
                                    CHAPTER ONE

         It was a cool November day but the sunlight pushed  through the
       coolness of the winter wind to bring a bit of warmth to the bulky
       man sitting on the top of the corral fence. The leather like face
       of the man showed long days of exposer to the hot California sun.
       A thick  moustache made  him look older than his actual years.
         Sam Bennet shaded  his eyes  against the bright  sunlight as he
       watched the  long haired  girl  coming  toward him from the house
       which  set in a  grove of  trees a short distance away.  From his
       place on the fence  that circled  the  stable barn he watched the
       wind toss her dark, beautiful hair over her shoulder.
         Valery was the pride of Sam Bennet and his wife. They would all
       spend many hours at night  before the kerosene lamp while  mother
       read to them from various books and the Bible. By the time Valery
       was seven years old she could read the  children's books  brought
       with them from South Carolina.
         Sam Bennet decided to come west even before the news that  gold
       was discovered at  Sutter's Mill and arrived in Sacramento before
       the "forty-niners" started pouring in from all over the country.
         California was a tough land in  those days. Along with the for-
       tune hunters  the usual crowd of con artists and prostitutes that 
       seemed to become a  permanent  fixture  among  the gold camps and
       saloons were not hard to find. Law was almost non existent except
       the larger towns would hire  their own  city marshall when it was 
       evident that some protection was needed against  the influx  of a
       lawless breed of drifters that ever seemed to grow in numbers.
         Sam never found gold but  was  able  to save  enough money in a
       few years to buy a small farm in walking distance of Los Angeles. 
       In 1851 Sam  was able move his family to the "City of The Angels"
       and settled down to raise saddle stock. It was not long before he
       had a good  sized  stable  to furnish  room and board for animals
       owned by many of the citizens of Los Angeles. In the coming years
       he came to  enjoy  a fair  amount of  security  with  the  stable
       because of his  dependable  service to the townsfolk. He had even
       hired a free black man called Jim to help him with the work.
         Sam, like  almost  every other resident of the Los Angeles area
       heard stories of how the  war between the north and the south was
       proceeding.  At times reports would be made of how Lee's army was
       making advances on the northern army and two or three days  later
       they heard  opposite stories.
         In the spring of 1864 Valery  met a  young banker with the name
       of Bayard Nelson. Sam could  see in  the following weeks she  was 
       getting more serious in the relationship and it seemed like young 
       Nelson  was at the house more than he was away.  Sam did not mind
       though because he came to like Bayard. As she approached the came 
       to the stable fence Valery cheerfully spoke to her father.
         "Mother told me to tell you the food is ready.  She wants us to
       eat early because Bayard is coming tonight." Sam jumped down from
       the fence.
         "Seems to me he has been  here  just  about every night. Anyway
       I'm ready," said Sam. Together they walked back to the house.
         It was late November of 1865 and Los Angeles was struggling  in
       the aftermath of the Civil War.  After the fighting ended much of
       the west was seeing its share of  migrants seeking new hope and a
       chance for a new beginning.  Though California was  not  directly
       involved in the  conflict that had  caused  the careless  tearing
       apart  of soul and  body between the north  and south, she reaped
       much of the  anger and  distrust among the  people  who came west
       after the war. The country was still in a state of shock from the
       assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The wounds of war would be slow
       in healing to those who  had given sons and husbands in many grim
       battles on a thousand hills and ridges.  The poverty that had now
       become the reward of many  southern troops would be a reminder of
       the war for many years to come. Some would never be able to climb
       out of it.  In contrast to the  large failure  of business in the
       south, many  of the businessmen in the  north made  fortunes from
       the spoils of the war.
         From  both north  and south came a migration of new settlers to
       the west. Some came  to seek adventure, others to find a new life
       from the war ravaged land of the south.  Los Angeles  was the end
       of the trail for her share of these new arrivals with their dream
       of a new life.  Some of them  arrived  in wagons with little more
       than a team of horses and an exhausted family that had been brave
       enough to face the trek over the mountains with the  obvious dan-
       gers that faced the pioneers of that time.
         The Civil War was one  of  the  prime  reasons  Bayard Nelson's
       father decided to send his son west.  Bayard  had  grown up under
       the  protective wing  of his father after the death of his mother
       when the lad was four years old.  In his  childhood  years he was
       exposed only to the elite circles of society of New York City. As
       the war became  worse and it looked like the  Confederacy had the
       upper hand, his father decided it  would  be a good  time to send
       his son west to keep him from the turmoil. The west was expanding
       and  Bayard's  father  felt the  boy had been  exposed to  enough
       experience in the banking business to be a success in California.
