Authors: Al Lacy
When the circle had been formed, Les Corbin trotted around its perimeter, telling everyone he wanted to meet with them immediately inside the circle. Some of the people saw the two riders closing in from the east, wondering who they were.
While the last of the children and adults were getting out of the wagons, Corbin led the two deputies inside the circle. They stood beside the wagon master while he said loudly, “Everyone gather right here, please.”
Underneath the cot in the Parker wagon, Deena could clearly hear every word.
When the group had collected in a half-circle, looking at the lawmen with quizzical eyes, Corbin introduced the two deputies, explaining that they were from Salina. He told the people about the missing thirteen-year-old girl, whose name was Deena Mitchell.
In the Parker wagon, Deena’s body stiffened at his words. They would search the wagons, find her, and take her back to Salina—and the wrath of Ralph Dexter! Her heart pounded her rib cage.
Corbin explained that Deena was living in a foster home, having been chosen from an orphan train, and was unhappy. The foster parents, Ralph and Norma Dexter, reported to Salina’s Marshal Garth Yeoman early that afternoon that the girl was missing. They thought that she had run away and might have attempted to persuade one of the wagon train families to take her with them.
Beneath the cot, terror was ransacking Deena’s mind and body.
Corbin turned to the deputies. “Will one of you gentlemen please give these people a description of Deena Mitchell?”
Bud Nolan took a step forward and ran his gaze over the faces in the crowd. “The foster parents gave us Deena’s description. As you have already been told, she is thirteen years of age. She has blue eyes and auburn hair, which is long, reaching halfway down her back. She is five feet one inch in height and weighs ninety-two pounds. When she disappeared, she was wearing a blue-and-white-checked calico dress with a white collar and a white bonnet. Has anybody here seen her, and if so, are you hiding her in your wagon?”
Dead silence.
Deputy Thomas Long moved up beside his partner. “Folks, it is important for the Dexters to get their foster daughter back.”
“I ask again, has anybody here seen her?” When there was total silence in the crowd, Deputy Bud Nolan said, “Thank you, folks. I appreciate your kind attention.” Then he turned to his partner. “Well, Thomas, it’s evident that Deena isn’t here.”
In her secret place, Deena heaved a sigh of relief.
The deputies thanked the wagon master for allowing them to talk to the people. They mounted up and rode away.
From just outside the Parker wagon, Deena heard Brian and Valerie talking with another couple about their stop back in Salina and about the missing girl.
Valerie said, “I sure hope they find her. Well, honey, if you’ll lift me up into the wagon, I’ll take the food for tonight’s supper out of the grocery sacks.”
The other woman said, “How about you two eating supper with us? We bought two extra beefsteaks in town so we could feed you tonight. Those steaks will spoil on us if you don’t eat them.”
Valerie said, “Okay, Louise, we’ll eat supper with you if you’ll let me help you cook it.”
“It’s a deal.”
Deena heard both couples walk away and sighed with relief again. Silence seemed to fill the wagon. Soon a rumble of muffled voices could be heard from the fire in the middle of the circle, where the wagon train women were doing their cooking. There was a mixture of other sounds while the men did jobs around the wagons.
Slowly releasing her pent-up breath, Deena slightly changed her position, giving her cramped muscles some relief. Fresh pain arose from her wounds.
Soon she heard the happy chatter of adults and children who were sitting down to enjoy their evening meal.
After a while, a welcome breeze floated through the wagon, and once again, she searched for a more comfortable position, knowing it would not be long until the Parkers returned to their wagon.
Running her dry tongue over equally dry lips, she longed for a drink of water.
Might as well think of something else to take my mind off my thirst. At least for the moment, I’m safe.
Breathing deeply again, Deena relaxed as much as possible in her hiding place. Her eyes grew heavy with fatigue, but she forced them to stay open, telling herself she could not have the luxury of sleep until she had revealed her presence and they had all settled down for the night. But how was she going to do this? She still must come up with the best plan.
When Deputies Bud Nolan and Thomas Long arrived back in town, it was almost dark. They drew up to the hitch rail in front of the marshal’s office, noting that a lantern was burning inside. They dismounted, entered the office, and found elderly Buck Patterson sitting at the marshal’s desk. He gave them a toothless smile. “Howdy, boys. Marshal Yeoman and his search groups are still out lookin’ fer that girl. The marshal asked me to stay here in
the office and tell you that if you have her with you, to wait right here till he comes back.”
