Gold Dust Read Online Free Page A

boy. It would add some color to their plodding lives. And if the kid was
     half as good as he claimed, he could make the trip to Dawson a good deal easier. The big city was a jungle that Jonah could
     deal with, but wild forests, wilderness mountains, and tough frontier towns were not his element. The kid’s proposition was
     beginning to look attractive.
    He gave the boy a sharp look. “You got family that’s going to miss you. A pa or ma who needs to give permission?”
    “Nope. My family’s all gone.”
    “That’s too bad. I’m sorry.”
    The boy regarded him with a carefully neutral expression. Probably the tough little character didn’t want to show anyemotion over his family’s loss. Jonah decided not to question him any further on it.
    “Okay, kid. You want to come? I’ll pay you twenty-five cents a day to be my guide up to the goldfields.”
    The offer met with a rude snort. “A buck a day.”
    “You’re trying to rob me, young’un. Fifty cents and I pay all expenses.”
    “Done!”
    The kid offered his hand for a shake. Jonah took it in a firm grasp and wondered again at the delicacy of the bones in his
     grip. “Armstrong here. What’s your name?”
    “O’Connell.”
    “All right, O’Connell. Be at the train in the morning,” Jonah warned, “or I’ll go without you. I’ll leave you a ticket at
     the window.”
    “I’ll be there.” The kid downed the last of whatever it was he was drinking and slammed the glass onto the table with gusto.
     “Gotta go. See you in the morning.”
    Jonah suppressed a laugh as the boy strutted toward the door, full of piss and vinegar and grinning like a virgin who’d just
     bedded his first wench. He had to admire the kid’s spirit and nerve. “O’Connell!” he called as the boy reached the door.
    The youngster turned.
    “Thanks for your help with the Hacketts.”
    “Don’t mention it.”
    With a mocking salute, the boy was gone. Jonah saw the sparkle of amusement in Myrna’s eyes as she looked on from behind the
     bar. He shook his head, wondering if he’d just made a big mistake.
    The world was still dark when Katy kicked Hunter off her legs, rolled out of her bed, and lit the lamp. The gray wolf gave
     her a scathing look and yawned a toothy objection.
    “Proper wolves spend the night hunting and howling at the moon, not curled up on a bed sleeping.”
    The wolf jumped back on the bed, curled into a compact circle of thick fur, buried his nose beneath his tail, and regarded
     her balefully.
    “You’re no proper wolf, that’s for sure.” Katy knuckled the plush fur between his ears. “And I’m sure you don’t care.”
    Katy herself yielded to a great, gaping yawn. Dawn was still an hour away, but she hadn’t been able to sleep all night for
     thinking of the fine adventure that lay before her. How things had changed since yesterday, when her life had seemed so useless
     and dull! Olivia had always told her that things generally looked darkest right before the dawn. Katy had thought her stepma
     was spouting platitudes, but in this case Olivia had been telling the truth.
    The day before, Katy had been dejected about her life. She’d let the mustang stallion slip through her fingers; she wasn’t
     needed on the ranch; she missed her family; and she was smotheringly, overwhelmingly bored. Now, however, a new day had dawned.
     Frustration, boredom, and uncertainties about her future sloughed off as easily as old skin slipped off a snake, revealing
     a bright new Katy beneath. Now someone needed her for her own unique skills. Now she had the chance to prove she could make
     it on her own, without her pa. As much as she loved her pa and her stepma, the time, had come for her to be her own person.
    Katy dressed carefully. Yesterday, because she was mad at the world, she had let herself slip back into the boyish guise of
     her younger years. She was still more comfortable in trousers, shirt, and boots than in a dress, but she did know how to