Half an hour later, he heard the colonel shouting for him to open the flaps to the tent. Dakota leapt to his feet and let him in. Welch barged inside holding two large buckets of hot water. He sat them down with a thud and a sigh of relief.
“What’s this?” Dakota asked.
“Strip,” the colonel said with a leer.
Dakota had an idea what the colonel had in mind and began removing his clothes. Welch placed a wide deep pan on the ground and began soaking a wash cloth in one of the buckets of hot water.
“Stand in there,” Welch said, pointing to the pan. “We want to preserve as much water as we can.” Dakota complied. Welch ran the cloth over his chest, the hot water stinging his skin and steaming in the cold air. Where the colonel washed, Dakota felt refreshed and revitalized as if several inches