         Although it had  been  more  than  twenty years since the great
       California  gold rush and  the west was in a sort  of  sleepy and
       slow motion existence, the elder Nelson  believed that as soon as
       the war was over new settlers  would hammer  their  way  westward
       across the Mississippi to the new frontier.  He believed  that as
       more  people  caught the "Go West" fever, a new  excitement would
       grip  towns  such as Los Angeles. Sure  enough, after  the war, a
       boom time came for Los Angeles and Bayard's bank as well as other
       investments Bayard had made.
         More than two years  had  passed since Bayard's father sent him
       west to expand the vast financial  holdings of the Nelson's  when
       the news came that his father had died.  Everyone  still spoke of
       how hard Bayard had taken the news of the death of his father. He
       had brooded for  weeks  before he was able  to enter  public life
       again.  He had made a trip back to New York with  his good friend
       Charlie Winsted to settle the estate and sell all the holdings of
       the Nelson empire.  With the expansion  of the country because of
       the new pioneers, his  wealth experienced  even more growth until
       Bayard Nelson  was  known as one of  the richest men  west of the
       Mississippi.
         "It's been a very good year,"  were  the  thoughts of the young
       banker as he entered the bank on this cold December morning.  The 
       winters were  not as  cold in Southern California as in New York,
       but at times  there  were some  cold days.  It was such a morning
       that Bayard Nelson  entered the bank from the cold air.  Crossing
       the lobby of the bank  he entered his  office.  Bayard placed his
       briefcase on his desk and spoke to his secretary.
         "I'll be leaving early today."
         "Yes sir," answered the secretary. "Oh yes, Mister Nelson!  The
       man from the shipping  company  is waiting for you to give him an
       answer if you are still  wanting to buy the yacht. He said to let
       him know as soon as possible because  there is  another  buyer if
       you do not want it."
         "Send him a message," he replied. "I want it."    
         Bayard had  been  interested in  buying a fine  yacht  from the
       shipping company for about  two  months  but  had  never actually
       purchased a sailing vessel that was built in  Boston for the Czar
       of Russia.  A disagreement had come about between the company and
       the Czar over the terms of their delivery, so the Czar backed out
       of the deal and gave up his  deposit. Because  Bayard  Nelson was
       financially  able to  purchase the ship, he had been contacted by
       the shipping company.  At first sight Bayard decided he must have
       it.
       
         The dry dust settled quickly behind the carriage.  Bayard drove 
       toward  Sam Bennet's Stable. Off to his left he saw a jack rabbit
       run from a small  ditch and  speed across  the flat prairie.  The
       carriage horse snorted as the  rabbit  finally  disappeared  in a
       grove of trees.  This evening  Bayard had little interest for his
       surroundings  because his thoughts  were fixed on tonight's visit
       with  Valery Bennet.
         His relationship with her had grown into something more serious
       than just friendship.  What would be her answer if he were to ask
       her to marry him?
         "If I get a chance,  I'm asking her tonight,"  he thought as he
       slapped the reins on the horses rump.  His thoughts  moved to the
       new yacht he had bought today.
         "What a good wedding present the yacht will be. We can take our 
       honeymoon aboard it,"  he said to himself. "What a beauty she is,
       Valery will make a good wife."
         Bayard knew Valery's parents to be hard working people who made
       their living as  managers of a  good  stable.  It was more than a
       year ago when he first saw Valery.  She was  grooming a beautiful
       golden palomino at the stables.  He remembered  the sight she had
       been as she  stood  beside  the  beautiful horse.  He admired her
       beauty as her dark hair  responded to the movement of the breeze. 
       The memory  brought  a thrill to him  as he  recalled  how he had
       introduced himself and for  some reason had  found himself asking
       her to share a ride with him in him carriage. From that day on he
       and  Valery  had  become  almost  inseparable.  Bayard  liked the
       unhurried lifestyle of Valery and  her parents and liked to think
       of himself as they were.
         It was now seven-thirty in the evening.  As he  arrived  at the
       stables, he met the black stable  man called Jim, who  had a wide
       smile as he pulled the carriage to a stop.
         "Miss Valery  is expecting  you at the house Mister Nelson," he
       said a he took the reins of Bayard's horse.
         "Thank you Jim.,"  Bayard started  for the house which  was the
       home of Valery and her parents. As Bayard opened the gate, Valery
       ran across the yard to meet him.
         "Hello Valery," he said as he  grabbed her around the waist and
       swung her to him.
