by Al Lacy
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the authors’ imagination and are not to be construed as real.
Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
THE HEART REMEMBERS
© 2004 by ALJO PRODUCTIONS, INC.
published by Multnomah Book.
Scripture quotations are from:
The Holy Bible, King James Version
Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah,
an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group,
a division of Random House Inc., New York.
MULTNOMAH and its mountain colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission.
For information:
MULTNOMAH BOOKS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200 • Colorado Springs, CO 80921
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lacy, Al.
The heart remembers / Al and JoAnna Lacy.
p. cm. — (Frontier doctor trilogy; bk. 3)
eISBN: 978-0-307-56384-2
1. Physicians—Fiction. 2. Colorado—Fiction. I. Lacy, JoAnna. II. Title
PS3562.A256H43 2004
813′.54—dc22
2004009996
v3.1
This book is lovingly dedicated to Emily Grace Custer,
our “adopted” niece and a dedicated fan of our novels.
We love you, Emily, with all of our hearts.
PSALM 33:2
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue
Introduction
Epigraph
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
PROLOGUE
When the challenge of the Western frontier began luring men and women westward in the middle of the nineteenth century, they found a land that was beyond what they had imagined. From the wide Missouri River to the white-foamed shore of the Pacific Ocean, wherever they settled, they clung to the hope of a bright new beginning for their lives.
Often their hopes were dashed by fierce opposition from the Indians who had inhabited the land long before them. At times there was also struggle for survival against the hard winters and the loneliness of the vast frontier.
Those determined pioneers who braved the elements, the loneliness, and the attacks of the Indians proved themselves to be a hardy lot and were unknowingly entering upon a struggle that would ultimately give their descendants control of half a continent.
In his book The Winning of the West, Theodore Roosevelt said, “The borderers who thronged across the mountains, the restless hunters, the hard, dogged frontier ranchers and farmers, were led by no one commander. They were not carrying out the plans of any far-sighted leader. In obedience to the instincts working half-blindly within their hearts, they made in the wilderness homes for their children.”
These commendable accomplishments, however, were not without tremendous cost of life. Of all the perils confronting the settlers of the Wild West, serious illness, injuries from mishaps of countless number, and wounds from battles with Indians and outlaws were the most dreaded. The lack of proper medical care resulted in thousands of deaths.
The scarcity of medical doctors on the frontier in those early years made life extremely difficult and sometimes unbearable.
As towns were being established in the West, little by little, medical practitioners east of the Missouri River caught the challenge of the frontier and headed that direction.
Communities that grew around army posts and forts had the military doctors to care for them. But many towns had no doctors at all. However, as time passed, this improved. By the mid-1870s, towns of any size at all had at least one doctor. The larger towns had clinics, and a few even had hospitals.
Often the frontier doctor had to travel long distances at any hour—by day or night—in all kinds of weather. Time and again the doctor’s own life was in jeopardy. He might ride on horseback or drive his buggy thirty miles or more to a distant home in the mountains, to a home in a small settlement on the prairie, or to a ranch or farm where he would care for a patient.
He would perform surgery when needed, set broken bones, deliver a baby, or administer necessary medicines. Most of the time, he would sit with his patient for hours before leaving his or her side, then sleep on the return trip while his horse found the way home.
Quite often the frontier doctor’s only remuneration consisted of fresh vegetables from a garden, maybe a jar or two of canned corn or beans, a plucked chicken, or a chunk of beef cut from a recently-slaughtered steer. Not everyone had sufficient funds with which to pay him.
The successful frontier doctor was not only a hardy man, but was obviously dedicated to his profession.
In this Frontier Doctor trilogy, we will tell our readers three stories involving just such a physician.
INTRODUCTION
In our third book of the Orphan Train trilogy, Whispers in the Wind, we introduced teenagers Dane Weston and Tharyn Myers, who were orphans living on the streets of New York City in the spring of 1871. Dane, who had just turned fifteen, had endeared himself to thirteen-year-old Tharyn by risking his own life to save hers, and soon they became very close, calling each other brother and sister.
After a lengthy period of separation—during which they both realized their feelings for each other went deeper than a brother-sister relationship—they eventually found each other, and Tharyn accepted when Dane proposed marriage. The story of the extraordinary events leading up to their marriage was told in One More Sunrise, book one of the Frontier Doctor trilogy.
In the second book, Beloved Physician, Dane and Tharyn were married in June 1881.
At the same time, there was an Indian uprising in the area, led by a few renegade Ute chiefs. One of these renegades was Chief Tando, whose village was in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, not far from Central City.
