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Chapter One
TURNABOUT’S SUMMER drifted along, cli up to the apex—that one span, of a couple weeks’ duration or more, when temperatures broiled their way into the stratosphere and the weather see wo of autumn Seasons turned, one after the other, just as did the earth on its axis, with htly, or fluttering gently to the ground
The verdancy of July and August gave way to ould become the annual harvest of crops: hayfields soon to be cut and the grass stored, grain to be scythed, garden produce to be preserved—all, in the ainst winter’s dearth
Reassuring, in a way Si events can be a comfort Most ordinary folks prefer their lives quiet and humdrum, devoid of that extra spark, that extra fillip, that extra oo action Of course, there are soe; soe constitute the meat, bread, and potatoes of their existence They actually look forward to unusual doings, whatever those ht be
Such a one was Letitia Burton
Oh, she wouldn’t seek out the sort of topsy-turvy activity (and probable graft) that besets a politician, say; or one of the Wall Street nabobs, who live and breathe by the rarefied air (and soe
Just so that didn’t mean boredom
For some time stories of the irrepressible St Louis fa force and size like a snowball Since the actual day of their arrival, in fact With occasionalto share the hateful than the pleasant But enuine fellow feeling Because we are all just hus under the skin, are we not?
First the report of Mayor Ben Forrester’s shocking sudden nuptials had ); next, news of the attack by the Putnam Brothers on his neife, and then the subsequent involveendar criminal pursuits
Ben’s exploits on the occasion of his participation in the posse that chased them doitnessed with open-mouthed admiration and approval
“Never knew our un like that,” said Wilbur Knaack, owner of the Sarsaparilla Café “Figured hiht” Wilbur hadn’t been asked his opinion of the town’s current leadership, but he offered it anyway
Abel Norton, over at the livery, saidAs commanders of their own little eht that Ben ought to be assured of a shoo-in win next election cycle
As for Camellia herself, placed somewhat in the position of de facto first lady, everyone would agree she had moved easily and securely into the role
“Oh, Miz Forrester is a grand asset around here,” opined Mrs McKnight, of boarding house fame “Checks up on her sisters all the time, and so pleasant Always talks to her on the social ladder than I could ever hope to be”
Certainly a favorable impression had been made on Elvira Gotham, at the mercantile, and on a multitude of customers who often wandered in just to have a nice chat with the owner’s wife
“Camellia? Salt of the earth, I should say,” was the clerk’s unqualified viewpoint “Never stands on cere Just wants to help out, however she can I hope she and Ben can open their second place soon”
Ben and Caotten thee and the business, and all, than the youngest girl, Molly, put herself into a world of trouble wit
h her own e Just a show of independence on her part, it was clai up with some out-of-towner, thanks to a sche ’un, at that Treated her worse’n dirt, he had; beat her black and blue, according to rumor and fact
“Come froeneral populace “What can you expect in that case?”
“Well, Hennessey looked all spiff,” contributed one of his audience “Maybe that’s the onliest thing that counts with these Burton gals”
“He looked like a riverboat dandy,” countered another froot taken in And, from what I heard, Ben did his best to dissuade her, but she was havin’ none of it Set on her oays, she was”
At least the unlucky bridegrooh it was Killed in that h here, worst in a century—tearing up trees, flooding Juniper Creek, leaving a coat of mud and broken branches that had taken a week to clear out
So there was Quinn Hennessey, buried at the far end of Turnabout’s only cemetery Coaer yen to carry hireenbacks Well, that had all coht, now, hadn’t it?
“Hisis doin’ right well by herself, though, everything considered” An acquaintance of Amazin’s offered his opinion, with a wink and a sly jab of the elbow