behind as though he had always belonged on this mission.
About a hundred yards in, Elsie steered Wade into a shallow hollow beneath a limestone ledge. It was screened by brush and shadow, nearly invisible to anyone who didn’t already know where to look.
“Stay here,” she whispered. “Don’t sleep. Don’t move. Don’t make noise.”
Wade caught her wrist gently.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to the clearing.”
Worry hardened his expression.
“No. Absolutely not.”
Elsie looked him straight in the eye.
“If they see the rope gone and our
