Blessed are the Merciful Page 3

  Adam and Laura remembered those happy times, but not Evelyn. This made her want her papa to come home all the more. Soon it would be summer, and she could enjoy that adventure over and over again.

  That afternoon Laura and Evelyn were sitting on the porch. Laura was mending one of her little sister’s rag dolls when Evelyn said, “Look, Laura! It’s Uncle Sidney!”

  They watched him guide the horse and buggy up the long, curved drive.

  “Uh-oh,” Laura said. “I think maybe President Lincoln has died, Evelyn. Uncle Sidney looks very sad.”

  “Shall I get Mama?”

  “I’m sure he’ll want to talk to her.”

  Laura went to the edge of the porch to meet her uncle as he reined the buggy to a halt and said, “Hello, Laura. Is the rest of the family home?”

  “Yes, sir. Evelyn’s gone after Mama. You look sad. Did … did Mr. Lincoln die?”

  “Yes, honey. He did.”

  Just then, Elizabeth came outside, holding Evelyn by the hand. Behind her were Adam and Cleora.

  “I have a close friend at the Globe,” Sidney said. “He said he’d let me know if … if the president died. Mr. Lincoln died at 7:22 this morning.”

  “No!” Adam cried. “No!”

  He sank to the porch and broke into sobs, burying his face in his hands.

  ON THURSDAY, APRIL 27, ADAM BURKE was sitting in class at the Beacon Hill school, gazing out the window while Mr. Meyer explained a math problem at the blackboard. Meyer’s voice seemed a mile away to Adam, who stared at the puffy white clouds floating against a cobalt blue sky.

  Billy Babcock risked a glance at his friend and saw Adam pull out his gold pocket watch and compare it with the big clock on the wall above the blackboard. They were synchronized perfectly. It was 10:11 A.M.

  Adam felt Billy’s eyes on him as he slipped the watch back into his pocket. He grinned at his friend and Billy turned his attention back to Mr. Meyer.

  Adam again gazed out the window, the teacher’s voice distantly touching his ears. Suddenly the distant drone caught Adam’s attention.

  “… this problem, Adam.”

  The boy looked at his teacher blankly. “Uh … what was that, sir?”

  “I asked if you could solve this problem.”

  “Well, sir, I—”

  “You haven’t been paying attention, have you?”

  Adam cleared his throat and his face took on a deep shade of red.

  When he did not reply, Meyer said with an edge in his voice, “Adam, your mind has been elsewhere since a week ago last Monday, the day after President Lincoln died. Isn’t that correct?”

  “Yes … yes, sir.”

  Walter Meyer’s face lost its scowl. “All of us are mourning the loss of our beloved president, Adam, but life must go on. Everyone in this room is aware that you had the privilege of shaking Mr. Lincoln’s hand. A privilege none of us ever had. But he’s gone now, and you must get your mind back on your school work.”

  Adam nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  The classroom door opened, and the students turned to see Harold Griffin, the school principal, enter and walk to the front of the room. “Mr. Meyer, I have an announcement.”

  “Of course, sir.” Meyer looked at his students. “Class, please give Mr. Griffin your full attention.”

  “Boys and girls,” Griffin said, “I just received word that yesterday morning, John Wilkes Booth was found by federal troops in Port Royal, Virginia. They cornered him in a barn. Booth was given the command to come out and surrender, but he refused. The soldiers, in turn, set the barn on fire. When Booth came limping out, he was carrying a carbine rifle and looked as if he was going to use it. One of the troopers fired, and Booth went down. Before he died, he found the strength to boast about killing the president, saying that what he did was for the good of the country.”

  Adam turned to Billy and whispered, “Good for that trooper! Booth got just what he deserved!”

  One Sunday evening a few weeks later, Elizabeth Burke and her children were sitting on the front porch, waiting for Sidney’s buggy. Darlene had invited them to dinner.

  While they waited, Elizabeth and the children talked about Papa. For the past three weeks the newspapers had told heartwarming stories of men returning from the war. Some were missing limbs or had suffered other serious wounds but were happily back with their families. These stories intensified their longing for Gordon’s return and made each day without him harder to bear.