Nolan shook his head. “She wasn’t on the wagon train, Buck, nor had anyone seen her. You can go on home now. We’re gonna stay right here till the marshal returns.”
Buck had been gone only minutes when both search teams came riding up in front of the marshal’s office. The deputies went to the door in time to hear Yeoman say they would take up the search at sunrise tomorrow morning.
The deputies looked at each other by the light of a nearby street lamp.
“They haven’t found her,” said Long.
Nolan shook his head. “I was sure hopin’ they had.”
All but three riders trotted away, leaving Marshal Garth Yeoman and Ralph and Rex Dexter. They dismounted and the three walked up to them. They knew by the look on the deputies’ faces that they had been unsuccessful.
“She wasn’t on the wagon train, I guess,” said the marshal.
“No, sir,” responded Nolan. “The wagon master let us talk to the whole crowd. Nobody’s seen her.”
Ralph Dexter shook his head. “I don’t understand it. Where could she be? She couldn’t just vanish into thin air.”
Marshal Yeoman rubbed his chin. “She has to be somewhere near here, Ralph. She couldn’t possibly have walked any further than the wide circle we made. As I said, we’ll resume the search at sunrise in the morning.”
“Well, Rex and I will be here. C’mon, son. Let’s get home and let your mother know that Deena’s still missing.”
Darkness crept into the Parker wagon. Deena Mitchell lay under the cot, listening to the people talk while eating supper. The
aroma of the hot food made her mouth water and her stomach growl. She lay there, trying to figure out how to introduce herself to Brian and Valerie Parker, but as yet had not come up with a solution.
Abruptly, she heard someone tuning up a fiddle. Then the sound of a mouth organ met her ears. The soft, pleasant music filled the night air.
The small children in the wagon train had grown weary, and some were asleep in their mothers’ arms.
After a while, the last strains of music faded into the night, and soon the people were leaving the campfire, heading for their wagons.
Inside the Parker wagon, Deena’s pulse quickened as she heard Brian’s and Valerie’s voices while they moved up to the tailgate.
Brian dropped the tailgate, picked up a lantern, lit it, and placed it on the floor. He kissed Valerie, then lifted her into the wagon. “Good night, honey. You go ahead and get on your cot. I’ll be back after I feed and water the horses. You get a good night’s sleep, okay?”
“I’ll do my best.”
He raised the tailgate, locked it in place, and walked away.
As Valerie stood up and turned around, she saw by the light of the lantern that the one grocery sack had fallen over and two cantaloupes were lying on the floor. She stood the grocery sack upright, and dropped the two cantaloupes back where they belonged. She frowned, wondering where the third cantaloupe had gone, and dropped to her knees.
Beneath the cot, Deena tensed up. A chill slithered down her spine.
When Valerie knelt down in search of the missing cantaloupe, she was startled to see two wide, fear-filled eyes looking at her. She gasped. “Wh-who are you?”
Deena’s mouth seemed frozen shut.
Valerie slid the lantern closer, noted the white bonnet lying on the floor, and peered at the girl with the long auburn hair. “I know who you are! You’re Deena Mitchell, the girl the deputies are looking for!”
Deena’s heart was pounding so fast she could hardly breathe. The moment of her discovery had come, and in a way she had never imagined. She gulped and managed to squeak out, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Honey, come out of there. You must be terribly uncomfortable. Come on.”
Trembling, Deena scooted herself toward Valerie. When she was almost out, Valerie saw the dark, purple bruises on her cheeks. She took hold of her arms and helped her out the rest of the way. When Deena sat up on the floor, wincing, Valerie moved the lantern so she could get a better look at her.
Valerie’s compassionate spirit went out to the girl, who looked more like a trapped animal than a human being. “Honey, how did you get those bruises on your face?”
“My foster father, Ralph Dexter, did it.”
“Your foster father.”
“Yes. Do you remember that the deputies told all of you I had been chosen from an orphan train, and that I was unhappy in my foster home?”
