Chapter 3

Welcome Major

All too slow, the night passed and morning came and the men were kept busy getting ready for Major Chase's arrival. The compound was policed, the lookout tower up-righted, the cannon wheel repaired, tack was polished, and uniforms were washed and pressed. Everything was done in record time and almost all work was finished when afternoon finally decided to come around. On the porch of the captain's quarters, Sergeant O'Rourke and Corporal Agarn stood surveying the grounds.

Hands on hips, Agarn sighed. "I don't understand all this spit and polishing up we're doing, Sarge. It's not like this major's from the inspector general's office. Why does everything have to be so clean?"

O'Rourke leaned an arm against the roof support. "It's just to be on the safe side."

"Safe side of what?"

"Look, even though this major's coming out to check up on the Indians, he's just liable to start poking into places we don't want him to if he were to come here and find this fort in sloppy condition."

Agarn sorted it out. "So what you're saying is we don't the major to see the fort in its normal condition."

O'Rourke nodded. "That's right. If he were to find it like that, he might wind up sticking around longer than usual trying to get it in shape. But if everything's in order than there'll be nothing to be suspicious of and he'll be sure to leave once his business is done."

Agarn snapped his fingers. "Good thinkin', Sarge. I never thought of that."

O'Rourke nodded again. "That's why I'm–"

"A sergeant and I'm a corporal," Agarn finished. "I've heard that one before."

Just then the door opened and Captain Parmenter stepped out of his office. He joined the two and nodded in approval as he looked over the grounds. "I must say, you two have done an excellent job. I haven't seen the fort look this clean in weeks."

"Well, we want to make a good impression on our visitor from Washington," O'Rourke answered.

"We wouldn't want him to go back saying we have a messy fort," Agarn put in.

Parmenter nodded soberly. "So true, Corporal. That would be a smear upon our name. And those people up in Washington have enough to worry about without having to worry about an untidy fort. That way they can then focus on more important things, like making peace and prosperity, and spreading the American way across this great land of ours." Parmenter inhaled proudly, head high. "Makes you feel as though you're really contributing to this growing nation. Keep your fort clean – help build your country."

Agarn applauded as he looked on with admiration. "Well spoken, Captain! Well spoken! George Washington couldn't've said it better!"

Parmenter tried to look modest. "Thank you, Agarn. It was just a little thought I happened to have."

O'Rourke held up a finger. "But so true, Captain. Words of wisdom spoken by a true officer."

"You're simply being modest, sir," Agarn put in.

Parmenter tried to shrug it off, though looking quite proud of himself. "Well, wise words do sort of run in the family."

The rattle of wheels and clop of hooves interrupted them. They saw Jane coming through the town-side gate in her buckboard, a large picnic basket on the seat beside her. She reined the trotting horse up in front of the small group.

"You ready to go, Wilton?" she chirped.

"Right, Jane," Parmenter answered cheerfully as he stepped up into the buckboard. He started to sit down, not realizing the basket was on the seat behind him.

"Careful Wilton! You'll crush my cream pie!" Jane quickly warned.

Parmenter jumped back up. "Oh! I'm sorry, Jane."

Agarn leaned forward on his toes to peek into the basket. "Don't worry, sir. The cream is still standing, but a second more and you would've been having creamed pie."

Jane moved the basket to the safety of her lap and Parmenter sat down, taking the reins.

"Take care of things while I'm gone," he called to the sergeant.

"Don't you worry, sir. We'll make sure the fort's still here when you get back." O'Rourke saluted.

"Very good," Parmenter said and snapped the reins. Friskily, the horse started off at a fast trot. Parmenter almost did a backward somersault off into the back of the buckboard as it lurched forward, but he caught himself and sat back up – with a little help from Jane.

Agarn waved a hand above his head. "Now you kids have a good time! Enjoy yourselves! And don't fall in the creek!" he called out in a motherly way.

Parmenter and Jane waved back before disappearing through the front gate.

Agarn sighed as he gazed after them. "They make such a sweet couple."

"Yeah," O'Rourke nodded, but his mind was on other matters. He tapped Agarn. "Well, now that the sweet couple is on their way, let us financial businessmen be on our way."

Agarn spread his arm wide and looked up. "Finally! I thought this moment would never come!"

Quickly, they harnessed a pair of horses and hitched them up to the wagon. After telling Privet Dobbs to take over for a while, both climbed aboard. O'Rourke snapped the reins with a "Git-up" and the two horses pranced off. The empty wagon bounced and rattled as it rolled out through the fort gates and down the dusty road.