  “There he is, Mama!” Laura said.

  All rose to their feet as the buggy turned into the wide circle drive, the horse’s hooves beating out a steady clip-clop on the hard-packed earth.

  “Everybody hungry?” Sidney asked as he pulled the buggy to a halt.

  “We sure are, Uncle Sidney,” Adam said, taking his mother by the hand to help her into the buggy. “What’s Maggie got fixed for us?”

  “Oh, I’m not supposed to tell you, Adam. Darlene and Maggie want it to be a surprise.”

  When all were aboard, Sidney clucked to the horse and put the buggy in motion. As they headed for the street, Sidney glanced at his sister-in-law. “Liz, you look worried. Something troubling you?”

  Elizabeth looked away for a moment, then said, “I read in the papers every day about soldiers coming home to their families, and I ask myself why it’s taking so long for Gordon to come home. The children are on edge about it, too.”

  “That’s understandable. But remember what President Lincoln said about that … that it might take as long as two months for all the men to return to their homes.”

  “I know, Sidney, but with every day that passes, it gets more difficult to be patient. He’s been gone for over four years. We so desperately want him home.”

  “Well, he’s being detained for some good reason, I’m sure.”

  “Even if he can’t get away from wherever they have him posted, he could at least send a wire. He has to know that we’re anxious.”

  “Maybe wherever he is doesn’t have access to wire service. But he might have already sent a letter and it’s just taking time to get here.”

  Elizabeth was quiet for a moment, then said, “Yes, that’s possible.”

  “Tell you what. If he doesn’t come home in another week, I’ll see what I can do to trace him.”

  “Oh, would you, Sidney?”

  “Of course.” He patted her arm. “Old Uncle Sidney has a few strings he can pull.”

  Elizabeth smiled at her brother-in-law. “Okay, we’ll give it another week. Maybe he’ll be home by then.”

  As the days passed, Elizabeth and her children spent most of their time after dinner sitting on the porch, watching each carriage or buggy or pedestrian that came along.

  Every evening, as the sky darkened, Elizabeth gathered her children to her, hugged and kissed them, and spoke encouraging words, even though her heart was troubled and more than a little perplexed.

  On Monday evening, May 22, Elizabeth went to the kitchen where Cleora and Jason were eating their supper and asked Jason if he would hitch the mare to the buggy as soon as he had finished his meal.

  While the children stayed with Cleora, Elizabeth rode with Jason through the darkening streets of Beacon Hill. When they arrived at the Sidney Burke home, Darlene answered the knock at the door and welcomed Elizabeth and Jason in.

  “Is something wrong, Liz?” she asked.

  “Only that Gordon isn’t home yet. Sidney said a week ago that if we hadn’t seen or heard from Gordon by now, he would pull some strings. I think it’s time for that.”

  “I agree. Sidney’s in the library; I’ll take you there.”

  “I’ll wait here, ma’am,” Jason said to Elizabeth.

  When Darlene opened the library door, Sidney was seated at his desk with a small stack of papers on one side and several sheets spread before him. When he saw Elizabeth he rose to his feet.

  “Hello, Liz. I think I can guess why you’re here. Sorry I haven’t gotten to you yet today, but
I’ve had some paperwork here that has to be done by morning.”

  “I understand, Sidney. It’s just that I … well, I think it’s time to ask you to investigate Gordon’s whereabouts.”

  Sidney nodded. “You’re right, and in fact I’ve already begun. This morning I sent a wire to Army headquarters in Washington, to General Earl Howard in the records office. He and I are old friends. I expect to hear back from him right away, maybe even tomorrow. I told him it was urgent.”

  Some of the worry left Elizabeth’s face. “Thank you, Sidney. I appreciate this more than I can say. And the children appreciate it, too.”

  Sidney gave her a hug. “You just relax now and leave it to old Sid. We’ll find Gordon and have him back home before you know it.”

  It was late morning the next day when Cleora came into the parlor where Elizabeth was sitting in her favorite overstuffed chair, reading a book of poetry.

