Hannah's Journey (2 page)

Above the pounding of her heart, Hannah heard the final cry of the conductor as he shouted, “boooard, all aboard. This train is headed for Texas.”

CHAPTER TWO – A FAMILY FOUND

Miserable, Hannah leaned back in her seat and held tight to the locket, her only link to the past. She looked into the faces of her parents. If only they could tell her what to do.

“May I sit with you, Hannah?”

Hannah raised her head to see Miss Sutton standing in the aisle. Nodding, she watched the matron settle into the seat beside her.

“You look so unhappy, Hannah. Please tell me what I can do to help.”

Hannah sat for a moment before all the pent-up feelings spilled out. She told of her father having to leave, her mother’s illness and death, and finally being taken from her home and sent on this frightening journey, its end unknown. Again, the tears flowed. Miss Sutton’s arms went around her, and wisely she said nothing until Hannah’s sobs stopped.

“I’m glad you told me, Hannah, and I’m sorry so many sad things have happened. Since we have no idea where your father went, we have nothing to go on, but I do feel that you two will find each other someday. You must promise me that you’ll be a strong girl until the time comes when you can look for him.”

Hannah dried her tears. She realized the matron was the first grown-up to really talk with her during this bewildering week. So many things had happened it seemed like a bad dream.

Before she left, Miss Sutton squeezed Hannah’s hand. “Whenever you feel like talking, I’m here and glad to listen.” With a smile,

she left to check on the others. Later in the afternoon, Hannah heard the conductor’s voice. “St. Louis, next stop.” More children from the Orphan Train would be chosen here.

Holding tight to the locket, Hannah whispered, “Please don’t let anyone choose me. If I can make it to Texas I think Teddy can find me, and together we can search for Papa.”

Hannah stepped from the train. By now, she knew what to expect as she lined up with the others.

Several families approached Hannah who stammered and blushed as she tried to answer their questions. Two moved on, but one woman, seeing her discomfort, lingered. She looked at Hannah and said softly, “Are you afraid, child?”

Looking down, Hannah nodded.

“Well, you needn’t fear us. My husband and I have been looking for a nice girl like you. We have a little girl at home who needs help. She’s confined to a wheel chair and we need someone who can help lift her.”

The woman looked at the tag pinned to her dress. “Are you strong, Hannah?”

Gathering her courage, Hannah found her voice. “No, I’m not strong at all. I have something wrong with my leg.” Pulling her skirt up, she revealed the cumbersome brace.

“I’m so sorry, Hannah, I didn’t realize.” Her face stricken, the woman replied. “But we must have someone who can help lift our daughter. I’m unable to do so by myself.” Shaking her head, she repeated, “I’m very sorry, Hannah.”

Hannah breathed deep, her relief mixed with the sympathy she felt for the kindly woman. The girl climbed back on the train. Feeling grateful, she sank into the wooden seat. Resting her head against the cushions, she thought about Texas. With Teddy so anxious to get there, Texas must be a wonderful place to live.

Letting her mind drift, Hannah thought of her family and relived the happy times. With Miss Sutton’s words ringing in her head, Hannah made a decision. If she were alone in this world, she’d do her best to work hard, and show kindness to others. And, as soon as she could, she’d find a way to search for Papa.

Her mind made up, Hannah closed her eyes. Soon, she dreamed she, Mama and Papa visited the circus, laughing at the antics of the clowns.

Early the next morning, the conductor cried, “First stop, Lafitte, Texas.” Hannah and the others left on board tumbled from the train into the bright April sunlight. Hannah looked up and gasped at the biggest, bluest sky she had ever seen.

Looking around, she tried to take everything in at once. Strange looking trees lined the road close to the railroad station. Miss Sutton had made this trip before, and told Hannah the trees were called pines. Their sharp scent tickled Hannah’s nose. A nearby meadow, covered with a blanket of blue flowers, reflected the hues of the sky. Birds chirped, and from the distance came the neighing of a horse. No tall buildings marred the view, just open spaces as far as she could see. Taking a deep breath, Hannah fell in love with Texas.

She peppered Miss Sutton with questions, wanting to know the names of the flowers and why she could see no houses, and if the weather was always so warm and sunny.