Nearly two hours later, the same wagon rolled back through, creaking and groaning under the load piled in the back. Crates were stacked higher than the two men's heads and tied in place to keep them from falling off. The horses' hides were now dark from sweat and their heads down slightly as they leaned into their harnesses. O'Rourke brought them to a halt before the barn.

"Open the doors, Agarn. We'll just drive her right in."

Agarn jumped off the seat to the ground. "It's a good thing there weren't any more, Sarge. One more box and I think we would've broken the wagon's back."

"Yeah. Her belly's sure draggin' ain't it," O'Rourke answered. He patted the wall of crates behind him. "But just think, soon all this will be able to fit into our pockets. And even then, we'll have to use both pockets."

Agarn made a noise that sounded something between a squeak and a wistful sigh. He circled around the horses and swung the large barn doors open. As he came back he asked, "Where are we gunna put 'em all?"

"We won't have to put 'em anywhere. We'll just park the whole wagon in the back of the barn and cover it with a tarp. The captain never goes back there, so he'll never see it."

"Good thinkin'!"

Just then a voice sounded from the lookout tower. "Yo, Sarge!"

O'Rourke stood up so he could peer back over the top of the load. "What is it?!" he hollered.

"There's a rider approaching the gate!" the lookout answered back.

O'Rourke and Agarn looked at each other in confusion.

Agarn scratched an ear. "Who do you suppose it could be?"

"How should I know?" the sergeant answered as he jumped down.

Together they stepped out far enough so they could see through the open gates. O'Rourke shaded his eyes with a hand and squinted at the oncoming rider coming down the road, trying to make out details. Afternoon sunlight glinted off something hanging by the man's side; another tiny gleam flashed from something on his shoulders.

O'Rourke stiffened in alarm. "Holy Smokes! It's that major from Washington!"

Agarn began to panic. "What's he doing here so soon?! He ain't 'spose to get here till tomorrow!"

"I don't know, but let's get this wagon out of sight and quick!"

They rushed back to the wagon and hurriedly drove it inside the barn. They quickly unhitched the tired horses and O'Rourke led them outside as Agarn closed the doors. The horses were handed off to two other troopers who were nearby to be taken care of and they hurried off to headquarters. By the time they got there, the major had already entered the fort and had dismounted. He stood on the porch looking around, obviously waiting for someone to greet him. He was tall and in his middle forties with about a dozen medals handing on the front of his uniform. As he turned to meet the two noncoms approaching, again the sunlight glinted off the saber clipped on his belt.

O'Rourke stopped before the major and stood at attention with a salute. Agarn did the same. "Sergeant O'Rourke and Corporal Agarn at your service, Major."

"Major Bradley Chase. At ease men," the major replied.

"I'm sorry nobody was here to greet you when you arrived, sir," O'Rourke apologized. "But the corporal and I had some, uh, important matters we were attending to."

Chase shook his head. "No need for apologies, Sergeant. I know how busy a fort can be. Used to be a captain of one myself for a long while. And speaking of that, where's Captain Parmenter?"

"Well sir, he's, uh … he's on an assignment at the moment. An assignment at Eagle Rock."

"He wasn't expecting you till tomorrow," Agarn added.

"I see. Well, that's understandable. I'll just wait in his office till he returns."

"That'll be fine, sir. We'll just run along and not bother you." O'Rourke began to turn away, pulling Agarn with him.

Chase's voice halted him. "Actually, Sergeant, I'd like it if you and the corporal came in with me. You can be of assistance to me."

"Assistance?" Agarn asked.

"Yes. There's some questions about the Indians I'd like to ask and it'll save me time while I'm waiting for Captain Parmenter's return." Chase started to the door of the office.

"Right now, sir?" O'Rourke asked.

Chase paused to look back over his shoulder. "The sooner I can get this over with, the sooner I can get back to Washington with my report. Unless there's something urgent that you need to get taken care of."

O'Rourke tried to feign a natural smile. "Oh no, sir. Nothing that important. We'd be … glad to answer your questions."

Again the major turned away and entered the headquarters office. Behind him, O'Rourke and Agarn glanced nervously at each other.

"But Sarge, we didn't get the boxes covered," Agarn whispered through the side of his mouth as they very slowly stepped onto the porch.

