Emily's Fortune Read Free Page B

off.
    A man with a whip came out of the building and Emily shrank back in fear. Then she realized that he was the driver, dressed in a dark blue jacket with gold buttons.
    â€œStagecoach to the West!” he called. “Gather here!”
    Emily could not believe the number of people whomoved forward. She could not believe all they carried. A box poked her in the back. A basket bopped her on the head. She had thought that perhaps four people could fit inside, and after three women and two men got aboard, then Jackson, who pushed on ahead, she was afraid there would be no room for her. Yet two more men got on, and finally the driver picked her up with her bag and squeezed her onto a seat.
    Three people sat on the backseat, facing forward. Three people sat on the middle seat, and three people sat on the front seat, facing backward. Bags and boxes were crammed under seats and on laps. Emily kept her lunch sack and carpetbag on her lap so she could take out Rufus’s box and let him have a bit of air.
    When everyone was settled at last, the coachman sprang up to the driver’s box outside. After a blast of his bugle and a crack of the driver’s whip, the stagecoach lurched forward with a creak and squeak, and headed west.
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    Emily had been looking forward to seeing new places, but she soon discovered how tiresome it was sitting in the same position for hours at a time. When the windows were up, it was too warm. When the windows were down, dust blew in, filling her nose and making her sneeze.
    She was sitting in the front row, with Jackson facing her. His cap was tipped backward now, and she could see that his eyes were green like her own. But every time he caught her looking at him, he made a face.
    Then he started the copycat game. If Emily crossed her arms over her chest, Jackson crossed his arms. If Emily sighed, Jackson sighed. If she ignored him completely, he slid down in his seat until his bony knees were bumping hers, and kicked her shoes with his feet.
    Please stop it
, Emily mouthed at him.
    Please stop it
, Jackson mouthed back.
    Were all boys this rude? she asked herself. No wonder Luella Nash hadn’t wanted her to go to school with the other children.
    The coach stopped every fifteen miles or so for a fresh team of horses. Sometimes the driver let the passengers get out and stretch a bit. Other times, a new team was harnessed and ready, and the coach wheels hardly stopped rolling before they were off again.
    Finally, a blast of the driver’s bugle announced their arrival at Callaway’s Inn, where all the passengers were given a meal. It was a busy place, and even the porch was crowded. Some people sat on benches, others sat in rockers, and still more stood reading the daily newspapers that had been tacked up on the porch wall.
    Inside the inn, Emily was almost too tired to chew. But she knew she ought to eat when she was given food, so that she could save what was in her lunch sack for later. She ate until she was full, and Jackson reached over to take what she’d left on her plate.
    When it was time to get on board again, the driver came up to the table where Emily and Jackson were sitting.
    â€œWe have a problem,” he told them. “There’s a lady and her husband whose daughter out west is very sick. They need to get there as soon as possible, sowe’re asking if you’ll give up your places in the coach. We’ll make sure you get on the next one.”
    â€œYeah, and when will that be?” asked Jackson.
    â€œAnother will be along in two days, and the innkeeper says you may stay here until it comes,” the driver said. “The Overhill Stagecoach Company will pay for your room and board.”
    Emily did not want to keep the man and woman from seeing their sick daughter. She knew that Aunt Hilda did not expect her at any particular time, and that if she did not arrive on a stagecoach one day, she would arrive