The country was parched with the heat of summer. Anna began wearing her dress without any petticoats and her stockings pushed down to bunch at her ankles. Richard had stopped wearing long-johns beneath his trousers and had suggested she discard her drawers as well; a suggestion she was beginning to give serious consideration. The days seemed to meld one into the other, the evenings filled with the soft cries as the heat, stress and boredom had tempers flaring and wives snapping and misbehaving until discipline was doled out to bring them back onto the right track. As they drove across the plains, Anna and Richard talked about their future and their dreams, as if reassuring themselves that the journey would end and they'd finally begin to build their home; one that would not bounce or sway. Morgan finally decided that everyone needed a long rest, and announced that they would make camp at the nearby stream, and allow the women to wash and rest and air out the wagons, while the men made repairs and hunted for fresh game.
