Emily's Fortune by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

moment she stumbled, but she managed to catch herself before she fell into the river. And she thought about how easy, how very easy, it would be for Uncle Victor to get rid of her forever if he knew who she really was.
    â€¢Â Â Â â€¢Â Â Â â€¢
    It was early morning when they reached Fort Jawbone, and all the passengers went inside. Emily was wide awake now. She nervously waited for Uncle Victor to find out that Emily Wiggins was not there. Then, perhaps, he would give up the chase and go home, wherever that was.
    As they ate the cold meal that was provided for them, Angus said, “Better eat hearty, mates. Last good meal we’ll have for a long while, you can bet.”
    â€œIt’ll be beans and bacon from here to California,” added Oscar.
    â€œAnd maybe some wormy bread,” put in Jock, wiggling his fingers. Emily was glad she wasn’t going all the way to California.

    But Uncle Victor wasn’t interested in eating. Emily watched him go from one person to the next at Fort Jawbone, asking if anyone there remembered an eight-year-old passenger by the name of Emily Wiggins who had come through on a stagecoach two days before.
    â€œCan’t say that I do,” one of the workers told him. “We get a few orphans now and then on their way out west, but I don’t remember that there was a young girl on the last coach.”
    â€œWell,” growled Uncle Victor. “Maybe she didn’t come through, then, or maybe she’s given me the slip. I’ll have to go on to Redbud and see if I can find her there.”
    Emily’s breath seemed caught in her throat, and she almost choked on a biscuit.
    No! No!
She could not stand it! Riding with Uncle Victor three more days and three more nights, pretending to be a boy? How would she go that long without speaking? Would she even have a voice once she got to Aunt Hilda’s? But again it was time to board.
    â€œEli!” Jackson called. “Come on!”
    A new driver leaped up to the driver’s seat and the whip cracked. Sitting in the back again, Emily fed Rufus a fly Jackson had caught, and looked into his tiny face.
    â€œDear little friend,” she whispered. “Only a few more days and I’ll never put you in a box again. We’ll be at Aunt Hilda’s and you’ll have all the grass you want. I’ll make you your own little pool, and the sun will shine on you every day.”
    Rufus looked up at her and blinked his eyes. He crawled over to the old man’s leg, and Mortimer Muffit didn’t even notice.
    â€œWe’re off!” Jock chortled as the carriage rattled across the ground.
    â€œNo turnin’ back now!” said Angus.
    â€œWe’re headed for Deadman’s Gulch, and the best part of the trip’s behind us,” said Oscar.
    But the two grown sisters were all aflutter because the tall man with the tiger tattoo was riding inside the coach now, on the very bench where they were sitting, the only spot left.
    â€œOh, Mr. Victor!” Marigold purred, adjusting her bonnet. “I do love the way your mustache curls.”
    â€œAnd
I
love the way your shiny boots shine!” crooned Petunia.
    â€œUh…thank you, ladies,” Uncle Victor said without smiling.
    â€œAnd that tiger tattoo!” exclaimed Marigold.
    â€œDid you actually kill a tiger?” asked Petunia.
    â€œNot exactly,” said Uncle Victor uncomfortably, and turned his attention to the window.
    Jackson poked Emily with his elbow and Emily
almost
smiled. She was afraid of Uncle Victor, and Uncle Victor was afraid of the ladies.
    As the coach went on, the land became rocky and rough. There was a way station every twenty miles or so, where passengers were allowed to get out and eat. Each time, Emily and Jackson finished before the others, then went outside and chased each other around. Jackson ran as fast as he could, first one way, then another, while Emily worked to keep