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    The Orphan Train: Two Journeys Into Love & A Family - A Pair Of Clean Western Historical Orphan Stories
    The Orphan Train: Two Journeys Into Love & A Family - A Pair Of Clean Western Historical Orphan Stories
    The Orphan Train: Two Journeys Into Love & A Family - A Pair Of Clean Western Historical Orphan Stories
    Ebook103 pages1 hour

    The Orphan Train: Two Journeys Into Love & A Family - A Pair Of Clean Western Historical Orphan Stories

    By Beth Overton

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    About this ebook

    The Orphan Train: Forced From His Sister & Sent To Work In The Mines - A child and his sister are sent on an orphan train out west and then fostered separately, with different families. Unfortunately, the boy is treated indifferently and forced to work in the mines and is left unschooled. The only thing he has to look forward to is the next visit from his caretaker and the remote possibility of one day being reunited with his sister.

    The Orphan Train: Underground And Hounded By Bounty Hunters - A woman working at an orphanage that houses many boys decides to escape with a large group of them and try to find loving homes along the way west for as many as possible, as they travel by wagon and train across country. Hounded by bounty hunters, strangers assist them, leaving food and providing shelter. All of the boys are placed with families except for one and his caretaker promises a special home for him at the very end.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBeth Overton
    Release dateFeb 5, 2016
    ISBN9781311239747
    The Orphan Train: Two Journeys Into Love & A Family - A Pair Of Clean Western Historical Orphan Stories
    Author

    Beth Overton

    Beth Overton lives in Northern California with her husband and three cats. Besides writing romances, she loves to read everything she can get her hands on, as well as cooking up gourmet delights for her entire family.

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      Book preview

      The Orphan Train - Beth Overton

      The Orphan Train: Two Journeys Into Love & A Family - A Pair Of Clean Western Historical Orphan Stories

      By

      Beth Overton

      Copyright 2016 Quietly Blessed & Loved Press

      The Orphan Train: Forced From His Sister & Sent To Work In The Mines

      The Orphan Train: Underground And Hounded By Bounty Hunters

      The Orphan Train: Forced From His Sister & Sent To Work In The Mines

      Synopsis: The Orphan Train: Forced From His Sister & Sent To Work In The Mines - A child and his sister are sent on an orphan train out west and then fostered separately, with different families. Unfortunately, the boy is treated indifferently and forced to work in the mines and is left unschooled. The only thing he has to look forward to is the next visit from his caretaker and the remote possibility of one day being reunited with his sister.

      Boston, 1892

      Oy, over there, Cormac whispered to Liam. It was hard to hear him amongst the cacophony of sound all around them. Carriages and horsecars covered the streets and the noise of trotting hooves blended in with all the people clamoring outside.

      Cormac was a big boy, a teenager almost and he was much bigger and stockier than Liam. He had his eye on a well-dressed gentleman who was crossing the street and making his way towards the newsstand that was a few feet away from him and Liam. The gentleman picked up a paper and took a coin from his pocket to pay the vendor. As the man began to walk towards them, Cormac nodded his head to Liam, who tripped over and fell into the man, almost taking the gentleman down with him.

      Sorry, sir, Liam muttered as the flustered gentleman picked himself back up again, muttering to himself.

      Cormac and Liam turned into a side street.

      Well? Cormac demanded.

      Liam pulled a handful of coins out of his pocket and dropped a few into Cormac’s hand. They both grinned at the small treasure that they had acquired. He and Cormac began to briskly walk in case the gentleman might notice sooner than later that his pockets were a few coins lighter.

      They walked a few blocks before they stopped at an oyster cart to buy something to eat. The cart vendor gave each boy a freshly opened oyster. That salty smell of the sea was something that Liam loved about Boston. Before heading home, Liam and Cormac went to the harbor to watch the ships pass by. Having never left Boston before, Liam wondered what else was out there. He later gave the coins he didn’t spend to his mother.

      Dinner was never anything special, but in a way it was, or at least it used to be. Liam would peel potatoes while Nora would cut them up along with some cabbage. Their mother would get a pot of water boiling. About this time of day was when Liam and Nora’s father would come through the door from his job at the factory.

      He always loved to pick Nora up and kiss her on the forehead and she loved it too, but a freak accident at the factory months earlier had taken his life and that loss of income had been a huge blow to the family. Because their father had been sending money to family out in Ireland, there was nothing saved away after he passed.

      Before then, their mother did not work. Because she was not educated or trained in a profession, her job options were scarce. In the more recent weeks, she had picked up a few odd jobs ironing clothes and cleaning homes. However, she had been seemingly home all day for the past two weeks and it looked as if her job prospects had slowly evaporated. She was slowly becoming more irritable and less lighthearted, though it probably did not help that Liam’s father was no longer there to lighten the mood and help her with the responsibility of raising a family. Still, Liam and his sister tried their best to keep their hopes up.

      As their mother set the bowls and spoons on the table and Nora ladled the soup into the bowls, Liam pulled up a chair, eying the empty chair across from him where his father used to sit. The potatoes were mushy and the broth was bland, but it was food. Liam wished he had enough money to buy his family a dozen oysters.

      They sat there in silence, sipping their soup. When their father was around, he was the one to get everybody talking and laughing. Now it was just quiet, until somebody started to pound on the door.

      I’ll get that, Liam’s mother nearly whispered as she rose from the table. She went to the door and cracked it slightly open. It was Mr. Poole the landlord. Liam’s mother slipped out through the door into the hallway, closing the door behind her, but the children could still hear through the thin walls.

      I hope you’ve got the money. You said you’d have it by this morning.

      Is there any way I can pay it this weekend? I’ll have it then. Work has been slow. But Liam and Nora are both looking for work. We’re doing our best.

      I’m sorry, but I’ve already given you two extensions. I can’t have you paying rent late again for the 3rd week in a row. If you can’t pay the rent then you’ll all have to leave. You’re not the only ones struggling to pay rent but I’m not running a charity here. We all have to make a living. You have until the end of the week to clear out.

      The children avoided looking, but they could hear the door close as their mother came back into the apartment. Without saying a word, she made her way to the bedroom and pulled the curtain behind her.

      For the rest of that week, Liam and Nora helped their mother pack up their things, or what little things they did have left. The children had no idea where they were going next and it looked like their mother was just about as clueless as they were. She spent all day in bed, only going out one day for a few hours. When she came back, she had a bag in her hand.

      Come here, I have something for both of you, she said.

      She pulled out two sets of clothes. A dress for Nora and a shirt, vest, pants, and socks for Liam. They didn’t look brand new, but they were still better than anything they had ever owned before.

      What is this? asked Liam.

      It’s clothes, silly, replied Nora.

      Her face lit up as she took the blue dress in her hands.

      Come, their mother said, taking the dress from Nora.

      We’ll be eating early tonight. We’ve got a big day tomorrow and the two of you should get a good night’s sleep.

      The next day, Liam’s mother fussed around, making sure that Nora and Liam’s faces and hands were clean and that they looked presentable, though who they were to be presentable to was a complete mystery to the children.

      Come over here, she urged.

      Liam hesitated for a moment.

      Come on now.

      He took his seat at the chair in front of the mirror. Taking a comb in her hand, his mother began to brush through his hair, looking at Liam’s reflection in the mirror.

      You must look nice. We will be meeting some nice folks at the train station and you are to be polite and kind to them. You want to make a good impression, do you hear me?

      Yes ma’am, Liam muttered.

      He silently wondered if they were off to meet some rich, long-lost, mysterious American

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