Wings of a Dove (8 page)

    His small eyes assessing the reception his words of encouragement had received, Mr. Smith mentally counted the heads in his greatly diminished flock. He nodded and turned to smile at Reverend Martin. "Our sincere appreciation, Reverend. You have truly done God's work this morning."

    Pausing only to accept an invitation to a church supper that evening, Mr. Smith waved the children on. As they marched solemnly out of the church and back up the street toward the hotel, he tapped the broad shoulder of the boy in front of him.

    Delaney turned at his touch.

    "I feel it is my duty to speak seriously to you, Delaney. It is the conviction of the Society that none of our children should be placed in a home that is not to their liking, and I concur with that policy. I do not, however, sanction the actions of any of our group who sees fit to insult good people by turning down the offer of a home without true cause." Pausing so that his stern words might be absorbed, Mr. Smith studied Delaney's unreadable expression.

    "You do realize how very fortunate you were, Delaney, that two men of superior reputation and circumstances offered to take you into their homes. Two, mind
youtwo
! It is doubly impressive that both these men saw fit to put aside all thought of your history. And for that generosity of spirit, you rewarded both of them with a refusal to accept their offers. Delaney, I am incredulous at your lack of foresight as well as your ingratitude!"

    Delaney's dark brows drew into a familiar frown.

    "I refused, and they took someone else. What difference does it make?"

    Mr. Smith's expression tightened.

    "The difference is that you might have had reason to turn down one of those men, but to turn down both without even a word of appreciation or regret to either? Just what are you looking for, Delaney? I doubt you will find circumstances at any of the stops farther along the line that are any better than those you refused today."

    Observing the boy closely, Mr. Smith noted the almost indiscernible tightening of Delaney's lips.

    "The decision was mine, Mr. Smith. And I'll pay the consequences, won't I?"

    "Yes, but" The sobriety of Delaney Marsh's question halted Mr. Smith in midsentence. Suddenly realizing the futility of pursuing the subject, he shrugged. "All right, Delaney. I hope you know what you're doing."

    Dismissing Delaney with a wave of his hand, Mr. Smith watched as the hard-eyed boy turned and walked toward the hotel. He knew what those farmers had seen in the boy. A keen    intelligence was reflected in that boyishly handsome face, and there was strength in his slim, youthful frame and in shoulders already excessively broad for a fellow his age. But there was something else that Mr. Smith found difficult to pinpoint. Was it determination, ambition, a sense of purpose? Or was it plain ruthlessness? He had the feeling the boy had already committed himself to something, but he had no idea what it was.

    Shrugging his narrow shoulders once more, Mr. Smith raised his hand as the first of his charges reached the front steps of the American House.

    "Stop here, children!"

    Delaney Marsh dismissed from his mind in the presence of more pressing matters, Mr. Smith hurried forward.

    As he caught up with the others, Delaney gave a short, harsh laugh. Mr. Smith had said he was incredulous that he had turned down offers from both those farmers. Well, he was incredulous, too. He supposed it was ironic that his antagonist, Sam, had been offered and had taken the contract that Farmer
Grimsley
had first proposed to Delaney. As far as the other farmer was concerned, he had never considered his offer for a minute.

    He had
countedsixteen
from their group had gone off to their new homes. As it turned out, that number had come mainly from the ranks of the oldest and the youngest in their party.

    Delaney felt a surge of anger. Damn that Allie Pierce! She had no right to look at him the way she did, burdening him with her trust. She was a stupid, gullible little girl who still believed in fairy tales. Well, she had made a mistake when she had included him in them. She had no right.

    Getting a glimpse of a small, pale head midway down the line, Delaney gave a low snort. Her mother, whoever she was, had done the girl a real disservice, but the harsh realities of life would soon wipe all that foolishness about "the Lady" from her mind. Admittedly, he had made a mistake, too, encouraging the girl with his medal, but it had all seemed harmless at the time.

    Delaney's well-drawn lips twitched in annoyance. Well, he had learned two things the hard way, the way he had learned everything else in his life. The first thing was that he was not helping the girl or himself by putting off the inevitable. The girl would have to face the truth about "the Lady" sooner or later.

   The second thing he had learned was that he was not as smart as he thought he was. He had forgotten the basic rule that had helped him to survive in a hard world: Survival was for the smartest, the strongest, the
fastestthe
man who put himself first. He had turned down Farmer
Grimsley's
offer today, but he would not make the same stupid mistake again. The girl was Mr. Smith's responsibility.

    The pale head midway down the line turned unexpectedly in his direction. He frowned as he looked at the small face dominated by those intense brown eyes, and the small head snapped forward once more as the line began moving up the steps to the hotel.

    Mr. Smith began an earnest conversation with the proprietor, who met him at the door. Within moments the line was moving inside the hotel, with Mr. Smith in the lead. Allie Pierce, however, remained stationary while the other children filed past her. When Delaney came abreast of her, she turned in his direction.

    His disagreeable stare caused a momentary dimming of the girl's tentative smile. Obviously unwilling to be overheard by the others as a few curious heads turned their way, she whispered softly, "I'm sorry those farmers took Sam and Tucker instead of you, Delaney, but you'll find someplace better tomorrow."

    It came to Delaney with a start that the girl thought
he
had been rejected, not the reverse! He would have laughed and set her straight, but he was afraid the truth might encourage her. Instead, only too keenly aware that it was time for Allie Pierce to learn a hard lesson, he turned away from her with great deliberation and, without a word, walked into the hotel.

