Review: Interestng Short Story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 26, 2012
At first Charlie Welch thinks his boss's daughter has just come to visit in order to talk her father out of some money. He has first-hand knowledge about citified, society ladies. His ex-fiancée had been one, until she decided she wanted more than just a cowboy, even if he were ranch foreman. Then, as he gets to know her better, he decides Opal Bright is nothing like Edith had been. Opal feels rejected by her father. After all, he'd sent her away right after her mother died, when Opal was only six. Maybe that's why she cares so much about the orphanage. She is determined to raise enough money, so the children won't end up on the streets, even if she has to marry a man she doesn't love, the banker's son back in Omaha. A group of bandits also cause problems, as they try to find the gold mine they think is on the ranch. Opal ends up being captured after she flees the ranch. Charlie is captured, too, because he rides to find her.I loved the story and wished it were longer, although it seemed good not to have the misunderstandings go on forever, like in some romances. There were some loose ends never explained.  Opal first said she'd sold most of her fancy dresses for the train ticket, but later the story said her father had bought her ticket. And, how could Charlie reach over and "tweak" Opal's nose inside a dark mineshaft at night, when they couldn't see a thing? Neither was the estrangement fully resolved been Opal and her father. I never learned for sure why he'd sent Opal to her aunt's. Still, I loved Charlie and Opal, the clean story, and thought the writing was good. It was almost a shame it was just a 54-page short story.