It was barely dawn when Edward awoke to the first light of day. He looked around and realized the kind of place he had fallen into: the Royal Hotel was nothing more than a room for men to sleep off their drunkenness. Bodies were sprawled across the cots and on the floor. On the cot next to him, Edward saw a huge Black man lying with his mouth wide open. He rose quietly, picked up his satchel and blanket, and tiptoed between the rows of beds. He had to get away from this room of evil-looking men, and the smell of stale tobacco and whisky.

Edward’s first thought was to head down to the dock and take the steamer back to Van Horne. He was tempted to give up on his big idea of joining the militia. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to be at home. But the dock was bare; the Peerless had sailed during the night.

Edward was miserable. His first night at Eagle Landing had sickened him: he wasn’t accustomed to this kind of rough life. Then he started to itch and remembered someone on the boat saying that everyone in Eagle Landing was lousy. He didn’t know exactly what that meant, or what to do about it. But he thought the water might help.

Since it was a warm July morning, Edward decided to go for a swim. He took off his clothes behind a tree and waded into the lake. The water felt wonderful! When he got out and dressed, he washed his blanket, hoping to remove any trace of whatever might have gotten on it during the night. He was feeling better, so he decided to walk back to the main part of town to try to find some breakfast.

People were beginning to move about the rutted street that ran half a mile along the lakeshore. As he walked along, Edward noticed something strange: there seemed to be hundreds, perhaps thousands, of playing cards scattered in the dirt along the side of the raod. He bent down and gathered a handful of them. He picked up an ace of clubs, a king of hearts, and a jack of diamonds. He wondered why all these cards, which seemed to be perfectly good other than being a bit weather-beaten, had been thrown out.

Edward saw a small frame building that had a sign hanging in front of it that said Eats — Chinese and Canadian. He went in. A Chinese man was standing over a stove cooking for the three customers who were already there. Edward took a seat at the counter and asked for breakfast. The cook gave him a slice of salt pork, a chunk of bread, and tea in a tin mug. The whole meal cost a dollar. At this rate, Edward thought, my money won’t last very long.

After breakfast, Edward explored the side alleys that ran off the main street. It was clear to him that Eagle Landing was one of those places that spring up like a mushroom, and sometimes die in just a few days, like the gold mining towns he’d heard about.