Chapter Forty-One
“News from the mainland!”
A rotund man sweating through his shirt stood on the edge of Market Street, yelling toward passing coaches and soliciting to businessmen as they strolled beneath the covered sections of the sidewalk.
“News from Houston! News from New Orleans!”
Alfred sidestepped the man as he worked his way through the crowd, pandering to every passerby and offering tidbits of news from beyond the island. The month had worn on into a sweltering mess that had women fanning vigorously and men taking liberties with their collars and ties. A dead man’s summer, Mrs. Poplar had called it. He couldn’t be sure if she meant it as a warning, given the tremendous number of cases of heat sickness that had come out of it, or as more of an insult to the young men who froli
