To Jack French a reply went by return mail.

It was not long, but, as Jack French read, the easy smile vanished, and for days he carried in his face the signs of the remorse and grief that gnawed at his heart.

Then he rode alone to Wakota to take counsel with his friend Brown.
As he read, one phrase kept repeating itself in his mind: "The responsibility of leaving Kalman with you, I must take.

What else can I do?
I have no other to help me.

But the responsibility for what you make him, you must take.