From Chapter 3
They both could not help but stare at one man, suddenly Rog could not stop himself, he screamed out, "PAPA"! The man looked up and the light of recognition went off in his face, the man replied, "ROGER?" To say that all Hell broke loose did not even come close. Pure pandemonium reigned! Roger and George dove across the tables to reach the man in the wheelchair, tables, cutlery, water glasses and food went flying as they clawed their way across the tables.
The Administrator looked dumbstruck as his guests sat on the floor holding one of his patients and crying. The man they were holding had not spoken a word since he had been brought to the hospital several years previously. Roger looked up through his tears and said, "This man is Jacob Robinson, Founder of Robinson Farms and Schools! He is MY DADDY!" He held Jacob in his arms, rocking him back and forth. George was frantically looking for a telephone, he drove a poor secretary from her desk as he wildly dialed the number of the front desk at Robinson Ranch!
REUNION
Roger refused to let go of Jacob, he stood up and carried the man into the Visitor's Sitting Room, while George was on the phone, frantically trying to tell Robby and Buddy what had happened.
Jacob had lost a lot of weight and his younger son, Roger had grown into a giant of a man. He had no problems holding his father in his arms and cradling him like a baby!
George brought the telephone over so that Jake could hear and speak to Robby and Buddy. He had difficulty speaking at first, but, in the excitement, he began to speak easier. For more than an hour, they all talked, Jake was amazed at what had taken place, to him, it seemed like only a few days had passed and he found it difficult to understand how fifteen years had gone by!
As soon as the telephone conversation had ended, both Robby and Buddy were headed to White River. Going cross-country by horse remained the quickest method of travel in the mountains.
The poor horses were nearly blown by the time they arrived in White River, the two men had pushed the horses and themselves to the edge of their endurance!
They were going to ask Simon to take them down to Big Sur in California. When they got to the First Aid Station, The pilot already had the helicopter warming up, Gus was standing there, he had beaten Robby and Buddy in the race to the First Aid Station. He had used trails that the other men did not know about.
Simon said to the pilot, "You have been telling me how fast this damned thing will go, now's your chance to prove it!"
Soon, they were cruising over the Sierra Nevada Mountains at what seemed to be more than 200 miles per hour, headed to the Redwood Country of Big Sur. When they finally got there, both Buddy and Robby beat feet for the hospital, not even waiting for the blades to spin down. Simon and Doc were hot on their heels, had either Robby or Buddy stopped, they would have been trampled.
Roger was still sitting in the Lounge, holding Jacob in his arms, not willing to let go of him in fear he would disappear again. Simon followed them into the building and did his own examination, to ensure to himself that Jacob was not being overtaxed by all the sudden attention.
Jacob remembered Simon and the two men had a short conversation. Simon told him what his sons had been doing and Jake just shook his head in wonder, he remembered his two sons as young boys, he did not know they were giants and fully grown men!
The two boys even spent the night in Jacob's room, one on each side of him throughout the night! By the next morning, they had pretty much decided he wasn't going to disappear, so only one of them at a time, stood guard.
The flood of telephone calls back and forth between Big Sur and Robinson Ranch was non-stop, everyone who had ever known Jacob Daly Robinson wanted to congratulate him and every guest room on the Ranch was taken by those waiting for his arrival, and the tents were erected, no person in the overload of people, was going to be turned away!
Present and former members of the Robinson Ranch Ranger Scouts descended on the Ranch, many of the former members had stuffed themselves into their Ranger Scout Uniforms, whole sizes and a decade too small.
By "Arrival Day", there were 14 Ranger Scout Platoons drawn up in front of the old Ranch House, along with 6 Mounted Ranger Scout Search Platoons directing traffic. Doc had elected himself Master of Ceremonies and he was hard at work by 6 am of that day.
Jacob had spent the first night back at the First Aid Station in White River and, when all was ready, Doc sent the helicopter back to White River to retrieve the four brothers and their father.
