The rope bed had been donated by one of his friends, and in spite of the feather mattress, he found it impossible to get comfortable. Everything hurt and felt swollen or bruised. How could it be that he should still feel so bad after so much time had passed? He tried not to show his discomfort, hoping to keep Victoria from worrying more than she already was, but it was hard. All he wanted was to be healed and back on his feet, and instead, he was living in a borrowed bed.Of course, most of the furnishings in the house had been donated. Charlie had put the word out to their mutual friends with the railroad, and the donations had rolled in. In fact, the house itself was Charlie’s donation, given as a means of support by the Central Pacific. Charlie wouldn’t even consider the discussion of rent, and that only made Kiernan feel worse. He had become what he had once feared the most—a charity case.His wife had to bathe him and help him with meals. She had to work with Li to raise enough money to put food on the table.
