On the four days it took the boat to reach Fort Ridgely the boys had plenty of time to ask the trapper about the war.
“It won’t last long, that’s what I think,” the trapper told them. “When the Confederates see that Abe Lincoln has 75,000 soldiers, they will quit.”
“Will they fight at Vicksburg?” asked Bill.
“No, you needn’t worry, boys. They’ll soon fix it all up at Washington and the soldiers will come home.”
“The officer said it would be hell at Vicksburg,” Tim remarked, “and it would be a big, long war.”
“That’s what some of the army officers think,” the trapper admitted, “but most other people don’t think so.”
Black Buffalo was as much puzzled by the war between the white people as the boys.
“Do the people from this country want to go south,” he asked, “just as the Chippewas from the North want to come into our Sioux country?”
“No, that isn’t it,” the trapper explained. “The white people of the South want to keep their black slaves, and they wish to have a country and a president of their own. They don’t like Abe Lincoln.”
When on the evening of the fourth day, the steamer whistled for the Fort Ridgely landing, the boys were glad to get off the boat, but felt very uneasy about the reception Cousin Hicks would give them.
“I wish we could go back to Vicksburg,” Tim whispered to his brother. “I am homesick.”
“Come on, boys,” Mr. Barker called in his pleasant, manly voice. “I’ll stay at your shack to-night, and if your cousin is at home, I’ll have a visit and a talk with him. Don’t forget your coon, Tim; I guess you will have to carry him if you want to take him home.”
Cousin Hicks was at home and greeted the boys with apparent heartiness. To Barker he was friendly, but did not invite him to stay over night.
“You need not go to any trouble,” the trapper told him. “We have had our supper on the boat, and I will just spread my blanket on the floor for the night. You know a seasoned trapper can sleep anywhere.”
“Yes, do make yourself at home,” Hicks said now. “I am glad you took the boys with you to St. Paul. It is a bit lonesome for them here, and I have to be away a good deal.”
Next morning Hicks walked along the prairie road with Barker, and the trapper knew that Hicks had something to say to him.