“Give me a moment, Hannah, and I’ll answer your questions.” Miss Sutton smiled. “The flowers are called bluebonnets. People in Texas are very proud of them. There are many houses just a short distance away. And, I’m sure Texas has plenty of cold, rainy days in the winter. Not as cold as New York, but still quite chilly.”

“Oh, how I wish Teddy could see this.”

The sound of voices caused Hannah to turn back to the station platform. A group of people walked toward the remaining children. Hannah was anxious now to find a home in this lovely part of the country. The sooner she found a family, the sooner she could start her search.

She watched as the people approached. Deciding to meet them halfway, Hannah stepped forward. Several smiles seemed to disappear as she limped toward them. Embarrassed at the thought of taking another step, Hannah stood rooted to the spot, twisting her hands, her face hot.

A light touch on her shoulder made Hannah look up into the loveliest face she had ever seen. Holding out her hand, this vision smiled and said, “Hello, I’m Margaret Logan, and I’m very pleased to meet you.”

Hardly daring to hope, the girl answered, “How do you do? I’m Hannah Monroe.” How beautiful, Hannah thought. Could she be the one? Biting her lip and holding her breath, Hannah stared into eyes that looked like dark brown velvet.

“Could we sit down and talk, Hannah? I’d like to know all about you.”

Hannah managed a nod. Her eyes never left Mrs. Logan’s face. Sitting on the station bench, the two soon chatted like old friends. Once more Hannah repeated her story. Mrs. Logan looked sympathetic as Hannah recounted her sad week. The kind face caused Hannah to pray again. This time, in the hopes this lady would choose her. Then, Mrs. Logan looked past Hannah and waved. “Now you’ll meet the rest of my family.”

Hannah turned and saw a tall man coming toward them. He held the hand of a little girl of about five. “Why, you two look alike sitting there,” he said.

Blushing, It delighted Hannah to think that she looked like this pretty lady. Introductions made, Mr. Logan picked up the conversation. “Looks like you’ve made a choice, Margaret. How about you, Caroline, what do you think?”

The child smiled shyly and curtsied to Hannah. Everyone laughed. Mrs. Logan looked at Hannah and said, “It seems as if we’ve made a decision, Hannah, but what about you? Caroline needs a companion and we’d like you to become a part of our family.”

Hannah caught her breath, not believing her good fortune. “Oh, yes, I think I’d like that very much. Thank you.”

With the paperwork complete, Hannah said goodbye to Miss Sutton.

“I wish you much happiness, Hannah. The Logans seem like very nice people, and you deserve a good family. Remember, you have my address if you ever need me.” Hannah threw her arms around the matron, who was on her way back to New York City to help a new group of children locate homes.

“Thank you for everything, Miss Sutton. I’ll write often.” The matron touched Hannah’s hand and boarded her train.

“We have a carriage, dear, and if you’re ready, why don’t we go home? You haven’t changed your mind have you?” Mrs. Logan asked.

“Oh, no, I haven’t changed my mind. I want to stay. I have a friend who might come to Texas someday.” It made her feel closer to Teddy when she spoke of him. She didn’t mention her father right away.

Outside, she saw a fine carriage drawn by a reddish colored horse. In New York she had only seen horses pulling milk wagons. “How beautiful,” she cried. “May I pet him?”

“Of course,” Mr. Logan replied, “Major is very gentle, and loves children.”

Hannah nodded, too overcome to speak.
How fortunate I am
. She hoped wherever Teddy went, he’d find as nice a family as this.

The next surprise made Hannah gasp. For a small family, their home looked huge. The two-story house sat amid a garden of colorful flowers and shrubs. It looked like heaven.

Several hours later, Hannah’s mind still whirled. She’d met Cinnamon, Caroline’s pony, eaten a wonderful lunch and now stared in amazement at the beautiful room that was hers. Surely she must be dreaming. Her bedroom in New York had been small, dark and cramped, its one window looking out on the brick wall of the flat next door. It seemed like a fairyland. The bed felt soft to her touch with a pink cloud-like coverlet. White lace curtains stirred in the spring breeze. How Mama would love it here.

She turned to Mrs. Logan. “It’s beautiful! I can’t believe it’s all for me.”

“Indeed it is, Hannah, and we hope you’re very happy here. Caroline’s room is just next-door. I hope you girls will grow to be very good friends.”

“Oh, I know we will. I’m so happy you chose me, Mrs. Logan.”

