One More Sunrise

by Al Lacy

  The Tabors and the Brockmans understood that Tharyn and Leanne—who was blind—had been on an orphan train together in late 1871; that Dane and Kenny—who had a wooden leg—had been on an orphan train together in early 1872, and that both Kenny and Leanne had been adopted by attorney Mike Ross and his wife, Julie, who lived in Denver at the time. Leanne was now twenty-two, and would be one of the bridesmaids in the wedding. Kenny, now eighteen, would be one of the groomsmen.

  They also discussed the fact that Melinda Scott Kenyon was also a bridesmaid and Dr. Tim Braden was the other groomsman. Dane told John Brockman how happy he was that the chief had agreed to be his best man, and Tharyn told Breanna how honored she was that she had agreed to be her matron of honor. Both Dane and Tharyn told the Brockmans how glad they were that Paul would be the ring bearer and Ginny would be the flower girl.

  At that moment, the sound of the train chugging into the station met their ears. The small group drew near the track on the platform.

  Soon the train came to a stop and they saw Dr. Jacob Logan and Naomi coming out of the second coach, followed by Kenny leading Leanne.

  Jacob and Naomi were thrilled to meet Tharyn, as well as the Brockmans and the Tabors. Leanne was thrilled to meet Dane. It was a joy for the Tabors and the Brockmans to be with Leanne and Kenny again.

  The Brockmans invited Kenny and Leanne to stay in their home, and the Tabors invited the Logans to stay in theirs. The four of them would catch a train for Cheyenne on Monday.

  As the group was walking out of the railroad station, Dane and Tharyn were holding hands. He looked down at her and said, “So your wedding dress really turned out good, eh?”

  “It sure did. I’m very pleased with it.”

  “Well, sweetheart, I can’t wait to see you in it, walking down the aisle toward me on your daddy’s arm.”

  That evening, the wedding practice was held at the church. The practice went well, with Pastor Nathan Blandford standing on the platform, watching David Tabor walking Tharyn down the aisle toward a nervous Dane Logan.

  When the practice was over, and the wedding party was sitting in the fellowship hall enjoying a dinner provided by the women of the church, the men talked to Chief Brockman about the Tag Moran gang’s escape from the Wyoming Territorial Prison, wondering how Bart Moran got his hands on the Derringer.

  John told them he wished he knew. He explained the details of how the gang left the captain of the guards tied to a tree on a ranch just south of the Colorado-Wyoming border, and got away clean. It was anybody’s guess where they were holed up. He and his deputies were ready to go after them once they made an appearance somewhere.

  Later that evening, Dane and Tharyn were alone on the front porch swing at the Tabor house while both sets of parents were getting better acquainted in the parlor.

  The stars in the black velvet sky were twinkling and seemed to be smiling down on the happy couple, who were holding hands.

  The evening breeze ruffled Tharyn’s auburn hair, blowing wisps across her forehead as Dane met her soft gaze.

  “I still feel like I’m dreaming, like I’m going to wake up in the morning and find that none of this is real,” Dane said.

  A slow smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, then spread all the way to her starlit eyes. “I know what you mean, but it’s real, all right. The Lord made it real. He has been so good to us. And speaking of waking up in the morning, just think, darling—one more sunrise and I’ll be Mrs. Dane Logan!”

  Dane felt as though his heart would explode with ecstasy. He pulled her close, kissed her softly, and said in a whisper, “You are so right, sweetheart. You sure will!”

  They sat on the swing, holding hands for a few more minutes; then they prayed together, asking God to bless their marriage and their lives together.

  Dane kissed her good night, saying he would be eagerly watching for her to come through those doors at the back of the auditorium on her father’s arm. He then mounted Pal and rode away into the night, heading for the Brockman place in the country where he would spend the night as their third guest.

  Dawn was painting the eastern horizon with a bright golden glow when Tharyn roused from sleep. Luxuriating for a few moments in her soft bed, a broad smile graced her face. She stretched, tossed the covers back, and sat up. Looking out the east window of her room, she saw the top rim of the sun mounting on the horizon.

