AN: Okay, so this is another story that got pushed aside for NaNo and Christmas. Sorry if you have to reread to remember what was going on. If it helps any, I had to reread it myself to write this chapter. Hope you all enjoy it. Faith and Gabriel's date will be the next chapter!
Squatting near the fire, Gabriel turned the fish over in the pan before glancing to check on the two boys. While he was cooking dinner, the boys were following through on their promise to unload the wagon if he let them try fishing before they lost the light. Gabriel had acquiesced to the request with the stipulation that they needed to gather wood for the fire and get the tents up before they headed for the river. He had pitched a tent in the dark before and it was an endeavor he always tried to avoid.
Christian and Vincent were carrying the bundles that Lillian had made up for them toward the tent they were sharing. Gabriel's smaller one-person shelter that he used on the trail had been pitched right next to it. So far the boys had been attentive and cooperative.
They had not had much light left by the time they headed to the river but the fish were cooperative. The boys had both caught good sized trout within minutes. Though Gabriel had not gotten a bite, the two trout along with a can of beans and Eleanor's cornbread would make a good meal for the three of them. If any of them needed a snack later, there was apples, granola, nuts or dried fruit. Not to mention, Gabriel had the marshmallow, graham crackers and chocolate for a treat later.
Gabriel turned his attention back to the food he was cooking over the fire. He used a spoon to stir the beans, wanting them to heat evenly and not scorch on the bottom. The crackle and pops of a fire were a symphony all their own. It was a sound he had always enjoyed, ever since he was a kid out camping with his father. Those trips had just been he and his dad because his four older sisters were not interested in spending time underneath the stars.
Being able to give these boys this experience brought those memories back to him. He could only hope that ten or more years from now, Vincent and Christian would look back upon this trip with fond memories.
"The wagon is unloaded, Mountie Gabe," Christian said.
Looking back over his shoulder, Gabriel saw the two boys approaching. "Pull up a patch of grass then, boys," Gabriel told them. Vincent and Christian took seats on either side of him. "The fish is just about done," he told them.
"It smells good," Christian said. "Even better than when Miss Eleanor fries fish in a pan."
"Fish over a fire is always better than in a pan," Gabriel informed them. "But maybe we keep that between the three of us and not tell Miss Eleanor."
Christian nodded his agreement.
"Miss Eleanor does get defensive when it comes to her cooking," Vincent commented as Gabriel began to divide the food up on the three plates, getting a chuckle from all three of them.
Gabriel past out the plates and the three sat down beside the fire as the darkness set in.
The younger children had insisted on waiting on sunset before roasting marshmallows. Lillian had a feeling some of it was just an attempt to stay up late. However, as it was a Friday night, and as Grace pointed out, Christian and Vincent probably were not going to sleep at their bedtimes, Lillian had acquiesced. So while Grace had entertained the children, Eleanor had cleaned up from dinner and Sam had escorted Maggie and Faith home before getting the fire started, Lillian had started cutting fabric on the diningroom table.
By the time Sam had said the fire was ready, Lillian had all the fabric cut and was ready to take a break from Faith's new dress. While Grace hurried outside with the children, her earlier exhaustion from work gone, Lillian stretched her arms over her head, stretching out her back muscles. As she lowered her arms, Sam appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the dinning room. The man held her shawl which hung on a peg in the kitchen, in his hands.
Walking toward him, Lillian smiled as he draped the shawl over her shoulders. "Thank you," she murmured.
"You are welcome," Sam replied. "Was Eleanor joining us?"
Lillian shook her head. "She said she was going to relax in her room with a book."
Sam nodded his acknowledgment of the information as he offered his arm to Lillian. The redhead slipped her hand through it, and let herself be led outside to where Sam had created the fire. He had even brought chairs out for the adults to sit in and had spread a couple of blankets for the children. Miraculously, Grace had managed to get the children to sit quietly on the blankets as they waited for Sam and Lillian.
"Can we start now?" Sophia asked, as Lillian and Sam stepped up to fire.
Lillian laughed. "Yes, " she replied. "Let's get stated."
There was a flurry of activity as children scrambled for marshmallows and the pokers to roast them on. Sam seated Lillian in one of the chairs, put a marshmallow on the poker and handed it to her.
"Thank you, kind sir," Lillian said lightly as she took it from Sam. She held the poker out over the flames to roast it slowly.
"Mine is on fire!" Fred exclaimed, gaining everyone's attention.
Looking in that direction, Lillian saw the marshmallow on the boy's poker was covered in flames.
"Just blow on it, Freddie," Sam told the boy, taking the few steps necessary to be by his side.
Freddie did so, putting the marshmallow out. Still, the boy looked close to tears until Sam took that marshmallow from him, proclaiming it just the way he liked it. Handing Freddie another poker and marshmallow, he helped the boy begin roasting another one - more slowly this time.
