The Heart Remembers (6 page)

By this time, both Tharyn and Peggy were laughing.

Dr. Dane motioned for Melinda to come to him. When she drew up, he said, “Pastor Shane, I’d like to introduce you to this fine Christian young lady.”

The preacher nodded with a smile, and stepped down from the buggy.

“All right. And just who is she?”

The doctor grinned. “Melinda Kenyon.”

Peggy Shane sucked in a quick, sharp breath, her eyes bulging as she looked at Melinda from the buggy seat.

Mark Shane’s eyelids fluttered and his shoulders twitched with an involuntary shiver. “Mel—Melinda Kenyon? Tharyn’s friend who was drowned—I … I mean—”

“Who was presumed drowned, Pastor,” cut in Dr. Dane. “But as you can see, she’s very much alive!”

Peggy bounded out of the buggy and hurried up to Tharyn and Melinda. “Tell us about it!”

“Yes!” said the pastor. “This is wonderful! Tell us!”

Dr. Dane said, “Let me introduce you to these people, first, then I’ll tell you the story.” He called for Dr. Tim and the Kenyons to step up, and made the introductions, then told them Melinda’s story.

The Shanes marveled at how the Lord had used Dr. Dane to free Melinda and to bring Chief Tando to the place where he was willing to sign the peace treaty.

The pastor said, “I’m sure going to tell the story to my people at church on Sunday morning!”

Good-byes were said, and when the Shanes drove away, George said, “Well, we’d better head for Denver.”

Tharyn and Melinda clung to each other for a long moment, tears flowing. Tharyn wiped tears and said, “Melinda, we can work out the details by mail, but let’s agree to get together again real soon.”

“I’m all for that!”

Melinda then turned to Dr. Dane with tears still flowing and embraced him. The Kenyons and Dr. Tim Braden also thanked him, and Dane and Tharyn stood in front of the office, waving as the Kenyon buggy drove away.

The next day was Saturday, and the Logans were kept very busy at the office all day.

On Sunday morning, the people of the church indeed rejoiced when Pastor Mark Shane told them that Melinda Kenyon was alive, and explained the story in brief, including the upcoming signing of the peace treaty. There was much rejoicing.

After the service, Dr. Robert Fraser and his wife, Esther, approached Dr. Dane and Tharyn in the foyer as they were about
to leave. “Hey, you two!” Dr. Fraser said. “Not so fast! Esther and I are so thrilled at the good news. We want to hear the details of Melinda’s story.”

Dr. Dane smiled. “Well, that will take a little while.”

“No matter,” said Esther. “I’ve got a nice big roast in the oven at home. Come and eat dinner with us, and Robert and I will get to hear every detail. Okay?”

Dane and Tharyn looked at each other.

She said, “Sounds good to me, darling.”

Dane chuckled and set his dark eyes on Esther. “Sounds good to me, too!”

At the dinner table, Dane was asked to pray over the food, and as soon as they started eating, Dr. Fraser said, “Okay, we’re all ears.”

The Frasers rejoiced over and over as Dane told the whole story. They also rejoiced when they were told the details of how Chief Tando had shown a change of heart toward white people, and was willing to sign the peace treaty with the United States government.

Dr. Fraser then said, “Well, my boy, since you’ll be leaving early in the morning for the Ute village, it seems to me that your assistant here should plan to be at the office all day.”

Dane grinned. “I was going to get to that in another minute or so. Will you take over for me tomorrow?”

The elderly physician’s eyes were beaming. “I sure will!”

Early on Monday morning, Tharyn waited for her husband at the back porch of their house while he saddled Pal, then led him from the small barn to where she was standing.

Dane took her into his arms, kissed her soundly, and said, “I love you so much, sweetheart.”

She smiled up at him. “I love you so much, too. You be careful, won’t you?”

“I sure will.” He kissed her again, then mounted up and rode toward the street.

Tharyn hurried alongside the house, stopped at the front porch, and watched him trot Pal along the street. When he was about to pass from view, he pulled rein, hipped around in the saddle, and threw her a kiss.

