Beloved Physician (37 page)

“Melinda?”

“Uh-huh. I’m just having a tough time over her death. I know she’s in a far better place than we are, but it’s still hard to let her go.”

“Hello-o-o!” came a familiar voice from the office out front.

“Charlie Holmes,” said Dane, “Must have a telegram for us. I’ll go see what it is.”

“All right, honey. I’m almost through here.”

Dane hurried through the door, and Tharyn hurried to finish her cleaning job. “Help me, Lord,” she said, her voice quivering. “I just miss Melinda so much.”

A few minutes later she completed the job and went into the office to find her husband holding a telegram in his hand and talking to the Western Union agent.

Charlie Holmes greeted her with a warm smile. Dane turned to her and said, “Telegrams from Dr. Tim Braden, honey He says that Dr. Carroll has pronounced Nelda Cox able to travel. He will be bringing the Coxes home on Saturday. They will arrive sometime in late afternoon.”

When Charlie was gone, Dane and Tharyn talked excitedly about Nelda being able to come home and about getting to see Tim again.

Tharyn looked up at her husband. “I sure hope Tim has adjusted better to Melinda’s death than I have.”

Suddenly a rider halted out front, slid from the saddle, and headed for the door.

Tharyn said, “Sherrie must be about to give birth.”

“I’d say so,” said Dr. Dane, reaching for his medical bag on a nearby shelf.

Sam Drummond’s wife was due to give birth to their first child. Sam’s parents, Chet and Alice Drummond, owned a cattle ranch in the mountains a few miles southwest of Central City. Sam and Sherrie lived in a small house on the Drummond ranch, which was not far from the Jack Bates ranch.

When Sam came through the door, he grinned when he saw the medical bag in Dr. Dane’s hand. “Saw me coming, didn’t you?”

“Sure did. When did her labor pains start?”

“About three hours ago. Sherrie wouldn’t let me come after you till the pains got closer together.”

“Let’s go. I’ve got my horse today, instead of the buggy.”

“Yeah. I noticed him out there at the hitch rail. We can get there faster with you in the saddle.”

“You go ahead and mount up, Sam. I’ll kiss my wife and be right with you.”

At the Drummond ranch, Dr. Dane had just delivered Sherries new baby boy when the grandfather looked out the window of the bedroom window in the small house and growled, “Indians! They’re stealing some of our cattle!”

Dr. Dane looked out and immediately saw that they were Utes.

Alice gasped and moved close to Sherrie where she lay in the bed, holding the baby.

Chet and Sam dashed into the kitchen where Sam had a pair of rifles standing in the corner by the back door. They grabbed the rifles, dashed out the door, jumped off the porch, shouldered the weapons, and opened fire on the small band of Utes.

The Indians turned around on their horses’ backs and fired in return, but when bullets kept coming from the ranchers’ rifles, they put their mounts to a gallop, leaving the stolen cattle behind.

One of the Indians was hit, and though he tried to stay on his horse’s back while the rest of the band was galloping away, he finally fell to the ground. His horse followed the others at a full gallop.

At this point, Dr. Dane had joined Chet and Sam, and all three saw the wounded Indian fall from the horse.

The other Indians suddenly realized their companion was not with them, and when they looked back and saw him on the ground, they began pulling rein to turn around. At the same time, a cavalry patrol from Fort Junction had heard the gunfire and was charging at them speedily from off to their right. They wheeled
their mounts and galloped away with the patrol after them.

Burning with anger, Chet Drummond grumbled, “I hope they kill every one of those thieving savages! I’m gonna kill that one on the ground!”

Even as he spoke those last words, he charged across the yard, gripping the rifle.

Dr. Dane bolted after Chet, and Sam was on the doctor’s heels.

The wounded Ute was lying on the ground in the field some sixty or seventy yards away with a bullet in the upper thigh of his left leg. When he saw Chet running toward him, rifle in hand, he painfully crawled toward his rifle, which lay in the grass a few feet away.

Chet beat him to it, kicked the Indian’s rifle out of his reach, and took aim at his head.

The Indian’s eyes bulged.

Dr. Dane came running up, shouting, “No! Chet, don’t shoot him!”

Chet held the rifle pointed at the Indian’s head and looked at the doctor. “Why not?”

“Because he’s wounded and unarmed.”

Chet’s temper gave his tanned cheeks a wicked, honed-down tautness. “So what?”

“If you shoot him, it will be murder!”

Chet’s teeth showed in a grimace of wrath. “Indians ain’t human! They’re nothing but wild beasts that need to be exterminated!”

Dr. Dane hastily placed himself between the rancher and the fallen Ute. “Listen to me, Chet! This Indian is a human being. He will bleed to death if he isn’t treated immediately.”

The wounded Indian looked on in thankful amazement at the white man.

Dr. Dane bent down and picked the warrior up, cradling him in his arms. “Do you speak English?”

The Indian nodded.

“Good. I’m Dr. Dane Logan from Central City. I’m going to take the bullet out of your leg and stitch you up quickly so you don’t bleed to death.” He turned to Chet. “I’ll need a table to lay him on while I work on the wound.”

