Treasure Among The Ruins

By Linda Farmer Harris

Description:

Cordelia Moulton searches for self-identity and finds that love is as sure as the spring grass under the winter snowflakes. Cordelia Moulton, a recent college graduate, is home and at loose ends in 1926 northern New Mexico. She fears living a life of insignificance, but she doesn't want to follow in her parents' ranching legacy, or become involved in their highly visible political and social life. At the Lamy station, Jace Chambliss hitches a ride in a Southwestern Indian Detour touring car bound for Santa Fe. An unexpected detour brings the cowgirl of his dreams into his life only to have her snatched away when he’s jailed in Santa Fe for murder, counterfeiting, forgery, and gambling. Will Delia help clear the name of a cowboy she met less than 24 hour earlier, or will she do nothing and send him to a Texas swing party?

Why the author wrote this book:

Railroad patrons flocked to travel agents for a reservation on the Southwestern Indian Detours cruises. Drawn by the enchantment and mystery of the untamed desert and guided by the young ladies in the elite Courier Corps, they discovered the land and people of the American Southwest.

It's the 1920's and America is on the move. The automobile has given vacationers the freedom to see the wonders of the desert Southwest beyond the boxed horizons of their train windows. Passengers arrive in Santa Fe and Las Vegas, New Mexico eager to take the Southwestern Indian Detours to the nearby pueblos and Indian ruins, and dine at the famous Harvey Houses. Four women join the elite Courier Corps and find life and love in the 300 miles of sunshine and mountain air.

I wanted to tell some of the individual stories of these young college graduates who learned southwest history, how to change an automobile tire, and survive in a hostile environment with unpredictable "dudes" as patrons.