Telegraph Bride: Sweet Historical Mail Order Brides of Lowell

by MaryAnn Burnett

  “They are fun, aren’t they?” A woman’s voice came from behind her.

  Turning, she saw a petite blonde woman who couldn’t have been taller than Elizabeth’s shoulder. “The train company and this idiot,” the woman waved a hand in the direction of Elizabeth’s escort, “wanted to throw them away when the chandelier the train was transporting was discovered broken.”

  Still holding Elizabeth’s elbow, Mr. Holt guided her across the room. “This is my brother’s wife, Tricia. And Tricia, this is Mrs. Stemple. My new telegraph operator.”

  “New telegraph operator? That sounds like a story requiring a pot of tea for the telling,” Tricia said.

  “Please, call me Elizabeth.”

  “Elizabeth, make yourself comfortable while I make that pot of tea. I gather since you’re here, you’ll be staying with us?”

  “Yes, Mr. Holt included a room here as part of the job.”

  “Did he now?” Tricia gave her brother-in-law a quick once-over. Then turned back to Elizabeth with a twinkle in her eyes. “Well, tis lucky then, we’ve rooms to spare.”

  Between the rainbows painting the walls, Tricia’s welcoming nature, (and she had to admit at least to herself) the attention of a tall, handsome man, she was beginning to relax for the first time since she left Lowell.

  “You make yourself comfortable while I put the kettle on. We’ll have a wee bit of a chat to get to know each other.” She again turned to her brother-in-law and said, “And you, don’t you have a train station to run? How are we supposed to talk about you if you don’t go away?” With a wink to Elizabeth, Tricia was off.

  For the second time today, on what should have been a horrible day, laughter bubbled out of Elizabeth. The tension in her shoulders was gone. Maybe she would stay here for a bit while she decided where to go.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Elizabeth settled into a routine of having her breakfast at the hotel then William Holt stopped by at five minutes of eight to escort her to the station. By the third day, she had organized both the outer office of the station and his personal office. Since he had no preference, Elizabeth put things where she’d always found them most efficient. The clipboard with the updated timetables hung on a nail she’d put in the wall at eye level just outside the station master’s office. All unneeded items were removed from the area around the telegraph machine. She liked elbow room when deciphering incoming messages. The only things next to the machine were a cup full of sharpened pencils and a pile of paper with a small river rock to keep them in place.

  This station was busy enough to keep the day from being boring but not so busy that she couldn’t stand at the window and enjoy a nice view.

  Elizabeth stood off to the side of the window where she had a good line of sight but was not easily seen. She watched William bustle about the platform helping take cargo off and put other cargo on. If he had been the one to write that advertisement for a wife, Elizabeth would have been remarried by now. But, after making the horrible and rash decision to come west, she needed to get back east. Her friend, Lillian whose husband owned the Lowell Gazette, had a lot of acquaintances in other cities around New England. Unfortunately, in her return wire, she had not been able to give any thoughts on where Elizabeth could find a new job. And they both knew that she wouldn’t go back to the mills.

  Elizabeth stepped away from the window as William walked back to the building.

  He stepped through the door and crooked an impish grin at her. “Why, Mrs. Stemple, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d been standing at that window watching me.”

  The man was incorrigible. He kept trying to make her laugh. And often, like now, succeeded. “Well, Mr. Holt, someone has to make sure you do things properly.”

  “Touche,” he said before tipping his hat and sauntering off to his office.

  Elizabeth smiled. She was beginning to like William a bit too much. Her first husband had been much the same type, saying things to get a surprised laugh out of her. It had been a game. She would try to return a wit to see if he laughed instead. It felt good to be with someone with whom she could slide into that same game.

  She caught herself seeking Mr. Holt out to ask questions just so she could hear his voice and look into his twinkling brown eyes. She would be leaving here soon and did not want to leave with a broken heart. She needed to stop that. Yes, definitely.

  Pulling the manifest of the day’s cargo drops and pickups, Elizabeth tried to put her mind back to work. The next train through was in an hour and it had cargo to drop off. As long as she was here, she may as well make herself useful.

  Nebraska Territory 1866

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Elizabeth watched as the train’s engineer and fireman shoveled coal from the station’s storage bin into the tender car behind the engine. When the men finished, she closed and locked the bin. She chatted with the men while they signed the log book. The train would not be stopping for several towns down the line as they had a time sensitive shipment to deliver. They gave their thanks for being able to refuel while the conductor off-loaded cargo. Being able to do both at the same time shaved quite some time off their schedule.

  She left the men checking gauges and stoking the fire in the boiler. She walked down the line, stepped onto the back of a freight car and stepped off the other side onto the platform. William and the conductor were exchanging papers when she walked up.

  “The engine’s taken on water and coal. The train’s ready to go when you are.” Elizabeth informed the two men.

  “We’re just about—” William started to say but was interrupted by a small group of men walking briskly toward them.

  “Is that it?” the man asked excitedly.

  “Yes, sir. This here is the order you’ve been expecting,” William replied.

