by Al Lacy
Dane smiled, bent over, and hugged the boy. “I told Mr. Brace I wanted to meet you, Kenny. And the Lord made it possible!”
When they released each other, Kenny looked up into Dane’s eyes. “Thank you for sending Mr. Brace to me. Did he tell you that as soon as I get better he is going to send me to Denver, Colorado, to be adopted by a Christian family named Ross?”
“No, I didn’t, Kenny,” spoke up Brace. “I wanted to let you tell him. Kenny’s father has never been located,” he said to Dane.
Dane nodded. “So you already have a family in Denver who have agreed to take him?”
“Yes. Mike Ross is a successful attorney in Denver. He and his wife, Julie, have already taken four handicapped children from the Society, and have wanted one more. I wired the Rosses several days ago and told them about Kenny. They wired right back, saying they would take him.”
Dane patted the boys head. “Kenny, I’m so glad for you.” He turned to Brace. “Do you have any idea when Kenny will be able to travel?”
“The Society’s doctor has told me that Kenny should be ready to travel by January 1. So I have scheduled him on an orphan train that will be leaving Grand Central Station on Wednesday, January 3.”
“I see. Sir, will Kenny still be in a wheelchair when it is time for him to travel?”
“Yes, he will. The doctor said he shouldn’t try to begin using crutches until next spring.”
“Will there be someone on the train to take care of him on the trip?
“Well, there is always a Society nurse on board, but we will have to have one of the teenage boys look after him in the boys’ coach.”
Dane laid a hand on Kenny’s shoulder. “Mr. Brace, if it’s all right with you, I would like to delay my departure until Kenny is ready to travel. I’d like to be his companion.”
Myra smiled and looked at Brace.
Brace laughed. “It doesn’t surprise me. You’re sure this is what you want to do, Dane? It’ll mean that you’ll be almost six weeks later leaving for the West.”
Dane looked down at Kenny’s adoring face. The little boy’s eyes were fixed on him. “I’m absolutely sure, sir. God has been so good to me. I want to share my blessings with Kenny.”
“That’s fine with me, Dane. I’ll make a place here for you to stay until your train leaves.”
“Oh, thank you, sir. That way Kenny and I can get better acquainted, and I’ll be very glad to do any work around here that you need done.”
“Well, we will probably take you up on the offer, son. There always seems to be plenty of work to do around here.”
“It will be my pleasure, Mr. Brace. You have no idea how happy I am to be here and out of that prison.”
“I guess I’d have to experience it to really know, son, but I’m awfully happy for you, and I’m so glad we’ll have you around here for a few weeks.”
“Thank you. I was just thinking, if someone should choose me at one of the depots before we get to Denver, the sponsors will see that another teenage boy takes care of Kenny for the rest of his journey, won’t they?”
“I’ll see that they are prepared to do that, Dane, but I need to explain something about this particular trip. The train you and Kenny will be on doesn’t go to Denver. It will arrive in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on Tuesday, January 9. The Rosses already know about this. They will take a train from Denver to Cheyenne to pick Kenny up. There will not be another orphan train into Denver until January 25. When I explained this to the Rosses in my wire, they replied back that they wanted Kenny as soon as possible, so they will go to Cheyenne to pick him up.”
Kenny looked up at Dane. “Even if you get chosen before I get to Cheyenne, Dane, it will be really neat to have you for a good part of the trip!”
Dane patted his head. “Well, I’m going to pray that the Lord will let someone in or beyond Cheyenne choose me, so we can stay together all the way.”
In Denver, Tharyn was superbly happy with David and Kitty Tabor. The Rosses and the Tabors allowed Tharyn and Leanne to spend a great deal of time together, which thrilled them no end. Both girls had been legally adopted into their respective families and knew they were loved. They both loved the church and were making new friends there.
Tharyn had come to love John and Breanna Brockman very much already. She stood in awe of the tall, broad-shouldered chief Unites States marshal, and having told Breanna that she wanted to become a nurse, had found Breanna willing and eager to begin teaching her about nursing and medicine immediately.
