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at the sight of Calamity walking through the camp.
    ‘We’ve maybe four weeks travelling together. Likely I can show you most of what you’ll need before Fort Sherrard.’
    ‘Would you please?’ said Mrs. Bloom.
    ‘I’ll make a stab at it,’ Calamity promised. ‘Not tonight though. You ladies most likely have food to cook for your men.’
    Her words caused a hurried departure. Not because she shocked the women or failed to hold their interest, but because all of them remembered leaving food on their fires when coming to lend Mrs. Bloom moral support in defence of her mistreated children. Promising to see Calamity at the next camp, they hurried away.
    ‘I’d like to thank you, Miss—’ Molly said, coming to Calamity’s side.
    ‘Never been one for “Missing” with folks I like. The name’s Calamity Jane. You can call me Calam, like most of my friends, or be real formal and make it Jane.’
    ‘Thank you, Calam,’ Molly smiled, taking a better liking to the other girl. ‘They were getting out of hand and too much for me.’
    ‘Try slapping their ears down a mite next time.’ Calamity suggested. ‘I’d say Mrs. Bloom won’t mind.’
    ‘According to Professor Strubacher “physical punishment arouses resentment and creates the desire to make more mischief”,’ Molly quoted.
    ‘How many kids has he got?’ asked the practical Calamity.
    ‘The professor? He’s a bachelor.’
    ‘Then where in hell did he learn about kids? Way I see it, happen you treat a kid same way as you treat a hound pup, you bring ‘em both up right. Praise him when he does right and take a switch to his hide when he wets on the wagon bed, only do it right off so he knows what he’s getting licked for.’
    A smile came to Molly’s lips as she heard the wild, poorly educated young Western woman argue against the learning and instructions of the great Professor Strubacher. Or was the red-head so poorly educated in practical matters? Molly admitted that she, for all her college education, would have been helpless to deal with the cut on Hubert Bloom’s arm. From a more personal point of view, Molly had only to look at her class’s decorum to see that Calamity’s views on handling children apparently worked better than had Professor Strubacher’s.
    ‘You could be right at that,’ Molly smiled. ‘Go cut me a switch.’
    ‘Gal, you’re the first eastern dude I ever saw who knowed good sense when she come face to lace with it,’ Calamity replied.
    After the class ended, with Calamity sat by and listening as attentively as any of the pupils, Molly walked back to camp with the western girl.
    ‘Are you coming to the dance?’ Calamity asked as they entered the camp circle.
    ‘Which dance?’ asked Molly.
    ‘The one they’ll hold tonight.’
    ‘I haven’t heard of any dance.’
    ‘There’ll be one, you mark my words,’ Calamity grinned.
    ‘Do you reckon all those soldier boys down to the fort are going to miss a chance to come here and dance with you unattached females?’
    ‘I’m not much for social life,’ Molly admitted.
    ‘Then it’s time you started,’ Calamity told her. ‘Go let your hair down, put on your best party dress and you ‘n’ me’ll celebrate until the last dog’s shot and all the pups are hung.’
    ‘Do you want my company?’
    ‘Why sure,’ Calamity chuckled. ‘It’s not every day I get a chance to go to a dance with a schoolmarm. Say, come over to our camp and I’ll fry up a mess of brook trout. If you’ve not ate fresh-caught Kansas brook trout, then you’ve never tasted fish.’

CHAPTER FOUR
    MISS CANARY ATTENDS A BALL
    MOLLY Johnson caused something of a stir when she arrived with Calamity at Killem’s camp-fire. In fact, she scared a group of tough, efficient and hardy men into stammering inarticulation and brought about a hurried disappearance in search of washing water and shaving tackle. Probably the fluster came about through Calamity insisting that Molly let down her