  “Miz Elizabeth, I jus’ happened to look out the door an’ I saw Mr. Sidney’s buggy comin’ up the drive.”

  Elizabeth closed her book and set it aside as she rose to her feet. “Please bring him in here, Cleora.”

  When Sidney walked through the parlor doorway, Elizabeth searched his face, but could detect nothing from his expression. She waited for him to speak.

  Cleora closed the door behind him, and he said, “I received a wire back from General Howard two hours ago. The army knows that Captain Gordon Burke was seriously wounded in a battle on the banks of the Appomattox River at Farmville, Virginia, on April 7. He said—”

  “Please don’t tell me he’s—”

  “No, no! General Howard said Gordon was taken to Potomac Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, but the Washington office has no more information.”

  “Oh, I was afraid of this! He died, didn’t he? They buried him and didn’t even let me know!” She began to sob.

  Sidney grasped her upper arms firmly. “Liz, let me finish! As soon as I read General Howard’s telegram, I wired Potomac Hospital. They wired me back about an hour ago but didn’t give me much, except to say that Gordon was released alive and well on May 3.”

  “May 3! That was twenty days ago! Something’s happened to him. We’ve got to find him!”

  “I think the best place to start is the hospital. Talking to someone there face to face will get us a lot more information than trying to communicate by wire. Surely someone there can tell us where he said he was going after his release.”

  “You’ll go with me?”

  “Of course I’ll go with you. And so will Darlene.”

  “Oh, I’m so glad. It will be a real strength to have both of you with me. When can we leave?”

  “We’re leaving on the train to Washington at eight-thirty in the morning. I already have the tickets. With all the stops the train makes along the way, we won’t get to Washington till evening. We’ll stay in a hotel tomorrow night and drive to Bethesda Wednesday morning.”

  “Oh, bless you, Sidney! But I don’t understand why someone at the hospital didn’t notify me that Gordon was there.”

  “That puzzles me too, but we’ll get some answers when we get there. Be ready in the morning at seven, all right?”

  Elizabeth raised up on her tiptoes and kissed Sidney’s cheek. “I’ll be waiting. Thank you, Sidney.”

  On Wednesday morning, Sidney pulled the rented buggy into the hospital parking lot and helped his wife and sister-in-law from the vehicle.

  The receptionist at the desk smiled at them as they approached. “May I help you, sir?”

  “Yes, ma’am. We’ve come to inquire about a patient who was here from about April 8 till May 3. His name is Captain Gordon Burke.”

  “And what did you need to know?”

  Sidney gestured toward Elizabeth. “This is Mrs. Burke. I am Captain Burke’s brother, and this other lady is my wife. We haven’t heard from my brother, so I contacted U.S. army headquarters in Washington. When I was told that he’d been wounded and brought here, I wired the hospital and received a return wire that said he’d been released alive and well on May 3.”

  “I see.” The receptionist blinked, looking puzzled.

  “We came down from Boston to talk to someone who can give us more information. Can you direct us to the right person, please?”

  “Just a moment.” She rose from her chair and went down the hall.

  Sidney put an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders as they watched the receptionist disappear into a nearby office. Seconds later she returned with a young man she introduced as Joel Hines, the hospital’s office manager.

  “Hello, Mr. Burke. Elsie says you need to talk to me and that it’s very important.”

  “Yes, sir. It’s regarding an army captain who was a patient here for almost a month.”

  “Please come into my office,” Hines said.

  As soon as they were all seated, Sidney repeated the story. When he had finished, Hines said, “Let me go look at the records.”

  When the office manager returned, he was carrying a file folder. “Mrs. Burke, all I can tell you from your husband’s record is that he took shrapnel in his head from a cannonball. It required some extensive surgery and three weeks of healing before he could be released from the hospital. The surgeon’s notes say that the wound left a slight disfigurement on his face.”

  Elizabeth closed her eyes and nodded.

  Sidney leaned forward, his eyes on the folder the young man was holding. “Is there any indication in the record, Mr. Hines, of where Captain Burke might have gone when he was released?”

