Tabitha (15 page)

Carpenter sat and O’Dell stood. Tabitha thought he cut an
impressive figure in his black three-piece suit. As he spoke, his voice was low
but authoritative, forcing the room to quiet in order to hear him.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said, “Arnold Rasmussen lived in
Denver for many years and is well known there. Last Friday and Saturday, in my
capacity as a Pinkerton agent, I interviewed a total of six individuals
acquainted with Mr. Rasmussen.”

O’Dell slipped his hand into his breast pocket and removed a
sheaf of papers. “I have here the sworn affidavits of those six individuals.
The affidavits affirm that the interviews I recorded here are true. As all of
the interviews are markedly
similar
in content, I will read from only
one of them before submitting the six interviews to you for your examination.”

He placed the papers on the table, selected the top one, and
began to read from it. “‘I have known Arnie Rasmussen for more than ten years.
He and I worked on the railroad together. Even though Arnie was married and had
young ones at home, he spent every penny of his wages in the saloons and bawdy
halls—’”

“Stop! You have
no
right
to say such vile
things about my brother,” Nurse Rasmussen shouted.

“Nurse Rasmussen!” Dean Wellan’s voice overpowered hers.
“You will be seated and will not speak unless asked. Do I make myself clear?”

Nurse Rasmussen, shaking with anger from head to toe,
sputtered into silence.

“Madam, I insist that you answer me,” Dean Wellan commanded.
“Do you understand?”

She slowly nodded. “Yes. Yes, sir.”

“Be seated and do not interrupt again. You are already in
jeopardy of losing your position for violating the school’s disciplinary
policy—regardless of your so-called justifications for doing so.”

After staring her into submission, Dean Wellan nodded to
O’Dell. “You may continue, sir.”

O’Dell scanned the document before him. “Thank you, Dean
Wellan. ‘Even though Arnie was married and had young ones at home, he spent
every penny of his wages in the saloons and bawdy halls. He often returned to
work on Mondays hungover or still drunk and was frequently reprimanded. The
railroad finally fired him. His wife took the children and moved to Cheyenne to
live with her parents. Last I heard, Arnie moved back to Boulder where he came
from.’”

O’Dell extended the sheaf of interviews to the closest board
member. “Most of the other interviews are similar. They describe a man who
drank to excess, who neglected his family, and who could not keep a job.”

He nodded to Pounder. “Marshal Pounder will elaborate on my
findings.”

Marshal Pounder, rougher than O’Dell but no less
authoritative, rose from his chair. “I received my information from Denver’s
chief of police: Arnold Rasmussen, age 47, has two outstanding arrest warrants
in Denver for damages caused by drunk and disorderly conduct and one for
failure to appear before a magistrate. I have copies of the warrants right
here.”

He removed some papers from his jacket and jerked his chin
at the man. “When this proceeding is finished, I am going to arrest him and
take him back to Denver.”

Rasmussen snarled at Pounder and cursed. “You ain’t takin’
me nowhere!” He jumped to his feet and ran for the door, but Pounder and O’Dell
were waiting for him. A scuffle ensued and ended with Rasmussen face down on
the floor, his hands behind his back. It took Marshal Pounder only seconds to
put Arnie Rasmussen in restraints. The crusty old marshal jerked his prisoner to
his feet and walked him from the room.

Nurse Rasmussen shouted after them, “Stop! No! No! You
cannot do this!” She wheeled toward Tabitha and screamed, “This is all
your
fault, you-you
whore
! You and your whoring
red hair
! He’s
obsessed with you and that hair of yours!
Obsessed!
Has been for years!
He—”

“Nurse Rasmussen!” Dean Wellan was also on his feet.

“This is your fault!” the nurse screamed. “
Your
fault! You should never have been admitted—”

“NURSE RASMUSSEN!”

Muttering and breathing heavily, Nurse Rasmussen subsided
into her seat.

Several moments elapsed, during which the board of regents
watched the nurse with wary and disgusted eyes. Finally the dean cleared his
throat.

“Nurse Rasmussen, your behavior has broken all rules of
moral and ethical conduct. Regardless of the terms of your uncle’s endowment to
this school, you are dismissed from your position. I am certain your uncle’s
attorneys will not dispute my ruling.”

