Over at the Simpson wagon, Jed had saddled and packed Sunshine too. Pete tried hard not to make his smile a nervous one.
"Guess we might as well start from over there," he suggested.
"We'll go with you," Granny said. "Ann may want a woman around."
But if Ann Simpson was afraid, she gave no sign of it now. Her husband was going across the border into no one knew what danger, but he was going with a strong and steadfast heart. Tears might come later, but a smile would urge him on.
Cindy tied Sparkle to a wagon wheel and looked up and down the line of camps and wagons. There seemed to be twice as many people as there had been before, as though they had sprung from the ground. Everyone with a horse had it saddled, those with wagons had them ready, and there were still a great many who must run on foot. Cindy giggled. There was one man with a high-wheeled bicycle which he evidently intended to ride into Oklahoma.
A desperate-looking man approached them and indicated Pete's two remaining ponies. "Those yours?" he asked hoarsely.
"That's right," Pete said.
"I'll give you fifty dollars to let me ride one today," the man said.
"No," said Pete. "I can't take the chance. Ponies will be hard to get for a long while."
The man turned appealingly to Jed Simpson. "Are those your mules?"