Half the drovers, including his most senior men, desert the drive as Favor makes some wrong guesses and decisions, possibly the worst being leading the drive directly through a waterless plain instead of circling around. First, Favor defended a drover whom the others accused of stealing from them, but eventually he was caught red-handed. Then, an elderly man on the drive who had been trailing a notorious gunfighter whom he had never met personally, accused one of the drovers of being that gunfighter, but Favor would not hear of it, though proof finally confirmed the old man's suspicions. Favor's biggest decision, though, was to duplicate another disastrous drive through the dry plain because Favor figured things would be just as tough circling around. However, Favor's decision seemed unwise as the drive passes one dried-up water hole after another causing Favor and the crew to get particularly testy with each other.
—chipe