âWhat have you there?â
âOatmeal. I hope you like oatmeal.â
âOrdinarily, I like it. But I suppose there is no sugar or milk. Horace wouldnât have thought of those.â
âThere is still some ham. Maybe other stuff as well. When I found the oatmeal, I looked no further.â
âI can gag it down,â she said. âAt least it will be warm.â
When it was cooked, they both gagged it down. She had been right; there was no sugar or milk.
Finished with breakfast, Boone said, âIâll go to the spring and wash the dishes, then bring back more water.â
âWhile you are doing that, Iâll pack everything back into the traveler. We donât want to leave it lying around.â
âDo you want me to leave the rifle with you?â
She made a face. âI have no idea how to use it. Besides, I doubt there is any danger.â
He hesitated, then said, âI donât suppose there is. In case something does happen, get into the traveler and close the port.â
At the spring he met two wolves, who were lapping water from the spring hole. They retreated politely and let him wash the dishes and fill the pan with water. After he left he glanced back. The two had moved in on the spring again and were busily lapping water.
Back at the camp, Enid was crouched beside the fire. She waved her hand in welcome when she saw him coming. Standing beside her at the fire, he asked, âDo you have any idea what we should do?â
She shook her head. âI havenât even thought about it. If I had some idea where the others could be, we could go there. But they probably did the same as we didâleft as quickly as they could, just anywhere to get away.â
âThereâs an awful lot of time to flounder around in if we have no idea where to go,â he said. âNot much sense in leaving here, it seems to me, until we know where to go.â
âEventually Henry will sniff us out. I assume he is with one of the other two travelers.â
âEventually could be a long time,â said Boone. âIâm not about to spend the rest of my days in a continent empty of people. Iâm sure you must feel the same. We could go someplace else more to our liking.â
âYes, we could do that,â she said. âBut not for a while. If we left a trail somehow that could be followed, we should not break it. We should stay here and hope that Henry finds us.â
He squatted down across the fire from her. âThere could be worse places,â he said. âWeâre in no danger here. But I suspect that after a time it could become a little boring. Just plains and buttes, buzzards in the sky, wolves, and bison on the hoof. Nothing ever taking place.â
âWeâd run out of food,â she said.
âThere is plenty of food. Bison and other meat animals.â He patted the rifle. âWeâll live as long as this holds out. After the last cartridge, we can make lances, perhaps bows and arrows.â
âIt wonât come to that,â she told him. âBefore it does, weâll leave.â
He reached for the pile of wood, laid a few sticks on the fire. âWeâll have to go for more of this. Our supply is running low.â
âLetâs get in a good pile of it this time,â she said. âWe donât want to have to run up to that thicket every day to bring in wood.â
A low rumbling, from somewhere close by, brought both of them to their feet. The rumbling ceased, then came again, changing to a bellow.
âItâs the bull,â said Boone. âHeâs in some sort of trouble.â
Enid shuddered. âThe wolves are moving in.â
âIâll go and see,â said Boone. He started and she trotted along beside him.
âNo,â he said. âNo, you stay here. I donât know what Iâll find.â
Loping along, he came to the sandstone outcropping, ran