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Page 209

| her away from him. "I won't believe that Lightning is dead," he said, his voice drawn. "She'll come home again, Sasha. You'll see." |

| "But then what is wrong with Crispin and Rufus?" Sasha said, rushing alongside Ashton to the door, then outside to the porch. She held her breath as she looked down at the two faces etched with concern. She gazed quickly around, then exhaled a nervous breath of relief when she didn't see Lightning's body anywhere. |

| "What's this all about?" Ashton said, hurrying from the porch. "What's happened?" |

| Rufus stepped forward, his head hung. "It ain't my fault, Ashton," he said, twisting a sweat-stained hat round and round between his long, lean fingers. "I did my job." He looked quickly up at Ashton, painful regret in the depths of his eyes. "But damn it, Ashton, somehow it happened." |

| Frustrated and growing impatient, Ashton ran his fingers through his hair. "Rufus, damn it all to hell tell me," he shouted. "What happened? Is it Lightning? Did you find her? Is she dead?" |

| "No, we didn't find Lightning," Crispin said, edging Rufus aside. "It's the sheep, Ashton. It's the damn sheep." |

| Ashton paled slightly. "What about the sheep?" he asked, looking from Rufus to Crispin. "Has something happened to them?" |

| "You might say that," Crispin said, his eyes wavering as he met Ashton's steady, questioning gaze. |

| "Well?" Ashton demanded. "What about them?" He looked past the two men at the flock of sheep |

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