Chapter 8

Joshua and Jeremy were sleeping again in the room at Lottie's Saloon. Since Jason wasn't home, Lottie had decided that the boys would stay with her until he made it home. Christmas had come and gone and no one had said or done anything for Christmas. Jeremy was kind of sad and said something to Lottie but all Lottie said was:

"Jeremy, when Jason gets home, we will have a wonderful Christmas!"
"B-b-but Lottie, How c-c-come if it isn't Chris-Christmas day?" asked Jeremy. Lottie looked at the calendar she had up on the wall in her room where Jeremy was sitting and reading a book, or suppose to be reading.

"Jeremy, do you see what day it is?" He nodded yes, and then he said:

"It is the 27th of December, past Christmas!"

"Well, in England, it is still Christmas season! They celebrate the twelfth night!" Lottie said as she got up from the chair to clear the table in her room. It would soon be time for the afternoon crowd and she had to make supper for many of the loggers who came from the camp.

Jeremy was thinking about this then he asked:

"What is 'twelfth night'?" Lottie told him;

Back a long time ago in England, they would not celebrate Christmas on Christmas day but 12 days after when the three kings showed up to see Jesus. Well, each day, up to the 5th of January a gift was given and each day you had to remember the gift because on Epiphany, that was when the three kings came your gift would be for the Christ Child." Jeremy looked at her and asked her how to sing it. But just as Lottie was going to answer, Joshua came in with a load of wood for the fireplace in her room.

"Here you are, Miss Lottie!" Joshua said as he dropped the wood on the floor in front of the fireplace. Lottie stopped and looked at him and said:

"Joshua! What is that!" She pointed to the mess of wood on the floor and Joshua said:

"Well, it's the wood for your fireplace!" he said as he was about to walk out of the room. He was not happy with him at all. She stopped him turned him toward the mess and said;
"Part of the job of bringing in the wood for the fireplace is to place it neatly in the wood bin!" She said as quietly as she could and thought to herself:

"When did he get to be so much trouble? He never used to be like this!" She looked at him again and waited for him to start to clean the mess up. Jeremy stood up and went over to the wood pile and started to put the wood in the bin. Joshua just watched him do that. Lottie was angry and said:

"Joshua, just because your brother is not here does not mean that you can be sloppy about doing your chores! Jeremy, I want you to go to your room and put your books away, you have another chore all your own. Joshua, you will stay here and clean that mess up by putting the wood in the bin and you can sweep up the wood chips as well!" Jeremy went right away to his room and put his things away, his chore was getting things set up in the kitchen so that Lottie could have the meal prepped and ready. Joshua still stood looking at the mess. She looked at him, shook her head and started to walk out of the room but she stopped and said:

"I expect that to be cleaned up in a half hour. You come and find me when you are done!" Joshua nodded his head and still did not move. She walked out of the door and into the saloon, Jeremy was already in the kitchen taking out the pot that she used to make the soup and stews in.

"I don't know why she has to be so mean to me!" Joshua thought. He really didn't want to do this but because there was no one else around, she had asked him to bring the wood in, but she did not tell him he had to put it into the bin! "What would Jason do?" He thought, after several seconds he decided that it wasn't worth thinking about it and walked out of the room. Jason wasn't there so she really could not do anything to make him do the work. Or so he thought.

"Jeremy, thank you for getting the post and pans out." She said when she reached the kitchen. She told him to go ahead and go have some free time while she was getting the meal ready.

"May go to the cabin Miss Lottie, I want to get something?" He asked,

"Yes, but hurry back it is still cold and snowy and icy. I don't want you to get lost." Lottie said as she started to cut some potatoes and turnips for the stew.

Joshua never came down to the kitchen, she began to wonder what happened to him. She decided to see if he had found the broom and dustpan to sweep the floor. She left her pot simmering and went upstairs; she went to her room. The door was shut. When she walked in, she saw that he had done nothing. She did not even see him. She was very angry at this time and went upstairs further to the boys' room, she went into the room and there was Joshua, reading a book. She stood there for a time and then walked up to his bed and took the book out of his hand. She grabbed his ear and had him walk downstairs to her room.

"Joshua, I do not want to report to Jason that you did not do your chores so, you had better get started on cleaning the mess you left in my room. I have to get back to the kitchen. I think you will be done in half an hour. That will be the time, I have to start serving drinks in the saloon, so get started!" She was very angry with him. She walked out of the room and left him. He was too old to spank but if she had to she would. She wondered what had happened, where was Jason, and if he would ever come back.

Jeremy came back into the saloon with something he had left at home. He decided to have the people in the saloon play the 12 Days of Christmas song, he thought it would make him and everyone else feel better. Joshua walked down the stairs sulkily, he had done what she wanted him but he was going to tell Jason when he got home what Lottie made him do! He saw his brother at the piano and his brother's guitar sitting by the piano in the saloon. He was going to get Lottie but decided to make a detour to find out what his brother had planned.

"I-i-m going to pl-pl-play the piano or the guitar and we are going to sing!" Jeremy said happily. Josh just looked at him as if he were crazy.

"you can't sing in the saloon! Remember, Jason said only when he was around. He's not around so you can't do it!" said Joshua, Jeremy looked at him and said:
"Oh, yes I can, I am going to ask Miss Lottie to let me do it. We don't have school tomorrow and it is still Christmas time and I want some happy songs to sing!" Jeremy was shouting now at his brother, Josh shouted back and said:

"Well, I am older and am your brother so I said you can't sing in the saloon! So get upstairs!" said Joshua who just about kicked his brother in the behind. Jeremy was almost in tears, one of the loggers had seen that and said that Joshua needed to settle down and leave him alone. Josh answered:

"I don't have to, he is my little brother and I am the only one who can tell him what to do!" Joshua shouted and Lottie came out of the kitchen with a ladle in her hand.

"What is all this shouting about!" she looked at the men, but they had come in quietly and sat down and were waiting for their supper. She looked at Joshua who was standing there and Jeremy who was in tears because his brother had kicked him.

"Miss Lottie, I saw Joshua kick Jeremy in the behind trying to get him to go upstairs!" one of the other loggers said. Lottie looked at Jeremy and Joshua and asked:
"Is that true?" Jeremy nodded yes, Joshua said:

"I didn't kick him, his butt was in the way!" Lottie looked at Joshua, she had the ladle which if needed could become a paddle quick.

"Jeremy, I want you to go into the kitchen and stay there until I come back." Jeremy went straight to the kitchen. She took Joshua by the arm and took him first to her room, she saw that he had indeed cleaned the room but he was still having an attitude problem.

"I don't know what I am going to do with you, young man, you are not a child yet and not a grown man either. I can still spank you but I don't think that would do any good to change your attitude. So, I want you to go upstairs, and think on this one thing, …" She stopped to be sure he was looking at her and then she said:

"I want you to think about how you treated me, how you treated your brother and I want you to ask yourself what would Jason do if he had been here and saw how you treated me? More importantly, how would he feel? Would he be happy with your behavior or very much saddened? Think about that, when I get done in the kitchen I will be up to see you. She sent him to his room. She would keep Jeremy downstairs until she had talked to Joshua. She went back to the kitchen. Joshua sat on his bed and stayed right where he was. He had seen something in Miss Lottie's eyes, he had never seen before and he felt awful.