"Well," Pete was saying. "We could take two wagons, but that would mean we'd have to travel slow, and there wouldn't be any animals for riding except Bordeaux's horse." He scanned the stunned faces. "Or, we could throw our saddles on the mules and use the rest for pack animals." He glanced at Bordeaux. "What do you think?"
Bordeaux took a sip of coffee, considering the possibilities.
"If you leave the wagons behind, you'll be rewarding the Indians. If you take them with you, it might give you cover if the Indians attack again." He took another sip of his coffee. "On the other hand, if you abandoned the wagons and rode the mules, you might be able to keep ahead of the Indians."
Pete frowned. "I know all that."
Bordeaux stared at him. "I can't make the decision for you. It's your money, not mine."
Pete grimaced. "Forget about the money. I'm talking about the safety of these people. What would you do in my place?"
Bordeaux shrugged. "Saddle a mule for each person, pack all the supplies you might need on the extra mules and burn the rest of the supplies."
Cassie gasped. "But we're only three days out of Ashley, at the most."
Bordeaux frowned. "One and a half or two if you leave the wagons - and leave tonight."
She nodded. "But what if we buried the supplies under the wagons and then burned the wagons?"
"Yeah," Royce chimed in. "They'd think we burned the supplies, like you said."
Bordeaux shook his head. "It would take all night to bury that much stuff."
He leaned over to get more coffee and Cassie pored him another cup.
She sat back on her heels. "But the mules have been working all day. They need a rest."
"So do you. And you'll need to be alert." Bordeaux countered.
Pete was going to be the deciding factor and all eyes turned to him. He frowned.
"I like the idea of burying the supplies, but I don't think the Indians would be fooled if we buried everything - even if we could." He mulled it over in silence, sipping on his coffee while they all waited for his decision. Finally he looked up. "We'll spend two hours burying supplies - no more. It shouldn't be hard to dig in this sand. Then we sleep for three hours. By then the mules will be rested. We douse the wagons with lamp oil and light them. Then we get out of here."
The decision made, everybody grabbed a shovel and started digging under their wagon. They selected the most valuable food items and buried them. Using the extra sand, they made fortifications and bedded down for the night behind them.