In the third week of July, Melinda Kenyon—Tharyn’s close friend from the orphan train days, who now lived in Denver—was riding alone along the South Platte River. She was captured by Chief Tando and a band of his warriors, who happened to be riding nearby. Leaving evidence that made it appear Melinda had fallen from her horse and drowned in the river, the Utes took her to their village near Central City to make her a servant to the chief’s squaw and other women in the village.
In Denver, Melinda’s fiancé, Dr. Tim Braden, her family, and friends, were all stunned at what they believed was her death. When word reached Tharyn and Dane in Central City, they were equally stunned.
One day in mid-September, Dr. Dane Logan had just delivered a baby on a mountain ranch owned by a family named Drummond a few miles southwest of Central City when a band of Utes led by subchief
Nandano were seen stealing cattle from the ranch. A gun battle ensued, and Chief Tando’s son, Latawga, was wounded in his left thigh. The others in the band galloped away, but were soon pursued by an army patrol from nearby Fort Junction. Dr. Dane Logan saved the young warrior’s life by keeping the ranchers from murdering him and by removing the slug and bandaging the wound lest he bleed to death.
Carrying Latawga on his horse with him, Dr. Logan took him to the Ute village. Latawga was laid on a blanket on the ground, and in the presence of the other Indians, he told his father and mother how Dr. Dane Logan had saved his life.
As Chief Tando was thanking him, Dr. Logan looked up to see a young blond woman running toward him from among the tepees and calling out, “Dane! Dane!”
Suddenly he recognized her and gasped, “Melinda! You’re alive!”
Thy word have I hid in mine heart.
PSALM 119:11
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.
ROMANS 10:10
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.
EPHESIANS 3:17
ONE
The late-morning sun was shining brightly out of the Colorado sky as Melinda Scott Kenyon wove her way speedily through the throng of Ute people toward the tall, stalwart Dr. Dane Logan. She hardly dared to believe her eyes. Was she dreaming once again of making an escape from this village? Or could this really be Dane?
She held her skirt ankle-high and ran for all she was worth, calling out his name. Her eyes widened in pleasant surprise as he called back to her.
Chief Tando, his squaw, Leela, their son, Latawga, and all the others in the village looked on in amazement as their captive dashed toward Dr. Dane Logan.
Dane’s words of astonishment, “Melinda! You’re alive!” seemed to hover in the air.
Tears streamed down Melinda’s cheeks as she skidded to a halt in front of Dane. He extended his hands toward her. She grasped them with trembling hands and cried, “Dane, help me! Help me!”
His dark eyes glinted with elation as he put an arm around her shoulder, then looked at the Ute leader, his brow furrowed. “Chief Tando, is Melinda being held captive?”
Suddenly the warriors in the crowd who had their rifles in hand cocked the hammers, put fierce eyes on the young doctor, and pointed the black muzzles at him.
Melinda stiffened and uttered a tiny cry, staring in numb, open-mouthed horror. Her body began trembling like a leaf in a cold autumn wind, and new fear lanced her heart.
Dane tightened his grasp on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Melinda,” he whispered. “Stay calm. The Lord will work this out.”
Melinda looked up at Dane and took a shaky breath, trying to trust his words. He gently patted her shoulder, then looked straight into the chief’s eyes.
Tando gave his warriors a hand signal and said, “Lower your weapons.”
As the hostile-eyed warriors were doing so, Tando stepped closer to Dane, meeting his gaze. “We have held Melinda captive since Tando and his warriors found her at the South Platte River many moons ago. We brought her to village to serve Tando’s squaw and other women in village.”
Dane wondered what Tando and his warriors were doing so far from their village, but he decided not to ask. He said, “Chief Tando, as you can see, Melinda and I are friends. I am asking you to release her to me.”
At these words, the warriors once again raised their rifles.
Melinda grabbed Dane’s arm and put her free hand over her mouth to stifle the cry that was begging for release.
Tando shook his head at the warriors and grunted, “Lower your weapons!”
While the warriors reluctantly obeyed, Tando gave Melinda a slight smile, then turned to the doctor and said in a pleasant voice, “Dr. Dane Logan, because you saved Latawga’s life, I will grant your request. Melinda is free to go with you.”
Melinda’s eyes brightened as she looked up at Dane.
Leela smiled and nodded, showing her agreement with her husband’s compliance to the doctor’s request.
From where he lay on the blanket a few feet to the doctor’s left, Latawga spoke to the chief. “Father, I am pleased that you are allowing Melinda to go with Dr. Dane Logan. Thank you.”
Tando smiled down at his son, nodded, then asked, “Does Latawga know what has happened to Nandano and the other warriors?”
A blank look came over Latawga’s dark features.
Dane said, “Chief, your son was down and bleeding as the rest of your warriors were riding away. He did not see that shortly after they were off the farm property, an army patrol from Fort Junction—apparently having heard the gunfire—went after them. We heard no gunfire from that direction, so I am assuming that since the band hasn’t returned here to the village, the patrol captured them. No doubt they are being held as prisoners at the fort by now.”