  “No, sir. There is nothing of that nature.”

  “Isn’t there someone here who might know?”

  “Well, he may have told his nurses or someone like that, but it would take some doing to find out who might’ve been taking care of him the last day or so before he was released. I’m not sure I can help you there.”

  Elizabeth’s lips quivered as she said, “Mr. Hines, this is my husband we’re talking about. He has disappeared, and I have three children anxiously waiting for their father to come home. I can’t just go home and tell them nobody knows where he’s gone.”

  Hines shrugged. “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but—”

  “I want to talk to the head of this institution,” Sidney said. “Who might that be?”

  “Well, sir, that would be Mr. Glover, the hospital director.”

  “Fine. Where do I find him?”

  “Sir, I really don’t think Mr. Glover can do any more than I’ve already done.”

  Sidney rose to his feet. “I want him to tell me that. Take us to him.”

  Moments later, Sidney, Elizabeth, and Darlene were seated before the desk of the hospital director, Vernon Glover, a gray-headed man in his mid-fifties.

  “How may I help you?” Glover said with a smile.

  Sidney told the entire story again. When he had finished, Glover eased back in his chair and sighed. “Joel is a bit green around the gills yet, folks. I think I can help you. Let me begin by inquiring among my office staff to see who checked Captain Burke out the day he was discharged. I’ll be back shortly.”

  When Glover left the room, Elizabeth put a shaky hand to her cheek and looked at Sidney. “What am I going to do if they don’t come up with an explanation?”

  Darlene took hold of Elizabeth’s other hand and squeezed it tight. “Let’s cross that bridge if and when we come to it. I have a feeling Mr. Glover’s going to come up with the information we need.”

  Elizabeth tried to smile. Tears filmed her eyes as she said, “I’m sure glad you two came with me.”

  “We wouldn’t have let you come alone,” Sidney assured her.

  Soon Vernon Glover returned. “I talked to the office worker who completed the papers and had them signed by Captain Burke when he was released. She said he gave no indication where he might be going when he left us. I’m sorry. I was hoping she would be able to help us.”

  “What about the nurse assigned to him his last day or so?” Sidney asked.
“Maybe he told her something.”

  “Good point. If she’s on duty right now I’ll bring her in here and let you ask her yourself.”

  Less than five minutes had passed when Glover returned, shaking his head. “Wouldn’t you know it? The nurse who was assigned to that ward and was attending Captain Burke is no longer with us.”

  “Mr. Glover,” Sidney said, “we’re grasping at straws here. Is it possible there might be some patients still in the hospital who were in the same ward with my brother?”

  Glover’s eyes lit up. “Of course! There are some soldiers in Ward B who have been with us for quite some time. Let me look into this.”

  With that, Glover was gone again.

  Elizabeth drew a shuddering breath and struggled to control her shaking hands. “Something’s wrong, Sidney. I just know it.”

  “Honey, don’t borrow trouble,” Darlene said. “Let’s wait and see if there’s someone who can tell us something that will lead us to him.”

  When Glover reappeared, he had a nurse with him. He introduced them to nurse Twila Duncan, and said, “Mrs. Duncan came on our nursing staff just after Captain Burke was released, but she tells me there are two soldiers in Ward B who were brought in three days before Captain Burke came here. Perhaps they will have something to tell you.”

  “Good,” Sidney said. “Could we talk to them now?”

  “Yes. Mrs. Duncan will take you there.”

  The trio followed Twila Duncan to a pair of double doors marked Ward B. She led them to a bed where a young man in his late twenties lay.

  “Sergeant,” Twila said, “these people would like to talk to you, but first I need to bring Corporal Byars over here so they can talk to both of you together.”

  The sergeant looked at the visitors and nodded. The Burkes stood in silence while the nurse went to a young man in a wheelchair. She said a few words to him, then pushed his chair up beside the bed.

  “Folks,” Twila said, “this man in the wheelchair is Corporal Art Byars. The man in the bed is Sergeant Neil Westbrook. I have to get back to my duties now, so I’ll let you explain who you are and what you need to know.”