The Spoils of Sin Read Online Free PDF Page B

friendly. A simple soul.’
    â€˜The same as Tom, then. And my first was very quick. I fancy we will come to prefer the quick ones.’
    â€˜We have such a deal to learn,’ sighed Carola. ‘And the first lesson is how great a variety of men there are in the world.’
    â€˜Lock up now,’ begged Fanny. ‘I cannot endure any more tonight.’
    Carola closed the door without demur, but sighed as she did so.
    Next morning, Fanny was less sore than she’d feared, and more rested. Her sleep had been deep and dreamless and her bed untainted. A foot away, Carola lay softly breathing, a steadfast friend and colleague who would steer their little boat through choppy waters. There was nothing, in truth, to fear. The man with his vile threats had been crazy, deliberately scaring her for his own twisted pleasure. There was no cause for concern.
    They roused themselves slowly, making coffee and throwing open the windows. Outside the leaves were turning, and a breeze from the north brought hints of approaching winter. Chemeketa nestled between two ranges of mountains, on the banks of a gentle river – a perfect spot for a new settlement. Waves of migrants created fresh streets every few months. Churches, newspaper and government offices rose up beside stores, stables and homes. All around the land was being tamed and cleared, with cattle and horses proliferating. Giant redwood trees stood like sentinels on the edges of the growing town. Fruit trees had been planted all along the valley – apples, pears and plums. The Indians who had given the place its name – a name which meant ‘meeting place’ – were seldom in evidence, except for a few wives to settlers who had arrived before the wagon trains that brought families and even some single women. These women were regarded with disdain for the most part, even those few who had accepted their fate with comparative satisfaction, behaving towards their husbands with affection as well as deference.
    There were, however, Indians and half-breeds in considerable numbers in the shadowy region beyond the town limits, bringing furs and meat now and then, in hesitant twos and threes, eyes downcast. The white settlers dealt with them impatiently, awareness of the injustice of the situation making them variously angry, defensive, guilty, self-righteous. The missionaries spoke of the savagery of the Indian way of life and the imperative of educating them into civilised behaviour. The town’s businessmen muttered between themselves that they only true solution to the situation was to shift the redskins to remoter spots, where they could offer no threat.
    â€˜We should go out,’ said Fanny. ‘A long walk to clear our heads.’
    Carola chewed her lip for a moment, before nodding. ‘We ought not to hide ourselves away,’ she said, as if trying to convince herself of something.
    They dressed modestly, hoping to mingle unnoticed with other townsfolk. But they both knew this was unlikely. There were homes in the town, some of them with families in them – but almost all the men in possession of wives and daughters lived out on the homesteads with them. Women were always a minority on the sidewalks, and those who were to be seen had mostly come to town for provisions in their traps and spent no unnecessary time there. Two apparently idle young women with no mud on their skirts and no straw in their hair were highly conspicuous anomalies. It was as if an instinct told respectable wives and daughters precisely what these women did, and what a danger they presented thereby.
    Hostile glances came their way and by silent agreement they turned their steps alongside the river. A path had been cut out leading to a small graveyard, and thence to a gentle hill with seats set out for the purpose of admiring the views all around. It was an attempt by someone only a year or so earlier to recreate the public parks in the eastern cities. Such