03-16-2013, 01:33 AM
The top of the next rise wasn't quite far enough away to escape the argument between Hank and Luke, but the road was clearly marked and Silent was confident they couldn't get lost before he stopped to let them catch up. He rode on further, enjoying the gentle spring sunshine and the unusual silence. Not only was he away from Hank and Luke, it must be miles from the nearest cemetery. Well, that or this was the quiet sort of town where people didn't die suddenly and leave behind ghosts. Either way, Silent was hardly going to complain. He even found himself smiling as he rode through the serene landscape.
The sun was a bit less gentle by noon, and Silent started looking for a place to rest and eat. Cresting one more hill, Silent got his first glimpse of Little Well. 'Little' was fairly accurate. There couldn't have been twenty buildings in the little valley below, and at least some of them had to be barns, given the patchwork of fields that seemed to spread out in all directions except the one Silent had come from. Coming over that last hill was like leaving the wilderness and stepping into civilization. Rural civilization, but still. I wonder how much further it is to this house the boss wants us to fix up...
Bored with its rider's musings, Silent's horse began picking its way delicately down the hill toward the nearest building. It smelled water from the schoolyard's well, and the lunches of schoolchildren. Silent reined it in at the edge of the schoolyard, and it snorted in disdain when he looped its reins over a tree branch instead of leaving it free to investigate unattended lunch pails.
The older students all paused to watch the stranger dismount and head for the school, but he seemed unaware of them as he dodged nimbly through a game of blind man's bluff being played by the younger children. He removed his hat as he stepped in the door and paused a moment for his eyes to adjust to the comparative darkness of the interior. "Ma'am? I hate to bother you, but I thought I should ask permission to water my horse at your well... And since I'm already bothering you, do you know the way to the old Pearson place?"
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