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Page 214

| Then she grabbed a basket and left the house to busy herself with a much more pleasant chore. She would try to place her worries over Lightning's disappearance and the plight of the sheep from her mind by going to the river to gather wild spinach and the licorice-flavored creeper called sweet tea. |

| Also, she hoped to see Bianca. She had not seen her again since their first meeting, and it gave Sasha a fretful feeling to think of Bianca living at Stanford's sheep station. Even though she was married to another man, surely she was at Stanford Sidwell's mercy by just living there! |

| Sweat dampened Ashton's brow as he shouted out orders to his men. The slain sheep were buried. The other animals were immersed in a large tub of disinfectant and then laid, one by one, on a sheet of bark and scraped down with an iron hoop. |

| "That's about all we can do," Ashton said to Crispin, wiping his hands clean on his breeches. "Only time will tell if any more of the sheep are infected." He looked at Rufus. "Just make sure these are kept separate from the others and keep an eye out for any more that might show signs of scab." |

| "Sure thing," Rufus said. He shuffled his feet nervously. "I'm sorry as hell about this, Ashton. I'd give a year's pay to have kept it from happening." |

| Ashton swung an arm around Crispin's shoulder. "You know I'm not blaming you for any of this," he said, looking toward the riverfarther still, at land now occupied by Stanford Sidwell. "If I ever do find out who is responsible, he'll pay and pay good." |

| "Want us to go snoopin' around Stanford's place |

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