Orphaned and Cast Out, He Bought a Deserted Ranch for $4—What He Found in the Well Changed It All

Chapter 2

The ledger had been learning his name for eight years before he knew it existed.

Eli had been born at a freight station east of Cedar Gap, in a house that smelled of harness oil and coal smoke and bread. His father, Hiram Marsh, repaired saddles and drove wagons for the lines that crossed the territory. His mother, Lydia, kept the accounts and taught her son to read from crate labels, invoices, and old newspapers spread flat on the kitchen table.

They were never rich. The house had order, which is a different kind of wealth.