"More than that," Elias said. "The treaty includes testimony describing the water system and the families allowed to use it."
Mara looked at him.
"You never told me."
"I wanted you safe."
She laughed bitterly.
"That worked."
Elias looked ashamed.
"The original document was hidden in a mission archive after the agent died."
"Why not take it to the government?"
"I tried."
"When?"
"Seven years ago."
He looked toward the mountains.
"The official I contacted wrote to Halbrook."
Silas understood.
"So you hid it again."
"Yes."
"At the water chamber."
"The chamber connects to the mission vault."
Mara shook her head.
"All these years."
Elias looked at her.
"If Halbrook destroys the treaty, he owns the valley uncontested. If the document survives, hundreds of land transfers become evidence."
Jonah said, "And the ledger proves how he obtained them."
Silas looked ahead.
"So together they destroy him."
"Yes."
The trail climbed.
Clouds gathered over the mountains.
By late afternoon, thunder rolled in the distance.
Arizona storms could turn dry washes into rivers in minutes.
Mara looked at the sky.
"We need to hurry."
Elias nodded.
"The entrance floods first."
They reached the southern ridge at dusk.
Halbrook's horse stood near a narrow crack in the rocks.
Empty.
Silas dismounted.
"He's inside."
Elias looked at the clouds.
"If rain reaches the ridge, everyone in that tunnel dies."
Jonah smiled grimly.
"Then let's make this quick."
The entrance led downward through limestone.
Cold air replaced desert heat.
Mara lit a lantern.
Water trickled beneath their boots.
Elias guided them through passages no map could fully explain.
Left at a split.
Down beneath a low shelf.
Across a narrow ledge.
Then the tunnel opened into an underground chamber.
Silas stopped.
A black lake stretched beneath the mountain.
Stone pillars rose from the water.
An old wooden walkway crossed toward a small masonry room built into the far wall.
"The mission vault," Elias said.
A lantern moved inside.
Halbrook.
They crossed.
The storm broke above them.
Water began pouring through cracks in the ceiling.
Mara looked back.
"Father."
"I know."
They reached the vault.
The door stood open.
Halbrook was inside.
He held a bundle of documents over a lantern flame.
Silas raised his revolver.
"Put it down."
Halbrook turned.
His face looked almost peaceful.
"You are remarkably persistent."
Jonah aimed beside Silas.
"Step away."
Halbrook laughed.
"Do you understand what this paper will do?"
Mara said, "Tell the truth."
"The truth?"
Halbrook shook his head.
"It will create lawsuits for twenty years. Families will lose ranches. Mining companies will collapse. Men who never knew how their land was acquired will be punished for crimes committed before they arrived."
Elias stepped forward.
"Then courts can decide."
Halbrook stared.
"Courts?"
He laughed harder.
"I am the court."
Silas said, "Not anymore."
Halbrook looked at Jonah.
"You think your ledger matters? Half those men will deny everything."
Jonah held up an oilcloth packet.
"Then they'll have to explain their signatures."
Halbrook's expression changed.
"You found it."
"Every page."
The judge finally looked afraid.
Water rushed louder behind them.
Mara looked at the floor.
"Flood."
Elias shouted, "We need to leave."
Halbrook held the treaty closer to the flame.
Silas cocked his revolver.
"Don't."
Halbrook smiled.
"You won't shoot a judge."
Silas stared at him.
"I've had a difficult week."
Halbrook's smile disappeared.
He threw the papers toward the lantern.
Mara moved.
She dove.
The bundle struck the floor.
Her hand swept it aside before the flame caught.
Halbrook fired.
Silas knocked the barrel upward.
The bullet struck stone.
Jonah tackled Halbrook.
All three men crashed against the wall.
The lantern fell.
Darkness swallowed the vault.
Mara grabbed the treaty.
Elias shouted.
"OUT!"
Water burst through the walkway entrance.
Silas found Halbrook in the dark.
The judge struck him with the pistol.
Silas fell.
Halbrook ran.
Jonah followed.
Mara pulled Silas up.
"Can you move?"
"Ask me tomorrow."
They escaped the vault.
The underground lake was rising.
The walkway disappeared beneath rushing water.
Halbrook reached the tunnel first.
Jonah was behind him.
Elias shouted directions.
"Left!"
They ran.
The storm had transformed the tunnels.
Water came from everywhere.
Mara slipped.
Silas caught her.
She recovered.
"Don't start protecting me now."
He laughed despite himself.
They reached the final passage.
Halbrook stood near the exit.
A wall of muddy water blocked the opening.
He turned.
Trapped.
Elias pointed upward.
"Old ventilation shaft."
Silas looked.
A narrow wooden ladder climbed twenty feet.
"Will it hold?"
Elias shrugged.
"It did fifteen years ago."
"Excellent."
Mara climbed first carrying the treaty.
Elias followed.
Jonah went next.
Silas looked at Halbrook.
"Your turn."
The judge stared.
"You would save me?"
Silas said, "I want you alive when people read the ledger."
Halbrook laughed bitterly.
"You still believe in law."
"No."
Silas looked upward.
"I believe in witnesses."
Halbrook climbed.
Silas followed last.
The ladder cracked.
Water filled the chamber.
Silas climbed faster.
A rung broke beneath him.
He slipped.
Mara reached down from above.
"Silas!"
He grabbed her wrist.
She pulled.
Jonah seized his other arm.
Together they dragged him through the opening.
The shaft collapsed behind them.
They emerged onto the ridge beneath pouring rain.
Halbrook lay in the mud.
Alive.
Defeated.
And for the first time in twelve years, without anyone nearby willing to obey him.
Chapter Seven — The Long Ride to Justice
They reached Fort Calder two days later.
Rourke had survived.
A patrol found him in Devil's Shelf and brought him in under guard.
By then the territorial marshal had arrived.
His name was Samuel Beckett.
He listened to Jonah for four hours.
Then Elias.
Then Mara.
Then Silas.
The ledger sat on the table between them.
So did the treaty.
Beckett turned pages slowly.
"This is enough to start a war."
Silas said, "Then start with arrests."
Beckett smiled faintly.
"Always impatient."
"Five years isn't impatient."
Jonah looked down.
Beckett closed the ledger.
"Judge Halbrook will be held pending federal review."
Mara asked, "And the land?"
"That takes longer."
"How long?"