by Al Lacy
Melinda lifted a hand and wiped away her tears. Whiteness covered her face, turning her lips scarlet against such pallor.
Leela said in a soft voice, “Perhaps in time, Melinda, you will learn to like it here and learn our ways.”
Melinda felt horror at that awful prospect. Her head started spinning and her knees buckled. She fell to the ground.
Leela bent over her, saw that she was unconscious, and looked up at her husband. “Carry her into our tepee, and I will take care of her.”
Tando picked up the limp Melinda and Leela followed Tando into the tepee. He laid her on a sleeping pallet on the floor and moved outside.
Leela knelt down and with a soft cloth, dabbed the tears from the girls face. Then taking the white hands into her own dark-skinned hands, she rubbed them briskly.
Melinda started to become aware of what Leela was doing and her eyes fluttered open. The two women stared at each other for a moment; then Melinda sucked in a deep breath, preparing to let out a scream. Leela let go of one of Melinda’s hands and clamped her own over the girls mouth, stifling the scream.
As Melinda looked at her wide-eyed, Leela said, “You must learn now that to scream will only get you into trouble. You will be given work to do, but none of it will be unreasonable. I know you will miss your people, wherever they are, but you are now the property of Chief Tando and Leela.”
Melinda blinked and swallowed hard, looking at the squaw with tear-filled eyes. She knew she dare not try again to scream. It would not help, anyhow, she told herself. There was no one to hear her scream and come to her rescue.
“Stand up now,” Leela said, “and let’s get you out of this stained dress. You and I are near the same size. You can wear something of mine.”
When Melinda was on her feet, Leela handed the trembling girl a dark brown deerskin dress. While Leela looked on, Melinda slowly slipped out of her soiled dress and put on the one Leela had given her. She was surprised at how soft it felt against her skin and looked at Leela with astonishment.
Leela smiled. “It is nice, isn’t it? I will teach you how to make your own.”
Melinda’s eyes were full of shadow. Her voice quivered across the tepee. “Ma’am, I have a young man who loves me, and I have promised to marry him. I also have parents who love me. If I do not go back to all three of them, it will break their hearts. They will think I am dead. Please, ma’am, please ask your husband to let me go home.”
Leela shook her head. “It would do no good. It would also make him very angry at me. You must accept being our servant and not complain. Our son saved your life, and we will feed and clothe you.”
At that moment, the dreadful fear of being with these savage people strangely began to dissipate. Melinda thought about her heavenly Father and knew He was always with her. Hebrews 13:5 came to mind. “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
A gentle peace filled her heart.
Melinda looked at Leela. “Thank—thank you for the dress.”
Leela smiled. “You are welcome.” She bent down, took a pair of beaded moccasins from a basket, and handed them to her. “These doeskin moccasins will feel good on your feet, too.”
Melinda sat down on the pallet, removed her sodden boots and stockings, and slipped her feet into the moccasins. She stood up and took a walk around the inside of the tepee. Indeed, they felt good to her feet. A tiny smile crossed her pale features. “Thank you, ma’am.”
Leela said, “You can call me by my name.”
Melinda let the smile grow a little. “All right. Thank you, Leela.”
Still feeling the gentle peace from God, Melinda thought, Tim and my parents will no doubt have the army scouring the plains and the mountains for me. Surely in a few days the soldiers will come to my rescue. In the meantime, I will be much better off if I do as I’m told and obey these people. At least the chief’s squaw is kind to me.
Suddenly another thought popped into her mind. Maybe the Lord has allowed me to be captured by these Indians for a short time so I can be a witness to them! Lord, You know how difficult this situation is for me, and You know how terribly frightened I am. But the Indians need Jesus. They need salvation. Please give me the wisdom and courage to talk to Leela and these people, and help me to recall enough Scripture to plant the seed of the Word into their hearts.
Even more peace seemed to invade her inner being. She looked at Leela and said, “Since there is work to be done, what would you like me to do?”
Leela frowned slightly. She was perplexed over the sudden transformation that had come over the white girl.
