Chapter 54
Reluctant to allow the family to proceed without going in aid of them, we concluded now would be the ideal time for Cut to visit the fort. Thereafter, we could cross the Yanube on a bridge just outside of town and make our way to the winter camp farther down the river. This would occasionally trespass deep into Pipe Stem territory, but it was a risk Cut was eager to take.
Hence, we set out for the fort fully a moon ahead of our intention. It is fortunate we went with the family. There were times when double-teaming was the only way to gain passage through a drift or hub-deep muck. I, of course, used the Conestoga to carry our furs and to assist the tiospaye’smove back north.
We were granted immediate admission to the commandant’s office. The news of the battle on the Yanube had not reached the military; indeed, it had no idea wagons departed Fort Ramson so late in the season. Ben Bowers told his tale faithfully. Immediately, the officers in the room turned to me.