The Little Sparrows Read online

  Rachel Wolford had the joy of leading Josie Holden to Jesus. After the twelve-year-old had called on Jesus to save her and received Him into her heart, she threw her arms around Rachel. “Oh, thank you, Miss Wolford, for showing me how to be saved! My sins are forgiven and washed away in Jesus’ blood, and whenever I leave this world, I know I’ll go to heaven to be with Him!”

  On Tuesday afternoon, June 23, Sam and Emma Claiborne were in their wagon, heading for Cheyenne. They would go to the general store to pick up groceries and household supplies, stop by the post office, then have their daily visit with Jody at the clinic.

  It was a beautiful early summer day. Not a cloud could be seen in the cerulean sky. A gentle breeze played with the leaves on the trees, and wildflowers along the road were showing off their glossy new blossoms.

  Holding on to her husband’s arm, Emma sighed. “What a lovely day the Lord has given us, honey. I just love this time of year when everything is alive and fresh again.”

  Sam turned and smiled at her. “Yes, sweetheart, and after the long, hard winter we just endured, it is especially welcome.”

  She ran her gaze over the lush prairie. “I only wish Jody could enjoy it. She loves summertime so much, riding Queenie across the land and spending the days in the fields working with you.” The tears spilled over and streamed down her cheeks.

  Sam put his arm around her and pulled her tight against him. This was all he could do at the moment. His throat was too constricted to allow words to be spoken.

  Soon they arrived in town and entered the general store. Immediately, they were approached by people they knew, who wanted to know about Jody’s condition. Others gathered around to hear about Jody. Sam and Emma told the group that as of their visit to Jody at the clinic yesterday, Dr. John Traynor was losing his optimism that Jody would ever come out of her coma. When Sam asked him if he honestly thought Jody had a chance of living, he told them he didn’t think she would live much longer.

  One widow woman from their church, whose name was Oralee Baldwin, took hold of Emma’s hand. “I’m so sorry, dear.”

  Emma squeezed Oralee’s hand. Her throat tightened, but she forced the words out. “It … it looks like the Lord is going to take our little girl to heaven to be with Him.”

  She burst into tears. Oralee put her arms around her. “Don’t give up, honey. As long as she’s alive, there is still hope.”

  Hardly able to comprehend the possibility that Jody might still live, Emma choked on a sob. “Sam and I—Sam and I are still asking the Lord to do that which will bring Him the most glory. If … He decides to take her to be with Him, heaven will be a brighter place with Jody’s presence there, but the sunshine in Sam’s life and mine will be very dim.”

  Oralee squeezed her tight. “Emma, as you and Sam know, Pastor Forbes has asked all the members of the church to continue to hold Jody up in prayer. I for one promise I will do so.”

  “Thank you for caring, Oralee. It means more than Sam or I can say.”

  “Yes,” said Sam. “It sure does.”

  The others in the group assured the Claibornes that they were pulling for Jody and were praying that she would come out of the coma and be able to live out her life.

  The purchases were made, and Emma was still wiping tears as she and Sam left the store, both carrying grocery bags. When they stepped up to the wagon, Sam placed the bags he was carrying into the wagon bed, then took those Emma carried and did the same. He helped her up into the seat, climbed up beside her, and headed down the street for the post office.

  Emma waited in the wagon while Sam went inside the post office to pick up the mail. It seemed that he was in there longer than usual, but he had her attention when he came out, holding the bundle of mail in one hand and waving an envelope in the other. As he drew up to the wagon, he said, “Letter from Ed and Sarah, sweetheart. I couldn’t wait till I got out here to open it.”

  Emma dearly loved Sam’s brother and sister-in-law, who lived in Omaha, Nebraska. She and Sam had sent them a letter recently, advising them of Jody’s worsening condition. “What did they say, honey?”

  “They are coming so they can be with us when—when—well, when Jody goes to heaven. They will arrive at the depot on the eleven o’clock train tomorrow morning.”

  Emma’s eyes brightened. “Oh, I’m glad! It will be so good to see them again. You know how much Sarah and I always enjoy being together. I could really use her company. Especially when Jody—” She burst into tears.