Melinda saw the puzzlement in Leela’s dark eyes and resolved with Gods help to tell her of Jesus and His love.
TWENTY
At the Kenyon house, Hattie was standing on the front porch, looking in the direction of the South Platte River. Melinda should have been back an hour ago. Even if she had taken refuge somewhere when the rain came down hard, it wasn’t raining any longer. She should be home by now. If all was well, she would be.
Hattie let out an uneasy sigh and began imagining all kinds of things that could have happened to her. With each thought, what she imagined became worse. Panic was beginning to squeeze her chest.
“Oh, dear Lord,” she said with a quivering voice. “Where is she? Is she hurt? Has someone kidnapped her? Or—or did something happen that took her life? Is—is she dead?”
With the latter thought, a floodgate opened in her mind, washing old memories to the surface. She recalled the very first time she laid eyes on the pretty blond girl at the railroad station in Topeka ten years ago, where the orphan train was and the orphans were lined up to be inspected by the prospective foster parents. At first sight of her, she and George both knew they wanted to take Melinda home.
Hattie thought of the day shortly thereafter, that they went before the judge in Topeka and went beyond the status of foster parents. They adopted her and changed her name from Melinda Scott to Melinda Kenyon.
Sweet memories of how the girl had endeared herself to both parents ran through Hattie’s mind.
She drew a shaky breath and fixed her eyes toward the field where she should have seen Melinda riding home on Abe when she first came out on the porch. No sign of her. “Oh, please, Lord. Don’t let anything be wrong. Please bring her home to me right n—”
Suddenly Hattie spotted movement on the wet, grassy field some three hundred yards away. She blinked and squinted to bring the moving figure into focus. Was it a horse?
She watched intently as the dark figure came closer. After a few more minutes, she saw that it was definitely a horse, moving slowly toward her.
It was a bay horse!
Her hand went to her mouth. “Is that Abe?” she whispered.
Hattie’s heart pounded while she kept her eyes glued to the horse. As he drew closer, she was able to make out the white blaze on the animal’s long face, and the four white stockings.
“Yes! It’s Abe and—”
Abe was limping on his right foreleg. He was not carrying a rider.
Hattie Kenyon’s skin tingled with consternation. Her pulse pounded. Her forehead dampened with perspiration. With a hot lump in her throat, she bounded off the porch and ran toward Abe, holding the skirt of her dress above her ankles.
The gelding saw her coming, lifted his head, whinnied, and kept limping toward her.
Hattie was panting as she drew up to Abe. He whinnied again and halted. Efforts to calm herself by a series of deep breaths proved fruitless. “Abe!” she cried. “Where’s Melinda? What happened?”
She stroked his long face and looked down at his injured leg. It was coated with a thin layer of mud. She could not see any torn flesh, but the leg was swollen considerably between the knee and the hoof.
Filled with alarm, Hattie took hold of the rein and led the limping horse to the barn. As she led him inside, she said, “Lord, what should I do? Abe can’t carry me. He’s hurt bad. George has our only other horse in town with him.”
Suddenly, Breanna Brockman came to mind. “Yes! Breanna!”
Quickly, Hattie removed the saddle and bridle from Abe and hung them on the pegs where they belonged. Leaving him inside the barn, she lifted her skirt ankle-high again and ran down the road. Ten minutes later, when she reached the gate of the Brockman place, she ran as hard as she could down the tree-lined lane and headed for the front porch.
Panting and gasping for breath, she bounded up the porch steps and pounded loudly on the door. “Oh, please, please be home, Breanna!”
All was quiet.
Hattie leaned against the door jamb and sucked hard for breath. “Please, Breanna. Open the door!” She pounded on it again repeatedly.
Just then, the door swung open and Breanna frowned as she saw the gasping, panting Hattie, whose features were plainly distraught. Before Breanna could speak, Hattie stumbled toward her and fell into her arms.
Breanna held her up, running her gaze to the yard to see if anyone was with her and noted that there wasn’t even a horse. Hattie broke into uncontrollable sobs. Supporting Hattie’s weight, Breanna said, “Honey, what is wrong?”
