All My Tomorrows (12 page)

Riding out of Colorado Springs heading due east on the road where he had seen the hoofprints of Shad Gatlin’s horse, Sheriff Clay Bostin stopped in small settlements along the road, inquiring if anyone had seen a rider of Gatlin’s description. After three stops, he had found no one who had seen the fleeing killer. This did not dissuade him. Gatlin would not ride into New Mexico where he was wanted for murder. The closest territorial border was the one between Colorado and Kansas. Just because he was not noticed by the residents of the small settlements did not mean he wasn’t headed for the Kansas border.

It was almost 10:30 when Bostin rode into the town of Ellicott, which was the first town on the road since leaving Colorado Springs. Keeping the gelding to a slow trot, he looked around at the false-fronted buildings that seemed to stare at one another with weather-faded facades across the broad, wheel-rutted swath of earth known as Main Street.

His attention was drawn to two older men who were sitting on a bench in front of the general store. Guiding the gelding up to the boardwalk, he introduced himself and explained that he was in pursuit of a convicted murderer who had escaped the Canon City Prison. He described Shad Gatlin and was pleased to hear that they had seen him ride through town about three hours ago. He was also given a description of the horse Gatlin was riding.

Satisfied that his instincts were right, the sheriff thanked the men for the information and galloped eastward out of town.

As the orphan train rolled westward toward Salina, the sponsors kept the children occupied with games and songs. By noon, however, everyone noticed that dark clouds had filled the sky and were spitting snow. The wind was howling fiercely and driving snowflakes against the windows of the coaches. An early-spring storm had hit the Kansas plains.

The snowfall grew heavier as the hours passed, and by the time night fell, passengers throughout the train noticed high drifts forming alongside the tracks. The conductor moved through the regular coaches, keeping the fires burning in the small woodstoves. In the orphan coaches, this was the job of Dale Radcliff and Royce Nelson.

After supper in the orphan coaches, the children talked about the storm, saying they were glad to be inside the train, rather than on the streets of New York, where they had faced many a snowstorm with little or no shelter.

As the hour grew late with the incessant wind driving snow against the already ice-caked windows, the orphans were cozy in their blankets and heads began to bob as sleep overtook them.

It was near midnight when everyone in the train was jerked
awake with the sound of shrieking brakes as the train shuddered to a stop.

In the coach where Lorinda Radcliff, Shelley Nelson, and Mandy Hillen were riding, they stood quickly, looking at each other quizzically by the light of the few low-burning lanterns that hung over the aisle. Girls were sitting up, rubbing sleep from their eyes and looking frantically around them. Some of the younger ones began to whimper.

Many of the girls pressed their faces to the cold glass of the windows, trying to see outside, but the strong wind continued to buffet the train and the windows were plastered with a thick coat of snow and ice. Inside, the glass was frosted over, making visibility even more difficult.

The three women were standing at the front of the coach. Lorinda Radcliff spoke calmly above the frightened voices. “Girls, don’t be afraid. We’re safe in here. I’m sure the conductor or someone else will come as soon as they can and let us know why the train stopped.”

The whimpering ceased and the girls talked softly among themselves, most of them training their eyes on the front door of the coach.

The women at the front heard a thirteen-year-old girl say to those around her, “I’ll bet it’s Indians. They’re probably gonna jump on the train and scalp us all!”

Some of the girls who heard her began to cry.

“Lottie,” said Shelly, “stop that! It’s not Indians!”

Lorinda called, “Girls! Girls, please! We don’t know why the train stopped, but don’t let Lottie scare you. Let’s bow our heads and pray. We’ll ask the Lord to—”

Suddenly the front door of the coach came open, and they all gasped at the sight of the white apparition that stood in the doorway. No one could tell what this snow-covered thing was, but
neither could they pry their eyes from it.

Taking in the frightened faces staring at him—including those of his wife and Shelley and Mandy—Dale Radcliff wiped the snow from his face and said, “Hey, don’t be afraid! It’s only me!”

The girls began to make sounds of relief as Lorinda said, “Dale Radcliff, I ought to spank you! Do you realize how scary you look? You look like a snowman come to life!”

He removed his hat and shook the snow from it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten anybody. I just came to tell you why we’re stopped.”

