JAMES LEHI CALKIN

The first time that Beth saw Jamie she was convinced he was a giant. It seemed to her that his head touched the clouds. At six years of age Beth was not very tall. Jamie was around Wilhelmina Elizabeth's age but he was much taller.

His full name, when the school teacher read it, was almost as big as he was. "James Lehi Calkin," Mr. Dredge said. "Here," responded James. Then he added, "Mr. Dredge, please call me Jamie, everyone does." Mr. Dredge looked over his spectacles, "Well then, Jamie, it is."

Wilhelmina Elizabeth didn't understand why Jamie's skin was so much darker than hers. Of course, she reasoned most people had darker skin than she did. Her skin was very, very light. In fact one of the students in her school told her that she was transparent. She didn't know what that was but she thought it must be bad because the other children snickered.

Her Mother had told her about Indian's. They were savages, uneducated, and godless. It didn't make sense for Jamie to be an Indian, he WASN'T uneducated. He had the same education that she did.

Jamie's Father was Blake Calkin. Blake was golden brown most of the time from working outside most of his life. Yet Jamie was subtly browner, darker than his Father. Wilhelmina Elizabeth had never met Jamie's Mother. Sarah Calkin had died only a few days after giving Jamie life.

Rumors swirled around young Wilhelmina Elizabeth's head. Rumors that said that Jamie's Mother had been the leader of a tribe of Indian's called "The People." The stories said that Sarah had left her tribe to become Blake Calkin's wife. After that information nothing else made sense to young Willy.

Her Mother said, "Sarah Calkin was nothing but a low-down savage." Willy didn't really understand but she knew that her Mother's sweet voice got harder, and darker when she said those words.