Bip, the Boy Irish Pup

By Dusty Kohl

In 1870, Ulysses S. Grant is President of the United States, coal is king in Pennsylvania, and slavery is dead. But indentured servitude's final traces remain for those poorest of Europeans desperately seeking a new life in America.

Bip is an orphaned indentured servant living at a coal mining operation. Apparently he is the victim of strange circumstances. The quiet Irish lad has outlived his mother and seeks to find his own standing in a company that has no place for him. At the age of eighteen in the nineteenth century, he is still a boy. The other boys derogatorily refer to him as the "Boy Irish Pup."

Doctor John McKenzie is on his way to California when he stops to see a mentor at The Wilson Mining Operation. Disaster has struck the company, leaving Doctor McKenzie stranded there with no financial means to continue his journey. He meets Wilson employees who are all too eager to offer him refuge. While their intent seems set on keeping him there, his intent remains to move on with his goal of setting up his new residence in California.

Among the employees and servants of The Wilson Estate, Doctor McKenzie meets young Bip. Locals try to warn Doctor McKenzie that the mining company seems cursed with bad luck. At first he has no intention of staying, but destiny and fate could decide otherwise for him. Bip and the Doctor form an alliance that might just set The Wilson Mining Operation on edge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dusty Kohl
• Release date: Aug 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463855096

Dusty Kohl

Dusty Kohl taught as a classroom teacher and reading specialist for nearly two decades. He began writing poems and short stories during his own elementary school days. Dusty is one in a long line of storytellers of oral traditions from family history. When he isn’t remodeling, landscaping or kicking back with his dogs, he’s out people watching and interacting. His goal is to keep his storyline characters realistic while his plots take twists, turns, and surprises.

Book preview

Bip

The Boy Irish Pup

Copyright 2018 Dusty Kohl

Published by Dusty Kohl at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition License Notes

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Responsible

Chapter 2 The Protected

Chapter 3 The Separated

Chapter 4 The Attached

Chapter 5 The Caring

Chapter 6 The Remorseful

Chapter 7 The Guilty

Chapter 8 The Hopeless

Chapter 9 The Released

About the Author

Connect with Dusty Kohl

Acknowledgements

Books from the series In Those Days

Novels from the series Swim Coach

* * *

Introduction

In 1870, Ulysses S. Grant is President of the United States, coal is king in Pennsylvania, and slavery is dead. But indentured servitude's final traces remain for those poorest of Europeans desperately seeking a new life in America.

Bip is an orphaned indentured servant living at a coal mining operation. Apparently he is the victim of strange circumstances. The quiet Irish lad has outlived his mother and seeks to find his own standing in a company that has no place for him. At the age of eighteen in the nineteenth century, he is still a boy. The other boys derogatorily refer to him as the Boy Irish Pup.

Doctor John McKenzie is on his way to California when he stops to see a mentor at The Wilson Mining Operation. Disaster has struck the company, leaving Doctor McKenzie stranded there with no financial means to continue his journey. He meets Wilson employees who are all too eager to offer him refuge. While their intent seems set on keeping him there, his intent remains to move on with his goal of setting up his new residence in California.

Among the employees and servants of The Wilson Estate, Doctor McKenzie meets young Bip. Locals try to warn Doctor McKenzie that the mining company seems cursed with bad luck. At first he has no intention of staying, but destiny and fate could decide otherwise for him. Bip and the Doctor form an alliance that might just set The Wilson Mining Operation on edge.

* * *

Chapter 1 The Responsible

The steam whistled from the depths of the engine, blowing hot moist air onto the waiting platform. People quickly stepped back to avoid the unpleasantness. The smoke stack belched intermittent puffs of black and gray smoke. Porters scrambled to each car's doorway, attentively assisting passengers with baggage and steps.

John McKenzie's baggage consisted of one long suitcase and a black medical bag. He stepped out onto the platform, searching near and far for a familiar face. His black three-piece suit quickly soaked up the sun's warmth. He wiped his brow with a cotton handkerchief.

A cheerful porter offered, May I carry those for you, sir?

Carry only the case, thank you. I'll carry my bag. He tapped his prized possession containing what few medical instruments he managed to collect in his final internship, just completed in a Philadelphia hospital. Two years he served there, caring for the indigent, as his superiors gave their full attention to the patients most likely to pay their bills.

What's your destination? Are you staying here in Tiny Town?

I'm lodging with a colleague out at The Wilson Operation.

Not the company doctor, I should hope.

Well, yes. As a matter of fact I am.

The porter stopped leading toward the street hacks. I'm afraid rumors abound this morning. It seems there was a gas explosion out there in the early hours before dawn.

Oh dear heavens! Was anyone injured?

All I know is rumors, sir. Two dead were pulled from one of the houses. An employee's house, they say.

John tipped the porter as he mounted the rear seat of the buggy. Thank you for the information.

I'm sorry I wasn't of more help, sir. The porter nodded and briskly walked away. He joined other coworkers nearby, pointed at John McKenzie, and whispered.

Driver, The Wilson Operation, please.

That'll be about a thirty minute ride, sir. Hope you don't mind a bit of dust. He slapped the reins and whistled to the horse.

It was a long dusty road. Eventually the fresh spring air became tainted with coal dust. The driver pulled his rig up to a rear entrance of the Victorian mansion. John's knock at the door gained the response of a tattered old laundry maid.

Who ye be? the woman asked in her Irish brogue.

John McKenzie. Doctor John McKenzie. I'm to be the guest of, he pulled a card from his inside vest pocket, of Doctor Nathaniel Watson.

The maid gasped. The good Doctor be dead. She clutched a cross hanging around her neck. Aye. He be dead, and his assistant, too. Poor lad. But ye be a doctor, eh? I'm sure my lady will want to see ye. Come this way.

They entered the house at the ground level servants' hall. The dark hall at last opened to a busy kitchen. The smell of roasted pork and boiling beans filled the air. This here be Doctor McKenny, she announced to someone he didn't see.

McKenzie, he corrected her.

Aye. That's what I mean. McKenzie. He be a friend of the late Doctor Nathaniel.

The butler frowned. Sorry for your loss. I assume Henrietta told you of Nathaniel's demise. Shame it is and a terrible loss. Were the two of you close?

"I'm afraid we merely