Chapter 14

The weekend arrived and to Tear’s surprise she was still allowed to go to Aunt Ella’s cottage.  Her Foster Parent after the orphanage fire had become very fond of her and invited her to come and stay whenever she wanted.  Now that she wasn’t allowed to talk to Step and Sad she welcomed the chance to get away for a couple of days.

Not that it was very far away.  Aunt Ella picked her up on Saturday morning and they walked the short distance to the cottage.  Aunt Ella made a cup of tea and cut two large slices of cake before sitting down opposite Tear.

“Now tell me all the news.  How is life at the new orphanage?”

It didn’t take long for Tear to tell Aunt Ella the story of Ruth hiding in the attic.

“And now I’m not allowed to speak to Step and Sad and even worse, Ruth will be forced to marry Esau.”

Aunt Ella mumbled a bit to herself and then smiled at Tear.

“You know, I think we can do something about this.  There must be some government organisation that looks after the welfare of teenage girls.  We can’t have parents and guardians forcing them into early marriages.  How about we contact Mr Moody.  He’s a solicitor.  He should know about these things.”

Tear wanted Aunt Ella to ring straight away but she shook her head.  “I only have his office number and he would be closed today because it’s Saturday.  However, I will ring on Monday and see what can be done.”

Tear had to be content with that and tried to put her worries in the back of her mind.

Meanwhile Step had moved into a room with Tom.  He was quite apprehensive as Tom was a very moody character who threw tantrums when things didn’t go his way.  No-one had wanted to share a room with him.  Also he was four years older than Step so might not be happy sharing with a “little kid”.

“What did you do to get put with me?” asked Tom. “I hear you are in some sort of trouble.”

Step decided if they were going to get along together he might as well tell him the whole story.  At least it would give them something to talk about.

“So this Ruth girl has got to marry someone she doesn’t like when she’s 16?  Gosh, that’s only five years older than I am.  That would be awful. Can’t you sneak her out of the hospital before they come to take her home?”

“Even if we could get her out, where would she go?  She couldn’t stay here and if she was homeless on the streets something terrible might happen to her.”  Step sighed and shook his head.

“How about we sneak out of the orphanage, go to the hospital and visit Ruth.  She might have some ideas about where she could hide,” Tom suggested.

Step looked at Tom with surprise.  He hadn’t expected him to be so interested in Ruth.  He thought maybe Tom was bored and wanted a bit of excitement.

It was the weekend but Step and Tom had not been selected by any Foster Parents.  The orphanage was quiet on a drowsy Saturday afternoon with most of the children who weren’t with foster parents at a small picture theatre in the main street, watching “Around the World in 80 Days”.  Nurse Smiley had gone with them as had Sad but Step was told to stay behind.  Tom said he didn’t want to go as he felt sick. Matron was in her office and the boys were told to play quietly in the Games Room.

“We don’t know which hospital Ruth is in,” said Step.  “How can we visit her?”

Tom dashed out of the room and came back carrying the telephone book which lived on the hall table next to the telephone.  In the Yellow Pages he looked up Hospitals and put his finger on a list. “I think the nearest hospital would be Southland, but to make sure I could ring this number and ask if Ruth is there.  What is her last name?”

“I…I…don’t know!” Step looked at Tom .  “We never thought to ask her.”

“That’s all right.  I’ll say I’m from the Jehovah’s Children Farm and am ringing to check how she is.  I’ll say we don’t use surnames at the farm.  If she’s not there it means we just have to try another hospital.”

Tom looked at Matron’s door.  It was shut so he quietly picked up the phone and dialled the hospital’s number.

“Oh, hello,” Tom put on a deep, adult sounding voice. “I’m ringing from the Jehovah’s Children Farm and enquiring after Ruth, who is in your hospital with influenza……No, I don’t know her last name.  We don’t use them at the Jehovah’s Children Farm…er, I’m ringing on behalf of Moses, who is our leader. Oh, is that so?  Sorry to trouble you.


“No luck,” said Tom.  “She’s not there. There’s a hospital called Cliffdale.  That might be closer to here.” Tom indicated the map at the front of the Telephone Directory.  “Here is Clifton Beach and here is Cliffdale.  What do you think?”

Step just nodded.  He was impressed with Tom’s knowledge and ability to handle himself on a phone.

Tom tried the Cliffdale Hospital number.  It wasn’t long before he was smiling.  He put down the phone and turned to Step.

“She’s there and visiting hours are from two o’clock until four.  Now all we have to do is work out how to get there. Hmm, it’s only about five miles.  Too far to walk and get there in visiting hours but maybe we could catch a bus.  Get out your pocket money, Step.”

“Do you realise how much trouble I’ll be in if I get caught?” said Step. “And sure as night follows day I’ll get caught.  So will you, Tom and we’ll both be in heaps of trouble.”

“I thought you said the most important thing was to stop Ruth being returned to the Jehovah’s Children Farm,” said Tom.

“I suppose so,” Step grudgingly replied.  He really wanted to spend the afternoon doing a jigsaw puzzle and keeping a low profile.  He couldn’t see the point in going to the hospital if they didn’t have a plan.  Tom seemed sure that Ruth would know what to do if she had some help.

