Gold Nuggets by Lynn Lovegreen
Henry looked down the length of a crooked saw blade leaning against the table and set it down again. “I’m from upstate New York. Done a fair bit of hunting myself, but haven’t got a moose yet. Mr. Charles Sheldon told us about Denali, so I wanted to see it for myself.”
Ralph set his coffee mug down hard on the stove and stuck his thumbs in his suspenders. “Sheldon’s a good man. Met him when he came through here. But I hear he wants to lock up that land, so we can’t hunt anymore.”
“No,” Henry stated. “He wants to create a national park to keep the market hunters out, so they don’t kill all the Dall sheep and caribou to sell to the railroad crews. He’s not against miners.”
Ralph shook his head. “We seen other people who said they were for miners, and then they tried to take our claims. We’ll just have to see how this park thing turns out.”
“Just have to wait and see,” Jim added.
“But I’ve talked to him about it myself. He and the others wrote the bill so mining can still go on. Kantishna’s not even in the park boundary.”
Charlotte wondered if he was right. The men around the table didn’t reply.
“Mr. Sheldon is working to make sure it gets passed properly. Don’t you trust him?” Stinky took a step into the circle. “We trust him, but there’s a lot of those Easterners who don’t give a fig about us out here. We can’t help but be suspicious about it.”
Charlotte let her mouth drop open. That was the longest speech she’d ever heard from Stinky.
Henry nodded. “I can understand your hesitation on the subject, but I assure you that Mr. Sheldon and Mr. Browne are working to make sure this law gets passed the way it’s intended.”
“Browne too? That’s Belmore Browne?” Daddy asked.
“Yes, sir.”
“He’s the one who tried to climb the mountain all those times. Saw him last in 1912,” Ralph said.
“He’s working on this too. They’ll get it done.”
Daddy shook his head and took a last sip of coffee. “Sure hope so.”
“Want to see a mining claim?” Ralph asked Henry.
Henry grinned. “Yes, I’d love to.”
Charlotte followed as they left the cabin and started on the trail.
“What kind of bushes are these?” Henry asked, pointing.
“Alders,” Ralph answered. “And those bright pink flowers are fireweed.”
“They’re lovely,” Henry replied. “What kind of bird is that?”
“Gray jay, or camprobber. You writing a book?” Ralph asked.
“No, just curious.” Henry waved at the mosquitoes.
Gold Nuggets: http://www.prismbookgroup.com/goldnuggets.html
Lynn Lovegreen grew up in Alaska, and still lives there. Her young adult/new adult historical romances are set in the Alaska Gold Rush, a great time for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Pinterest.
