A Place to Belong (4 page)

W
HEN
D
ANNY AWOKE
, he was confused. His body still felt the constant jolting motion of the train, but he was in a warm bed, a quilt pulled up around his ears and sunlight streaming into his face. “Mike?” he mumbled and reached out for his brother.

His fingers bumped the chest hard enough to wake him. Now he remembered. Mr. and Mrs. Swenson. The drive to their farm. Peg crying in the night. Curling up to sleep at the foot of her bed.

But now he was in his own bed.

Danny could hear people moving and talking downstairs. Was Peg with them? As fast as he could, he clambered into his clothes, splashed his face and hands with cold water, and flung open his door. The door to Peg’s room was open, and the bed was neatly made.
Oh, no!
Danny thought. He was the last one up!

He clattered down the stairs and ran into the kitchen, stopping short as Olga, Peg, and a tall skinny girl with blond hair and big eyes stared at him.

“Lazy, lazy stay-abed!” Peg chanted, but Olga smiled and held out a welcoming hand.

“You needed your sleep,” she told Danny, “and now you need a good breakfast.”

Peg jumped up and down. “I had an orange!” she shouted. “A
real
orange! And Gussie is going to bring me a kitten, a black one with white paws, and Mama combed my hair and she’s going to make me a rag doll so I’ll have company when I go to bed, and I’m going to name the kitten all by myself, and—”

From all Peg’s prattling, one word had stood out, hitting Danny like a blow to the chest. “Peg!” he interrupted. “You called Mrs. Swenson
Mama
.”

Peg stopped, surprised. “That’s what she said I could call her.”

Danny could feel his face turn hot and red, but he couldn’t stop. “We already
have
a Ma.”

“I know that,” Peg said. “Ma is our Ma, and Mrs. Swenson is our Mama. It’s different, see?”

Olga put an arm around Danny’s shoulders. “I didn’t know it would upset you, Danny. We’ll think of another name, something easier to say than
Mrs. Swenson
.”

Peg’s lower lip drooped. “I like to call you
Mama
,” she insisted.

Danny looked Olga square in the eyes, took a deep breath, and said, “Sure, it’s a good name. Peg should call you that if it pleases the both of you. It’s just that it took me by surprise, and there’s so much to get used to. I didn’t mean to—to—”

Olga pulled him forward, at the same time giving his shoulder a reassuring pat. “You and Gussie haven’t been introduced,” she said. “Gussie comes in each day to do many of the household chores. She’s a fine girl and a good help, and we feel very lucky to have her.”

Gussie gave Danny a broad, lopsided grin. Danny guessed that she wasn’t much older than fourteen, but
her arms were hard and muscular, and as they shook hands, her grip was a strong as a man’s. Danny tried not to wince as he pulled his hand away.

“I would have been here yesterday when you come,” Gussie said, “but the widow Pratka chased me off soon as I’d cleaned all the vegetables for her. She said she’d do the rest of what needed to be done.” Gussie’s grin became even wider. “The widow Pratka likes to take charge of everything and everybody.”

“Now Gussie,” Olga said. “Ennie Pratka is a good, caring woman. She only wants to help.”

“She needs another husband, ’stead of livin’ with kinfolk. She needs a husband who’ll do right for her and not die penniless, like Mr. Pratka done. That’s what my ma says.”

Olga’s cheeks turned pink. “That’s enough, Gussie. No more gossip. We all have work to do.”

Gussie cheerfully picked up her bucket and rag, leaving the room as Olga turned to Danny. “Breakfast for you first,” Olga said, “and then you might like to join Alfrid. By this time tomorrow you and Peg will be at school.”

“School!” Danny’s mouth fell open, and he could feel his heart hammering with excitement. “A real school? They told us we’d have schooling, but I—I didn’t dare to think about it. Peg and me—we’ve never been to school before.”

“Can you read, Danny?”

“Yes, ma’am. I like to read near as much as Mike does.” He glanced down at Peg with concern. “But Peg’s young. She never learned.”

Peg’s chin jutted out, and she made a face at Danny. “Mama said I don’t need to know yet. She said that’s what school is for, to teach people to read and know their letters and cipher. Bet you don’t know all that, Danny.”

