Whispers in the Wind (11 page)

As Dane sat down at the place designated by Dr. Harris, he
noticed a Bible lying on a small table near the window. He also noticed a picture frame on one wall with a Scripture verse on it, like those in the office and examining room downstairs. This one read:

The name of Jesus Christ …
Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none other name under heaven
given among men,
whereby we must be saved.
Acts 4:10, 12

The doctor sat down at his place, and as Maude placed the plate of hot bread on the table, Dane took in the array of food. The hot bread was in huge slices, with a butter plate and a jelly dish to go with it. There was succulent glazed ham, sugared sweet potatoes, and green peas with tiny onion chips. Dane had already spied a yellow cake with chocolate frosting sitting on the cupboard. He had to keep swallowing the saliva that filled his mouth in anticipation of what he was about to enjoy.

When Maude sat down at her place, Dr. Harris ran his gaze over both faces and said, “Let’s pray.”

Dane saw the Harrises bow their heads and close their eyes, and he did the same.

The doctor led in prayer, thanking the Lord for allowing Dane to come into their lives; he then thanked Him for the food and closed in Jesus’ name. When the amen was said, Dane raised his head and opened his eyes to see both people smiling at him. The food was passed around, and the doctor and his wife smiled at each other as Dane wolfed everything down.

While they were eating, Dr. Harris looked at the boy, swallowed a mouthful of sweet potato, and said, “Dane did your family attend church anywhere?”

Dane shook his head. “No, sir. We didn’t go to church.”

Approaching the subject carefully, Harris asked, “Do you believe God exists?”

“Oh,
yes
, sir. I sure do.”

“Do you believe the Bible is God’s written Word to mankind?”

“Yes, sir. I have heard enough about it to know that it is God’s Word. There was a family who lived in our tenement who went to church regularly. Several times I heard the man and his wife talking to my parents about what God says in the Bible concerning many different subjects.”

“I see. Was there ever any discussion about heaven and hell, and sin and salvation?”

Dane swallowed a mouthful of green peas. “I remember the neighbors bringing those subjects up sometimes, yes. They told my parents that God’s Son, Jesus Christ, was the only one who could cleanse and forgive their sins and take them to heaven.”

He pointed to the picture frame on the wall that he had looked at earlier. “That Scripture up there …”

“Yes?”

“I remember hearing our neighbors say something very much like that.”

The doctor went on to question Dane along these lines to see just how much he understood about sin and its consequences. He was pleased to learn that the boy had some of it right, but quickly saw that he needed further instruction in several areas. He realized he must be as wise as a serpent and as gentle as a dove in dealing with the boy, so he explained a few things for him to think about and quoted Scriptures to plant the seed of the Word firmly in his heart.

Both Harrises were pleased at the way Dane accepted what he was being told as the absolute truth.

Maude said, “Dane, tomorrow morning it’s my husband’s turn to go to church while I stay home with Lawanda. Would you like to go to Sunday school and church with him?”

Dane had just swallowed a piece of the yellow cake. “I really would like to go with Dr. Harris, ma’am, but I really don’t have any church-going clothes. I have three more shirts that I brought with me when I left the tenement flat, two more pair of trousers, three pair of socks, and two pair of long johns. My shirts and trousers are much like the ones I have on right now. They’re just not dress-up clothes.”

Dr. Harris smiled at him. “You will be welcome at our church dressed as you are.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will go with you in the morning, sir.”

“Good! I’ll be by your alley at about 9:15. Just wait right there on the street for me.”

“I will, sir. I can check the big clock on the front of the bank on the corner, so I’ll know what time it is.”

After supper the doctor took Dane back to the alley in his buggy.

The next morning, Dane was picked up by Dr. Harris and taken to Sunday school and church services.

In the preaching service, Dr. Harris was pleased to see the boy keeping his eyes on the pastor as he was preaching. The sermon was on the subject of hell, and Dane was amazed to see the preacher wiping tears with a handkerchief as he warned of the consequences of dying without Jesus Christ.

Dane was strongly impressed by the sermon, and the doctor could see conviction on his young face during the invitation. As others were walking the aisle to receive Jesus into their hearts as their personal Saviour, Dane gripped the back of the pew in front of him but did not move.

