The Stake Is Gold

About the Book

Every time old Doc threaded his beat up cab-over pickup up tight around the fender high brush and pulled up at the path to Red Rock, he was reminded of Cran's death and its aftermath.

In the old days, there were Rocky, and Kale and Jake and E.L. and John and the rest of the guys - - - and the wife, and Gerty and Canody - - - all gone separate ways. Yet they were still in his heart.

Doc and his wife and Gretchen, one of the best nurses around, had served his patients with a smile then, when Rocky, the sheriff, met Gerty, things became even better – until he took her dancing. Doc, in spite of the inquest, had been convinced that Cran's death wasn't accidental and Rocky had agreed with him so when Gerty called a halt and other troubling things like murder began to happen, both men worried.

But it wasn't all worry. There were the poker nights, those nights when the seven guys pulled up to that big, round table and the chips began to rattle.

"I lost some friends – but I gained some, too. Rocky, for one," Doc thought. " He and his sons will soon be here - - - "

For some minutes the old man stood breathing into his being the quiet and serenity of the area then he turned and trudged up the rise toward Red Rock.

About the Author

Mildred Thompson Barnum was born in Long Beach, California and raised in Grinnell, Iowa. There she intended to remain but destiny and her husband, Stanley, had other plans.

During WW2, Stan, following his internship in Michigan as a licensed Osteopathic Physician, was told by his draft board to find a community of 15,000 persons to serve - - - a demand not difficult to meet since many of the country's medical doctors were on duty in Europe. While visiting in the Ozarks, he overheard that a doctor in a neighboring town had died during the night. Could he be of service? Thus, upon delivering four babies in four homes in four different counties in one week, he knew he had found a home for his family in Mountain View, Missouri. There, Stan and Mildred raised their three sons and served the people.

At the time of his death in 1977, Mildred was working as editor of the Mountain View Standard. Following the sale of that newspaper, she continued living and working as a "Jack of all trades" plus writing magazine articles and booklets until her retirement. The Stake Is Gold is her first novel.

Today, she enjoys visiting with her sons and their families, a morning coffee with friends, a game of bridge, cruising the library, practicing and playing the organ in the Presbyterian Church, and occasional trips to Branson, Missouri to see the shows or to Springfield to shop.