Chapter 2 - Follow The Lady
The next day, the orphan train arrived in Harristown, and David and Elizabeth Heyes were there to meet it.
The children were taken to the town hall, and the parents who were interested in adopting them walked around and examined the children.
David didn't like it, it reminded him too much of cattle auctions. He even saw prospective parents examining children's teeth and drawing back sleeves to see how strong they were. It didn't seem right to treat a child that way.
His heart twisted as he saw the number of hopeful children waiting to be claimed. He had seen the orphan children before when the train was making its rounds, but never before had he seen so many, and looking so underfed and shabby. He knew that the recent conflicts - first the border war with Missouri and now the civil war that raged around them - left a lot of children without parents, but it was still hard to witness first hand. Most of them looked hungry and many were wearing clothes that were little more than rags. He wished he could take them all and save them from this indignity.
He felt a little sick as he and Elizabeth walked around the room, speaking to the children that Elizabeth was interested in. She had a very clear idea of what their son should be like. As she spoke to the children she thought might be suitable, David stood quietly by, trying not to see the dozens of children that were looking at them hopefully. David didn't really care what the child was like; he just wanted his wife to be happy.
After a little while, he excused himself and stepped outside for some air. He felt closed in, stuck in that room with all of those desperate, unwanted children.
The large crowds had attracted street vendors of every sort, there was almost a carnival atmosphere in the town. A few of the children had even broken away, obviously not thinking much about their chances of adoption.
He saw a man pull out a table and set it up for that age-old con, 'Follow the Lady'. A young boy walked over and watched intently as the man began to take money from gambler after gambler.
There was something about the boy that made David watch him.
Like the rest of the orphans, he was skinny and unkempt, with dark, messy hair that was far too long. His face was dirty and his clothes were worn, but his eyes were bright and every now and then he would flash a sudden and unpredictable smile. His eyes never moved from the game.
David suddenly realized why he was watching the boy. He made David think of his father, as he imagined he might have looked as a child. Those keen eyes and that bright gaze were startlingly reminiscent of Joseph Michael Heyes, a name almost always followed by the words, that old reprobate.
David felt a pang of sadness. His father had been a reprobate - a conman, a gambler and a drinker. But he had also been a man who could make you see the sunshine on the rainiest of days. He had a silver tongue that could always win over his family and make them all laugh, even on those days when they'd be no food on the table and house filled with rumbling stomachs.
And oh, the fun there had been when a gamble paid off and he won enough money to put a feast on the table! There would be more food than they could imagine and he would buy them all gifts and toys. Mary Heyes would be showered with flowers, until the day he would disappear. He would return a few days later, complaining of a thick head, and telling them he'd been robbed and all of his money was gone.
He would hug his children to him and tell them stories until they forgot their hunger. Then he would take Mary's hand and lead her away, her smile resigned but loving. Always loving, despite everything.
David had loved his father; all the children did. He seemed magical and exciting. The world became a darker place on the day that Joseph Heyes died, and his wife followed him only a few months later.
One of the men standing watching the game had a dollar bill hanging from his back pocket. David saw the boy take note of it and walk slowly behind the man. He lifted up a hand and scratched his nose, the picture of innocence. Then, very casually, he looked around.
He saw David watching him; with a completely neutral expression, he moved back to continue watching the game.
The man called out for someone to "Follow the lady and double their money!".
David stood up and walked over, the boy's bright eyes watching the whole time. He took twenty-five cents from his pocket and placed them on the table.
"Ah, sir! Welcome, welcome! Come to try your luck today, have you?" The dealer showed David three cards, a two of clubs, a seven of diamonds and the Queen of hearts. "All you have to do is follow the lady. Tell me where she is and I'll double your money!"
He shuffled the cards quickly around the table and then looked up. "Which one's the lady?"
David barely looked. He'd learned a thing or two from his wily old pa. He made a show of pretending to decide and then laid a finger on one of the cards. It didn't matter which one. He felt the boy watching him.
"Ah, sorry sir, the two of clubs."
David made a face. As the man reached for the money, David pulled another quarter from his pocket. "Hey, what about double or nothing? I wasn't watching closely enough. I know I can do it this time."
He felt those bright brown eyes watching him thoughtfully.
The card sharp smiled an oily smile. "Sure, mister. Double or nothing it is."
This time David made a big pretense of watching very closely and he 'ummed' and 'aahed' a great deal. Eventually, he put out a tentative finger. "That one, I'm sure of it."