O'Rourke leaned slightly down as he whispered back, "It won't matter as long as the captain and major stay away from the barn. They don't have any reason to go there anyhow."

"I hope you're right."

The two became silent as they entered the office.

The next half hour was spent in a game of questions and answers. Major Chase was very interested in all past encounters with the Hekawis and of any possible hostile acts that could have happened. Though it only took the first two minutes to tell the major that their relationship with the tribe was one of friendship, it took the other twenty-eight minutes to convince him of that. The sergeant was compelled by Chase to relay tale after tale of how the Hekawis had helped them or showed alliance in one way or another. Finally satisfied till he could talk to Captain Parmenter, Chase then passed the time by telling his own stories about his old fort and his encounters with the Indians, while O'Rourke and Agarn sat by and listened. Each was more glorified and longer than the last. A number of them – actually all of them – ended with Chase being the hero of the day. More than a few times O'Rourke had to awake Agarn with a nudge when he began to doze against the sergeant's shoulder. And after sitting through almost an hour and a half of stories, O'Rourke began to wonder how long he would be able to keep himself awake. Just when story number 19 was ending and the major was starting number 20 with the line "That reminds me of the time when…" there was a clomping of hooves and rattle of what sounded like a buckboard outside.

O'Rourke stiffly stood to his feet from his chair and Agarn fell into it, having been leaning against him. "Sounds as though Captain Parmenter's back, sir."

"Rescued!" Agarn exclaimed as he leapt to his feet.

Chase spun abruptly. "What?"

Agarn stuttered. "W-what? Wha – oh!" He gave a laugh. "I was talking about your thrilling story, sir. I was so relieved that you rescued those troopers at the end."

Chase grinned as he stretched to his full height, nearly as tall as O'Rourke. "Oh, yes. Of course. I quite understand."

Through the open window they heard a voice. "Bye, Jane! I'll drop by the store later!" Then there was another rattling that slowly grew fainter as the buckboard rolled away.

The door opened and Captain Parmenter came into the office, almost dancing. Completely oblivious of anyone else in the room, he hummed happily as he spun around like a dancer and pushed the door closed with a thump of his boot heel. He flicked his hat of his head and bounced lightly to the hat rack while spinning it on his finger, tapping his feet on the floor in a merry rhythm. On the last beat, he stamped his foot and reached out to hang the hat on the rack.

Realizing he needed to do something, O'Rourke loudly coughed into his fist. Parmenter froze in his stretched-out position, as his happiness turned to confusion. He twisted his head and saw the three men standing in his office. Embarrassed horror crossed his face and the hat accidentally dropped from his fingers to the floor. Parmenter tried to quickly swoop it up, but his shoulder bumped the hat rack and it began to fall over. He then tried to catch it, but his feet became tangled and man and rack both crashed to the floor in a showy din. Quickly, O'Rourke and Agarn jumped to the rescue.

"Are you all right, Captain?" O'Rourke asked as he pulled him up and Agarn took care of the rack.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," Parmenter quickly replied, rubbing his forehead where it had bumped into his desk. "I guess I tripped."

"Well, anyway, welcome back," O'Rourke said, then gestured to the stranger. "Captain, this is Major Chase."

"Who?" Parmenter mumbled absentmindedly, still caressing his temple. "Oh!" He quickly straightened and saluted when he noticed the man in uniform standing beside him. "Welcome to Fort Valor, Major."

Chase saluted him to be at ease. "Thank you, Captain. "

You're a full day early, sir. I thought you were arriving tomorrow, unless I got the wrong date. I thought tomorrow was the 16th." Parmenter peeked at his desk calendar.

"No, sir," Agarn pitched in. "Tomorrow's the 15th."

Parmenter shook his head. "No, it couldn't be. Because I had to take neckerchief inventory on the 14th and I did that yesterday."

Agarn frowned. "But Wednesday was the 13th."

Parmenter shook his head again as he thought deeply. "No, no, Corporal, it couldn't have been. Because the 13th was blanket inventory day and the day before that was soap dish inventory, and that one was on the 12th which I distinctly remember was Monday."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Today was no inventory day and that was on the 15th."

"Sir, maybe your inventory of your inventories is off."

"Agarn!" O'Rourke cut in. "Today is the 15th and it is Friday!"

Agarn threw his arms up. "Great! I'm late for my appointment!"

"What appointment?"

"At the barbershop!"

"You just had a haircut last week!"

