Chapter 2

Christopher was hauling in a large catch of Salmon off the San Juan Island shore. He pulled in the biggest catch he had ever gotten in the past 3 years he had been fishing. He sat down after the haul and took out his pipe and smoked it. He liked being at sea, it was good it was refreshing, and things were always better when he was on the water.

He thought back to when he first came to the Northwest, to Seattle that is. He had a wonderful time on that 6-month voyage with Captain Clancy. In fact, he pulled his pipe out and remembered that was a bittersweet moment, when he and his sister Molly arrived to see their sister Candy. Little did they know that their mother was going to die, and they would be orphans, "Presbyterian Orphans" as he called it then. He smiled the years they lived in Seattle, When Candy had married Jeremy Bolt and he adopted them formally, although Christopher preferred to keep the Pruitt name, he had found a friend and a sort of big brother and mentor in Jeremy.

"Hey Chris!" Joe, shouted from the cabin on the deck, "What are you doing? Don't you think we ought to finish this catch and call it a day?"

"Sure, sure, 'bucko'" a favorite saying of Clancy's, "whatever you say!" he stood up and along with the other fellows took care of cleaning and filleting the fish. Once that was done, they headed back to shore. The shoreline was an old fishing ground that His wife, Merilee's family had been allowed to keep by the government because she was married to a white man. Chris, at first only married her to help her family keep their ancestral hunting and fishing grounds but as he had gotten to know and learn from his relatives all the tricks of fishing and hunting, he soon came to be in love with her. He was always receiving letters from his sister talking all about how Seattle had grown and how Jake and Melanie were doing, and Molly wrote as well although her letters got to him about 6 months to year later. He had told Candy that he had married but had not told her why. She thought he had fallen in love with the semi truthful letters he wrote.

"So, Chris, let's get a beer and figure out the finances later!" Eddie said as he grabbed his coat to head to the local saloon, well the only saloon in town at the time.

"Not tonight Eddie, Merilee asked me to come home early, said she had a surprise for me. Said it came on the mail boat this morning. So, I guess I better go see what it is."

"Well, if it came on a mailboat then it won't be another young'un?" Eddie and Joe and the others laughed.

Christopher got on his horse and rode from Friday Harbor to the little town called Argyle. It was a quiet town a small grocery/feed store as well as a schoolhouse. He stopped the horse when he got to the front yard and let the horse go to the field for a little while. He could smell something good. When she cooked it was either Salish or Lummi food, sometimes a steak but not too often. He washed up in the washtub located outside the kitchen door and then came in. Their little house was a 4 bedroom, with a small kitchen and living eating area. He walked into the kitchen and saw her at the stove. Immediately he went to her and putting his arms around her waist he gave her a featherlight kiss on the back of her neck.

"Mommy, Mommy" the littlest one came running into the kitchen look what cousin Jake brought me!" Merrilee looked at her baby girl and smiled, Christopher, stunned went to the living area and saw Jake standing there with the other 3.

"Hi uncle Chris!" He was beaming.

"Well, I'll be, what are you doing here? Does your mother know you came here? Does Jeremy know?" Chris said intending to be more paternal than an uncle.

"Yes and no!"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, can we go outside and talk? Without the kids?" Jake asked.

"Merrilee we will be back!" Chris said as he nodded to Jake to follow.

"I want to go too daddy."

"Not yet my little one, go on in and help your mother keep the others inside as well, Jake and I need to talk."

They strolled out to the barn where Chris caught his horse and started to rub him down. "Okay, spill it!"

"Uncle Chris…"
"Don't uncle me, you and I are like brothers, now what happened?"

"My sister Melanie got married and I left."

Chris nodded; this might not be good he thought.

"I talked to mom and dad, then we sort of got busy with Melanie's wedding and all of a sudden it was like time flew and now I am here." Jake said with a nervous smile on his face.

"Again, do they know you left?" Chris asked with a worried concern on his face.

"I suppose now they do, I left a note, said I was coming up here to visit with you."

"So, why did you think you wanted to come up here? What were you looking for? Or what are you looking for? Not much work unless you want to farm or log for the Hudson Bay Company, or even fish. My business isn't really all that big that I can take on an extra worker?"

Jake looked at Chris, he realized then that maybe his adventure was going to be a little harder than he expected. "Chris, I was hoping to come up here for a while to work at the UW labs, and to learn more about forestry. I signed up for the class and I am waiting to find out if I have been accepted."

Chris looked at him, he thought for a moment and then said, "Well as Jason is always telling us we are family, and we can figure out what to do tomorrow. Let's go in to eat now. Merrilee has some fine Salish food ready for us." Chris patted Jake on the back, and they headed back to the house for dinner.

