“They trusted Truth was safest—
That it could never die
But would conquer ghastly error
And triumph by and by.”
~Earl Douglass, from his
poemNature’s Noblemen
THURSDAY, JULY11
Joshua rode up to the Lakemans’ home. All he wanted was to see Anna.
What would he do when he returned to school? It’d been less than a week, and he was champing at the bit to tell her everything that had happened. To hold her hand and gaze into her eyes.
How could he go an entire year?
He knocked on the door.
It opened and Anna gasped. “Joshua! You’re back!” She hugged him and then dragged him inside. Something indecipherable flashed in her eyes. “Are you hungry? We were about to eat dinner.”
“I’m famished. Dinner would be wonderful. But I might have a bit too much road grime on me. Caleb and I just returned, and after I dropped him off at the ranch, I came straight here.”
“Nonsense. No one in this house cares about a little dirt. We dig in the dirt every day, remember?”
He chuckled and followed her down the hallway to Mr. Lakeman’s room.
“Dad, look who’s here.” She pointed Joshua to a chair. “Sit. I’ll fetch another plate and we can have a wonderful dinner together.”
After Anna returned with another plate of food, Mr. Lakeman asked the blessing over the food, and they all dug in.
“This smells so good, Louise.” His stomach gave a loud rumble.
“Thank you.” Her cheeks turned pink. “I love to cook.”
“And we are so glad you do.” Anna lifted her plate and fork. “So Joshua, tell us all about your trip.”
He took a bite of mashed potatoes and swallowed. “Well, it was quite an adventure. We went to the train in Green River first and Caleb was so brave. He told the man at the ticket office what he’d done and asked how much a ticket to Cheyenne was so that he could pay it back. The man was so taken aback that he simply stared at the boy for several moments. Then he told him how admirable it was for him to come forward. He didn’t charge him for the ticket.
“So then we traveled by train and went east. Stopping at each place Caleb had been. He tried to remember every place. Which was quite remarkable. Several establishments appreciated the apology and took the reimbursement, while others were shocked and amazed that we would travel back so Caleb could do the right thing. We had some wonderful conversations with people and Caleb shared how scared he’d been.What it had been like to be hungry ... starving. Then to be so ashamed that he didn’t think he could come home.”
“What brought him back?” Anna’s eyes sparkled with tears.
“He remembered the story of the prodigal son in the Bible and he knew that his family loved him. As embarrassed as he was, he said that was nothing compared to his fear. So he started his way home.”
“That’s a long way for a little boy to travel all by himself.” Louise appeared upset by the whole thing.
Joshua nodded. “I have to admit it opened my eyes to how many children are out there living on their own. How is it that we have become so blind to this problem?”
He shared a long glance with Anna. The thought of having their own children had been on his mind a lot. Especially after seeing the dirty and hungry children along the way. If he could have brought them all home, he would have. Anna had always had a soft spot for children too. Perhaps, in addition to their own children, they could take in some others? It was definitely a discussion that needed to be had.
“So catch me up on all that is happening out at the dig?” He took another bite of food.
Anna rolled her eyes. “Mr. Oppenheim insists on coming to the dig every day. Even though Mr. Gilbert has spoken to him several times about all the legalities.”
“Since it took me longer with Caleb than I’d initially anticipated, I have to admit that I secretly hoped that they would be gone by now.” His shoulders drooped. “No such luck, then?”
