From Dear America: The Boldest Mask I knew there was trouble when I lifted up the lid of my father's coffin and he wasn't in it... Of course Momma hadn't for one minute believed the report of Papa's murder, which was supposed to have occurred on the stairway between Molinelli's Saloon and Papa's law office on the floor above. This news was delivered last night by a young clerk from the Wells Fargo & Co. office who said his name was Remi Nadeau. He said "Madame" to Momma and "Miss Angeline" to me, and explained that Wells Fargo was deeply saddened by our loss, which was also theirs. Mr. Nadeau regretted that the knife used by the murderer had not been found and there were no other clues. I wasn't sure whether the loss he spoke of was Papa's life or the valise full of scrip, $10,000 of a special currency created by the Standard Consolidated Mining Company. Of course those Standard Dollars, as we call them, were stolen and are missing. Excerpted from Behind the Masks: The Diary of Angeline Reddy - Bodie, California 1880 by Susan Patron All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
