"She suggested cheerfully. By this time Patti had grown uneasy. "Can Itake off this stupid dress and all the other things now?" He asked in asmart ton... of voice. "No! Mister smarty-pants" Mary said, then shecorrected herself. "Or should I say young lady!" After snickering shewent on. "In any event the answer is no. In fact you will continue towear what you have on all day until bedtime!" She folded her arms underher breasts. "And you might as well know it right now! Kim and I intendto keep you. I took the woven mat of branches and leaves I had constructed and placed it over the trench I had dug. I covered it as much as possible with the dirt I had dug from the hole. Then I wiggled into the trench and pulled the mat up over my head and grimly settled down to wait. Come nightfall I would continue the pursuit I was engaged in, or I would be a pile of ashes.As I waited for whichever outcome would take place, I shook my head ruefully. The moment I relax always seems the moment I end up. One day the Indians would learn that they could not take a determinedly defended fort, but would have to rely on attacking isolated detachments in order to gain victories. This was one of those lessons.Before nightfall, the Indians rode out of sight and were never seen at the fort again.Even before the last shot was fired, Major Roberts had his officers assess the result of the battle. Only three defenders had been killed and 11 wounded enough to be out of action for more than a few hours. Only. Let me set the stage for you: it's 95 degrees (a mere 89 in the shade!), and I'm 4800 feet above sea level. Not that there's an actual sea for hundreds of miles. Or any water at all, damn near. I'm sure a nineteenth century explorer or a Native American shaman or botany professor could scare up some agua by slicing open one of these plants or digging a hole or sucking the blood from a gila monster, but I'm none of these things. I'm an amateur hiker-- and a stupid one, at that, judging from my.