Mr. Hawes and I didn't talk much. My heart was racing. In just a few hours, I had become a long rider, an outlaw.

When we got to Mrs. Kimmelmann's, I went to my room, changed into riding clothes, and packed the rest of my things in the black leather satchel my mother had bought me before I left Lawrence a few months before. Then I walked back downstairs.

"Why, this is an absolute tragedy," Mrs. Kimmelmann said when Mr. Hawes told her why I was leaving. "Just shows how awful this godforsaken country is and how it can destroy a young man's life."

Mrs. Kimmelmann didn't know I was standing in the doorway.

"Billy here did nothing wrong, and I am sure he will not come out on the little end of the horn when all is said and done," Mr. Hawes said.

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