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“That’s right” Benteen draped the wet towel over a corner of the washstand and bent down to his younger son

“Don’t pick hi up their supper plates “You’ve still got that ash all over your clothes”

“Sorry, fella” He rumpled the top of Arthur’s hair and took hold of his hand to walk to the table

After Lorna set the plates on the table, she went back to the stove to put kettles of water on to heat Benteen and the two boys started eating without her The food was nearly cold when she finally joined them

“How did the fire start? Do you know?” she asked

“No” There was a brief shake of his head “We’ll probably never know Half a dozen things could have started it”

“Was it bad?” Worry began to set in now that he was safe and looking halfway hu the fire while it blazed around him

“Bad enough,” he answered “We won’t really know until we’ve been able to check the burned area”

“I thought I smelled smoke in the wind Was it to the south?” Her question received an affir, it could have reached here”

“It’s out Barnie and Shorty are ca there to make sure no hot spots flare up,” Benteen said to assure her there was no further danger

“Do me and Arthur have to have a bath?” Webb asked, ready to make a face of protest

“Not tonight,” Lorna replied “We’re just going to clean up your set to eat your potatoes”

When supper was through, Lorna dragged out the squat, oblong tub and positioned it in front of the stove She alternated filling it with buckets of water and the heated water from the kettles While Benteen shed his smoky clothes, she put the boys to bed She carried the pile of s them over the clothesline that ran from a corner of the cabin to a tree so they could air

When she returned, Benteen was sitting in the short tub with his knees bent, letting the ue drooped hisno effort to soap himself down

“You’ll never get clean that way,” Lorna remarked, and moved to the side of the tub “Do I have to wash behind your ears the way I do the boys?”