As she rotated her own marshmallow a little, letting the flames crisp another part of the sugary treat, Lillian mind went to her two oldest charges. She had a feeling these three were not going to be the only ones up past their bedtime, though she did hope that Vincent and Christian did not give Gabriel too hard of a time. Surely a Mountie though could handle two teenage boys.
Gabriel checked his pocket watch by the firelight. It was a little after midnight and things over in the boys' tent finally seemed to be quieting down. After dinner, they had roasted marshmallows and squished them and the chocolate between the graham crackers. The treat had been a big hit. Afterwards, he and the boys had gone to the nearby stream to brush their teeth and wash their hands and faces as well as their dinner dishes. He had let Vincent carry the lantern on the way down, while he took his rifle. He didn't expect to run into anything, human or animal, but it never hurt to be prepared. Luckily, neither boy seemed to question the rifle as they chatted excitedly, drawing Gabriel into their conversation at times.
After returning from the stream, Gabriel had told the boys a couple of mild ghost stories before sending them to their tent. Knowing from being a kid camping himself that they were not going to go right to sleep, Gabriel had kept the fire going and stayed by the fire. Sure enough, whispered voices could be heard from their tent for a good twenty minutes. Gabriel didn't scold them. Camping trips were not about bedtimes, after all. Eventually the voices died away but then the boys started hearing the sounds of the night around them. Christian and Vincent took turns popping their head out of the flap of their tent to ask "what was that." Gabriel patiently told them. It wasn't until a coyote call drifted through the night that the boys left their tent to sit at his side. He assured them that the coyote was still quite a distance away and instructed them to listen to the slight differences in the calls. Like his father had with him, Gabriel tried to make the lonesome calls sound like a mysterious symphony of the night rather than something scary. Eventually he was able to convince the two boys to return to their tent.
That had been about twenty minutes ago. Even the coyotes had moved on, leaving an eerie quietness in their wake. However, it seemed that even the boys had settled down for the night, so Gabriel put out the fire for the night, and using the lantern moved to his own tent. He wasn't sure how much sleep he would get before one or both of the boys were awake again, but he planned on getting what he could.
Gabriel was awoken a couple of times before the sun started to make his appearance. Both times were for a call of nature, though neither boy wanted to leave the campsite on their own, which was fine by Gabriel. At least there was no chance of them losing their way and getting lost.
In the grey morning dusk before the sun rose over the horizon, Gabriel climbed from his tent to begin breakfast preparations. The first priority was getting a fire going again, with putting on some coffee for him, a close second. He had just taken his first sip of coffee when he heard the whistle in the distance. Looking in the direction, he and the boys had come from the night before, Gabriel saw Sam standing near some trees. After a quick glance toward the boy's tent, he made his way toward Sam, a coffee mug in each hand. While keeping a close eye on the boys' tent, less they stir, Gabriel had a quick conversation with Sam, going over their plan to give the boy's some 'real' tracking experience. After the conversation, Sam took his coffee mug and found a place to wait out of sight while Gabriel and the boys had breakfast.
Gabriel was stirring the oatmeal and cooking some scrambled eggs over the fire when Christian and Vincent found their way out of the tent. The morning grey had given way to sunshine and Gabriel and his charges ate breakfast to the morning song of the birds. Though the boys were excited to go fishing again, they were also looking forward to a hike, though Gabriel knew the 'hike' would turn out a bit differently than the boys were expecting, though he still fully expected them to have fun.
After eating, they went to the stream to wash dishes and brush their teeth again. They then filled their canteens in a nearby spring. Gabriel purposely drug out the activities as long as he could, giving Sam time to do what he was suppose to be doing. When they did return to their campsite, things were in a bit of a disarray. As discussed, Sam had strewn a few things about or put them on their side. Though to Gabriel's practiced eye, he could see the deliberateness of the mess, to Vincent and Christian it looked like a mess.
"Our fishing poles are gone," Christian announced, having noticed the missing items. Both he and Vincent looked toward Gabriel.
"I guess if you two want to go fishing this afternoon then you are going to have to track down who took the fishing poles," Gabriel told him.
"You know though, don't you?" Vincent asked.
Gabriel simply shrugged his shoulders. "I was with the two of you the whole time," the Mountie pointed out. "Let's look around the campsite for any clues. Did our thief accidently leave behind any items that belong to him? Are there any markings in the ground to indicate what direction he may have gone in? Broken branches or trampled grass might indicate the route he took."
Christian and Vincent both immediately stopped worrying about whether Gabriel knew what had happened to their campsite and instead started looking around the area. He was proud that instead of making it a competition of who could find clues first, the two boys instead started working together. It also didn't take long for them to decide that since the fishing poles were what was missing that they should look near the wagon where the fishing poles had been lying first.
Gabriel followed the boys. It was Christian who found Sam's bandana, that the handyman had left to make it look like it had gotten snagged on the wagon. They even recognized it as one Sam often carried. Next Vincent noticed a deliberate footprint that Sam had left by making the ground wet in one area. It was at this point that Gabriel stepped in with a bit of information, showing the boys what the footprint could tell them.