The man turned over the card, a smile on his face. "Two of clubs again, sir. You do seem to like that card!"
The audience laughed.
David put a desperate note in his voice. "One more time, double or nothing again?" Seeing the man's hesitation, he added, "In fact, I'll add a dollar!" His voice took on the note of a desperate gambler. "Two dollars in all. What do you say?"
The dealer smiled. He liked the gamblers, they never knew when to stop.
He spoke to the crowd that was gathered around. "Never let it be said that I don't give everyone a chance to win their money back!"
David turned and looked at the boy. He hoped he'd correctly interpreted the situation. If he hadn't, he didn't know how he was going to explain the loss of two dollars to his wife; she was very careful about such things...
"Round and round and round she goes, and where she stops, nobody knows...!" The dealer lifted up his hands with a flourish.
David stepped up once more. He looked down at the cards for a long moment and then, holding up one finger to indicate that he was thinking, lightly placed a finger on the first card. From the corner of his eye, he saw the faintest frown on the boys face. He moved his finger to the next card. Again, that almost imperceptible frown. On the next card, he was rewarded with a faint smile. Just for a second, he moved his finger to the first card again and saw a brief look of confusion on the boy's face. David bit his lip for a moment and moved his hand back to the previous card. He saw the boy's understanding and that small smile return to his face. The boy quietly started to move away.
"This one!" said David.
The hustler tried to hide his frown of annoyance. Grudgingly, he counted out four dollars. But David's win had put heart into the others and they now all clamored for a chance to win.
David returned to the steps to see the boy sitting there. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a quarter and handed it to the boy.
The boy grinned at him, with a smile that could charm the birds from the trees. "Seems to me I did the hardest part. Gotta be worth a least fifty cents."
David sat next to him and grinned. "We were lucky it was an honest game. Some of them just palm the card straight off, you don't stand a chance." He held out his hand. "David."
"Hannibal."
David stared at him. "Hannibal?"
The boy looked sheepish and defensive at the same time. "I know. Shoulda given them a different name when they found me, but I didn't think. Now I'm stuck with it."
"Still, Hannibal. It's distinctive. You don't forget that in a hurry."
The boy smiled again. "Yeah. Not sure that's a good thing though. So, what about it, mister?"
David dipped back into his pocket and handed him a dollar bill.
The boy's eyes grew wide. "Hey, thanks mister!" He quickly slipped the bill into his pocket and inclined his head towards the game. "You do that often?"
"Nope. Haven't done that since my pa died when I was eighteen. He enjoyed stuff like that. My wife doesn't approve of gambling. I'm very respectable these days."
David had enjoyed running a con with his pa, he'd missed it. He missed him.
He gestured to the building behind them. "You here with these people?"
"What d'you think?"
"Why aren't you in there? Don't you want to be adopted?"
The boy frowned and started scratching at the stone steps with his fingernail. "Been with the train since we left New York and this is the eleventh town we've stopped in. Figured out by this time that everyone wants a blue-eyed, golden-haired boy that's strong enough to work on the farm or a beautiful girl they can dress up like a doll."
He pulled back a little and looked at David. "What're you here for?"
David thought about the look in his wife's eyes when she stared enviously at his sister's brood of golden-haired, blue-eyed children, and remembered her description of her perfect child.
"My wife wants to adopt a boy." He grinned and added, "Preferably a blonde-haired, blue-eyed boy that's strong enough to work on the farm. What about when the blue-eyed, blonde-haired boys run out? You don't think you might have a chance then?"
Hannibal shrugged. "Maybe. But I look kind of scrawny. Pretty sure they'll still want the bigger kids, even when the good-lookin' ones have all been snapped up. An' everywhere we stop we pick up more kids. They picked up some at the last town and I'm pretty sure their parents were Vikings!"
David laughed, but the boy was right. He looked skinny and underfed. He didn't look like he could even heft an axe, let alone chop firewood. "How old are you?"
"Almost nine."
"How almost?"
"My birthday's in February."
David laughed again. "That's more than six months away. Doesn't really count as almost."
There was a noise behind him and Elizabeth appeared in the doorway. She didn't notice Hannibal in her excitement. "There you are! Where have you been? I've found the perfect boy for us, David. He's wonderful, come and meet him!"
She put out her hand and pulled him up. He looked quickly at Hannibal as he left; the boy gave a small wave in farewell.