Dunbar nibbled his lower lip. "Gearey isn't the best soldier nor the
worst. He hasn't been in a fight yet so I can't tell you how he'd act
there."
"Where does he come from?"
"New York's his home and," Dunbar became impulsive, "Mr. Tower, I'm
going to tell you because I believe you know how to respect a
confidence. Gearey comes from a wealthy home. He's here now because he
got in trouble."
"What sort?"
"Girl trouble."
"Oh."
He looked gravely at the snow, and thought about Emma's powers of
discernment. To Joe, Gearey had been just another soldier. Emma had
suspected him, and she was right. Joe must be sure to tell her what he
had found out so Emma, in her own way, could tell Barbara. Dunbar broke
the silence.
"Are you staying with us?"
"No. I reckon we'll winter at Snedeker's."
"The noises you'll hear at Laramie will be hearts breaking," Dunbar
assured him. "Going on to Oregon when the weather breaks?"
"That's right."
"I've a notion to do that myself. My time is up in June. You know, I
used to dream of going back to Boston and spend my time smoking a pipe
and wearing slippers when I got a pension. Now I know I'd be lost in
Boston."
"Why don't you come to Oregon? I hear it's a big country."
"Sure," Dunbar smiled. "I'll stake a claim near you and spend all my
time playing with these kids."
"The kids wouldn't mind."
"Neither would I," Dunbar said earnestly. "Wish I could see my way
clear. When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow morning, I reckon."
"You won't have any trouble. A patrol went down yesterday and broke a
track. I'd ride with you myself if I wasn't expecting a load of
freight."
"Then you do get freight in winter?"
"Oh sure. But it's three times as hard to get it here in winter as it is
in summer. Three times as expensive, too. The summer rate per pound
between here and Independence is a little short of ten cents. The winter
rate is almost thirty-two cents."
"Whew! And I need supplies!"
"Laramie's the place to stock up," Dunbar assured him. "You'll buy
anything here at just what it would cost you in Independence plus
freight, and you'll get summer freight rates on what's here now. That's
a lot better than it was. I've seen the time when coffee and sugar were
$2 a pound at Laramie, and flour sold for $40 a hundred. It still does
at some of the trading posts. The mountain men who run them know how to
get an emigrant's last nickel. That's why it's better to stock up here."
"Suppose an emigrant without any money comes through?"
"Plenty of them don't have any, or at least they say they don't. They
get enough to see them through. One purpose of this fort is to help
emigrants, and letting them starve isn't helping them."
"You run away now, Daddy," little Emma directed. "We must get our fort
built."
"Orders from a superior officer," Dunbar grinned. "I'd better report for
duty."
Unostentatiously, Joe re-entered their quarters. He frowned worriedly as
Emma looked up from behind her mending.