She threw one back, then as he rode from sight, she said, “Thank You, Lord, for the way You used Dane to help Chief Tando see the error of his ways. And, please, Lord. Keep Your mighty hand of protection on my wonderful husband.”

FOUR
 

a
s Dr. Dane Logan trotted Pal out of Central City, he thanked the Lord again for bringing Melinda Kenyon back to her parents and to Dr. Tim Braden. He smiled to himself as he thought of next May when Tim would finish his internship at Mile High Hospital. He recalled hearing Tim and Melinda talking together on Friday and renewing their plan to marry as soon as Tim was through at the hospital.

Soon horse and rider were in high country. Dane studied the mountains directly ahead of him as he headed due south. He loved the sight of the towering Rockies boldly cutting their bite into the blue sky.

Dane thought about the one time in his life when his parents took him, as a ten-year-old boy, to northeast New York into the forested mountain wilderness of the Adirondacks. He recalled the many scenic gorges, waterfalls, and lakes. He thought of how high the New Yorkers thought their mountains were with peaks at just over five thousand feet above sea level, then once again let his gaze roam over the towering Rockies all around him. There stood the vast long chains of mountains, all clad with pines and firs, some speckled with birch and aspens, with peaks ranging from eleven to
fourteen thousand feet above sea level, many already capped with snow.

Just as Dane topped the crest of a rise, he caught sight of two riders coming toward him. They were close enough that he quickly recognized one of them as Central City’s chief lawman, Marshal Jake Merrell.

Dane then recalled that at church yesterday, Merrell’s deputy, Len Kurtz, had told him that the marshal wasn’t at church because he was on the trail of a Central City man named Earl Dubose who had slapped around his invalid wife, Dora, in a fit of anger for defending their five-year-old son, whom Earl had whipped far too hard for a minor disobedience.

As Dane drew nearer the riders, he saw that Earl Dubose was in handcuffs and had black and blue marks on his face and his right eye was almost swollen shut. The marshal was leading Dubose’s horse.

Marshal Merrell lifted a hand to signal the doctor to stop.

“ ‘Mornin’, Marshal.” Dr. Dane squinted at Dubose, then said to Merrell, “Len told me at church yesterday why you were on Earl’s trail. What happened to him?”

Dubose glared at the marshal as Merrell said, “Well, since you know why I was chasing Earl, it’ll suffice to say that he resisted arrest, and knowing what he did to his wife, I wasn’t too gentle in beating down his resistance. I have a hard time with a man who beats on a woman. Especially when she’s an invalid.”

Dubose glowered at the lawman. “Okay, okay, so I had it comin’. But I don’t think I ought to do jail time for it.”

“Well, you and I think differently. If you give me any lip, it’ll be longer than I’m planning on right now.” Then to Logan, “Doc, you got anything in your medical bag that could help take down the swelling in Earl’s eye?”

“I do, but I’m on a very important mission right now. Dr. Fraser is filling in for me today. After you lock Earl up, go to the
office and tell him to come over to the jail and tend to the eye. Explain that we met here on the road and that’s what I suggested you do.”

Dubose showed his teeth. “You shouldn’t be too busy to tend to a man who’s hurtin’, Doc.”

Dane met his gaze with hard eyes. “Like I said, I’m on a very important mission right now, and I have to keep moving. But I’ll say it real plain. I have the same feelings Marshal Merrell has about men who beat up on women. So you’ll just have to hurt a little till Dr. Fraser can see to the swelling around that eye.

“Marshal, I’ll detain you no longer, but as soon as you have a few minutes to talk to your deputy, ask him about yesterday at church, and the announcement Pastor Shane gave about Melinda Kenyon and the Ute Chief Tando.”

Jake looked perplexed. “Melinda Kenyon? She’s dead. And what’s that got to do with Chief Tando?”

The doctor chuckled. “Well, I’ll tell you this much. Melinda’s not dead. And Chief Tando is no longer the enemy of white men.”

Jake’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Like I said, talk to Len as soon as you can.”

With that, the doctor put Pal to a gallop and rode away, leaving the two men to stare after him.

