by Dani Larsen
The Secret Saddle:
Anna Troy's Emancipation
The Emancipation Series, Book 2
by Dani Larsen
Table of Contents
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Bert Hempe - photo
Prologue
Part I
Chapter 1: A New Beginning
Chapter 2: The Wedding
Chapter 3: Married life on the Hempe Ranch
Chapter 4: Bad Memories Return
Chapter 5: A New Home
Chapter 6: The Union County Fair
Chapter 7: A Letter Arrives
Chapter 8: A Visitor at the Troy Ranch
Chapter 9: Union County, Oregon
Chapter 10: A Growing Family
Chapter 11: Life in Cove
Chapter 12: Everything Changes
Chapter 13: The Big Move
Chapter 14: Turmoil at Anton's Place
Chapter 15: Lurking Danger
Chapter 16: Frank's Discovery
Chapter 17: Jude's Predicament
Chapter 18: Jude Takes Action
Chapter 19: Siringo Closes In
Part II
Chapter 20: Following the Clues
Chapter 21: Conflicting Emotions
Chapter 22: Jude's Search
Chapter 23: Siringo Delays the Search for Jude
Chapter 24: Ranch Life in Keating
Chapter 25: Jude Teams Up
Chapter 26: Siringo Travels to Montana
Chapter 27: The Cattle Rustling Business
Chapter 28: Danger in Montana
Part III
Chapter 29: Move to the City
Chapter 30: A Threat of Recognition
Chapter 31: Charlie Gives Up
Chapter 32: A Break In at the Troy Ranch
Chapter 33: Caution for All
Chapter 34: Christmas, 1919
Chapter 35: The Move to Sandy
Chapter 36: The Puzzle Comes Together
Chapter 37: Life in Sandy
Chapter 38: A Time to Mourn
Chapter 39: An Unknown Danger
Chapter 40: Finding the Saddle
Chapter 41: Anna Confronts Jude
Chapter 42: Life in Oregon after Jude's Demise
Bert and Vivian Hempe - photo
Anna Troy Hempe - photo
George Hempe - photo
The George and Anna Hempe Family - photo
The George and Anna Hempe Family, 1912 - photo
The George and Anna Hempe Family, 1928 - photo
The Frank and Caroline Hempe Family - photo
George and Anna Hempe's 50th Wedding Anniversary, 1958 - newspaper clipping
George and Anna Hempe's 50th Wedding Anniversary, 1958 - photo
Sister Helen Hempe - photo
Sister Helen Hempe and nuns - photo
Fact versus Fiction
About the Author
The Secret Saddle:
Anna Troy's Emancipation
The Emancipation Series, Book 2
Copyright © 2018 by Dani Larsen
All rights reserved, in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patent Acts of 1988. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the author.
ISBN 978-0-692-94936-8
Dedication
I have many people to thank for helping me complete "The Secret Saddle". I couldn't have done it without the help of my terrific husband. Darris was involved in every chapter, as he spent hours on his computer researching every little thing that I asked him about and the era I was writing about. I wanted to be sure that every detail was accurate and possible in the early 1900's. Thank you so much, Darris, you are my hero.
I also want to thank my early on supportive readers who gave me their thoughts after reading my first drafts. Much thanks to Catrinna Crase, Pat Mier, and Scott Teem for their time and valuable advice. My appreciation also goes to my last readers and reviewers: Judy Rogers, Trisha Mitchell, and Peggy Price. Your honest appreciation of my writing and true excitement about my novel means more to me than I can say.
This would never have been published without the hard work of my editor/publisher and dear son, Nicolas Crase, who has spent tireless hours making sure all is correct in every form. Your perfectionism and long hours of work are truly appreciated. The job of formatting and preparing for publishing is a hard one and you have again succeeded in doing an excellent job. To Scott Teem for assistance with preparing the eBook files.
Last and certainly not least, my appreciation goes to my talented grandson, Andrew Fernandez, who did the beautiful graphic artwork and photography for the cover of "The Secret Saddle: Anna Troy's Emancipation". I'm so glad I could add a page to his growing portfolio for his career in the world of multi-media and graphic arts.
I want to dedicate this book to my late father, Bert Hempe, and his beautiful family, who are showcased in this work of historical fiction. I enjoyed learning about this part of my family in my research and finding out what strong hard working people I come from. I leave this legacy to my children, Mike, Michele, Nicolas, Anthony, Danielle and Catrinna, and to all of my wonderful grandchildren, so that they may know their ancestors and appreciate what they received from those who paved the road they are destined to travel. I love you all!
Bert Hempe
Prologue
October, 1958
It was a warm afternoon early in October of 1958 in Portland, Oregon, and it was the day of my grandparents' Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary party. At fourteen I wasn't excited about spending the day with my family at a boring event instead of with my friends. None of my cousins were my age, and my siblings weren't in tune with my likes. My brother, Mike, was sixteen and just a few months younger than our cousin, Jeff, so he had someone to pal around with. My sister, Juli, was seven, and I certainly did not want to spend the day entertaining her. The only cousins close to my age were the two girls from California that I didn't know very well. Charlene and Benecia were twelve and ten. I was sure my parents and aunts and uncles would be talking to each other and not with me. I was shy anyway and felt awkward, no matter who I was with or where we were.
