harlie. "And we have let Sandy
go down to the post alone!"

Both of the men laughed--a little unpleasantly, it seemed to the
boys, although Younkins was the soul of amiability and mildness. But
Charlie thought it was unkind in them to laugh at his very natural
apprehensions; and he said as much, as he and Oscar, with their
clothes on their heads, waded the Republican Fork on the way home.

"Well, Charlie," was Oscar's comforting remark, as they scrambled up
the opposite bank, "I guess the reason why they laughed at us was that
if the Cheyennes have gone on the warpath, the danger is out in the
west; whereas, Sandy has gone eastward to-day, and that is right in
the way of safety, isn't it? He's gone to the post; and you know that
the people down at Soldier Creek told us that this was a good place to
settle, because the post would be our protection in case of an Indian
rising."

Meanwhile, Sandy was blissfully and peacefully jogging along in the
direction of the military post. Only one house stood between
Younkins's and the fort; and that was Mullett's. They all had occasion
to think pleasantly of Mullett's; for whenever an opportunity came for
the mail to be forwarded from the fort up to Mullett's, it was sent
there; then Sparkins, who was the next neighbor above, but who lived
off the road a bit, would go down to Mullett's and bring the mail up
to his cabin; when he did this, he left a red flannel flag flying on
the roof of his house, and Younkins, if passing along the trail, saw
the signal and went out of his way a little to take the mail up to his
cabin. Somehow, word was sent across the river to the Whittier boys,
as the good Younkins soon learned to call the Boy Settlers, and they
went gladly over to Younkins's and got the precious letters and papers
from home. That was the primitive way in which the mail for the
settlers on the Republican Fork went up the road from Fort Riley, in
those days; and all letters and papers designed for the settlers along
there were addressed simply to Fort Riley, which was their nearest
post-office.

So Sandy, when he reached Mullett's, was not disappointed to be told
that there were no letters for anybody up the river. There had been
nobody down to the post very lately. Sandy knew that, and he was
confident that he would have the pleasure of bringing up a good-sized
budget when he returned. So he whipped up his somewhat lazy steed and
cantered down toward the fort.

Soon after l