Chet’s features were like stone. The look in his eyes told the doctor he was going to refuse just as Sam said, “Dad, Dr. Logan’s right. This Indian is a human being. We can’t stand in the way of his life being saved.”

The older Drummond wiped a hand over his mouth, then looked at the doctor. “All right. There’s a table on the front porch of the big house.”

“Fine. Sam, would you go get my medical bag for me?”

Sam nodded and ran toward his house.

Moments later, Dr. Dane laid the young warrior on the table while Chet and Sam looked on.

Dr. Dane opened his medical bag, and quickly gave the Indian a dose of laudanum. As he was capping the bottle, the Indian said in a strained voice, “Thank you, Dr. Dane Logan, for keeping the rancher from killing me. I am Latawga, son of Chief Tando.”

The Drummond men looked at each other, eyes wide.

Dr. Dane nodded. “I have heard much about your father, Latawga.”

When the surgery was completed, and the wound had been bandaged, Latawga looked up at the doctor with slightly clouded eyes. “Thank you for saving my life a second time, Dr. Dane Logan. I would have soon bled to death if you had not taken care of me. I—I need to ask you to do something else for me.”

Dr. Dane smiled down at him. “Yes?”

“Would you take me home to my village?”

“Don’t do it, Doctor!” blurted Chet Drummond. “Those savages will kill you!”

Latawga rolled his head back and forth, setting his gaze on the
rancher. “No. When my father and the others in the village see Dr. Dane Logan bringing me into the village, they will not harm him.” He looked up at the doctor. “I will tell my father what you did to save my life. Both times. You will not be harmed, I promise.”

Dr. Dane said, “I will put you on my horse with me and take you home.”

Chet shook his head. “Doc, I hope this savage is telling you the truth.”

“He is. I am sure of it.”

“Me, too,” said Sam. “And, Doctor, thank you for delivering our new son. I’ll stop by your office tomorrow and pay the bill.”

At Chief Tando’s village, he and his people were wondering why subchief Nandano and his band—including Latawga—had not returned with stolen cattle.

Tando and a group of his warriors were discussing the fact that the band should have been back some time ago when one of the Ute sentries at the northeast side of the village called out loudly, “Chief Tando! A white man is riding in with a wounded warrior on his horse!”

The sentry’s voice carried throughout the village. Melinda Scott Kenyon was standing in front of the chief’s tepee, braiding Leela’s long black hair. Leela was sitting on a wooden chair that had been stolen from some white man’s ranch. Melinda looked up to catch sight of the white man who was bringing in the wounded Ute.

Leela stood up and ran her gaze in the same direction.

As Tando and some of his warriors hurried toward the edge of the village, one of them cried, “Chief Tando! The wounded warrior is Latawga!”

Hearing the name of her son, Leela left Melinda at the tepee and hurried in that direction.

Melinda stood looking on as many of the villagers began moving that way.

When Dr. Dane and Latawga were met at the edge of the village, Latawga was lowered into the arms of two warriors by the doctor. As Latawga was being held in the warriors’ arms, his parents moved up to him and he told them that the white man was Dr. Dane Logan from Central City, who had saved his life.

Chief Tando invited the doctor to dismount.

Dr. Dane stood at the edge of the group who had gathered as Latawga told the story to his father and mother of how he was shot in the leg while he and the others in the band were stealing cattle from a ranch. He explained how the others in the band were being chased by an army patrol the last time he saw them.

Latawga then told how this good man, Dr. Dane Logan—who happened to be at the ranch delivering a baby—kept the rancher from killing him and saved his life a second time by removing the bullet from his leg and stitching it up so he would not bleed to death.

Chief Tando looked at the doctor with appreciative eyes. “I want to thank you, Dr. Dane Logan, for saving my son’s life.”

Dr. Dane smiled. “Chief, I’m just glad I was there so I could save Latawga’s life. The ranchers wouldn’t—” Dr. Dane’s attention was drawn to a blond woman running toward him, calling his name.

Suddenly he recognized her and while his heart was hammering his ribs and she was drawing near, he gasped. “Melinda! Melinda! You’re alive!”

O
NE
M
ORE
S
UNRISE
–B
OOK
O
NE

Young frontier doctor Dane Logan is gaining renown as a surgeon. Beyond his wildest hopes, he meets his long-lost love—only to risk losing her to the Tag Moran gang.

ISBN
1-59052-308-3

B
ELOVED
P
HYSICIAN
–B
OOK
T
WO

While Dr. Dane gains renown by rescuing people from gunfights, Indian attacks, and a mine collapse, Nurse Tharyn mourns the capture of her dear friend Melinda by renegade Utes.

ISBN
1-59052-313-x

T
HE
H
EART
R
EMEMBERS
–B
OOK
T
HREE

In this final book in the Frontier Doctor trilogy, Dane survives an accident, but not without losing his memory. Who is he? Does he have a family somewhere?

ISBN
1-59052-351-2