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Authors: Cynthia Wright
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Fox continued to search the eyes of his host. "I have strong opinions about the Fort Laramie Treaty, Mr. Avery, and also about our government's treatment of the Indians. Just eight years ago, we gave our word to the Sioux that the Black Hills would remain theirs forever, and already we're going back on our promises. My feelings about the Laramie Treaty pretty much echo my views on the entire situation with the Indians." Fox relaxed a little, sensing Stephen's approval, and leaned back in his chair as Wang Chee cleared their plates. "You must know, though, Mr. Avery, that opinions like mine aren't exactly popular in Deadwood. I'm not prepared to make speeches on Main Street alongside Preacher Smith."
"You sympathize with the Sioux, and yet you're here yourself—an interloper just like the rest of us?" Stephen wondered aloud.
"Lofty principles are often overcome by greed," Maddie observed, rather surprised by her own boldness.
Her father looked shocked. "I hope you didn't mean to offend our friend with that remark."
"Of course not. I was speaking of people in general." She stared down at her plate, feeling Fox's perceptive eyes on her.
Stephen turned to his guest. "How would you like to take a little stroll outdoors before dessert, Fox? We could continue this discussion in private... and I may have a business proposition for you."
When the two men had gone, Maddie bit her lip in frustration. "Gramma, why must you like that man so, and why has fate decreed thatFather must also take to him like a long-lost son?" She folded her napkin and made a face.
"I'm startin' to like him, too," Benjamin announced suddenly, grinning at his sister. "Fox calls me Ben!"
"Traitors," she complained, "you're all traitors."
"For heaven's sake, darling, don't scowl so!" Susan rose to assist Wang Chee as he cleared the table. "Come and help us with the strawberry shortcake. Do you know, I think that you're sulking because Fox didn't devote enough attention to you throughout supper. When he paid you that extravagant compliment, your face betrayed you. No innocent schoolgirl has ever blushed more prettily than you—"
"Gramma, that's a horrid thing to say!" Maddie cried as she followed with a stack of plates. "No, I find him too bold, too crude. He seems to taunt me with his eyes and sets my nerves on edge!"
Susan gave her a knowing smile over one tiny shoulder. "Does he indeed? Very interesting."
Chapter 5
July 12, 1876
At one o'clock it was growing hotter by the moment, yet there was clarity in the air on Deadwood's rock-crowned hillsides and in the deep blue sky overhead that made the temperature more bearable.
The miners went on with their work, though they might pause for whiskey and a nap if the heat became intolerable later in the afternoon. In addition to the cleared land where placer mining was in progress, men used sluice boxes, rockers, riffles, and pans to ply the strips of ground between buildings that backed up to the creek. Some had even begun tunneling under buildings to get at the gold dust trapped at bedrock.
Fox stood on the lot he'd purchased from Stephen Avery, wiped sweat from his brow with a handkerchief, and smiled at the clutter of Deadwood that twisted away to the north. It was like a long, narrow hive, buzzing continuously with activity. Now it was to be his home.
The fifty-by-one-hundred-foot parcel of land that sat between the Avery house and the rest of Stephen's claims had been offered to Fox the night he'd supped with the Avery family. Stephen had been reasonably certain that all the gold had been already taken from the lot, and he welcomed the opportunity to choose his neighbor. He'd liked the younger man immensely, trusted him; with Fox living next to them, Stephen could leave Deadwood more often and worry less about his family's safety.
Fox himself loved the arrangement. This choice piece of land was like a gift from God, particularly in contrast with the rude bunk
Fox continued to search the eyes of his host. "I have strong opinions about the Fort Laramie Treaty, Mr. Avery, and also about our government's treatment of the Indians. Just eight years ago, we gave our word to the Sioux that the Black Hills would remain theirs forever, and already we're going back on our promises. My feelings about the Laramie Treaty pretty much echo my views on the entire situation with the Indians." Fox relaxed a little, sensing Stephen's approval, and leaned back in his chair as Wang Chee cleared their plates. "You must know, though, Mr. Avery, that opinions like mine aren't exactly popular in Deadwood. I'm not prepared to make speeches on Main Street alongside Preacher Smith."
"You sympathize with the Sioux, and yet you're here yourself—an interloper just like the rest of us?" Stephen wondered aloud.
"Lofty principles are often overcome by greed," Maddie observed, rather surprised by her own boldness.
Her father looked shocked. "I hope you didn't mean to offend our friend with that remark."
"Of course not. I was speaking of people in general." She stared down at her plate, feeling Fox's perceptive eyes on her.
Stephen turned to his guest. "How would you like to take a little stroll outdoors before dessert, Fox? We could continue this discussion in private... and I may have a business proposition for you."
When the two men had gone, Maddie bit her lip in frustration. "Gramma, why must you like that man so, and why has fate decreed thatFather must also take to him like a long-lost son?" She folded her napkin and made a face.
"I'm startin' to like him, too," Benjamin announced suddenly, grinning at his sister. "Fox calls me Ben!"
"Traitors," she complained, "you're all traitors."
"For heaven's sake, darling, don't scowl so!" Susan rose to assist Wang Chee as he cleared the table. "Come and help us with the strawberry shortcake. Do you know, I think that you're sulking because Fox didn't devote enough attention to you throughout supper. When he paid you that extravagant compliment, your face betrayed you. No innocent schoolgirl has ever blushed more prettily than you—"
"Gramma, that's a horrid thing to say!" Maddie cried as she followed with a stack of plates. "No, I find him too bold, too crude. He seems to taunt me with his eyes and sets my nerves on edge!"
Susan gave her a knowing smile over one tiny shoulder. "Does he indeed? Very interesting."
Chapter 5
July 12, 1876
At one o'clock it was growing hotter by the moment, yet there was clarity in the air on Deadwood's rock-crowned hillsides and in the deep blue sky overhead that made the temperature more bearable.
The miners went on with their work, though they might pause for whiskey and a nap if the heat became intolerable later in the afternoon. In addition to the cleared land where placer mining was in progress, men used sluice boxes, rockers, riffles, and pans to ply the strips of ground between buildings that backed up to the creek. Some had even begun tunneling under buildings to get at the gold dust trapped at bedrock.
Fox stood on the lot he'd purchased from Stephen Avery, wiped sweat from his brow with a handkerchief, and smiled at the clutter of Deadwood that twisted away to the north. It was like a long, narrow hive, buzzing continuously with activity. Now it was to be his home.
The fifty-by-one-hundred-foot parcel of land that sat between the Avery house and the rest of Stephen's claims had been offered to Fox the night he'd supped with the Avery family. Stephen had been reasonably certain that all the gold had been already taken from the lot, and he welcomed the opportunity to choose his neighbor. He'd liked the younger man immensely, trusted him; with Fox living next to them, Stephen could leave Deadwood more often and worry less about his family's safety.
Fox himself loved the arrangement. This choice piece of land was like a gift from God, particularly in contrast with the rude bunk
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