by Al Lacy
“Oh, I sure do, Pastor. Kirby has gone out of his way to thank me for having a part in his salvation, and for leading his son to the Lord before he died. Over and over, he has spoken with joy about one day being with Greg in heaven. He tells me he’s reading his Bible at least an hour each night. I’m very pleased with the progress he’s made in his new spiritual life.”
“Good. Then both of us are reading him the same. Well, that’s all I needed to talk to you about.” The pastor opened the door, then paused and looked over his shoulder. “It seems that almost every time I come in here, your waiting room is full. I guess your practice is still growing, eh?”
Dr. Dane grinned. “Yes, sir, it is. More and more people from surrounding towns and ranches are coming to me for medical treatment. The practice is growing steadily. One of these days I’m going to have to make a move toward setting up a clinic. I wish it could be a hospital, but at least we need to have a few beds so we can keep patients here overnight, and even longer after some surgeries. At this point, if they need extended medical care, we simply have to take them to Denver to Mile High Hospital.”
“Well, I hope you can make a move toward setting up a clinic real soon.”
“I’m going to have to. And I’m going to have to bring in a younger doctor to assist me, too. The load is getting pretty heavy.”
“I can understand that. Dear Dr. Fraser is having a difficult time with his back. He’s been asking Peggy and me to pray for him.”
“Bless his heart, it’s just getting harder and harder for him to work here at the office. And with this increasing load, I’m having my weary days, too. More and more, I’m having to make house calls, and so many of them are twenty and thirty miles away. And not only in the daytime, either. Just in the past couple of weeks, I’ve been awakened in the middle of the night three times to handle emergencies. I really need an assistant who can help me with the load.”
As the two men stepped out of Dr. Dane’s office, the doctor said, “You might be praying for me tomorrow, Pastor. I’m going to Chief Tando’s village in the morning and taking a Bible to leave with him. If the Word can get into his heart, I feel that one day I can reach him for the Lord.”
“I know he speaks English, but can he also read English?”
“Yes, he can. And so can his squaw, his son, and some of his people. So be in prayer, won’t you?”
“I sure will.”
That evening, after closing the office, Dr. Dane took Tharyn to one of Central City’s cafes for supper.
While they were eating, Tharyn noticed her husband’s weariness. “Darling, you look pretty tired. Maybe you shouldn’t make that ride to Chief Tando’s village tomorrow.”
Dane wiped a palm over his eyes and shook his head. “I am a bit tired, but I’ll be all right after a good night’s sleep. I’ve just got to take that Bible we bought for the chief and give it to him. And I’m eager to talk to him about the Lord. The sooner I get started, the sooner he’ll be saved. I’m sure it’s going to take time to get the Word in his heart, and to see the fruit of my labors with him.”
“Of course it will take time. But with the continual growth of the practice, I sure wish we already had Dr. Tim here to help shoulder the load. That would free you up for more rides to the Ute village. And not only that, but it would sure lift some of the pressure of the practice from your shoulders.”
Dane grinned. “Well, honey, I’m just going to have to tough it out till next June or so. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be all right.”
It was just past midnight and Tharyn was in the midst of her recurring dream about Elizabeth Ann when she was awakened by a loud pounding sound. She shook her head and listened to make sure the pounding had not been part of her dream. Then it came again. Someone was knocking on the front door.
She turned toward Dane. He was sound asleep. Knowing he would want to be the one to go down to the door, she shook him and said, “Honey, wake up! Someone’s knocking at the front door.”
Dane moaned, raised up on an elbow, and shook his head. “What’s that?”
“There’s someone knocking at the front door.”
“Oh. All right.”
The doctor got out of bed, put on his robe by the pale moonlight coming through the bedroom windows, and the knock came again while he lit a lantern.
Tharyn put her head back down on the pillow and watched him leave the room in the circle of light from the lantern he was carrying.
Seconds later, she heard Dane’s voice and a heavy male voice in conversation. Soon she heard footsteps on the stairs, and Dane came into the room. “It’s Bart Jenkins, honey. Mary Ruth’s baby has decided to come early. I’ll be back as soon as I can. You get some sleep now.”
