Burnham Breaker

The grinding jaws of Burnham Breaker fall silent, and a coal-dusted boy hears the words he scarcely dares hope for: the circus is his to see. In the doorway stands Robert Burnham, with a silver quarter for every loyal worker.

In Scranton’s coal country, the boys of Burnham Breaker spend long days bent over rushing coal, breathing dust while summer beckons beyond the windows. On circus day, they return to their benches instead of slipping away—and Burnham rewards their loyalty with an afternoon off. But one boy stands out: Ralph, with a small, delicate hand unlike the others. In a place where a boy’s life is measured by toil, what might Ralph’s difference mean—and where does he belong?

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