  She drew a short breath. “This is the day, Lord. There’s that sunrise I’ve been expecting. It’s the last one I’ll see as Miss Tharyn Tabor. Today I will marry my best and dearest friend. How can I ever thank You for making this all possible? A few short months ago, I thought I’d never see Dane again on this earth. Now in just a few hours, I will be his wife!”

  A familiar Scripture came to mind as she relished the day that lay before her: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

  With her eyes still on the glorious sunrise, she said, “Yes! Isaiah 55:8 and 9. I’m so glad, heavenly Father, that I surrendered my thoughts to Your lofty thoughts and my ways to Your loving ways. How beautifully You have made the seemingly impossible become possible! Please take this day and grant us Your special blessings and may our lives be ever centered on You. I love You, Lord Jesus. Thank You for making this day possible.”

  Letting God’s peace wash over her and knowing that the rest of the household was still asleep, Tharyn left the bed, put on her robe, and sat in her chair by the east window. Drawing her feet up under her, she watched the sun mount until it lifted off the horizon. Her heart beat fast as she contemplated the day that lay before her.

  At noon that day, knowing the wedding was set for two o’clock in the afternoon, Tag Moran, his two brothers, and Tony Chacone tied their horses in a thick stand of trees some thirty yards to the west side of the white frame church building, which was on the west edge of Denver.

  “Now let’s go over the plan one more time,” said Tag, facing his three gang members. “As I’ve pointed out already, I’ve attended enough church weddings to know that the bride and her father will enter the auditorium from the vestibule once everyone is seated. We’ll have our horses ready at the front of the building, where Jason and Tony will be holding them.

  “Bart and I will be on the porch, peeking through the windows beside the door. Just before the bride and her father leave the vestibule, we’ll burst through the door, grab her at gunpoint, tell her father we’re gonna kill her, then knock him cold with a gun barrel. I’ll put my hand over her mouth, pick her up, carry her to my horse, and we’ll all ride away in a hurry.”

  The gang talked it over for a while; then at 1:15, they peered through the trees and saw a buggy pull up to a door on the west side of the church building near the front. Three women got out of the buggy. One of them was carrying a white wedding dress on a hanger.

  They moved into the side room through its door, closed it, and immediately pulled down the shades of the room’s two windows.

  “Well,” said Tag, “it’s obvious that those two women are going to help the bride get into her dress in that room.”

  At the same moment, they saw more vehicles coming.

  In the Sunday school room, Kitty and Breanna began helping Tharyn get out of the dress she was wearing and into the wedding dress. Once the wedding dress was on, they lifted the shades on the two windows.

  They could hear people entering the building at the front door, and knew this group would include the organist and soloist, Pastor and Mrs. Blandford, David, John, Paul, Ginny, Leanne, Kenny, Melinda, Tim—and Dane.

  In the stand of trees, the gang watched the small group enter the building through the front door, and shortly thereafter, the wedding guests began arriving. They stiffened a little when they saw that some of the male guests—though dressed nice for the wedding—wore badges on their suit coats and guns on their hips. />
  Tag said, “Boys, I’ve changed my mind about our tactics. With those lawmen among the guests, this could get dangerous. Instead of snatching Logan’s bride when she and her father are about to walk down the aisle, we’ll sneak up to the side of the building and take her from the room where she and the two women are right now. We’ll gag and bind the two women and tell them we’re gonna kill Logan’s bride.”

  He pointed at the windows. “See? They’re still in there. We’ll go as soon as the coast is clear.”

  Minutes later, everyone else who was standing at the front of the building filed inside. Soon even the stragglers had entered the building.

  With Tag in the lead, the gang members led their horses to the rear of the building. They heard the organ begin playing in the auditorium and could hear a woman singing a solo.

  They left their horses with Tony, and the Moran brothers ducked low as they hurried alongside the building to the door of the Sunday school room. Tag peeked through one of the windows and saw the bride in her wedding dress as the two women were adjusting her hair and the veil.

