CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
It was late afternoon when the weary riders came down off the mesa and saw, before them, huts and a few adobe buildings that passed for a village. To the south was a corral woven of branches that held two dozen horses and sleek cow ponies.
Mangy dogs barked and half-dressed children, dusty and dirty, shouted and pointed toward the riders. Old people, young men, and girls filtered from door-less shacks.
From a "great house", or meeting place toward the end of the trail that split the town, stepped five hard-looking Mexican men. They were armed with handguns and rifles. They watched with narrowed eyes as the riders grew more distinct.
The children shrank back as the riders turned onto the trail that served as the village street. Suddenly, an Elder stepped into their p