  “And I’m glad to have it off my train,” the conductor said when the crate in question made a plaintive cry.

  “That’s a prized bull calf, you haven’t hurt it, have you?” The owner of the crate rushed to check. “Boys, Let’s get this young bull to the ranch and show him his new home.” The man was so wrapped up in getting his prize loaded into his wagon, he didn’t even bother saying goodbye.

  When both the rancher and the train were gone, Elizabeth settled at the cozy table in the corner of the station to eat the lunch Tricia had packed for Elizabeth and William.

  Lunch had become her favorite time of day. It was when she and William were alone and could spend time getting to know each other. Elizabeth unpacked the pail that contained both their lunches while William went out back to wash up.

  She set the plates from the top of the pail on the table. She unwrapped the muslin from around the sandwiches and placed them on the plates then poured them each a glass of water from the jug they kept on the table. She was about to sit down as William walked in the door. That man could fill a doorway, thought Elizabeth with a smile.

  “Looks good enough to eat.”

  Elizabeth groaned and laughed.

  They sat down opposite each other at the little table and held hands for William to say grace. “Lord, thank you for this food and for our health. Please look out for all our friends and family. And Lord, thank you for the help of this amazing woman.”

  Elizabeth could barely say Amen. She wasn’t sure what to do or say. William continued to hold her hand in the silence after their prayer. He looked deep into her eyes as if trying to tell her something she couldn’t quite understand.

  Then he let go of her hand, scooted in his chair and dug into his lunch.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  William and Elizabeth were just finishing up their lunch when they heard running footfalls and a man shouting, “Holt!”

  William was out the door in the blink of an eye, grabbing the gunbelt from the wall as he went. Elizabeth was right behind him.

  “What’s wrong?” William asked as he belted his guns on.

  “It’s Sarah. She’s missing. She was with me when we picked up the bull calf but
she wasn’t there when we got home.”

  Elizabeth remembered how excited the man had been picking up the animal, not surprising that he misplaced his wife. “What does your wife look like?”

  “Wife!” The man exploded. “Sarah’s my little girl. She’s five with blue eyes and blonde hair.” He turned to William. “Have you seen her, Holt?”

  “No, where do you have people looking?”

  The distraught father said they were searching the ranch but that this was his first stop in town.

  Elizabeth gasped, “Oh, dear.” Visions of all the things that could happen to a little girl lost on the prairie jumped through her mind. She grabbed William’s arm with both her hands. He patted her hand and turned back to his conversation.

  “We’ll find her, MacCauley.” William tried to reassure the man. “You go tell Hartley at the Mercantile and Doc Granger. I’ll get my brothers. We’ll meet back up here.”

  Mr MacCauley raced back to his horse and galloped it toward the far end of town.

  “What can I do to help?” Elizabeth asked, a tremor in her voice.

  “Help Tricia, She’ll know what to do.”

  With that, they set off at a run down the street toward the hotel.

  As they neared the sheriff’s office, William slowed and Elizabeth skidded to a halt. “Did you think of something?” she asked hopefully.

  “No, keep going. I’m just grabbing my brother.” He dashed into the jail.

  Elizabeth shook her head and started running again. She burst through the front door of the Holt’s Arms, yelling, “Tricia. Tricia where are you?” Elizabeth skidded to a halt near the fireplace as Tricia came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel.

  “What’s going on? What’s happened?”

  “Mr. MacCauley’s little daughter is lost. We need everyone to help find her.”

  Tricia threw her towel on the back of a chair and ran for the stairs. “Jim, come down, we need you.” She yelled up the stairs.

  Immediately, William’s older brother appeared at the top of the stairs holding a hammer. “What’s going on?”

  Elizabeth repeated her message.

  Almost as quickly as she’d entered the hotel, the three of them were out the front door. They met the other two Holt brothers as they reached the porch.

  Elizabeth placed a hand on Tricia’s arm to pause her. “Surely, a five year old would know better than to wander far?”

  Tricia turned a terror stricken face toward her. “No, Sarah, is different. She’s doesn’t think quite the same way as other children her age.” Elizabeth and Tricia resumed running to catch up with the men. Between breaths, Tricia continued, “Usually… when Mr. MacCauley comes to town… he leaves her with me… I didn’t know he was in town.”

  Elizabeth heard the terror in her friend’s voice as Tricia said, “We have to find her… she can’t protect herself.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  It appeared that the entire town had assembled outside the train station. Sheriff Holt quickly organized everyone and groups left for their designated search areas.

  After helping Tricia look around and under several nearby buildings, the two women returned to the train station to act as the central point of information. Men checked with them as they cleared an area to see if the little girl had been found before going on to another area. The afternoon stretched on. The first riders came back from checking the trail out to the MacCauley ranch, then left to do a wider sweep.

  Time wore on with no good news.

  Elizabeth couldn’t help feeling they were missing something. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced there was something hanging just at the edge of her mind that she needed to know.

  The cargo train!

  Mr. MacCauley had said Sarah was with him when they picked up the bull calf. She wasn’t. Elizabeth would have remembered seeing a little girl on the train platform.

