Sully looked at the kids somewhat confused. "Don’t worry," Brian soothed him, "we’ll run away to live with the Cheyenne, and they'll never find us there!"


Sully smiled bitterly, stroking the little boy’s hair, then turned to Colleen and Matthew. "Cloud Dancing is here, he was waiting for those ladies to leave…I promised to give some supplies to the children in reservation, they’re starving…I think, we can share with them."


"Sure, we can Sully." Colleen said, "I’ll pack the supplies."


"I don’t know what to do now." Sully sighed, looking at the medicine man helplessly, "seems all the town is against me, and now, those Denver ladies. .Cloud Dancing, I’ve promised them to stay together, but…I’m afraid, I’ll lose this battle tomorrow."


"So, you want to give up?" The Indian asked


"No, I don’t, but they‘ll take the kids from me after the town meeting, and there ain't nothing I can do."


"Nobody knows, what will happen." Cloud Dancing answered, "Only the Great Spirit knows this. Just pray and don’t give up, my brother…Thank you for your help."


He mounted his horse and disappeared, repeating his advice, "Just don’t give up."


That was the second time Sully visited the town meeting. The first one was when the townsfolk decided to build a school in Colorado Springs. He suggested his friend Robert E. for the designing of the school building, but almost nobody agreed with him. Loren Bray and Jake Slicker were elected for this, but all they accomplished was a simple drawing. Sully could just exchange glances with Olive, who arrived late. She nodded, but said nothing.


"We’re here to talk about Matthew, Colleen and Brian Cooper," the Reverend began, "We all know that Sully takes care of them since Charlotte passed. We all appreciate this noble impulse, but now we need to make a final decision about their future. I hope those ladies from the Denver Charity society will help us….Now I want to ask them to speak."


"We both appreciate how Mr.Sully tries to care for those children." one of the ladies said, "but, however, we must point out some defects. For example, Mr.Sully visited the Indian reservation together with them and has exposed them to danger, and Colleen Cooper must work much too hard for her age, because there is no adult woman in her family to help her. Our advice has to be to allow their godmother to accept them into her home and care for them. Thank you."


She sat down. Loren Bray smiled exultantly. "Well," the Reverend said "now we need to ask Mrs.Olive Davis to speak."


"As I understand, the final decision belongs to me…Well, you ladies just told us about Colleen’s daily chores. I need to object – this is the usual thing for a girl of her age. This is Colorado Springs, not Denver. If these children live with me, they would need to do a lot of ranch work. It won't be easy."


She paused and glanced at Sully, who sat tensely in his seat, nervously fingering his beads. "Now, back to Sully," she continued, "I don’t much like his friendship with the Indians, that’s true, but truth be told as well, Sully takes good care of Matthew, Colleen and Brian. They look happy, as when Charlotte was still alive."


The crowd buzzed, but Olive raised her voice, "Have you ever seen Sully beating on any of them? Have you ever seen Sully drinking, or playing cards at the saloon? No, but we can see him spending all his time with theses children instead. My business in New Mexico doesn’t let me spend so much time with them, as Sully does, and I really doubt that most fathers could raise up their kids with such love and care as Sully does!"


"Olive! OLIVE!" Loren hissed, "Come round! What the hell are you talking about?! You don't know what you're sayin'!!"


"So, here is my final decision," Olive ignored his brother, "Sully is the best family for Charlotte’s kids, the best, they ever could find. Let them live with him!"


Sully looked at her with gratitude, as she sat back down, "Thank you, Olive. You couldn’t imagine how much this means to me!"


"I know." Olive said softly, "I know, Sully. I've done the right thing."


Olive’s speech convinced the townsfolk of the truth of her words. They didn’t mind as the Reverend finally said, "Olive Davis has decided against the adoption of Cooper children in favour of Sully.


So, they can be adopted by him, as soon as their biological father signs the papers…Congratulations, Sully!" He couldn’t help but smile with relief. When all the crowd left the church, Loren Bray suddenly stopped near Sully: "How you’re going to find Ethan? Nobody knows where he is."


"I’ll find him." Sully said stubbornly.


"Well…if they decided in your favour…be a good father to them!" He turned away and walked through the meadow, trying to catch up with Olive..


>- > Nobody in town believed that Sully would find Ethan Cooper. He wrote dozens of letters to all the newspapers in big cities, without any answer. But a month later, Horace received a telegram for Sully from San Francisco. Ethan promised to meet him in Colorado Springs as soon as he could. But he didn't show up when he said he would, he disappeared again, and Sully almost lost all hope, when suddenly got another telegram from Ethan, this time from Boston. It said that he couldn’t come to Colorado Springs, but is able to meet Sully in Boston and sign all the papers. The next sentence put Sully into despair, Ethan demanded money, three hundred dollars, for signing the papers .


"What’s wrong, Sully?" Olive asked when she stopped at the telegraph.


Sully showed her a telegram: "I don't have that kind of money, and I have nothing to sell…just my mother’s wedding ring, but it doesn’t cost $300."