"Not for me, Sarge! My horse! He's been getting a bit shaggy, so I set up an appointment when I got my haircut. That barber does a great ponytail.

Parmenter's brow puckered. "I didn't know the barber gave horsecuts too."

Agarn nodded. "I was lucky. He was just able to squeeze me in between Mrs. Henderson's chestnut and Sam Edwards."

"But I didn't think Sam Edwards had a horse."

"He doesn't, Sir. He's getting a haircut."

O'Rourke shook his head. "Oh, brother."

Chase held his hands up as he interrupted. "Gentlemen, please! Let me clear this up." He addressed Parmenter. "You have your dates correct, Captain. I was 'spose to come on the 16th, but I was ahead of schedule and decided to come right away. That's why I'm a day early."

Parmenter's face lit up with understanding. "Oh! Well, it all makes sense now."

"I hope I didn't cause you any inconvenience."

"Oh no, major. No problem. I'm just sorry I wasn't here to give you a proper welcome."

Chase waved it off. "No matter, Captain. Your men were here to meet me. They said you were on an assignment."

"Well uh, yes … you could say … that I had an important assignment … of a very … serious nature." Parmenter stumbled with his words as he tugged at his uniform.

"Then why the dancing?"

"Dancing? No I wasn't dancing. I was … well, I guess I was kind of … it was just that the assignment went very well."

Chase nodded, face slightly skeptical. "Uh huh. What was it, if I may ask?"

"Kissing."

Chase blinked.

Parmenter cringed with realization of what he said. "I – I mean eagling. No! I mean, uh. It was … it was a secret assignment. That was the … the code name for it: Kissing Eagles."

Chase raised a brow and cleared his throat. "Of course. Well, uh, anyway. I've already gone over some things with the sergeant and corporal here and if your report on the Indians are as good as theirs, we should be able to wrap things up pretty quick. I'll visit the Hekawi camp tomorrow, then be heading back for Washington the following day."

The captain nodded. "Of course, major. And in the meantime, I'd like to extend to you the full hospitality of Fort Courage. Also, I'd like to give you a full tour of our fort."

O'Rourke and Agarn exchanged quick glances. Their hopes came back up when Chase waved a hand and said, "You don't have to bother, Captain. It's really not necessary. I'm not an inspector, you know."

Parmenter put a hand up. "No, no, Major. After all, you're a guest here and it's the least courtesy we can give you."

With a chuckle at the captain's eagerness, Chase gave a slight shrug. "Well, alright. If you insist, Captain."

Their hopes crashed.

A thoughtful grin came to the major's lips. "Might be nice at that. Been a while since I've been in a fort. You know, I once had my own command post before I was promoted and transferred to Washington. I had many the hair-raising adventures you know."

Agarn rolled his eyes. "You don't say," he muttered.

Parmenter smiled with interest. "No, I didn't know that. Well good, I think you'll enjoy it. We have a very nice little fort here. I'm sure you won't find anything wrong here, sir."

"You sure won't, sir," Agarn piped up. "We got the mess all in order before you arrived." He suddenly winced as the sergeant's fist jabbed into his back.

Parmenter laughed awkwardly. "Corporal Agarn's just pulling your leg, major." He gave Agarn a sideways look. "You've had your joke, Corporal, now get the honor salute ready."

Agarn saluted. "Yes sir." He and O'Rourke marched outside as Parmenter and Chase followed.

"Dobbs! Blow assembly!" O'Rourke barked to the bugler who stood nearby polishing the instrument with a rag.

A second later, the loud squawking of what was presumably 'assembly' sounded across the compound. Troopers seemed to appear out of the woodwork as they gathered in formation. Dobbs continued to play even after they were all lined up and O'Rourke and Agarn had taken their placed before them. Parmenter and Chase watched from the side.

O'Rourke saluted the captain. "F Troop all present, sir."

Parmenter returned it. "Very good, sergeant. Continue with the honor salute."

"Gun crew, ho!" the sergeant ordered, but it could barely be heard over the bugle that was still playing.

When no one moved, Agarn pointed at Dobbs. "I don't think they can hear you, Sarge."

"Well, go get him!"

Agarn stepped up to the Dobbs. He took of his hat and shoved it over the bugle's mouth, muffling the notes. Dobbs finally stopped blowing.

Agarn took the plug off. "Dobbs, it's only Assembly! Don't make an entire symphony out of it!"

