Jack London wrote The Valley of the Moon in 1913 at his Beauty Ranch above Glen Ellen — the land is now Jack London State Historic Park. Each week the Wag lifts a passage from the valley’s most famous resident.
A mile on from the lineman, they stopped where a small creek, fringed with brush, crossed the county road. Billy was for the cold lunch, which was the last meal Saxon had prepared in the Pine street cottage; but she was determined upon building a fire and boiling coffee. Not that she desired it for herself, but that she was impressed with the idea that everything at the starting of their strange wandering must be as comfortable as possible for Billy's sake. Bent on inspiring him with enthusiasm equal to her own, she declined to dampen what sparks he had caught by anything so uncheerful as a cold meal.
Jack London, The Valley of the Moon (1913)
Read the whole book, free, at Project Gutenberg →