Florence

by Patricia Pacjac Carroll

  “But … ” The boy held a hand to his head. “I guess I can stay for a little bit.”

  “I bet you’re hungry. Would you like a bacon sandwich?”

  He shrugged.

  She made him one, wishing all the milk hadn’t been spilled. She brought the sandwich to him. “Here you go. I’m Florence Selmer.”

  He stared at her but ate the sandwich.

  She got the idea that he didn’t want to tell her who he was or where he was from. So, she sat with him and petted the puppies. Splish and Splash did bring a smile to the boy’s face. He was slight in build and small as if he hadn’t eaten well all his life.

  “Did you come from the mines?”

  His eyes grew big, but he shook his head.

  She heard the horse and looked up, and was happy to see Jay was back with a bundle on the back of the horse.

  He came inside. “Well, who do we have here?”

  She looked at him. “He won’t say. He must have been thirsty and was trying to get to the milk.”

  “Ah, I see.” Jay looked down at the little boy. “Want to tell me who you are?”

  The lad shook his head.

  Jay walked Florence outside. “While I was in town, I saw the mob again. They were desperate. Said many have died. They think it’s cholera, but until the doc gets to the mining town, they aren’t sure.”

  “I saw them on the road.”

  Jay nodded toward the boy. “I bet he came from the camp. I really don’t like that he’s here and maybe carrying the disease.”

  Florence shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. He has no fever. He looks like a hungry little boy to me. It wouldn’t be Christian to turn him away.”

  Jay ran back inside the house and grabbed the boy as he attempted to run away. The boy struggled and suddenly went limp.

  Florence reached out and supported the boy. “He has a nasty lump on the back of his head.”

  “I see.” Jay grabbed a blanket and laid the boy by the fire. “Stay with him. I’m going to look around.”

  Florence heard Scout barking. She ran for the rifle that she’d left by the door and waited.

  ***

  Jay rounded the house in time to grab another little boy. Then he saw a little girl holding the hand of another smaller girl. “All right, you little ones, where have you come from?”

  The oldest girl shrugged. “I don’t know. We followed Paul, and he told us not to move. Then Billy saw the chickens and thought we could catch them. Me and Margaret Mary tried, but the chickens pecked us.” She started crying.

  Hanging onto Billy’s hand, Jay knelt before the little girl. “It’s going to be all right. Don’t cry.”

  She rubbed her eyes and sniffled. “We’re hungry. Ma and Pa died. They took them away and burnedeed the house. We ranned.”

  “What’s your name, sweetie?” “I’m Lorraine. Lorraine Dumac.”

  Jay looked at Billie. “Don’t try to get away. Paul is in the house. We have food to feed you.”

  Lorraine sighed. “Oh, good. We was starved.”

  Jay smiled and escorted his charges to the house. “Florence, we have company.”

  She came down the steps and picked up the youngest. “You come with me. We have bread and butter.” She looked at Jay. “Better cut more bacon.”

  He nodded and soon returned to the house with several pounds of bacon. Florence had them all sitting on the floor and eating buttered bread. Paul was still unconscious, but the others looked relieved to be eating and inside, or at least under a roof.

  Florence took the meat from Jay and started frying it. “Jay, these children are all alone. They said their parents died.”

  He nodded. Seeing the next question in Florence’s eyes before she could ask it, he decided to divert her idea. “We need to see if they have any family.”

  Billy spoke up. “We don’t. Pa told me we were all alone in this world. He was real sick and kind of crying. He told Paul some stuff, but we’re all alone in the world.”

  Jay nodded. Poor kids, they had no idea what that meant. He wasn’t sure if there was an orphanage anywhere in Montana. The mine owners sure hadn’t taken care of the children. “I don’t want you, children, to worry. You can stay here until we find out where you belong.”

  Lorraine looked at him with big blue eyes and butter on her lips. “We don’t belong nowheres. They burnded where we belonged.”

  Florence knelt by the little girl and wiped her lips. “You can stay here. Don’t worry.”