Because she was carrying her baby, Breanna worked fewer days at the clinic and the hospital, which gave her time to pick Tharyn up after school on some days and take her to the Brockman place out in the country. Breanna learned early about Dane Weston, his saving Tharyn’s life at the risk of his own, his taking her to the alley and giving her a home, of Tharyn’s closeness to him, and of his being convicted and put in prison with a life sentence for a crime he did not commit.
Breanna enjoyed Tharyn’s enthusiasm about her medical career, and they enjoyed pouring over Breanna’s nursing manuals together. Each time they were together, they grew to love each other more.
Tharyn, of course, had told her new parents Dane’s story, and had them praying—as were the Brockmans—that the Lord would clear Dane of the murder and free him from prison.
On the evening of November 24, Tharyn sat down and wrote a letter to Dane, as she had told him she would. She told him all about her new parents, that they were born-again Christians, and how happy she was with them. She told him about Leanne and how close the two of them were to each other.
She went on to say that her new parents were praying for him, as well as Christian friends and herself. She asked him to write back to her, then informed him that her name was now Tharyn Tabor, and gave him her address. As she closed the letter, she called him her big brother, and signed it: Love, your little sis.
On December 5 at the prison in the Hall of Detention and Justice in Manhattan, New York, the mail was delivered as usual. As Superintendent Roger Thaxton’s male secretary sorted through the mail, he found an envelope addressed to Dane Weston from a Tharyn Tabor of Denver, Colorado. He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, little lady, it’s too late. I have no idea where Weston is by now.”
With that, he tossed Tharyn’s letter in the wastebasket, unopened.
In the Children’s Aid Society auditorium on Wednesday morning, January 3, 1872, Charles Loring Brace stood before the sixty-seven orphans who were going to board the train at Grand Central Station. He made the usual speech about the rules they would follow on the trip, then introduced the adults who would be their chaperones: Mr. Gifford Stanfield and his wife, Laura; Mr. Derek Conlan and his wife, Tabitha.
Brace also introduced Miss Rachel Wolford, who was in her white uniform. He explained that Miss Wolford was a certified medical nurse and would be aboard the train to care for any of them who became ill. Miss Wolford would be riding in the girls’ coach.
Brace told them that the train would go through Chicago, Illinois; Des Moines, Iowa; and Omaha, Nebraska. He explained that when the train arrived in Kearney, Nebraska, they would meet prospective foster parents for the first time, and they would be at each depot from then on.
The train would stop next at North Platte, Nebraska, then at Julesburg, Colorado. The next stop would be Cheyenne, Wyoming. After Cheyenne, there would be stops in western Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and Sacramento, California, before the final stop in San Francisco.
The children were taken to Grand Central Station in wagons and put on the train.
In the boys’ coach, Dane Weston kept Kenny Atwood on the seat with him, and when Kenny needed to be in his wheelchair, it was Dane who took care of it.
Chapter Twenty-three
The days seemed to pass quickly for the orphans as the train rolled westward toward Illinois. The sponsors and the nurse kept them busy with Bible studies, games, and singing songs. They all loved the song about the fragrant breezes out West, and ea
ch time they sang it in the boys’ coach, Dane Weston recalled his thoughts about the whispers he hoped to hear in the wind, welcoming him to the wide open spaces.
Dane stayed close to Kenny Atwood, and was always there to help him when needed.
On one occasion, as the train was rolling across western Pennsylvania, the pad of gauze that was tied over the stump where the boys leg had been removed just below his knee, came loose. The pant leg had been folded upward at the knee on the back of his leg, and fastened with a safety pin.
Dane noticed his little friend carefully tugging at his pant leg in the seat beside him and asked what was wrong. When Kenny told him it felt like the gauze pad had come loose, Dane undid the safety pin, dropped the pant leg, then pushed it up above the knee. He found that the pad had indeed come loose, and quickly tied it again, exactly as the Society’s doctor had done.
