Chapter 3
Almeda’s Decision

The next surprise came a couple of days later.

Almeda had been rather quiet ever since Mr. Shaw’s visit. The terrible news of what Mr. Royce had done seemed to weigh on her, and I knew she felt almost desperate to find some way to help him. Yet there just wasn’t enough money to get him out from under the call on his loan.

It was getting on toward late in the evening, Pa was sitting with Tad and Becky in his lap reading them a story. I was trying to draw a picture of Zack from memory. Zack had taken Rayo Rojo for a ride that afternoon, and for one moment, just after he’d mounted, she reared up on her hind legs. Zack leaned forward, his feet tight into her flanks, one hand flying in the air, and his eyes flashing with the closest thing to pure delight I’d ever seen. The sketch wasn’t turning out too well, but I didn’t want to let myself forget the mental picture of that wonderful moment.

Suddenly Almeda’s voice broke out loudly, as if she had been struggling all day to keep the words in and couldn’t hold back the dam a second longer.

“It’s just not right for a man like that to be mayor!” she exclaimed. “Drummond, I’m sorry for acting rashly, and I hope you’ll forgive me, but I just don’t know what else to do. We’ve just got to stop him, that’s all there is to it! Pregnant or not, and despite his threats, and even if I am a woman—I don’t know what I can do but go ahead with it! It must be done for the good of this community—I am going to run for mayor after all!”

For a few seconds there was silence. Everyone stopped and looked at her. Pa was still holding the book steady on his lap, but his and Tad’s and Becky’s eyes all focused intently on Almeda where she stood over by the stove.

“If that don’t beat all!” Pa said finally, shaking off the two kids from his lap, climbing to his feet, and walking over to her. “Sometimes I wonder whether I married me a wife or a hurricane! Well, if I’m gonna have me a new son or daughter, he might as well have a ma for a mayor to make up for the fact that his pa’s such an old man!” He smiled and gave Almeda a big hug. I knew he was proud of her decision, even though maybe it wasn’t the same one he would have made if he had to decide.

So many things immediately began to run through my heart!

What about all those threats Mr. Royce had made about what he would do to Almeda if she didn’t keep out of the race? He said he’d cause trouble for Pa and Uncle Nick with the law, that he’d investigate the ownership of the land and their claim! All along we’d worried about what Royce might do to all the miners and ranchers and people around Miracle Springs who owed money to his bank if he didn’t win. The incident with Patrick Shaw showed that he wasn’t fooling, and I didn’t see how Almeda’s running would help, even if she won.

Worst of all, he had threatened me too! He had told me to stop interviewing and talking to people about the election, and as good as said that if I didn’t, he would let it be known to powerful slavery people that I was a pro-Fremont reporter, and that I would be in danger. And after what had happened in Sonora I knew it was no empty threat! The powers behind the scenes in the national election were real . . . and were dangerous! For all I knew Royce might be somehow connected to senator Goldwin and his people! After my story appeared in the Alta exposing the falsehood of Mr. Gregory’s claims against Fremont, they might try to track me down and do something to punish me. I was still so new to this whole world of politics and news reporting, I had no idea what to expect. And I certainly didn’t want Mr. Royce getting me in more trouble than I was already in!

With all this worrying about Mr. Royce and his threats against me, I hardly even remembered at first what he’d said about opening a supplies outlet and freight service of his own, and putting Parrish Mine and Freight out of business.

But Almeda hadn’t forgotten. She weighed everything, and over the next few days talked to Pa a lot. They prayed, and in the end they both concluded that her decision to run was the right one after all, and that they had to go ahead and see the election out to its conclusion on November 4.

I think Almeda felt a little like I had with the Fremont story, that there was more at stake than just the outcome of the election itself. She felt that it was her duty to fight against what Franklin Royce stood for, to fight against his underhanded and deceitful methods. She felt she was standing up for what was right. Even if she lost, she felt she needed to take a stand in the community for what was right and honest and true.

It was not an easy decision. Everything Royce had said was true. He could hurt her and her family if he chose to. He could put Parrish Freight out of business. He could challenge Pa and Uncle Nick’s ownership of their land. He could hurt a lot of other people in the community, just like he was doing to Patrick Shaw, if he decided to start calling loans due. Franklin Royce was a powerful man!

But in the end Almeda and Pa decided to take the risk—because it was the right thing to do. Maybe it wouldn’t help the Shaws keep their claim and their ranch and their home. But they had to do something to show that Royce couldn’t just do whatever he wanted without any opposition. A man like that simply shouldn’t be allowed to work his will in a town and come to power without anyone standing up to him. Sometimes you just have to do what’s right, no matter what the consequences.

Realizing all the risks involved for Pa and Almeda in their decision, within a day or two of Almeda’s surprise announcement to the family, I made a decision of my own.

I decided to start up again with my article on the Miracle Springs mayor’s election. And whether Franklin Royce liked it or not, I was going to pick up where I’d left off interviewing people. I would write at least one article, maybe two, on the election. There wasn’t much time left before November, but what there was I would use. And I wouldn’t settle for $1 an article either! If Mr. Kemble wasn’t willing to pay me at least $3 or $4, I’d submit it to another editor—even the Globe, if I had to! But I was sure the Daily and Weekly Times in Sacramento would print it. Sacramento was closer, and both Mr. Royce and Almeda were a little bit known there.

So I dusted off my writing satchel, read over the notes from interviews I’d done earlier, and tried to figure out how I could go about telling people in the rest of the state about this election in what Mr. Kemble would call an “unbiased” way. Then I started going to visit folks again to find out their thoughts, now that the election was getting close and Almeda was back in it.