The Prettiest Girl in the Land (The Traherns #3) Read Online Free Page B

he going to do?”
    “I don’t know. Toss the thief in jail, I reckon. Make him work
off the money he stole. When they pay you all tomorrow, have them lay it out on
that plank, so you can see that you’re getting the right wage.”
    “He gave us two whole dollars each.”
    “Yes. Put it in the bank, if you wish to save it to use later.”
    “We don’t know how to use the bank. But we need dresses. One
each. And a coat.”
    “Then go get those things.”
    “Would you come with us?”
    “I can’t. I just started a job. But the landlady seems a
motherly sort. See who she recommends to help you get your clothes.”
    “And shoes. I’ve been patchin’ mine together.” She lifted one
foot. The leather had thinned out so much I could see her socks through the
holes.
    “Make sure y’all buy your shoes first,” I told them. “Y’all can
always keep wearing your dresses for a bit longer, but get some shoes that’ll
hold you a spell.”
    We got back to the boarding house and I took Travers out and let
him have a long run. He’d been plenty of comfort to me whilst I was traveling
the hills, but here in town he was purty big. It was a mite cozy with him in my
room, cause he took up half of it.
    Now I know he was well enough behaved or he wouldn’t have lasted
long at the store. But his size and looks would scare a haunt out of its sheet.
You wouldn’t want to meet him in the dark.
    That night at supper the girls told everyone how I’d helped them
get their back wages. “It were the man payin’ us. The boss shook him like a rag
doll.”
    “That he did,” I added. “He didn’t like gettin’ a reputation for
cheatin’ his workers when he was payin’ the wages.”
    “You going to work there?” the landlady asked.
    “No ma’am. I’ve got an appointment to see a Mr. Debras at his
offices. He might send me to California to do some work there for him.”
    “Really?”
    “Maybe. We’ll have to see.” I knew better ‘n to count my
chickens before they hatched.
    I wanted to go to California. I had a feeling I’d find my Boaz
there. But preacher always warned us that feelings shouldn’t be our guide. So
that night I prayed extry hard for God to lead me to my Boaz.
    I showed up ready to work the next morning. Seems Mr. Debras
shipped things to California, and from there on up and down the coast and to
the Orient. We talked gross tonnage and barrels and kegs and crates and
cartons. Each one its own poundage. Each costing separate to ship. Some things
he shipped around the tip of South America through the Strait of Magellan, but
the small stuff went by freight wagons and stagecoach. He showed me the routes
on the map and I could see how it was cheaper and faster to send things
overland. I got me a fast education and worked out some shipping manifests for
him.
    “This one’s wrong,” I said, pointing to one he’d had me do as a
problem. “Whoever did this one didn’t add in the bales of cotton.”
    He picked it up, looked it over. “You’re right. You just paid
for your fare to California, Ruth.”
    “Tell your clerks to always add the big items first. See what
they’re going to cost. Then if’n they do make a mistake, it will be on the
little things, and won’t cost y’all so much.”
    “I’d like to have you work here and in California. But the big
mistakes are being made in our California office, so that’s where I’m sending
you. If you can be ready in the morning, I’ll send you up the river to
Independence. The road boss will put you on the stagecoach.”
    “Thank you. Got me a dog that came out of the mountains with me.
Well behaved. Don’t want to just abandon him, although he looks to be part wolf
and can take care of himself.”
    “Take him with you. He can run beside the stage when he chooses,
ride with the driver the rest of the time. He’ll keep you company in California.”
    “Thank you, sir.”
    “Take the rest of the day and get yourself ready to go.”
    Things seemed to