  Soon, they were all asleep. Jay wondered how long they’d been on their own. “Poor things. They’re all scratched up and dirty.”

  Florence held his hand. “And hungry, but not sick.”

  “No, they seem healthy. How would they escape the disease if it killed their parents?”

  Florence put a blanket over the two girls. “Maybe the doctor can figure it out. All I know is you’re going to have to get more food.”

  Jay laughed. “It seems that way.” He stood and took the rifle. “I have to go to the mill. Will you be all right?”

  She nodded. “I’m worried about Paul. If he’s not better by the time you get home, we better take him to the doctor.”

  “Agreed.” Jay mentally flipped through more money disappearing. He’d put Florence’s money in the bank and not taken any out. But now, he was tempted. Then again, he could probably get help for the children.

  He smiled at his wife. “I hope Curt and Fred went hunting. I’ll be back around five today for sure.”

  Florence waved at him.

  Jay rode toward the mill and hoped the two men had done something. If not, he’d have to find others who wanted to work.

  Chapter 11

  Jay rode into the mill yard and was pleased to see Curt and Fred busy putting together the ramps to load the logs. In fact, they had done more than he imagined they could have gotten done.

  “Good work, men.” Jay dismounted and led Big Red into the corral.

  Curt waved. “We wanted to pay for that good dinner and breakfast.”

  “I hope one of you can go hunting,” Jay told them about the four kids that they’d found.

  Fred grabbed his gun. “I’ll go right now. I know a place where I can find a deer.”

  “Great. Poor kids look half-starved.”

  Curt wiped his neck. “They aren’t sick, are they? I saw that mob going toward town. Stopped one of the men to find out what was wrong. He said they’d had a lot more deaths in the camp. Except for the Chinese. None of them have taken sick. The men think the Chinese put a curse on them.”

  Jay frowned. “That’s trouble. I don’t believe in hocus-pocus. There must be a reason.”

  Fred rode out on the old mule. “I’ll be back with dinner.”

  Curt grinned. “He’ll get one. He’s a great hunter. We usually get our drinking money by bringing in a deer to the store in town.”

  Jay looked at him.

  Curt shook his head. “We aren’t doing that anymore. Maybe on weekends when we’re off. We talked it over, and we want a clean start, too. We heard about you and how the mayor’s wife set you up with money after you turned yourself in. We want to start over.”

  Jay clapped him on the back. “I’ll help in whatever way I can. I’ll be honest, the money is tight, and I’m a bit overwhelmed with all I need to get done.”

  Curt nodded. “We’ll help. I know you need to get that house weatherproofed before winter. What’s going to happen to the kids?”

  Jay shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I need to go to the sheriff and see what we need to do. Right now, they need food, warmth, and clothes. Guess I should go to town and get them some.”

  “We can take care of the mill if you want to go to town.”

  Jay was tempted, but there was so much to be done. “I’ll do a few things around here, then I’ll go into town.”

  He worked in the office, sorting out paperwork. He already had orders for the lumber. Jay was just about to stop and take Curt up
on a trip to town when he heard horses. He went outside to greet the riders.

  The sheriff and six men rode up to him. “Jay, I could use your help. There’s trouble at the mine. The doc is behind me. I’d like to show some force in case there’s trouble.”

  “I’ll get my horse. We going to the mining camp?”

  “Yeah, Bravo One is at war with the mines run by the Adler syndicate. The Taggart mine isn’t involved as it’s not near either one of the others. Adler and his group brought in the Chinese, and for some reason, they don’t have any disease.”

  Jay mounted his horse and waited for Levi to direct them. He was surprised Del wasn’t in the group, but then he had his own business. “Sheriff, I have four young children at my home. They were starving and looking for food when my wife caught the oldest. They said their parents are dead, and they’re all alone.”

  Levi shook his head. “Sad business. The men from Bravo told me the camp was in chaos. There’ve been a lot of deaths. We’ll have to talk to the mine bosses and see if they had any family.”

  Jay nodded at the doctor as he and his wife drove up in their buggy.

