Ellis rubbed his face.  “I can’t tell you how painful this all is.  If it helps, I’d put my life in his hands.”

“I would too,” Miller said, glad to be able to add something useful to the conversation.

“Well, I wish you’d all just put your life in each other’s hands and leave me alone, though I know I can’t do anything but accept it.  I’m more than aware that I’ll die if I don’t.  But you see, that’s the point, there are so many ways now that I could die.  The options are endless.”

“Don’t do that,” Ellis said.

“Why not?  It’s the truth.”

“Why don’t we forget about all of this for a while and get some sleep.  Miller and I’ll bunk down here.”  He indicated the saddles lying on the ground.

“No, you won’t.”  Miller felt as if he was getting his first lesson in the peculiar ways of women.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I want to be by myself.  It’s my last wish as far as you’re concerned so you can just go ahead and grant it.”

“You can be by yourself as much as you want in that wagon, but we’re sleeping where I said, here on the ground.”

“You aren’t in charge of me anymore.”  Charlotte was aiming the anger at him, unfair as that was.  “I’ve got guns you don’t even know about.  I’ll keep the fire up.  The wolves are gone.  And it seems I shouldn’t be fearing members of the tribes.  So go.  I’ve got work to do.”

“You are…” Ellis began with some heat.

“Don’t say it,” she cautioned.

“If you’re not here in the morning, it’s not my fault.”

“Unfortunately, I’ll be here.”

Miller waited until he saw what direction Ellis would take, then they both hoisted their saddles up and left.  Miller tried to look back once, but Ellis was moving fast.

By the light of an oil lamp hanging from the wagon supports, Charlotte took apart her bed and went through the entire collection of books one at a time.  When she was done with that, she dug into the flour barrel, rummaged in the tins of ingredients and spices and set up the tin oven over the fire.  The baking alone took half the night.  Toward dawn, she pried up the floorboards and found the silver.  Carefully, she filled a small drawstring bag, adding in enough cotton wool so that the coins wouldn’t clink against each other and give away their presence.

Miller Dawson came by before the sentinel blasted apart the quiet, before the day had even begun.  Before he could say anything, she put a small loaf of molasses bread in his hands.

“Miller, you’re so damned nice.  There just aren’t many like you.  Did they find a captain?”