Some two hours later, Dr. Dane Logan left the dense forest and trotted Pal across the open land toward the Ute village. As he drew near, he saw the dozen army horses gathered inside a makeshift rope corral, and the men in uniform standing among the Indians. All were watching him as he rode toward them.

When Dane drew up and dismounted, Tando shook hands with him Indian-style. The doctor then shook hands with Captain Darrell Redmond, and Redmond introduced his men collectively to the doctor.

Chief Tando then took the doctor to a stately-looking, gray-haired Ute in a chief’s headdress, and said, “Dr. Dane Logan, I want you to meet Chief Ouray.”

Dane greeted the venerable Ute chief warmly as he shook hands with him—Indian-style, of course.

Chief Ouray said in his deep bass voice, “Dr. Dane Logan, it is a pleasure to meet you, and I want to thank you for the influence you have had on Chief Tando. I am very pleased that Chief Tando and his warriors are now ready to cease warring against the white men, and that he has agreed to sign the peace treaty.”

“I’m very pleased at this, too, Chief Ouray.”

Ouray nodded. “And I am also very pleased that Colonel Perry Smith has sent Captain Darrell Redmond to escort us to the fort.”

“And did Captain Redmond tell you that your friend General Joseph G. Dayton will be there for the signing?”

A broad smile captured Chief Ouray’s thin lips. “He did! It will be nice to see him again.”

Dr. Dane looked at Chief Tando. “How is Latawga doing, Chief?”

Tando’s face went grim. “Our medicine man, Rimago, asked that before we leave for the fort, Dr. Dane Logan come and examine Latawga’s wound. There seems to be some infection.”

Dane nodded, then looked at Captain Redmond. “I need to take a look at Latawga’s wounded leg before we leave.”

Redmond touched the brim of his hat. “Sure. We’ll go ahead and prepare to pull out.”

Dr. Dane hurried to Pal, took his medicine bag from the pommel, and returned to Tando, who led him amid the crowd toward the medicine man’s tepee. As they neared it, Dane saw Leela standing at the opening, smiling at him. The long shower of her black hair fell glistening over her shoulders, down her back, almost to her hips.

“I will feel better about Latawga’s wound when you examine him, Dr. Dane Logan,” Leela said.

Dr. Dane nodded, then followed Tando inside the tepee, where Rimago was standing over Latawga, who lay on a blanket on the dirt floor, covered with another blanket.

Latawga smiled at the doctor as he knelt down beside him. “It is good to see you again, Dr. Dane Logan.”

Dane smiled warmly while removing the blanket so he could examine the wounded leg. As he removed the bandage, he saw that infection had set in. Looking up at Tando, he said, “It is infected, all right, but I can treat it.”

While the chief and the medicine man looked on, Dr. Dane took a bottle of carbolic acid from his medicine bag and said to Latawga, “This is going to burn a little, but it will kill the germs that are causing the infection.”

Latawga steeled himself for the burning, and winced when the liquid touched the wound.

Dr. Dane capped the bottle and handed it to Rimago. “You saw how much I poured on the wound.”

Rimago nodded.

“I’ll put a new bandage on the wound, but I want you to pour the same amount on the wound two times a day until the bottle is empty. That should completely clear up the infection.”

“Rimago will do.”

Almost the entire village looked on as their chief, the young doctor, and Chief Ouray rode northward with the cavalry unit toward Fort Junction.

Soon the riders were making their way through the rugged mountain country. The leaves of the aspen and birch trees were a brilliant gold in the bright sunlight.

Dr. Dane was filling Captain Redmond in on how he
happened to be in Chief Tando’s village—which resulted in the chief’s change of heart toward white men—when a sergeant rode up beside him, smiling.

Dane stopped his story as the sergeant said, “Excuse me, Dr. Logan—Captain, sir. I just wanted to ask Dr. Logan a question.”

“Go ahead,” said Redmond.

“Thank you, sir.” Then to the doctor: “My name is Jim Thatcher, Dr. Logan. Are you still the only surgeon in this part of the country who does hip replacements?”

“I am. How do you know about me?”

“You did a hip replacement for my Aunt Frances Benton in Casper, Wyoming, a couple of months ago. She’s my father’s sister.”