In an America that might have been, two war orphans from a divided nation, one in the north and one in the south, meet across a vast battlefield, striking out to forge a future together in the west. It's 1892, the fourth and bloodiest year of the Ci...
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Old Man Webster was not old, not by his reckoning at least. He just looked old. Opium did that to you. It was because you didn't want to eat. He was just thin.
He used to be a foreman of a railroad tunnel team until he had an accident. Some of his boys used to smoke in the evenings around the fire, and finally he had tried it. He'd be damned if it wasn't fun. Eventually, with practice, he learned how to go places no white man had seen. Oh, the things he had seen! But after the accident he had no job and no access to opium. It had hurt, and his life had turned grey and sick, at least until he found Lou.
He was sweeping floors for food when he smelled his opium from down in the basement. He went down and there he saw men and women sitting smoking. They laughed when they saw him, but he didn't care. What he cared about was that pipe. That was the gateway to life. With that he could do anything.
Lou knew. He knew what opium could do for you. Work for me he said and I will give you opium. Do things for me. And so here he was, watching them girls. They were in the assay office looking at maps and walking around and talking. He would tell Lou and Lou would smile and give him opium. He loved Lou.
Inside the office Kay looked through map after map as Webster looked on from across the street. She was frowning. It was going to take time to find the spot. Looking for the right map with the right shapes on it was maddening. She thought she had found it several times, but Joe looked and just shook his head. Webster kept count of the maps and drawers.
Kay had wanted to take the stone, but Joe said no. Lloyd would miss it. It had to be her father's blood on it, it was hers!
Finally Joe had to say they had to quit for the evening. The clock said eleven. They had been at it for over two hours and had finished only the first drawer. There were eleven more drawers to go, although most of them were highly unlikely. For instance, she doubted her father had made it all the way to Utah.
They walked back down dark dirt streets toward their house, a shadow following from alley to doorway. When Charity kissed Joe goodbye on the cheek, which raised Joe's spirits considerably, the shadow scribbled a note intently.
Inside their new home it was still dark and dusty. Kay struck a match and took one of the candles by the door. They hadn't gotten to cleaning the living room yet, concentrating instead on bedrooms and the kitchen, so they had to walk carefully as to not raise dust. There was a candle, still tall, in Grace's room. Going quietly to the door, they looked in. Her face was all the colors of the rainbow. Kay thought she looked like a potato doll. They could see no sign of bleeding and so they left her sleeping.
Deke's room was downstairs and there was no light under the door. Kay knew, though, that Deke had heard them come in. She knew from experience just how much he listened, even when he was asleep. Upstairs Charity got a candle from her room and lit it from Kay's. "Don't worry, we'll find it tomorrow," she said before she shut the door. Kay thought it unlikely, but she knew they would find it eventually.