  The doctor called out to Jay. “You say you have children at your house from the mines?”

  “Yes, four of them. No fevers. One has a nasty bump on his head. I’d appreciate it if you’d stop by and have a look at him on the way back.”

  Dr. Philip Newsome nodded. “Right. I’m not sure when we’ll get done with the camp. It might be late. My assistant, James Taggart, and his wife will be along, and we might be able to send him. We need to see what we’re working with. Sounds like cholera or typhoid. Or both. I’ve heard different stories about the symptoms, but then it’s hard to get to the truth with a mob.”

  The sheriff whistled. “Let’s go. Remember, we don’t want any trouble. We’re going to see how we can help.”

  Jay followed along, praying that Florence would be all right and that none of the children would take sick. He wasn’t usually a praying man, but everything was pressing in on him, and he needed some help. The preacher had said you could call on the Lord at any time. Now seemed reasonable.

  It was a rough ride to the mines. Nestled in the valley below the mountain, the Bravo mine came up first. Jay could see several shacks that had been burned with smoke still drifting into the air, leaving most of the men living in tents.

  They rode to the gate, and the mine boss came out to greet them. “Sheriff, is the doc coming?”

  “He’s right behind us.”

  With a raised fist, the boss pointed across the creek to the Nugget Mines. “It’s the Chinese. They aren’t sick. I’ve already lost twenty, counting men, women, and children. The Chinese want our jobs. They’ll kill us to get them.”

  Levi shook his head. “I’m here to see what is going on. I don’t think the Chinese would make your people sick.”

  “We think it’s cholera.”

  “Then it could be bad water. Do you have the sick in one area?”

  “Mostly. We have a couple tents set up.” The big man pointed. “I see the doc. I’ll show him where they are. You go to the Nugget and find out how come they aren’t sick.”

  Levi nodded. “You need any help, Doc?”

  “My wife and I can handle it. Go on across the creek and see what they’re doing. Oh, and ask them where they get their water.”

  Levi nodded, and they rode across the creek and up the high ridge to the Nugget mine.

  With rifle in hand, the foreman came out of the shack by the gate. “We haven’t done anything.”

  Levi dismounted and nodded. “You brought in cheap labor.”

  “Aye, but no law against it, and the Chinese work hard. They got no mumbo-jumbo to make the miners at the Bravo sick.”

  “The doc wants to know where you get your water.”

  The foreman frowned. “Bravo guards the creek below. We have to go to the stream behind us. It’s an extra mile of walking, but my men don’t mind.”

  Levi looked at Jay. “Thanks.”

  They turned and rode back down to Bravo camp. The doc was in the tents set up for the sick.

  Jay could hardly stand the smell of death and disease. All he could think of was Florence with the children and pray they weren’t sick.

  Levi stayed with the doc and Sarah. “Jay, you and a couple of the men travel along the creek, see if you can find anything that would foul it.”

  Jay rode with John Bailey, the man from the livery. They stayed near the stream the best they could, but the terrain was rocky and hard to navigate. They’d gone maybe a mile when a horrid stench made Jay cover his nose. He pointed. “I think we found it.”

  With a hand over his nose and mouth, John nodded. “Think it was a bear. It’s rotted to bad to pull out of the water. Think that could cause the disease?”

  Jay shrugged. “I sure don’t think it would have helped. Let’s go back and tell the others. We’ll let the mine owners worry about it. I’ve got too much to do to clean out their water.”

  John frowned. “Yeah, I guess that’s the thing to do.”

  Jay reported the findings to Levi. Then Jay looked around the camp. “I’m sorry, Levi, but I need to get back to the sawmill.”

  Levi nodded. “Thanks for the help. Doc said some of the problem was the privy ran into the creek near where they get water.”

  Jay was about to leave when he stopped. “Oh, I meant to tell you. We have four children at our house. I’m sure they’re from the camp. They said their parents are dead, and they have no relatives. What do we do with them?”

