Blood Meridian

In Ures, the governor awards Glanton a new contract for “the furnishing of Apache scalps” (141). The gang is joined by a man named Sloat and rides north into the desert, passing through a village and killing its inhabitants. When the men try to take the scalps back, however, they are met by a group of state cavalry led by General Elias. The gang fights the cavalrymen and barely escapes. When the men make camp that night, they see that Elias has 500 men with him.

The next morning, Glanton holds a draw to see who will kill the fatally injured members of the gang. The kid, noticing how carefully Holden watches him, draws one of the marked arrows. He and Tate must each kill a wounded man. After some discussion, the kid says that he will handle the executions and tells Tate to leave him. Once Tate leaves, however, the kid decides not to kill the wounded men even though Glanton will kill him for this disobedience. Although one man will die soon, the other–a man named Shelby–asks to be hidden in a bush. The kid gives Shelby water and then rides away.