Two more days passed, and the family had no contact with Burl. Charlie asked, but all three, Murdoch, Scott and Johnny had

too much work to do. They were moving cattle to different pastures, and by the time the evening came, they were too tired to

go visiting.

On Friday morning, as she was finishing breakfast and preparing to leave for school, Charlie listened as they outlined their

plans for the day. She was fairly certain of the answer, but she asked, anyway.

"Will any of you be able to go and check on Burl?" Charlie asked.

"Not today, darling," Murdoch answered.

They went on talking then, about the cattle, and the grass, and other ranch related topics. Charlie subsided, but when she'd

gathered up her books and her lunch pail, she caught Scott out near the barn. Jelly had Gurth saddled and ready to go.

She took her opportunity, while Scott was talking to one of the hands, and putting his fencing gloves in his back pocket.

When the hand had walked on, Scott turned to her, holding onto Gurth's reins.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

At Charlie's nod, he said, "Have a good day, alright?"

"Okay. I hope you do, too."

"I plan on it," Scott said, with a smile.

Charlie looked up into his tanned face. "Could I go out after school, to check on Burl?"

"No, I don't want you going out there alone. We'll make it over there this weekend some time."

Disappointed at his refusal, Charlie said, "You don't still think that Burl is dangerous, do you?" She couldn't believe it if it was true. The

family had been around Burl enough to know he was harmless, hadn't they?

"It's not that I believe he's dangerous, necessarily." Scott said. "Just more-unpredictable."

"He'd never hurt me, though, Scott!"

"We don't really know what he would do, in any given situation," Scott said. "It's best you don't go out there unless you're with

one of us."

Charlie sighed, frustrated. And, though, she did not voice protest, she was thinking them to herself.

A fact which did not escape Scott's attention, because he gave her a knowing look.

"I expect you to mind me, Charlie," he said.

Charlie let her eyes roam over his face, startled. She wondered when Scott had begun to recognize what she was thinking without

her even speaking it.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" she asked him, ruefully.

"I'm getting to know you darn well, I think," he said.

The look he gave Charlie then was intent. "Home right after school," he reminded.

Charlie sighed again. "Okay," she said, in resignation.

L

Again, Miss Susan's mother had fallen ill. School was dismissed an hour earlier than was usual. The unexpected pleasure

of being released early was heady to most of the children. As they were leaving the school yard, Rebecca reminded some of the boys

that they were being happy at the thought of someone else's illness.

"Ah, I'm not," Billy Thornton said. "I'm just glad I can go fishin'!"

Some of the other children were discussing what they were going to do with their free hour.

"If I go home, my Ma'll just put me chorin'," another boy lamented.

"I can go to the store for Ma," Rebecca told Jason. "She needed some more thread."

Jason said alright, and the children all parted ways. Rebecca asked Charlie if she wanted to walk along to the

millinery store for the thread. Charlie agreed, happy to be out in the sunshine with her best friend.

"I've got three cents," she told Rebecca. "We can get a peppermint stick each at the mercantile."

At the millinery shop, the two girls entered, and immediately became quieter. It seemed like such a 'grown-up'

sort of place. There were hats, of all shapes and colors, and bonnets, and bolts of material. Charlie had only ever been in

the shop once before, and that had been with Teresa.

When Mrs. Stanley had finished waiting on the two older women she was serving, she turned to greet Rebecca and

Charlie.

Rebecca explained about the thread she needed for her mother, and Mrs. Stanley showed her two different shades of blue thread. While

Rebecca was busy with that, Charlie wandered around the store. She felt some of the fabrics, and that caused her to think of

all that beautiful bounty in Burl's trunks. Charlie knew she was no expert on fabrics, but it seemed to her that there was nothing

here that came near to comparing in beauty and softness to what Burl had. Thoughts were forming in her head.

As Rebecca was finishing, Charlie went to stand beside her, as Mrs. Stanley wrapped the thread in a brown package.

"Do you have any brocade?" Charlie asked the woman.

"Brocade?" Mrs. Stanley asked, looking surprised. "My goodness, no, I don't."

"Do you not want any?" Charlie asked, and Mrs. Stanley seemed even more startled.

