Blood Meridian

Chapter XVII

At dusk, the gang rides out of Tucson. With them are five new recruits, Cloyce and "the idiot", and also the barrel of whiskey stolen the night before, which Glanton promised to Mangas Colorado. The barrel has been drained, refashioned, and now holds only three quarts or so of liquor. Mangas and some Apaches ride out to meet the gang, and the whiskey is exchanged for gold and silver. Mangas seems dissatisfied with the trade, but Davy Brown assures a new recruit that the Apaches won’t follow in the night.