  Which means that in his excitement, Mr. MacCauley had either left Sarah in the wagon and she wandered off or she was by his side and wandered off before Elizabeth saw him. Running the scene through in her mind, Elizabeth saw the doors to several cargo cars open and level with the platform. It would have been very easy for Sarah to climb into one of those open doors unobserved by the adults examining the crated animal.

  Elizabeth jumped up and ran into the station. She grabbed the logbook. While she’d talked with the engineer, she’d jotted down some notes in the margins.

  There. The train’s next stop was Wayside. She pulled the special map with times and speeds off the counter, not caring that important papers spilled all over the floor.

  Tricia had followed her into the room. “Have you thought of something?”

  “Yes. There was an express cargo train here when Mr. MacCauley came by. I don’t remember seeing his daughter with him. I think Sarah climbed into one of the open rail cars.”

  “No!”

  “I think she’s on that train.” Elizabeth ran some calculations with the numbers on the map in front of her. “And those car doors weren’t closed when the train left so if she’s not careful, she could fall out of that moving train.”

  “We have to tell William,” Tricia said.

  “Yes, can you find him? I need to figure out where this train is.” Elizabeth grabbed another book without looking up.

  Tricia nodded and quickly left.

  Nebraska Territory 1866

  CHAPTER TEN

  The station door banged open announcing William’s arrival. “You have something?”

  “Yes. Sarah is on that express train that came through here. I just know it.”

  Tricia stayed in the doorway, a look of hope on her face. William came to stand alongside Elizabeth, appeared to be thinking the idea through, then he nodded. “Can we figure out where it is?”

  Elizabeth pointed to her scribbling on the paper in front of her. “I already have. The engineer said he was going to push it to get to Wayside by nine tonight. Calculating the speed he’d need the engine to do to travel that distance by then, I figure he’s about fifteen minutes this side of Cary.”

  William looked over her figures and nodded.

  “William, I can send a wire to the Cary station to put out the flag to stop the train…”

  Elizabeth waited while he thought this through. If she was wrong about the girl being on the train, William could lose his job over stopping that train.

  He looked up from studying her figure more and stared into her eyes. Elizabeth put her hand on his and gave a light squeeze. “She’s on that train.”

  After a moment more, William said, “Do it.”

  Elizabeth leapt for the telegraph machine. She sent the alert to see if anyone was manning the machine in Cary. A response came back. She let out the breath she’d been holding and heard William do the same. Then she tapped out her message.

  ‘Lost girl on train. Halt express at Cary. Due there in twelve minutes.’

  They waited for a response. William had risked his job. Would the Cary station master do the same?

  Elizabeth looked up and saw several people had gathered into the station house including Mr. MacCauley.

  The telegraph machine came to life with a pattern of clicks. Elizabeth started writing the letters down as they came across.

  “What’s it saying?” someone asked.

  William held his hand up. “Shhh.”

  Elizabeth looked at what she’d transcribed. “They put the flag up. They’re stopping the train.”

  A whoop went up in the room. Mr. MacCauley twisted his hat in his hands and gave a weak grin. William silently moved closer and pulled her into his arms. Elizabeth leaned her head back against his shoulder.

  They waited. More people squeezed into the station house. Elizabeth could see more townspeople on the platform outside.

  Elizabeth pulled out her pocket watch and checked the time. “They should have stopped the train by now. They’re searching it.” She put the watch back in her pocket and
leaned her head back onto William’s shoulder again.

  There was not a sound as they all waited for news.

  The clacking of the telegraph machine made Elizabeth jump. It sounded deafening in the quiet room. She grabbed for a pencil and started writing. As she’d transcribed the letters, tears streamed down her face. The machine went silent. Elizabeth handed the note to William. He read it out loud, “Sarah wants her Pa.” He laughed and repeated it. “Sarah wants her Pa.”

  The room exploded in noise. Everyone talked at once. William threw the paper in the air, grabbed Elizabeth about the waist and swung her in the air. When he placed her back on her feet, hands were patting her shoulders and back from all sides.

  Mr. MacCauley stood in front of her, tears streaming down his face to match her own. “I can’t… How can I…” He grabbed her and gave her a hug. Then he was pushing through the throng of people between him and the door. “Make way. I have to get my daughter.”

  Elizabeth laughed and cried at the same time. She turned back to the telegraph machine and sent a message.

  ‘Thank you. Tell Sarah Pa coming.’

  She got a confirmation in reply.

  Over the next half-hour, Elizabeth was passed from one person to the next as everyone in town seemed intent on personally thanking her for finding Sarah and saying how glad they were to have her in town. The whole time, William was beaming at her side and either holding her hand or had his arm around her waist.

  Elizabeth hadn’t felt so much a part of a community since she’d left her old train station. She felt happy. Part of it was the welcoming into the community. But also a lot of it was the man at her side. They made a good team. But it was more than that. His nearness and breath on her neck caused her insides to melt.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Finally, everyone left and it was just the two of them in the station. William turned to her and took her hands in his.