Chapter Seven

One year later

September, 1876

Dusk was gathering over the town as Joe left the stable and made his way along Second Street, out across the open stretch of ground that led to the miners’ houses and past the shacks recently built by the company.

As he neared his house, he saw that the back door was open, and also the door to Charity’s outside bedroom. She must be doing her schoolwork, he thought, and decided to go round to the front of the house to avoid disturbing her. He’d just started heading for the front of the line of miners’ houses when the door to Charity’s room suddenly opened wider, and Sam came rushing out of her room, head down, clutching a pile of clothes in one arm and carrying a large bag in his other hand. Charity followed close behind him, screaming at him.

Frowning, Joe stopped abruptly and stared at them both.

‘You stop!’ Charity screamed as Sam sped between the vegetable patch and the privy on his way to the open ground. ‘You can’t take them. They’re mine.’

Joe could see tears streaming down her cheeks as she chased after Sam, and he could hear fear in her voice.

He started to run towards them at the same moment as Martha came hurrying out of the house.

‘Now you stop that, Sam,’ she shouted, walking quickly after him and Charity.

His back to Martha, Sam stopped running, threw the clothes and the bag on to the dirt-covered ground and kicked them away from him. Then he glanced back at his mother.

Joe stopped and stared at Sam, open-mouthed. There was a large bruise on the side of Sam’s face.

‘Get back into the house, Ma,’ Sam shouted, pointing towards the house. ‘There’s more of her stuff in there and I’m gonna be bringin’ it out, whether you like it or not. Look at this!’ He tapped his injured cheek. ‘This is what the men think of me for havin’ one of them in my home. Well, she don’t belong here, and I want her out.’

Joe started towards them again.

Charity ducked under Sam’s arm and tried to run round him to her clothes, but he caught her by the arm and pulled her away from them. Bending down to her, he stared hard into her face.

‘Now you listen real good. We’re miners here. And we’re miners who’re gettin’ less money every week ’cos of you Chinee,’ Joe heard him say as he got closer. He saw Charity open her mouth to speak. ‘And don’t say you’re American, ’cos you ain’t,’ Sam snapped. ‘It’s bad enough to have to work alongside you lot all day – then I have to come home and find one of you in my house. And the men sure as hell wonder why I’m bein’ so weak as to let it happen. So I’m not; you’re gonna go.’

‘Leave her be, Sam,’ Martha called, coming up and standing behind Charity. ‘She don’t deserve that.’

‘She’s gotta go,’ Sam repeated, straightening up.

‘She’s not gonna go anywhere,’ Joe said, coming up to them.

Sam spun round and saw him.

‘Now why ain’t I surprised that you’re ridin’ in to her rescue?’ Sam sneered, releasing Charity’s arm and taking a few steps towards Joe. ‘Oh, yeah!’ he exclaimed, tapping the side of his head with his hand. ‘It’s ’cos you ain’t a miner. You play around all day long in the livery stable, so you don’t know what it’s like to work for hour after hour in the dust and the dirt, workin’ harder than you’ve ever worked before, diggin’ out more coal than ever before, but takin’ home less money than ever before. I do, and so does Pa. And so does every miner in Carter. And this is a miner’s house so you don’t get the right to speak.’

‘This is my house, Sam, mine and Hiram’s, and I’ll be the one who says who gets to speak or not,’ Martha said, her voice cold. ‘And I’m sayin’ I don’t wanna hear from you again. I’m real sorry the miners are takin’ their anger out on you, but Charity stays.’

Sam took a step towards Martha, the bruise livid against his face, which was white with anger. ‘I reckon if it was Joe gettin’ slugged, you’d be throwin’ her things out real fast.’

‘Will you take Charity in, please, Ma?’ Joe cut in. ‘I’m guessin’ she’s got schoolwork to do.’

Martha hesitated.

‘Please, Ma,’ he repeated.

She stared intently at him, and then nodded. ‘Pick up your things and come in with me, Charity, gal,’ she said, turning to go back into the house.

Charity glanced nervously from Sam to Joe, then ran to her clothes and started gathering them up.

‘You can leave your bag, Charity,’ Joe said, with a smile. ‘I’ll bring that. You don’t wanna carry too many things at once or you’ll drop them and they’ll get even dirtier than they’ve already got.’

Her arms full, she stared at Sam, and then, clutching her clothes to her chest, ran after Martha.

‘So what’s all this about, Sam?’ Joe asked when Charity had gone into the house and closed the door behind her.

‘I would’ve thought I’d made that obvious, if the other miners haven’t. No yellow-skinned person should be given a place to live by a white, and certainly not by a white minin’ family.’