W
hen Dr. Lee Harris and Dane Weston climbed in the buggy after the church service, Dr. Harris said, “I didn’t tell you this yet, Dane, but Mrs. Harris told me to ask you if you would come home with me and eat Sunday dinner with us. How about it?”

Dane grinned at him. “I’d love to, sir. My family in the alley have probably already eaten their lunch.”

Harris snapped the reins and put the horse into motion. “Good! Whatever she’s got cooked for dinner will be tasty, I assure you.”

“I don’t doubt that,” said Dane. “That supper last night was really a treat.”

As the buggy moved down the street, Dr. Harris noticed that Dane was unusually quiet. He sat very still, looking straight ahead as if his thoughts had him a million miles away. Harris was sure it was because the sermon on hell had a powerful effect on him.

When they arrived at the apartment, Maude was just ushering Lawanda from the kitchen toward the bedroom. Lawanda heard the door open and looked back past her mother, fixing her eyes on Dane. She stopped and a fearful frown surfaced on what had been the placid pool of her round face.

Both Dane and the doctor heard Maude say in a low voice,
“Come on, honey. Your tummy is full now. It’s time for you to lie down and take your nap.”

The frown deepened as Maude urged her forward; she kept her head turned back, her dull eyes fixed on Dane.

“Lawanda,” said the mother, “that boy would never hurt you.”

Lawanda mumbled something indistinguishable, and Maude hurried her into the bedroom.

The doctor and his young guest were standing near the kitchen table when Maude returned. She set her eyes on Dane and smiled. “I’m glad you are here to eat with us again. How did you like Sunday school and church?”

It took the boy a few seconds to say, “Fine, ma’am.”

Maude noted the delay in his response. She moved toward the cupboard, and when her face was out of Dane’s line of sight, she looked at her husband questioningly. Dr. Harris nodded and gave her one of his looks that told her she was right. Dane had shown conviction upon hearing the sermon. She gave him a secret smile. “Well, gentlemen, take your seats. Dinner’s on the table and ready to be devoured.”

Dr. Harris led in prayer. He thanked the Lord for those who had walked the aisle at the invitation and opened their hearts to Jesus—then gave thanks for the food and closed as usual.

The food was passed around. Dr. Harris said, “Okay, Dane. Dig in!”

As the meal progressed, the Harrises noticed a definite difference in Dane over the way he had devoured his meal the night before. He seemed to be toying with his food rather than eating it.

The Harrises glanced at each other surreptitiously across the table. Maude finally asked her husband, “So what was Pastor’s sermon about? It must have been good, as usual, for those people to have gone forward to be saved.”

“He preached a scorcher on hell,” replied the doctor. “It was really good.”

Dane kept his face turned down toward his plate.

The Harrises exchanged glances again.

Must have really gotten to him
, mouthed Maude.

The doctor nodded.

Maude changed the subject. She and her husband talked about the orphans on the streets, trying to get Dane to open up to them, but when they addressed him on the subject, they received only perfunctory remarks. He definitely was lost in his own thoughts.

Finally, Maude asked, “Is the food not to your liking, Dane?”

Dane’s head came up. “Wh-what did you say, Mrs. Harris?”

She smiled at him. “I asked if the food was not to your liking.”

Embarrassed, Dane replied, “Oh, it’s good, ma’am. Really good.”

“You don’t seem to be eating it.”

Quickly, the boy picked up a fork full of mashed potato, put it in his mouth, and smiled while he chewed.

The Harrises picked up the conversation about New York’s orphans once again, and soon the boy was pushing the food around on his plate, a small frown on his brow.

The doctor and his wife quietly finished their own meals, and Maude collected the dishes and placed them on the counter at the cupboard. She looked at Dane’s plate and shook her head.
Lord
, she said in her heart,
the sermon must have really disturbed him. Give us wisdom. We both want to handle it in the right way
.

Maude returned to the table with three plates, each containing a generous slice of cherry pie. Dane glanced up at her when she placed one of them in front of him. Rather absentmindedly and with a ghost of a smile, he said, “Thank you.”

