It was the next morning, before she left for school, that Charlie remembered to look up the word. She went to pull down the dictionary

from the shelves in Murdoch's library, and sounded out the word to herself, running her fingers over the words.

Reprobate: Unprincipled person, scoundrel, good-for-nothing; a sinner who is predestined to damnation.

It sounded even worse now.

Charlie puzzled over those words, and how Alice had connected them to old Burl, as she rode to school on Gurth.

She'd dallied so long, letting Gurth drift along at his own pace, and then walked slowly from the stable towards school, that

the bell was ringing when she still had a ways to walk yet.

Even though she ran the last bit, the other children were already at their desks, and Miss Susan up front by the time Charlie

entered, a little breathless.

"You're late," John said, under his breath as Charlie passed by his seat. Wishing she could give him a good pinch, Charlie slid

into her desk seat.

Miss Susan only nodded at Charlie and said nothing about her rushed entry. A fact which Charlie was grateful for. Some of the

teachers at the boarding school had been less than tolerant of any arrival that wasn't strictly on time.

With the excitement and confusion of the day before, and then the busy evening in town, Charlie hadn't completed her

homework. Handwriting and arithmetic sums. Miss Susan frowned about that, though she didn't say much in front of the other

children. As she dismissed for the first recess, Miss Susan asked Charlie to stay inside.

When she asked why the homework wasn't finished, Charlie told her briefly what had happened, and that it had been

busy, trying to help Burl.

"I've seen that man around town occasionally," the teacher said. "I've often wondered about him." She finished by saying

that Charlie could do double the handwriting that evening to make up her work, and then let her go on outside to join

the other children.

Even though the teacher had been kind, Charlie still felt embarrassed. Scott wouldn't be pleased if he knew she hadn't

done her homework the evening before. He'd just trusted her and assumed that she'd been responsible about it. And, admittedly,

she could have done the school work when she and Teresa had been home alone, waiting for Johnny. She'd just felt too

restless, and anxious.

At recess Charlie went off with Rebecca, and told her all about what had happened the day before. They were sitting on the knob

of a in-ground cellar that was near the schoolyard, when they were joined by Lucy. Charlie and Rebecca naturally stopped

their conversation about Burl as Lucy walked closer. Charlie knew how Lucy felt about the old man. Thinking that he was strange,

and scary.

When Lucy said 'hello', both Rebecca and Charlie answered politely.

"I'm having my birthday party soon," Lucy announced, sitting down beside the other girls, and arranging her dress neatly

around her ankles. "I'm going to invite both of you to come."

"That's nice," Rebecca said.

Charlie stayed still, thinking that she didn't particularly care to go to Lucy's house for a party. She had the fairly certain notion, though, that

Teresa would be in favor of the idea.

Lucy began rattling on then about what she'd overheard her father discussing with her mother. It was about Burl, and to that, Charlie

paid attention.

"That old place that he lives in doesn't even belong to him," Lucy was reporting. "It belongs to someone that used to live 'round here,

and he moved away. And Mr. Carson at the freight office got a letter from the man, because he'd written him saying that there was

a squatter in his house." Lucy paused to take a breath, and then continued, obviously enjoying the attention she had from both Charlie

and Rebecca. "And so now the man that owns it, is going to come and throw the old man out."

Rebecca was wide-eyed, and Charlie was, at first, speechless, at the thought of Burl being homeless. Where would he stay? He had

no money. And he had all those dogs, too...

Suddenly overwhelmed, with Lucy's overbearing ways, and with the anxiety about Burl, Charlie stood up, and went back into

the school house.

The rest of the day didn't improve overly much after that. Charlie found it hard to concentrate on the lessons, and at lunchtime, Lucy

wanted to continue talking about what she knew.

"Probably it's not even true," Rebecca said, in a low tone to Charlie, trying to comfort her.

After school was dismissed for the day, Charlie went as swiftly as she could to the jail office. When she went in, Val

wasn't around, though. The coffee pot was still warm to her touch, though, so Charlie didn't think he'd been gone long.