         "Hello yourself, my dear Mister Nelson, it's about time you got
       here," she said as she laughed. Holding hands they hurried inside
       where he greeted  Valery's  mother and father.  Bayard and Valery
       visited  with  Valery's parents  for a long time before he  asked
       her to take a walk with him. As they left the house a bright moon
       lit the night sky. The breeze was cold but Bayard and Valery wore
       warm  coats to ward off the chill.  Holding  hands they walked to
       the stables. When they came to the coral fence  they  stopped and
       Bayard leaned against the fence. He pulled Valery close to him.
         "Now is the time," he thought as he  watched  her  hair blow in
       the cold breeze.  Valery, will you be mine?"  Will you marry me?"
       He watched her reaction to his proposal.  In the bright moonlight
       he watched her eyes as they widened with joy.
         "Oh yes Bayard, yes." Valery's voice  was  unsteady.  They held
       each other close as the bright winter moon slipped behind a cloud
       and caused shadows to move across the stables. Bayard drew Valery
       close to him and kissed her. He felt her  hand go behind his head
       and hold him as she responded to him and returned his kiss.
            
         Valery was excited the next  morning as she went to the  stable
       to saddle her palomino horse.  The palomino was a gift her father
       gave her from his own stock. Her father was already there putting
       feed in troughs for the saddle stock.
         "I'm only going to ride down in the lower meadow," she told him
       as she put a saddle on the palomino.
         "You be careful," he said.
         "I will.  Did you hear  me tell  Mother about  the yacht Bayard
       bought yesterday?"
         "She told me at breakfast. She also told me something else."
         "What?"
         "She said you were going to marry him."
         "That's right," Valery said as she grinned.  "But Bayard wanted
       to ask your permission tonight."
         "I'll still let him ask." He smiled  as  he placed his  hand on
       her arm.
         "It was late last night when he asked me and we did not want to
       wake you and Mother," she explained.
         Just then Jim entered the stable.  His wide  smile was  easy to
       show and everyone knew how  much  Jim liked working with horses.
         "I'm going to ride around in the lower meadow Jim," Valery said
       to him. "Do you want to ride with me?"
         "Not this morning Miss Valery. I have too much to do."
         "Very well then, I guess I'll see you both later."  She mounted
       the palomino. "Bayard and I will  talk to you  tonight Dad."  She
       touched the toe of her  boot to the horse's side and rode out the
       gate as her father held it open for her.
         Many times Valery would  leave the  house  early and gallop her
       horse across  the  lower  meadow.  There was a privacy  about the
       meadow that made it Valery's favorite place to ride. She loved to
       feel a  thrill of  freedom  as she  let the horse go at  its  own
       speed.  This morning the air was cold and it made  her wide awake
       as it rushed by her face with the golden horse running across the
       meadow.
         As she guided the horse  down into a small  ravine and across a
       brook, her memory flashed back to over a year  ago when she first
       met Bayard Nelson.  At first she had  been  reluctant to show him
       any interest.  She had heard the tales  about the young leader of
       Los Angeles society, well known for his handsome looks, his care-
       free, flamboyant mode of  living  and  aristocratic stature.  She
       remembered the talk of how he had  taken the news of his father's
       death and the excitement  around  Los Angeles when he and Charlie
       Winsted came back from New York with the vast wealth of the great
       Nelson estate. She still remembered how she had tried to show him
       no interest, not  to  even  let  him see her looking at him as he
       drove his carriage into the stable. She thought of the many rides
       together in the following weeks and smiled as she fondly  thought
       of his embrace  and  long  kiss  last night  when he asked her to
       share  his life and  marry him.  She thought of the excitement he
       had shown when he told her of the  beautiful yacht he had bought.
       Valery was happy  with  thoughts  of Bayard's proposal to her and
       the thought of spending  her life with him.
         With all these  thoughts in  her mind Valery let the horse have
       its head. On and on across the meadow it ran. Her long hair waved
       in the wind as  she leaned forward in the saddle.  She shouted as
       the palomino jumped a small  ravine  and continued running across
       the meadow.
         On the lower side of the  meadow the  grass  had grown  to knee
       high and a hole in the ground could not be seen. The horse gave a 
       muffled snort as its leg plunged into the hole. Valery was thrown
       over the horse's head  and  gave  a cry as her head struck a rock
       protruding from the ground. The fallen palomino regained its feet
       and limped over to the unconscious Valery and nudged her with its
       nose.  Valery lay very still in the tall grass. A small bird flew
       close and  quickly  flew away as  the palomino  snorted. The wind
       blew across the meadow and the grass gently waved as Valery died.
       
       End of Chapter
