Chapter 33 - Waiting
Caleb decided to dispense with the easiest job first, so his first visit was to the telegraph office. The Heyes' predicament made it seem even more important to get his children back quickly. After that, he made his way to the doctor's office. He knew the doctor had been called out, but he wanted to be certain. Sure enough, the door was locked and there was no answer to his knock.
He walked to the church and spoke to Reverend Elliot. John shook his head - the last thing he had heard about Han was that he and Peggy had started the epidemic. Doctor Masterson had told everyone and it had been the talk of the town. The minister hadn't heard anything about the boy since then.
Caleb tried the Mercantile next. Again, he drew a blank.
He tried store after store in hopes of any gossip, but, aside from Masterson's original news, no-one had heard anything else. With the boy's reputation, people weren't inclined to help.
Finally, in desperation, Caleb went into the saloon. To his surprise, Andrew, the bartender, nodded. "Yeah, the doc was in here tryin' to find someone to take the boy back to the orphan train. Found a saddle bum who said he'd do it - don't remember his name though. Ain't seen him since."
Caleb's mouth went dry. "When?"
"Darned if I know!" He started to move away and then turned back. "Wait, I do remember. It was Kitty's birthday, the eleventh."
Caleb tried to work out the dates in his mind. Elizabeth had said that Han was still sleeping heavily when he was taken, but he was fit enough to ride to Harristown only four days later? And if they met the orphan train, then what? He had no idea how to even begin to track the boy down after that.
There was only one thing left to do - he would have to return home and wait for Doctor Schriever to return. David was right - Masterson was an educated man, used to writing everything down. He must have left something, some kind of record.
Because if he hadn't, Han would be impossible to trace.
As they waited for Doctor Schriever to return, everyone's nerves were on a knife edge. They all knew what a slim hope they had of finding him now. Elizabeth was distraught and David had convinced her to go to bed and get some rest.
He was trying not to blame her, but as the days went by he found his temper starting to fray. He promised himself that if Masterson had left no clues, he would go to New York and knock on the door of every orphanage there until he found his boy. Never mind that he was still very weak and couldn't go more than an hour without coughing.
He would find his boy, whatever it cost him.
Caleb and Maggie were waiting for the train that would bring their children. Francis had a friend that was travelling that way and she had promised to deliver them safely to their parents.
The Currys saw their children at the window and then minutes later felt Jed run into their arms. Leah followed eagerly but at a more sedate pace, carrying the baby. They hugged each other very tightly, tears running down their cheeks.
Maggie wiped her face and smiled at her children. "Where's Grandpa Curry's friend?"
Leah pointed to the train car window and waved. A middle-aged woman waved back. "Oh, she's not getting off here, she has two more stops."
"Oh! Well I hope you remembered to thank her for bringing you back safely?" Maggie waved her own thanks and the woman smiled in return as the train pulled away.
"Yes, we did. Oh, Ma, we missed you! We were so worried! Is everyone okay now?"
Caleb and Maggie exchanged a look and led the children to a quiet bench away from everybody else. The station was already beginning to thin out and soon there would be no-one else there.
Maggie lifted Jed onto her knee, as Caleb pulled Leah up beside him and put his arm around her. The children were instantly afraid.
Leah gripped the baby a little tighter. "Ma?"
"I'm sorry, but I have to tell you. Adam didn't… didn't…" she couldn't continue, but she didn't have to.
Leah looked up, her face disbelieving. "Adam's gone?"
Maggie nodded as her two children began to cry. She hugged them fiercely. After a few minutes, Leah pulled back. "Is Joe alright?"
Caleb nodded. "Yes. He was pretty sick for a while but he's getting better every day. Your mother caught it too, but as you can see, she's much better now. They just need to take things easy for a while."
Jed examined his mother's face. "You're really alright? Both of you?"
She smiled. "Yes, I'm much better. I only had a very mild case. Joe was much worse, but as your pa says, he just needs plenty of rest."
Then Jed asked the question they were dreading. "What about Han? And Uncle David and Aunt Elizabeth?"
Caleb handed the baby to his wife and sat on the ground in front of Jed.
Jed suddenly felt very scared. He went very white. In a shaking voice, he asked, "Is Han dead?"
"No! But he was sick for quite a while and so was Uncle David. Aunt Elizabeth couldn't look after them both and so she asked Doctor Masterson to take Han and look after him for her."
Jed nodded, confused. If Han wasn't dead, what was the problem?
"Doctor Masterson …" Caleb paused, wondering how best to say it, "Doctor Masterson misunderstood and sent Han back to the orphanage."
Jed gasped. "But we can get him back again, right?"
Caleb took his son's cold hand in his. "We hope so. But I'm afraid Doctor Masterson died, so we don't know where he sent Han." He saw his son's look of horror, "We're doing everything we can to try to find out! We have a new doctor and we're hoping that he might know something that could tell us where Han might be. Doctor Schriever's out of town right now, but every day I'm going to hang around town everyday and wait until he gets back. We're going to do our best to bring Han home, Jed. We're not going to give up until we've found him!"