Micah was in his office finishing up some paperwork and trying to decide whether to go to the Madera or the little cafe for dinner when Mark burst in and made him jump, scattering papers over the floor. "Mark! What ails you?"
"It's Pa," said the boy rapidly. "He went out this morning to get a Christmas tree and he said he'd be back for supper and he's not back." Mark hung his head. "He wanted me to go with him but I wouldn't. Micah, what if something happened to him?"
"We'll find him, Mark." Micah got his hat and his coat. "Chances are nothing much is wrong and he doesn't even need any help."
"I should have gone with him." Mark's voice was very low.
"Well, for good or bad that's settled now," said the marshal briskly. "Do you have an idea where he went?"
"Not really. He took the sledge."
"That should be easy enough to track but we'll have to hurry. It's mighty late in the day to start following a trail."
They rode out to the ranch and picked up Luke's trail but the sun had been low in the sky before they left North Fork. By the time they reached the hills it was setting. Micah dismounted and advanced slowly, scanning the ground intently, but it was a new moon and once the sun was fully down, the darkness was impenetrable.
The marshal was almost glad he couldn't see the look on Mark's face when he said, "We're going to have to stop and pick up the trail in the morning."
"It's awful cold, Micah." The boy shivered. "What if Pa's hurt? He could freeze to death by morning."
"Don't you think I know that?" Micah's voice rose and he took a moment to calm himself. "Mark, we can't take the chance. If we try following Lucas' trail and we miss it, we could lose a day or more backtracking. We've got to make camp and go on tomorrow." He started to unsaddle his horse. Mark just sat on Blue Boy and Micah said harshly, "We can't help Lucas if we get lost or frozen ourselves. Get down off that horse and start collecting firewood. Now!"
The boy swung down from his saddle and handed the reins to Micah, then went off into the woods, returning with an armload of deadfall. He built up a fire while Micah tended the horses, then prepared some beans and coffee. They ate, cleaned up, and bedded down in silence but after a few minutes of laying next to the fire, Mark spoke. "You asleep, Micah?"
"No." The marshal sat up and Mark followed suit. "It's hard to sleep next to a warm fire thinking about Lucas out in the cold."
"First my mother and now Pa." The faint light from the fire couldn't hide the sorrow in the boy's face.
"Mark, you haven't lost your pa. We're going to find him tomorrow." Micah spoke strongly to combat his own worry. "And I'm sure he'll have a perfectly reasonable explanation about why he was so late getting home."
"Do you really think so?"
"Yes, I do." Micah lay down. "Now get some sleep, because we're starting at first light."
Mark had breakfast ready the next morning before the sun was up and there was just enough light to see by when they headed out. The track of the sledge was easy to follow, but when they got to the little clearing where Luke had been trapped, they found only a stump where the tree had stood and the sledge going on, away from North Fork.