    The disagreeable sounds the harsh clicking and scraping of the wheels on the railway tracks, the jolting of the car as it sped through the darkened countryside, the whistle's screech punctuating the long night hours while Allie attempted to
sleepwere
finally drawing to an end. Despite the discomforts, she was not eager to reach their destination.

    The bright light of dawn had crept through the windows of their rail car almost an hour earlier, and Allie had pulled her blanket up higher on her shoulders in an attempt to shield herself from the growing light. Their accommodations on this train far surpassed those of the immigrant train that had carried them from Albany to Buffalo, but she had little thought for the comfort of the cushioned seat on which she slept. Instead, the first sliver of dawn had reawakened a familiar apprehension.

    There were thirty children left in their party, and Mr. Smith had solemnly promised them the previous night that he would not return to New York until each and every one of them had found a home. That thought brought Allie little consolation. She knew there would be countless towns where strangers would compare and
assessand
find her lacking. Would there be another Mr.
Crosley
waiting at one of those stops? More frightening still was the realization that Mr. Smith had been unaware of Mr.
Crosley's
manner with her. He had been too busy with other couples to see. Only Delaney had noticed. Only Delaney had come to help her.

    Feeling queasy, Allie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Shamefacedly, she realized that despite the sympathy she had expressed, she was actually glad those farmers had decided to take other boys instead of Delaney. She was being foolish, too, for he would surely be one of the first to find a new home at the next stop. Even if he was not, he had gone to great pains to impress upon her that he did not want to be bothered with her anymore.

    Maybe that was her punishment for being so selfish. Or maybe Delaney was right, and all this had nothing to do with the Lady. Maybe he had just taken pity on her and now all his pity was used up. Maybe it had just been wishful thinking that the Lady had sent her a friend.

    But Allie knew that she could not hold back the dawn of a new day and everything it would bring. When the train drew up to the next stop, she would have no choice but to follow Mr. Smith with the rest of the children.

    With that thought, Allie squeezed her eyes tightly closed and tried to sleep. For the time being, she would think no more.

    The sunlit car was screeching to a slow, grinding halt when Allie joined the other children at the windows and peered out at the crowded platform. Her heart pounding, she shot a quick glance toward Mr. Smith as he raised his voice over the eardrum-piercing din.

    ''Look, children, there is Reverend Masters." His smile broadening at his first glimpse of the group of adults standing behind the young minister on the platform, Mr. Smith continued with great conviction, "Many of you are close to finding your new homes at this very minute."

    Mr. Smith's enthusiastic words set the mood for their group and an excited buzzing ensued among the girls surrounding Allie, accompanied by many valiant attempts to smooth wrinkled clothes and tousled hair. But Allie's trembling fingers refused to   cooperate, and she was only too aware that her own efforts at hasty grooming proved useless.

    A slow trembling began in her limbs as the train drew to a full halt and Allie's mouth suddenly went dry. She glanced outside again as the line in front of her began moving toward the door, panicking as the crowd behind the young minister appeared to have grown even larger. She could feel their eyes upon her. She willed her feet to move, but her frozen limbs would not obey her command. At that moment Allie realized that for all her brave intentions, she could not do it.

    She could not move.

    "Hurry up, Allie, Mr. Smith is waiting." Elizabeth's low entreaty was unsuccessful in freeing Allie's lifeless limbs. With a low sound of disgust, Elizabeth pushed her aside to follow the quickly moving line as she hissed, "Mr. Smith is going to be mad."

    The end of the line was trailing past and Allie glanced up in desperation as Delaney Marsh's broad-shouldered figure came abreast of her. Her heart dropped to her toes as Delaney continued on without a glance and followed the rest of the group out onto the platform.

    Within a few moments, Mr. Smith's thin face was pressed against the window of the car as he spoke with controlled impatience.

    "Allie, we are waiting."

    They were all looking at her, staring into the car in an attempt to determine the cause for her delay. They were frowning. She felt their disapproval and again willed herself to move, but she could not.

    Through her despair, the faint voice of reason sounded in the back of her mind. Where were her courage and faith? Had the Lady really forsaken her, or had she forsaken the Lady?

    Beset by confusion, Allie closed her eyes. "Lady, I need your help," she murmured. "I'm afraid. Please whisper into God's ear for me."

    Familiar words came to her mind and she recited silently, "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou amongst women"

    "Come on, Allie."     A familiar voice interrupted Allie's prayer and she knew whose

face she would see when she opened her eyes. The Lady had heard her prayer and had acted to dispel her doubts once and for all. She was ashamed that she had doubted the Lady even for a minute. She would never, never doubt her again.

    A small smile twitching at her pale lips, Allie extended her hand toward the one Delaney held out to her. The warmth that had fled her body returned as Delaney's callused palm touched hers. Her heart joyful, she turned to follow Delaney's lead, silent words of gratitude filling her mind. Thank you, Lady. Oh, thank you for giving me back my friend.

    Mr. Smith smiled approvingly as the milling couples in the church meeting room began approaching the children of their choice. His keen eye appraised the conversation under way between children and adults, and satisfaction moved warmly through him. Oh, yes, Reverend Masters had brought him an extremely receptive group. He had no doubt that the number of his charges would be cut at least in half by the time the day was out.