She thought she would wait for a few minutes, and busied herself sweeping up the office, and then the two jail cells.

When she heard the door open and then close again, she went out, broom in hand.

Val greeted her with a 'Hullo there, J.C.' Just Charlotte. His nickname for her.

"Did you see Burl this morning?" Charlie asked, abruptly.

"'Well, hello to you, too, Mr. Val,'" Val said mockingly. "How have you been, Mr. Val?"

"Sorry," Charlie said. "Hello, Mr. Val."

"Hullo," Val returned.

He went to sit down behind his desk, opening the desk drawer and sorting thru it. Charlie went to stand at the corner of the desk.

"Been sweepin' up for me, huh?' Val asked her.

"While I was waiting for you, I figured I might as well."

"Well, thank you very much," Val said.

"You're welcome. Did you go out to see Burl?"

"Yes, I did." He sat back in his chair, regarding Charlie.

"How was he?" Charlie asked, anxiously.

"He seemed alright," Val said.

"He wasn't mixed up? He knew who you were, right off?" Charlie asked.

"He seemed to know me. Said he was feeling some better."

"Oh. Well, that's good," Charlie said, going to put the broom away. She returned to stand beside the desk again, biting at her

lower lip.

"Lucy Stone says that her father said that Burl doesn't own that shack. And that the man who does own it, is going to come to

town, and throw Burl out," Charlie said.

Val looked serious, but was silent, and after a moment or so, Charlie asked, "Can he do that? Put Burl out, I mean?"

"If he has a deed to the property to prove it's really his, and he doesn't want Burl there, then yes, he can do that."

"But, it's nothing but a shack," Charlie protested. "What harm is it doing for Burl to stay there?"

"I don't think that it's about 'harm', necessarily," Val said. "More about ownership, and the laws."

"But, can't you do something? So that he doesn't get thrown out?" Charlie persisted.

"I'm not familiar with who really owns the property, but if, and when, somebody does come to me and show me a deed, and request Burl

be put out, then I would have to honor that."

Charlie was torn between understanding his reasoning, and being appalled at the laws of the adult world. At her silence,

Val said, kindly, "You're old enough to understand that, aren't you?"

Charlie nodded, reluctantly.

"How about we go get a cold lemonade?" Val suggested.

"I have to get home," Charlie said. "I didn't tell anyone I was staying in town after school. They'd be worried."

"Alright. Next time, then, hmm?" Val dug into his pocket, and pulled out some coins. He held out two nickels to her. "This is for

cleaning up around here."

"You don't have to pay me," Charlie said.

"Sure, I do. I told you from the beginning that if you kept it tidy around here, that I'd consider it a paying job. A deal is a deal. Take

the money."

"Okay," Charlie said, taking the two coins from him. "Thank you."

She said her goodbyes to Val, and went on to the stable, to collect Gurth.

At the fork in the road, she wished she could turn left, and go see Burl, but she resisted, and turned Gurth to the right, toward

the ranch.

Once at home, after she'd cooled Gurth down, and turned him out, Maria sent her upstairs to change her clothes, and then

gave her the chore of picking the garden vegetables. After she'd toted the basket to the back door, and washed her hands,

Maria had a glass of cold milk for her to drink, and two oatmeal cookies, fresh from the oven. Charlie finished the snack, and set

her glass near the sink.

"Donde esta Murdoch? Scott?" she asked Maria, in halting Spanish.

Her attempts always pleased Maria, who smiled at Charlie and shook her head in reply.

"Trabajando," Maria replied.

Charlie shook her head, as well. She didn't know that word. Maria made a gesture towards the outside, and Charlie understood

that she was saying the men were out working somewhere.

That was common, at this time of the day. Still, Charlie wished that Scott was nearby to talk to. Or Murdoch. She knew that Teresa was

not at home, either. The buggy had been absent from its customary spot.

Charlie gathered her school work, and went to the library, sitting behind Murdoch's big desk, and attempting to do her

handwriting. It was too hard to concentrate, so she gave it up, and went to the barn to play with the latest batch of kittens. Cuddling them, with

their soft fur against her cheeks, calmed Charlie.