Hattie could only gasp and sob.
Breanna guided her down the hall. “Come on, Hattie, dear, let’s go into the parlor and sit down.”
When they entered the parlor, Breanna sat Hattie on the sofa and settled down next to her. She took the woman’s hands into her own.
Hattie set her tear-filled eyes on Breanna, gasped, and finally was able to say, “Melinda! Melinda! Abe—Abe came home—” She choked.
Breanna looked her in the eye. “Honey, slow down now. Tell me very slowly what has happened.”
Still trying to catch her breath, Hattie inhaled sharply, then let the air out in an attempt to calm her rattled nerves.
“That’s better,” said Breanna, rising to her feet. “Just sit here and get control of yourself. I’ll be right back with a bracing cup of hot tea. I was just drinking some myself.”
Breanna was gone less than two minutes when she came in and handed Hattie a cup of tea. “Take a few sips. It will help you. Then you can tell me about Melinda and Abe.”
Fifteen minutes later, having hitched one of the Brockman horses to a buggy, Breanna repeatedly snapped the reins and raced across the fields in a straight line toward the South Platte River with Hattie on the seat beside her.
As they were drawing near the river in the bouncing, fish-tailing buggy, Hattie pointed to a wide spot between the trees that lined the bank. “There! Pull up there, so we can see both ways up and down the riverbank!”
Breanna guided the horse directly to the spot and drew the buggy to a halt on the wet ground near the bank of the river. Rainwater was puddled all around.
Both women sat on the seat, craning their necks, looking up and down the bank and all around them when Hattie gasped and pointed at the yellow bonnet that lay in the grass near the river’s edge. “Breanna! It’s Melinda’s bonnet!”
Even as she spoke, Hattie jumped down from the seat and ran toward the bonnet.
Breanna followed, and just as Hattie was picking up the bonnet and wailing that something terrible had happened to Melinda, Breanna spotted the black slicker lying on the steep slope that led down to the water’s edge. She rushed to it and picked it up. “I’m sure this is Melinda’s slicker!”
Hattie burst into tears. “It is! It is!”
When Breanna reached her, Hattie grasped the slicker, held it close to her bosom along with the bonnet, and wept. Then she said, “Oh, Breanna, with both of these lying this close to the river, there’s only one thing that could have happened. I told you about the mud on Abe’s right leg and how swollen it is. For some reason, he must have gone down on that knee at a gallop, or at least at a fast trot, and Melinda must have been thrown into the river.”
With that, she burst once again into uncontrollable sobs, wailing, “She’s dead! My Melinda is dead, Breanna! She drowned in the river! She’s dead! She’s dead!”
Breanna wrapped her in her arms. “Honey, she might not be dead. Maybe she didn’t fall into the river. Maybe somehow, she’s stumbling up or down the riverbank, dazed and confused. She might have hit her head on the ground as she went out of the saddle when Abe went down.”
Hattie blinked and looked at her. “Do you really think so?”
“It’s possible. Let’s hurry into town. We’ll let George know about this, then advise John of it, so he or the sheriff can put a search party together and look for Melinda.”
A tiny ray of hope flickered in Hattie’s eyes. “All right, maybe she is still alive and somewhere along the river. We’ll have to let Tim know, too.”
“Of course. Come on. Let’s put the bonnet and the slicker in the buggy and head for town.”
When George Kenyon had been advised by Breanna and Hattie at the hardware store of Melinda’s disappearance, he went with them to the Chief U.S. Marshal’s office in the federal building, riding his horse. Together, they told Chief U.S. Marshal John Brockman the story. John said he would rather put together a search party than to have the sheriff do it. Some of his deputies were in town at the moment. He would gather them together and have them ready to go in about an hour.
George told the chief he wanted to be in on the search for his daughter. He felt that Dr. Tim would also want to be in on it, and because of Tharyn’s close friendship to Melinda, Dr. Dane would no doubt want to take part in the search also. They would be back to the chief’s office shortly with Dr. Tim and Dr. Dane.
