Lou McCloud waited until all the other riders had fallen asleep, before she jumped down from her bunk above Kid's. She heard him stir on his bunk, and froze. He rolled over onto his side, facing the wall, and settled into sleep once again.
As soon as he was sleeping soundly, Lou padded over to her trunk, and knelt down in front of it. She lifted the lid slowly, wincing as its hinges creaked, and hoped the noise did not awaken the others.
With one hand, holding the lid up, Lou rummaged through her clothing and other belongings in it, until her fingers curled around what she was looking for. An old wool sock weighted down with coins and crumpled bills. She removed the sock and closed the lid.
She padded barefoot over to the cook stove, where a warm fire was burning inside, and settled onto the floor next to it. She opened the iron door so that it cast its flickering light onto her and the money sack in her hands.
As quietly as she could, Lou dumped the contents of it into her lap, so she could count it. She worked to straighten the paper money into smooth piles, before she set to work counting it all up.
*Fifty dollars*
Lou could not believe she had managed to save up such a sum of money out of her wages each after taking money out of her wages each payday to bend to the orphanage for the care of her younger siblings, and purchasing, clothing and other supplies she needed, too. Fifty dollars was not enough money to buy a piece of land for her, Jeremiah, and Teresa to live on, but it was a start.
Quietly she put the money back into the sock, closed the door to the stove, and walked back over to her trunk. She stored the sock away and then climbed back onto her bunk. Lou fell asleep with a smile on her face and dreams of a future life with her siblings in her head.