Tando’s dark eyes dilated as he squared his jaw. He glanced around at the taut faces of his people, then looked at Dane and said, “I have been wrong, Dr. Dane Logan. I thought all white men were enemies of Ute and hated us. You have shown me this is not true. You saved Latawga’s life and brought him home to the village, not knowing what we might do to you. Certainly you are not our enemy.”
Dane smiled. “There are many more white people just like me, Chief. We are not your enemies. We want to live in peace with you.”
Leela and some of the women standing close to her were smiling and nodding.
Tando cleared his throat slightly. “Dr. Dane Logan, I am asking for your help.”
Dane smiled again. “In what way can I help you, Chief?”
“Will you go with Tando to the chief soldier coat at Fort Junction so I can make peace with the whites and beg for the release of my warriors? I will gladly sign peace treaty.”
Dane ran a palm over his mouth. “It is my understanding that this is what the noble Chief Ouray had attempted to get you to do many grasses ago.”
Tando’s head dipped for a brief moment, then he lifted it, met Dane’s gaze, and said, “This is true.”
“I am acquainted with the chief soldier coat at Fort Junction, Chief Tando. His name is Colonel Perry Smith. I will go with you to the fort, but may I make a suggestion?”
Tando nodded.
“I feel it would be wise if we had Chief Ouray with us when we go to talk to Colonel Smith. Chief Ouray is very much respected by our army and our government officials. Colonel Smith will be much more likely to release your warriors if Chief Ouray is present.”
“Um. Tando will send a messenger to Chief Ouray immediately with my request to accompany us to Fort Junction. Chief Ouray’s village is many miles away in southwest Colorado, near town of Durango. It will take two moons for messenger to arrive there, and two moons for him and Chief Ouray to return.”
“All right, Chief. This will give me time to take Melinda to Central City and see that her future husband and her parents are advised by telegraph that she is alive, and that they can come and get her. I will also wire Colonel Perry Smith from Central City, let him know the situation, and advise him that I am bringing you and Chief Ouray to the fort to talk to him.”
Tando let a slight smile curve his lips. “Um.”
“I will come back here to the village in four days, Chief, so we can travel together to Fort Junction.”
Tando smiled once more. “Um.”
“Right now I need to put Melinda on my horse and take her to Central City. She and my wife, Tharyn, are very close friends, and Tharyn will be very happy to see her. All of us thought she was dead.”
The chief nodded.
“Dr. Dane Logan,” came Latawga’s warm voice from where he lay on the ground. “Once again, I wish to thank you for saving my life. And I want to thank you for being willing to go with my father and Chief Ouray to Fort Junction.”
Dane grinned down at him. “Be sure to keep that bandage clean. I’ll take a look at the wound when I return.”
The doctor then turned to Melinda. “Ready to go?”
Her face a bit pale, Melinda was still in shock from the events of the morning. “Yes. I sure am.”
Dane took her by the hand and led her to his faithful gelding, Pal. He hoisted her into the saddle, then turned to Tando. “Chief, I notice a cool breeze has come up. Could one of the women spare a shawl for her to wear?”
Leela removed her own shawl and handed it to Dane. He thanked her and handed Melinda the shawl. When it was around her shoulders, he swung up behind her.
Melinda smiled down at Leela. “Thank you.”
Leela nodded. “You are welcome.”
Dane looked down at the chief. “See you in four days.”
Tando let another smile curve his lips. “Yes. Four days.”
As Dane put Pal into motion and headed northward out of the village, Melinda felt as though she were in a dream.
“You all right?” queried the doctor.
“Yes. It’s just that after being a captive in this village for so long, what’s happening now doesn’t seem real.”
Dane chuckled. “It’s real, all right. I guarantee it.”
Melinda twisted around in the saddle and looked past Dane’s shoulder at the Indian people standing quietly, watching them ride away. “It’s actually true, isn’t it? I’m really free! I’m going home!”
“You sure are.”
She took a deep breath. “Oh, Dane, it sounds wonderful! Home. Truly, there’s no place like home! It will be so good to see my darling Tim again … and my precious parents!” She took a sharp breath. “Ah, Dane …”
“Hmm?”
“Is—is Tim, ah … seeing some other woman by now?”
“No. He’s still clinging to your memory.”
She let out a pent-up breath. “Bless his heart.”
Soon they were out of sight from the Ute village. As they rode, Melinda filled Dane in on how she had fallen from her horse into the South Platte River, and was hauled out of the swift current by Latawga. She added that even though Latawga’s motive was wrong, she would have drowned if he had not dived in after her.
“Did they hurt you in any way, Melinda?” Dane asked.