By the Shores of Silver Lake (Little House, #5)

by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Well, that was enough for me. I had to beat him to that claim. At first I thought I’d be up bright and early next morning, and then I figured I wouldn’t take any chances. So as soon as I got some supper, I made tracks for the Land Office.” “I thought it was closed,” said Carrie. “It was. I settled right down on the doorstep to spend the night.” “Surely you didn’t need to do that, Charles?” said Ma, handing him a cup of tea. “Need to do that?” Pa repeated. “I wasn’t the only man who had that idea, not by a blamed sight. Lucky I got there first. Must have been forty men waiting there all night, and right next to me were those two fellows that I’d heard talking.”