by Al Lacy
“He’s a real nice boy, Daddy,” said Tharyn. “You’ll like him.”
Ron nodded and noted the paper bag in his wife’s hand. “I’ll run the prescriptions up to the apartment, then we need to head for Grand Central. You know Althea Corbin. She’s the ultrapunctual type, and she’ll expect us to be there when she gets off the train.”
Erline smiled. “Well, your sister may be the ultrapunctual type, but I doubt she would be upset at us if we were a few minutes late.”
Ron shrugged. “Maybe not, but let’s not find out.”
Erline handed him the paper bag. “There’s only one medicine bottle in here. Bryce was out of the medicine for your prescription, but he’s going to send Dane Weston over here with it about noon.”
“Fine,” said Ron. “I’ll help you into the buggy, then I’ll run your medicine up to the apartment.”
“I’ll help the ladies in, Mr. Myers,” said the driver. “You go ahead.”
Ron nodded and hurried toward the apartment building.
Moments later, Ron returned and climbed into the buggy next to Tharyn, who was now positioned between her parents on the seat.
The driver put the horse to a trot, and as the buggy pulled away from the curb, Ron turned to his wife and daughter. “I guess you noticed that the tenement down the street is getting the balcony on its fifth floor first.”
“Uh-huh,” said Erline. “I figured they’d put the balcony on the second floor first, then work their way up.”
Ron shook his head. “It’s much easier to start at the top and work down. The other balconies would be in the way if they did that.”
“Oh. Of course. I hadn’t thought about that.”
“Well, building construction isn’t something women think about.”
Tharyn giggled. “Daddy, there are plenty of things we women think about and know about that men don’t.”
Ron tweaked her nose. “I’m sure that’s true, baby. Just don’t remind me how much smarter you females are than us males.”
Tharyn giggled again. “Sure won’t. I wouldn’t want to embarrass you!”
The Myerses laughed together, and having heard the conversation, the driver laughed with them.
After a brief silence, Ron said, “Back to our conversation about the balconies on that tenement …”
“Yes?” said Erline.
“I heard some of the neighbors in our tenement talking on the sidewalk yesterday morning when I was leaving for work. Wally Dodd said he had talked to our landlord about the possibility of having balconies put on the front of our building. Wally said the landlord didn’t seem very enthusiastic about it.”
Tharyn said, “Oh well, Daddy, at least we have a home. That’s more than I can say for poor Dane Weston.”
Ron looked at her and frowned. “Poor Dane Weston? Bryce’s new hired man?”
“Uh-huh.”
“What do you mean?”
“Dane is an orphan, Daddy. His parents and little sister and little brother were murdered by a street gang recently.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“He lives with other street urchins in an alley a few blocks from the pharmacy. But you know what?”
“What?”
“Mr. Clarkson told Mommy and me that Dane has set a goal for himself. He wants to become a physician and surgeon. He had made that plan for his life when he was very young.”
Ron’s eyebrows arched. “Well, that’s admirable.”
“We certainly think so,” said Erline.
“It will be impossible for a boy who lives on the streets to even get a high school education, let alone to go to a medical school, which is very expensive.”
“That’s true, Daddy, but Dane has something special about him. Even though we only spent a few minutes with him, Mommy and I were impressed, weren’t we, Mommy?”
“We sure were.”
“And Daddy, just getting to know him that little bit, I have a feeling that Dane will realize his dream in spite of the obstacles he’s facing. He just impressed me as being that kind of person. You know—the Abraham Lincoln type. Mr. Lincoln rose from poverty and became president of this country because he set a goal for himself and had the intestinal fortitude and drive to realize his dream.”
Ron caught Erline’s eye over Tharyn’s head with a questioning look on his face. Erline shrugged and glanced lovingly at her daughter, who was saying, “I just know Dane will overcome every hurdle and become a doctor.”
Ron smiled and elbowed his daughter lovingly. “It’s so sad that such a horrible thing happened to this nice boy, honey. And I hope you’re right about Dane. I hope he is able to realize his dream.”
