It was actually Jason who did the carrying; Joshua handled the lantern, steadying Jason on the short climb back to the trail, and even managing to scoop up Jeremy's books and lunch pail when they got there.

"Which way?" Josh asked, holding the lantern up so that he could see Jason.

"The cabin's closer," Jason decided, "and warmer, once we get the fire started."

When they came in sight of the little building, Josh hurried ahead, leaving the lantern on the doorstep to light Jason's way. By the time Jason had gotten inside, Josh had a small fire going on the hearth and was digging sheets and blankets out of their mother's linen chest. He met Jason at the door, bringing in the lantern and shutting the door behind them.

"I'm going to need your help here, Josh," Jason huffed; Jeremy had grown too big to carry around like a child. "He's sound asleep."

Between them, they got him settled in his usual place on the bottom bunk and began pulling off his wet clothes. He began to wake as Joshua tugged at his boots, stirring against Jason's chest as the oldest Bolt tried to hold him upright and get his shirt off, and made a weak attempt at pulling away.

"Wha – cut it out, Josh; I'm tryin' to sleep."

Joshua stopped in mid-tug to study him a moment, then gave one more pull and the boot came free. "Take it easy a minute, and you can sleep all you want."

As soon as they had him down to his long johns, they let him lay down and heaped him with blankets. He shifted against the pillow a moment, settling; then heaved a deep sigh and sank into sleep again.

After a moment, Jason rose from beside the bed and moved slowly around the cabin, locating the lamps and oil and preparing to light a few from the lantern. He stopped uncertainly when he realized Joshua hadn't moved and was still watching Jeremy with a puzzled look on his face.

Jason frowned. "What is it, Josh?"

Joshua startled at the sound of his name, and looked up. "Nothing. I just never noticed it before."

"Noticed what?"

"When he talks in his sleep, he doesn't stutter."

Jason found his gaze drawn almost involuntarily to the sleeping boy in the bed; then Josh moved toward him to help light the lamps, and the moment was past.

XXXX

Friday morning found Joshua reading by the fire, keeping an eye on the still-sleeping Jeremy. Jason had gone up to camp to meet Big Swede and Dutch, to let them know where to start and what to try to accomplish, since they would be working without the Bolts today. He was also going to bring down the ledger book, so that he and Josh could spend some time in the afternoon catching up on their bookkeeping. Josh expected he'd be doing most of it himself, though. Jason had spent most of the night watching over Jeremy while Josh slept, and he was going to get his older brother to rest today if he had to tie him down.

Jeremy, on the other hand, was showing signs of sleeping for the rest of the year, at least. They had agreed to let him wake on his own, but Josh was beginning to wish it would happen soon. Jeremy had stirred once or twice since Jason left, and Josh found himself fighting the irrational urge to drop his book, loudly, just to have someone to talk to. It was too quiet in the little cabin; and Josh wanted to find out what had happened to Jeremy on the way home. Jason had made him promise to wait on that subject until he got back from camp, if Jeremy woke up before then.

Jeremy shifted again on the bed, and Josh got up to take a closer look. As he watched, Jeremy's eyes drifted open, closed, then popped open again, looking around in alarm. Josh quickly sat down on the side of the bed, catching Jeremy's arm as he moved to sit up.

"It's okay. You fell asleep coming home last night."

Jeremy looked at him blankly, then glanced away momentarily, apparently sorting through his memories of the previous night. Then he relaxed and eased himself back down on the pillow, nodding his understanding. "Where's J-Jason?"

"He went up to camp for a little while, to get Swede and Dutch started. He'll be back in a bit. How're you feeling?"

Jeremy shrugged, giving his brother a half-hearted attempt at a reassuring smile. "Tired and s-sore, mostly."

"How about hungry? We saved you some breakfast." When Jeremy nodded, Josh rose to go to the fireplace and spoon a bowlful of oatmeal from the pot that waited there. Jeremy was already sitting when he returned.

"Thanks," Jeremy said, and would have gone on; but at that moment the cabin door opened and Jason came in with the ledger tucked under his arm, his face breaking into a huge grin when he saw Jeremy.

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up! How are you this morning, brother?"

"I'm f-fine, and I wish everyone would q-quit asking," Jeremy replied, but with a smile to soften it.

"Good, good. Sorry I took so long, Josh – I had to clean up in camp. We just left that pot of stew sitting there. It's a wonder a bear didn't roam in and tear the place apart."

Josh looked over at Jeremy in time to see his brother look away, concentrating on the oatmeal as if it were the most important thing in the world. A glance at Jason revealed that he had seen it, too; Jeremy wasn't happy about having caused such an uproar. Time to change the subject.

"Well, I guess we should take a look at those books," Josh said, wincing inwardly at how awkward that sounded. They couldn't just dance around this all day, though, the matter of the fight and whatever had drawn Jeremy off the trail. Sooner or later they were going to have to discuss it.

Jeremy put his spoon down in the half-empty bowl and held it out toward Josh. "G-guess I wasn't as h-hungry as I thought." Josh took the bowl, and Jeremy slid back under the covers, rolling over to face the wall. "I'm going to g-get some more sleep."

"All right," Jason said neutrally, shooting Josh a look that spoke volumes. "You can have some more later. Josh, let's go bring in some more firewood."

To Josh's ear, that sounded even more lame than his own subject-changing attempt earlier, but he went along anyway, setting the bowl on the table and following Jason outside to the woodpile. Once there, Jason turned and leaned against it, gazing speculatively back at the closed cabin door. Josh waited, propped beside his brother; but Jason didn't seem inclined to say anything, and after only a few moments, Josh couldn't stand it any more.

"He'd just woken up when you came in. He's avoiding us by pretending to sleep."

"I know. Look, Josh, how about if you head over to the school. They probably haven't started yet, and Miss Halliday will worry if he's not there. See if you can get his lessons for today; it'll keep him busy over the weekend."

Josh didn't see how that was going to help anything, but he didn't suppose it would hurt, either. "All right. But you've got to get some sleep while I'm gone."

Jason smiled tiredly and nodded. "All right; done."