_April 22, 1889_
There had never been, Cindy thought when she awakened and peered through
the partly open wagon flaps, a more beautiful day. The air was so clear
that it seemed possible to look almost to the other end of the world.
The sky was cloudless, and though the bright sun held a promise of heat
to come with afternoon, a gentle little breeze made the morning pleasant
and cool.
Cindy was astonished to find her bed empty and a little afraid because
she heard nothing. Had she slept right through the great Run? Was
everybody already in Oklahoma? She dressed hurriedly and leaped out of
the wagon to find her family waiting and everyone else still present.
But the mood of the whole border had changed.
Yesterday it had been noisy, boisterous, excited. But yesterday all had
been at loose ends, and this morning the crowd was like a tightly wound
spring. When it finally let go, nothing would be able to stop it.
Mrs. Simpson started cooking bacon for Cindy, but she tried hard not to
look at anybody at all. Sensing the changed mood, Cindy attempted to rid
herself of it and could not.
"Why didn't you wake me, Mother?" she asked.
"There was no need, dear," her mother said. "With all the shouting and
screaming last night, you had little enough sleep anyway."
"That's right," Mindy agreed. "I awakened several times, and you hadn't
yet gone to sleep."
"Did you sleep?" Cindy asked her twin.
"Well, not very much, but more than you did."
"I slept," Alec boasted. "The last thing I remember, somebody wanted to
know about a strayed mule, and somebody else said, 'Here's your mule,
Joe!'"
"Then you didn't sleep much either," Cindy said. "Dawn was breaking when
that happened!"