Thousand Pieces of Gold

A picture of an older woman wearing a white dress precedes this chapter.

Polly hears a schoolgirl crying with her brother and goes to comfort the girl. While she recognizes the children as Johnny and Gay Cary, neither child recognizes her, which wounds her since she had taken care of most of the children on Warrens. Now many children board with people in Warrens while their parents are away working during the school year. Gay is upset that she has to board with the school teacher because the woman is mean. The children go off to school, but Polly realizes that she could let Gay board with her in her new rented cabin in town.

Once Gay moves in, Polly’s home is filled with children and laughter. However, Polly dreads the day when Gay will go home. She opens up the tin that Charlie saved from the fire to see her marriage certificate, certificate of residence, and the mining claim. She decides she will go visit Bertha and get new glasses when Gay goes home at the end of the school year.