He thought of Cackleberry Jack McTavish, the mate he’d had when he first came to Matagorda. Jack had been killed when the Mary E got caught offshore in a violent storm. Jack had taken a long time to die, and during that time Martin had listened to him babble. The babble had finally made sense when Juanito explained it all to him. Jack had found his spirit during his dying days, had found something deep inside him that was eternal and pure and good. Perhaps Juanito had died as Jack had, at peace with himself and unafraid of the darkness.
“Tell Cackle Jack I said hello, will you, Juanito?”
And it seemed to him he could hear them both laughing. And when he looked through the fresh tears in his eyes, he saw Juanito’s slow smile.
He would carry that smile in his heart forever.
We are not granted wisdom;
We must locate it ourselves,
after taking a journey that no other can protect us from
nor travel for us.
—MARCEL PROUST,
translated from the French
BY JORY SHERMAN FROM TOM DOHERTY ASSOCIATES
The Barons of Texas
The Baron Range
The Baron Brand
The Baron War
The Baron Honor
The Ballad of Pinewood Lake
Grass Kingdom
Horne’s Law
Song of the Cheyenne
Trapper’s Moon
Winter of the Wolf
“Grass Kingdom has all the earmarks of a Western novel—the ‘sweeping saga’ plot, the big-sky feel, the larger-than-life characters who are most at home astride a horse. Some things can come only from real experience, and Sherman’s descriptions of daily life and of the landscape ring true.”
—San Antonio Express-News
“Blazing out of the Texas ranch country with absolute authenticity, Jory Sherman in Grass Kingdom tells a pulsating story of love, hate, revenge, and redemption, a story of sons avenging fathers and making peace in an unforgiving land.”
—David Nevin, author of 1812
“Grass Kingdom is on the mark, Sherman’s big one—with great characters, great dialogue, and a wonderful story.”
—Dee Brown, author of
THE BARON RANGE. Copyright © 1998 by Jory Sherman.
All rights reserved.
For information, address A Forge Book , 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
e-ISBN 9781466827325
First eBook Edition : July 2012