Chapter 7

Around midnight there was some people shouting in the front room of the hospital. Ivan was awakened by the commotion.

“Look lady, my sergeant needs a doctor. That’s a knife wound in his side,” yelled the Lieutenant. “Get me a doctor.”

“I’ll get him right away,” said the woman excitedly. She ran into the back of the hospital and retrieved the doctor.

“What the hell is this?” yelled the doctor.

“It’s my sergeant, sir. Sergeant O’Brien, he’s been stabbed in the side,” explained the officer.

“Where bouts?” asked the doctor.

“In the left side, sir,” replied the officer.

“That, I can see,” said the physician “What I meant was, in what bar room did this happen?”

“Twas, the Shamrock Inn, to be sure,” said the sergeant.

“Well, that’s three times this week for the Shamrock,” said the doctor.

“Is he going to be alright?” asked the young officer.

“Yes! He’ll be just fine in a couple of weeks,” said the doctor completing his exam of the sergeant’s wound.

“Two weeks,” yelled the Lieutenant. “We got to be on that train for Oklahoma at 0400 hours.”

“If you mean in 400 hours, well that should do it very nicely,” said the doctor “But on the other hand if you mean at 4 AM this morning, I don’t think so.”

“We just got too,” cried the officer “we’re under orders.”

“Look, sonny,” explained the doctor. “This man has lost a lot of blood, then he might have an infection and again he could get one riding that damn train. So if you want to get to . . to . .”

“Oklahoma,” repeated the officer.

“Whatever, with your friend alive you had better leave him here for a week, at least? Then he can catch the next train for, for . . .”

“Oklahoma,” the lieutenant said again.

“Whatever?” said the doctor. “Now get out of my way.”

Ivan knew these men were going to the same place he wanted to go. If he could only go with them he would be able to make it to Oklahoma. On the other hand if he stayed in his bed he would be turned over to the sheriff as a runaway. He got out of bed and tried to walk a little. He was still a little dizzy, but yet he knew he had to go with these men. Once Ivan was out of his bed he dressed himself in the garments Miss Lowery had bought for him. He waited for the men to leave the hospital. When they did he would follow them to the train.

“Come on doctor, Sir,” begged the lieutenant “he won’t catch an infection; he’s still full of disinfectant from the Shamrock Inn.”

“Alright you young buck, take him out of here. Now at the first sign of a fever you stop the train and get him a doctor,” barked the irate physician “is that understood?”

“Yes Sir,” snapped the young officer. He scooped up the sergeant and out the door they staggered together. Outside the sergeant was placed onto the tail end of a wagon. The officer went to the front and climbed up to the driver’s seat. “Haw,” he shouted as he snapped the reins onto the backs of the horses. Down the street they went at a high rate of speed.

“I don’t think their going to make it to the train,” said the doctor lowly. He shook his head as he watched their break neck speed down the roadway. When they were almost out of sight he returned to his quarters and shaking his head.

No one was in the front room as Ivan slipped silently out the door. He just caught a glimpse of the wagon in the distance. He stood for a second or two, and then proceeded to walk in the direction the wagon had traveled. His head was hurting a little and he was dizzy, but he kept going. Ever so often he would have to sit down and rest his head.

As he traveled along he would sometimes hide from people that might see him. He was afraid he might be caught and turned over to the sheriff. He crept slowly past a bar where the people were yelling and singing as the piano was being played. At the corner he heard a train whistle and turned in the direction of the whistle. He hurried his steps. A block farther on he could see the station and the engine setting on the tracks.

Ivan no longer had the letter, so he was afraid to go to the telegrapher. He thought if the key man did not believe him, he might be turned over to the sheriff. He moved as close to the train as possible and searched for the army men. Then he saw the wagon and a man in uniform at the end of the train. As he got closer he could see several men in the coach next to the last one. A man with a rifle was standing at each end of the two cars. Ivan ran under a box car several cars ahead of the solders' coaches and began his approach from that side; however there were two men on this side as well with rifles. He went to the short ladder on a flat car and pulled himself up to the platform. Between some crates and under a tarpaulin he hid himself.

