Whistle-Stop West (12 page)

Ethan and Bert sat down to wait for the end of the trip. Both were busy with their thoughts.

At last Ethan opened his bag and pulled out his drawing book. “Here, Bert. I want you to have this to remember me. You can show the pictures to your folks and tell them about where you came from.”

Bert's mouth dropped open, and he stared at Ethan with wide eyes. “Your drawing book? What will you do without it? It's the best thing you have!”

“That's all right. I really want you to have it. Maybe I'll get another one. If not, I can draw in the dirt, like I used to. I'll always probably draw on something.” He handed the book to Bert and settled back with a happy smile.

“I'll always keep it, Ethan, and someday we'll live close enough together to share it. I don't have anything great like that to give you, but you can have this.”

Bert stood and dug deep in his pocket. He pulled out a chain, from which dangled a heavy key, and laid it in Ethan's hand. “This was my pa's,” Bert said proudly. “He told me that praying is the key to success, and this key would remind me of that when I need help. Now it's yours. Who knows when you'll have to get in someplace or out of someplace? That key could come in handy.”

Ethan looked at the object in his hand. “A key? Have you ever opened anything with it, Bert?”

“Well, no. I never found a door it would fit, but it feels good in your pocket. And Pa said if I carried it, I'd never give up, 'cause it would remind me to pray.”

“And you want me to have it?” Ethan said. “What will you have to remind you, then?”

Bert shrugged. “If you can draw pictures in the dirt, I can remember by putting my hand in my pocket.” He pulled the checkerboard out of his bag. “How 'bout a game? The time will go faster that way.”

Luke and Henry stood at the barn door as the Rushes' buggy turned on the road toward town.

Luke shook his head. “'Fraid we're all going to rue this day's work. Don't know what possessed Chad to take on four orphans.”

“I suppose he thinks it's his Christian duty,” Henry offered. “Bible says to look after the widows and orphans. He certainly has enough money to look after quite a few.”

“Chad's heavy on duty, all right, but you and me don't see eye to eye on the ‘Christian.' I'd hate to be one of those kids.”

“Chad's not a real lovable sort,” Henry agreed, “but he does what he thinks the Bible tells him to. His pa never spared the rod on him, I've heard.”

“I can see whackin' a boy to get his attention if he really needs it. Some boys are hard to handle. I can't see makin' 'em buckle under just so's you can be boss, though.”

Henry pondered this silently. “Chad wouldn't be able to stand a strong-minded boy. He has a way of making you feel a little lower than he is. These boys will have to think his way or pay for it. Now me, I'd rather have the strap and my pride. But then,” he concluded, “I'm not his son. I can walk away if I feel like it.”

“Best we get to work,” Luke suggested. “They'll be back here before suppertime.”

Sam, the stationmaster in Willow Creek, consulted the timetable for the exact arrival time of the westbound train. Ed Swartz, from over near Hawley, stood at the ticket window and waited.

Sam pushed his glasses up on his nose and ran a stubby finger down the column in front of him. “Ten fourteen,” he announced. “Should be on time. Expecting someone, are you, Ed?”

Ed shifted from one foot to the other and looked pained. “'Fraid so. The missus sent me to get one of them orphans.” He glanced out toward the platform, where a number of people had already gathered, although more than an hour remained before the train was due. “Won't hurt my feelings none if there ain't enough to go around. We just got our last one off the place, and she wants to start over.”

“Morton, back at Kelsey, says there's five young 'uns left on the train,” Sam informed him. “Doubt we have that many families looking to take one. They left just one boy in Kelsey. Only other family here in town bent on getting an orphan as I've heard of is Edith and Ned Watkins. Might be more from the country.”

Ed nodded dismally. “I was afraid of that. I'll stand back until everyone else has had their pick.” He leaned on the counter and continued to survey the group outside. “I see Chad and Manda Rush came in. Are they really looking to take another orphan?”

