Summary: By Gary Ives Read by Shawn Robertson Period: World War I Sandy drove the hired wagon from Glen Ellen down to Valhalla with his mare and Billy Crowder's roan, Apache, trailing. There he buried his friend under a live oak in the $25 casket he'd bought in San Francisco. The only personal effects that Billy had were his saddle, bedroll, three books, and some papers, including some letters from a sister in Nevada. He reckoned the saddle and Apache rightly belonged to this sister and at any rate she needed to be notified that Billy was gone. So after he'd filled in the grave he decided to put a low cairn over Billy and while he did this, in his mind, composed the letter to this sister. He wrote the letter as soon as he washed up, as he knew his thinking would become thick with the drink which that hard day demanded.
