Mounting drama of high tension in mental as well as physical domains. Here is a hunt for the vicious, terrifying black ""painter"" threatening the white ranchers. A dream of the older son of the Bridges presages imminent threat; the middle son, incredulous, insists on taking Arthur on a hunt for the beast; the youngest brother is left in charge of the tense household, in the midst of a blizzard. There is double tragedy when the beast is found, and Harold, the youngest finishes the job.