Nurse Rasmussen pulled her lips into a tight, flat line but
said nothing. She shot a single baleful look at Tabitha and followed her
brother from the room.

Dean Wellan motioned for Tabitha’s defense to continue.

Carpenter addressed the Deans and the board of regents
again. “I would like to have you hear from Mrs. Thoresen at this time.”

Slowly, her legs a little shaky, Rose stood to her feet.
Tabitha was grieved to note the stiffness of Rose’s muscles and the new lines
upon her face. But when Rose opened her mouth, she was anything but shaky or
weak. It seemed to Tabitha that she grew taller and a soft glow settled upon
her.

“I do not presume to speak for Miss Hale or to her
experiences,” Rose said, her voice filled with the calm composure known well to
those who loved her. “However, I can relate my own experiences with Miss Hale,
and you may draw inferences from them. I live in Denver where I manage a home
for women who have been rescued from slavery.”

She leveled her steady gray eyes upon those seated at the
table, seeing the shock or disbelief on their faces.

“Yes, I do mean slavery.”

Her chin dipped to affirm her words. “The women who live in
our home were coerced into lives of . . . horrible, unspeakable
servitude. Some were lured to Denver or nearby towns by offers of ‘legitimate’
employment. However, when they arrived, they were met and taken captive by
unscrupulous men and, sadly, even those of their own gender. Other girls in our
home committed youthful misjudgments or made, perhaps, a single wrong
choice—and were, as a consequence of their error, ensnared by similar ungodly
individuals.

“At Palmer House, we rescue women. We rescue women as young
as
ages thirteen and fourteen
from the clutches of those who beat them,
starved them, and debased them until they capitulated to their captor’s demands.
We rescue women who wish to escape from such a life.”

The soft glow about Rose grew, and Tabitha shrank back, in
awe.

“We tell these women, these lost girls, of the love, mercy,
and grace found in Jesus Christ. We show them from the Bible how the blood of
Jesus cleanses us from all sin.
All
sin. We point to the Bible where it
reads, ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature
: old
things are passed away; behold,
all
things are become new.’”

She again peered into the eyes of the men and one woman
lining the conference room table. Dean Gunderson’s eyes were moist and she
would not meet Rose’s penetrating appraisal. Neither would several of the men.

At last she said, “I wish to ask each of you a question. Are
you a Christian?”

Reluctant faces turned her way, and she forced them to
acknowledge her.

“Are you?” she repeated. She held each look until she
received a nod or shrug of response.

“If—
if
—you call yourself a Christian, then you must
admit to the Bible passages I have quoted. No one who has been
made new
by the blood of Christ is what they were before. That former person is gone,
and God says that he remembers their sins no more.”

No individual in the room
moved except, perhaps, to blink moist or conscience-stricken eyes.

Rose lifted her chin just a little, but the power around
her, touching them, was palpable. Tabitha found that her cheeks were wet,
streaked with salty moisture, and her fears had washed away with her tears.

“If
God
has forgiven and forgotten the sins of these
women,” Rose whispered, “who are we to shame them?”

Having finished her statement, Rose fumbled for the arm of
her chair, and Tabitha helped steady her as she sank into her seat. The only
sound for several moments was the clearing of throats and a few surreptitious
sniffs.

All eyes focused on Dean Wellan. “Thank you, Mrs. Thoresen,”
he murmured. He turned to Tabitha. “Miss Hale, if you and your friends would
leave us for a few minutes, we will discuss our findings. You may wait in the
antechamber until we call you back.”

One of the board’s members, a short rounded man, sputtered
an objection. “But-but, Dean Wellan, we still have not heard Miss Hale’s
response to the charge against her!”

Dean Wellan and the rest of the board glared at him. “Clark
Framson, I have always considered you an obtuse man, but I had no idea you were
this dull-witted. I may have to recommend a vote of confidence to determine
your competence to continue as a regent.”

Growls of affirmation issued from the other board members,
and the unfortunate Mr. Framson found himself in disfavor, alone in his
objection.

“The charge against Miss Hale has been levied by an
unreliable witness,” Dean Wellan barked. “Has anyone other testimony against
her? No? The charge is dismissed.”

