Orphans On A Train: Separated From His Sister & Put To Work In The Mines

By Beth Overton

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Beth Overton
• Release date: Feb 7, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311382610

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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Orphans On A Train: Separated From His Sister & Put To Work In The Mines

By

Beth Overton

Copyright 2016 Quietly Blessed & Loved Press

Synopsis: 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