“We’re the lucky ones, Hannah. I think we found the perfect companion for Caroline. But why don’t you rest now? It’s been a big day for all of us.”

Hannah fell asleep right away. The images of this unusual day became entwined with dreams of her father standing in a field of blue. There was a boy in the dream too. He waved from the platform of a moving train as it sped away into the distance.

CHAPTER THREE – THE SHOPPING TRIP

Hannah opened her eyes and looked around. Early morning sun bathed the bedroom in a golden light. Delicate curtains swayed in the scented breeze, and the murmur of voices reached her from downstairs. Thinking of yesterday’s events, Hannah almost missed the soft knock on the door.

“Come in,” she called, wondering about her early morning visitor.

Caroline’s dark curls appeared around the door. “Get up, Hannah. We’re going with Papa in the carriage.” The child tiptoed into the room and whirled around on her toes.

“We’re going to have ice cream, strawberry ice cream,” she chanted.

Hannah laughed and reached out to stop Caroline before she bumped into the four poster bed.

“Hurry up, slowpoke. Get dressed so we can go.”

“I can’t believe I’ve been asleep since yesterday afternoon.” Hannah caught the enthusiasm that swirled around Caroline. She dressed quickly and followed the child downstairs.

“Good morning, sleepy head,” said Margaret Logan. “Did Caroline tell you about our plans for the day?”

“I heard something about ice cream,” Hannah said, smiling.

Mrs. Logan rolled her eyes. “You can see what’s important to Caroline. Yes, that’s true. We’ll have ice cream, but how about a shopping trip for some new clothes first?”

“That sounds wonderful,” Hannah agreed.

As soon as they finished breakfast, the family got into the carriage and Mr. Logan drove into Lafitte. On the way, he described the various sights and gave Hannah a little history of the town. Hannah’s eyes widened when she learned how the town got its name.

“Jean Lafitte, a notorious pirate known primarily in New Orleans, is said to have also come to Texas and stirred up a lot of trouble. Perhaps we can take a trip to Galveston and find some of the gold they say he buried there.” David Logan’s eyes twinkled as he told the story. “Would you girls like that?”

Both Hannah and Caroline said, “Oh, yes,” at the same time, and laughed at themselves.

“Well, that’s settled then. We’ll try to plan a trip for early summer. Now, as soon as we reach town, I have some business to take care of. Will you ladies do all right alone?”

“We’ll be just fine, David,” Margaret Logan said. She smiled at her husband. “Let’s meet at the Crystal Tea Room for lunch, shall we?”

“Only if I don’t have to eat those tiny finger sandwiches.”

Tying up the horses when they reached town, Mr. Logan set off to the building where he practiced law. Mrs. Logan led the girls to the next block and entered a small but lovely shop filled with clothes to delight any child’s heart.

Two hours later, Hannah stood surrounded by boxes filled with school dresses, cool summer outfits and two pairs of shoes with shiny buckles. The Logans attended the large white church that Mr. Logan pointed out to Hannah, so two beautiful frocks for wearing to services had gone into the growing pile. One of the dresses was pink with white lace, the other a soft, green organdy with small flowers around the hem of the skirt. The large brimmed straw hat with an emerald green band went perfectly with either of the dresses.

Caroline wasn’t left out. She wanted a hat just like Hannah’s and a new pair of shoes. Her mother laughed and said, “Your father will probably have to build a new closet after today, Caroline.”

With the shopping over, Margaret Logan suggested they walk to the Tea Room to meet Mr. Logan. They left the numerous packages at the shop to be picked up later. Halfway there, they spotted him coming from the other direction. David hurried to meet them.

“I didn’t expect to see all of you empty handed. Was nothing found that suited you, Hannah?”

Margaret Logan smiled at the girls. “Oh, we found a few things we’ll collect later.”

The Crystal Tea Room looked unlike anything Hannah had ever seen. As they stepped through the doorway, Hannah felt a magical change. The room was quiet except for the soft, tinkling notes of a piano out of their sight. The tables sparkled with white linen cloths and napkins. Gold-rimmed crystal matched the china and each table held a small bouquet of spring flowers.

Hannah breathed in the whole setting. What would Teddy think of all this? She smiled, thinking how surprised he’d look to see a Tea Room rather that a corral full of horses in Texas. She must remember to ask Mr. Logan about the cowboys.