As the helicopter settled to the ground, the Robinson Ranch High School Band began the Ruffles and Flourishes and, as one person, the entire crowd stood, it was so quiet, they all heard the hinges creak on the helicopter hatch as Robby opened the door.
A dozen boys, all Junior Ranger Scouts pushed the portable stairs into place and then stood like side boys on either side of the stairway.
As Jacob was helped out of the helicopter to stand on the portable stairs, a great shout went up from the crowd, celebrating the man who had made it possible that they all be rescued and given a chance to grow up, had finally come home!
They ALL felt it fitting that, as they had been welcomed to Robinson Ranch, so should THE ROBINSON be welcomed home. Jake, couldn't say a word, his face was covered in tears and he had to be carried down the stairs by Robby and Roger.
Buddy went in front and George brought up the rear. They had his wheelchair ready at the foot of the stairs and they wheeled him to the truck ramp, where delivery trucks usually delivered their loads. They rode the flatbed truck up to Ranch High School, where a reception had been set up in the rotunda. There were more than twenty thousand Graduates of Robinson Ranch, all screaming welcome to THE ROBINSON!
They did not push and shove, just to be able to see the man who had provided the safe haven that saved their lives was enough! Gus and his Indian Cowboys set up the lines and guided each person by Jacob, where they could see him and wave hello.
Towards afternoon, Jacob began to tire and Gus and his crew took him back to the Ranch House and Doc insisted he take a nap. The Ranger Scout Platoons and the Search Platoons surrounded the house, standing guard throughout the night.
The next day, they put on demonstrations for Jacob of how they Rescued lost children and brought them home to The Ranch. Over the next few days, Jake was given tours of all their facilities, he found what had been done in his name was almost beyond belief and, when the office staff produced a roster of 167,000 names of boys and girls who had been Rescued, he broke down in tears and hugged the four brothers, he considered all four of them to be his own sons.
REQUEIM
Heads of state, local and the national government came to honor Jacob Robinson, but the ones he treasured most were eight year old twins, Amy and David Lucas. They broke away from the group leader and ran to Jacob in his wheelchair as he passed by. They held his hands and said, "Thank you Mr. Papa for saving us."
Unfortunately, time and his injuries had taken a toll on Jacob Robinson and he needed to rest frequently. Doc worried and fussed over him, knowing what few others had recognized, Jacob Daly Robinson's heart was failing him.
Three weeks after he had been brought home, Jacob Robinson suffered a massive heart attack and lapsed into a coma. The joy that had been celebrated turned to grief and they waited for this great man to die.
The four Brothers were beyond grief and Gus and Billy Yellowfeather were only marginally better. They were numb with disbelief that Jacob was going to be taken from them once more.
It was Doc who straightened them all out, he shouted at them one evening at supper, "Are you all going to destroy what you built in Jake's Name? Are you going to destroy all those men, women, boys and girls you saved in Jake's Name? Has all this been for nothing? The kids are worth nothing? All your works, tears, blood and sweat was for nothing? If you are going to throw it all away, then I want NOTHING to do with you! You shame the memory of my friend, Jake Robinson! Jake did not want fame, he despised glory. He sent you four boys out into this world to do what he could not and now you are ready to turn your back on all that you built in his name!"
Robby looked at Buddy, shame in both their eyes.
Robby and Buddy stood on the porch and announced, "Our Father, Jacob Robinson, is dying, but his dream, ROBINSON RANCH CHILDREN'S HOMES will live on, it will grow where it is needed, no child shall be turned away!"
So it was that Jake Robinson died a dignified death mourned by all who knew him and all who had been saved in his name. The four Brothers, Robert and Roger Robinson and Buddy and George Davis remained as a family for the remainder of their lives, guiding Robinson Ranch in their care of children.
What they had built together, they expanded into a world-wide service to children, following the soldiers in during each war, following the relief services in during each famine or violent storm and following the doctors in following each outbreak of sickness.
The four brothers believed in leading from the front, none of them enjoyed a galloping desk. Wherever they went, they were backed up by people whose last name was Yellowfeather or they were closely related to someone who carried that name.