I sat in the back of the car on our way to their home, which was only two miles from our house, wishing the day was over already. My grandparents greeted everyone pleasantly as we entered their home, and I was already bored. I loved my grandparents but they were seventy-one and seventy-three, and we didn't have a lot in common. My grandfather, George Hempe, was always friendly and loved to tease, I felt very close to him, but my grandmother, Anna Troy Hempe, was hard to communicate with ever since she had suffered a stroke seven years earlier. I wondered what went on in her head as she didn't say much. I remembered going to the hospital with my parents and sitting in the waiting room for hours, before the doctor came out and told us that she would be okay. I didn't know what okay meant until much later, when my father explained to me that the stroke had done considerable damage, and that my grandmother at sixty-four would have to learn how to walk and talk all over again. That was really hard for me to imagine as Grandma had always been a loving and happy woman who loved to cook and sew. She had always been there to help my mother out when she and I were sick with asthma. She had often nursed us back to health, and she always brought wonderful food with her. My favorite was the rhubarb pie that she made from the fresh rhubarb she grew in her garden. Grandma had learned t
o walk again, but did that carefully, taking small steps wherever she went, and she had learned to talk again, but she only spoke in short sentences with few words. My grandfather was always by her side, making sure that she was taken care of in every way. She could still cook and bake as far as I knew, but I didn't know if it was the same as it had been before her stroke.
Grandpa stayed by her side now and looked at her with loving eyes. He pinned the corsage on her blouse and held her hand all day. Their children had purchased and paid to have new wall to wall carpeting installed throughout their living and dining rooms in the old house as an anniversary gift. They were very proud of it and showed it to everyone. My great aunts, Margaret, Fan and Zee, had come from Eastern Oregon to be by their sister's side for this special occasion. Margaret lived in La Grande, and Fan and Zee came from the ranch that they ran, eighteen miles outside of Baker City. Grandpa's sister, Ida, came all the way from Walla Walla, Washington. My aunt, Mary, and her husband and children had come from Bakersfield, California. Her older sister, Sister Miriam Magdala (Helen), was there with her friend, Sister Kathleen. Grandpa had driven to Lake Oswego to pick them up from the convent at Marylhurst that morning. My dad's brother, John, was there with his wife and two grown children, Kenny and Patricia, and his other brother, George, a Portland Policeman was there with his wife, two stepchildren, as well as his son, Jeff, from his first marriage. They lived in Portland as did our family. My dad, Bert Hempe, was the manager of one of the Kienow's Grocery Stores, and my mom, Vivian, worked for the State.
It was a beautiful sunny day, and we were able to take pictures of the family out in front of the house. There was a wonderful covered porch on the front of the house where Grandma and Grandpa sat in their rocking chairs most evenings before they retired for the night. After everyone arrived and pictures were taken, my grandparents cut the cake that my dad had ordered from Kienow's Bakery, and we all ate cake and ice cream and drank the punch and coffee that was provided.
I was bored to tears and couldn't wait to go home, until we all sat down and Grandpa started to tell stories about the funny things that had happened to the family over those fifty years of marriage. All of their children took turns telling funny, heartwarming stories too. I just sat in the background and listened. I was embarrassed when Grandpa told a story about me.
"I'll never forget the night that Dani stood on that chair over there one Christmas Eve when she was three years old and recited "The Night Before Christmas" from memory. We were so proud of her, but amazed when she forgot all the reindeer names and made them up." My face turned several shades of red at the memory of my mistake. "Yes, she remembered everything until she got to those reindeer names, and she said. "On Dasher and Dancer, and ... Thunder and Lightning ..." We have yet to figure out how she knew that Donder and Blitzen means thunder and lightning in German."
"Really? That is what it means?" My mother looked surprised.
"Yes, Vivian. I always thought you had taught her that, otherwise how would she know?"
"I had no idea that is what it meant. I didn't teach her that."
Suddenly, everyone was looking at me.
"I didn't know what it meant until you just said that. Are you sure? How did I know that?"
"I have been wondering about that ever since you said it."
Then Sister Helen spoke.
"Pa, why don't you tell us what happened with that bad man that came to our ranch looking for trouble that day when we had the dairy farm?"
"I don't know if your mama wants me to tell that story. It is a long one, and it started way back when we first got married. Well, I guess fifty years later it would be an appropriate story to tell. What do you think, Anna? Should I tell that story?"
My grandmother looked at her husband and just smiled and nodded.
"This will take a while to tell, so everyone get comfortable, get yourself a drink and settle in, because you will want to hear this entire story."
I went over and sat closer to my grandparents, as suddenly I was very interested to hear the story that my grandfather was going to tell.
