The stage from the east bumped and swayed along the trail toward Fort Terrett. The trail followed the narrow Llano river, and as the stage moved westward, two of the occupants were mutually interested in watching the rapidly moving waters. One of them was a little girl, Peggy Bailey, who was on her way with a sharp-eyed governess, to join her father Colonel Bailey, at Fort Terrett. The other was a small boy, Johnny Endecot, who was returning from a trip to Austin with his father, who owned the blacksmiths shop at Fort Terrett. The silence inside the stage was finally broken by little Peggy, who introduced herself, and who was quickly instructed by the governess, that she would not be allowed to be friends with the likes of a blacksmiths' son...