She heard the horses coming in, and the sound of men's voices. She put the kittens back with their mother, and went to the barn

door, and then running over to the corral to greet them. Several of the hands stood, talking to Murdoch and Scott. When Scott was

finished, and heading her way, Charlie opened the gate for him to come thru.

"Thanks, kiddo," Scott greeted her. "How was your day?"

"It was a long day," Charlie said, in honesty, closing the gate, as Scott took over, hooking it again.

"Was it?"

Charlie nodded.

"It was a long day around here, too," Scott told her, with a smile.

"I stopped to see Mr. Val. He said he went out to see Burl this morning."

"How did he say he was?"

"He thought he was better, I guess."

"That's good," Scott said, as they began walking towards the house together. "Have much school work to do tonight?"

Charlie didn't particularly care to discuss school work right then. "I have some," she settled for saying.

"Better get on it, while Maria's finishing supper up," Scott told her.

"Can't I do it after supper?" she asked.

"Why?" Scott asked, looking down at her, as they walked.

"I want to talk to you."

"Important talk, huh?" he asked, with another slight smile.

Charlie nodded solemnly.

"Alright. Let me get a cold drink, and we can sit down and talk for awhile," he said.

"I'll get your drink for you," Charlie volunteered. "Do you want lemonade?"

"Lemonade sounds wonderful."

At the front door, they parted ways, as Charlie sped off to the kitchen, to pour Scott a tall glass of the cold lemonade. She carried

it carefully, so as not to spill, to the library, where Scott was already sitting, on the end of the comfortable settee. He had his

sleeves rolled up, and Charlie handed him the glass.

"Good and cold," he said, in appreciation, after he'd taken a long drink of the lemonade.

Charlie sat down next to him, and Scott lowered the glass, resting it on one knee.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked.

Charlie told him, in a rush, what Lucy had said about how Burl would likely be evicted from the shack. And how she'd asked Val

about it, and he'd said he would have no choice but to follow thru.

"Hmm," Scott said, in reply, looking serious.

"What if it's true? Where can he go?" Charlie asked. "He doesn't have any money."

"We don't know that he doesn't have any money."

"He can't have, though," Charlie protested. "Why would he live the way that he does, if he had any money?"

"There could be many reasons. People's behaviors aren't always easily understandable."

At Charlie's look of confusion, Scott went on. "He might be confused, as to whether he's put some money up somewhere, or something

like that."

By now, Murdoch and Teresa had come into the library, during the conversation, and sat down.

"Do you really think so?" Charlie asked, sitting up very straight, and feeling excited.

"It's a possibility-"

"Then if he has some money, he could use it to get another place to live!" Charlie said, with enthusiasm. "A real house, not like that

shack!"

"That's right," Teresa said, in agreement.

"I said that he might have some money put up," Scott corrected. "I don't know that he definitely does."

"Well, we could help him look," Charlie went on. "And, maybe, then he might remember if he did put money somewhere-"

"That place could use a good cleaning, anyway," Teresa interjected.

"We could have a cleaning day!" Charlie said. "We could pack some food, and go over, and really look thru things!"

"Like those trunks, hmm?" Murdoch asked her knowingly, with a raised eyebrow.

Charlie gave him a small smile. "Maybe that's where we'll find lots of money-at the bottom of one of the trunks."

"Maybe so," Murdoch said, smiling back at her, indulgently.

"Besides," Teresa offered, "Even if he doesn't have any actual money, those bolts of brocade could be sold-they're worth

quite a lot, surely."

Charlie smiled gratefully at the older girl. "Yes!"

As they went into the supper table, Teresa remarked that she didn't know how Burl had survived the last winter

in that shack, with the thin walls, and the wind whistling thru.

And, though she didn't say so at precisely that moment, Charlie determined to herself that, by the time the winter

winds were blowing again, Burl would be warm and comfortable in a much better house.

L