"It's not that I don't want to offer it here," she said. "I just haven't had the opportunity to be able to do so."

"If you did have an opportunity, to have quite a lot of it, would you want to sell it here?" Charlie persisted.

"I would never be able to afford to do so," the store keeper said.

"If you could afford it," Charlie went on, "Do you think it would sell well here in your store?"

By now, even Rebecca was wide-eyed at Charlie's questions.

"I think that it would sell, yes," Mrs. Stanley said.

Without explaining, Charlie smiled at the friendly woman. "Thank you!" she said, and she and Rebecca went out

onto the sidewalk into the sunshine.

"Let's go get our peppermint sticks," Charlie said, taking Rebecca's hand to tow her along.

"What was all that about?" Rebecca asked, as they walked.

Charlie told Rebecca about the trunks in Burl's shed, and how she thought he could sell some of that material to the

millinery shop, so as to live better.

There was a crowd at the mercantile, and the girls had to wait, and once they'd purchased their candy, they went

out of the store.

They sat, on a bench outside, watching people pass by, and eating their candy.

A wagon, with a big man, stopped across the street, and the man climbed down. Rebecca stood up in a hurry.

"It's my Pa," she said. Charlie looked, curious. She'd seen Rebecca's father only once, but since Jason and Rebecca were both

so very nice, she thought that their folks must be as well.

"Oh," Charlie said, standing up as well.

"He'll be put out at me for not heading straight home," Rebecca said. She was already walking across the street towards the

wagon, and Charlie followed.

Once near, Rebecca said, "Hullo, Pa."

The big man turned, and Charlie saw that he looked like a larger version of Jason.

"Should you not be at home, helping your mother get supper?" the man said.

"Yes, I was going," Rebecca said, hastily. "I went to get that thread that Ma was wanting."

"Ah," he said, with a brief nod, his eyes traveling to the candy.

"You had money for candy?" he asked, then, and Charlie thought he sounded gruff.

"Charlie bought it for me," Rebecca said. She said, "This is Charlie, Pa. Charlie, this is my father."

"Afternoon, young lady," Rebecca's father said, to Charlie.

"Hello," Charlie said.

"You're still stayin' out at the Lancers, is that right?"

"Yes, sir," Charlie said, politely. She wanted Rebecca's father to like her.

"Where's your brother?" he asked then, looking to Rebecca again.

"He went home."

"That's where you'd best be headin' to, as well. It's gettin' late. Your Ma will be wondering after you."

Rebecca gave Charlie a quick look. "Thanks for the candy, Charlie. I'll see you on Sunday at church."

Charlie nodded. "Bye," she said.

She went the way to the stable to collect Gurth, and was just finishing her peppermint stick by the time she got there.

Gurth was already saddled and waiting.

"Got him ready for ya," Ben Johnson, the stable hand, told her. "I thought you'd have been along before this."

"Why? Is it late?" Charlie asked, feeling the first stirrings of misgivings. Surely she and Rebecca hadn't tarried that long,

had they?

"Near to five, it is, I think," he said.

Five? It couldn't be!

Charlie wiped her sticky hands on her dress, and mounted Gurth. She said a goodbye to Ben and began riding towards

home.

L

Charlie didn't gallop Gurth all the way to the ranch. It was too warm, and she didn't want to do that to Gurth, not to mention the

fact that she did not want to face Johnny's wrath. Johnny would not consider being late for supper and chores a good enough excuse

to run a horse in this heat. She didn't dawdle, either, though.

At the barn, Jelly was fooling with his pig, herding her back to her pen.

Charlie slid down from Gurth's back, and Jelly was saying how she was late.

Charlie resisted the urge to get sassy with him. She had loosened the cinch on the saddle when she saw Scott

coming out of the house, walking towards her.

"I was getting ready to come and look for you," he said, in greeting. He looked serious.

Charlie lifted the saddle down, and stood, holding it, trying to gauge his level of vexation.

"I didn't realize it was so late-" she began.

Scott stood, his hands on his hips, regarding her.

"Have you been out to Burl's? After I told you not to?" he asked. He sounded abrupt, nearly angry, Charlie thought. For a long

few moments she was so startled that she hesitated in answering.

