Larry Wallbertson, or Luckless Larry, as he was known by the citizens of Independence, Missouri, was notoriously unlucky, and had been since he was a child. From a young age, he sought solace in the soothing confines of the kitchen, and learned how to cook very well, even better than Ma. Unlike his three older brothers, Larry clearly was not destined for any trade in particular, despite Pa's numerous attempts to teach him one, and he accepted working in the Wallbertson Family General Store as his life's work. In 1849, when the rumor that James Marshall found gold in the California Republic was confirmed and the news reached Larry's small town, even he caught a little gold fever. He ignored the townsfolk's palpable lack of faith in his abilities, and the taunts of the perpetual bullies, Stu and Stan Ralston, and decided to take on the daunting and dangerous, two-thousand-mile Overland Trail to find his fortune in gold. Life in the gold country was exceedingly hard, and few miners truly found success. Larry was faced with physical and mental challenges and survived in a very unconventional way.

Luckless Larry and the California Gold Rush

By Stephanie Munn-Tsukada

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2011 Stephanie Tsukada
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4567-5358-0

Contents

Part One YOUNG LARRY................................................1Chapter One MIND OVER MATTER........................................3Chapter Two SHOWCASE NIGHT..........................................11Part Two LIFE CHOICE................................................15Chapter Three TO WORK...............................................17Chapter Four TWEENKLE...............................................19Chapter Five FROM RUMOR TO REALITY..................................23Chapter Six "WHY NOT LARRY?"........................................29Chapter Seven THANKS, BUT NO THANKS.................................33Chapter Eight BIRTHDAY SURPRISE.....................................37Part Three THE TRAIL................................................45Chapter Nine DEPARTURE..............................................47Part Four HOME AWAY FROM HOME.......................................73Chapter Ten HANGTOWN GEMS...........................................75Chapter Eleven ANGUS................................................81Chapter Twelve ONE PROBLEM SOLVED...................................87Chapter Thirteen TURNAROUND.........................................97Chapter Fourteen MISTAKE(S).........................................111Chapter Fifteen VERNAL SPLENDOR.....................................117Chapter Sixteen PRODUCE GALORE!.....................................123Chapter Seventeen SPRINGTIME GOOD-BYE AND HELLO.....................127Chapter Eighteen HOME AGAIN.........................................131CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES................................................135

Chapter One

MIND OVER MATTER

Larry tested his luck yet again. For about the hundredth time that morning, he cast his line into the calm, clear lake and watched his baited hook come to rest a few feet below the surface. He sat by his empty fishing pail, let his long legs dangle over the edge of the narrow wooden dock, and waited impatiently. Every time he came to the lake, he did everything that his Pa had taught him to do—yet he never caught a single fish. It wouldn't be so bad if fish in the lake were scarce, or if his three older brothers never caught any either, but the lake was teeming with fish, and Daniel, William, and Henry always came home with full pails. That was humiliating enough, but what was worse was that even his little sister, Samantha, with her short little pole, managed to reel in fish after fish.

He felt a teeny movement at the end of his line and leaned forward for a better view. He shaded his eyes and saw a medium-sized fish with pretty little iridescent scales nibbling the bait. Excitement rushed through his body. This could be the one, thought Larry. Today, I will be the victor!

"Come on, fish. That big, juicy worm is just for you," muttered Larry, leaning out even farther.

He held the line as steady as possible and watched the fish slowly circle the bait as if sizing it up. Larry barely breathed, praying like mad for a catch. The fish paused. Then, it darted forward with its mouth wide open like a baby bird and chomped the worm, swallowing it whole. It was a wonderful moment. Unfortunately, Larry only had a fraction of a second to congratulate himself.

"Luckless Larry! Whatcha doin'?!" two very distinct voices screeched in unison.

Startled, Larry toppled off the dock and into the chilly water. The weight of his overalls and long-sleeved shirt dragged him several feet down, to the mucky bottom, where he landed squarely on his bare feet. Slimy mud squished between his toes, and he immediately pushed off, frog-kicking toward the light. He broke the surface and took a huge breath of air. Treading water with difficulty, he rubbed his eyes to clear his vision, and when he opened them he grimaced at a doubly displeasing sight. Standing with their huge, dirty feet planted firmly on the edge of the dock were two of Larry's classmates, Stu and Stan Ralston. The oversized, rectangular-shaped twins, who were known more for their brawn than their brains, grinned down at Larry.

Larry did not return their smiles. He looked up at their round faces and said, "What did you do that for?"

The twins glanced at each other and giggled. "To see you fall in, Luckless Larry! Why else?" said Stu.

Larry glared at them and said, "Well, I'm done falling, so leave me alone."

"Not before we help you out," said Stan, extending a beefy hand.

"I don't need your help. Besides, you'd just drop me back in," Larry said, dog-paddling back to shore.

"Naw, dropping's no fun. We'd rather throw you in, Luckless Larry," said Stu.

"We wanna see a big, big splash," said Stan. "So, we're gonna throw yer scrawny little body really, really high."

Larry knew that they weren't kidding and tried to hurry. He struggled to get through a mess of cattails growing in the waist-deep water and hoisted himself onto the muddy shore. "I'm sure the splashes would be a lot more impressive if you took turns pushing each other in," he called over his shoulder.

Stu and Stan looked at each other and frowned. "What's he tryin' to say?" asked Stu.

"I think he's callin' us fat, Stu," said Stan.

Stu glared at Larry and yelled, "We ain't fat! Ma says we just got big bones!"

With his hands and one knee firmly planted on the slippery ground, Larry was able to stand. He looked at the twins and sighed. He suspected that he probably should have kept his mouth shut. "I didn't call you fat. I—" he started to say.

Stan didn't let him finish. "Maybe you didn't say 'fat', but you, ah, you ... It doesn't matter! We're still gonna teach you a lesson," he said.

"Oh, no," Larry muttered. He turned to run but slipped and fell flat. He felt the ground shudder as Stu and Stan jumped off the dock and landed solidly on the ground behind him.

Larry's sprawled position and the weight of his wet clothing rendered a second attempt to retreat hopeless. Each twin grabbed one of his arms and legs and carried him onto the dock and to its edge. Larry squirmed with all his might, but Stu and Stan had vise-like grips on his wrists and ankles. They swung him back and forth, nauseatingly higher and higher, blurring the flashing images of dock, water, sky, sky, water, dock. Larry knew he had to think of something fast or he was doomed.

"One," the twins said.

Larry's churning stomach protested, making it difficult to concentrate, and he hoped his breakfast would stay down. Breakfast, he thought. Food.

"Two," the twins yelled.

"Pie!" yelled Larry.

Larry was dropped on the dock like a ton of bricks. Stu and Stan whipped their heads around frantically sniffing the air.

"Where?" asked Stu.

"What kind?" asked Stan.

In a blink, Larry scrambled up, grabbed his bucket, and raced off the dock. He charged up the slight incline as fast as his wet clothes allowed, skirting low-lying bushes and large rocks, and made it to the dirt road before the boys realized they'd been duped.

They pursued, throwing dirt clods and rocks as they lumbered along.

"We're gonna git you, Luckless Larry," yelled Stu.

"You can't run from us," yelled Stan.

Oh, yes, I can, thought Larry. He pushed himself to go faster. The pounding sound of their labored gaits and the painful drizzle of objects whacking his back and head...