As it happened, he did, but before he had a chance to answer, Peg went on. “Gussie’s going to give me the dinner pail she used to carry. And she’s got one for you that used to belong to her cousin who got work laying telegraph lines.”

Peg chattered on, but Danny had stopped listening. As he wolfed down his orange along with eggs and biscuits and fried potatoes and ham, he tried to imagine what schooling would be like. He couldn’t picture it. He had no idea what to expect.

All day he worked with Alfrid, starting to learn how to care for the horses, hearing with excitement the first splash of milk into the pail as he milked the cows, and walking the boundaries of the farm. But part of his thoughts kept racing ahead to the next day and school.

Finally, Alfrid led Danny to a clearing at the far western boundary of his property. At their feet the ground sloped away steeply. Open fields below them stretched out to the banks of the broad Missouri River.

“This is one of my favorite sights,” Alfrid told him. “I like to see the twists and turns of the river. It’s like a silver snake.”

“It’s like a snake with spots,” Danny said. “Look at all the boats!”

Alfrid nodded. “There are almost as many boats as on the big Mississippi. You crossed it on your way here. Do you remember?”

“Oh, yes. That I do. We crossed on a ferry, a steam-driven side-wheeler,” Danny said. “It was grand! One of the lads—Jim was his name—said he hoped to be chosen by a family who lived in a boat on the river.”

“I doubt he’d have much chance for that,” Alfrid said.

“That’s just what Mike told him,” Danny said. “Mike’s smart. He always knows what’s what.”

Alfrid looked down at Danny. “I know that you’re a smart boy, too. Has Olga told you that tomorrow you’ll be going to school?”

“That she has,” Danny said. He took a deep breath. “I want very much to go to school, but …” He paused, furrowing his brow.

“But what?” Alfrid asked.

Danny tried to find the right words. “Of course, I know that school is for learning, but I don’t know how it’s done. Peg will be with the little ones, so it will be easy for her, but I don’t know where to go, or where to sit, or what I should say. I want to do things the right way and not have other lads thinking I’m stupid.”

“I understand,” Alfrid said, nodding solemnly. “Fortunately, I can tell you what you need to know.” He sat on the grass, and Danny dropped to a spot beside him. “The school is in a one-room building,” he began. “Each morning the teacher will ring the school bell, as a sign that school has begun, and all the boys and girls will go into the schoolroom.”

“And when I go into the room, where do I sit?” Danny asked.

“As to where your desk will be in the schoolroom, I don’t know. The teacher will have to tell you,” Alfrid said. “The girls sit on one side of the room, the boys on the other. The little children are in front, the older children at the back. You’ll probably be somewhere between the middle and the back of the room.”

Danny nodded. He figured that he could wait until the others were inside and see where the boys sat. “What should I do with my dinner pail?”

“There’s a section of the room at the back that’s called the cloakroom,” Alfrid explained. “There are plenty of hooks where the boys and girls hang their coats, and there are shelves for the dinner pails.” Danny nodded again, and Alfrid went on. “There’s a stove in the center of the schoolroom, and desks around it. When this new school was opened a few years ago, each student had a desk, but now there are more families in the area, so I
understand that many of the children have to share desks.”

“You said the boys sit together, so at least I won’t have to share a desk with any girl.”

“Anything else?” Alfrid asked seriously.

“What’s the teacher like? When I think about him, I imagine someone very important and smart who looks like Abraham Lincoln.”

The corners of Alfrid’s mouth twitched. “Miss Abigail Clark wouldn’t appreciate being compared in looks with Abraham Lincoln,” he said. “Miss Clark is a young woman who came from Illinois last year to take the position. She’s well spoken of.”

Danny sighed with relief. He’d been worried about that impressive teacher.

“Oh, yes. One more thing,” Alfrid added. “Behind the school building there are two privies, one for boys and one for girls, and they’re clearly marked.”

“Ah,” Danny said. He’d been too shy to ask, but this was exactly the kind of information that was good to know ahead of time.

