Chapter 1: The Welcoming Committee

A freshly cut deck of cards can smell like money to high stakes gamblers. The thrill of betting their whole wallets, then winning a man's life savings with a pair of aces would give anyone a rush of excitement.

Albert had learned that feeling when he was a young orphan living on the streets, had to unlearn it when he was taken in by the Ingalls and relearned the sensation all over again some years later. Charles would be furious to see his adopted son now, sweating buckets and fighting with his hands to stop them from shaking. Albert's medical school tuition money, roughly fifty dollars, was sitting on the table in front of him.

Albert glanced over to Andrew and Willie, who were carefully watching the game of cards unfold, along with the two dozen other spectators in the saloon. Willie was chewing on a wad of tobacco, needing something to keep his nerves down. Andrew, who normally would have a beer in his hand, had his fingers carefully wrapped around a pistol that was tucked behind his back, just in case something were to go wrong in the next few moments.

The young man's gaze went back to the person sitting across the table, a well dressed businessman with a lit cigar between his lips. Albert could barely read his stone cold expression, while he was certain Mr. Brady could read his face like a children's book. He could not remember a time he was this nervous...this terrified. One wrong move and Albert's life would be destroyed.

"What's your move, Ingalls?"

Albert glanced down at his cards, for the first time feeling doubtful in his skills as a gambler and just as when this game was turning out to be the most high stakes gamble of his life. It was hard to remember how exactly Albert had gotten himself and his friends into a tense situation like this. Suppose it all started when Mr. Brady came to Walnut Grove and built the Silver Coin Saloon.

Three Years Prior

It was early in the morning when the sound of hammers echoed through the streets of Walnut Grove. Next to the Feed 'n' Seed, right across from Doctor Baker's and the post office, a large building was being constructed. Passersby marveled at the height and scale of the structure. The last time such a place was built in town, it was for Nellie's restaurant and hotel. Walnut Grove was certainly not busy enough to warrant two hotels, or two mercantiles, or even two school houses.

The truth of it was that none of the town residents knew what that building was going to be. All they knew was that one day a rich businessman from Chicago showed up, bought the small piece of land and then teams of men began setting up the large foundation the very next day. Speculation ran wild as the construction moved forward at lightning speed. Within the week, walls were firmly in place and windows were being installed.

Harriet Oleson had a front row seat to the work being done from the safety of her own store. Staring out the windows, Harriet squinted to see if she could recognize any key feature that could help her identify the purpose of that building.

"Good morning, Mrs. Oleson." A familiar voice stole her attention away.

Harriet turned around to see Caroline Ingalls and Alice Garvey walking into the store front. "Oh! Caroline. Alice. Good morning. Can I help you?"

"We wanted to look at some fabrics." Caroline explained.

Harriet nodded her head and walked over to the fabric stash. "Of course."

"You still haven't heard word on what that new building is supposed to be?" Alice asked, motioning back outside.

"No, I haven't." Harriet huffed. She normally knew the business of the entire town, whether she was meant to or not. "That Mr. Brady hasn't even been back into town since he bought the land. I tried asking Mr. Anderson if he knew what was going on over there, but he had no idea either."

Caroline shook her head. The whole town was curious about what was being built, but many were nervous as well. "A building that size looks like it belongs in the city. You'd think that it would be required to tell the town council what this Mr. Brady's intentions were with the land."

"It just better not disturb our business here or at the hotel." Harriet snapped. Walnut Grove was her little town. As much as she told people that she would rather be living in the city than a small farming community, the truth was that she secretly enjoyed being the town's social elite.

"Well, with the speed at which they're building, we'll know what it is soon enough." Alice commented with slight disdain in her voice.

Back outside and across the dirt street from the mercantile, the men working at Hanson's mill were having their own conversations about the new building.

"I think it's going to be a trading post." Joe Kagan said to Jonathan Garvey and Charles Ingalls, who were loading up his wagon for a delivery out of town. "You know, like one where you can trade furs and stuff for supplies."

"The Oleson's can trade." Charles stated, quickly glancing in the direction of the construction, but immediately pretending like he did not care. "Besides, not many fur trappers pass through here to get supplies."

"Maybe it really is another hotel? Sleepy Eye and Mankato are growing fast. I wouldn't be surprised if we get their overflow."

"Mrs. Oleson better watch out if they're coming for her business." Jonathan chuckled, trying to find some amusement in the situation. "I take it she won't be too kind to competition."

"That she won't." Joe agreed. "Am I all loaded up?"

"You're good." Charles answered after securing the last stack of wood. "Have a safe trip."

"I expect that building to be done by the time I get back." Joe Kagan waved and started his team. "See ya'."

Charles and Jonathan watched Joe drive off, but then slowly turned their attention across town. There had to be a dozen men working on the construction of that one building, bringing in all of their own materials and supplies. Most figured that a single rich man would not have the funds to hire that many people for a large-scale project, so the building might be backed by a large company and Mr. Brady was just a figurehead.

