“No more so than in any other work, and, besides, my mother will be able to be out-of-doors.”
“Is she going with you?”
“No, Ted and I are going alone. After we have filed our claim and put up our cabin, we shall send for her and the girls.”
“I’m afraid you will have some difficulty about filing your entry, as they call filing a claim, in the Land Office. I know something about it because my father was an ‘entryman.’”
“But why do you think so, sir?”
“Because you are neither of age nor the head of a family, and minors are not allowed to make an entry unless they have done service in the army or navy.”
“But widows can file a claim, and Ted and I shall select the homestead, build a cabin, then send for Momsy and she will make the entry.”
“Clever way of getting around it, Phil, very—that is, if the government will allow minors to act as settlers. How about that?”
“We do not know yet, but Dr. Blair will write to Washington about it and he thinks he can arrange it.”
“Probably he can. If you have any difficulty, however, just ask your mother to let me know and I will do all I can to help her and you. And now, when do you wish me to call the team together—after school?”