Erin walked back downstairs. Pulling on her gloves, she gave Dusty's leg a none-too-gentle kick to wake him up.
“I have to speak to Mr. Dickinson. Tell him I will wait for him outside. I need some clean air.”
“He ain't going to like that. He'll expect you to go to him.”
“I am not his lackey. Unless he wants me to go directly to the sheriff, he will meet me outside. Good day.”
Erin walked out the door leaving Dusty cursing her. She allowed herself a small smile. She had a mountain of work to do before she really helped the girls living in the house but, at least, she had won the first battle.
Dickie kept her waiting for some time before making his way outside.
“Thought you would have gone home, Doc.”
“I never give up, Mr. Dickinson. Now about those girls, these are my...”
“I don't intend doing any different, so you might as well save yourself and me the trouble. Good afternoon, Miss Brennan.”
“That truly is a pity, Mr. Dickinson, as my next stop is the sheriff’s office. Those locked windows are a fire hazard. Having windows nailed shut in a building used for public entertainment is in breach of the fire safety regulations, sub section ten. You can be fined up to one hundred dollars for each breach of the code. Have a nice day.”
“Wait a minute. I ain't never heard of no code.”
“Didn't I tell you my pa was a fire chief back in New York?”
“Okay, lady, you win. This time.”
“While you are unlocking those windows, it would be a good idea to provide new bedding, plenty of hot water, and clean cloths. I am sure the girls won't mind cleaning up the squalor they call home. I expect you to place an order at the store for more food too. Next time I examine your workers, I would prefer to see some meat on their bones.”
“Don't push your luck, lady.”
“It's Doctor not lady. Good afternoon, Mr. Dickinson.”
Erin walked down the street with a big smile on her face. She hated bullies of all descriptions and getting the upper hand on one always made her day.
Sometime later the clinic door opened, admitting Little Beaver.
“Afternoon, Doc, you got a minute?”
“Yes of course. Are you hurt?” Erin scanned him but didn't see any sign of injury. He looked much healthier than most of the townsfolk.
“I have had a complaint, Doc. Sheriff sent me to talk to you about it.”
“A complaint?” Erin racked her brains but couldn't think of anyone who would have reason to complain to the sheriff.
“Seems like you been threatening a businessman.” Little Beaver grinned at her.
“He made a complaint?” Erin stood up. “Of all the lowdown skunks.”
“You do have very hot temper. Yes, Mr. Dickinson is very upset. He says we must punish you for breaking the law.”
“What law?”
“He didn't know.” Little Beaver started to laugh. “He jump up and down a lot. He looked like he was trying to do a war dance but was drunk.”
Erin giggled at the description.
“Little Beaver, I am glad you called. I need your help.”
Erin quickly told the Indian the story Mollie told her. “I have no idea where this Kathryn is now or even if she is still alive. Can you do anything?”
“I can search the building later.”
“Don’t you need some papers?”
“Only if I get caught.” Little Beaver winked at Erin.
“Be careful. Please call me if I can do anything to help you.”
Little Beaver’s face turned serious.
“Doc Erin, you need be more careful. Mr. Dickinson is angry. He like snake. Never turn your back on snake.”
“I will be careful.”
“You must or Mick will be very bad to Little Beaver.”
Little Beaver left Erin wondering what Mick had to do with her. Surely the Indian wasn’t trying to play match maker?
Early the next morning, Little Beaver called to see Erin at the clinic. He told her he had searched the building but couldn’t find Kathryn. “There was blood stains but I cannot say if human or animal.”
Erin looked him in the eyes. She didn’t say anything. Neither did he but he touched her arm gently. Then he moved to the door.
“One day soon, we will stop this man from hurting anyone else. This I promise.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, the lump in her throat making her unable to talk properly.
Chapter 25
Erin was reading an old copy of the New England Journal of Medicine. The clinic was so clean you could eat your dinner off the floor. The shelves were tidy, the accounts up to date. She had even packed her bag ready for her trip up to the logging village. Mrs. Grey had thrown an almighty fit when Erin suggested she was considering going up there alone. She insisted on finding her a male escort. If truth be known, her tales of grizzly bears, mountain lions, and the odd fugitive had scared Erin not that she would admit it.
She looked up as the clinic door opened. Mick stood on the doorstep. Without even thinking, she quickly checked her reflection in the mirror. She hadn’t seen him since her unfortunate display in Wilma’s kitchen. Judging by the merry gleam in his eyes, he hadn’t forgotten how embarrassed she’d been. She would have to pretend it never happened. Adopting her most professional manner, she closed the periodical and replaced it on Doc’s desk.
“Morning, Doc, are you ready to go?”
“Sorry, Mr. Quinn, but I am not following. Go where?”
“Davy said you needed an escort up to the logging camp on the peak.”
“Mrs. Grey said she’d ask him for someone. I wasn’t expecting you. I will ask—”
“There’s nobody else. They all got jobs to do. So, are you going or not?”
