her head tried to hold on to half a dozen children talking to them in a language Belle didn’t understand Carrie had told her they were immigrants people who had come to America from other countries hoping for a better life They expected to farm in Colorado Women got off the train and stood on the metal platform and searched the crowd for their husbands then smiled when they found them Belle watched one woman as she hugged a man As his face turned red he removed her arms But she would have none of it Six months since I’ve seen you and I’ve the right to a little affection she said But there was no Papa One by one as their husbands claimed them the women left the platform a few getting into automobiles or trucks but most into wagons The immigrants too crowded into rickety wagons and drove off across the brown prairie leaving only the Martins A few people glanced at Mama who looked frail and sick and leaned against Carrie for support But they didn’t ask what was wrong or offer to help And nobody paid attention to Belle who stood at the edge of the rough boards holding the hands of two little girls Sarah age four and Becky two Belle’s brother Frank eleven sat on 2 HARDSCRABBLE
Chapter One one of their trunks with another brother Gully five Beside them were boxes and barrels of dishes and pots and pans and sacks of flour and sugar There were containers of salt and spices and dozens of other items Mama thought they would need on a farm We haven’t seen Papa for six months either Where is he Belle Is he coming Frank asked He’ll be here He expects us He promised to meet us Then she added Maybe he got the day wrong This is June 11 1910 isn’t it And this is Mingo Colorado isn’t it Frank shrugged in a How would I know gesture Belle tried not to think of the conversation she had overheard on the train A man had been talking about a woman who had arrived in Mingo just a week earlier to meet her husband only to discover he wasn’t there at all He was supposed to have left the East to file for a homestead near Mingo but instead he’d taken their money and run off So there she was no husband and not enough money to buy a ticket back to where she’d come from Belle half expected to see the woman standing on the platform still but of course she was gone The Martins too didn’t have the money for return 3
tickets to Iowa That was why they had come here because their money was gone But she wasn’t worried Papa wasn’t like that man He loved them He’d written home that he was counting the days until his family joined him She glanced at her big sister Carrie was fifteen three years older than Belle four years older than Frank Carrie held tight to Mama who was holding the baby in her arms The baby was only six weeks old and didn’t have a name Mama had said she’d wait until they got to Colorado so that Papa could name him Mama had felt poorly even before the baby came The doctor had told her she was not to go to Colorado until he was born Then after the baby arrived the doctor had wanted her to stay in Iowa for a few more months before moving to Mingo She still wasn’t well But Mama had insisted she would be fine as soon as she saw Papa The sight of him would be better than any rest or medicine either she’d claimed Mama didn’t seem worried that Papa hadn’t met them but Belle could tell that Carrie was Carrie led Mama to a bench and told her to rest Mama nodded and sat down the baby in her lap Then Carrie went to Belle She’d forgotten 4 HARDSCRABBLE
Chapter One she’d told Belle to hush and she whispered I don’t under stand where Papa is He ought to be here It’s not right his making Mama wait He’s coming Belle said You always worry She was right Sometimes Carrie acted like a grown-up She fussed over Mama and she often did the cooking and washing and caring for the baby when Mama was tired He’ll be here Belle said stubbornly She looked out across the prairie The grasses gold in the late-afternoon sun waved in the wind that blew dust and dirt onto the platform There wasn’t a tree to block the view There wasn’t a sign of Papa either I don’t think Mingo’s what Mama expected it to be Carrie said She told me there’d be crops and flowers that it would be green I’ve never seen so much brown It’s ugly Carrie glanced at her mother who sat softly humming to the baby Belle stared at her sister for a moment Although she sometimes brooded Carrie like their mother rarely complained When trouble came Carrie would press her lips together then smile and say that things could be worse Well she said smiling now at Belle I think this farm 5