Candy found the letter on Jakes bed. She was reading it the third time when Jeremy came in, he said; "What's that?"

"A letter from Jake!" Candy said quietly. "Apparently he has decided to go visit Chris!" She just sat on the bed and looked at Jeremy.

"Did he say why?" Jeremy asked not sure how to react to his only son, leaving home without so much as a plan or letting them know.

Candy said: "Jeremy, he signed up for a class at the UW and said that the class is going to be on San Juan Island at the UW Labs. I know we talked to him a little, but I guess with Melanie's wedding plans and all we did not get a chance to talk further. He did not even say goodbye to us!" Candy started to cry. Not only had Melanie married and left their home but now their son left but with no preparation at all.

Jeremy, sat with her and helped dry her tears and said, "We know that he is going to see Christopher so that should help. He will have a place to stay." Jeremy thought of something else.

"Candy, would you like to take a trip to the San Juan Islands? I hear that it is beautiful there this time of year. "

Candy looked at him, and thought a moment, "Yes Jeremy, Yes I would. I would like to meet Christopher's wife and family as well. I suppose we should write to Christopher that we are coming up to visit. And then…"

Jeremy looked at her, she was smiling again and that made him feel a whole lot better. "I will see if we can leave in a couple of weeks, I am sure that Jason and Joshua have everything in hand.

"Oh, thank you so much Jeremy." Candy put her arms around him and held him close and he held her close.

Jake woke up the next day, Chris was gone, fishing again. He said good morning to Merilee and the kids, and she sent the oldest Mark with him to show him around. They took the horses and Mark pointed out the sight where American Camp once stood a whole 20 years earlier.

"They fired no shots; the problem was solved by a guy named Kaiser Wilhelm!" Mark said.

"All over a pig! Well, that seems kind of stupid to me. A war, a pig war that had no skirmishes, or fighting or anything!"

"Yeah, but somehow they lived side by side and even went to events together, like, one Christmas the British went to the American Camp and the next the Americans went to the British Camp." Mark said to Jake as he showed him the views from the redoubt.

"So, Mark, what do you think you will be doing later?"
Mark thought about this for a while. He was interested in numbers and would like to attend high school but here on the island being a half-breed was not something that would get him into school. "I don't know, I really like working with numbers. If dad lets me, I would like to do his bookkeeping and maybe see if we can't turn a profit sometime with all the fish he catches, but he just gives them away sometimes because he wants to help others who don't have any food to eat."

Jake nodded, that sounds like Chris had learned a lot from all the Bolt brothers. As they were coming down the hill from the redoubt, he noticed someone running as if in trouble. Mark saw it too.

"Hey that is Lisbeth, she is Peter's daughter, who is that chasing her?" suddenly Mark recognized the man chasing her. "Come on Jake" Mark said we must go help her! I will explain later" he kicked his horse and rode after her, Jake followed close behind. They came upon two men riding horses swinging ropes as if trying to catch cattle, only except it was a girl they were trying to catch. Mark rode up to the one and grabbed the rope out of his hand, Jake rode up, jumped from his horse, and knocked the other one down off the horse. Both young men fought as hard and as strong as they could. One of the men who had been holding the rope got the upper hand with Mark and was about to strangle him, when a third man rode up and stopped it.

He was an older man; he grabbed the man trying to strangle Mark and stopped. Jake had his man down and hog tied. The older man looked at them and said:

"Thank you, for recusing my daughter. These men are from the Hudson Bay Company and they try to take the young girls away from their homes. My name is Peter Friday. I own the sheepherding farm just above the town of Friday Harbor. And I know Mark, but I don't know you?" Peter said with curiosity in his eyes.

"I am Jacob Bolt; My Uncle is Christopher Pruitt. "

"I know him, he is a good man. Well, thank you again for saving Lisabeth.

Lisabeth had come back and was now close enough to see her father and two others with him. "Papa, I know Mark but who is the other man?"

Peter looked at Lisabeth and said, "This is Jacob Bolt, he is visiting his uncle Christopher Pruitt."

Jake looked at her and smiled, she sure was beautiful, she had long dark hair, dark eyes and well…he had to say something, so he just looked at her and said, "Pleased to meet you Miss Friday."

She winced, she did not like her last name so she said; "Please to meet you Mr. Bolt, you can call me Lisa."

"You can call me Jake."

The two of them just stood there until someone coughed. Lisabeth's father saw the interaction and noted that he may have to keep an eye on this young man Jacob Bolt.

On the way home Mark looked at Jake, you're twitterpated!

Jake looked at him, 'What do you mean?"

Mark smiled and said, "you look like a lovesick puppy!" then he kicked his horse and started to race home. Jake was close after him.