“I suppose he thinks it’s his Christian duty,” Henry offered. “Bible says to look after the widows and orphans. He certainly has enough money to look after quite a few.”
“Chad’s heavy on duty, all right, but you and me don’t see eye to eye on the ‘Christian.’ I’d hate to be one of those kids.”
“Chad’s not a real lovable sort,” Henry agreed, “but he does what he thinks the Bible tells him to. His pa never spared the rod on him, I’ve heard.”
“I can see whackin’ a boy to get his attention if he really needs it. Some boys are hard to handle. I can’t see makin’ ’em buckle under just so’s you can be boss, though.”
Henry pondered this silently. “Chad wouldn’t be able to stand a strong-minded boy. He has a way of making you feel a little lower than he is. These boys will have to think his way or pay for it. Now me, I’d rather have the strap and my pride. But then,” he concluded, “I’m not his son. I can walk away if I feel like it.”
“Best we get to work,” Luke suggested. “They’ll be back here before suppertime.”
Sam, the stationmaster in Willow Creek, consulted the timetable for the exact arrival time of the westbound train. Ed Swartz, from over near Hawley, stood at the ticket window and waited.
Sam pushed his glasses up on his nose and ran a stubby finger down the column in front of him. “Ten fourteen,” he announced. “Should be on time. Expecting someone, are you, Ed?”
Ed shifted from one foot to the other and looked pained. “’Fraid so. The missus sent me to get one of them orphans.” He glanced out toward the platform, where a number of people had already gathered, although more than an hour remained before the train was due. “Won’t hurt my feelings none if there ain’t enough to go around. We just got our last one off the place, and she wants to start over.”
“Morton, back at Kelsey, says there’s five young ’uns left on the train,” Sam informed him. “Doubt we have that many families looking to take one. They left just one boy in Kelsey. Only other family here in town bent on getting an orphan as I’ve heard of is Edith and Ned Watkins. Might be more from the country.”
Ed nodded dismally. “I was afraid of that. I’ll stand back until everyone else has had their pick.” He leaned on the counter and continued to survey the group outside. “I see Chad and Manda Rush came in. Are they really looking to take another orphan?”
“Yep. So I hear. You know how close-mouthed he is, but we heard him say he was thinkin’ on it. Don’t know as I’d try again if I was him.”
“I’d rather see my Rilla bring one up than that Rush woman,” Ed declared. “’Course, wasn’t her fault the little fellow died, I guess. It’s just that she doesn’t seem like a child-loving person.”
“There’s all kinds of God-fearing folks around,” Sam said. “It’s just that some of ’em ain’t as warmhearted as others. One thing about Chad … he’ll leave ’em well fixed. Hear tell he’s filed a claim up in South Dakota.”
A couple of hours later, the Orphan Train slowed down, and Alice, Simon, and Will ran to the windows to watch for the approaching station. Willow Creek was obviously an older town than Kelsey, for trees had been planted and houses could be seen in the distance.
Bert and Ethan reluctantly put away their game and crossed the aisle to the window. The screech of the big wheels told them that it wouldn’t be long before the depot would be in sight, as well as a number of people. Among those faces were the folks who would determine what the lives of Ethan, Bert, and the others would be like. Could they tell by looking at those people what lay ahead for them?
Ethan sighed. “I’d rather not look. If I see someone I’d like to go with, and they turn out not to be here for me, I’ll be disappointed. Or if I see one I don’t want to go with and he did come for me, I’ll feel even worse.”
“Well, the thing to do, see,” Bert told him, “is not to decide by how they look. Just think that everyone out there is going to be your next best friend. Then whoever takes you, you already like ’em! Remember the man I thought wouldn’t like boys, and Arthur went with him? I was wrong. They were just right for each other.”
The train finally shuddered to a halt, and the children eagerly scanned the faces looking up toward the window. Most everyone was smiling, and one man was waving his arms in greeting.
“That’s one’s your pa, Bert,” Ethan said. “He can hardly wait for you to get here.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because he looks just right for you. You can tell that he likes boys. Anyway, he’s the one I want to be yours.”
They had no further time to discuss it, for Charles Glover opened the door and beckoned the children to follow him off the Orphan Train.
Chapter Twenty-One
Home at Last!
Several ladies had gathered on the platform to visit. Manda Rush wasn’t among them. She stood tight-lipped off to the side, beside an unhappy-looking Frances.
“We ought to ask Manda to join us,” the minister’s wife suggested. “I don’t want her to think we’re talking about her.”
“Well, we are,” Edith Watkins pointed out. “If she was standing here, we wouldn’t be. You’re right. We should ask her.”
No one, however, made a move to go over to where the Rushes were standing. Hannah Boncoeur watched Manda with interest. “Why has she come for a child if she doesn’t really want one, I wonder?”
“They lost a little boy,” Edith told her. “I think the girl wanted one to take his place.”
“Then she ought to look happy. I hope the boy is too little to know that they haven’t counted the days until he got here, like we have.” Hannah smiled with delight as she thought of the child she and Carl would take home with them. “I know that Carl would like a boy to work with him. A girl would be lots of company for me, but I guess I’d feel easier about a boy riding back and forth to school alone. So whatever the Lord sends, I’m going to be happy!”
