And it's a good, clean, straw bed, with fresh linens. Mr. Barlow doesn't believe in holding out on his workers.

Dinner, too, will be in the main house, not from some day-old pot heated outside.

Mr. Barlow is, indeed, paying attention to Jay as they move along, and the look on his young face does make him smile a bit. He likes the kid already, so help him god.

"In the mornin' you can saddle up your mount and come work on the fences with John and I. It'll give you the opportunity to see more of the property."

And it'll give Samuel the opportunity to keep Jay close, see how he works. But he'd never tell him that.

"Dinner's in about an hour. Why don't you get yourself settled and cleaned up. You can have Jim show you in to the house when it's time."