When the safety pin was once again holding the pant leg in place, Kenny looked up at Dane. “You really did good, Dane. You’re gonna be a good doctor someday. Thank you for taking such good care of me.”
Dane ruffled Kenny’s hair. “Hey, sport, I want to spend my life taking care of people who are sick and disabled. You’re just giving me good practice.”
On Friday, January 5, the train pulled into Chicago’s railroad station. It was extremely cold there, with a strong wind making it worse. The children in the orphan coaches were allowed to get off the train and walk around inside the part of the terminal that was enclosed and heated.
Dane was pushing Kenny through the terminal with Gifford Stanfield, Derek Conlan, and the other boys close by. When it was time to reboard the train, they headed through the double doors that led to the tracks and soon were moving beside their train toward the rear, where the orphan coaches stood ready.
Stanfield, Conlan, and the other boys were ahead of Dane and Kenny.
While pushing the wheelchair, Dane noticed two couples standing beside the second coach, talking. One of the men caught sight of Kenny and lifted a hand, signaling Dane to stop. The man appeared to be in his midforties.
“Hello, boys,” he said with a warm smile. “Are you part of the orphan group?”
“Yes,” replied Dane.
“I’m Dr. Jacob Logan from Cheyenne, Wyoming. What are your names?”
“I’m Dane Weston, sir. And this is my friend, Kenny Atwood.”
Looking at Kenny, the doctor said, “I couldn’t help but notice that part of your left leg is gone.”
Kenny nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Did this happen recently?”
“It did,” spoke up Dane. “As you can probably tell, it had to be amputated just below the knee.”
Logan rubbed his chin. “The orphan trains come through Cheyenne quite often, so I’m well acquainted with them. I know that each one has a nurse aboard. However, if Kenny should need my attention, my wife and I will be traveling here in the second coach behind the coal car.”
“We’ll sure call on you if we need you, Dr. Logan,” said Dane. “Thank you for the offer.”
The doctor gestured toward the lovely woman who had been standing nearest him. “I want you boys to meet my wife, Naomi. Honey, this lad in the wheelchair is Kenny Atwood, and his friend is Dane Weston. They’re part of the orphan group on this train.”
Naomi greeted the boys warmly, then the doctor said, “We’ve been at Northwestern University School of Medicine here in Chicago for several days. I’ve been giving a series of lectures to the students. We’re heading home now.”
Dane nodded. “It just so happens that Kenny already has a family in Denver, Colorado, who are going to take him into their home. They’re going to take a train to Cheyenne from Denver and pick him up. They didn’t want to wait for the next orphan train to come to Denver because it won’t be there till almost the end of January.”
“I see,” said Logan. “Well, Kenny, we’ll be getting off at the same place then, won’t we?”
“We sure will, sir.”
Logan said, “Remember my offer, Dane. If Kenny should need me between here and Cheyenne, you tell the conductor or one of the Society sponsors to come and let me know.”
“Sure will, Doctor.”
All the orphans were on the train by the time Dane rolled the wheelchair up to the boys’ coach. Gifford Stanfield was there waiting for them. While Gifford was carrying the wheelchair aboard and Dane was carrying Kenny, Gifford asked, “Who were the couple you were talking to?”
“That was Dr. Jacob Logan and his wife, sir. He has a practice in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He has been at the Northwestern University School of Medicine here in Chicago, lecturing to the students. He offered his services for Kenny if he was needed.”
“Well, that was nice of him. I’m always glad to know it when we have a doctor on board. Miss Wolford is an excellent nurse, but sometimes things happen which require the attention of a doctor.”
“I hope someday when I’m a doctor, I can give lectures like he does. And maybe I can have a wife as pretty as his!”
Gifford laughed. “Well, I hope both things work that way for you.” As he spoke, he placed the wheelchair just inside the door of the boys’ coach and sat down next to Derek Conlan, as Dane carried the boy toward their seat.
Kenny said, “Dane, I hope that whoever chooses you lives close to where I’m gonna live. What will I do without you to help me?”