Louisa Finch, the schoolteacher, smiled at her. “Your new child will be too. Children know when they’re wanted. I don’t know how old they all are, but I should have some of them in school by fall.”
The stationmaster’s wife spoke up. “Don’t think you’ll have the Rushes’ boy, no matter how old he is. Sam says they’re—”
A distant train whistle sounded, and all eyes turned toward the track. Everyone surged to the edge of the platform and watched as puffs of black smoke appeared on the horizon.
The first chug of the engine could be heard, and Hannah ran over to clutch Carl’s arm. Carl grinned broadly and waved his arms. Then they waited breathlessly as the huge locomotive steamed up to the station house, and the two Orphan Train cars ground to a stop in front of them.
Agent Charles Glover stepped off the train to greet the waiting folk of Willow Creek, Nebraska. Matron following him carrying Will and holding Alice by the hand. Behind her, Ethan and Bert jumped down, pulling Simon between them.
“There’s five,” someone whispered.
“And only one girl. I wonder who will get her!”
“I’m sure that littlest one goes to Chad Rush.”
They stood back and waited for Agent Glover to speak.
“Good afternoon.” Charles paused and looked around. “Is Mr. Rush here?”
A man stepped forward. “I am.”
Charles smiled confidently. “Here’s your family, sir.”
Mr. Rush didn’t smile. “There are five children here.”
Charles put his hand on Bert’s shoulder. “This boy isn’t one of them. The other four are the Coopers.”
Mr. Rush glanced at them, then nodded. “All right. Come on.”
Edith Watkins gasped. “You mean they’re taking all of them? There’s only one boy left!”
“Yes, ma’am. That’s the arrangement that was made at the request of the Cooper family and the Home
. The children have to stay together.”
Ethan studied the man who was to be his father. Alice and Simon looked in confusion from one grown-up to the other. At that moment Ethan decided he’d wait until Mr. Glover told them to go before he left the safety of Matron and Bert.
A handsome, happy-looking man came to the front. “Has anyone spoken for this young man?” he asked and put his arm around Bert’s shoulder. To Bert he said softly, “I’m Carl Boncoeur. Nice to meet you.” A woman moved toward them. “And that’s my wife, Hannah. We’ve been waiting for you.”
“We expect to get an orphan,” a frowning woman said. “We heard there were plenty to go around.”
“Ed Swartz come for one too, Edith,” someone said. “But most of us has children at home, and we can do without if they’re all taken care of.”
Mrs. Boncoeur now stood on the other side of Bert, and she put her arm around him protectively. “Who is going to get him, sir?” she asked Agent Glover.
The crowd waited for Mr. Glover to speak.
He looked at Mrs. Watkins, then at the Boncoeurs and Bert. “I believe this is a case where the boy should make a choice. Bert?”
Bert looked at Ethan and grinned. “Someone already made the best choice for me.” Bert shook hands politely with Mrs. Watkins. “Thank you, ma’am, for wanting me. But these here are my folks.” He beamed at the Boncoeurs.
Tears ran down Mrs. Boncoeur’s cheeks as she hugged him. Then, to the boys’ great delight, Mr. Boncoeur leaped into the air, waved his hat, and shouted, “Whoopee!”
It was all Ethan could dream of for his best friend.
In the background, another man wiped his face with a big red handkerchief and sighed as if he was relieved.
Ethan pounded Bert on the back. “You got a pa who will dance a jig on the platform, Bert! Good for you!”
“Well,” Mrs. Watkins said, “there’ll be other trains by, I’m sure. The next one may have our child. I’m glad to see everyone so happy.”
Matron hugged each child in turn, and as Mr. Rush waited with an impatient look on his face, Ethan said good-bye to Bert. With a promise from Mr. and Mrs. Boncoeur that the boys would see each other soon, Ethan’s heart lifted a bit.
Mr. Rush spoke. “Well, are you ready to go?”
Ethan turned and grasped Will and Simon by the hand. “Yes, sir. Come on, Alice.”
Matron’s heart grieved as the Cooper children followed Mr. Rush to the buggy, where his wife, Manda, and their daughter, Frances, were already seated. Mother and daughter hadn’t even stepped up to greet the children.
Matron watched a moment, then hurried to take Alice’s hand and walk with them. “Mrs. Rush? I’m Matron Daly from Briarlane. These are good children. I hope you’ll be happy together.”
“Thank you, Matron,” Mrs. Rush answered stiffly. “They will have everything they need.”
Everything but love, Matron thought. God will have to provide that. She waved and smiled for the children’s benefit as the buggy pulled away. But as she walked back to join Charles at the station, a weight of sadness settled over her.
“Ethan is strong, Matron,” Charles assured her. “They won’t break his spirit. I expect great things of that boy.”
In the buggy, Ethan thrust his hand deep into his pocket and felt Bert’s key. He smiled as Simon asked, “Are we going to our new home, Ethan?”
“Yes, we are, Simon. We’re going home.”
When a rockin’ concert comes to an end,
the audience might cheer for an encore.