Dobbs lowered the bugle. "Sorry. I guess I got a little carried away. But I was doin' so good I just kinda' hated ta' stop it sounded so pretty."

Rolling his eyes with a groan, Agarn gave the privet a shove in the direction of the cannon. The two marched over and took their places behind it.

From where he watched, Parmenter felt a knot tighten in his stomach, dreading what he knew what was coming next. Not the thundering report of the cannon, but what would undoubtedly be falling down after it.

Dobbs struck a match and held it to the fuse. There was a hiss as the flame caught and Agarn and Dobbs quickly recoiled back. The fuse burned down to the cannon. Sputtered. Fizzled. Went out. Dobbs cautiously leaned closer and saw a small wisp of smoke curling up from the hole. He glanced up at the corporal and shrugged. Agarn clenched his fists in frustration. His leg came back and swung hard.

Parmenter closed his eyes and cringed.

The corporal kicked with all his might. The wheel shuddered, but surprisingly didn't collapsed.

BOOM!The echo slowly died into the distance.

"Well, thank you very much for that hearty welcome, Captain," Parmenter heard Chase's voice say pleasantly from beside him. "And thank you men of F Troop."

Cautiously, Parmenter peeked out one eye. Then both flew open in disbelief. Somehow – someway – the lookout tower was still standing in place. He treated himself to a triumphant smile and turned to the major. "You're welcome, Major Chase. Just all part of F Troop's hospitality." Then he called out, "Sergeant, you can dismiss the men now!"

"Yes, sir! Troop dismissed!"

Parmenter addressed the major again. "Tell you what, how about I give you the tour of the fort now and then we can talk about your Indian business over dinner tonight. I'll even have a friend of mine cook us up something special."

Chase clasped his hands behind him as he said warily. "Your friend's name by any chance wouldn't happen to be Jane, would it?"

"Yes–" Parmenter stopped short. "How'd you know that?"

"I just assumed it was the same person in the buckboard that you went on your "secret assignment" with."

Parmenter's cheeks turned dark pink as his feet shifted uneasily. He then gestured with a hand. "Shall we start?"

Chuckling softly, Chase stepped off the porch. Parmenter wiped the perspiration from his upper lip that had suddenly appeared and quickly followed after and took the lead.

Then began the long step-by-step tour of Fort Courage. O'Rourke and Agarn followed behind, adding in a comment whenever the captain asked for one. Fortunately, they had started on the opposite side farthest away from the barn, but were slowly making their way around to it. The captain stopped to show everything, though he did only point out the NCO club and didn't press to shown the inside; for it was off-limits to officers.

As Parmenter showed Major Chase the finer points of the company well, O'Rourke leaned close to Agarn. "The captain would have to insist on giving the grand tour," he muttered.

"I don't get it. What's there to see?" Agarn looked around. "We've got nothing that any other dull old fort hasn't got."

"Oh yes we have. A stashed wagon full of souvenirs."

Agarn leaned closer. "What'll we do, Sarge? If they walk into the barn and see a wagonload of crates, there's bound to be questions."

"Don't you think I know that? We've got to somehow keep them away from there till we can hide 'em better."

"How?"

"I haven't figured that out yet."

"Well think fast," Agarn hissed. "Cause if they open that barn door I'm going to run for the hills and I ain't looking back."

Another twenty minutes of touring passed. The closer the two officers approached the barn; the edgier the two noncoms became. Their minds raced, but so far nothing came to mind. Normally, one of the captain's tours would have seemed to drag on forever, but all too soon, they had already made it to the corral, and the next stop would be the barn. No ideas yet.

They stood in the corral as Parmenter went through a long list of names as he introduced each horse. "And that's Chester, and that's Daisy, and Blaze, and Zelda, and Thunder, and Lula Bell, and that one sleeping is Barney."

"They're all sleeping," Chase pointed out.

Parmenter looked closer. "Oh, you're right. Well, I was talking about the brown one over there."

"He's mine," Agarn said proudly. "Pretty ain't he? Course, he'll look better once I get him over to the barbershop."

Behind him, O'Rourke rolled his eyes.

Chase glanced at the corporal with a weak grin. "Of course."

Parmenter turned to the major. "We used to have another horse called Lightning Foot, but we had to sell him last week."

"What for?" Chase asked.

"He couldn't keep up with the rest." Parmenter felt a light nuzzle against his back and turned to see a sleepy bay standing behind him. "Oh! I'm sorry," he said more to the horse then the major. "I forgot about Sparky. Major, this is Sparky."

