Gustie and Jordis had come in with Dorcas’s morning catch of fish to trade for coffee. Gustie also purchased sugar, flour, and canned goods for Dorcas to tide her over until the next disbursement of annuities. Jordis was inside, in conversation with Owen, while Gustie loaded their parcels onto her wagon. In an effort to shield her horse from the July sun, she had left the mare and wagon in the alley in the L-shape formed by the back of the agency building and its storehouse. In the heat of summer, Gustie made these trips back and forth between Charity and Crow Kills at night. On this day, she wanted to be on the road to Charity by sundown. She had to be there tomorrow, because she had promised to help Alvinia and Mary prepare for the open house after Gracia’s baptism. The baptism wasn’t till the end of the month, but they all agreed that Gertrude Kaiser’s house needed a lot of work. This was too important a day to just throw something together slap-dash.