“I think we’ve covered the situation nicely.” Alfrid climbed to his feet. “I can’t foresee any problems for you.”

Danny was satisfied. He couldn’t foresee any problems either. He couldn’t wait until the next morning, when he’d be able to see it all for himself.

5
 

S
INCE THE SCHOOL
was only a mile and a half from the Swensons’ home, Danny and Peg could walk there and back each day, but Alfrid escorted them on this first trip to show them the way. Peg’s legs were short, so the walk took longer than Alfrid had anticipated, and when they arrived at the school yard, it was empty.

Danny could hear a murmur of voices reciting something in unison. “Will you go inside with us?” he asked Alfrid. Danny’s palms were damp, his stomach hurt, and he wished that he didn’t have to leave Alfrid. He wished that no one had ever thought of sending him to school.

“It will be better for you if I don’t,” Alfrid said. “You can show the other boys that you can stand on your own two feet.”

As Alfrid turned and walked back down the road, Danny gulped, fighting down the fear that rose in a lump inside his throat. He wouldn’t be sick. No! He couldn’t be.

“Danny, are you scared?” Peg asked.

“No!” Danny snapped.

“Mama told me not to be scared,” Peg said. “Mama told me that on my very first day at school I’d make a new friend. She told me I’d have lots of friends.”

“Peg! Will you be quiet!” Danny felt close to tears. All the answers he’d gotten from Alfrid were useless against the awful panic he was feeling.

It was better to get this over with as soon as possible, Danny decided. They couldn’t stay out here forever. He grabbed Peg’s hand and strode toward the building.

“Danny, wait!” Peg wailed so loudly that Danny was sure everyone inside the schoolhouse had heard her.

Danny didn’t pause. “Come on, Peg. We’re late already!” he snapped.

The door opened with a loud creak and twenty or so students turned to stare.

The teacher, a young woman whose rosy face was framed with a coil of dark hair, smiled at Danny and Peg. “Please come in,” she said. “Are you new students?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Danny said.

Peg tugged at Danny’s arm, and he struggled to keep his balance. “Danny!” she whispered loudly.

“I’m Miss Clark,” the teacher said. “And what are your names?”

“I’m Danny Kelly, and this is my little sister, Peg,” Danny said as Peg jerked on his arm again.

Miss Clark’s forehead wrinkled as she thought. “I don’t know of a Kelly family nearby,” she said. “Where do you live?”

“Danny! Listen to me!” Peg insisted loudly.

Some of the boys were leaning from their desks to stare at him. A girl about his own age tossed back her curls and snickered.

“Be quiet,” Danny growled at Peg. He hadn’t thought about how he’d explain who they were. He tried to
speak up but had to clear his throat and start again. “Our family’s not here,” he told Miss Clark. “Peg and I are living with—that is, we were adopted by—No, that’s not exactly right.” He took a deep breath. “We came west from New York City, and Mr. and Mrs. Swenson took us in.”

“Oh!” Miss Clark beamed at them. “You’re children from the orphan train!”

“Danny!” Peg pulled on his arm so hard that he lost his grip on his dinner pail, and it clattered to the floor. “I have to find the privy!” she shouted. “Right now!”

Some of the children broke into laughter, and Danny’s face grew hot. But Miss Clark immediately pointed at one of the older girls and said, “Elsie, will you please take Peg to the privy? Peg, when you return you can sit in this front-row desk with Molly. Danny, please put your dinner pail and your sister’s dinner pail and your coat back in the cloakroom. Then you can share a desk with Wilmer Jobes. Wilmer, raise your hand so that Danny can see who you are.”

A boy raised his hand slowly and squinted at Danny. Wilmer had a thick shock of straight, tan-colored hair, a long, thin nose, and dark eyes set close together. Danny estimated that Wilmer and he were about the same size and probably about the same age.
I’ll have to watch out for that one
, Danny decided.

Danny hung up his coat, and as he was approaching the desk, Wilmer suddenly thrust out a leg. But Danny was ready for it. Instead of tripping and sprawling in the aisle, as Wilmer obviously had hoped he would, Danny brought down his weight on Wilmer’s toes.