“All right, sweetheart. See you when you get back.”
He quickly took suit, shirt, and string tie from the closet, picked his boots up from beside a nearby chair, and headed for the door, still carrying the lantern. He paused at the door. “I love you, sweet stuff.”
“I love you, too. Be careful.”
Tharyn was still awake when she heard Dane hurry down the stairs a few minutes later. She heard the front door close, and soon was back to sleep.
It was almost noon the next day when Dr. Dane Logan sat in his saddle as Pal carried him down the long slope on the south side of Central City. The uneven rooftops of the town came into view, and he yawned. He thought of how he had arrived home at 4:30 after delivering the Jenkins baby, and Tharyn had hurriedly rushed him back to bed so he could get some sleep. She had tried to persuade him not to make the ride to Chief Tando’s village, but he had insisted on doing so, and was up by six.
And now, as the sun was nearing its apex in the blue Colorado sky, he felt a deep weariness in his body. He raised his bleary eyes toward heaven. “Lord, I’m very thankful to be busy in my practice, but You know I’m going to need help soon.”
Dane thought of Dr. Fraser, and how he was so willing to fill in for him when needed. “Lord, I appreciate Dr. Fraser’s help so much, but I know his energies are very limited, and he needs to retire completely. I would look for another doctor to come and join me right away, but I feel so positive, Lord, that Tim Braden is the man I need. You’ve given me such peace about Tim. I know You have it all worked out, but until spring comes, I’m going to need You to give me extra strength as I carry on this practice.”
Suddenly, Dr. Dane jerked in the saddle as Pal stopped in front of the office. Having been lost in thought and talking to the Lord, he hadn’t realized he was already back in town.
He patted the horse’s neck. “Good boy, Pal. I’m sure glad you know your way around here.”
There were a couple of horses tied to the hitch rail. Heaving a big sigh, Dane slid from the saddle and led Pal to a spot at the hitch rail. He stroked the faithful gelding’s long face, then headed for the office door.
When he stepped into the office, he saw Dr. Fraser and Kirby Holton standing at Tharyn’s desk. He noted that there were no patients in the waiting room, then remembered that it was noon.
Tharyn hurried to her husband. She embraced him, kissed his cheek, and as the two men moved up close, asked, “How did it go with Chief Tando, darling?”
Dane ran his gaze to Kirby and the aging doctor, then looked at Tharyn. “It went well, honey. I had a long talk with the chief in his tepee about the true God. Leela and Latawga were also in the tepee. They sat silently and listened. Chief Tando had a hard time grasping the fact that there is only one true and living God, whose Son paid the penalty for the sins of the whole world on the cross. It’s only natural that what I said puzzled him since the Ute religion has many gods.”
“How did the chief react, though?” Dr. Fraser asked. “Did it anger him that you were, in essence, telling him that his gods do not exist?”
Dane shook his head. “At no time did he become angry or belligerent. He listened, as did his squaw and his son. When we had talked about as long as I thought I should for the first visit, I prese
nted him with a Bible. As Tharyn knows, I had marked several passages for him to read over and over. He promised me he would do so. Well, we who know the Lord also know that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”
Dr. Fraser smiled. “And we also know that the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.”
Kirby had a surprised look on his face. “The chief can read English, Doctor?”
“He sure can. So can his squaw and son, and many of his people. When Chief Tando, Chief Ouray, and I were riding together to Fort Junction for the peace treaty signing, both chiefs told me about a white man who lived among the Utes in Chief Ouray’s village many years ago. He taught Ouray and his people to speak and read English, and this was passed on over the years to the other Utes.”
Kirby nodded. “Hmm. That’s interesting.”
“And what about your going back to talk to him again?” asked Tharyn.
“He’s expecting me to come back in a few weeks so he and I can talk more about the one true God and His Son. He said he knew he would have questions to ask me after he had read from the Bible.”