Erin longed to say no but she couldn’t. Doc said he hadn’t been up to the village in a long time. The loggers tended to fend for themselves. She wanted to check that everyone was as healthy as could be. Come winter it would be impossible to reach them.
“I’m ready.”
“You need to wrap up warmer than that. It might look like a nice day but it will be cold up there.”
Erin wasn’t about to argue. She ran upstairs and brought down a blanket. “Happy now?”
He didn’t answer but held out his hand to help her up into the wagon beside him.
“We will go as far as we can in this but we may have to walk some of the way.”
‘I have sturdy boots, Pa!” She said trying to make a joke. She thought she caught the hint of a smile, but he turned away before she was certain. It was going to be a long trip. She settled back and decided to try and sleep.
It didn’t take as long as she’d thought. The loggers were up higher in the mountain working but their wives and children were camping on lower ground. Mick spent his time playing games with the younger children while Erin chatted with the mothers as best she could. One of the women knew some English and between that and sign language they muddled along. She was happy with the overall health of the majority of the children. They looked cleaner than she’d expected too. She was about to leave when she heard the frail cries of an infant. She moved toward the sound to find a woman lying in her house, the baby lying beside her.
“Why is she left alone like this?” Erin asked. The house was in a complete state of squalor. The bed was unmade, the baby and mother were both dirty.
“Husband leave her. She bad woman.” The woman who had been acting as interpreter went to leave.
“Wait. You can’t leave her like this. She will die.”
“Best for all if she did.”
“But her child? He or she is completely innocent,” Erin said.
“Child of sin. Best if she die too.”
The woman walked out the door leaving Erin staring speechless after her. If she hadn’t seen the same woman being so kind to the children outside, she wouldn’t have been as surprised. She quickly made her way toward the baby and mother.
“My name is Doc Erin. I will help you.”
If the woman understood her, she made no sign of it. She just stared.
Erin picked up the baby, disgusted to find the poor thing was completely saturated.
“Mr. Quinn, can you help me here, please?”
Mick looked surprised to be called but he came over right away. He took one look at the baby and his expression turned so angry Erin took a step back.
“What do you need, Doc?” He asked through gritted teeth.
“Can you speak their language. I don’t know if she understands English. The other woman, Maria, won’t help me.”
Mick tried speaking to the mother. She was surprised to see how gentle he was. He took the lady’s hand and stroked it gently. She talked rapidly at first but he made her understand she had to speak more slowly.
“Can you ask her when she gave birth?”
“Two days ago. She thinks. She isn’t sure.”
“Did anyone help her?”
“No.” Mick’s teeth gritted.
“We need to find some food for the baby and get them both washed. Do any of the children you were playing with speak English? I need plenty of hot water, fuel for the fire and a nurse.”
“The water and the wood I can do. A nurse? Out here?”
“A new mother who is feeding her baby,” Erin explained slightly amused as his face went red.
“Oh. As for the children, a few go to school occasionally. I will go get one of the older girls.”
A girl called Olga came in to the hut, a scared expression on her face. “Matuskha not want me in here.”
“Let me deal with your ma. I need your help. Have any of the women given birth?”
“Ya, two.”
“Are they still feeding their babies.” Erin mimed out in actions so the girl understood. Mick made himself busy bringing in fuel.
Olga nodded.
“Can you ask them to come here, please?” Erin asked.
“To this house. Nobody come here.” Olga shook her head vigorously.
“Tell them the doctor said to come.”
Olga went to find the women. Meanwhile, Erin busied herself washing the little girl. She was such a tiny little thing, already listless. Whatever fight she’d left seemed to have been used up by wailing earlier. Erin sponged her down gently trying to keep a grip on the rage building inside her at the condition of the infant’s skin.
The two nursing mothers arrived.
“Can you please feed this child?” Erin again mimed out the actions.
“Nah.” The women went to leave but Erin stopped them.
“The child will die if you don’t.” Erin gestured to Olga to translate. The younger girl spoke rapidly but the women kept walking.
“I will never come back to this village again. I will make sure the other doctor doesn’t either. Do you hear me. I mean it.”
“Shouting at people rarely works.” Mick said out of the side of his mouth. “Why don’t you try asking them?”
Erin wanted to snap his head off, but, instead, she took a deep breath and looked directly into the ladies’ faces.
“Please. I do not understand what the mother has done but this is just a little girl.”
Olga translated again. One woman left but the other looked at the baby. Taking a big sigh, she took the child from Erin. Settling herself back on a chair she started nursing her. The infant was slow to suckle but after a couple of attempts she began gulping in the milk. Both Erin and the nursing mother laughed. Olga had disappeared.
A weak sound from the bed alerted her to the fact the mother was crying.
“Please take my baby. Do not leave here to die.” The mother grasped Erin’s arm. Although weak, her nails dug into Erin’s skin.
“You will be able to look after her yourself. A couple of days’ rest and you will be fine,” Erin said, preparing some cloths to wash the woman. Then she would sort out the rest of the house. The woman didn’t respond but lay on the bed with her eyes closed.
