Michael trudged the beaten path from the ferry landing at Handy’s point uphill towards the front gates of Fort Randall with Big Nate by his side. They met two wagons headed downhill towards the landing. Both of the wagons carried extra soldiers to help with the unloading. Both groups hollered out greetings to Big Nate, while eyeing Michael with curiosity.
“Home sweet home,” grunted Nate as they walked through the gates of the fort.
“Home?” Michael lifted a skeptical eyebrow as he turned towards his new friend.
“As near about as I got,” Nate answered with a grin.
A rotund little sergeant with sandy-red hair came up to Michael and Nate. “ Nate.
‘Bout time you got back. Major Chambers’ been fit to be tied, waiting on you to get back from New Orleans. How’s the French Quarter these days?”
“’bout the same, Toby. ‘bout the same. Let me introduce you to my new friend, Lieutenant Michael McFarland. Lieutenant, this here’s Sergeant Tobias Cooper. We all call him Toby, or if he’s lucky, Sarge .” Nate chuckled at his own joke.
Sergeant Cooper had frozen to attention as soon as he realized the Lieutenant and Nate were together. “At ease, Sergeant.” Michael pronounced like a benediction over the uncomfortable Sergeant.
Michael paused a moment to look around the fort. It was laid out in a large rectangle. There was no stockade around the fort in the traditional sense, of sharpened logs totally penning in the fort like some forts he’d seen. Instead, there was a regular fence, like the buildings were a garden that must be enclosed to keep the rodents out.
“Michael here needs to see the Major, Toby. Is he in his office?”
“Far as I know. I ain’t seen him since noon mess.”
“I reckon we’d better go on over there then. See you later for a game of cards, Toby?”
“Can’t. I drew guard duty tonight.” He frowned then. After you see the Major, you might want to go over there to the Sutler’s store. He picked up a few horses from a band of Yanktons passing through. They had five fine looking one with them. The Lieutenant is going to be needing a horse, I reckon?”
“We’ll do that, Sergeant,” answered Michael. “Thanks for the advice.”
“Maybe tomorrow we can get together, Toby,” Nate commented to the soldier already continuing on his way.
****
Michael lay in his bunk listening to Nate’s mild snoring across the room from him. Taps was a distant memory, the moon was close to setting, yet, for some reason, sleep wouldn’t come.
He was grateful to Nate for offering to share his lodgings with him. Nate was a federal employee of the United States government, working as a scout for Fort Randall. Nate didn’t bunk with either the enlisted men, or the officers. As a civilian, Nate had separate quarters from both. Though it was nothing more than an a cabin, Nate had called it home for almost ten years now. That he’d shared it with Michael, was a miracle according to a Lieutenant Jackson Weinberger, who had been assigned to show Michael around the fort while Nate debriefed Major Chambers on this trip to New Orleans on the Major’s behalf.
It had surprised Michael that the fort had only one company, company F, garrisoning it. Lieutenant Weinberger said they had been waiting on replacements for several months, and seemed very disappointed that Michael was the only soldier coming. Michael felt bad for the Lieutenant who was six months overdue to muster out. Michael knew only too well how that felt.
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A Bride For The Asking -- (on hold)
RomanceRose McGregor flees the post-civil war south as a mail-order bride, with no other hope than to have a home of her own, a full stomach, and someone to take care of her. She never expected to find more pain and hardship than she's already suffe...
