Chapter 1 Pages 1-18 Summary

It's 1851. The narrator, Eli, is sitting outside of the commodore's mansion waiting for his brother Charlie to come and tell him about the new job. The narrator is studying their two new horses, Tub and Nimble. Eli and Charlie's old horses burned up in a barn.

Eli finds out that the new job is to find a kill a prospector in San Francisco California, Herman Kermit Warm. Charlie produces a letter from the commodore's scout, Morris, to give Charlie an Eli details on the target. They learn he is a solitary man that likes to frequent the saloons. He also has the ability to fight. Herman confronts Morris, asking him why he's following him. The scout just pretends he doesn't know what Herman is saying.

The commodore wants Charlie to be the lead man on this job. The commodore...