"So, as front of the footprint is pointed in that direction, we should go that way to look for more clues?" Vincent asked, pointing in the direction whoever had made the footprint was walking when leaving the print.
"Yes," Gabriel replied. "It doesn't mean for sure that is the direction he went, with only one print as he could have changed directions, or if you have a smart person you are tracking they might try throwing you off by leaving false clues, but given what you have, that is a logical next step."
Intrigued by the exercise, Vincent and Christian started off slowly in the decided upon direction. Both boys intently studied their surroundings looking for the next indicator of where the 'thief' with their poles had gone.
For the next hour, the boys searched and read the clues they found. Though Gabriel explained how to read the clues or provided hints, he tried to let the boys find the clues for themselves. When they missed one that resulted in them missing a change of direction, he let them go on for a while. When they came to a stream, Christian pointed out that they were leaving footprints in the moist ground on this side of the stream and if the person they were tracking had come this far, his prints would have already been there. The two boys started retracing their steps, and found the trampled long grasses that lined a field that they had walked past earlier.
When they did find Sam, the man was sitting on a boulder along a wooded path, the fishing poles leaning nearby. Seeing them approach Sam had put his hands up in surrender.
"You found me. I give up."
Christian and Vincent laughed at the man's antics. "Why did you take our poles, Mr. Sam?" Christian asked.
"Mountie Gabriel there thought you would have more fun trying to track someone than if he just told you about tracking."
"It was fun," Vincent said. "Though now we have to clean up the mess you made at the campsite," the boy accused.
Sam chuckled. "I will go back and clean it up myself," he told the boy. "Perhaps you and Christian should put those fishing poles to use."
"Can we Mountie Gabe?" Christian asked, he and Vincent having picked up the poles that Sam had 'appropriated'.
"We can," Gabriel told the boy. "We'll even try a different place," he added as he pointed up the trail they were on. "There is a good fishing place, not far up that way. There is a spring on the way that we can fill our canteens at."
The boy's enthusiasm was all the answer that Gabriel needed. As he had put the trowel in the first aid kit he was carrying, they would be able to find bait once they got close to the stream. As he followed Christian and Vincent past Sam and down the trail, the other man said quietly.
"Make sure you rest that ankle while fishing."
It told Gabriel what he had suspected, that Sam had noticed him favoring his ankle a bit. Gabriel just nodded, even as he continued after the boys. Sam headed off through the woods, content to find his own path back to the campsite.
Gabriel hadn't gone far when he saw Vincent pull Christian to a stop up ahead. "Hold up, Christian. Mountie Gabe is under doctor's orders not to run, remember."
Gabriel chuckled to himself. The two boys had good hearts, even if like all boys their natural enthusiasm and curiosity caused them to get into minor trouble - like being in the infirmary instead of on the boardwalk when the fire broke out, or breaking a window with a baseball.
The boys waited on the trail for him to catch up and then the three of them continued on at a slower pace. As they walked, Christian and Vincent started peppering him with questions that had come to mind but not been answered during the exercise. Gabriel happily answered them, glad that the boys were showing such interest.
Lillian blinked her eyes as the seam she was trying to sew got blurry. Even without looking at the clock on her dresser, she knew it was time to take a break. Removing her foot from the treadle of the sewing machine, she made sure the fabric was in a good position to not slip from the machine before getting to her feet. Most of her day had been spent working on Faith's dress and Lillian could feel it in her tense muscles.
Getting carefully to her feet, Lillian stretched her hands over her head. The movement felt good, and as she lowered her hands she moved to the nearby window. Keeping her adoptive mother's sewing machine in her room had its advantages and disadvantages. Though it kept it safe from any accidental mishaps from the children, on days like to day it made her feel secluded even in a house with five other people.
Looking out the window, she saw that most of the other occupants of the house were out in the yard. True to her word, Faith had come by shortly after breakfast today to help keep an eye on the children. The new town doctor was sitting in the front yard with Sophia and Mary Louise. The three were braiding grasses together, though from this distance Lillian couldn't tell what they were making. Grace was supervising Fred who was happily digging in the dirt in what would eventually be the garden with a trowel. As Grace pointed out, Fred could have fun digging and part of the process of breaking the soil to plant in a couple of weeks would be taken care of.
Lillian watched them for a bit, glad that all the kids were enjoying themselves. Sam's report of the adventure he and Gabriel had created for Vincent and Christian was very entertaining. He had stopped by on his way back from the campsite to check in with her before going into town to help Pearl with some things that needed fixed at her bake shop. Though Sam had not given her a lot of details, saying that he didn't want to spoil Vincent and Christian's tales. She had no doubt that much of the talk tomorrow evening would be about the camping trip, though she doubted anyone would mind.
Turning from the window, Lillian looked at the material on the sewing machine. She wasn't quite ready to return to it. Instead, she headed out of her room. A short break from sewing would probably help more than hinder her. Perhaps she would make some lemonade. She would find it refreshing and she was sure the others would as well.