“Yep. So I hear. You know how close-mouthed he is, but we heard him say he was thinkin' on it. Don't know as I'd try again if I was him.”

“I'd rather see my Rilla bring one up than that Rush woman,” Ed declared. “'Course, wasn't her fault the little fellow died, I guess. It's just that she doesn't seem like a child-loving person.”

“There's all kinds of God-fearing folks around,” Sam said. “It's just that some of 'em ain't as warmhearted as others. One thing about Chad … he'll leave 'em well fixed. Hear tell he's filed a claim up in South Dakota.”

A couple of hours later, the Orphan Train slowed down, and Alice, Simon, and Will ran to the windows to watch for the approaching station. Willow Creek was obviously an older town than Kelsey, for trees had been planted and houses could be seen in the distance.

Bert and Ethan reluctantly put away their game and crossed the aisle to the window. The screech of the big wheels told them that it wouldn't be long before the depot would be in sight, as well as a number of people. Among those faces were the folks who would determine what the lives of Ethan, Bert, and the others would be like. Could they tell by looking at those people what lay ahead for them?

Ethan sighed. “I'd rather not look. If I see someone I'd like to go with, and they turn out not to be here for me, I'll be disappointed. Or if I see one I don't want to go with and he did come for me, I'll feel even worse.”

“Well, the thing to do, see,” Bert told him, “is not to decide by how they look. Just think that everyone out there is going to be your next best friend. Then whoever takes you, you already like 'em! Remember the man I thought wouldn't like boys, and Arthur went with him? I was wrong. They were just right for each other.”

The train finally shuddered to a halt, and the children eagerly scanned the faces looking up toward the window. Most everyone was smiling, and one man was waving his arms in greeting.

“That's one's your pa, Bert,” Ethan said. “He can hardly wait for you to get here.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because he looks just right for you. You can tell that he likes boys. Anyway, he's the one I want to be yours.”

They had no further time to discuss it, for Charles Glover opened the door and beckoned the children to follow him off the Orphan Train.

Several ladies had gathered on the platform to visit. Manda Rush wasn't among them. She stood tight-lipped off to the side, beside an unhappy-looking Frances.

“We ought to ask Manda to join us,” the minister's wife suggested. “I don't want her to think we're talking about her.”

“Well, we are,” Edith Watkins pointed out. “If she was standing here, we wouldn't be. You're right. We should ask her.”

No one, however, made a move to go over to where the Rushes were standing. Hannah Boncoeur watched Manda with interest. “Why has she come for a child if she doesn't really want one, I wonder?”

“They lost a little boy,” Edith told her. “I think the girl wanted one to take his place.”

“Then she ought to look happy. I hope the boy is too little to know that they haven't counted the days until he got here, like we have.” Hannah smiled with delight as she thought of the child she and Carl would take home with them. “I know that Carl would like a boy to work with him. A girl would be lots of company for me, but I guess I'd feel easier about a boy riding back and forth to school alone. So whatever the Lord sends, I'm going to be happy!”

Louisa Finch, the schoolteacher, smiled at her. “Your new child will be too. Children know when they're wanted. I don't know how old they all are, but I should have some of them in school by fall.”

The stationmaster's wife spoke up. “Don't think you'll have the Rushes' boy, no matter how old he is. Sam says they're—”

A distant train whistle sounded, and all eyes turned toward the track. Everyone surged to the edge of the platform and watched as puffs of black smoke appeared on the horizon.

The first chug of the engine could be heard, and Hannah ran over to clutch Carl's arm. Carl grinned broadly and waved his arms. Then they waited breathlessly as the huge locomotive steamed up to the station house, and the two Orphan Train cars ground to a stop in front of them.

Agent Charles Glover stepped off the train to greet the waiting folk of Willow Creek, Nebraska. Matron following him carrying Will and holding Alice by the hand. Behind her, Ethan and Bert jumped down, pulling Simon between them.

“There's five,” someone whispered.

