“He couldn’t spell much, or put in his punctuation marks, but he certainly had a practical eye. And I reckon the first beginnings of the city were right then, for the Journal says, ‘Completed a strong redoubt or brestwork from one side to the other, of logs and Bushes Six feet high.’ Yes, I suppose that was the first white building here at the Gate.
“It’s pretty hard to find any new part of the world to-day. Yonder runs the Kaw, leading to the Santa Fe Trail—and I’ll bet there’s a thousand motor cars going west right now, a hundred times as many cars each day as there used to be wagons in a year!”
He closed his book for the time. “Maybe that’s what Uncle Dick wanted us to get in our heads!” said he.
“Some country!” said Jesse; and both John and Rob agreed.
When their leader returned a little later in the evening, the boys told him what they had been doing.
“Fine!” he said. “Fine! Well, I’ve just telegraphed home that we’re all right and that we’re off for the Platte to-morrow, early.”
“That’s another old road to the Rockies,” said Rob.
“One of the greatest—the very greatest, when you leave out boat travel. The Platte Valley led out the men with plows on their wagons, the home makers who stayed West. You see, our young leaders were only pathfinders, not home makers.”
“And a jolly good job they had!” said Jesse.
“Yes, and jolly well they did the job, son, as you’ll see more and more.”