"Not quite," Bernie said. "I want you to tell us about going to see Grandma Peshlakai. I'll bet she was surprised to see you. And happy, too. What did she say?"

"Well, surprised anyway," Leaphorn said, and grinned. "I told her we had found the man who stole her pinyon sap. And I told her we collected the money from him to repay her. Fifty dollars for each bucket, and I handed her the two fifty-dollar bills, and two other fifties for compounded interest, and I said something like, 'Well, I finally got the job done.'

"And she said, 'Well, young man, it sure took you a long time to do it.'"

About the Author.

TONY HILLERMAN is a former president of the Mystery Writers of America and has received its Edgar and Grand Master Awards. His other honors include the Los Angeles Times' Los Angeles Times' Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement, the Center for the American Indian's Amba.s.sador Award, the Silver Spur Award for the best novel set in the West, and the Navajo Tribe's Special Friend Award. He lives with his wife in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement, the Center for the American Indian's Amba.s.sador Award, the Silver Spur Award for the best novel set in the West, and the Navajo Tribe's Special Friend Award. He lives with his wife in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

www.tonyhillermanbooks.com Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

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