“Hear, hear,” one member muttered.

“Please be excused, Miss Hale, until the board determines
how to remedy your scholastic standing.”

In a daze, Tabitha found Mason Carpenter escorting her from
the room.

An hour later, Tabitha was recalled to the conference room. Her
friends took seats behind her and listened to the dean pronounce the board’s
findings.

“Miss Hale, I regret to inform you that, through no fault of
yours, you will not be able to graduate with your class next month.”

Tabitha nodded once in silent acceptance.

“We will, however, allow you to take your written exams. I
have no doubt that you will pass them with exceptional marks.”

Tabitha’s countenance lightened a little. “Thank you, sir.”

Dean Wellan lightly tapped a pen on his desk. “As a
respected institution of nursing, it would be, er,
understandable
if we
wished to sweep this unfortunate blemish to our school’s reputation under the
rug as quickly as possible. We could offer you the option of returning this
summer to work your incomplete rotations and, at the end of your rotations,
award you your degree.

“If that is your choice, we will make arrangements
accordingly—and we will pay your expenses while you do so. Unfortunately, you
would miss commencement and leave school with little fanfare.”

He eyed Tabitha. “Personally, I feel that would be a shame.”

“Sir?” Tabitha had already resigned herself to such a
solution.

“I say it would be a shame, particularly given all you have
battled and overcome in your life.”

There was no missing his allusion to her past life. Tabitha
blushed but fought to keep her expression placid.

“When you graduate, Miss Hale, I wish you to celebrate the
event with all the pomp and circumstance such an accomplishment warrants. You
deserve nothing short of a full graduation ceremony and the receipt of your cap
and pin with all of the public honor attached to that ceremony.”

Tabitha looked down. “It is kind of you to say so, sir.”

He nodded. “Yes, and that is why—and I hope you will agree—I
do not wish you to select the option I have just outlined. Instead, I wish you
to return to our school for the fall term.”

Tabitha opened her mouth, and the dean held up his hand to
hold off her protest.

“Miss Hale, the board of regents and I extend our sincerest apologies
to you for the ordeal you have undergone in our school. We cannot make up to
you for the hardships you have patiently suffered, but we can attempt to make
amends.”

He cleared his throat. “We would like to extend an offer to
you that will, we hope, soften the blow of another year’s wait until you
graduate. If you accept our offer, we intend to create a new position here at
the school, one of Head Proctor, and offer this position to you.”

Tabitha blinked. “Sir?”

“The number of students who fail or drop out during their
freshman year is disturbing—particularly if, as the Red Cross suggests, many
more nurses will be needed to serve worldwide by the time this fall’s incoming
class graduates.

“As Head Proctor you would be tasked with mentoring new
students with the goal of preventing them from failing or becoming otherwise
discouraged. Your job would be to ensure, as far as lies within your scope and
abilities, that our next freshman class remains intact.”

Tabitha’s thoughts were whirling.
But how would I pay for
another year? Surely the women’s society that provides my scholarship would
balk at an extra year?

Her mind stopped cold when he added, “This would be a
salaried position, Miss Hale. You would be a member of the staff. You would pay
no tuition or board; rather, you would be paid while completing your rotations
and functioning as Head Proctor. When you graduate, you will have a year of
valuable work experience to add to your nursing credentials.

“In the spring when the class graduates, you will stand at
the head of it. What do you say, Miss Hale?”

Tabitha turned and looked from Rose to Carpenter for help.
Rose’s tearful smile and Carpenter’s grin told her that they approved. She had
only one more concern.

“May I ask a clarifying question, Dean Wellan?”

“Of course, Miss Hale.”

“You mentioned that the Red Cross may be asking for more
nurses. Could you elaborate, please?”

“Ah, yes.” He fiddled with his spectacles a moment. “Wars
and rumors of wars, Miss Hale. Prognosticators and scaremongers within the government
see a buildup toward war in Europe. They may have war
there
, but I
sincerely doubt that we, the United States, would involve ourselves in a
distant regional squabble. However, should war break out, the Red Cross
organization predicts that the world will face a critical shortage of skilled
nurses.”