Free Silver Dreams by Cynthia Thomason

and the silver mine was almost too much to resist. "It would be exciting..." she admitted. "And I could do it, too. I could write that story."
     
    Ross's voice rose a notch with excitement. "You bet you could. And if you were going with me, Father would be much more inclined to give us the money. Heck, it's worth a try. Say you'll approach him with me. After all, he can't be much more upset with me than he already is."
     
    Elizabeth looked at Dooley, who appeared to be hanging on their words, and down at the glittering ore that still rested in her palm. Both the man and the rock seemed to hold the key to something truly wonderful. What if Ross was right?  What if this was a once in a lifetime chance? What if she passed it up and never knew the pure exhilaration of finding out?  What if she missed the quest? 
     
    Suddenly she knew for certain that she didn't want to miss it. Even if the mine proved to be no more than solid walls of what the other side of the rock looked like...just mottled, ugly granite, she wanted to see for herself. The quest was everything. "Okay, Ross," she said. "We'll talk to him."
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
     
    At dinner that evening, Winston listened to his son’s dream of becoming one of the richest men in Manhattan. He learned of his daughter's passion to become the most renowned woman reporter ever to blaze a trail in the lawless west.
     
    "So that's it, Papa," Elizabeth said when she'd finished telling him how much she wanted to write about the Fair Day Mine. "Wouldn't it be a wonderful story for the Courier News to publish?"
     
    "And couldn't our newspaper finance the trip out there and the reopening of the mine?" Ross added. "It would be like money in the bank for you and the board. Lizzie could write about her adventure in installments, which would keep people buying the paper to see what happens next. And I'll be so rich I'll never be a problem to you again. What do you say, Father?"
     
    Elizabeth shuddered when Winston scraped the shallow sterling silver dish which had held his blackberry tart and licked the remains off his fork. She held her breath when he slowly set his utensil beside his plate, steepled his hands on the table and looked at Ross over his fingertips. Then, using the fewest words he'd ever spoken to reproach his offspring, Winston denounced their plan and left no room for argument.
     
    His voice was low and chillingly calm. "First of all, Ross, it is not our newspaper. It is mine, and I will decide how my money is spent. Secondly, you will leave this dining room at once, and if you have even a modicum of intelligence, which I doubt, you will make certain that I do not look upon your face any more this evening. I refuse to entertain mention of this ridiculous idea again."
     
    Ross's face turned ghastly pale. He stood, pulled his shirt cuffs, and pushed his chair under the table. Without speaking he left the room.
     
    Winston then turned to his daughter. "Elizabeth Nora Sheridan, if you ever hope to write for the Courier News again, you will attend Mrs. Beswick's tea tomorrow afternoon and never again talk to me of foolish aspirations which, as long as I draw breath, you will not be permitted to pursue."
     
    "Yes, Papa."
     
    "You, too, may go, Elizabeth."
     
    She did so, gratefully. When she reached the front hallway, Ross was waiting for her. "That didn't go very well, did it?" he said with characteristic understatement.
     
    "Our father thinks we’re complete idiots! We've got to give up on this idea, Ross. It's over."
     
    "But I can't give up, Lizzie, and when you really think about it, can you?"
     
    "When backed up against a wall the size of Father, I can. Promise me you will, too. Please, Ross.”
     
    "Don't worry about me, Lizzie," he said with a maddeningly   cavalier attitude. "It's as good as forgotten."
     
    But she knew her brother, and she very much doubted it was.
     
     
     
    Two days later, Elizabeth came