Tharyn’s face was beaming. “Oh, I’m so thrilled to know that Chief Tando is actually showing interest! We must pray earnestly that the Lord will help him to turn his back on his heathen religion and open his heart to Jesus.”
“This is marvelous,” Dr. Fraser said. “Esther and I will be praying for Chief Tando.”
“I will, too,” said Kirby. He then looked at Dr. Dane. “I was in town to do some business at the hardware store, so I just came by the office to say hello. See you at church tomorrow night.”
As Kirby was leaving, a female patient, Letha Trent, came in, followed by Western Union agent Charlie Holmes, who announced that he had a telegram for Dr. Logan from Dr. Matthew Carroll, superintendent of Denver’s Mile High Hospital. Charlie handed Dr. Dane the brown envelope, and Dr. Fraser ushered Letha into the back room.
As Dr. Dane was opening the envelope, Charlie said, “I’ll wait till you read it, Doctor, in case you want to send Dr. Carroll a reply.”
Dr. Dane nodded and took out the telegram. Tharyn looked on with interest as her husband read the message.
As Dane read the telegram, his stomach seemed to roll over. Oh, no. Another trip to Denver, when I’m already so tired.
At once, his conscience troubled him. Shame on you, Dane Logan! Remember your unfailing desire to be a physician and surgeon, when you were living on the streets of Manhattan, and all you went through to get your education? Remember the oath you took so solemnly at your graduation? Well, now is the time to live up to that oath!
In his heart, the young doctor said, Thank You, Lord, for speaking to my conscience and reminding me of where I came from. Please give me the physical strength and mental ability to make the trip and perform this task before me. Someday there will be many more doctors who will be able to execute a hip replacement, but in the meantime, I thank You for the training and ability to do so. Help me to be a success at this one.
Tharyn was watching the play of emotions on her husband’s face as he held the telegram and kept his eyes on it. She laid a hand on his arm. “Something bad, darling?”
He swung his eyes to his wife, and a smile erased the tired lines on his features. “No. Not bad at all. Dr. Carroll wants to know if you and I can come as soon as possible to do a hip replacement for a seventy-six-year-old man named Max Thurman.”
Tharyn rubbed her chin. “Let’s go over what we have scheduled this week yet.”
“Well, we’ve got two surgeries scheduled, right?”
“Mm-hmm. Six-year-old Susie Waltham’s tonsillectomy.”
“And Horace Baldwin’s fatty tumor cyst under his arm.”
“Right. And, of course, you’ve got several patients expecting you to come for house calls.”
“Then we could travel to Denver on Friday and do the surgery on Saturday.”
“Sounds like a good plan. Then since we’d be there on Saturday, we could stay over and go to church Sunday with my parents and Melinda and Tim, and return on Monday.”
Dr. Dane’s eyes brightened. “Yes! That would give us a chance to talk to Tim and Melinda about you-know-what!”
Tharyn giggled. “The Lord knows so much better how to plan things than you and I do, darling. I ran into Nadine yesterday at the general store, and she’s still open to fill in here at the office whenever she’s needed.”
“I figured so, but it’s good to hear it.” He turned to the Western Union agent. “Charlie, let me go talk to Dr. Fraser, and I’ll be back to dictate a telegram for you to send to Dr. Carroll.”
Charlie smiled. “I’ll be here.”
Two more patients were coming in, and Tharyn moved behind her desk to welcome them.
Dr. Dane found Dr. Fraser working over Letha Trent, who lay on an examining table in curtained section number two.
Dr. Dane stepped up beside the older physician. “How’s Letha doing?”
“Just fine. She’ll probably only need a couple more treatments.”
“Good. You look better than when you were in last time, Letha.”
She smiled up at him. “That’s because I’m feeling better, Dr. Logan.”
As Dr. Fraser kept working on Letha, Dr. Dane said, “Dr. Carroll’s telegram was about an elderly man who needs a hip replacement.”
“Well, Dr. Carroll knows where to find the expert for hip replacements, I’ll say that,” Fraser said.
“You sure know how to help a fellow’s ego, don’t you?”