Tharyn smiled up at him. “Oh, Daddy,” she said with enthusiasm, “if anyone can do it, I’m sure Dane can. I wish I had a brother just like him!”
“Well, little missy, I wish you did too, but that’s out of the question, now, isn’t it?”
Tharyn nodded. “I know, Daddy. My little brother died at birth and Mommy had to have an operation so she couldn’t have any more children. But that doesn’t keep me from wishing.”
Erline patted her daughter’s hand. “Me either, sweet baby.”
Ron cast a loving glance in his wife’s direction, but she was staring straight ahead, lost in her own thoughts of dreams long past, of things that were never to be.
After half an hour of traversing Manhattan’s busy streets, they finally arrived at Grand Central Station and found themselves about twenty minutes early for the scheduled arrival of Althea’s train.
Ron helped his wife and daughter from the buggy, and the driver said, “Mr. Myers, I’ll be waiting right here for you when you come out.”
Ron nodded and led Erline and Tharyn inside the terminal. They made their way to the platforms where the trains came in, and went to the one where Althea’s train was to stop. A small crowd was already waiting.
Tharyn looked across the tracks to the next platform where passengers were boarding a train. She noticed a large group of children—all dressed nicely and well-groomed—being led by four adults as they boarded the last two coaches, just ahead of the caboose. The boys were boarding one and the girls the other. A couple of small girls were crying as they were led aboard with one of the women holding them each by the hand.
“Mommy, Daddy,” said Tharyn, “look at all those children. I wonder where they’re going.”
Ron was looking up the tracks to see any sign of his sister’s train coming in. Erline looked at the children. “That must be one of those orphan trains, honey. You’ve heard about them, haven’t you?”
“Oh. Yes.” Tharyn’s gaze was fixed on the boys and girls as they were boarding the coaches. “They take them out West, don’t they?”
There was no indication that an approaching train was on the track beside the platform as yet. Ron glanced at the children. “That’s right, honey. They take those poor orphans out there and help them to find homes on ranches and farms or in the towns on the frontier.”
“They sure are dressed nice.”
“Mm-hmm,” said Ron. “I’ve heard that the Children’s Aid Society always dresses them like that.”
“Me too,” said Erline. “And notice that the boys have nice haircuts, and all the girls have nice hair-dos.”
Looking up at her parents, Tharyn asked, “Have all the children who are put on the orphan trains been living on the streets?”
“Most of them have,” replied Erline, “but the Children’s Aid Society also takes them out of orphanages that are overcrowded.”
Tharyn studied the boarding children a moment. “Maybe Dane Weston will get a chance to ride out West on an orphan train someday. He could find a family to adopt him who would put him through medical school.”
Ron smiled down at her. “That would be a wonderful thing, wouldn’t it? I hope it happens for him just like that.”
At that moment, the sound of a trains bell clanging met their ears, and Tharyn pointed toward it. “Here
comes Aunt Althea’s train.”
The Myers family huddled together as the train chugged to a halt. The big engine hissed clouds of steam from its bowels, and the bell stopped clanging. The conductor stepped out of the first coach, and seconds later, passengers began to alight.
Soon Erline pointed at the third coach. “There she is!”
The three of them hurried to meet Althea Corbin, and Tharyn was the first one to hug her.
After Althea’s brother and sister-in-law had embraced her, Ron picked up Althea’s one piece of luggage from the baggage handlers. The four of them headed out to the parking lot with Tharyn holding her aunt’s hand.
The driver took the piece of luggage from Ron and placed it in the small luggage compartment at the rear of the buggy while Ron helped the women climb aboard. There was happy chatter as the Myerses and their guest headed toward home.
At 11:50, Dane Weston entered the block where the Myerses’ tenement was located, as directed by Bryce Clarkson. The paper bag containing Ron’s medicine was in his hand.
In his heart, Dane was excited about seeing Tharyn again. He told himself he had never met a nicer girl, or a prettier one.