“And only one girl. I wonder who will get her!”

“I'm sure that littlest one goes to Chad Rush.”

They stood back and waited for Agent Glover to speak.

“Good afternoon.” Charles paused and looked around. “Is Mr. Rush here?”

A man stepped forward. “I am.”

Charles smiled confidently. “Here's your family, sir.”

Mr. Rush didn't smile. “There are five children here.”

Charles put his hand on Bert's shoulder. “This boy isn't one of them. The other four are the Coopers.”

Mr. Rush glanced at them, then nodded. “All right. Come on.”

Edith Watkins gasped. “You mean they're taking all of them? There's only one boy left!”

“Yes, ma'am. That's the arrangement that was made at the request of the Cooper family and the Home. The children have to stay together.”

Ethan studied the man who was to be his father. Alice and Simon looked in confusion from one grown-up to the other. At that moment Ethan decided he'd wait until Mr. Glover told them to go before he left the safety of Matron and Bert.

A handsome, happy-looking man came to the front. “Has anyone spoken for this young man?” he asked and put his arm around Bert's shoulder. To Bert he said softly, “I'm Carl Boncoeur. Nice to meet you.” A woman moved toward them. “And that's my wife, Hannah. We've been waiting for you.”

“We expect to get an orphan,” a frowning woman said. “We heard there were plenty to go around.”

“Ed Swartz come for one too, Edith,” someone said. “But most of us has children at home, and we can do without if they're all taken care of.”

Mrs. Boncoeur now stood on the other side of Bert, and she put her arm around him protectively. “Who is going to get him, sir?” she asked Agent Glover.

The crowd waited for Mr. Glover to speak.

He looked at Mrs. Watkins, then at the Boncoeurs and Bert. “I believe this is a case where the boy should make a choice. Bert?”

Bert looked at Ethan and grinned. “Someone already made the best choice for me.” Bert shook hands politely with Mrs. Watkins. “Thank you, ma'am, for wanting me. But these here are my folks.” He beamed at the Boncoeurs.

Tears ran down Mrs. Boncoeur's cheeks as she hugged him. Then, to the boys' great delight, Mr. Boncoeur leaped into the air, waved his hat, and shouted, “Whoopee!”

It was all Ethan could dream of for his best friend.

In the background, another man wiped his face with a big red handkerchief and sighed as if he was relieved.

Ethan pounded Bert on the back. “You got a pa who will dance a jig on the platform, Bert! Good for you!”

“Well,” Mrs. Watkins said, “there'll be other trains by, I'm sure. The next one may have our child. I'm glad to see everyone so happy.”

Matron hugged each child in turn, and as Mr. Rush waited with an impatient look on his face, Ethan said good-bye to Bert. With a promise from Mr. and Mrs. Boncoeur that the boys would see each other soon, Ethan's heart lifted a bit.

Mr. Rush spoke. “Well, are you ready to go?”

Ethan turned and grasped Will and Simon by the hand. “Yes, sir. Come on, Alice.”

Matron's heart grieved as the Cooper children followed Mr. Rush to the buggy, where his wife, Manda, and their daughter, Frances, were already seated. Mother and daughter hadn't even stepped up to greet the children.

Matron watched a moment, then hurried to take Alice's hand and walk with them. “Mrs. Rush? I'm Matron Daly from Briarlane. These are good children. I hope you'll be happy together.”

“Thank you, Matron,” Mrs. Rush answered stiffly. “They will have everything they need.”

Everything but love
, Matron thought.
God will have to provide that.
She waved and smiled for the children's benefit as the buggy pulled away. But as she walked back to join Charles at the station, a weight of sadness settled over her.

“Ethan is strong, Matron,” Charles assured her. “They won't break his spirit. I expect great things of that boy.”

In the buggy, Ethan thrust his hand deep into his pocket and felt Bert's key. He smiled as Simon asked, “Are we going to our new home, Ethan?”

“Yes, we are, Simon. We're going home.”