text: On the train that night, they jumped into a cattle car as the train stopped in Berea.
  
  "They shoveled out all the manure," Paulie said, "but it still stinks."
  
  "I've smelled worse," Grit said.
  
  Once they were settled and the train was moving south, Grit pulled out the loaf of bread and said, "Let's eat."
  
  "What are we eatin'?" Paulie asked.
  
  "I got some fresh bread from the bakery and some slices of roast beef here," Grit said. "Make yourself a sandwich."
  
  They ate together, chomping away at the thick fresh beef sandwiches. "Good thing you thought of this, or I'd be starvin'," Paulie said. "Only thing I brought was a tin of sardines."
  
  Both were exhausted from their work that day, but they had to change trains in Cleveland, so they stayed awake and jumped off in the Cleveland rail yard an hour later. It took some time wandering around and hiding in the rail yard, but they eventually found a train headed west to Chicago.
  
  In an empty freight car, they both fell asleep on the floor. There were water stops every few miles, but they had no real trouble until the train was coming into Toledo. They both awoke and Grit said, "I'm thinkin' this is a big town, and we may have some problems here."
  
  Paulie sat up and said, "I slept pretty good for about four hours, so I'm ready to jump off if we have to."
  
  Grit stood, slid the door open a crack and stuck his head out. "Uh oh," he said. "There's a man coming with a lamp, and he's got a bunch of guys with him. We better jump out the other side."
  
  They slid the opposite-side door open just wide enough to get through it, jumped down and ran into the rail yard and hid behind the steel wheels of the rail cars. They hunched down and watched as the railroad bulls searched every car on the train.
  
  Grit could hear them talking but caught only a word or two here and there. As the train got ready to leave a little later, the conductor came down swinging his red light, and the train started to chug away.
  
  When the conductor jumped aboard one of the cars down the track, Grit said, "Come on, Paulie. Let's catch it."
  
  They threw their bags into the rail car. Grit jumped in and pulled Paulie up into the car.
  
  "We made it," Paulie said.
  
  "Yep, now you can get some sleep."
  
  Paulie set his blankets out and dropped off into a dead sleep. Grit was tired too, but he sat up thinking how elated he was that he was finally free and in charge of his own life. Grit had grown up in an orphanage, more or less, and from an early age he'd been told what he could do and what he couldn't do. Now he was free to make his own decisions, to make a life, and he was determined to make a good one by the iron force of his will and his iron-hard muscles.
  
  A week later when he and Paulie hopped off the train in Omaha, he was still exulting in his own freedom.
  
  "Now we gotta decide what we're gonna do," Grit said. "I think we oughta go up the Missouri River to Dakota Territory and find us a good spot with lots of trees, and we can sell firewood to the riverboats."
  
  "But what do we do in the winter?"
  
  "Before the snow flies," Grit said, "we'll have to spend every spare minute building a cabin, then we'll have to make a trip to the nearest town and stock the cabin with all the supplies we'll need until spring. As long as we're well-situated and have warm clothing, we can cut wood through the winter and be ready when the boats start coming as soon as the ice breaks on the river."
  
  "Where are we gonna get all the money to do this?" Paulie asked.
  
  "We have to cut wood for the rest of the summer and sell it," Grit said. "We'll have to spend the rest of our money to get enough to buy you a couple of three-pound axes, a good grindstone, maybe some files, and enough food to last a month or so until we get some wood sold."
  
  "But I heard there's Indians up there in Dakota Territory," Paul said. "Ain't we gonna need some rifles?"
  
  "That's a good point, Paulie," Grit said. "I hadn't thought of needing a rifle, and we could use some mules, harnesses and chains to haul the logs. Until then, we'll just have to cut the trees where we drop them."
  
  "If we had a tarp it might be easier for me to drag cut logs up to the river bank and stack 'em," Paulie said.
  
  "You're just full of good ideas," Grit said.
  
  They bought a new Winchester '73 for $18, bought the two three-pound axes for $1.65 cents each, bought files to sharpen the saws, and a round grindstone weighing nearly 30 pounds. They bought enough food for two months and after paying, Grit said, "I only have $65 left, not enough to buy much of a horse."
  
  "Why don't you let me go down and see if I can get us a horse?" Paulie asked.
  
  "No reason," Grit said. "If you think you can get us one, go ahead."
  
  "I need to have at least some money to get a horse," Paulie said.
  
  "Oh yeah," Grit said. "I'll give you $50. That's all we can afford." Grit watched from an alley as Paulie went into the stable.