  Sam climbed into the wagon seat quickly and took Emma in his arms. He held her and spoke in soft tones, doing his best to comfort her.

  When Emma’s emotions had subsided, Sam kissed her cheek. “Let’s go to the clinic, sweetheart.”

  He was about to put the wagon into motion when he saw Pastor Dan Forbes hurrying toward them on the boardwalk. When he drew up, he saw Emma dabbing at her cheeks with a handkerchief. “Are you all right, Emma?”

  “I’m just having a hard time over Jody’s condition, Pastor.”

  “I understand. I saw Sam holding you up there in the seat, and thought maybe—well, you know—Jody …”

  “As far as we know, she’s still alive, Pastor,” said Sam. “We’re on our way to the clinic.”

  “Oh. I thought maybe you had just been there, and—”

  “We’re still holding on, Pastor.”

  “Good. I was at the clinic about two hours ago to check on her. Dr. Traynor told me that he had expressed his fear to you yesterday that Jody won’t ever come out of the coma. But listen to me: as long as Jody is breathing, there is hope.”

  “We just saw Oralee Baldwin at the general store, Pastor,” said Emma. “She said essentially the same thing.”

  Sam looked down at Forbes. “Pastor, you remember meeting my brother Ed and his wife Sarah when they visited us a couple of years ago?”

  “Yes. They live in Omaha, don’t they?”

  “Right. Well, we just got a letter from them, and they are going to be on the eleven o’clock train from Chicago tomorrow morning.”

  “Oh, wonderful! I know they’ll be a source of strength to you.”

  “Yes. Especially if—”

  “Sam, don’t give up now.”

  Sam bit his lips. “It’s pretty hard, Pastor.”

  “I know. Before you go to the clinic, could we pray together?”

  “Of course.”

  Standing close to Sam’s side of the wagon, Pastor Dan Forbes led them in prayer, asking God to strengthen the parents and to comfort them in this time of great trial. He also asked the Lord to do that which would bring the most glory to His name. Before walking on down the boardwalk, he reminded Sam and Emma once again that as long as Jody was still breathing, there was hope.

  As Sam drove the wagon down the street toward the clinic, fighting his own tears, he looked at the weeping Emma. “Sweetheart, I appreciate Pastor Forbes so much.”

  “Me too. I wish I had his optimism about Jody, but it just isn’t in me.”

  “Me, either. I have to say that from all appearances, it looks like it’s almost God’s time to take her home to heaven.”

  “That’s the way it looks. And if so, honey, we will still love and serve Him with all our hearts. He knows best, and we must trust if He does, that taking her home will glorify Him the most.”

  They arrived at the clinic and were soon standing over Jody’s bed in her small room. She was still breathing shallowly but steadily.

  Sam stood beside Emma as she took hold of Jody’s frail hand, raised it a little and said, “Look, Sam. She’s lost so much weight that her little hands are almost skeletal.”

  Sam swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.

  Keeping the hand in hers, Emma leaned closer to her daughter and spoke in a soft tone. “Jody, sweetheart, Daddy and Mommy are here with you. And you know what? Queenie is chomping at the bit at home, wanting a good gallop across the prairie.”

  Sam’s heart went out to his dear wife. Emma
talked to Jody just like this on each visit, hoping that her words would finally penetrate the veil that kept her in its grip. For both of them, it was hard to leave her, knowing that word could come at any time that she had slipped away. But after over an hour at her side, they knew it was time to head for home.

  They both kissed her forehead, and as they stepped into the hall, Dr. John Traynor appeared. “The nurses told me you were here. There’s nothing different, as you have seen, but I just wanted to tell you that our church is still praying for her.”

  “We appreciate that, Doctor,” Sam said with strained voice.

  “I can’t give you any encouragement, but how I wish I could.”

  Sam nodded. “Well, we very much appreciate the excellent care Jody’s getting here, Doctor. Thank you for that.”