Lottie Perkins rose from her seat. “It’s Indians, isn’t it, Mr. Radcliff? I knew it had to be! It’s Indians, isn’t it?”

Dale laughed softly. “No, Lottie, it isn’t Indians. Nothing that dramatic. We’re about to cross the Solomon River. Snowdrifts have piled up on this end of the trestle. When the engine’s headlight first shined on the trestle, the engineer had a hard time making out what was wrong with it. This is why he stopped so suddenly. As you can see, I’ve been out there inspecting the drifts. Everything’s all right. We’ve got men removing the high drifts right now, and we’ll be starting up again in about a half hour.”

With that, Dale hurried through the coach, exited the rear door, and made his way into the boys’ coach.

It was late morning on Friday, April 7, when the orphan train pulled into the railroad station at Salina, Kansas. There was a two-foot depth of snow on the ground, but the sky was clearing and the sun was sending its welcome beams earthward.

In the girls’ coach, Betsy Gilder looked at the twins from her seat. “Maybe this is the town where all three of us will be chosen. I sure hope the same family will take all three of us, or at least
that we will live close to each other.”

“Honey,” said Deena, “Donna and I are hoping the same thing, but you must prepare yourself to accept it if it doesn’t work out that way.”

Betsy nodded. “You’re right, Deena. I’ve been trying to prepare myself, just in case.”

When the regular passengers had gotten off the train, the Radcliffs and the Nelsons led the children inside the terminal and lined them up. The couples who had been interviewed and approved by the sponsors began their slow walk along the line.

Deena and Donna Mitchell were standing together with a boy on each side, and Betsy Gilder was on the other side of the boy on their right.

Ahead of the Mitchell twins in the line were Johnny Smith and Teddy Hansen, as well as Jerry Varnell and Clint Albright, with girls between them.

As the adults passed by, Teddy kept glancing past the girl between himself and Johnny. He felt his heart quicken when he saw a couple talking seriously to Johnny and asking him questions. Teddy swallowed hard, unable to keep his eyes off Johnny.

Farther down the line, a couple stopped in front of the Mitchell twins. The man smiled. “Good morning, girls. You look like you’re about thirteen or fourteen years old.”

“We’re thirteen, sir,” responded Donna.

The man turned to his wife and nodded. She smiled and nodded in return. He looked back at the girls. “My name is Ralph Dexter and this is my wife, Norma. We have a farm a few miles west of Salina.”

“Hello,” said Norma. “I can see that you are identical twins. What are your names?”

“I’m Deena Mitchell and this is my sister, Donna.”

The Dexters asked questions about the twins’ past and how
they became orphans. The twins explained about being sent away from their home in Manhattan because their parents could no longer afford to keep them.

After asking more questions and learning that Deena and Donna had lived on the streets of Manhattan for a brief time, then were taken to the Children’s Aid Society headquarters by Charles Brace and his wife, Norma looked at her husband. “Let’s do it.”

Ralph grinned. “All right. Which one do you want?”

His question struck the twins like a bolt of lightning. They exchanged wide-eyed glances, then Donna said, “Mr. and Mrs. Dexter, Deena and I don’t want to be separated.”

Ralph’s brow furrowed. “Honey, we can’t take both of you, but we definitely want one.”

Royce Nelson was standing close by and heard what was said. He stepped up and smiled at the Dexters. “Folks, I would really hate to see the twins separated. Isn’t there another girl along the line that might interest you?”

Ralph shook his head. “No, sir, there isn’t. We wanted a girl exactly their age, and we like these girls. We want one of them. We can’t take both of them because we have a sixteen-year-old son at home, and we can only afford to bring home one orphan.”

Royce opened his mouth to speak again, but Ralph beat him to it. “I distinctly heard Mr. Radcliff say earlier, sir, that the executive board of the Children’s Aid Society had established a policy that if there were siblings on the orphan train, and a family only wanted one of them, they could take the one they wanted. Isn’t that right?”

The twins looked on with their hearts pounding as Royce said reluctantly, “Yes, sir. That’s right.”

“Good! Which one do you want, Norma?”