The doctor looked into his wife’s questioning eyes and nodded. “Dane, something’s bothering you. Want to talk about it?”

Dane laid his fork down and took a deep breath. He met Dr. Harris’s steady gaze, then looked down at his plate.

“Is it what you heard preached today? Is that what’s bothering you?”

Dane’s eyes came up and he met the doctor’s unchanging gaze. “Yes, sir.”

Harris glanced at Maude again, then looked at the boy. “What did the pastor say that bothers you?”

Dane swallowed hard. “Well, sir, I have never heard most of the things the pastor said about hell before.”

“Like what?”

“The—the unquenchable fire. The torment of burning forever. The weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. I heard a preacher only one time, years ago. He talked about hell in his sermon, but I guess I’d forgotten what he said. Since then, I’ve heard people talk about hell, and from what I could pick up, they figure it’s just a place where the bad people go when they die … but not a place of burning and torment.”

“Well, since the pastor was reading it to us right out of the Bible, it has to be true, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Let me ask you, Dane—if you were to die right this moment, could you say that you would go to heaven?”

Dane moved his head back and forth slowly. “No, sir.”

“As you saw this morning, the Bible makes it clear that there is no other place to go than hell if a person dies without being saved.”

The boy did not comment. “Dr. Harris, I really need to be going. If I don’t show up at the alley pretty soon, my friends will be worrying about me.”

The Harrises exchanged glances again, and being wise in these matters, they would not attempt to push salvation on their young friend.

The doctor said, “Sure, Dane. We understand. Will you go to church with me next Sunday morning? I’m sure Mrs. Harris won’t
mind letting me go two Sunday mornings in a row.”

“Of course not,” said Maude. “And how about coming to supper next Saturday evening, Dane?”

A smile broke across the boy’s face. “Sure. Supper on Saturday and church on Sunday.”

Moments later, when the Harrises watched Dane move down the stairs and go out the door, Maude said, “Honey, we’ve got to pray hard for him, that the Lord will do His work in his heart, and that by next Sunday, he will come to Jesus.”

“Yes, sweetheart. By next Sunday.”

When a disturbed Dane Weston arrived at the alley, he was greeted by all, and found Nettie Olson looking even better. Standing over her as she sat on a small wooden crate with one of the other girls, he said, “Nettie, you’re getting your color back. You were pretty pale before.”

“I’m feeling lots better, Doc,” she said with a sparkle in her eyes. “Thank you for caring about me.”

Billy Johnson piped up. “Thanks for caring about me too. You did a good job on my lip. It hardly hurts anymore. I’m sure glad you came along and ran those bullies off then fixed me up.” He paused. Then with a teasing twinkle in his eye and a lopsided grin, he added, “Of course Dr. Harris did help a little bit.”

Everybody laughed.

On Monday morning, Dane awakened at sunrise and crawled out of his cardboard box. Some of the girls were up, and Bessie and Melinda were busy pouring cold oatmeal—which they had gotten from the café the day before—into tin cups. Billy Johnson would get his regular helping of broth.

When breakfast was finished and the rest of the group was
preparing to go to the street corner for their day of begging, Dane left for work. As he walked along the street, he told himself he was one fortunate boy.
He had a job! With regular pay!

He whistled a cheery, nameless tune as he hurried in the direction of the pharmacy, a new look of determination on his face and a lilt in his step.

Along the way, Dane observed orphan children begging on the street corners, while others were milling about in the alleys they called home.

Later that morning, after enjoying his three hours of work at the pharmacy, Dane was heading for his alley when he saw the couple identified several days earlier by Melinda Scott as Mr. and Mrs. Charles Loring Brace of the Children’s Aid Society putting four orphans in their buggy. He knew those children would be put on an orphan train and sent out West to find homes on farms and ranches and in towns much smaller than New York City.

The song Mrs. Baxter had read to him from the newspaper came back to mind. He smiled as he walked past the buggy, looked at the happy faces of the four orphans who were settling on the back seat, and said, “I hope those fragrant breezes come to them with whispers in the wind when they get out West, welcoming them to a new and wonderful life.”