The rains had past the area some time earlier, but the early morning air was rather cool. To a small boy like, Ivan with no coat the cold was soon unbearable. He began to shiver from the lower temperature. He could find nothing to insulate his body against the cold. He went toward the coach with the solders on either side in the rear. He watched the interior of the car. Only the guards were awake, the others were asleep on the seats. The lieutenant was nowhere insight.

Ivan very carefully inched his way across the flat car and into the coach with the sleeping solders, and then down the aisle of the car to the other end, searching for a place to hide. He did find a blanket and this he wrapped around himself, and then moved into the next car. When he opened the door he found two men asleep on cots in the little room. He moved past them and into a hall way. There he crept past a door which was locked when he tried it. Soon the hall way led to a large and beautiful room with lots of overstuffed chairs, a dinning table and more chairs.

The thing that caught his eyes was the fruit filled bowl on the table. Not lacking in the social graces, he asked himself “Are you hungry? Yes! I am. Well, help yourself. Thank you, don’t mind if I do.” Naturally it was all in Romanian.

After consuming a few pieces of the fruit he decided to take a nap. He curled up in one of the large overstuffed chairs. Later he was awakened by someone touching his face. He looked up into the eyes of a very pretty young lady. She made the ‘Sssshhh’ sound with her index finger to her lips.

“What are you doing here?” she asked quietly.

“Ivan go Oklahoma, find farm,” he said.

“What?” she gasped. “Aren’t you just a little bit young to go off looking for a farm?”

“Ivan man now, Poppa say, go find farm Oklahoma write Poppa Mama Joanna Natasha come farm live all time.” Ivan explained.

“That is some tale kid,” she said chuckling to herself. “How old are you?”

“Seven years four months” he said “Ivan Yanosh, me man now, find farm, good land.”

“In Oklahoma?” she asked? “Yeah, yeah! I know, you want to find a farm in Oklahoma so your parents and some one else can come to live there.”

“Joanna, Natasha” Ivan said “Sisters older Ivan.”

The train whistle blew a long blast.

“Ah . . . Quick hide in here before Daddy comes out,” she said pushing him into a closet in the hall way. “I’ll talk to you later, so keep quiet.”

“Ivan quiet no trouble,” he said.

The train whistle blew again in a few seconds and the train banged and clanked until the cars were all moving, very slowly at first, after they past the station, the train began to pick up speed.

“Finally, we’re under way,” said an over weight, grizzly old man with grey hair as he emerged from the bed room, which was locked to Ivan “Every one aboard?”

“More than you think,” she quipped.

“More . . . what do you mean?” he snapped.

“Enthusiasm,” she replied.

“Humph! Enthusiasm,” he found a canister of cigars and lit one and puffed away at it repeatedly for a few seconds. Satisfied it was well lit he began to bellow out some orders “Captain!” An officer came charging into the room.

“Yes Sir,” said the man trying to finish buttoning his uniform. “What is the General’s command, Sir?”

“Captain, I want you to get the mess going, I am starving, and I know my daughter is too,” said the general in a mild tone.

“Yes sir, right away sir,” he turned to leave.

“Captain,” barked the General again. “Where are you going?”

“Sir, to the mess hall, sir,” said the captain in a shaky voice.

“Don’t you remember that we are on a train?” asked the general slowly.

“Yes Sir. Indeed sir,” said a bewildered captain.

“Well then . . . where is the mess?” he asked.

“AAAHH, in the closet of the general’s car, sir,” said the quivering officer.

“That way, or that way,” asked the old man pointing in one direction, then the other.

“AAAHH, Sir in that direction Sir,” replied the young man pointing in the opposite direction he had started to go.

“Very good Captain,” said the general as he sat down in a chair at the large table. “Judy, would you be so kind, as to call the other gentlemen in here for mess?”

“Yes Daddy,” she said. She was smiling as she left the room.

