Part 3, Chapter 22 Summary

Young Jim Littlefield is orphaned as a child. Placed aboard a train, he is in route to a children's home for orphan Indian children. Jim's heritage is unclear, and he is too young to know for sure, but it is suspected that he is, at least partially, Cherokee. Mr. Wilkins, a preacher, has placed him on the train. Exiting the train at the station, there is not a soul around and only the chatter of the telegraph to be heard. The eight-year-old boy imagines the telegraph is just waiting for someone to read it and say a mistake has been made, and that a relative and home has been found for young Jim Littlefield. Two people arrive at the station in an automobile that identifies them as representatives from the Department of the Interior, Indian Services.

Jim Littlefield is loaded into...