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  15) Finding Horace on the Street: Mr Reese sees Horace sitting against a wall. He’s found him! After months of looking and worrying he walks across the street to him. The old man sits down with Horace and tries desperately to get him to come back to the ranch.

  16) We’ll Be Cattlemen: In a parking lot in Las Vegas, Horace is in a sleeping bag in the back of the truck. He’s beat up, weak and hurt. He thanks Mr Reese for coming to get him. Horace says, ‘We’ll be cattlemen, huh?’ Mr Reese and Horace will again run the ranch. Horace is coming home.

  17) Back of the Pickup: Mr Reese gets Horace back to Tonopah. It’s night. No clouds are in the sky, only stars. The music reflects Horace’s life, all its heartache and pain. His quest to become a champion is over, his dream of changing his identity has collapsed, leaving only himself and the old man in the back of the pickup.

  Willy Vlautin

  About the Author

  Willy Vlautin is the prize-winning author of four acclaimed novels, The Motel Life (2005), Northline (2007), Lean on Pete (2010), which was shortlisted for the IMPAC Prize, and The Free (2014). He is also the frontman of the band Richmond Fontaine, whose many albums include Post to Wire, and more recently founded The Delines. Originally from Reno, Nevada, he now lives in Portland, Oregon.

  Also by the Author

  THE MOTEL LIFE

  NORTHLINE

  LEAN ON PETE

  THE FREE

  Copyright

  First published in the UK in 2018

  by Faber & Faber Ltd

  Bloomsbury House

  74–77 Great Russell Street

  London WC1B 3DA

  This ebook edition first published in 2018

  All rights reserved

  © Willy Vlautin, 2018

  Cover design by Faber

  The right of Willy Vlautin to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly

  ISBN 978–0–571–30166–9