That was some roasting he did to the captain. The old man just loved to do it to the younger officers and to this officer in particular. The young man was sweet on Judy, the general’s daughter and wanted to marry her. She wanted to marry the captain and daddy just had to make a fool out of him any time he could. He was hoping to discourage the pair from marriage.

Soon the other officers, another captain, a major and the lieutenant were present for mess. After mess, the general past out the cigars.

“Gentlemen, what is the status of this command this morning?” He asked.

“All twenty-four enlisted men are present and accounted for, Sir,” said the Lieutenant. “Twenty-three fit for duty . . . one on sick call.”

“Who’s on sick call?” barked the general.

“Sergeant O’Brien Sir,” said the young officer with a shaky voice.

“What is it . . . this time?” asked the old officer sounding disgusted.

“A knife fight, Sir. He’s got six stitches in his left side, Sir,” said the officer.

“Was he defending his county at the time?” asked the general.

“That he was, Sir,” said the officer with a small smile.

“This side of the Atlantic . . . or the other?” inquired the general.

“To O’Brien . . . there is no difference, Sir,” replied the officer.

“I see . . . and how soon will he be up and about?”

“A couple of weeks . . . eh days, sir.”

“Well now we don’t want to strain the man . . . he might bust a stitch,” and he laughed, as did they all.

The officers soon left the room and the general went out onto the observation platform at the rear of the coach. He stood holding onto the railings looking at the passing country side.

His daughter, Judy saw her chance and removed Ivan from the closet. She took him into the bed room.

“You can hide in here,” she said “Maybe under my bed, or behind my clothing. There were a lot of pretty dresses hanging on the wall. “If you keep quiet, daddy will never know you are here. I’ll bring you some food when I can.”

“Ivan hide . . . no trouble,” he said.

The lad lay on the floor and scooted under the bed with the blanket rapped around him. She handed him a pillow for his head. Making sure he was not visible to anyone entering the room, she turned and left, closing the door behind her.

Most of the day was spent by the general napping in his overstuffed chair, reading, giving orders to the officers now and then, but mostly puffing away at those ill smelling cigars.

When the old man was napping, Judy would talk to Ivan. She soon understood the situation the small boy was in, so she went to the desk in the coach and wrote a new letter of instructions. She could find no string so she folded the envelope and Ivan put it into his pants pocket.

When the train was delayed at a station, Judy went to a General Store in the town and purchased a coat for Ivan.

“You buying more dresses?” barked the general when he saw the package as she came aboard the train.

“But, Daddy,” she cooed “It was so Pretty.”

“How pretty?” he asked.

“Only $5 pretty,” she replied.

“Damn it girl,” barked the old man “money don’t grow on trees, you know.”

She went into the bed room and closed the door. The general came and knocked at the door.

“Are you going to put the darn thing on . . . so I can see what $5 of pretty looks likes?” he asked.

“AAAHH . . . Yes Daddy . . . I’ll be out in a minute, or two,” she yelled through the door. “Oh! Dear,” she gasped. She quickly looked through her wardrobe for a dress she hadn’t worn in front of her father. “Oh! Dear,” she repeated over and over. Finely she picked one and quickly she changed dresses. “I just hope he don’t remember this one.”

“What do you think of this one?” she asked when she entered the big room once more.

“What . . . you spent $5 on that . . . that,” she cut him off.

“I like it, so watch your words . . . Daddy Dear,” she said sweetly.

“Oh! Hell,” barked the elderly officer “Damn it all, you’re just like your mother . . . May she rest in peace. I could never say ‘no’ to her either.”

“Thank you, Daddy,” and she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“The sooner you get married the sooner I can save some money for my retirement” he said. “Where is that fool of a captain anyway?”

He rose from the chair and went towards the open door to the bed room. A lump went up in her throat; in her haste she had laid the coat on her bed. He closed the door and continued on with out even a glance into the room. She hastily returned to the bedroom and pushed the garment to Ivan under the bed.

“That was close,” she gave out with a big sigh.