Roger was the last of his Family, at the young age of 96 years he was leading a Ranger operation into Malaysia, where floods and earthquakes had begun a terrible famine. It was there that he contracted an awful tropical disease and died before healthcare could get to him.
The outpouring of grief was worldwide and those remaining closest to him dedicated themselves to carrying on. What the four brothers had built became a self-sustaining world organization that transcended nations and their arbitrary boundaries.
Where children were in danger, no government dared say, "NO"! Yet, despite this, the problems were not ended. Governments may decree, but only if the people listen and there remained those who did not listen, except to their bigoted preachers. Hate is always easier to spread than love and, it seemed that fundamentalist bigots thrived on human misery and hate. Those bigots formed an alliance with the unlikely name of "God's People" and began a campaign to dismantle those dens of perdition, The Robinson Ranch Children's Homes.
Roger's Foster Grandson, Peter Robinson, now led the worldwide organization in the same way his Grandfather had led, from the front. When he stepped off the plane for the long drive to Greer, he was met by a seething crowd being exhorted by screaming leaders to destroy the abuser of children, Peter Robinson, and tear down his empire of slavery!
Two platoons of Rangers formed a flying wedge as they dove into the crowd to surround Peter. They extracted him and got him into an armored truck that whisked him away and headed for Greer at top speed.
Peter was shaken, he could not understand the crowd's hatred for him and the work that his organization did among the poor children of the world.
When they got to Greer, John Dacus, the Senior Ranger Platoon Leader turned on the television and showed him the God's Own Channel. It showed a fire and brimstone preacher exhorting an adoring mob to wipe out the Robinson Slavery Camps.
Peter sat, looking on in horror as the angry mob stoned two children because they slept in the same bed with each other. They were both young twin brothers who looked to be about 6 years old!
He looked up at his staff and said, "Let us fight fire with fire, we have the funds, let us purchase our own broadcasting system and show people what we really do!?"
It was a long and bloody campaign, one that Peter did not survive. He was in Salt Lake City, giving a speech when he was shot. While his death was tragic, it galvanized his supporters like nothing had done before. Large crowds of Ranch Supporters and Graduates began showing up at God's People rallies, bringing children with them from a local Robinson Ranch Home.
Clean Children!
Well Fed Children!
Happy Children!
Behaved Children!
Smart Children!
In Saint Louis, a 15-year-old boy stood before the crowd and said, "Evil thrives where good people do nothing!" Young Jake Trimble's words rang around the globe, he was interviewed on television, and asked to speak at rallies, he led marches and held candlelight "sit-ins" until governments passed laws reigning in the bigots.
The bigots were finally defeated, not by laws and ordinances, they were defeated by the words of a teenaged boy, his simple words led thousands to protest the bigots. As the empire of hate began to crumble, it was discovered that they had been running slavery camps, where young children were taught to be household servants, farm workers and sex slaves to the wealthy.
When pictures of the child slave camps began to hit the news services, the leadership of "God's People" had to go into hiding. When Alfred Goings, the self-proclaimed Prophet of God was finally apprehended, he was found laying in a warehouse, his own child slaves had turned on him and had beaten him senseless.
The rise of the bigots was short, but the payment was made by the children they had abused, many would have nightmares for the rest of their lives, even to the point they had to be cared for in mental institutions!
Young Jake Trimble swore he would make a difference, he went to college, where he excelled and, after he graduated, he began working with the Ranger Scout Platoons. He forged them into a mighty force to protect homeless children, armed with only batons, they put the Fear of God in those who still believed in the hate message of "God's People"
Jake rose through the Ranger Scout Platoons and was eventually elected Chairman of Robinson Farm Children's Homes. A position he would hold for more than 50 years. Wherever he went, the children would chant, "Jake, Jake, Jake." He never knew if it was for him they were chanting or for the memory of Jacob Robinson, but, either way, if his kids were clean, fed and cared for, it didn't matter.
TBC
This story will be continued in THE RAGE OF DRAGONS.