SHHh! Did you hear THAT?

 James rolled over and asked, "hear what'?

"I think I heard something sniffing around the wagon!" 

"Probably Scout, just doing her job."

"James, I'm sure it wasn't your dog. What if it is a bear? What if it's a grizzly?"

"Scout would be growling and barking, not just sniffing. Please go to sleep, Mary Ann!"

"I can't sleep with a bear prowling around outside."

"Well I can't sleep with you worrying for nothing. You'll wake the baby. I'll go shoot it for you, whatever it is."

"Be careful, James"

(low laughter) - "I won't let the big bad possum get me."

"I heard the shot, James. What did you shoot?"

"It was a racoon. We're near the river, so there's a lot of critters wandering around at night, going for a drink." 

"Racoons are cute. They look like bandits with a mask on. I hope you didn't hurt it."

"I winged it, a strong warning that a man has to get his sleep at night - or else!"

"Message received, James. Good night!"

"Good night, sweetheart."

{The voice you often 'hear' in this blog is that of Mary Ann Evans, nineteen years old, newly married to James Sherrill. They are on their honeymoon on the Oregon Trail, on their way to claiming 320 aces of river-bottom land by the Willamette River. I'd show you a picture of the racoon, but it was night, and too dark to get a good picture.}