Chapter 10 Blood on the Prairie: A Novel of the Sioux Uprising Serial (continued)

Background: At this point in the story line, Chief Scout Toby Ryker is visiting the sick and wounded soldiers from the Dakota Conflict and the larger Civil War

at Fort Snelling. He meets a mortally wounded young soldier named Edwin Balch from Glencoe, Minnesota, and accompanies him on his last journey home. We call him Eddy and have him as an amputee with gangrene. Balch is cited on page 333 of Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars 1861-1865 published in 1890 by the Pioneer Press Company, St Paul, Minnesota. The cite states: Enlisted Men Balch, Edwin, age 20, mustered in June 13, '62, mustered out (blank) Died November 27, '62 at Glencoe, Minn. This is our literary tribute to Edwin Balch.

"Hey Eddy, I see you're anxious to get to Glencoe," Ryker said.
"Sure am," Eddy said. "I can hardly wait. I wonder how long it will take."
"We got to go slowly," Henrick said. "I don't want to jostle you around on these rutted trails on account of your injuries. Probably four or five days, I'd guess."
"Then I'm glad you're coming along, Toby. You can keep me company."
Sure thing," Ryker said. "I got my cribbage board along, and some cards and some pennies to play poker with."
"Cribbage?" said Eddy, smiling. " I love to play cribbage! When Becky, she's my girl, and I used to get together on a date, we'd sometimes play cribbage for hours."
"The heck you say."
"Yeah!"
"Didn't you do any courting?"
"Well," Eddy said, blushing, "we did some of that too."
"Well I should hope so. Tell you what, " Ryker added as he tied Wino too the back of the ambulance, "I'll ride with you in the wagon so we can play cribbage while we ride. It'll sharpen your skills so much that by the time we get to Glencoe, you'll be so danged handy with this cribbage board that you'll beat Becky every time."
"Oh, I can't beat her every time," Eddy said seriously. "That would hurt her feelings, and it would get her steamed up, too. I have to let her win most of the time."
"I think that's what they called being chivalrous back in the olden days, Eddy."
"Well, i don't know what it's called, but I know I have to do it."

Read the complete book "Blood on the Prairie A Novel of the Sioux Uprising at your choice of links below, as the 150th anniversary commemoration of the Dakota Conflict of 1862 continues.
Amazon Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002HWSX12
Barnes and Noble Nook:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blood-on-the-prairie-a-novel-of-the-sioux-uprising-sesquicentennial-edition-steven-m-ulmen/1110322785?ean=2940014643931
Google Ebook:
http://books.google.com/books?printsec=frontcover&id=6rU-6z03smwC#v=onepage&q&f=false