Goldtown Adventures

Jem, his family, and their miner friend head to San Francisco to learn if a skilled surgeon can repair Nathan’s broken legs. But the wait is long, leaving Jem worried and restless. A few blocks away, the city’s wharf swarms with steamboats and sailing ships. With Pa’s blessing, Jem heads down to watch the hustle and bustle of the busy docks. Where are they headed? When a friendly sailor invites Jem aboard the Surprise for a look around, Jem declines. But it’s too late. Jem is shanghaied as the new cabin boy. He endures bad food, seasickness, and a dangerous storm before getting a chance to jump ship. The only problem? If Jem is caught, he will never get another chance to escape.

Jem and all of Goldtown celebrate the end of the Civil War with parades, firecrackers, and exhibitions. But chaos erupts when a bull breaks through the arena, sending wood splinters and fence posts raining down. Jem escapes with minor injuries, but Cousin Nathan’s broken legs are beyond the skill of Goldtown’s doctor. With the Coulter family unable to afford the care Nathan needs in San Francisco, Jem, Ellie, and Strike-it-rich Sam come up with a plan to search for the gold they once lost over a cliff five years before. Disappointment and danger lurk on the trail. Will they find their treasure in the valley, or will they have to strike gold anyplace they can to help Nathan?

A trip to Sacramento should be a holiday for Jem, but something’s not right. Pa won’t say what, but Jem can feel it with every bump of the stagecoach. Then the stage is held up by highwaymen calling themselves the Knights of the Golden Circle, and they haul away a precious shipment of gold. So, why isn’t Sheriff Coulter upset over the robbery? Or by the bandits’ claim that the holdup is within their rights? The answer turns Jem’s carefree holiday upside down. While exploring the river wharf and enjoying an impromptu tour of a paddlewheel steamboat—courtesy of a new friend—the kids stumble across a dangerous smuggling operation. Then the bandits show up and Ellie disappears. With Pa off on business and Aunt Rose worried sick, Jem must use his wits to find and rescue his sister before the side-wheeler steams downriver and out of reach.

Jem can’t hold back his excitement. His sheriff father must escort a prisoner to Sacramento and leaving the ranch in Jem’s hands. How hard can it be? His sister, Ellie, and cousin, Nathan, will pitch in, and Aunt Rose is there to keep house. But Jem quickly discovers that being the “man of the family” for two weeks is not how he imagined. A wolf threatens their cattle, and an injured stranger invades their lives. Then Jem’s horse goes missing, along with Pa’s good rifle—stolen right out from under Jem’s nose. Goldtown’s bungling deputies are no help, so Jem takes matters into his own hands. He’ll do anything to recover this family’s stolen property—even venture into a canyon filled with unexpected danger.

When Jem Coulter is caught in a miners’ riot, he learns the worse: the hard-rock “Midas” mine has run out of gold. Will, the owner’s son, tells Jem the only way to get the Midas working again is to blast deep for a new vein. This means an abandoned mine nearby must be reclaimed for an air shaft. But Jem’s friend Wu Shen and other Chinese miners have scavenger rights and no intention of giving up their diggings. Jem is torn between what is good for Goldtown and what is right. Then Will comes up with an idea that he thinks will solve everybody’s problem and the Midas can get its airshaft. What Jem doesn’t realize is that Will’s risky plan may lead to disaster deep in the heart of an old mine.

It’s 1864 and Goldtown, California, has seen the last of its gold rush days. But twelve-year-old Jem Coulter and his prospector friend, “Strike,” keep hoping they might strike it rich. In the meantime, he and his sister, Ellie, will keep helping Pa try to make ends meet on their broken-down ranch. Then Pa accepts a job as sheriff of lawless Goldtown, and Jem’s world turns upside down. How many outlaws will use Pa’s badge for target practice? When Cripple Creek mysteriously dries up, Jem’s gold dreams dribble away. Strike has also disappeared, and Jem is determined to find some answers. Will the danger prove the star on Pa’s chest is just a target? Or convince Jem that it is truly a badge of honor?