You may need to re-read Dark Canyon. Tell shows up when Gaylord Riley is working the herd that he brought to his ranch and, Tell goes to work for Gaylord and is there when the ranch is attacked. He leaves almost immediately after that point. But you are right that his dialogue is extremely limited in this story.

If you want to trace Tell's path, I would suggest you start with the short story "Booty for a Badman". It starts Tell's history from when he left home at 14. I would then suggest the short story "The Courting of Griselda". I think both of these take place in Arizona where Tell went to prospect for gold after leaving the army. Then he shows up in "Dark Canyon" which I am pretty sure takes place in Utah.

When he leaves Utah, he shows up in Texas. You could skip "Chancy" but I think he is mentioned in it although not specifically. The reader is told that a Sackett rode through Texas and told the ranchers about a green valley out west just waiting to be settled. And, Chancy lets the reader know that he is a distant relative to the Sacketts. Putting Tell as the Sackett showing up in Texas makes sense because "Sackett" starts with Tell leaving Uvalde, Texas after killing a Bigelow over cheating in a card game.

From there, you can follow Tell in "Sackett", "Mojave Crossing", "The Sackett Brand", "The Lonely Men", "Treasure Mountain" and "Lonely on the Mountain". I put "The Lonely Men" in this sequence because Tell mentions that he is still recovering from injuries that were probably those he received in "The Sackett Brand". Some of this is based on dates given on grave markers in "Sackett" and "The Sackett Brand". The rest is estimated based on their place in the train of events or references made to certain years.

"Lonely on the Mountain" is sort of interesting because it almost comes across as a swan song for Tell, his brothers and Cap Roundtree. At the end, the brothers are all probably in their 30's. Tye is going home to Drusilla. Orrin still can't pick a winner. Tell appears to have a new love. And, even Cap Roundtree looks like he may be ready to settle down with a love from the past.

Justintime