she said after a few moments, âhe is a miner. You are the Gunsmith. Wouldnât it be better if you taught me?â
âWe have a long way to go,â Clint told her. âWeâll see.â
The same thing parents told their kids when they asked for some rock candy.
After a while Bridget stuck her head between them and asked, âWill we be stopping to eat soon?â
âWe have about an hour of daylight left,â Clint told her. âWeâll stop then.â
âI found some sort of hard meat back here.â
âBeef jerky,â Clint said. âYou can chew on that if you like.â
âBeef jerky?â Bride asked.
âItâs dried beef.â
âOh, beef!â Bride said excitedly. âBridget, may I have a piece?â
Bridget withdrew her head, then reappeared and gave Clint and Bride each a piece, and kept one for herself.
Bride took a bite, yanked and yanked until a piece came off in her mouth, and then chewed enthusiastically.
âItâs very good,â she said.
âA little chewy,â Bridget said.
âI donât care,â Bride said. âIt is better than potatoes.â
Clint had always thought what heâd heard about the Irish and potatoes was a myth, but in listening to these two girls, and watching them eat, apparently that wasnât the case.
âWonât be any potatoes on this trip,â Clint said. âAnd thatâs probably the only beef youâll be getting.â
âWonât we be eating when we stop?â Bride asked.
âYes, we will.â
âIn a restaurant?â
âNo,â Clint said. âFor most of this trip weâll be making camp on the trail, and eating over an open fire.â
âWhere will we sleep?â she asked.
âOn the ground,â Clint said.â
âWhat if it rains?â
âThen under the wagon,â he said, âor in it.â
Bride gave her sister an outraged look, but Bridget didnât say anything.
âHey,â Clint said, âyou girls wanted to see the way we live in the West.â
âWhat will we eat?â
âBacon and beans,â Clint said, âfor as long as it lasts.â
âB-But . . . what if we run out of food?â Bride asked.
âWeâll try not to,â Clint said. âWeâll restock when we do come to a town.â
Bride apparently decided to stop asking questions she didnât like the answers to, and stared off into the distance.
FIFTEEN
As darkness began to fall, they camped. Clint dispatched the girls to find firewood while he took care of the horses.
âMake sure itâs something that will burn,â he said.
They returned with an armful each, and he built a fire and then put on a pot of coffee. After that he took out a frying pan for the bacon and beans.
As they sat around the fire, Clint noticed that Bride kept looking around, as if expecting to be attacked at any moment.
âI assume you ladies didnât spend much time in Ireland sleeping outside.â
âWe may not have had much,â Bridget said, âbut we did usually have a roof over our heads, and a bed of sorts.â
âWell, thereâs nothing to be worried about,â Clint said.
âWhat about animals?â Bride asked.
âThey wonât come near the fire.â
âAnd outlaws?â she asked. âWhat if they sneak up on us while we sleep?â
âThey wonât be able to sneak up, because Iâll be watching.â
âAll night?â she asked.
âYes,â he said.
That didnât seem to soothe her very much.
âHere,â he said, âconcentrate on this.â He handed each girl a plate of bacon and beans, and then offered them a cup of coffee.
âI donât like coffee,â Bride said. âDonât we have some tea?â
âNo tea,â Clint said. âYou can drink water from the