Inthe meantime, she had a lot of empty baby bottles all lined up on hercounter that needed filling. She picked up the now heavy pitcher andstarted fi...lling the first bottle. So many baby bottles - for such a bigbaby. Yet she didn't really mind making the tea for him like this.Something about doing it was kind of fun... and maybe relaxing. It tookvery little thought, yet it kept her busy. And... it was directlyhelpful to winning the bet between them.When the pitcher was empty, she set it. Her brother twisted in his saddle to look back at her but rather than try to explain it, she just pointed. It took a few moments, but then he saw it, too. The news spread quickly and the captain readied his troops to ride and ride hard."What do you think?" Tory asked the cavalry captain. They'd both already agreed the smoke was likely from the village of Red Feather, just north of the tower."Slavers," he replied, looking back over his shoulder at the smoke plumes. "They typically round up the. “No, I’m not. But I want you to get out of the wagon and stand there and watch us have fun for two times around the lawn.”“Do I have to?”Cindy said, “That’s not so bad, Jake. My dad would have whaled the hell out of me if I had done something wrong liked that. He was awful mean sometimes. I’ll get out and stay with you. Suzy can have the cart all to her self.” All three were out while I did the two laps. They were giggling when they piled back into the wagon.Susan and Gram, along with Wendy’s. I tested her doorknob, and, as I'd remembered from previous visits, she hadn't locked up, so I quickly opened it and slipped inside to wait.The room was nearly dark, lit only by the moon and distant streetlights, so I simply stepped into the middle as I heard her approaching the door. She stepped in and immediately turned to switch on the light and close the door. When she turned back and saw me, she gasped, putting her hand to her mouth and falling back against the door, then, realizing it was.