Messenger Twelve, James Lynn Bartz, The Westbound Stage, 2000
In the early 1800s, Reef Atherton grows up as a seaman on a slave ship called the Polar Star. He learns to put the suffering of the slaves out of his mind until he becomes rich enough to buy his own fleet of ships.
In the meantime, he meets, and marries, Robin Larrimore, a "god-kneeler" from upper-class Boston society. To enhance his wealth and position, she goads him into getting back into the slave trade. He refuses, and is forced into bankruptcy when his ships fail to return.
He travels to San Francisco in the midst of the Gold Rush days. He finds that the Polar Star has been dry-docked and turned into a floating brothel owned by Lin Thai-Saing, a totally unscrupulous person. A native of Hong Kong, he moved to San Francisco when the local competition got too fierce. Among the women forced to work for Thai-Saing is Caralina, a ten-year-old Italian girl with a beautiful singing voice.
Atherton gets on Thai-Saing's bad side, and is almost killed by a couple of his assassins when he tries gold prospecting to get money to buy another fleet of ships. When he recovers, Atherton becomes a Wells Fargo messenger, with the authority to carry a gun, and use it, to protect his cargo.
Thai-Saing legally sells Caralina to a Mormon doctor for $2500 in gold. He then pays a judge to issue a fugitive arrest warrant and sends a couple of his goons to get her back. Atherton's authority, and willingness, to use a gun ultimately foils their plans.
This is a very interesting and well done story. It gives the feeling of being historically accurate, and is a fine piece of writing.
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