"Come straight toward me! I'll wait!"
Joe climbed to the seat, took the reins from Tad, and drove the mules in the river. They walked more briskly now, and Joe thought that no man can, for very long, deceive a mule. They knew that their journey was nearly over, and that not too far ahead they would find both food and shelter. Perhaps they smelled the fort.
Out in the river, as they drew closer, Joe saw a mounted trooper holding a lantern high. The soldier walked his horse back across the river. Two other cavalry men waited there, and the soldier with the lighted lantern paused beside the wagon.
"Good Lord! Who hits the trail on a night like this?"
"Had to get to Laramie," Joe explained.
"You're almost there. How are your mules?"
"Worn out."
"Follow us. We'll take it slow."
Joe followed the troopers up the trail, and the lights of Laramie shone through the storm. Guarded by armed soldiers, the gate was open and Joe drove through into the stockade. The sergeant with the lantern came beside the wagon again.
"Can we get quarters?" Joe asked. "We have a sick youngster with us."