Pony

The narrative returns to the present moment. Silas continues leading the police officers toward the cave. It is now raining heavily, so they tie the horses up to prevent them from slipping.

Silas and the officers get closer to the cave. Silas recognizes Rufe Jones’s horse, along with five others.

The cave is still a mile away. There are no people around—just the horses. None of the horses belongs to Farmer. Deputy Beautyman asks why the men took Silas’s father, and Silas admits for the first time that they believed him to be Mac Boat. This gets the officers’ attention, but Silas still insists that Pa is not Mac Boat.

The police officers debate whether to challenge the seven men in the cave or go back to town and gather more men before attempting a confrontation. If they have the element of surprise, they believe that they could succeed. However, if the men in the cave have captured Farmer, they will probably realize that more people will be coming soon. Deputy Beautyman would rather challenge the men now because he doesn’t want to go all the way back to town and then come back again. Silas agrees, but the officers tell him to stay with the horses.

Mittenwool hears someone coming, so Silas relays this information to the officers. Seb and Eben Morton are wading through the creek, but they have not spotted Silas or the officers. They do not seem concerned at all, which suggests that they didn’t capture Farmer.

The Morton brothers are hunting because the men’s current food supply is limited to apples. When the brothers emerge from the creek, the police officers tackle them to the ground at gunpoint and tie them up. Sheriff Chalfont promises to tell the judge to let them off easy as long as they answer honestly; if they lie, scream, or cause trouble, they will go to prison for a long time. Now that Silas sees the two up close, he realizes that they are only 18 years old and seem scared.

The Morton brothers confirm that Roscoe Ollerenshaw is in the cave with Rufe Jones, Pa, two bodyguards called “Plug One” and “Plug Two,” and a man with blue fingers whose name they don’t know. Ollerenshaw took Pa because the man with blue fingers was unable to complete the new method of printing counterfeit money; Ollerenshaw assumed that Mac Boat would know how to do it properly. Ollerenshaw promised to release Pa once he printed the notes, but now he refuses to release him because he wants the $20,000 in gold coins. Ollerenshaw’s group did not find Farmer.

A few months ago, the Morton brothers were originally heading to California, hoping to mine enough gold to open a candy store. Their money ran out in Ohio, and Jones claimed that the brothers could make more money working for him than digging for gold in California. Now, they promise to stop working for Ollerenshaw and move to California instead, swearing that they have never killed anyone. They also confirm that there is only one entrance to the cave.

The police tie the Morton brothers to a tree and then disguise themselves as the Mortons by putting their clothes on. They hunt some rabbits and plan to approach Ollerenshaw’s cave near dusk so that nobody will realize they’re not the Mortons until they’re close enough to attack. They also stuff their own clothes with leaves to create decoys, making it look like more shooters are around the cave so that Ollerenshaw will be more likely to surrender or shoot at the decoys. They send Silas to wait with the horses while they approach the cave.

Mittenwool assesses the area while Silas waits with the horses. Pony nuzzles Silas, who feels that he and Pony have bonded like soldiers. The same ghost from the jailhouse, Matilda Chalfont, appears and asks for Desimonde (the sheriff). Silas explains that he is chasing after bad men, and the ghost asks if the men are “slavers” because her family members are “free-staters.” She plans to follow Desimonde but asks Silas to deliver a message in case she cannot find him. She admits that she ate the plum pudding their mom had left out for them, for which she is sorry. Matilda leaves.

Silas is upset to realize that Matilda stayed behind just to apologize to her brother for eating more than her share of pudding. He feels hurt that his mother has never visited him in ghost form. Mittenwool returns and listens to Silas, but he cannot provide any insight into these mysteries. Silas decides to stop asking Mittenwool philosophical questions about ghosts because doing so always upsets them both. He also decides to go after Matilda to help her find Desimonde.

Silas, Mittenwool, and Pony catch up with Matilda. Mittenwool is afraid of water, so Matilda goes across the creek to let Silas know when he is close to the cave. When they get there, Silas ties Pony up. He’s not sure why he brought Pony; the retrospective narration reflects that maybe he intuited that Pony would have a role to play in the attack.

It is now dusk, and the decoys look convincing. Chalfont and Beautyman also look convincing in their disguises as the Morton brothers. They casually approach the cave. The Plugs and Rufe Jones are at the cave’s entrance but do not initially notice the imposters. As soon as the outlaws see through the ruse, the officers attack, killing one Plug and injuring the other. Ollerenshaw is still inside the cave; the officers tell him that he’s surrounded and urge him to surrender. They shoot near the decoys to make it seem like the decoys themselves are shooting. They kill the other Plug, and Sheriff Chalfont’s arm gets grazed by a bullet. Across the creek, Matilda alerts Silas that a blue-fingered man is about to shoot Chalfont, so Silas warns him.

Silas shoots the blue-fingered man who is about to shoot Chalfont. The kick from the rifle knocks Silas into the creek, and Beautyman pulls him out. Silas hopes that he did not actually kill the man. Now, the police and Silas can’t shoot the men inside the cave, nor can the men inside shoot at them. Ollerenshaw tries to bribe the police; he says that Mac Boat is with him and can lead them to the buried treasure, which they can share.

Sheriff Chalfont says that the man with Ollerenshaw is not Mac Boat and will not be able to lead the outlaw to any buried treasure. However, he states that if the men cooperate, they may receive a shorter sentence. Ollerenshaw pushes Pa out of the cave at gunpoint and threatens to shoot him unless the police drop their guns.

Farmer appears and starts climbing toward the cave entrance. Nobody but Silas has spotted him. The police drop their weapons. Ollerenshaw commands Rufe Jones to shoot the police.

Suddenly, Pony charges toward the scene, and Jones is so startled that he shoots at Pony instead of the police. Pa punches Ollerenshaw and then Ollerenshaw fires his gun at Pa, but Farmer gets in the way of the gun blast. Farmer’s hands get shot off, and he falls backward over a cliff. Pa charges Ollerenshaw with a barrel, but it only grazes him, releasing a bunch of powder.

Chalfont and Beautyman run into the cave, and Silas hears a scuffle, then silence. Jones climbs down from the cave, and Silas points his rifle at him, but Jones tackles Silas and knocks the gun from his grip. Silas bites him, and Jones breaks Silas’s nose. Pony attacks Jones to defend Silas. When Beautyman exits the cave and punches Jones, Pony stops attacking.

Silas enters the cave. Ollerenshaw is knocked out, and Sheriff Chalfont is attempting to wrap Pa’s bleeding stomach. Pa is amazed that Silas is there. Pa regrets leaving Silas, but he thought that if he helped the counterfeiters, they would let him return home. Pa tells Silas for the first time that Mama once attempted to save a boy who was drowning. Pa tells Silas that the boy will have a good life. Pa dies.

Pa’s soul does not linger. It rises out of his body like a wave of heat and then disappears. Sheriff Chalfont and Deputy Beautyman comfort Silas.

Rufe Jones and Ollerenshaw are still alive and are now tied up. Jones explains details about the counterfeiting operation as if he is hoping to earn some leniency. He argues that he saved Silas’s life by not bringing him to the cave with Pa, so he should go free. Beautyman knocks Jones unconscious to make him stop talking. They cook the rabbits, but Silas has no appetite. Still, both men try to comfort him, and Silas feels affection for them.