"No," she said, hastily, as she saw his eyebrow raise, at her hesitation. "I was only talking to Rebecca-"

Scott reached out to take the saddle from her. "I'll put this away. You tend to your horse."

Charlie eyed him warily, but went to lead Gurth to the pasture, to let him have a drink, and then to be out with the

other horses. When she came back from doing that, Scott was leaning against the side of the corral, waiting for her.

Jelly was still about, though a bit away, closer to the barn, stacking buckets.

Charlie paused, to stand in front of Scott.

"Alright," he began. "So, tell me why you were so late."

"When school got out early-" Charlie began, and Scott held up a hand to pause her talking.

"School got out early again?" he asked. "At noon?"

Noon? Charlie knew he was thinking that was even longer that she would have to explain her absence.

"No," she said quickly. "Just an hour early. And Rebecca asked me to go to the millinery shop with her, and then we went to

the mercantile to get some candy. And, then-we just watched people going up and down the street for awhile. I didn't know it was

getting so late."

"Hmm," Scott said. He still was looking serious. Not pleased. "Maria and Teresa worry when you're not home on time. And, then, when

I come in, and you're still not home, then I get worried."

Charlie was watching him, as he went on talking. "So, if school got out an hour early, then you thought you had an hour to spend

in town, is that right?"

Charlie nodded, not sure what he was getting at.

"So, a trip to the millinery, and then to get some candy, and then some time watching folks go by-did you think all that was

only going to fill up an hour?"

At Charlie's puzzled look, Scott said, "What did I say this morning, before you left?"

Charlie thought back, and said, reluctantly, "To come home after school."

"You didn't do that, though. Did you?"

Charlie studied his face. She felt unsure. He seemed so put out at her. Stern, almost.

"I didn't think it was wrong-" Charlie began. "To go with Rebecca, and then to the store, I mean. I didn't think that-" she

hesitated. "I wasn't trying to disobey you, Scott." She felt her face get all warm.

After another long few moments of him regarding her with that same intense expression, Scott seemed to relent.

"Alright," he said. At first Charlie wasn't sure just what he meant by that 'alright'. Did he mean that he believed her? Did

it mean that the scolding was over?

"I don't want to have to get real strict with you, Charlie," he said. "I want you to have fun, with Rebecca and your other friends. But,

it's not alright to worry everybody here at home about where you are. Understood?"

Charlie nodded. "Yes." She didn't want Scott to be upset with her. It made her stomach feel all flip-floppy inside, whenever he

took a stern approach to her this way.

"Okay," he said, and, though he still looked serious, and wasn't exactly smiling, he seemed less intense. "You need to get

in, and get washed up. Supper's ready to be put on the table. Once you eat, you can change your clothes, and do your chores then."

Charlie nodded, feeling subdued. She hoped that the rest of the family wouldn't say anything to her about being late for supper, or

about they'd been concerned about where she'd been. She washed her hands in the kitchen, and while Maria didn't say anything, she

gave Charlie a clearly disapproving look. By the time she reached the dinner table, the rest of the family were already seated. Charlie

slid into her chair at the table. Johnny gave her a nudge in the ribs, and a grin, and Charlie felt better.

To Charlie's relief, nobody said anything about her lateness, although she could tell that they all knew that Scott had given

her a talking-to. The conversation turned to plans for the weekend. She listened as

they talked about work around the house, and then Teresa brought up the previous idea of going to Burl's to clean.

"I imagine we can find time for that," Murdoch said. "One of us should be able to go with you, if you're sure you want

to do that, Teresa."

"I'm sure," Teresa said. "He needs our help."

Charlie looked at Teresa across the table, in admiration. Teresa saw her looking, and smiled at Charlie, adding,

"Charlie can come along. I can use her help."

Any other time, Charlie would have just assumed that she would be allowed to go along with Teresa to Burl's. Now, though, she wasn't

so sure. She thought so, but yet, maybe Scott planned to make her stay at home, as a punishment.

Charlie looked over at Scott. "Can I, Scott?" she asked, forgetting to use 'may I'.

"You can go," Scott said.

L