Emily's Fortune Read Free Page A

was in it?

P ainted on the door of the carriage was a sign that read:
    CATCHUM CHILD-CATCHING
SERVICES
TRUMPET JUNCTION
BRANCH
ORPHANS, STRAYS, AND
ROUSTABOUTS
ROUNDED UP QUICKLY
    Emily jumped behind a mail cart so fast that she bumped into a boy in a faded brown jacket.
    â€œHey!” he said. “Watch where you’re going!” And then, “You’re an orphan too, aren’t you?”
    Emily could hardly see the boy’s eyes because he wore a flat round cap that stuck out over his forehead. But she noticed that he had freckles like hers and the same color of brown hair sticking out from under his cap. And though he appeared to be a year or two older than she was, he wasn’t that much larger.
    But how
rude
he was! And how did he know she was an orphan? She stared down at her clothes, almost expecting to see the letters
o-r-p-h-a-n
on each of her high-topped shoes.
    â€œHow did you
know?”
she asked him.
    He shrugged. “Saw you trying to hide from the Child Catchers, just like I used to do.”
    â€œWhere are you going?” she asked.
    â€œWho knows?” answered the boy. “Got me a ticket to some family out west, but they probably won’t like me any more’n the last family did.Child Catchers will send you anywhere if they can make a buck. I’m Jackson,” he told her.
    â€œI’m Emily,” she said.
    â€œWhat you got in your bag?” Jackson asked.
    Emily noticed that Jackson had only a small parcel tucked under his arm and was wearing shoes that looked a little too big.
    â€œJust…clothes,” she answered, and added, “I don’t have any money,” in case he was going to ask.
    Jackson pointed toward the door of Overhill Stagecoach Company. “They told us if we go in there, they’ll give us something to eat before we get on board,” he said.
    So Emily followed him inside, where a large map on the wall showed the stops the stagecoach would make between Trumpet Junction and Redbud, and the stops beyond that, all the way to the ocean. It would take five days and five nights just to get to Redbud, according to the man who was checking tickets. That was a long time to be bumping along on your bottom, Emily thought.
    A woman behind a table was ladling soup into tin cups and offering them with crackers to all the passengers. Emily was surprised to see that there were no spoons, so she sipped her soup daintily. But Jackson greedily gulped his down, then gave a loud belch.
    Beside the map on the wall, there was a large sign:
    Hints for Travelers
    1. Don’t complain about the food .
    2. Don’t smoke a strong pipe .
    3. Don’t lop over on your neighbor when sleeping .
    4. Don’t spit on the floor .
    5. Wash your feet before starting the trip .
    Emily had taken a bath the night before she’d gotten on the train, but she was quite sure that some of the other passengers had not. Jackson, in fact, looked as though he hadn’t washed his face for a week.
    â€œSo what happened to your ma?” he asked her.
    â€œShe died in a carriage accident,” Emily said, and tears came to her eyes, just remembering.
    â€œWhat about your pa?”
    â€œHe died when a steamboat sank,” Emily told him.
    â€œWhat you got in that box?” asked Jackson.
    Emily opened the lid and showed him her turtle. “His name is Rufus, and he’s my best friend in the whole world,” she said.
    Jackson gave a snort, but Emily let him hold the turtle for a minute anyway. And she noticed that when he returned Rufus to the box, he did it gently.
    Then he went to the door and looked around. “The Child Catchers are gone,” he said. “Want to go outside and see the horses?” Emily picked up her bag, Jackson picked up his parcel, and out they went.
    The Overhill stagecoach was bigger than any Emily had ever seen. It was bright red. The four horses with yellow harnesses pawed at the ground, eager to be