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I’ve got you fooled.” He arched his back, saying, “I’ve tried a hundred times to figure out what it is that keeps me in the army—and I’ve decided it’s two things.”
    Waiting for him to go on, Laurie suddenly realized that not many men would go to the trouble of explaining their philosophy and their decisions to an eighteen-year-old daughter. He’s always talked to me like I was an adult—even when I was a little girl. The thought pleased her, and she listened carefully as he spoke evenly, his voice a counterpoint to his thoughts.
    “A man has to belong to something, Laurie. For a long time I floated around, not much in the way of ties. But as long as someone just does little chores that end with his hands and never reach his heart, he’s no good to himself. Some thingsare real, and some are only illusionary, things that people wrap themselves in because they don’t have anything real.”
    “Why—that’s what I’ve thought for a long time!”
    He twisted his head toward her, catching the classic profile of her face. “I know, Laurie. That’s why I’m telling you how I feel. We’re alike, you and me—got to have more to do than most.”
    “And the army does that for you?”
    “The army is made up of good men—and some pretty bad ones, too. But when the trumpet sounds boots and saddles, they’ll all swing up together; and when the bullets start flying, they’ll all move forward. That’s what men should do.” Then he halted and shrugged his shoulders. “But I could find that in other ways and in other professions. It’s more than that—and I don’t even know how to say this to you.”
    “What is it, Daddy?”
    “I believe,” he said slowly, “that I’m in the army for a purpose. I think God puts people in certain places because sometime or other, there’s a job that needs doing and they’re the ones to do it.”
    “That’s what Reverend Gliddings says.”
    “Yes, but I didn’t need a preacher to tell me about it.” He stopped his horse, and when she pulled up alongside, he said, “I’m no prophet, but somehow I know that down the line, I’ll be doing something that God wants me to do.”
    Laurie had sensed this about her father, though he’d never spoken of it. Now she asked, “Does Mother feel that way?”
    “Yes. As a matter of fact,” he admitted wryly, “I was about ready to resign and move us all to that ranch for some easy living, but Faith came up with one of those flat statements that almost knock you down. She said, ‘God has called you to be a soldier, not a rancher, Thomas Winslow, so be what He’s made you!’ ”
    They both laughed, for they had long delighted—and learned to trust—in Faith’s sudden announcements aboutthe will of God. “I guess that settled it,” Winslow admitted. “But it makes things harder for you.”
    “Oh, I’m all right,” Laurie said quickly. “The ranch was nice, but—”
    “You wouldn’t have been satisfied there, Laurie,” Winslow interrupted. “It would have been more pleasant than this post, but in six months, you’d be miserable again.” She started to protest, but he said, “Come on, let’s get home.” He spurred his horse forward and raised his voice. “Your mother has another one of her little ‘announcements,’ but I want you to get it straight from her.”
    Laurie was filled with curiosity, and as they rode back to the fort, she pondered over what her father had said. When they turned their horses over to the handlers and started toward the house, she asked, “What is it? Mother’s announcement?”
    “I’ll tease you the same way you teased Ugly,” Winslow grinned. “Let you wait on it. Maybe you’ll be a little kinder to that poor dog next time.”
    When they entered the house, they found supper on the table; and her father whispered, “It’ll have to wait until the kids go to bed.”
    For Laurie that was one of the longest evenings she could ever remember. She could hardly wait to get