Under the Distant Sky by Al Lacy Page A

sir?”
    Bateman smiled, winked at Sylvia, and said, “Sure. You can go west right now and go into the general store business. And believe me, you can do well.”
    “You’re not talking about Oregon.”
    “No. Your trip would be much shorter. I’m talking about Fort Bridger.”
    “I don’t understand, Colonel. Are you talking about a sutler’s store?”
    “No, Sol. You see, a town is forming outside the walls ofthe fort. They’re calling it Fort Bridger after the name of the fort. At present, there’s a sutler’s store in the fort, and that’s where the townspeople are doing their trading. But the way the town is growing, they need a general store. You could make a good living there.”
    Hannah saw a light come into her husband’s eyes. The others saw it, too.
    Bateman took a sip of coffee, then said, “Let me explain what I mean by a ‘good living.’”
    “Please do,” Hannah said. “Certainly the town is quite small.”
    “Yes, it is, Hannah. But it’s growing fast. And think of this. All the wagon trains going either to California or Oregon pass through Fort Bridger.”
    “That’s right, Mama…Papa…” Mary Beth said. “Miss Powers has been teaching us about the Oregon and California Trails at school.”
    “Mr. Barrick has too!” Chris said, his voice full of enthusiasm. “And he says there’s every indication that people will be moving west for many years to come.”
    “That’s right, Chris,” Bateman said, then turned to Sol. “While the town is growing, Sol, you’d be doing right well, just with the wagon trains coming through. I realize the wagon train business is seasonal, but you can make enough on your sales in the spring and summer months to easily carry you through the fall and winter.”
    Solomon grinned. “You’re right about that, sir. I can make it here just by what happens in wagon train season.”
    “Ah, but there’s more,” Bateman said, his smile getting wider. “I happen to know that the man who runs the sutler’s store in the fort is wanting to get out of the business. If you come in there and open up a general store for the town, he’ll gladly close down the sutler’s store. That would give you all the army business, too.”
    Solomon looked at Hannah, who smiled back weakly.
    Chris and B. J. exchanged glances, the light of adventure shining in their eyes.
    Mary Beth knew that what the colonel was saying to her father was making the desire to go west even stronger within him. She couldn’t help but think of her grandparents… and Belinda. How could she ever tell them good-bye?
    “There’s more, yet,” Bateman said. “Wells Fargo is making plans at this very moment to put a stage stop in the town. That would certainly bring in more business for your general store. A hotel is being built right now, along with a café, and a tonsorial parlor. A family by the name of Williams from St. Joseph, Missouri, has seen the opportunity and will operate all three.”
    “Sounds like a good set-up, Sol,” Darrell Crawley said. “You’d get business from the stage riders, no doubt, and from the people who stay in the hotel.”
    “Right,” Bateman said. “And as the town grows, the store would do even more business. The Coopers would make a better living in Fort Bridger than they would at farming a homestead.”
    Hannah could tell by the look in her husband’s eyes that Bateman’s words were appealing. To help keep things on an even keel, she said, “What about the Indian problem, Colonel? You’re taking your entire regiment out there to strengthen the fort. Are the Indians posing a threat to all this?”
    “Not to the town, Hannah. It’s the settlers in the area and the wagon trains that come through who are in danger of Indian attack. That’s exactly why we’re beefing up our troops at the fort. We’re going to keep those hostiles in line. Though the fort has patrols out all day long every day, there are always plenty of troops at the fort to keep any