Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1935-02-06
CHAPTER {

THE Lawrence family, although
l. in the best sense of the word pi
OneerS, had not come to the Colder
West by means of covered wagons
They had left their Boston moor
ings, like the gentlefolk of means
and leisure that they were, ir
the year of our Lord 1919, and
had sailed elegantly for Rio, for
Buenos Aires, and around the Horn.
They had loitered in Valparaiso and
in Lima for some weeks, taking
things easily, in a leisurely day, and
had in due time come up the stormy
coast of California, and had
dropped anchor in the opalescent
harbor of peaceful Yerba Buena.
For San Francisco had been still
familiarly known as Yerba Buena,
then, and the blue waters Of the
bay had Tapped the strand at Mont
gomery street. The globe trotters,
magnificent Philip Lawrence and
his frail, Indian-shawled, pretty
wife, had remained on the ship for
a few days, for the settlement on
shore promised small comfort for
tourists.
Early in their second week, how
ever; they had been obliged to seek
lodging ashore. This was for two
reasons, one important, one ridic-
ulous. The important reason was
that an heir to the Lawrences was
about to be born. The absurd rea-
son was that some preposterous
person had discovered gold, or had
pretended to, at place called SUIT
ter Greek, and that every one in
Yerba Buena had promptly lost his
senses.
Philip and Abigail Lawrence nat
urally did not lose their senses.
They were rich anyway; they were
above this undignified scramble for
lucre. Philip had an income of
three thousand a year, and Abigail's
father owned FIVE sailing vessels,
including this very Abby Baldwin
In which they had made their won
derful honeymoon trip.
But the sailors, and indeed the
officials of the Abby Baldwin, had
felt differently. They were not
above acquiring fortunes. and they
had instantly deserted the ship and
made for the gold region. The ru-
NOR of gold, spreading like prairie
fire between breakfast and the noon
dinner, had found the ship emptied
by sunset. Philip and Abigail mad
signaled a Chinese crab catcher, and
in his little shallop with stained
brown sails he had rowed them and
their carpet bags ashore.
They had gone to "the French
woman's," a quaint-looking adobe
house, on a hill, with an upper bal
cony and shutters. There were no
windows, but there were tents of
mosquito netting over the bed, and
the bare floors were clean. Down
stairs was merely a level of dim
arcades, earthen-fOored and SMELL
ing of spilled wine, where men
lounged on benches, and where the
Frenchwoman herself tended the
bar. But the upstairs room had
been comfortable enough and
Abigail had eaten a shore meal of
fish stew, dumplings, fresh soft
black figs, sour bread, and thin
wine,> with some appetite.
This would do for the present,
she had said. But one could not
live quite like savage, after all,
and Immediately after breakfast to-
morrow Philip must find a really
nice place, and a nurse. If not, then
they would have to 90 back to the
ship. -
Philip had returned flushed, dis
tressed, and annoyed from his
search the next morning; he had
returned flushed, distressed, and in
creasingly annoyed from the
searches Of the following days. The
Frenchwoman's was not only the
best, it appeared to be the only pos
sible place for Abigail to~sfay, and
to contemplate confinement there,
with the noise and drinking and the
smell of wine below stairs, and with
nobody but whiskered old Madame
Bowler to attend her, was mad
ness. Desperate, Philip had rented
fspanking team and a loose
wheeled buggy and had begun to
drive abeut the adjoining country
looking for shelter.
Abigail had covered passionate
pages with the story Of their adven.
lures, and had put the letters into
the canvas flap of her trunk, under
the pasted picture of the little girl
with the rope Of roses. Some day
they would get home again, Philip.
she, and the baby, and what a story
they would have to tell!
Meanwhile, fifty miles southeast
Of foggy Yerba Buena, they had
found refuge on a rancho. It was
managed by a widow, one Sonora
Castellazo, who lived farther south
In another hacienda, and was will.
ing to rent this one to the strangers.
1t had contained no. furnishings
whatsoever when the OLawrences
had moved In.
But many trips to the Abby Raid