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After he had introduced Rusty to Arthur Pearce, he explained to Lorna’s father, “Rusty is the cook for my outfit He’ll tell you what provisions he needs I’ll be back later to pay for them”
The quickest way to get on the wrong foot with Rusty was to tell hiar, pounds of sugar, bacon, and assorted iteave Rusty the authority to purchase what he felt he needed
“Lorna asked me to tell you, if I saw you today, that she wanted to talk to you,” her father passed along the e
“Ato see him first, then I’ll ride over to the house to see Lorna,” Benteen agreed
“She won’t be home this afternoon,” Arthur Pearce quickly corrected that i to theveil Then they were stopping by the church to speak with the minister”
Ahtened Benteen’s eyes “What a to catch up with her?” He shook his head at the vagaries of the female sex
“I’e” Arthur Pearce s
Leaving the store, Benteen first went in search of the on for sale There sees to buy His pockets kept getting lighter
The wagon was needed to carry the items for their new home in Montana as well as personal possessions Also it would afford Lorna some privacy and the luxury of a bed He didn’t expect her to rough it like the rest of them
After the wagon, Benteen still needed to buy another twenty head or so of horses He wasn’t cohty horses in the re for hiroup to finish out the string More es to the boys on the cowhunt When he had started putting his plans in motion, eleven hundred dollars had looked like an ample amount of money to fund the drive Now Benteen wished he’d taken the extra ti to catch another twenty head of wild cattle to throith the Ten Bar herd he’d trailed to Wyo for just thirty steers of his own He’d have two or three hundred dollars more to play with now
It was a good thing he planned to sell soe City, provided the beef prices were respectable He’d need the money to pay off the drovers when they reached Montana Territory He wondered briefly about Barnie and how the winter had been The knowledge Barnie gained with one Montana winter behind him would be invaluable, come the next
Benteen weaved his way across the street, dodging horse-draagons and galloping riders The dust constantly swirled about him, kicked up by hooves and wheels The livery stable was just ahead Benteen could see it through the haze ofdust and people
The clang of a blacks a horseshoe into shape added to the din of the streets As Benteen neared the stable, he saw the giled toward the blacksmith’s lean-to
“Hey, Stoney,” he greeted the man
“Hey, Benteen” Stoney raised a hand to hionna be pullin’ out soon”