  Sam and Emma slowly left the clinic and moved toward the wagon. She looked up at him and said, “You know, honey, soon I’m going to be staying at the clinic with Jody around the clock. I can’t bear to think of her dying without one of us at her side.”

  “I know, sweetheart, but right now you are a shadow of yourself. You need to rest. I don’t want something happening to you. We’ll just take it one step at a time and trust the dear Lord for His matchless grace, okay?”

  “Of course. I don’t mean to be so despondent. I’m really trying to trust the Lord and wait on Him.”

  “I know you are. Me too. We’ve never had to deal with anything of this magnitude before. But even though we get despondent, His promise is still true. He will never leave us nor forsake us.”

  As Sam helped her up onto the wagon seat, she gave him a watery smile. “Praise His precious name for that.”

  Sam rounded the wagon, climbed up, and sat down beside her. As he put the team in motion and the wagon headed northward, Emma gripped the hand closest to her. “Well, God’s been good in sending Ed and Sarah to us. At least they’ll be here when—when—” And she began weeping again.

  It was ten minutes before eleven o’clock on June 24 when Sam and Emma arrived at the Cheyenne railroad station. This time they were in the family buggy since they were picking up Ed and Sarah.

  Sam parked the buggy in the depot’s parking lot and gave Emma his arm as they walked inside.

  At that very moment, the train was chugging into the station with the bell on the engine clanging.

  “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s be right there on the platform when they get off,” Sam said.

  As they walked to the platform where the train would roll to a halt, Emma said, “Oh, Sam, I’m so glad they’re going to be here with us.”

  “Me too.”

  Many people were waiting on the platform, watching the big engine hiss steam from its sides as it chugged to a halt. Sam and Emma squeezed past some of the people so they could have a full view of the coaches. They were eager to lay eyes on Ed and Sarah Claiborne.

  While they waited and watched, a man and woman moved past them toward the rear of the train. They heard the man say, “The ticket agent out front said the orphans are in the last two cars.”

  Sam looked down at Emma. “Hmm. Looks like this is one of the orphan trains.”

  Emma nodded, looking toward the last two coaches. “Look at all those sweet, innocent faces in the windows.”

  Sam set his eyes on the faces in both orphan coaches. “Poor kids. Has to be rough.”

  “I’ll say.”

  At that instant a young rancher and his wife stopped beside the Claibornes, and the woman said to her husband, “I was told that the adult escorts on the orphan trains always let the regular passengers who are getting off do so before they take the orphans out and line them up for inspection by the prospective foster parents.”

  “Makes sense,” said her husband. “Get the traffic out of the way so people like us can look over the orphans and talk to them without hindrance.”

  Several minutes passed as Sam and Emma watched for Ed and Sarah to appear from one of the three cars ahead of the orphan coaches while passengers got off, greeted relatives and friends, and walked away, chatting happily.

  Suddenly Emma gripped Sam’s arm and pointed toward the front platform of coach number two. “There they are!”

  They hurried toward Ed and Sarah, who saw them coming and smiled broadly.

  Emma broke into tears as Sarah opened her arms to her. They stood, holding on to each other, while the brothers embraced, both pounding the other on the back.

  Sam then hugged Sarah while Ed did the same with Emma.

  Ed asked, “What can you tell us about Jody?”

  “Well, praise the Lord, she’s still alive,” said Sam.

  Sarah’s eyes brightened. “Is there any noticeable change in her condition?”

  Sam shook his head. “It is only getting worse.”

  Ed and Sarah showed the disappointment they felt. Sarah held on to Emma. “Oh, honey, I’m so glad Ed and I could come.”

  “Sam and I appreciate your coming more than we can say.”

  Sam nodded. “That’s for sure.”

  Emma wiped away the tears. “God sent both of you to us. We need you more than you could ever know. We have wonderful friends here that we love dearly, but there is just something so very special about family. Some of my burden has already been lifted.”

  “No need to thank us,” said Ed. “Wild Indians couldn’t have kept us away.”

  Sarah looked into Emma’s sorrowful eyes, so full of pain and discouragement. “Emma, I’m here for you as long as you need me. Ed has to go back in ten days, but I’ll stay until you tell me you can get along without me. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll do my best to take care of it.”