  Levi frowned. “I’ll ask the mine boss. Other than that, I guess we could take them to an orphanage. I think there is one in Billings.” He shook his head. “Haven’t heard good things about how they care for the kids, though. Maybe we can find a family to take them.”

  “Let me know. I better go.” Jay left the mining camp and rode back to the mill. All the way, he kept hearing the sheriff’s words about how the children might be mistreated at the orphanage. Well, that option was out.

  Though the kids had only been with them a day, he wasn’t about to let anyone hurt them. They were sweet children. Florence was good with them. Paul, the oldest and the one who’d been knocked out, seemed to be doing better before he left, but Jay would feel better after the doctor had a look at him.

  The day was slipping away, and the things Jay needed to do were growing. He rode Big Red hard to the mill and was pleased to see that Curt and Fred had made progress. They’d even cut down a few trees and hauled them to the mill for testing.

  Curt waved to him. “You’re just in time. Figured we could use these trees to help get your house patched up.”

  Jay nodded. “We still need to cure the wood, but we need to build a drying shed. We can use the wood to do that.” He was pleased. That would put them a little ahead of schedule. If they worked fast, they could get it done before the weekend.

  Fred took his horse for him. “I’ll put him up for you. I got a deer for your wife.”

  “That’s great. I think we found the problem with the sick men at the mine. The water was fouled upstream. At least, that’s what the doctor thought it might be. We won’t know for sure for a while, but they are all boiling their water.”

  Curt scratched his ear. “Why didn’t the Chinese get sick.”

  Jay laughed. “Because of the ornery attitude of the Bravo mine. They wouldn’t let them use the creek, making them walk an extra mile for water to the stream behind them.”

  Fred chuckled. “Well, that should show them. Although, I can understand why there’s bad blood between the mines. Jobs are scarce.”

  “Once we get the mill going, we can hire a few good men.” Jay went to the office and was impressed that it had been all cleaned up. Curt and Fred were trying to work hard. Jay didn’t see any more bottles of liquor around.

  After a hard day’s work, Jay called a stop to it. “I think we did well today. Let’s take Florence that deer, and she can make us dinner.�
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  Jay couldn’t wait to get home to Florence. He didn’t have any fear that the children would carry any disease, and it would be a relief to tell Florence. However, he knew that the longer the children stayed, it would be harder to let them go.

  As he rode up to the home, a wagon drove up to the house right after him. The man got out and held out his hand. “I’m James Taggart. Dr. Newsome sent me to check on a boy.” Pointing at the Chinese woman at his side, he grinned. “This is my wife, Li.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Jay looked around, but Florence and the children must be inside the house. Of course, seeing there were no walls, that should have been easy to spot five people.

  He looked at James and then to his house. “Florence?” Jay went up the steps and opened the door. Now he understood. Florence was standing by the stairs, the three oldest children standing with her and looking up.

  “What’s the matter?”

  Florence looked at him. “It’s the little one, Mary Margaret. She climbed up the stairs and won’t come down. I was afraid to take a chance and go after her when the second step broke.”

  Jay looked up. “James Taggart and his wife came to check on Paul.”

  Florence nodded and went to them. “Hello, I’m so glad you came. Paul, let the doctor check your head.”

  James smiled. “I’m not quite a doctor yet but will be soon.”

  Paul went to the man and sat down.

  “Hello, young man. Let me see your head.”

  Paul stared at Li. “She’s Chinese. Can she speak English? Is she from the, ow, mines?”

  Li shook the boy’s hand. “I am an American now, and I have learned English. I came from China to marry.”

  Jay smiled at them. “How is he?”

  James looked in Paul’s eyes. “I think he’ll be fine. I want him to take it easy for a week or so. Let Jay or Florence know if you feel dizzy or feel sick to your stomach.”

  Paul nodded. “Thanks, Doctor, now, can you please help us get my little sister down. I’m responsible for her.”

  Florence put a hand on Paul’s shoulder. “You have help now, Paul.” She looked up. “Mary Margaret, are you ready to come down now?”

  “Uh-uh. It’s pretty up here. I’m going to sleep up here.”