The year was 1887, or so the legend goes. It was a time when the west was still wild, and when outlaws still roamed it, preying on unwary victims. Dance halls and bars abounded and preachers scolded from the pulpit. It was a time of good and evil--and sometimes it was hard to tell which was which. It was a time that made unlikely heroes...

The quarters were quite cramped in the wagon and Elizabeth wished that she could get out and stretch her legs. The other girls were talking and giggling, but she was so uncomfortable that she didn't have the heart.

They had been traveling for over a week, going from town to town, trying to find a place that Rose thought would be profitable. At this point, Elizabeth didn't care if they made money. She just wanted to be comfortable again.

"What's wrong, Beth?" Amy, who was sitting beside her, asked. They had been friends for a long time, and sometimes it seemed as if Amy could read Elizabeth's mind.

"Just tired."

"I know what you mean." Amy wiped blond hair from her forehead, but it came flopping back. She raised her voice slightly and asked, "How long until the next town?"

A voice from outside the wagon answered, "Not long now."

"We're not going to move on before tomorrow, right?" Meg asked Rose. "We get a bath and a bed tonight, don't we?"

Rose, a red head slightly older than the rest of them at 25, thought about this for a moment before saying, "Sure. I don't see why not."

The one good thing about traveling was that no one knew who--or what--they were. In their traveling dresses of simple cotton and gingham, they could have been anyone. It was strange to Elizabeth, getting respect from people who normally would have shunned her, just by claiming to be sisters traveling with their father and brother while searching for a place to put down roots.

They didn't really look like sisters, Elizabeth knew. They were an odd variety of women, from Rose's classic red headed beauty, to Amy's down home, dazzling charm, to Meg's tall, thin, and dark aloofness, to her own night black hair and round, innocent face. Rose had chosen the three of them specifically for their differences, but no one batted an eye--especially since Amy looked so much like William and Teddy, her real father and brother.

It was only minutes later when William told them they were entering the town and the four girls gathered up front to look out of the wagon.

Elizabeth wasn't all that impressed with her first glimpse of Fool's Gold. It was a smallish town, though bigger than most of those they'd been through that week, and it had a sad, neglected air to it. The women looked worn and tired and the men all looked solemnly at the wagon as it passed.

William stopped the wagon and inquired of a man who stood on the side of the street, "Excuse me, sir. Could you please direct me to the nearest hotel? We've been traveling for an awfully long time, and my girls would like some rest."

The man watched them, his eyes lingering on Elizabeth a few seconds longer than she thought necessary, then spit brown and disgusting tobacco juice onto the dusty ground. "Izzat a fact?" he said, and Elizabeth thought he looked like a cow chewing its cud. "We ain't got but one hotel here," (and he leered again at Elizabeth), "but since we don't never get no visitors, it's purty much a'ways empty." He spit again, making a mini-splash in the tiny puddle of muck at his feet.

"And where would this single hotel be, my good man?" William asked patiently.

"Here in town, o' course!" replied the strange man with a fair degree of irritation. "Ain't you been listenin'?"

William's friendly smile didn't falter. "I mean, where in town, friend?" Amy giggled at the exchange.

"Just down the street a piece. Cain't miss it. It's the big wood building."

Elizabeth glanced around. All the buildings were big and made of wood. She hoped the rest of the locals weren't as obtuse as this man seemed to be. Conversation could get frustrating very quickly.

"Thank you for your time," William said amiably enough, then urged the horse forward. Beth pulled back into the wagon as they pulled away from the unhelpful man. From the opening behind, she could see that the man was following them with his eyes. She gave an involuntary shudder.

"He was creepy," Amy observed for her.

"And a brilliant conversationalist!" agreed Beth playfully.

"Hush, girls," ordered Rose. "It's men like that who feed us and house us. Have a little respect."

"Yes, ma'am," Amy and Beth said in unison, though they couldn't help exchange a light-hearted look with each other.

The hotel, when they found it, turned out to be a ramshackle buidling with a slight sag to the roof. Wooden shingles that had broken off from the sides had given the hotel the look of a molting beast. Elizabeth wrinkled her nose, hoping they wouldn't have to stay there very long. She bet the interior didn't look any better than the exterior....and she didn't even want to think about the possible smell.

Elizabeth waited patiently as the others got out of the wagon. Rose was first of course, then Meg. Amy looked like she wanted to hang back for a moment, then gave a hearty shrug and bounced down to the packed dirt. Elizabeth felt more than a little reluctance herself. Despite it, she didn't refuse Teddy's hand when he offered it.

Dust rose from her feet as they hit the ground, and it drifted up onto her clothes. Elizabeth brushed at it futilely, before giving up. The dust in this town was lively and tenacious, if nothing else was.

William stepped in front of the girls, as was proper for their cover, and mounted the stairs of the hotel. The four girls followed him, Amy gaily chattering to Meg. Teddy followed behind, his sleeves rolled up to display his massive forarms. He looked like he didn't like this place any more than Elizabeth did.

As she feared, the inside was as dilapidated as the rest of this hole-in-the-ground town. The floral paper -- or what was left of it, having peeled off in so many places -- was faded and yellowed with age. Brown specks dotted the walls, and Elizabeth hoped it was just chewing tobacco. The air was stale and stank of sweat and smoke.

A once-elegant desk stood between the entourage and a crabby-looking man. With little hair and even less mirth, he looked up from his newspaper. To say he scowled at the group before him would have been understatement.

"Do you need something?" he asked.

So much for friendly service, Elizabeth lamented.

"Good afternoon, my good man," William spoke up, planting his famed smile firmly onto his face. "We would like three rooms for the night, please."

The man made a big show of putting his paper down and opening the ledger book that took up most of the desk's surface. "Let me see if we have any vacancies," he scoffed.

"He must be joking," Amy whispered to Beth. "This place looks like even insects wouldn't stay here!"

"First class suites, then?" the man inquired, looking directly at Amy, who seemed to shrink under the glare. "I know it ain't much, but it's a bed to sleep in."

One look at Rose told Elizabeth that there would be a lecture later, but for the moment securing the rooms was priority. "It's a lovely establishment," she placated.

"You're in luck," the clerk said, turning the book around so William could sign in. "We just happen to have three rooms in close proximity to one another. You don't gotta break up the happy family." He smiled an alarmingly knowing smile. "That'll be nine dollars, please."

William paid, never once losing his smile, and ushered the girls toward the stairs. Apparently there was no bellboy to escort them.

Elizabeth thought that three dollars a night for a room was extortion for someplace like this. Even fifty cents would have been too much. Unfortunately, if this was the only hotel in town, this was what they were stuck with.