Roose let his eyes roam over the men who would be part of the group joining himself and Cole. The gaunt looking Indian leaning against a hitching rail was the only one who filled him with confidence. He’d introduced himself as Brown Bear and when he heard Cole’s name his eyes lit up. “Reuben Cole?” he asked excitedly.
“You know him?”
“From years ago when we were both young men.”
“All righty then.” Smiling, Roose went off to find the sergeant.
Burroughs could barely conceal his irritation when Sterling Roose informed him of Cole’s departure to the north. “He tends to do things his own way,” explained Roose, holding the sergeant’s glare.
“But we have orders, or don’t you believe in such things?”
orders, Roose looked away, not wishing to enter into a debate about the morality of followi