"Don’t worry," Olive said, "we’ll find a way. Just go there as soon as you can, before he changes his mind again."


"Miss Olive…you don’t need..." he began.


"I’m still their godmother, don't forget that, and I want them to have a real family!" she answered, "a family where they're loved, so we’ll find a way together."


"Boston?!" Colleen said with some envy, "Sully, that’s great! I wish I could visit a big city like that!"


"Just wasting your time." Matthew muttered.


"You don’t understand!" Colleen outraged, "I’ve read about the Museum, and the National Library…How I wish to see them!"


Brian climbed onto Sully’s lap, "Don't leave Sully, I'll miss ya."


"Brian, do you want Sully to be our Pa?" Colleen asked her brother


He shrugged, "He is our pa now."


"I mean, a real Pa. So, Sully needs to go Boston to sign the papers."


Sully didn’t tell the kids about the money that Ethan demanded for signing, he didn’t want to upset them.


"Yes, I understand," Brian sighed, "but I’ll miss him so much!"


He bit his lower lip, trying not to cry.


Sully looked at him. He couldn’t explain, even to himself, why he said this,


"How about we all go to Boston all together?"


Colleen and Brian squealed and hugged him. Only Matthew looked at them discontentedly.


"I have a lot of work here, Sully." he said


"He just doesn’t want to leave Ingrid." Brian said, as Matthew showed him a fist.


"I know." Sully said, "I understand this, but I need you there…"


"For what?" Matthew asked impatiently.


"I need ya for watching Colleen and Brian while I talk with Ethan…Matthew, I’ll owe you…"


"Well, if you need me....." Matthew agreed reluctantly, "but who will stay here and feed the animals?"


"I’ll ask Robert E."


"So, we’re going to Boston?" Colleen asked.


"Yes, I guess we are!" Sully answered her.


When they were standing near the stagecoach, Olive approached Sully with a yellow envelope in her hand, "Here is three hundred, Sully. Give it to Ethan, if he‘s not ashamed to sell his own children…Don’t let him take it until he signs all the papers."


"Thank you, Miss Olive." Sully took the envelope, "I’ll pay you back as soon as I can."


"I have a lot of work for you after you come back. Besides that, I did this for you and for the kids, I’m their godmother, ain’t I?"


"Hey, wait a minute!" Loren Bray squeezed through the crowd, holding another envelope just like Olive’s, "Take this.."


He handed the envelope to Sully, "Your kids need some extra money there in Boston.".


Sully shook his head, "I appreciate this Loren, very much, but it's my problem."


"Don’t be so darn stubborn, Sully!" Loren said peevishly, "I'm given ya this not for you, but to your kids!" He tugged at his vest, turned away, and walked back to his store.


> Colleen and Brian were really taken with Boston. Even the boardinghouse where they were settled, seemed like a splendid hotel to them. They were walking around the city every day, visiting the museums, the Library, even the sweet-shop, at Brian’s urgent request…They were impressed by all those new things very much.


Sully’s mood, however, was not so cloudless – more than three days had already passed, but Ethan didn’t meet him yet.


Today Colleen asked Matthew to go with her to the library, and he reluctantly agreed, but Sully and Brian were going for a walk. Brian wanted to see the ocean.


Walking, they found themselves in some unknown district of Boston. Perhaps it was the prestigious one, and well-dressed ladies and gentlemen stopped from time to time, looking at Sully’s buckskins and Indian beads with disgust.


"Sully, look at the beautiful staircase!" Brian jumped up the steps, "All white! What is it made of?"


"Marble." Sully answered, "now be careful, Brian, look under your feet…"


Brian stopped and turned to Sully: "Sully," he suddenly asked, "what if you marry some good lady, we’ll be a real family, with Pa and Ma?"


Sully stopped also: "What's the matter Brian, you don’t like living with me?"


"Ah Sully, sure I do. I just thought…maybe, you feel lonely sometimes…"


"Come here, Brian." he sat at the step, and Brian sat near him.


"I don’t think I can marry someone else, but hopefully, in time…you know, you must fall in love with somebody before getting married, but I don’t know if I can love another woman after Abagail…Besides that, I don’t feel lonely having you three…"


"I’m sorry." Brian said.


"It's nothing." Sully answered, "Now, let’s go, if you still want to look at the ocean."


Brian hopped on one leg downstairs, but suddenly he lost his balance and fell head over heels from the staircase, screaming.


Sully ran to the bottom of the stairs and kneeled at Brian: "Brian…are you alright?"


"My arm!" the boy whimpered, "I can’t move it! It hurts! And I hit my head on the step, it hurts Sully!!"


There was a big lump on his forehead.


Your arm could be broken." Sully said with concern, "We need to find a doctor, he’ll fix it…Hold on, son, please, we’ll find him."


Carrying a crying Brian, he ran along the street, glancing at the shingles…Soon he had found the shingle: “Dr. David Lewis, M.D.”