Chapter 2

The Bolt brothers camp was a good size camp. The men that worked for them were honest loggers. There was Rich Lacker who was the camp foreman, Olaf Gustafson known as 'Big Swede,' who was one of the loggers and the right-hand man for Jason after the foreman. There was Billy Li, a Chinese man who had come over to help build the railroads but also was a good logger, in fact, he was the one who was called upon to break up the logs when they were being floated down to the saw mill, owned by a couple of brothers William and Conrad Stewart. They were the closest saw mill at the time. There were a couple of Indians from the nearby tribes who also did work for the Bolt Logging Company. A few trappers also had become loggers as well, although they preferred to trap in the summer time and work on logging in the winter.

The camp was above the little town of Seattle. It consisted of a mercantile, a blacksmith shop, a saloon, and a small school for those children of some of the loggers and other citizens of the town of Seattle. Joshua Bolt was fourteen, his brother Jason had left him with Lottie, the saloon owner, but he spent most of his time up on the mountain with the loggers. He was young and wanted to do everything he could to learn about this logging business, but he also wanted to have fun or do things that his older brother considered him not old enough such as topping off trees.

"But I am old enough!" Joshua said to the loggers, especially to Big Swede and Rich when he was up on the mountain.

"Jason got to top off trees when he was 13!" Said Joshua again. Both Big Swede and Rich looked at him and said:

"No! your brother, who is our boss told us under no circumstance were you to climb to the top of the tree while he was gone!" said Rich.

"But I am the boss too!" said Joshua as he began to strap on the safety equipment. Big Swede stopped him and said:

" You are not the boss, yet! someday yes, but you have a lot to learn about being a boss! Even your brother had to learn it as well. It took him quite a while and a lot of help from other people as well!" said Big Swede.

"You don't start off being a boss, you start from the bottom first!" finished Big Swede and he took his hand off Joshua's shoulder. Joshua at first did not realize Swede's hand was off his shoulder, when he did, he was about to finish strapping on the safety equipment when Lottie arrived from the town. Her bartender Kevin, was driving the wagon. There were several crates on the wagon. They stopped just in front of Swede and Joshua and the other men.

"Joshua, it is good we found you here, we need help unloading the crates and I need you to work on my books for me." Lottie said smiling at him and the others. Joshua looked at Lottie and then at the men, all of them were smiling. Joshua knew they were happy to get rid of him, he just knew it! But what he didn't know was that they really wanted him to learn so he could be a good boss and a good worker as well. Swede was happy that one of the other loggers had snuck down to town and asked Lottie for her help. Jason had said that if the boys were any trouble to either Lottie or the loggers, they should help each other as much as possible. So, that is what they did. Not so much with Joshua now that he was older, but with Jeremy as well, who seemed to always be finding something to get into.

Josh, got in the wagon and headed back to town with Lottie and Kevin. When they got back Lottie sat with him after they had unloaded the crates and talked to him.

"Joshua, you know when your mother and father died, Jason had to become both mother and father to you and Jeremy. So, when he is away, he has had to find ways to take care of you and your brother without being around." She said. Joshua sat at the table drawing circles with his finger on the table. Lottie continued:

"You also know that he has asked me and the loggers to keep an eye on you and Jeremy when you are both here. So, sometimes you get a little out of hand for me, so I ask the loggers to help, but sometimes you get out of hand for the loggers as well. We want to keep you safe so we both watch over you. Do you understand?" She looked at him, then stopped his finger from making circles. He looked up, almost like a petulant child but something inside was changing and Lottie could see, he was beginning to understand a little.

"I suppose you are right Lottie, but it is so hard, right now. He took Jeremy to Olympia, he could have taken both of us, why he took Jeremy only, I don't know?" There was that sulky pout he would get whenever he was angry or pouting about something not being fair.

Lottie sat there thinking for a while and then said:

"You know, you got to go to Olympia without Jeremy, do you remember that?" he shook his head yes.

"Then why cant Jeremy go with Jason without you?" she asked Joshua sat there and had nothing to say to that. He knew she was right. It was Jeremy's turn but, he missed his brothers when they were away, he actually missed Jason, because he could ask him questions and get straight answers and sometimes when he asked the loggers, they would just play games with him instead of treating him like another coworker or at least an adult!

"Lottie, I am sorry, I didn't mean to seem that selfish, but I just want the others to accept me as an adult, not a child anymore, they still take things I ask and make a joke or tell me something is what it isn't, and I am tired of that. I am 14, Jason was already heading a crew at 14! I don't see why I cant at least do something like that!" said Joshua. Lottie looked at him. She had no words to explain so she said:

"Josh, I cant explain it, if you can be patient, maybe Jason will be able to explain it to you when he gets back. Now, lets get ready for the evening, okay?" she asked. Joshua nodded and got up to help her get things ready.

On a hill near Tacoma, two men, sat, without a fire. They were cold and hungry, but they had been tracking their prey for a day and a half now. They had seen them but lost them when it started to snow.

"Hey, you think they stopped at Maggie's cabin?" said one man

"That is possible, Maggie takes anyone in especially on a night like this!" the other said. Then there was silence and the one man said:

"I think we ought to pay Maggie a visit. What do you say!" said the first man who was wearing his long coat and a woolen hat on his head for warmth.

"I think that would be a good idea, we can get a hot meal and a warm bed as well!" said the other who was wrapped in his horse blanket and sat very close to his horse. They both stood up, threw the water from their cups onto the ground, jumped on their horses and rode towards the cabin. They knew Maggie, they had been with her many a time and knew that she was always partial to helping strangers, especially those that had a small child!

She had put the coffee and soup away and had cleaned up the mess, the man Jason was sleeping on the floor next to his brothers bed. She had given him some extra blankets to help him keep warm. She went to her bed and listened to the sound of the child sleeping and then fell asleep herself.

The men got to the cabin just as the sun was rising. They got off their horses and looked at the cabin. There was no signs of life, but the men knew better, that just meant everyone was sleeping soundly. They went up to the door and walked in.