As she nervously stepped from ship to pier a church bell reverberated, marking the moment. She chuckled; it had been a patch of dirt with lumber piles when she’d left. Bereft. Shamed. Everything had changed. A pair of would-be miners jostled her as they hurried to get on with their fortune hunt. The stocky one tipped his hat, “Beggin’ pardin, ma’am,” he sneered. The reedy one nodded, pulled his partner’s sleeve, eager to go. She had changed too. She searched for her mutton-chopped Bohemian friend. His offer letter top of mind, she strode forward eager to claim her own prospects.