Suzanne Coswell finished her rounds in the Golden Trout and drove back down into the Sink. When she got back to Coswell Ranch, she called the Adroushans to let them know she’d be coming over, and she got on her bike and rode into town. When she pulled up, Siran was standing on the front porch. Garegin and Armen were just inside the front door. Sue sat them down and told them that she thought she knew where Cindy might be.
“She’s probably fine,” Sue said. “She‘s a smart girl—prob’ly come walking in here in a day or so.”
“Why didn’t she tell us, then?” Siran countered.
“I don’t know … maybe she didn’t know how to tell you in a way that would stop you from wor—”
“Where is she?” Mrs. Adroushan interrupted.
“I think she’s on the Range. Looks like she’d been near the Little Kern River recently.”
“Did you report it to a ranger?”
“I—I don’t believe Cindy would appreciate that.”
“What if she’s in danger? What if she’s hurt?”
“Respectfully, ma’am: we’re all in danger, and Cindy’s a big girl.”
“I’m sorry, young lady, but you can talk like that. You’re not her mother.”
“That’s true, ma’am. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend. I—I showed Sam. He’s looking for her.”
“Alone?”
“Sam’s a big boy, ma’am, and you can say that. You’re not his mother.”
Armen cut in. “I’m going up.”
“How?” his father inquired.
“On my bike, if I have to.”
“You won’t have to. Get your gear. And make a checklist. I want to make sure you’re not rushing this.”
“I can take him.” Sue offered.
“No.” Garegin refused. “He’s not doing this without me.”
It was time for Sue to get back to school, so she didn’t have time to hunt down Cindy unless she thought it was necessary, but she added, “Walker might be able to help you. He should still be at Table Meadow.”
So Garegin and Armen drove up to Lewis Camp Trailhead and hiked directly toward Table Meadow.
As they descended the Jordan Trail, they saw a sparse dust cloud rising from below. A little while later they heard lowing and barking. Cattle were being driven up to the ridge. Armen recognized the cattle trail as they approached it, so they stopped and waited for the cattle to gain the ridge, hoping that Walker was at the rear of the herd. He was.
“Hey” he shouted from horseback, with his pack mule trailing behind on a lead.
“Hey” Armen hailed back. “Are you done for the year?”
“Yeap. All out of grass. Mountains drying up.”
“Seen Sam or Cindy?”
“Uhuh. Lookin’ for ‘em?”
Garegin smiled and put his hand on his son’s shoulder.
“Sure. Have any idea where we might find them?,” Armen replied.
“Might be up the Little Kern. Don’t know for sure.”
“How long since you saw Cindy?” Garegin cut in.
“Oh, say, four, five days. Dropped by my camp. Said hello.”
“Anything we ought to know?”
“Oh, don’t know. Good luck to ya. Keep it simple.”
“Thanks,” the two Adroushans replied unison and looked at each other. They headed down the dusty-clouded cattle trail as the cowboy and his dog drove the little herd onward.
As the father and son dropped into the valley of the Little Kern, Garegin noticed a column of smoke rising from the valley’s far end, ten miles away. He and Armen stood and watched it for a moment. It didn’t look like much at the time, but it had to be more than the smoke of a campfire to be so visible at such a distance. They didn’t know what to make of it, yet without a word they took it as a beacon, and without a word, they began to walk in its direction. They watched the pillar grow as they went. It began as a narrow and bent sapling, and it grew slowly into a great oak with a broad crown and a think trunk.