When a tasty meal comes to an end,
it’s always nice to savor a bit of dessert.
When a great story comes to an end,
we think you may want to linger.
And so we offer …
… just a little something more after
you have finished a David C Cook novel.
We invite you to stay awhile in the story.
Thanks for reading!
Turn the page for …
• Author’s Note
• Write, Talk, Imagine
• About the Author
• Other Books by Arleta Richardson
Author’s Note
The year 1908 was an important one in the lives of the Cooper children—Ethan, Alice, Simon, and Will. As soon as school was out, they moved from Briarlane Christian Children’s Home in Pennsylvania to spend a short time at Hull-House in Chicago, Illinois, where they prepared for their journey west. Then they were put on an Orphan Train for a trip to Nebraska, their destination for a new home.
Twenty-five girls and boys, twelve from Briarlane and thirteen more joining them at Hull-House, traveled west under the care of Matron Daly and Agent Charles Glover. Ranging in age from three to fifteen, the children had very little in common. Some remembered no home but the orphanage. Others couldn’t recall ever having lived in a building. A few remembered a mother or father in the past. Most had no recollection of anyone ever caring for them.
But there was one thing the children did share. As Charles Glover pointed out to Matron, “These children are survivors. If they couldn’t make it almost anywhere, they wouldn’t be here today.”
Still, even the hardiest survivor among them had some anxious thoughts about what lay ahead on this adventure. If a family in a small farming community chose a brother, a sister, or a friend, how would it feel to return to the train to go on to the next town? What if the people who took a boy or girl just wanted another farmhand or a maid rather than a son or daughter?
Every effort was made to place the children in suitable homes, and among the thousands of homeless youngsters who rode the Orphan Trains between 1854 and 1929, remarkably few experienced circumstances worse than the ones they had left. For the most part, midwestern farmers lived up to their reputation as “our most solid and intelligent class; possessed of a peculiar warmheartedness.”
Ethan, his brothers, his sister, and his friends all embarked on new lives that summer in 1908. They knew there would be good times and bad, happiness and sorrow, security and fear—because that’s the way the world is. But God’s grace, love, and mercy would also make the hard times easier and the easy times joyful—because that’s the way God is.
Write, Talk, Imagine
Write about It
Have you ever had to move to a new home or school, or say good-bye to a friend?
Saying good-bye to people you love is hard. When you feel lonely, how would the words Bert said to his best friend, Ethan, help? “They can see the same stars we can. It makes you think maybe we didn’t leave them so far behind. When we get lonesome for each other, we can look at the sky.”
How could you “look at the sky” today … and encourage others to do so too?
Shala has had a difficult life. Both her parents died, and she was placed in an orphanage. All she wants is a family of her own. Then, because Sheriff McCarty hears rumors about the Orphan Train “selling” children, Shala meets her real family—her aunt and uncle. As Mrs. McCarty says, “The Lord knew. He turned something bad into good for us.”
When has God turned something bad into good for you and/or someone you love? Tell the story.
“I’ve worked with homeless children most of my life,” Matron says, “and I don’t think there’s a braver bunch anywhere to be found. I’ve tried to give all of them the hope that there is one Friend who will be with them no matter where they go.”
Who is the bravest person you know, and why? How might remembering that you have a Friend who is with you wherever you go help you be brave?
Talk about It
Ethan gives Bert his sketchbook before they part. Bert gives Ethan a chain with a key, the only thing he has of his father’s.
If you were saying good-bye to your best friend, what item would you give that friend, and why?
Be
rt tells Ethan, “I suppose when I get my new home, I’ll pretend I’m going back to the orphanage again to work with Otis on the farm. I wonder why we always want what we ain’t got.” “I guess you like what you know better than what you don’t know,” Ethan decided.
Do you think this is true? That we always want what we don’t have? And that it’s easier to stay with people we know and places we’re used to than meeting new people or going new places? Explain.
“I don’t know any people I don’t like,” Ethan replied. “There’s some I like better than others, but you can get to like anybody if you have to.”
Is it easy for you to like everybody? Why or why not? If you treated everyone as if you liked them, how might it be easier to make a friend?
Imagine It
Imagine you’re Ethan, responsible for your two younger brothers and sister. You’re riding the Orphan Train to meet your new family. You’re not exactly sure where you’re going, just that someone awaits you at the end of your journey. What questions, worries, and fears would you have about yourself? About your siblings?
Imagine you’re Bert. How would you feel before you got off at each stop on the Orphan Train? Excited? Scared? Hoping this will be the time you find your family? How would you feel when your friends—one after another—were chosen, but not you?
Imagine you’re riding on the Orphan Train. As Ethan said, “Pretend you could have anyone out there you wanted for your folks. Who would you pick?”
Bert said, “My pa would be dancin’ a jig to make folks laugh.” What qualities would you hope for in a father or mother? Why are these things important to you?
About the Author
Arleta Richardson grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan, loving the stories her grandmother told about her childhood on a nineteenth-century farm. In the popular Grandma’s Attic series, Arleta retold those memories, capturing the hearts and imaginations of more than two million readers around the world.
Whistle-Stop West Page 11