As he drew nearer the Myerses’ tenement, his attention was drawn to the location where the two construction workers were standing on the scaffold, pulling ropes through pulleys which were anchored at the top of the building. They were slowly nearing the fifth floor balcony, which was partially in place.
As Dane was moving past the building, he glanced at the wagon parked in the street, which was loaded with building materials. His attention then went to the two husky horses that were hitched to the wagon.
Just as Dane passed the team and wagon, he heard hoofbeats coming up behind him, along with the sound of buggy wheels spinning on the surface of the street.
Seconds later, he saw that the oncoming vehicle was a hired buggy, and as it passed him, he saw Tharyn Myers sticking her head out the window. She called, “Hello, Dane!” and waved to him.
Dane waved back and quickened his pace.
The buggy rolled to a stop in front of the Myerses’ tenement. Ron jumped out and helped Tharyn from the buggy first. She backed up a couple of steps from the sidewalk while her father was helping her mother out, and turned her attention to Dane, who was now in front of the second building from their tenement.
Suddenly two wild cries were heard from behind him, and Dane paused to look back over his shoulder. What he saw chilled his blood. The two construction workers who had been on the scaffold at the building’s fifth floor were helplessly falling toward the ground, arms swinging and legs kicking. The scaffold was also falling.
The two men hit the ground not more than two seconds before the scaffold hit it a few feet away, with a loud bang and clattering noise.
The piercing noise startled the team of horses hitched to the wagon loaded with building materials. They both reared, whinnying shrilly. Eyes bulging, they pawed the air, then bolted in blind terror.
Chapter Nine
For an instant, Dane Weston’s legs seemed to have turned to stone. As the wild-eyed team thundered down the street in his direction, his chest shuddered with a convulsive breath. Inhaling raggedly, he turned and looked at Tharyn, who was frozen in place, terror on her face.
Erline was now looking at the oncoming team, her features suddenly void of color.
At the same time, Ron Myers was helping his sister out of the buggy. Suddenly the horse hitched to the buggy bolted, throwing the surprised driver back against the seat. The abrupt lurch of the buggy sent Althea flying. She fell on top of her brother, knocking him down, and they both rolled against Erline’s legs, toppling her.
The team was bearing down on them at full speed with the heavily-loaded wagon fishtailing behind them.
People along the street were dashing to safety.
Abruptly the feeling came back into Dane’s legs. Tharyn and her family were in grave danger. He dropped the paper bag containing the medicine and dashed toward Tharyn. He could hear the rumble of the oncoming team and wagon on his heels. When he reached Tharyn, who was fixed in terror like a statue, he grasped her by the shoulders and used his body weight to knock her out of the path of danger. The impact caused both of them to roll on the sidewalk and collide with the steps of the tenement.
The charging horses and wagon slammed into Ron, Erline, and Althea, then headed on down the street, leaving them a battered, bloody heap.
On the sidewalk, both Dane and Tharyn lay against the bottom step with the wind knocked out of them. With the sound of people shouting in his ears, along with the fading, thunderous sound of the team and wagon, Dane struggled to his feet and leaned over Tharyn. He glanced at the three people who lay in crumpled heaps on the street as people began to gather around, looking at the scene. Two men were kneeling down and looking at the victims, and Dane heard one of the men speak to another standing over him and tell him to go for the police and an ambulance.
Tharyn’s eyes were closed as she gasped and wheezed, trying desperately to draw some air into her lungs. Her mind was in a whirl as she looked up and saw Dane reaching down for her. She couldn’t make her arms reach toward him.
Observing the look of stunned panic on Tharyn’s features, Dane knelt beside her and took hold of her hand. Keeping his voice as calm as possible, he said, “Just lie there for a minute and breathe slowly.”
She relaxed a bit, made herself breathe slowly, and after a brief moment, put her dazed eyes on him. “Wh-what happened?”
He knew it would all come back to her shortly “Just lie still and breathe easy, Tharyn.”
She closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. The crowd on the street was growing, but people were keeping their voices to a hush as they saw Tharyn being tended to by the teenage boy.
When Dane saw some color coming back into Tharyn’s face, he said, “Breathe deeper now.”
She opened her eyes, looked up at him, and nodded. Again she did his bidding and soon was breathing normally, although she was trembling and a couple of bruises were starting to appear on the left side of her face.
She focused on him. “Dane, what happened? Tell me what hap—” Suddenly her eyes bulged and she sat up. “Mommy! Daddy! They—they—the horses! Aunt Althea!” Her head turned toward the spot where the victims lay, but she could not see them for the crowd of people who stood around them. She put a hand to her forehead. “My … my head is all fuzzy inside. Help me up. I’ve got to find them.”
Dane was trying to control his own emotions. Tharyn was about to see the crumpled heaps in the street. His voice trembled as he gently helped her to her feet. “Tharyn, what you’re about to see—”
“Mommy! Daddy! Where are they? Aunt Althea! Where is she?” Tharyn’s knees buckled slightly and she staggered toward the street.
Dane put an arm around her, pulling her to a halt. “Easy does it. Take a few more deep breaths, Tharyn. It’ll help clear the fuzzy feeling in your head.”
She gripped his arm and drew in one breath after another. “D-Dane, I’ve g-got to f-find them. Please help m-me.”
Dane knew he could not prolong the inevitable any longer. Tightening the arm around her, he said, “All right. They’re right over here.”
Some of the people who were gathered around the victims saw the teenage boy guiding Tharyn their way, and with grief-stricken faces, they moved aside, making a path for them to the bloody scene.
Dane noted that the driver of the hired buggy had returned and was looking on with a chalky face.
When Tharyn’s eyes fell on her fallen family, she recognized the men who were kneeling beside them as neighbors who lived in the tenement next door. One of them looked at her. “Tharyn, your father and this other woman are dead. Your mother is unconscious, but she’s still alive. The police have been summoned, and an ambulance is on its way.”
“The other woman is her aunt, sir,” said Dane. “They just picked her up at Grand Central Station.”
&n
bsp; The man nodded. “Oh. I see.”
Tharyn looked at the lifeless bodies of her father and her aunt. Cold sweat chilled her body. She made a tiny mewing sound, then said breathlessly, “Mommy-y-y …”
She knelt beside her mother. She made another mewing sound, burst into sobs, and gathered her unconscious mother in her arms.
As she continued sobbing, Dane laid a firm but gentle hand on her shoulder. Two men threaded their way through the crowd and announced that both the construction workers who had fallen from the scaffold were dead.
While rocking her mother back and forth in her arms, Tharyn sobbed out, “This can’t be happening! It just can’t be! Only moments ago, we were a happy family. How can this be?” Then her voice turned into a wail, and she shrieked loudly, “No-o-o! No! It can’t be happening!”
Keeping his hand on her shoulder, Dane knelt down beside her.
“Tharyn. Tharyn, listen to me. If your mother comes to and hears you crying like this, it will frighten her. Please try to get a grip on yourself.”
She looked at him through red-rimmed eyes and nodded.
“Y-you’re right, Dane,” she whispered, gulping down a fresh onslaught of tears. “I’ll try. But—but this is so … so awful!”
Dane’s heart went out to her. He knew exactly how she was feeling. He heard someone in the crowd say that a police wagon and an ambulance were arriving. He would stay close to Tharyn through this entire ordeal.
The two vehicles came to a halt and both teams of horses were panting hard.
When the men who had been with the victims explained the situation to the police, one of the officers moved up to Tharyn, who was weeping silently. “Young lady, I’m Officer James Hankins. We have an ambulance here. The attendants will take you along to the hospital with your mother.”
Tharyn sniffed, wiped tears from her eyes, and looked at Dane. “You’ll come with me, Dane, won’t you? I don’t have anyone. My only living relative besides my parents was Aunt Althea. And now she’s dead. Please stay with me.”
A wail was beginning to form in her voice.