The elderly physician chuckled and looked up at Dr. Dane. “Well, my motto is: Always help a friend’s bird.”
Dr. Dane frowned. “I don’t understand. What’s a bird got to do with it?”
“Didn’t you say I sure know how to help a fellow’s eagle?”
Dane shook his head and snorted. “You old coot! You never run out of them, do you?”
“Guess not. I’ve got a million more. Wanna hear some?”
Dr. Dane grinned. “Not right now. I’ve got to give Charlie a message to wire to Dr. Carroll. Tharyn and I talked it over. We’ve got some surgeries to do yet this week, and I’ve got some house calls scheduled. We figure we can travel over to Denver on Friday and do the hip replacement on Saturday. We’d stay over Sunday and come back on Monday. What do you think? I’m concerned about your back, so you’ll have to tell me if you think you can fill in for me.”
The kindly old physician grinned. “I’ll take some extra salicylic acid each day. I’ll be all right. It’s important that the man in Denver has the hip replacement.”
“You sure you’ll be all right?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll have Nadine come and fill in for Tharyn.”
“Great!”
Dr. Dane’s voice took on a serious note. “Now, doctor, I’m going to give you a special bonus in addition to your regular pay for filling in for me this time.”
Fraser shook his head. “Son, it’s not necessary for you to give me a bonus.”
“Who’s boss here?”
“Well, you are.”
“Okay. Then as boss of this place, I hereby declare that you are going to get a bonus. No arguments.”
Dr. Fraser saluted him military-style with a smirk on his face. “Yes, sir! Whatever you say, sir!”
“Good. Now you finish up on Letha. I’ve got a telegram to send.”
In Denver, Dr. Matt Carroll was at his desk when his secretary entered his office and told him a Western Union messenger was there with a telegram from Dr. Dane Logan in Central City. The messenger told her a return wire from Dr. Carroll would be necessary.
When Dr. Carroll had read the telegram, he dictated a return message for Dr. Logan, saying the date was fine and that he would advise the Thurmans about it and also tell David Tabor that his daughter and son-in-law would be coming to Denver on Saturday.
On the way back to the hospital after talking with the Thurmans and Da
vid Tabor, Dr. Carroll was approaching the federal building in his buggy when he saw Chief U.S. Marshal John Brockman and three of his deputies about to mount their horses at the hitch rail.
“Leaving town, John?” Carroll called out.
“That we are,” Brockman replied. “We’re about to go in pursuit of a gang of bank robbers led by Chick Barton.”
“I haven’t heard of the Chick Barton gang,” said Carroll.
“They’ve operated only in Kansas for some time, but they’ve decided to come to Colorado. Yesterday they robbed banks in Byers and Strasburg. I got a wire from the marshal in Strasburg this morning. They shot and killed people in both banks, and eluded the Strasburg posse.”
“So you’re heading east to go after them?”
“No. They’re west of here now. I just got a wire from the town marshal in Golden. The Barton gang robbed Golden’s First National Bank an hour ago, and shot and killed a bank officer and a teller. They were last seen heading into the mountains.”
“Well, I won’t detain you,” said Carroll. “Go get ’em.”
“I plan to,” Brockman said levelly, and swung into the saddle.
The chief and his deputies spurred their horses and galloped away.
EIGHTEEN
Chick Barton and his gang were riding in a dense forest just south of the mountain town of Idaho Springs several miles west of Denver when the sun dropped over the peaks to the west. The shadows of the tall trees stretched eastward, and between them streamed a red-gold light from what was left of the sun’s fire just above the horizon.
In the lead, Barton hipped around in the saddle and said, “Okay, boys, let’s make camp for the night. We don’t need to get any closer to Idaho Springs till tomorrow at noon. That’s when we’ll hit the bank.”
Barton guided his horse into a small open area, dismounted, and said to his men as they were also dismounting, “Somebody’s already been here not too long ago and left us some rocks stacked just right for a cookfire. All we gotta do is find us some wood. And that don’t look too hard from where I stand.”