Chief Brockman agreed and told them that he knew his pastor well enough that he would want to be in on the search too. He would send one of his deputies to the parsonage to inform the pastor what had happened and offer to let him be part of the search party.
As George, Hattie, and Breanna headed for the hospital, the chief went to work to gather his deputies.
When the trio entered the hospital, Breanna told George and Hattie that Dr. Dane was probably in Nelda Cox’s room with Eric and Nelda. She led them to the room on the second floor, and they waited in the hall while Breanna entered the room.
There she found Nelda lying in her bed, with Eric on one side and Dr. Dane and Tharyn on the other. Tharyn moved to Breanna and embraced her. “I didn’t expect you to be at the hospital today.”
Breanna shook her head gently. “I wouldn’t be, but I have something to tell you and your husband that you need to know.”
Dr. Dane frowned and looked at Breanna. “What is it?”
Breanna invited the Kenyons into the room. When she had finished telling the story to the Logans and the Coxes, Tharyn’s eyes were filled with tears as Dr. Dane said, “I have Nelda’s surgery to do first thing in the morning, but I sure can be in on the search for the rest of today.”
George said, “We’re going to find our future son-in-law and let him know about Melinda. I know he will want to be in the search party, too.”
“For sure,” said Dr. Dane. “He’s observing a cesarean section down the hall right now, but I’ll go in, call him aside, and tell him what has happened.”
Tharyn took hold of her husband’s hand. “Honey, I’ll be praying that the search party will find Melinda alive and well, and that you will find her quickly.”
“We’ll all be praying that way,” said Breanna. “Tharyn, Hattie is going to stay at my house while the men go on the search. Can you go with us?”
Tharyn nodded. “Yes. Nelda is in good hands with the nurses here. I’d like to be with you.”
Dr. Dane took time to pray once again with Nelda and Eric about the surgery that he would perform in the morning; then he and Tharyn left the room with Breanna and the Kenyons. Together, they went down the hall to the doors of the surgical unit. Saying he would be right back, Dr. Dane left the others in the hall and hurried inside.
Moments later, Dr. Dane came out with Dr. Tim Braden at his side. Tim’s pallid face showed the jolt the news had put on him.
The Kenyons clasped him in a three-way
embrace, and after they talked about the situation, Dr. Tim told them he was going with the search party. He would go by Dr. Matt Carroll’s office, explain it to him, and they would head for the federal building.
When the small group arrived at the federal building, they found Chief U.S. Marshal John Brockman at the hitch rail with five of his deputies and Pastor Nathan Blandford. They were tying kerosene lanterns to the saddlebags. Chief Brockman and the pastor were glad to see that Dr. Tim and Dr. Dane were both going with them. Pastor Blandford spoke words of encouragement to the Kenyons and to Dr. Tim. John explained that they were taking the lanterns so that if necessary they could keep up the search after dark.
Dr. Dane told the chief he would need to go by the closest stable and rent a horse. John told him they had an extra horse in the federal building barn out back. They would saddle him up.
A short time later, the Brockman buggy hauled up to the bank of the South Platte River at the place where Hattie and Breanna had found Melinda’s bonnet and slicker, which were still in the buggy. Tharyn was on the front seat between Hattie and Breanna.
As the men in the search party dismounted, Breanna left the buggy and guided her husband to the spots where the bonnet and slicker had been found.
John ran his gaze up and down the riverbanks and said, “All right, men. We’ve got to split up. Half of this group will cross the river and work the bank both ways, while we do the same thing on this side.”
Breanna told her husband that she, Hattie, and Tharyn would wait right there in the buggy until it was almost dark. If none of the search party had returned by then, the three of them would go and wait at the Brockman house.
John assured her that if they hadn’t found Melinda by midnight, they would give up the search until morning. He told his men if they found Melinda, they were to fire three shots into the air in succession, and everybody would collect at the spot on the bank where they were at the moment. They would also meet back at this spot at midnight if she hadn’t been found by then. He quickly named the deputies he wanted to work the other side of the river, and they guided their horses into the stream and headed for the other bank.