Part I
Chapter One
"A New Beginning"
October, 1908
Anna's mind was going in several different directions as she thought about the day ahead. She was in the back seat of the new buggy with her sister and mother as they headed for Baker City, eighteen miles west of their ranch, and the start of her new life with George Hempe. John Troy drove the buggy, while his wife, Mary, rode in the back with their two oldest daughters, Anna and Margaret. The family was looking forward to the celebration, and had been working for days to prepare for Anna's wedding day. Margaret was looking forward to her job as her sister's Maid of Honor. Twenty-year old Jeremiah had been entrusted with the job of driving the family's old buggy and bringing his younger siblings, Frances, Elizabeth, and John Stephen, Jr., to Saint Frances Cathedral.
As they turned onto the main road which would take them into town, Mary looked toward the east, where Look Out Mountain loomed, and then she looked at her twenty-two year old daughter and said a prayer of thanks that their beloved girl was there at all. She got that awful feeling again as she remembered that terrifying day that Anna was kidnapped by the "evil" Jack Bane. Every time the memories of that horrible day on the mountain flashed through her mind, it was like living through hell all over again. She never knew when some insignificant thing would bring those thoughts back; like seeing a child crying, a mother sobbing, a cowboy being mean to an animal, or even when she saw her dear Chinese friends, the memories came flooding back. As she looked at Anna's smiling face she wondered if the girl remembered that fateful day, since they had never talked about it.
"Ye look beautiful, Anna. Are ye nervous?"
Mary reached over and patted her daughter's hand, suddenly filled with the fear of losing her again. Her eyes felt wet as she tried to reassure Anna and herself that all would be okay.
"George is a fine young man! I think ye have made a good choice."
"Yes, Mama, I think I am very fortunate to have met him. I don't think there is a better man for miles around. I guess I am a bit nervous. Not about the wedding, but about starting a new life and being so far away from all of you."
"Ye'll not be so far away, me precious daughter."
John turned around and smiled at his daughter. Always able to pick up on his wife's emotions, he sensed she was remembering that terrifying time.
"Remember how far away yer mum and me's family was when we came to Oregon to live. Ye will be able to reach us within a day if'n ye have a need of us. Yer mum left her family in Ireland at a young age, and then she left them in California when she married me. Me family is mostly still in Ireland. Now that is a long ways away."
"Yes, Da, you're right. I'm lucky to have my family living so close. The Hempe Ranch is only a few hours away."
She reached over and took her mama's hand and held it gently, seeing that her eyes were full of tears, and realizing that her mama would be missing her too. Then she quietly turned her attention to the beautiful Eastern Oregon countryside, as she reminisced about the wonderful years she had spent growing up on the ranch. As they came closer to the town where she was to become Mrs. George Hempe, she was filled with emotions that she didn't understand. She felt sorrow at the thought of leaving her family and the changes that would bring to her life, and yet she was excited at the thought of beginning a new life with George.
The family had spent the morning preparing for the noon wedding, and for the reception planned for their large yard at the ranch afterward. There had been such a hustle and bustle of rushing to get things done that Mary hadn't had time to fully contemplate the sudden loss of her oldest daughter. Mary's thoughts turned to the past and her own wedding as she looked at Anna, who was wearing the same satin gown that she had worn in San Francisco, on Valentine's Day in 1884. Only two years ago she had received the devastating news that the beautiful church, where they had said their vows, had bur
ned to the ground during the fire that followed the ravaging earthquake of 1906 which destroyed that beautiful city. It had been a terrifying week until news arrived that all of her siblings were safe.
Mary had preserved the dress by wrapping it in newspapers, and kept it in a sealed box in the bottom drawer of the dresser that John and her Uncle Sean had built for her at the same time they built her beautiful ranch house. A careful rinsing brought the dress back to life, and although it was still a little yellow with age it didn't bother Anna at all.
Her sisters gathered brilliant yellow and orange roses from their garden for Anna's bouquet, and Mary wove some tiny yellow rosebuds into the square of lace she had tatted to pin in her daughter's hair. Margaret pulled Anna's long auburn curls into a bun at the back of her head, leaving a few of the ringlets draping down the back of her neck. She pinched her sister's cheeks and lips, bringing out her natural beauty. The three girls had done all the sewing, making their own dresses of light blue cotton, with full skirts, round collars, and wrist length sleeves. All three pulled their curly auburn hair back behind their ears with dark blue satin ribbons. They used the extra fabric that they had left after making satin sashes to tie around their waists. John Troy and his two sons wore shirts the girls made for them out of the same light blue cotton, and they all wore dark slacks. Leather vests were worn over their shirts, and well worn, but shined boots covered their feet. Mary wore a simple blue flowered dress and a hand knitted beige shawl draped over her shoulders. Her once dark auburn locks had faded to a golden strawberry with streaks of platinum, which was also pulled back and tied with a blue satin ribbon at the nape of her neck. John and Mary were both in their fifties, although neither looked their age. They both had silver streaks in their hair, and John's once black handle bar mustache was now a distinguished gray. Jeremiah had dark hair and eyes, like his father's had been once, and Steve had his mother's blue eyes and reddish brown hair