"He looks it," Chase said drably.

"Well that's it for here." Parmenter looked around. "Hmm. Let's see … what's next? Ah yes, the barn."

O'Rourke swallowed hard and Agarn grabbed the sergeant's arm to support himself.

Just then Sparky began to snuffle. His head stretched out abruptly as his nostrils quivered.

HHAACHOO!

The blow of air whooshed by Parmenter's face, startling him. He jumped, lost his balance, and went toppling over. He collided into Chase on the way and both fell to the ground – with Parmenter on top. Quickly, O'Rourke and Agarn picked their captain off top and then hauled the major to his feet.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir!" Parmenter apologized.

"It's alright. Just an accident," Chase answered as he straightened his uniform shirt and tugged at his neckerchief.

Parmenter looked at the bay, standing innocently with eyes half closed. "I didn't realize Sparky had a cold."

"He doesn't, sir," Agarn said. "He's just allergic to people." Then he noticed Chase trying to brush the dirt off himself. "Here, let me dust you off, sir," he offered and began energetically brushing his hands over the major's uniform.

"Really it's not necessary, corporal," Chase said as he tried to wiggle away from the aggressive cleaning.

Parmenter stepped up. "Corporal, the major said–"

Agarn slapped at the major's shoulder and a cloud of fine dust puffed into Parmenter's face. He coughed and tried to quickly wave it away.

Agarn immediately withdrew his hands. "I'm sorry, Captain!" he quickly apologized.

"Agarn," O'Rourke said, pulling him further away. "The best way you can help, is not to help."

"Right, Sarge," Agarn mumbled with a melancholy sigh.

Parmenter waved a hand while wiping off his face. "No, sergeant. It's quite alright. The corporal was only trying to – to – to –" He snuffled as a tickling sensation overwhelmed his nose. His head came down abruptly. "Haa-choo!"

CRACK! CRRREEEEAAAKK! CRASH!

All stared at one another for a stunned moment. Then all heads slowly turned. His shoulders drooped when he saw an empty space where the lookout tower should have been and the heap of splintered wood lying across the ground. A trooper picked himself dizzily up off the ground. Parmenter sighed shallowly, thinking that at least it had been nice while it lasted. He fidgeted embarrassedly under the major's gaze.

"I'm sorry, Major. I can't understand how that happened," he tried to say composedly.

"Well," Agarn said weakly, trying to look on the bright side, "at least we can say the cannon didn't do it this time."

All heads turned, all eyes trained on him. Agarn fidgeted and looked away, mouth twitching uncomfortably. He sidestepped and disappeared behind O'Rourke's large frame.

Parmenter finally broke the silence as he addressed the sergeant. "Have a detail start repairing that soon as possible." He waved a hand limply at what had been the lookout tower.

"Yes, sir."

Parmenter then turned to the major. "Shall we continue?"

On a hasty idea, O'Rourke thrust a hand out as he said quickly, "Why doesn't the major wait till tomorrow to finish his tour of the fort? After all, it's almost dinner time, and I'm sure you'd like to get cleaned up and into a fresh uniform before you eat."

Chase nodded as he looked down at his dusty uniform. "Perhaps you're right, Sergeant." He turned to the captain. "If you don't mind, Captain, I think I'd like to finish this tomorrow."

Parmenter nodded. "Of course, Major. No problem at all." He looked around. "Let's see … we left off with the corral, so tomorrow we pick up at the barn, then the horse trough, and then the new hitching rail." As he walked off with Chase he said, "I just want to make sure that you don't miss anything that could be a point of interest."

As soon as they were out of earshot, O'Rourke let out a long breath of air. "That major would've had a point of interest alright had he walked into that barn."

"Boy that was close, Sarge." Agarn huffed, watching the two officers stride across the compound.

"Too close." O'Rourke sighed as he leaned on the corral fence. "Now we definitely can't just leave those boxes on the wagon. Even if we covered 'em it'd still raise some mighty unhealthy questions. We'll have to do something else, and do it before morning."

"Yeah. Well, anyway, that was fast thinkin' on your part, Sarge. At least it bought us some time." Agarn snickered faintly as he thought. "Saved by a people allergic horse. I bet we're the only people in the world who can say that!" He turned to the dozing bay with a smile. "And I'm going to do Sparky the biggest favor from now on!"

"What's that?"

"Stay far away from him."