“I don’t know if that will happen, Kenny. But I promise you this. The people who are adopting you will love you and give you all the care you will ever need. From what Mr. Brace told me, they are a very special couple and their heart’s desire is to help very special children such as yourself. You’re going to be very happy with them, even if I’m not around.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Okay, if you say so.” Kenny gave his friend a lopsided grin. “But I’d still like to have you around.”
When the train had been out of Chicago about an hour, Dr. Jacob Logan entered the girls’ coach and introduced himself to Laura Stanfield, Tabitha Conlan, and Nurse Rachel Wolford. He told Rachel if anything should happen between here and Cheyenne where she needed his help, to please call on him. He and his wife were in coach number two. Rachel told him she was glad he was aboard and would most certainly call on him if he was needed.
Logan then went into the boys’ coach to meet the male sponsors. Gifford Stanfield and Derek Conlan both welcomed him, saying they were glad to have him aboard. Gifford then informed him that Dane Weston had told him that he and Kenny Atwood had met the doctor and his wife just before reboarding the train.
Dr. Logan said, “I stopped in the girls’ coach and met your wives and Miss Wolford. I wanted to let them know that I’m aboard, and if they should need me, I’m at their service, and I want you to know that too.”
“We appreciate that,” said Derek.
The doctor ran his gaze through the coach, smiling at all the boys, then set his eyes on Dane and Kenny. “Mind if I talk to my new young friends for a moment?”
“Go right ahead, Doctor,” said Gifford.
Dane and Kenny both smiled brightly as Dr. Logan drew up to their seat. Dane had his arm around the little boy.
Dr. Logan said, “Dane, I want to commend you for the way you are taking care of your little friend. Looks to me like he’s in good hands.”
“Well, sir, it’s good practice for me. You see, I’m planning to become a doctor when I grow up.”
Logan’s brows rose. “Oh, really?”
“Yes, sir. I’m praying that the Lord will give me foster parents who will back me as I finish high school, then go to medical school.”
“Well, good for you. How old are you, Dane?”
“Almost sixteen, sir. I’ve wanted to be a physician and surgeon since I was younger than Kenny here. Let me show you something.”
Dane bent down and picked up his medical bag and his medical books from under the seat in front of him. “See? Here are books that I’ve read, and still read.
”
Logan took them in hand, looking at one book after the other. “Well, you really are serious about this, aren’t you?”
“Yes, sir. I sure am.”
“And where did you get that medical bag?”
“From Dr. Lee Harris. I met him when I was living on the streets of Manhattan after my parents and little brother and sister were murdered by a street gang last April. He took care of lots of street children when they needed him. He’s retired now and living in Virginia. Because of my interest in becoming a doctor, he gave me his medical bag.”
“Well, that’s really something, Dane. I’m proud of you for sticking with your dream, even though you’ve been orphaned. And something else. You said a moment ago that you’re praying that the Lord will give you the right kind of foster parents.”
“Yes, sir. I’m a born-again child of God, and I very much believe in prayer. God really answered prayer for me in a big way a few weeks ago, or I wouldn’t be on this train right now.”
“I’d like to hear about that some time. How long have you known the Lord?”
“Just a few months. It was Dr. Lee Harris who led me to esus.
“Wonderful! Well, I’m a born-again child of God, myself. So is my wife. We’ll have to get together and talk some while we’re on this trip.”
“That’d be fine with me, Dr. Logan. I’d like to tell you about the medical care I gave to my friends in the alley under the direction of Dr. Harris.”
“I’d love to hear it.”
The next day, Dr. Logan asked permission from Gilbert Stanfield and Derek Conlan to take Dane to his coach so he and his wife could have some time with him. Permission was gladly granted, and during the three hours Dane sat with the Logans, he gave them more details on his family’s murder, his life in the alley, and how he was led to the Lord by Dr. Harris in the Harris home. He then told him of his arrest for killing Benny Jackson and the ultimate clearing of his name, and showed them the letter of apology from the judge and the chief of police.