  Once again, Emma embraced her sister-in-law. A full smile graced Emma’s pretty face, the first in a long time. “Oh, Sarah, I can’t tell you how much this means to me … to both of us.”

  At that moment the orphans were being led out of their coaches and forming a long line. Several couples were there, waiting to look them over and talk to them. Other passengers, bound for points west, were getting off simply to stretch their legs.

  Ed looked that way and said, “Sam, Emma, when Sarah and I watched the orphans being interviewed and chosen in Kearney, we found it quite interesting. Since it will take a little while for the baggage handlers to get our baggage unloaded, why don’t we watch?”

  “Fine with me,” said Sam. “Jody and I watched them for a while when an orphan train was here a couple of months ago. Jody felt so sorry for the orphans. You know how tender she is.”

  Ed and Sarah both nodded.

  “In fact,” said Sam, “when Jody and I were here that day, some neighbors of ours took two little girls home with them.”

  “Oh. Is it working out all right?”

  “Perfectly,” said Emma. “Both the girls and the parents are happy with each other.”

  Sam grinned. “Jody was so happy for those little girls.”

  Ed snapped his fingers. “Speaking of Jody, Sarah and I noticed an orphan girl just about her age in Kearney who looks a lot like her. Nobody took the girl. We saw her get back on the train when the interviews were over.”

  As Ed was speaking, Sarah was running her eyes down the line of orphans. “Yes! There she is. Look, Emma. The dark-haired girl who is talking to that husky boy. He’s also one of the orphans.”

  Emma’s mouth fell open and her eyes widened. Before she could speak, Sam said, “I can’t believe it! Do you see that, Emma? She looks enough like Jody that she could be her sister.”

  Emma gasped. “Does she ever! I want to get a closer look at her.”

  Sam’s features lit up, “I do, too!”

  Ed and Sarah followed them as they headed toward the pretty, dark-haired girl.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Josie Holden smiled at Barry Chandler, who had stepped out of the line briefly to check on her. “I’m all right, Barry. Thank you for asking. Yes, it was very hard to let Wanda go, but Miss Wolford sat with me in the coach last night and made
me feel lots better.”

  “I’m glad, Miss Josie. Miss Wolford is such a nice lady. And I have to say, she really must have been a help to you, because you’ve got a sparkle in your eyes that I haven’t seen before.”

  Josie’s smile brightened. “Well, Barry, when Miss Wolford was sitting with me in the coach last night, something wonderful happened.”

  “What was that?”

  “Miss Wolford talked to me about where I would spend eternity. She showed me from the Bible that I’m a sinner before God, and if I died without having my sins forgiven and washed away in the blood of Jesus Christ, I would go to hell. When I fully understood how and why Jesus went to the cross and died for me, I opened my heart to Him and received Him as my Saviour.”

  Barry’s face lit up. “That’s wonderful, Josie! I was saved at the Children’s Aid Society right after Bible study just two days before we boarded the train to come west. Do you know who Mr. Markum is? He’s on the staff there.”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, Mr. Markum was leading the boys’ Bible study, and he was showing us from the Bible that if we died in our sins, we would spend eternity in hell. When the session was over, I was really miserable and afraid, because I knew I wasn’t saved. Mr. Markum could tell I was upset. He talked to me alone and asked what I was upset about. Of course, he really knew. Anyway, he led me to the Lord then and there.”

  “Oh, Barry! I’m so glad for you. Now we’re both children of God.”

  Barry was about to say something else, but was interrupted as Gifford Stanfield moved up. “Barry, you need to get back in line. You’re keeping people from passing along here.”

  Barry looked up to see several men and women standing still in the line, not wanting to interrupt his conversation with Josie. His face blanched. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Stanfield. Please excuse me, Josie. I’ll see you later.”

  Josie warmed him with another smile, and Barry hurried back to where he had been placed in the line by the sponsors.

  The prospective foster parents resumed their slow movement along the line of orphans.