Noon
The leaders stood beside the dead woman , hats in hand . This was part of the price of empire -- the life of a young woman , a bride of a year . The wagons all broke camp and went on in a vast caravan , the Missourians now at the front . Noon , and the train did not halt . Banion urged the teamsters . Bridger and Jackson were watching the many signal smokes . `` I 'm afeard o ' the next bend , '' said Jackson at length .