At the Dunbar House, Earl sat behind his desk. A nearly full sea chest sat near the door. With an oily cloth, Earl wiped at his Army Colt.
“I see you"re almost packed.” Earl looked up to see Miss Birch standing in the doorway. He detected the scent of Lilacs.
“Mrs. O"Leary will have lunch ready in about an hour,” she told him.
“Miss Birch,” Earl said, “I was thinking, perhaps you and I could go into town and have lunch together.”
“I"d like that very much, Mr. Stump. I"ll get my hat.”
Upstairs in the bunkroom, eight men were busy packing their kits. Virgil walked over to Bradford, who had just pulled his sword from its scabbard.
“That"s a fine looking blade.”
“My father gave me that. It"s called a Mameluke, named after the warriors that used it. In 1801, a Marine Lieutenant named Pre