‘But you hardly ever see Charity. You’re in the mine from mornin’ to night, and in the town for most of the time you’re not workin’. Apart from when she sits with us for meals, all you ever see of her are the things she’s done to help Ma.’

‘But I know she’s there, don’t I, and so do the men. And as I reckon Ma can manage without her help now, I want her out.’

‘Isn’t it for Ma to decide about the help she needs, and as she said, it’s up to her who lives in her house?’

‘But she won’t tell her to leave, will she? And that’s because of you,’ sneered Sam.

‘And what’s that supposed to mean?’

‘What it says. You’ve always been her favourite, and you know it. I can see myself in Joe,’ he said, raising the pitch of his voice to imitate his mother. ‘You’re always on about green fields, and it makes Ma think back to the ranch and go soft on you. Whereas me, I’ve worked since I was old enough to go down the mine, and I work long hours, like Pa. And I give most of my wages to Ma, such as they are these days, but does she know I’m here? No, sir; she does not. She’s too busy lookin’ at you and doin’ what you want.’

‘I could say the same about you and Pa. You work together in the mine and that makes you real close, but I won’t say that as it’d make me sound as ridiculous as you,’ Joe said, and he started to turn away.

‘Ridiculous, am I?’ Sam said icily, stepping closer to Joe. ‘Well, I don’t think so. And I don’t think you do either. But if you are blind like that, and so blind that you don’t know what’s goin’ on in the town you live in, come down to the mine for a day and feel the eyes of the white miners borin’ into you, wonderin’ why you’re givin’ a home to one of the people who’s makin’ them suffer. How d’you think it makes me feel to know that the men I work alongside are thinkin’ hatefully about my family and me? If the gal leaves, they’ll go back to seein’ me as one of them.’ He gestured with the upturned palms of his hands. ‘That’s all I want, Joe.’

‘And where’s she meant to go?’

‘Have you looked at the town recently?’ Sam asked in mock amazement. ‘South of Second Street to the railroad is Chinatown. The whites hardly go there except to get to the railroad and mine. It stinks of Chinee food; their high-pitched voices are all you hear; baggy trousers, straw hats and long bamboo poles with things hangin’ from them are all you see. And this is America! Let her go and live with one of the Celestials who’ve moved in. That’s where she belongs.’

‘She’s eight. What d’you think would happen to her?’

‘The Chinese family who’ve got the mercantile have got a gal. She can live there. I’m sure they’d give her sufficient work for her to pay her way.’

‘I’ve told you they don’t want anythin’ to do with her, and I told you why.’

Sam shrugged. ‘I don’t really care. I just want her out.’

Joe shook his head. ‘You never used to be like this Sam,’ he said quietly. ‘It’s like I don’t know you any more.’

Sam’s expression softened, and he gave Joe a wry smile. ‘But you’ve never really known me, Joe, have you? Look at us – I’m five years older than you. I’ve always liked bein’ in town, but first you were too young to come out with me, and then all you wanted to do was play in the river, lookin’ for gold. So we never did many brother-type things together. And we did none at all from the moment you found that Chinese gal – you were always either mindin’ her for Ma or doin’ some of Ma’s chores.’

‘I guess all that’s true,’ Joe said slowly. ‘But we can still be friends, can’t we? We’re always gonna be brothers.’

‘Brothers, are we?’ Sam gave a dry laugh. ‘Well, I reckon that depends on what bein’ brotherly means to you. Look at it through my eyes. Most of the day, I’m in the mine, feelin’ the hate of the men around me. I doubt they’ll be thumpin’ me again ’cos I gave as good as I got, but you could put an end to any risk of that. Ma would send her away if you agreed, but we both know you’re not gonna do that. So maybe you’ll understand why you don’t seem real brotherly to me.’

‘I’m mighty sorry you feel that way, but there’s nothin’ I can do about it. Apart from the fact that Ma appreciates havin’ help in the house, I feel responsible for Charity.’

‘Another person wouldn’t. They’d find her a home in Chinatown and leave her there, whether she liked it or not. But that’s ’cos another person doesn’t feel the need to be high-minded. But that’s you, Joe, isn’t it? So high-minded that you’d put a Celestial ahead of your own family.’

‘You make it sound real easy to kick Charity out of the place that’s always been her home, but it isn’t.’

‘Is that so? Well, from where I’m standin’, it is real easy. And the fact you’re not doin’ it, tells me what you think about me. Maybe one day, I’ll have the chance to show you what I think about you. I sure hope so.’

Pushing past Joe, Sam headed for town.