Fair Weather

Granddad waves the family down to meet Buffalo Bill Cody. Buster moves in a dream because Cody is “every boy’s idol” (110). Buffalo Bill sweeps off his hat as he kisses Aunt Euterpe’s hand. Buster introduces himself and reveals his real first name, LeRoy. The governor and mayor, having climbed out of the coach, introduce themselves to Granddad, who in turn introduces them to Euterpe. The mayor remembers that Euterpe’s late husband was a valued member of the business community.

Cody sends Euterpe and the girls to sit in his own box seats. Rosie wonders if now her aunt’s social standing will improve, but Euterpe replies that, in the social world, “it is not the men who matter” (114). At one end of the row of seats in Cody’s box sits the most beautiful woman any of the family has ever seen. She smiles and nods, but Rosie has learned a “hard lesson”: you are not supposed to speak to anyone to whom you haven’t been introduced.

The second act of the show is a buffalo hunt, with Buffalo Bill rounding them up amidst Sioux horsemen. The beautiful lady comments on the dust, and Euterpe begins chatting with her. Euterpe points out that her father and the colonel fought together in the war, to which the woman replies, “And yet men at their most warlike are less cruel than women” (116).