Glory Read Online Free

raising me.”
    “Found you?” the girls chorused.
    Lily’s eyes widened. “Where are your real folks?”
    The boy stiffened. “Don’t know that either. It’s always been just me and Poppy.” The boy shifted as if he’d rather not continue the discussion.
    “Then you’re an orphan like us,” Ruth said.
    “Don’t know about that, but I’m mighty glad you came along.”
    Jackson smiled as he listened to the friendly chatter. The boy was so candid.
    “What happened to your Poppy?” Ruth asked.
    “Went to sleep and never woke up. Guess that was good. He didn’t suffer, I suppose.”
    “You buried him?” Jackson asked. “And started off on your own?”
    “Yes, sir. Off to find me a new life.”
    “So are we.” Mary scooted closer. “A new life, with husbands and hopes for families and children one day. They told us at the orphanage that more and more people are moving west and building towns with stores and houses.”
    “It’s an exciting adventure,” Lily bubbled, “and we can hardly wait to get there. But Mr. Lincoln says Denver City is a long way off.”
    Jackson grinned. “A very long way, ladies. With any luck, we’ll be there in plenty of time before the snows.”
    Right now, that was Jackson’s main concern—tocomplete the six-hundred-eighty-five-mile trip to Denver City before late September, and he wanted nothing to slow them down. What concerned him most was getting through the high divide between the Arkansas and Platte Rivers before snow, even though it was now July and snow seemed a long way off. It was a crucial pass, and wagons were advised to get past the spot as early as possible.
    “I’ll just be riding to the next town,” the boy said.
    Jackson nodded. “Should be there sometime tomorrow.”

    Late that afternoon Jackson pulled the oxen off the road and went another mile before stopping in a grassy field beside a running stream. “Black Jack Creek is a good place to camp for the night. Good grazing for the animals with fresh water nearby.”
    “Why, it is almost evening,” Ruth said, surprise registering on her flushed features.
    The afternoon had passed pleasantly enough. The boy had warmed up to the girls when they’d stopped for a half hour to rest the team and let the group pick the blackberries growing thick along the roadside.
    Jackson got out of the wagon and unhitched the team. The boy leapt down nimbly, dragging his bedroll and pack with him.
    The girls quickly set about making camp. As they did their chores, the newcomer pitched in to help. Jackson was happy to see the youth was no shirker. The young mangathered wood, and by the time Jackson had watered the oxen, he had a fire going in a circle of rocks and a coffeepot bubbling to one side.
    Jackson staked the oxen where they could graze during the night, then joined the others at the fire. The boy jumped up to pour him a cup of scalding black coffee.
    Jackson smiled and thanked him. “I didn’t catch your name.”
    The boy glanced away, and Jackson wondered if he was shy.
    “Glory.”
    The wagon master’s smile slowly faded. “Glory?”
    “That’s right. Name’s Glory.” The kid looked straight ahead.
    “Glory.” Jackson took a sip of coffee. He hadn’t expected this. “What’s your last name?”
    “Don’t have one. Name’s just Glory.”
    Lily burst into laughter. “You’re a girl?”
    “Of course I’m a girl,” Glory spit out. “What’d you think I am?”
    Mary blushed. “Well, your trousers—”
    “And the way you look . . . all dirty—”
    “Harper!” Ruth scowled.
    “You thought I was a boy ?” Glory sprang to her feet, ready to fight, until Jackson calmly reached out to restrain her. The waif’s eyes moved to the simple gingham dresses the others wore, and she frowned. “I ain’t no boy.”
    “We can see that now.” Patience smiled. “We just didn’t expect to find a girl alone on the trail.”
    Glory glanced at Jackson, then back at the girls. “Well, I didn’t