But before they reached the edge of town, a rider appeared ahead.
He was alone.
His horse was white.
And he carried a federal marshal's badge.
"Hold it!" he shouted.
Noah pulled the reins.
The marshal raised one hand.
"My name is Samuel Hayes. I'm here on orders from the United States land office."
He looked at the satchel in Daniel's hands.
"Which one of you has the evidence?"
Daniel stepped forward.
"I do."
Hayes nodded.
"Then you're coming with me."
Noah looked back toward the burning boardinghouse.
Mercer and Crowley were riding after them.
The marshal drew his revolver.
"Looks like we've got ourselves a problem."
He turned toward the approaching riders.
"One I intend to settle."
The marshal did not fire immediately.
He waited until Mercer and Crowley had ridden within shouting distance, then raised his badge.
"United States marshal! Drop your weapons!"
The riders slowed.
For the first time since the chase began, Noah saw uncertainty in Mercer's expression.
The sheriff had spent years controlling the valley through fear, but a federal badge carried authority that could not be dismissed with a threat.
Crowley recovered first.
"These people are wanted for murder."
Marshal Hayes looked at him.
"By whose authority?"
"Mine," Mercer snapped.
Hayes gave a humorless smile.
"That would be the same authority currently under investigation for land fraud, bribery, and the murder of a federal surveyor."
Mercer went pale.
Noah stared at the marshal.
"You know about the surveyor?"
"I know enough to have come looking for him."
Hayes turned toward Daniel.
"Mr. Price, I received your telegram in Helena. You were supposed to meet me there yesterday."
Daniel nodded.
"I had to retrieve the original records."
"Then I suggest we get moving."
Crowley raised his revolver.
"You aren't taking anyone."
Hayes drew his weapon.
"That would be a mistake."
For several seconds, the riders stared at one another.
Then Mercer slowly lowered his rifle.
Crowley looked at him in disbelief.
"Amos!"
The sheriff did not answer.
He knew that the game had changed.
And he knew that if he fired on a federal marshal in front of witnesses, there would be no escape.
Hayes ordered Crowley and Mercer to surrender their weapons. Two deputies who had been following the marshal emerged from the trees and took the men into custody.
Noah watched as Mercer was disarmed.
The sheriff looked at him with cold hatred.
"You think you've won, Bennett?"
Noah stepped closer.
"No. I think the truth has finally caught up with you."
Mercer spat into the dirt.
"You have no idea what you've done."
Hannah approached him.
"My father spent thirty years waiting for this moment."
The sheriff looked away.
For the first time, he had nothing to say.
They rode to Helena under federal protection.
The documents were placed in a locked case, and Daniel gave his sworn testimony before a land commissioner. Silas repeated his account of the murder, identifying Mercer as the man who had killed Daniel Price.
Benjamin Bennett arrived two days later, his arm in a sling. The doctor had insisted he remain at the cabin, but Benjamin had refused.
"If the truth is going to be told," he said, "I intend to hear it myself."
The hearings lasted three weeks.
Witnesses came from across Montana. Former railroad clerks produced payment records. Families who had lost their farms brought copies of forged deeds. A retired engineer testified that he had seen Mercer and Crowley bury something near the northern ridge on the night Daniel Price disappeared.
Then came the discovery that changed everything.
A team of federal investigators excavated the abandoned well beneath the north pasture.
They found the remains of Daniel Price's father, along with a silver watch, a surveyor's compass, and a leather document case containing the original maps of the valley.
The maps matched the deed signed by Thomas Reed and James Bennett.
The Crowley deed was declared fraudulent.
The railroad's claim to the northern valley was suspended.
And for the first time in thirty years, the people of the valley had a chance to reclaim what had been stolen from them.
But the trial was not over.
Elias Crowley was charged with conspiracy, fraud, and obstruction of justice. Sheriff Mercer faced charges connected to the murder of Daniel Price and the poisoning of James Bennett.
Silas Ward testified for the prosecution.
Benjamin Bennett testified as well.
When he finished, he looked toward Noah.
"I should have come home sooner."