The Hunter

The next day, Johnny introduces himself to Cal. Cal tells him that Trey has a talent for fixing furniture and that he is a retired police officer. Mart Lavin, an older man from Ardnakelty, greets them. Johnny invites Mart to his house the next evening because he has some ideas that he wants to share with the local men. After Johnny leaves, Mart warns Cal about Johnny because he has a reputation for cheating people. Mart says he will go to Johnny’s house the next night to find out what ideas he will be spreading in people’s minds. That evening, Cal tells Lena that he feels worried about Trey because she told him that Johnny used to hit her. Lena assures Cal that Trey can take care of herself.

When Trey arrives home, she sees Johnny standing outside. Johnny comments that Trey is quiet, but he always thought that was because Brendan, Trey’s deceased older brother, talked so much. Johnny explains that he left because he wanted to make money to create a better life for Trey and her siblings. Trey resents Johnny for leaving because Brendan might still be alive if Johnny had not left. After Johnny left, Brendan thought it was his responsibility to provide for the family. Trey misses him because Brendan was the only person besides Cal and Lena who cared about what happened to her. Six months before Trey started working for Cal, Brendan left to find work and never returned. Johnny asks Trey if Brendan came looking for him, but she says she does not know. Trey does not tell Johnny, but she knows that Brendan is dead and buried in the mountains. Trey told Cal that she would not say or do anything about Brendan’s death. Johnny tells her that in London he met an English man named Cillian Rushborough whose grandmother was from Ardnakelty. Rushborough talked about how his grandmother said that there was gold buried in the mountains from earlier generations. Johnny says that in a few days, Rushborough will arrive in Ardnakelty to look for the gold from his grandmother’s directions. Since Johnny knows the area surrounding Ardnakelty, Johnny tells Trey that he promised that he would help Rushborough find the gold.

Lena decides to visit her sister Noreen. Noreen is married to Dessie Duggan, the shop owner in town. Lena thinks back to when she married Sean Dunne, who died a few years before. When she was younger, she wanted to move to Scotland to become a vet. Sean did not want to leave Ardnakelty, though, so she stayed with him. Lena always kept to herself about her personal business, which is rare in Ardnakelty and has earned her the reputation of being uppity or strange. In the shop, Noreen asks her if she has talked with Johnny yet. Noreen reminds Lena of all of Johnny’s infidelity over the years. Lena remembers a time when Sheila believed that Johnny was a good man, but she doubts she still feels that way about him. Noreen tells her that if Cal was married to Lena, it would make him seem more established in the community and might protect him from the trouble that Johnny may bring his way.

At Cal’s house, Trey shows Cal her grades for school. Cal normally would take Trey out for pizza to celebrate her accomplishments, but he feels nervous about Johnny’s response to their relationship. Instead, he decides to teach Trey how to make pizza. Lena comes over for pizza, and Cal feels happy that he has found a small community of people to make a home with.

When Trey gets home, Johnny tells Trey that some men are coming to talk about Johnny’s idea for Ardnakelty. Trey tells Johnny that she wants to sit in with the men, and he agrees. However, he makes her promise that she will not tell Cal what she hears because it is only for the people of Ardnakelty to hear.

When the men arrive, Johnny tells them about Cillian Rushborough and the gold. At first, the men are skeptical, but Johnny assures them that he recognized the locations Rushborough recalled from his grandmother’s memory. Johnny encourages the men that there is something in Rushborough’s story, and they should take advantage of the money being offered to them. The men feel that Rushborough may be using Ardnakelty as a tourist attraction. However, Johnny assures him that even if Cillian does not find anything on their land, he will pay them for digging on it. This offer silences the men, and Trey can see that they are interested. The men start talking about what they would buy themselves if they found the gold. However, they still feel unconvinced that Rushborough will find anything. To solve this fear, Johnny suggests that they plant gold in the river for Rushborough to find. Johnny says that he invested in the Rushborough mining company, so anything Rushborough finds will earn Johnny a finder’s fee plus 20% of whatever he pays the men for digging on their land. Johnny tells them that Rushborough will arrive in the next few days. If they decide to place gold in the river and Cillian finds it, then they could profit from him as well. If they are lucky, Rushborough will find real gold and make everyone millionaires. The men are skeptical of the plan, but Trey can see that they are intrigued. They don’t make promises to Johnny, but they say that they want to meet Rushborough before they decide. Johnny agrees to bring him to the pub on Monday when he arrives, and they can see if they trust him.