Hashknife led his tall gray out of the corral and around to the yard, where he found Lucy and Wanna together.
“Where’s Big Medicine?” he asked.
“He gone back,” said Lucy, pointing toward the door.
Hashknife dropped his reins and walked to the doorway. There was only an odor of the powder smoke left. Big Medicine was standing near the opposite wall, looking down at the body of Jack Meline. He did not see Hashknife, so intent was he. Suddenly he reached down, grasped one of the hands, and held it for several moments.
Then he got slowly erect, sighed deeply, and turned to see Hashknife. For several moments they looked at each other. Big Medicine came slowly across the room, stopped beside Hashknife, and looked back.
“What was it, Hawkworth?”
Hashknife spoke in a whisper, realizing that it was something that only concerned Big Medicine.
“The philosophy of ignorance,” said Big Medicine slowly.
Hashknife’s memory flashed back to the time he had said those same words to Big Medicine.
“You don’t mean——”