17Kicking his way through the rock-strewn ground, Oscar flopped down on a large boulder and immediately regretted it. He jumped up, dusting off the seat of his pants like the proverbial scalded cat. “Holy s**t, that is hot!”
The two brutish-looking soldiers accompanying the officers laughed openly. Jewson merely sighed, shook his head and led his horse across to the only piece of shade there was. The ride to this clearing had been long and laborious and all of them were tired and short-tempered.
“We need to wait a while longer,” he said, pulling off his hat and wiping his soaking forehead. He stared in distaste at the sweat ring running above the brim of his Cavalry headgear. “I wish I'd told them to meet us at the fort.”
“They would never have agreed to that.”
Jewson gave Oscar a with
