Riding Freedom

One-eyed Charley becomes a local legend and hero after news of the harrowing bridge crossing circulates. Children begin throwing coins in front of Charley’s coach when she comes to town, thinking it is good luck if the one-eyed driver runs over your coin. A young boy asks Charley what he will buy with all his gold coins, and Charlotte replies that she will buy something “I’ve wanted since I was knee-high” (109). Charlotte has left Sacramento and is now driving a route between Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista. She is sleeping in a way station hayloft, which she describes as “pitiful” (110). The conditions are poor and the food is terrible. She has enough money saved to buy her own place, and she likes the foggy mountain terrain in this part of California. Her dream of buying a ranch is within reach. Charlotte finds a piece of property for sale in a town called Watsonville. It has a cabin, corrals for horses, and chickens. A woman named Margaret approaches Charlotte and explains that she lives on a little parcel attached to the property. Margaret is a recent widow who takes care of the chickens, but she will soon have to leave because the bank is going to foreclose on the house.