I MAKE NO MONEY OFF OF THIS. I AM DOING IT SOLELY FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT. I OWN NOTHING BUT A FEW ORIGINAL CHARACTERS.

Margaret's POV:

I sat on the porch of my family's general store in Little Boston. As I looked around I realized that there was nothing here. This town was drying up. The ground was bare and very little grew here. Many people came through on the railroad but very few ever stayed. There was little are far as livestock, and just like the wild game the people were moving on as well.

I watched as another load of people left on the train. I was lucky. I was born to one of the few families in Little Boston that had money. You wouldn't tell it just by looking at us. We didn't lie about our status but we didn't advertise it either. With the way that the local economy was it was hard to make a living and grandfather didn't want to take a chance on any of us getting hurt over money.

"Any prospects get off the train?" I heard my mother ask as she joined me on the front porch.

I smiled and turned to her. "None today, but the Leary brothers were the first ones on the train to leave."

I heard her sigh. "This poor town won't have anyone left if the young men keep leaving." She ran the back of her hand across her forehead to wipe away the sweat. "I just heard that Paul Sunday left nearly two weeks ago. That's why he wasn't at church last week or yesterday."

"I know. Mary told me yesterday when Mrs. Sunday and the girls were in town." I smiled back at her. "Don't worry. I knew he was leaving. Paul told me ages ago. He was going up north I think." Paul had always been sweet to me, but he knew that my loyalties were with my family. "He knew I wasn't ready to leave here. And he didn't really have the money for both of us anyway, I told him to go on without me. To live his life free of his family." I looked at her out of the corner of my eye.

She was looking at me. "Oh, my baby girl." She pulled me into a hug. "You are wiser than your years. You are so much like your daddy. I'm sorry that you didn't get to know him better, but he would be so proud of you." She kissed my head and pulled back.

"You're right. He would be proud of her. You have raised her into a fine woman, Kathryn. I am proud to call her my granddaughter." My grandfather looked at my mother and I with pride in his eyes. he turned back to the door. "Come inside, we have business to discuss." He went back into the building.

I looked back at mother "I think he wants dinner." I said laughing. She nodded and led the way back inside.

My Grandparents moved around the shop closing all of the blinds on the windows. My grandfather turned to us. "We are closing the shop early today. Business has been slow and we have some news to discuss with you." He moved towards the door to flip the sign around."

I followed my mother into the kitchen where started dinner. She started pulling the ingredients from the cabinets for biscuits and gravy. I watched my grandmother come in and start to help her. I had yet to master making biscuits. I could make gravy out of nearly anything but my biscuits came out flat and dry.

My grandmother had started to mix the ingredients together when she let out a gasp. We both turned to look at her. "I know why we haven't found you a husband yet, Maggie. It's because you have flat biscuits." She grinned as she looked at me. "I'm sorry my dear. I couldn't help it. Come up here, let's try again." she pulled me towards the counter.

"I don't know why we are even bothering to try again." I said as I looked from her to my mother. I took the spoon from her and started mixing.

I only made a couple of rotations around the bowl when she took the spoon back from me. "Now use your hands and finish the mix. You have been over stirring and I was hoping your mother would catch it but she didn't." she grinned at me.

I did as she instructed and dumped the batter onto the table and finished it by hand. I rolled them out and cut them and placed them into bake. While we waited my grandfather came in to visit with us. He grinned at me as he caught whiff of the biscuits baking in the oven. He stood up and peeked into the oven at them. He laughed as I shooed him away so that I could retrieve them. They looked like normal biscuits. Maybe grandmother was right.

I placed them on the table to cool before dinner. My grandfather sat down at the head of the table and we quickly placed the gravy and bacon down. I grinned as my mother and grandmother inspected them. He was the first to pick one up and take a bite. I was nervous until he smiled at me. "My dear, you have outdone yourself. At 20 years of age you have finally made an edible and well tasting biscuit." We fixed our plates and ate in a peaceful silence.

After we were done he spoke again. "After the table has been cleared I must ask that you sit back down. I have some business to discuss with you." He stood and walked to the cabinet and pulled out a small bottle of whisky. We quickly cleared off the table and returned to it.

"As you know I operate my business with my family. I always have and I always will. My business is your business." He pulled out a letter from his vest pocket. "I received this from Paul Sunday. As you know by now he no longer lives here. I sent in search of Daniel Plainview, the owner of Plainview and Son Oil. He was the one that was able to stake the Signal Hill well. I gave him some money for traveling and told him that once he found Plainview he could keep the rest and go where he wanted and that was near two weeks ago."

He unfolded the paper and started to read what it said. "I found Plainview last night. He questioned me and finally agreed to come and look in Little Boston. I am heading to the north. Goodbye, my friends. Thank you for all you have done. I hope to return someday. Yours always, Paul Sunday." When he finished he laid the paper back on the table.

My mother spoke next. "Is there oil here?" her voice was quiet.

My grandfather spoke as he pulled another letter from his vest pocket. "Yes, there is. Paul and I found it a few weeks ago when I took a wagon wheel out to their ranch. I received this from Mr. Plainview.

"This message is for Scott Jones the owner of Jones General Store. Upon the recommendation of a mutual friend of ours, Paul Sunday, I have decided to travel to Little Boston for a vacation home for my young son and myself. While I am in town I need to also conduct a little business, and I was hoping you could help me find the appropriate people to do so. Looking forward to making your acquaintance, Daniel Plainview." He looked up at us before continuing. "Through telegraphs over the past week I have made arrangements for Plainview and his son to come here. They are coming straight from Signal hill to scout the area. There will be here tomorrow on the train. They will be posing as quail hunters and are going to scout the Sunday Ranch. I told them we'd help however we could."

We sat in silence for a moment until my grandmother spoke "It is for the best. If we have oil, then we will have oil wells, which mean workers and people coming through here."

I cut her off. "Oil means money." I looked up at my grandfather.

"Yes my dear. Oil means money. Tomorrow when they get here I must ask you to show them to the Sunday ranch." He spoke sternly, which meant there was no room to argue.

I nodded and sat back in my chair. "Of course Grandfather, anything that you ask."

He nodded back at me and stood up. "I am tired. I think I am going to turn in for the night. Ladies I will see you in the morning. Goodnight my dears." He leaned over and kissed my grandmother on the forehead and turned to head upstairs.

My mother stood next "Goodnight girls. I told Mrs. Hess that I would help her clean the boarding house tomorrow. Her poor daughter-in-law is so large with child that she can barely move so it leaves just her to watch the children and the house." She smiled as she moved towards me. "Goodnight" She hugged me and went upstairs.

My grandmother and I both stood up and I turned towards her. "Do you think that this oil man will help us?"

"I am not sure, but I believe that he will bring a change to this land. I think that we mustn't lose hope." She smiled at me and went upstairs. I followed behind her up the stairs, stopping at my room while she went down the hall to hers.

I lay in bed and stared into the darkness, thinking about what might happen as I waited for sleep to take over. I imagined what Daniel might look like. He's probably short and fat, and really old. I giggled at image that popped into my head. With that I let sleep wash over me.