths to calm himself, he drank fitfully from the canteen hanging from the saddle, pulled out the blanket roll, wrapped himself in it, and climbed onto the back of the ho