  Tag burst through the door, his gun drawn, and hissed in a low voice as startled gasps flew from the mouths of all three women, “One peep and we’ll kill all three of you!”

  They stared in terror at the mean-looking trio.

  While Kitty, Breanna, and Tharyn were being gagged and their wrists bound behind their backs, Tag said in a low voice, “I’m Tag Moran. I’m gonna kill Logan’s bride because he let my brother Darryl and my good friend Gib Tully die because they were outlaws. He could have saved them! You tell him what I said, won’t you?”

  Wide-eyed and breathing hard, Kitty and Breanna were forced to lie down on the floor, and their ankles were tied together so it would be impossible for them to move quickly to the vestibule door.

  Blood was pounding in Tharyn’s head. Her face was a chalky mask as she looked at her mother and Breanna, making a whining sound through her gag while Tag hurried out the door with her in his arms.

  In the church auditorium, while the organ was playing a hymn, Pastor Nathan Blandford, John Brockman, and the groom came out of a side room beside the platform and took their places.

  Meanwhile, back in the vestibule, David Tabor waited with Leanne and Kenny, Melinda and Tim, and Paul and Ginny. He expected Kitty, Breanna, and the bride to come out of the Sunday school room.

  David ran his gaze over the faces of the others and said, “I wonder what’s keeping them. It’s almost time to start down the aisle.”

  “They sure ought to be showing up here in a few seconds,” said Kenny, adjusting himself on his wooden leg.

  “Maybe I’d better tap on the door,” said David, heading that way.

  They all watched as David tapped on the door. When there was no response, David looked back at them and frowned. He turned the knob, opened the door, and was surprised to see Kitty and Breanna on the floor, bound and gagged.

  As the others dashed into the room, David untied Kitty’s gag first. While he was working on Breanna’s gag, Kitty told him with a quivering voice what happened, who it was, and of Tag Moran’s words about killing Tharyn and why.

  David turned to the others. “Get those ropes off them. I’ll go tell Pastor, Dane, and the others what’s happened!”

  David ran down the aisle and told Dane, the pastor, and John what had happened, and of Tag Moran’s words about killing Tharyn because Dr. Dane Logan let his brother and friend die when he could have saved them.

  Standing at the foot of the platform with his best man beside him, Dane looked at David in stunned disbelief as the words came off his tongue. This can’t be happening! his numb mind repeated over and over.

  When David had finished, Dane turned to John. “Tag Moran is already a killer! He’ll have no qualms about killing again! After all, he can only hang once, no matter how many people he kills. We’ve got to trail those heartless outlaws and catch them before they kill Tharyn.”

  John looked toward his deputies who sat in the pews and told them he was forming a posse to go after the gang right now.

  Some of the deputies had to borrow saddled horses from among the guests, rather than using their own wagons that were in the lot.

  John checked on Breanna and Kitty to make sure they were all right, and in less than five minutes, the posse rode away from the church, heading westward. The chief U.S. marshal figured the outlaws would head into the mountains.

  Among the deputies was a determined Dr. Dane Logan.

  Fear clutched Dr. Dane Logan’s heart. They had found the gang’s trail leading into the mountains, but soon came to a stream, where the hoofprints of the gang’s horses led to its south bank. Brockman had two of the deputies cross the stream and ride the north bank, while he, the other two deputies, and Dr. Dane rode the south bank in hopes of finding evidence where they had emerged from the stream.

  Dane knew right then that prayer was his only avenue of hope. Bouncing in the saddle, he whispered, “Oh, Lord, You know how long I prayed that You would let me see Tharyn again. And in Your loving kindness, You answered those prayers and brought us together. I beg of You, please don’t let her be taken from me again. Lead this posse in the right direction. Tag Moran has said he would kill her. Only You can prevent that from happening, Lord. Let us catch up to them and find Tharyn unharmed.”

  As the posse continued on, Dane prayed over and over.

  The hours passed, and the search became more complicated when the stream merged with a wide river. The chief sent the same two deputies across the river to ride the far bank while he and the others rode the bank before them.

