And the season was now close at hand when for weeks, sometimes months, the river was unfordable.

There were a score of permanent families, a host of merry, sturdy children, a number of idle young men, and only one girl--Lucy Bostil.

But the village always had transient inhabitants--friendly Utes and Navajos in to trade, and sheep-herders with a scraggy, woolly flock, and travelers of the strange religious sect identified with Utah going on into the wilderness.

Then there were always riders passing to and fro, and sometimes unknown ones regarded with caution.
Horse-thieves sometimes boldly rode in, and sometimes were able to sell or trade.

In the matter of horse-dealing Bostil's Ford was as bold as the thieves.
Old Brackton, a man of varied Western experience, kept the one store, which was tavern, trading-post, freighter's headquarters, blacksmith's shop, and any thing else needful.