been spewing, we just might be able to stop things from going all to hell.”
“Good luck, to ya, friend. Once they find out you’re siding with Aderley, there ain’t no one gonna even want to talk to ya.” Seamus looked around the room. “’Specially if this strike happens on the twenty-seventh like everyone’s been saying.”
The smoke from Seamus’ cigarette hung in the air around Charley’s head, then mingled with the rest of the blue smoke in the room.
Seamus was right. None of them had wanted to have anything to do with him outside Aderley’s office just a bit ago. It didn’t bode well.
“I know, Seamus. I know. Listen, friend, you’re the person I’m talking about.” Charley drew closer to Seamus so his friend could hear without others listening. “You’re the one who can keep me informed. You’re a good fella; the men listen to you. I need your help.”
God help him, he sounded like Mason Aderley. But Seamus was a good man and was well respected.
“I ain’t no informant. If the boys ever found out, they’d lynch me. I can’t do it. If I did, Maggie’s life would be in danger.”
“Maggie and Madeline can move to the country with Seth and the children. Emily’s real sick. She’s going out west to be with her cousin Marybelle. There is plenty of room at the homestead. And your wife will be doing me a favor. Catherine could use some help around the place. At least for the summer. Just until this mess is taken care of.”
“You’ve put me in a situation, ya have. I don’t think my life is going to be worth a damn if word gets out.” Seamus shook his head, looked down at his beer, then back up at Charley.
“I’ll see what the Missus says and let you know.”
“There isn’t time.” Charley met Seamus’ gaze. “Get them out on the next train tomorrow. You can always pack up their things later. Say they’re to visit family. By the time they come back the strike will be over, and no one will be the wiser.”
“I won’t put her on a train. She don’t much like riding the rails, ya know.” He shook his head again, then drank from his tankard. “This strike is gonna be worse than you or me could ever imagine.”
“The stage coach runs up the Montrose Turnpike into Owego. They can switch coaches there and take one into Candor. No matter what you decide, the best thing you can do for your family right now is to get them out of Philadelphia.”
Chapter Five
The wooded hillside behind the depot and the rolling hills opposite the valley cocooned the sleepy village of Candor. The echo of the loud clanging of metal on metal as the coal cars were being uncoupled and the screeching and hissing of iron wheels on iron tracks as the cars were transferred onto the side tracks announced the day had begun.
Shopkeepers threw open their doors and closed them based on the coming and going of the train. And already this morning, the 7:45 had arrived from Ithaca, having made stops at Slaterville and Smith Valley, with coal, cattle, sheep, produce, and passengers who planned to shop, open shop, conduct business, or visit friends and relatives for the day.
A hushed chaos filled the early morning as fog lifted from the thick forested countryside. People milled around in slow motion. Emily was glad of Seth’s help down from the wagon. The powder Doc Wooster had given her had helped keep the fever down yesterday, and the small dose of opium helped her sleep most of the night. This morning, however, her brain was a bit addled and lethargic.
Charley had made the necessary arrangements for her travels to the California Territory before he’d left for Philadelphia. She hadn’t had time to contemplate how the decision would affect her family, but this morning her mind had settled on the situation. How would they survive without her? She was their mother. What if they got hurt? Who would tend to them? Love them? Cuddle them? They needed her.
She needed them.
The air was still chilled from the
“Good luck, to ya, friend. Once they find out you’re siding with Aderley, there ain’t no one gonna even want to talk to ya.” Seamus looked around the room. “’Specially if this strike happens on the twenty-seventh like everyone’s been saying.”
The smoke from Seamus’ cigarette hung in the air around Charley’s head, then mingled with the rest of the blue smoke in the room.
Seamus was right. None of them had wanted to have anything to do with him outside Aderley’s office just a bit ago. It didn’t bode well.
“I know, Seamus. I know. Listen, friend, you’re the person I’m talking about.” Charley drew closer to Seamus so his friend could hear without others listening. “You’re the one who can keep me informed. You’re a good fella; the men listen to you. I need your help.”
God help him, he sounded like Mason Aderley. But Seamus was a good man and was well respected.
“I ain’t no informant. If the boys ever found out, they’d lynch me. I can’t do it. If I did, Maggie’s life would be in danger.”
“Maggie and Madeline can move to the country with Seth and the children. Emily’s real sick. She’s going out west to be with her cousin Marybelle. There is plenty of room at the homestead. And your wife will be doing me a favor. Catherine could use some help around the place. At least for the summer. Just until this mess is taken care of.”
“You’ve put me in a situation, ya have. I don’t think my life is going to be worth a damn if word gets out.” Seamus shook his head, looked down at his beer, then back up at Charley.
“I’ll see what the Missus says and let you know.”
“There isn’t time.” Charley met Seamus’ gaze. “Get them out on the next train tomorrow. You can always pack up their things later. Say they’re to visit family. By the time they come back the strike will be over, and no one will be the wiser.”
“I won’t put her on a train. She don’t much like riding the rails, ya know.” He shook his head again, then drank from his tankard. “This strike is gonna be worse than you or me could ever imagine.”
“The stage coach runs up the Montrose Turnpike into Owego. They can switch coaches there and take one into Candor. No matter what you decide, the best thing you can do for your family right now is to get them out of Philadelphia.”
Chapter Five
The wooded hillside behind the depot and the rolling hills opposite the valley cocooned the sleepy village of Candor. The echo of the loud clanging of metal on metal as the coal cars were being uncoupled and the screeching and hissing of iron wheels on iron tracks as the cars were transferred onto the side tracks announced the day had begun.
Shopkeepers threw open their doors and closed them based on the coming and going of the train. And already this morning, the 7:45 had arrived from Ithaca, having made stops at Slaterville and Smith Valley, with coal, cattle, sheep, produce, and passengers who planned to shop, open shop, conduct business, or visit friends and relatives for the day.
A hushed chaos filled the early morning as fog lifted from the thick forested countryside. People milled around in slow motion. Emily was glad of Seth’s help down from the wagon. The powder Doc Wooster had given her had helped keep the fever down yesterday, and the small dose of opium helped her sleep most of the night. This morning, however, her brain was a bit addled and lethargic.
Charley had made the necessary arrangements for her travels to the California Territory before he’d left for Philadelphia. She hadn’t had time to contemplate how the decision would affect her family, but this morning her mind had settled on the situation. How would they survive without her? She was their mother. What if they got hurt? Who would tend to them? Love them? Cuddle them? They needed her.
She needed them.
The air was still chilled from the
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