They sneaked out of the orphanage, keeping to the shadows around the building.  After a quick dash to the shrubbery they arrived at the front gate and walked down the hill towards the bus stop. The first bus to arrive said Lake City above the windscreen so they asked the driver if it stopped at Cliffdale Hospital.  It did, so they paid their money and settled into seats on the ocean side.  They were both so entranced by the view that they were surprised when the bus driver stopped and called out, “You’re here.”

Jumping out they walked up a steep hill to a small hospital, more like a cottage than the large buildings they were used to.  At reception they asked the nurse which room Ruth was in and she directed them down the corridor. They could see Ruth sitting in bed reading a magazine.  She looked up at them in surprise.

“Oh my goodness, it’s Step! What a surprise!  And you are?” She looked at Tom.

“This is my friend Tom,” said Step hurriedly.  “It was his idea to come and see you and help you to escape.  You are looking a lot better than the last time I saw you.”

“Oh yes, I am almost completely recovered.  You got here just in time because Moses is coming to get me tomorrow and take me back to the farm.” Ruth bit her lip, “Thank you for trying to help me escape but where would I go?  I can’t go to the orphanage and I have no money and nowhere to live.  I appreciate you wanting to help me but I will have to go back with Moses.  Maybe I can talk to him and he will see that making me marry Esau is a bad idea.”

Step was relieved because he had an image of Ruth hiding in a cave on the beach and dying from cold and starvation.

Tom looked disappointed.  He hadn’t planned the next step so sat glumly in the visitor’s chair looking at the ocean.

“We’d better catch a bus back and try to sneak in without anyone seeing us,” Step said anxiously.  He was keen to get back to the Games Room as soon as possible. “I’m pleased that you have recovered, Ruth and I hope you can talk some sense into Moses.”

Step and Tom said goodbye and returned to the Bus Stop. A bus travelling north arrived and they paid their money for Clifton Beach.  It was only a matter of minutes and they were back at the front gates of the orphanage. They watched from behind some bushes as Matron walked around the gardens calling “Step….Tom”.

“Here we are,” called Step.  “We were playing hidings in the garden.”

“I asked you to stay in the Games Room,” she said, but she didn’t appear to be cross and escorted them back inside. “The other children should be back from their outing soon but until then I’d like you to go to your room and do some quiet reading.”

Step couldn’t believe his good fortune.  He hadn’t been caught and wasn’t in trouble.  Well at least he wasn’t in more trouble than before. He was happy to lie on his bed with a book, especially as Tom hadn’t spoken a word and no longer appeared to be friendly.

“Thanks for trying,” Step said to Tom.  Tom just rolled over on his bed with his back to Step. Obviously something was bugging him but Step decided it was wise to let sleeping dogs lie.

It was Sunday night before Tear was able to communicate her news.  She passed a folded note to Step as she passed him on her way to dinner.  He read it when he was sure no one was looking and was immensely cheered by what it said.

Aunt Ella ringing Mr Moody re Ruth.  Says she’s sure he can help.

He caught Tear’s eye and she winked.  He must get this message to Sad.  Also would he tell Tom?  Maybe that would cheer him up.

As they were leaving to go to bed later that night he passed the note to Sad, making sure he wasn’t being watched. He approached his room with trepidation.  What sort of mood would Tom be in?

“I’ve got some news Tom.  I think it’s good for Ruth.”

Tom turned to look at him, which at least was a start.

“Tear gave me a message.  She says that Mr Moody, who is a solicitor, is going to look into Ruth’s case. She seemed very hopeful that maybe Ruth won’t have to marry Esau after all.”

“Who cares?” Tom cried. “I’m over this.  It’s all boring.  You’re just a scaredy cat and I hate having to share a room with you.  I’m asking Nurse Smiley if you can be moved.”

With that he climbed into bed and covered his head with his blanket.

The next morning Step, Tear and Sad were called to Matron’s office.

“Sit down,” she said brusquely. “I’ve have reviewed your behaviour over the past few days and can only conclude that you did what you did out of consideration for Ruth and not because you are naughty children.  As a result, you will now be allowed to talk to each other again which I’m sure will please you all.”

Matron looked at Step for a few moments. “Step, I have received a request from Tom that you be moved from his room.  I had hoped that with your friendly nature he would enjoy your company but he is a difficult boy to please.  I have decided to leave it up to you.  If you want to return to the room you share with Sad and the others you may.  However if you think it will help Tom to have your company it might be a good idea to stay a little longer.  I’ll leave it up to you to decide.”

Step was deliriously happy when Matron said he could move back.  However as she finished speaking he realised she was asking him to help Tom.

“Matron, could you give me a few days to make up my mind? I’ll see if I can get through to Tom.  If not, then I will be happy to move back to my old bed.”

As they were leaving Sad gave Step a push. “Why don’t you move back straight away?  It must be so boring stuck in a room with Tom No Friends.”

“I will gladly come back but I think Matron wants my help.  Tom can be nice but for some reason he turns away from people and becomes bitter.  Maybe something happened to him to make him like that.”

“That’s no excuse,” Sad said in a wobbly voice.  “What happened to him couldn’t have been any worse than what happened to me but I’m a friendly guy, aren’t I?”

“That’s all the more reason to help Tom.  Maybe he just needs some friends and he will get rid of that huge chip he has on his shoulder.”

With that the children reported to the Games Room because tomorrow they were all going to their new schools for the first time.

END OF CHAPTER 14