“Doc, you might want to…”
‘Thank you for your advice earlier but I know what I am doing.” She snapped back. She wasn’t angry with him but totally overwhelmed at the situation they were in. Mick threw his eyes up to heaven before retreating toward the door.
Erin pulled back the bedcovers only to realize the woman wasn’t sleeping but had died. Horrified she looked up at Mick who was staring at her with a mixture of pity and an I told you so look.
“Probably best for her sake,” He offered.
“How can you say that? Her daughter needs her.” She was fighting back tears of frustration.
“Erin, you don’t know these people. You saw how hard it was to get help for the baby. There is no way they would have helped the mother.” His tone was gentle but firm.
“But why? What could she have done that was so bad she was more or less banished?”
“Her husband says baby is not his,” The nursing mother said without looking at either of them. Erin was surprised to find she understood English.
“But why?”
The mother shrugged. “They have been married many years and no babies. Then he goes away for six months, comes back and she is pregnant. At first, he is happy. But then, the men start talking, women say things. He beat her and she confessed. The baby not his.”
Erin couldn’t hold back her tears, the poor dead girl only looked to be about twenty.
“But where would she meet another man up here?”
“She didn’t but nobody believed her.”
“You did. Why didn’t you help her?”
“Me? My husband would have beat me too. You do not know what it is like. Our ways are different. My husband would not do women’s work like your one is.”
“My husband?”
Erin realized the woman was talking about Mick. He had boiled lots of water and set and lit the fire. He grinned over at her obviously amused by her embarrassment. She didn’t know where to look.
“Will the father want the baby now his wife is dead?” she asked.
The nursing mother shook her head sadly.
“He sent letter to his parents asking them to find a new wife. She will not want this child.”
“So, what will happen to her?”
The nursing woman met Erin’s eyes. “You do not want to know the answer.”
Erin’s stomach heaved. Holding a hand to her mouth, she made it out the door just in time. Mick waited behind her until she was finished before handing her a small cloth.
“It’s not the cleanest but it’s the best I could find.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, wiping her mouth. He put a hand on her shoulder and, for a second, she was tempted to turn around. He might put his arms around her. Flustered by feeling weak, she muttered, “I have to get out of here. I don’t know how they can live with themselves.”
“It’s a hard life being a logger and having a family. These people have very little. Can’t really blame them for not wanting to take in a child of strangers.”
“Well, I am taking the child. I am not leaving it here to, to…” Erin couldn’t say the word. She turned her back and marched into the cabin. She rummaged through the box at the bottom of the bed. As she suspected, she found some small baby clothes. Her heart ached for the young mother who had obviously been excited to find out she was finally pregnant.
“I will care for your daughter. I promise,” Erin said as she set about laying the young mother out. Mick dug a grave with the help of some of the older boys. They carried the body to the grave, said a quick prayer and, taking the baby with them, left the camp before the men got back.
“Please tell the father I have the baby. He can come into Clover Springs to collect her if he wishes,” Erin said to the nursing mother.
“I will tell but he won’t be down.”
Erin saw the woman believed what she was saying. Still, she hoped that when the man realized his young wife was dead and the child missing, he woul
d see more clearly.
Erin cuddled the baby as they made their way back down to Clover Springs. Mick was quiet for which she was grateful. She couldn’t believe so much had happened in the twelve or so hours since they had left that morning.
“Don’t be too harsh on them,” Mick said after they had put some distance between them and the logging camp. “It’s a hard life and not everyone has what it takes.”
“To do what? Look out for another human being. Whatever the truth about the mother or father, this baby is innocent. Why should she suffer?”
“Erin, be realistic. There are some things you can’t change. Aaron filled me in on the orphans his wife helped Father Molloy rescue on the train. There were thirty children traveling to goodness knows what end on that train. You can’t rescue all of them.”
“You say that yet I know what you have been doing in town.”
She knew about Mollie? How could that have happened. Nobody but Cookie and Wilma were aware of what was going on there.
“Mrs. Sullivan told me you are the first to help those in trouble. The widow’s friend is what she called you.” Erin said.
Mick bristled. That nickname could have a totally different meaning.
“I just help where I can, same as anyone else.”
“But don’t you see, Mick, it’s not the same. Those people up there probably grew up with the girl who died yet they wouldn’t help her baby.” Erin said softly.
“The nursing mother did.”
“Only because we bribed her into it. How can people be so cruel?”
It dawned on him she wasn’t just talking about today. He wasn’t sure what had happened in her past but something similar. Maybe she had lost a child? Not a question you could ask a single lady though. She might toss him out of the wagon just for even thinking it.
“What else has Martha Sullivan been saying about me then?”
“Not a lot.”
“That’s a mighty pretty color on you, Doc.”
“This old dress?”
“No, the pink in your cheeks.”
He grinned as she blushed deeper.
Erin Page 10
