From the spot where the boys were last seen, Nick headed north, Jarrod went north then looped east, Heath rode directly west, and Tom went to the south. Grace rode with Tom on her pony. The plan was to return to the house by nightfall, with or without the boys. Will stayed close to the ranch with the thought that maybe the boys were nearby and simply lost track of time. He searched the barn and all the outbuildings, the fields, the orchards, the woods, and the creeks nearest the house. He didn't find a trace of them.

Jane tried to conceal her panic but she wasn't very good at it. Emily was worried but not panicked: This was not the first time she'd lost a child on the ranch and it probably wouldn't be the last. Audra was glad her son was safe in school even if she did miss him. Sarah offered up yet another prayer of thanks that her children didn't give her such frights.

Audra stayed close to Jane, reassuring her and distracting her with tales of her own youthful adventures on the ranch. Jane was touched that Audra would extend such caring and optimism in light of her own situation.

Audra's recounting of growing up on the ranch brought her more than memories, though; the stories reminded her of how it felt to have a sense of self, how it felt to be truly loved. And, as she worked to calm Jane, she also remembered what it was like to have meaningful purpose in her life. Her life now was parties and committees, every one of them chosen by Charles in order to advance his interests, not hers. Sitting on the bench in the garden with Jane, holding her sister-in-law's hand, Audra found it interesting that, even in the midst of worrying about two young nephews, she, herself, felt caressed by a sense of place and belonging. And peace.

Carrie came to the garden carrying a tea service and set it on the table. As she poured the tea for her aunts, she said, "Aunt Jane, I think we've all gotten lost at one time or another but we all found our way back home. We're Barkleys."

Tom and Grace debated whether to go beyond the south gate. They knew the boys were told not to go past it and there was no sign that they had. Tom thought they would have gone to the river so he and Grace decided to split up: Grace would search beyond the gate and Tom would ride west to where the trail met the river and she would meet up with him there.

She rode through the woods till she got to the little trail and rode west a bit before she turned around to search east. She didn't have to go far; there, she found one of the ponies tethered to a tree next to the trail and pointed Starbeam through the woods and towards the High Ridge, calling out the names of her cousins.

"Over here!" Daniel called back.

When she got to him, she only saw him and the other pony, not James. She dismounted, hitched Starbeam to a tree, and walked quickly to the ridge where Daniel stood. When Grace walked slowly and made the effort, she could minimize her limp. When she walked quickly, there was no hiding it and she hobbled more than walked.

Grace peered over the ridge, following Daniel's pointing finger, and there below she saw a much defeated and bedraggled James, shirt torn and open, covered in dust, and a bloody bandage around his leg. She almost laughed at the sight of him, he was so pathetic looking, but neither he nor Daniel seemed to find any of this amusing.

She immediately returned to Starbeam and took the rope from her saddle and made a lasso, just as her Aunt Em had taught her when she was a younger kid.

"If I rope him," she told Daniel, "we'll hitch the other end to Starbeam and he can pull him up but I'm wondering how we'll control the rope." She was also concerned the rope might get free of the saddle and then she and her nine-year-old cousin would have to bear the full weight of James at the other end of the rope.

Daniel thought for a moment, then, without a word, he took the long end of the rope and looped it once around a narrow tree that stood close to the ridge. Together, they secured the rest of the end of rope to Starbeam.

Grace returned to the ridge and called down to James that she was going to throw a lasso down and he was to step inside the loop and tighten it around his chest and under his arms. But when she threw the lasso, she threw it true, and roped herself a cousin. She watched to make sure he secured it as she told him but it didn't look right to her.

"What if he slips out of it?" she asked Daniel, "Or the rope's too tight? I don't want to squeeze him to death, his hide's not as thick as a calf's."

Daniel got back down on his stomach and called to James to take off his belt. Then, he instructed him to put it back on but to loop it through the rope in the back. Daniel figured this would get mighty uncomfortable for James with the rope pulling his pants up in back but at least it lessened the chances that James would get free of the rope and it would take some of the pressure off his upper body.

"Hey, Daniel," Grace said, impressed, "how d'ya think of that?" Daniel shrugged and Grace walked over to Starbeam.

Grace controlled the rope between Starbeam and the tree and Daniel controlled it between the tree and James. He held that rope tight enough that it burned his palms but he didn't loosen his grip.

Slowly, James began his ascent up the face of the rocky ridge, sometimes climbing, sometimes being pulled in small, slow increments.

When at last he made it to the top, he crawled several feet to get away from the edge. He didn't ever want to see that ridge again.

Grace got her canteen and unwrapped his bandage. The fabric of his pant leg was stuck to the half dried blood and when she peeled it away, the wound started to bleed again. The cut was not quite three inches long and it was fairly deep. She had Daniel fetch the knife she carried on her saddle and she cut the pant leg off. Next, she poured water over the wound from her canteen and had James hold the pant leg fabric over it with pressure while she tore off the bottom six inches of her petticoat. She drenched the wound again, then bandaged up the leg with several yards of lacy linen.

Daniel rode behind Grace on Starbeam till they got to his pony tied at the trail. The three cousins then made their way back through the woods to the gate where they got back on the main trail and headed west. James had no idea how they found that gate again, nothing looked familiar to him at all.

The sun was starting to set, casting long shadows, and distorting distant images. All the same, Grace spotted Tom far ahead and kept shouting his name till he heard, turned around, and started galloping towards them. He fired his pistol in the air in case anyone was within earshot so they'd know to come.

Tom rode up next to Grace. "Where d'ya find them?" he asked.

"At the High Ridge," she said, "but that's only 'cause Daniel tied his pony up on the trail."

Tom looked at the boys. Daniel looked no worse for wear but James was another matter altogether. He rode up next to his little brother and shouted angrily, "You know you got everyone out lookin' for you?!" He shook his head, thinking about their father, and added, "Boy, I'm sure glad I'm not you," and then he laughed and rejoined Grace.

"People are looking for us?" James asked Daniel, horrified. It never occurred to him that this little adventure would cause anyone any trouble.

Daniel said nothing but he cast a scowl at his cousin that James didn't see. Yeah, he thought, and your father will probably buy you a big ol' present for coming home in one piece.