text: 18
  
  After Grit had stirred up the fire and devoured a can of beans and another of peaches, he grabbed a shovel from the wagon and started to dig. An hour later, as the dim rays of daylight lit the horizon, he dragged Bart by the collar into the grave. He searched the pockets and found $60 and some change. When he dragged Leo to the grave and searched him, Grit found the rest of the money the murderers had stolen. He shoveled dirt onto the bodies and filled in the grave.
  
  "That's better'n both of you deserve," Grit said to himself as he walked away.
  
  By daylight, he'd fixed himself some side pork and a huge stack of pancakes with syrup, and he'd washed away the blood from his head. The bullet had struck the top back of his head, so it was impossible to see it even with a mirror, but he could feel the wound with his fingers and knew he'd have a scar, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. By the time the sun arose, he was on his way south. He was troubled by what had happened, but he couldn't see how it could have been avoided.
  
  The trip south was long, but it was also routine. Grit didn't push the mules, just let them set their own pace. He rested at mid-morning, noon and mid-afternoon and stopped at what he thought might be 6 o'clock each evening. He crossed the Elkhorn River, where he found a well-used ford, but when he came to the Platte three days later, he had to ride east 10 miles to find a ferry.
  
  By the end of the week, the wagon crested a hill, and in the distance, he saw the little town of Lincoln and the two-story state capitol, looking lonely in the middle of the prairie all by itself at the north end of town. When he drew closer, he saw that somebody had planted small trees around the capitol, but the trees had not leafed out much and had a lot of growing to do.
  
  Not knowing where to find Colleen, he pulled up in front of Paulie's boarding house at just about supper time. Paulie ran out to greet him.
  
  "Ah, you made it," Paulie said as he hugged Grit. "Have any trouble?"
  
  "No, not much really," Grit said. "Do you know where I can find Colleen and Astrid?"
  
  "Yeah, she's rented a house on the east side of town," Paulie said, "but why don't you come in and have supper with us."
  
  "I'd love to do that some time, Paulie," Grit said. "You know I would, but I'm anxious to see Colleen now. I know you understand."
  
  Paulie laughed, "Not fully, but I have a girlfriend, and I'm starting to understand what it is between a man and a woman. You go on, and we'll talk things over later."
  
  Getting the directions from Paulie, Grit drove the wagon over to the house. As he drove, he thought about Paulie growing up. He supposed that was part of college. Three years before, Paulie had depended almost solely on Grit. Now, he was becoming his own man, and Grit couldn't help but feel a little pride for his part in making that happen.
  
  As he pulled up in front of the rented house, Colleen and Astrid rushed out to see him. When he stepped down from the wagon, he had to turn to step on the spokes of the wheel, and Colleen saw the back of his head.
  
  "What's happened to ya then?" she asked.
  
  "Oh, I had a little trouble," Grit said. "It's all over, and I'm just fine." He gently picked up Astrid and said, "So how's my favorite daughter, huh?"
  
  "I'm just fine, Pa," she said as her little hands grasped his cheeks. "Ma got us this house, and we really like it."
  
  "Why don't you show it to me," he said, "then I'll unload everything and put away the animals."