The Runaway's Gold

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Burack, Emilie Christie.
The runaway's gold : a novel / by Emilie Christie Burack.
pages cm
Summary: “The protagonist of this historical novel, which is set in the Shetland Islands and also New York City around 1840, is Christian Robertson, a crofter and son of a crofter (small, struggling tenant farmer). When Christian's brother frames him for the theft of a bag of coins, Christian must leave home and embark on a journey to return the coins and clear his name”— Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-4197-1369-9 (alk. paper)
1. Shetland (Scotland)—History—19th century—Juvenile fiction. [1. Shetland (Scotland)—History—19th century—Fiction. 2. Scotland—History—19th century—Fiction. 3. New York (N.Y.)—History—1775–1865—Fiction. 4. Emigration and immigration—Fiction. 5. Coins—Fiction. 6. Scottish Americans—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.1.B87Ru 2015
[Fic]—dc23
2014029831

Text copyright © 2015 Emilie Christie Burack
Interior illustrations and maps copyright © 2015 Anna Bron
Book design by Maria T. Middleton

Published in 2015 by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. Amulet Books and Amulet Paperbacks are registered trademarks of Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

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To George Robert Christie,

my grandfather, grandson of a Shetland crofter, who took the time to record our family's stories

And to Tom,
who never let me give up

Adversity tries men,
and 'tis good to bear the yoke in youth
.

—D
IARY OF THE
R
EVEREND
J
OHN
M
ILL
,
D
UNROSSNESS
, S
HETLAND
, 1740

Contents

C
HAPTER
1
The Forge

C
HAPTER
2
Mr. Peterson's Ewe

C
HAPTER
3
Culswick Broch

C
HAPTER
4
The Betrayal

C
HAPTER
5
Unexpected Cargo

C
HAPTER
6
An Unlikely Companion

C
HAPTER
7
Mary Canfield

C
HAPTER
8
An Escape

C
HAPTER
9
George

C
HAPTER
10
The Lodberry

C
HAPTER
11
Malcolm MacPherson

C
HAPTER
12
Netty's Bundle

C
HAPTER
13
The Visitor

C
HAPTER
14
The Rope

C
HAPTER
15
A Familiar Tree

C
HAPTER
16
Billy's Bargain

C
HAPTER
17
Night Delivery

C
HAPTER
18
A Murderer

C
HAPTER
19
Unexpected Help

C
HAPTER
20
On the Run

C
HAPTER
21
Coins

C
HAPTER
22
Good-bye

C
HAPTER
23
The Flight of the
Ernestine Brennan

C
HAPTER
24
Roker

C
HAPTER
25
Mr. Plimpton

C
HAPTER
26
Gold Half Eagles

C
HAPTER
27
Opportunities

Glossary

Appendix

Bibliography and Suggested Reading

Acknowledgments