  This went on until darkness was falling and the posse had found no further trace of the gang. Brockman signaled for the deputies on the other side of the river to cross back. He turned to Dr. Dane. “I’m sorry, Doc. We’ve lost their trail. We’d better head back to town.”

  “But we will take up the search in the morning, won’t we?”

  “Of course. We need to go back to town and get ourselves some food and rest since we didn’t come prepared to camp. We’ll start out at dawn tomorrow. I don’t want to discourage you, but we have to be realistic. These mountains have so many streams and rivers the gang can ride and leave no trail. Besides, this gang has eluded the law for years. They know all the tricks.”

  “Yes, but we can’t give up.”

  “We’re not giving up yet. Tomorrow, we’ll have our bedrolls and food enough to last several days. Maybe those outlaws will slip up or get careless. Let’s take a few minutes here and pray together.”

  “I’d really appreciate that, Chief.”

  John gathered the deputies around and led in prayer, asking God to keep His mighty hand of protection on Tharyn and to spare her life. He also prayed that the Lord would deliver the gang into the hands of the posse.

  As they started down the mountain toward Denver, Dane said, “First thing in the morning, I’ll go to the Western Union office and wire Dr. Fraser, so he will know what’s happened.”

  The Tag Moran gang—knowing there would be a posse after them—rode many a stream, working extremely hard to make sure they left no trail. They rode all night and arrived at the hideout at sunup the next morning. They had blindfolded Tharyn late in the afternoon the day before and removed the blindfold when they dismounted in front of the cabin.

  Lucinda and Kathryn were in the kitchen preparing their breakfast when the gang came in with Dr. Dane Logan’s bride, whose features were drawn, and her wedding dress was wrinkled and a bit soiled. Tag told them her name was Tharyn.

  Bart folded Lucinda in his arms and kissed her.

  While more places were being set at the table, Lucinda spoke gruffly to Tharyn, telling her she would be staying in Kathryn’s room with her.

  Tag looked at Kathryn and said levelly, “You keep a watch on her at all times. Don’t let her out of your sight.”

  Kathryn nodded.

  When they were sitting down to breakfast, Kathryn spoke to T
haryn kindly and sat beside her.

  While picking at her food, a frightened and heartsick Tharyn prayed, Lord, help me not to question why You have allowed this to happen to me, but to trust in You. There has been no more said about killing me. Help me to stay calm.

  Tharyn was fully aware of her heavenly Father’s hand on her and felt a measure of peace.

  When breakfast was over, Lucinda said, “Kathryn you go ahead and take Tharyn up to your room. Since both of you are about the same size, you can let her get out of that wedding dress and into one of your dresses, can’t you?”

  “Yes. I was planning to do that.” Kathryn looked at Tharyn. “I’m sure you would like to put a brush to your hair too.”

  Tharyn managed a smile. “I would, thank you.”

  As Kathryn and Tharyn rose to their feet, Tag looked up at his captive. “No funny business, Tharyn. You try to escape, you’ll be caught, and you’ll be sorry. Got that?”

  Tharyn nodded.

  The others watched as Kathryn led the weary bride out of the kitchen.

  As they climbed the stairs, Kathryn took hold of Tharyn’s hand. “I have several dresses for you to choose from. You can take your pick.”

  Tharyn set soft eyes on her. “Thank you, Kathryn. You are very kind.”

  When they reached the second floor, Kathryn guided her down the hall to the very last room on the right. She opened the door and closed it behind them. “The closet is right over here.”

  It took Tharyn a moment to pick out a cotton dress.

  When she had removed the wedding dress, Kathryn handed her a hanger. “Here, honey. Put it on this, and I’ll hang it in the closet for you.”

  Tharyn fitted the hanger on the wedding dress, then caressed the soft fabric with tears in her eyes.

  While Kathryn was hanging the wedding dress in the closet, Tharyn put on the cotton dress. Turning around, Kathryn looked her up and down. “You look better in that dress than I do.”