“I remember. Why were you so unhappy there?”
Deena told her of the heavy work she was forced to do on the Dexter farm, of how Rex was so mean to her, and of the frequent beatings she received at the hands of Ralph Dexter.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Deena. Since you’re an orphan, you’ve undoubtedly had many sorrows, haven’t you?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Want to tell me about it?”
Deena told her story in brief: how she and her identical twin, Donna, were sent out of their home in Manhattan because their parents could not afford to keep them, and of being taken in by the Children’s Aid Society, and finally put on the orphan train. She wept as she told Valerie that she had no idea where Donna might be by now.
Deeply touched by Deena’s story, Valerie examined the bruises. “We must wash these, honey, and get some salve on them right away.” As she spoke, she rose to her feet, her emotions shaken from the unexpected guest she found in her wagon.
Deena sensed that she had found a friend. “Mrs. Parker?”
“Yes, honey?”
“I have many more bruises that need salve. I got a beating with a belt by Mr. Dexter last night.”
Valerie frowned. “Where are these bruises?”
Deena glanced at the rear of the wagon. “If you will drop the canvas flaps at the opening back there, I’ll show you.”
When the flaps were down, Deena showed Valerie the purple stripes on her back, buttocks, and the back sides of her legs.
Valerie was shocked at the sight before her. “This is an outrage! No human being should ever be treated with such brutality and disrespect!”
The humiliation of her situation coupled with the pain of her wounds overcame Deena. Huge scalding tears suddenly coursed down her pathetic discolored cheeks.
Although she was not a mother, this brought Valerie’s motherly instincts to the surface. She took Deena in her arms, careful not to inflict any more pain on her. “Deena, I can’t understand why anyone would take you into their home and treat you like this.”
Deena clung to the compassionate woman who was holding her. “Please don’t let them take me back! He’ll beat me even worse.
I’m afraid he might even beat me to death! He abuses his wife as well, and his son, Rex, is almost as hateful and mean as he is.”
Valerie felt bile rise in her throat. At the same time, a resolve filled her heart. She knew her husband well enough to be assured that he would feel exactly as she did when he heard Deena’s story, and she told him about the stripes on her body and legs. She swallowed the bitter bile and said, “Deena, I promise you—you will never again feel the sting of Ralph Dexter’s belt, or have to live with the indignity of this kind of treatment. I don’t know how I am going to keep this from happening, but I will. Don’t you doubt it. You deserve a far better life than you’ve had so far, and I will do everything in my power to see that you get it.”
Valerie put Deena on the cot, picked up some washcloths, and poured water into a small pan. She took salve from a small canvas bag and went to work on the stripes and bruises.
By the time she finished, Deena’s tears were dried, and she was wearing a tiny smile. She sat up on the cot, and Valerie eased down beside her. “Feel better now, honey?”
Deena took hold of her hand. “Yes, much better. Thank you, Mrs. Parker. I really appreciate your caring for me like this. It’s been a long time since—”
From outside, Brian’s voice penetrated the canvas. “Valerie, who are you talking to in there?”
V
alerie Parker turned and pulled back the flaps. She smiled at her husband. “Climb up here, darling. There’s somebody I want you to meet.”
Brian was up and over the tailgate. When he set his eyes on the girl, a perplexed look etched itself on his face. “Who are you? I don’t recall seeing you in the wagon train before.” His voice was a bit tight.
Deena shrunk back in fear, her eyes darting to Valerie.
Valerie moved to Deena and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Brian, this is Deena Mitchell, the girl the deputies were looking for.”
Brian’s brow furrowed. “Oh yes. She fits the description perfectly that Deputy Nolan gave.” He hunkered down before Deena, noting the stark fear on her face, and softened his voice. “I’m sorry, little lady, I didn’t mean to frighten you. You … well, you were such a complete surprise to me.”
Deena’s emotions were on the surface. Tears filled her eyes and began to spill down her cheeks. The lump in her throat kept her from being able to speak.
Brian said again, “I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He looked at Valerie, raising his eyebrows in question.
Valerie gently squeezed Deena’s shoulder. “It’s okay, honey. My husband will understand when he knows the full story. My promise to you still holds, and I know he will feel the same way.”