“Just a minute, sir,” cut in Royce. “It is an established fact that
it is devastating to separate twins—especially
identical
twins. They are so much a part of each other. As the saying goes, ‘If one is cut, the other one bleeds.’ Are you sure you can’t accommodate both of them? It would really be best for them. And if you can’t, there are other girls in the line who are thirteen years of age. For the twins’ sake, wouldn’t you choose another girl?”

Ralph shook his head. “We can’t afford to take them both, Mr.—what was your name?”

“Nelson.”

“Mr. Nelson, I wish we could afford to take both girls, but it is simply impossible. But we do want one of them. You
did
say that is the policy?”

Royce gave the twins an apologetic look. “Yes, Mr. Dexter, that is the policy.”

“All right,” said Ralph, then turned to Norma. “Which one do you want?”

Norma ran her gaze between the twins for a moment, then said, “Let’s take Deena.”

The twins were stunned. Instantly, they were in each other’s arms. Betsy Gilder had been listening to the conversation between Ralph Dexter and Royce Nelson and heard the choice Norma had made. Tears filled her eyes when she saw Deena and Donna cling to each other.

Royce began the paperwork on his clipboard with a heavy heart.
This is the part of my job that I don’t enjoy.

When the papers were signed, Norma turned to the twins—who were still clinging to each other. “Donna, we really wish we could take you too, but as my husband said, it is simply impossible. We’ll give you girls a few minutes to say good-bye.”

The twins were weeping as they hugged each other, feeling the pain that came with knowing they may never see each other again.

Between sobs Deena said, “Sis, no matter how far apart we may be, our lives and our hearts will still be joined as one. And … and maybe someday we will find each other again.”

Donna clung even more tightly to her twin. “The greatest desire in my life will be to see you again. We will be separated physically, but our hearts will always beat as one. I love you, Deena. I hope these people are good to you and that you have a happy life. My thoughts will never be far from you. I am glad that you will have a home. Let’s try to make the best of this situation. Grieving for each other will only bring us pain. And we’ve had enough—” Donna’s words cut off as a sob clogged her throat.

“I’ll always love you, sis,” Deena said with effort, her own throat tight. “I love you, my precious Donna.”

Norma touched an arm of each twin. “We need to be going, Deena.”

As the girls let go of each other, Betsy rushed up, hugged Deena, told her good-bye, then hurried back to her place in line.

With tears streaming down their cheeks, the twins embraced one more time, then as Deena turned to leave, Donna clung to her fingertips. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” said Deena as the Dexters hurried her away.

At that moment, Shelley Nelson moved up to Donna and put an arm around her shoulder.

Donna’s tear-filled eyes were fixed on her twin as the Dexters ushered her toward the main door of the terminal. When they reached it and Ralph opened the door, Deena paused, looked back, and waved.

Donna waved in return as her twin vanished from view. Her knees buckled, and while Shelley held her up, she sobbed uncontrollably.

Royce waited till Donna regained some control of her emotions.
“Honey, I’m sorry this had to happen, but I had no choice but to let the Dexters take Deena.”

Donna drew a shuddering breath. “It’s not your fault, Mr. Nelson. Thank you for trying like you did, though.”

A few children had been taken by the Salina people and the remaining orphans reboarded the train.

Johnny and Teddy were sitting on the same seat as usual. Teddy turned to him and said, “Johnny, I was really scared when I thought that one couple was gonna choose you.”

Johnny put an arm around him and smiled.

In the girls’ coach, Betsy Gilder sat beside a weeping Donna Mitchell, shedding tears herself while trying to comfort her.

As the train chugged out of the Salina depot, Nurse Mandy Hillen moved to the seat where Betsy and Donna sat together and looked at them with soft eyes. “Betsy, honey, would you let me sit with Donna for a few minutes?”

“Sure.”

Mandy sat down and tried to console Donna by saying at least Deena had a home. Deena would be taken care of by her new foster parents and would have a happy life.

Trying to be brave in it all, Donna nodded. “I want her to have a happy life.”

Mandy put an arm around Donna’s shoulder and pulled her close. “Honey, down the line, there is a family who will want you.”

Sniffling, Donna said, “Somehow I will get that family who chooses me to bring me back to Salina once in a while so I can see Deena.”