Charles absolutely hated the idea of a big-time company waltzing into Walnut Grove and setting up shop. This town was filled with honest, hardworking farming folk, who certainly did not want any interference from city slickers trying to industrialize their town. "We should have stopped Mr. Brady from building on that land from the very beginning."

"Come on, Charles." Jonathan was worried about the new building too, but there was no way they could deny its existence now. "Mr. Anderson said as soon as Brady signed the papers, the men came in to start building. How could we stop something we had no idea about?"

"We should have gotten all of the farmers together to stop the construction until we learned what that building was supposed to be." Charles stated bluntly.

"Well, by the way they're working, we'll know soon enough. Who knows, maybe it'll be good for the town, Charles."

"Lord, I hope so."

Later that night at the Ingalls' little house, Charles sat down with the rest of his family to eat supper. Talk mostly consisted of school, Laura getting a 'B+' on her history paper, Albert getting an 'A' on his arithmetic homework and Carrie getting a pat on the back for trying. Unfortunately to Charles' disliking, the conversation quickly changed to that new building.

"Willie said he snuck over to the back of the building and saw them moving in tables and chairs." Albert told his folks. "Do you really think it might be another restaurant?"

"I hope not." Caroline commented, thinking about the job she worked hard in to help support her family. "Because if it is, Mrs. Oleson is going to have a fit."

"Almanzo told me that he saw wagons with bed frames coming into town." Laura added. "I'm not sure what else it could be besides another hotel."

Charles shook his head at the situation. "Walnut Grove doesn't need another hotel."

"What if it really is a big company trying to put Nellie's out of business?" Albert continued to ask questions, as any curious fourteen year old would. "What would happen to your job then, ma?"

"Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, Albert." Caroline stopped her son's rambling. "The fact is that we don't know what that building is and there's apparently not much we can do about it now."

"Pa?" Laura looked over to her father. "You don't like that new building, do you?"

Charles took a sip of his coffee before answering. "No, darling. I don't. It just doesn't seem right to me that some stranger can come into our town, buy up some land and start building something in the middle of town that the rest of us don't want."

Caroline sighed at her husband's stubborn tone. "Well, who are we to stand in the way of progress?"

The next morning, a whole mess of children were gathered outside of the schoolhouse, waiting for Miss Wilder to ring the bell to start class. Laura, Albert, Carrie and Andy Garvey were crowding around the staircase, when Willie Oleson sprinted up to them. "Guys! Guys!"

"What is it, Willie?" Albert acknowledged his friend.

"They're putting up a sign at the new building." Willie rushed to tell them.

"What did it say?" Laura asked.

"I don't know. There was a tarp over it, but they're hanging it up right now. Let's go!"

The whole group, along with the rest of the school children who had overheard what Willie said, ran across town to finally learn what that new building was supposed to be.

The kids watched from a safe distance as the men finished hammering into place the large sign right above the main entrance, still covered up by the tarp. Some passersby noticed the herd of children and went over to see what they were waiting for. Everyone held their breaths as the working men began to finish up on the sign.

"It's another hotel. What else could it be?"

"It's going to be another general store!"

"It's gonna be a trading post."

"I want it to be a club house!"

"Be quiet, Carrie."

Without warning, the tarp covering the sign hanging above the entryway fell to the ground. Gasps could be heard in the crowd as everyone read the bright red and blue sign.

The Silver Coin Saloon.

"It's a saloon." Laura said in disbelief. "A saloon in Walnut Grove?"

"I can't believe it!" Willie exclaimed. "I gotta tell my ma!"

The Oleson boy pushed his way through the crowd of people and sprinted back over to his family's store. Running up the stairs, Harriet and Nels were both at the counter restocking shelves when their son ran in.

"Ma! Pa! It's a saloon!"

"Willie, what on earth are you talking about?" Nels questioned his boy.

"That new building, it's a saloon! The Silver Coin." Willie told them. "They just put up the sign."

Harriet's jaw dropped and she turned to Nels. "A saloon?"

In a quick second, the two adults stormed outside and across the way to see the revelation for themselves. The group of onlookers were still standing around in confusion and disdain for Walnut Grove' first saloon.

Harriet made her way through the crowd and stopped right in front of the building. "Oh Lord! The Silver Coin Saloon! This...this is unacceptable!"

The news spread like wildfire through the town. Walnut Grove was by far and away a dry settlement, peppered with only the occasional alcoholic. The vast majority of the residents only drank when it was prescribed by Doctor Baker. People who had previously lived in cities knew how saloons could impact the community around them: drunks roaming the streets at night, shooting off guns into the air and hollering their lungs out, gambling tables would steal people's money and saloon girls giggled in back alleyways.

A saloon had no business being in Walnut Grove.