Chapter 1 A drink of water
Jeremy set aside his ax and took a drink of the cool water in the bucket. Chopping wood was not all that hard but it was work. He wiped his brow with a towel and then picked up the axe and continued chopping the wood. Inside Candy was in the kitchen baking a pie and watching their 5-year-old son and his 6- year-old sister play a game with the sticks they had thrown on the floor to pick up. They were both laughing and having fun. She could hear the crack of the wood as Jeremy's axe hit and split the wood. She smiled, remembering just a few years ago their 'long engagement' had ended.
"Hello, there young fella, might I ask for a drink of water?" a man came up to Jeremy and asked, tipping his hat, and putting it back on again. Jeremy stopped and smiled and put the dipper into the water and poured the contents into the extra cup that was hanging on the side of the water bucket. The man took the drink gratefully and drank the entire contents. Jeremy stood waiting for him to finish. When he had he said:
"Thank you friend. My name is Foster, Mr. Bartholomew Nathaniel Foster at your service!" He said tipping his hat again for good measure and bowing down to him. Jeremy smiled a little nervously but responded politely:
"Mr. Foster, my name is Jeremy Bolt, and you can call me Jeremy!" He held out his hand and Foster took it.
"Please call me Foster. That is how everyone knows me!" He said as he shook Jeremy's hand.
"You look like you have been traveling far, would you like to stay and have supper with us?" Jeremy asked looking towards the cabin he and Candy shared with her siblings and their two children.
"I wouldn't want to impose upon your wife. She may not be expecting company!" Just at that moment, Candy came out holding onto their son, Jasper Bolt with Jennifer following behind her skirts.
"Sir, you are welcome, supper is almost ready, and I have a delicious strawberry Rhubarb pie just out of the oven for dessert." Candy said and smiled at Jeremy, who smiled back. She was really one of the best women. She was always ready for visitors and had started a tradition of setting an extra place for any travelers who might need a meal.
"Candy, this is Mr. Foster, he likes to be called Foster!" Jeremy said as he went to the wash tub to wash his hands.
"Foster, you are welcome to come in. Please don't mind the children, they will pick up their toys." Candy said as she sent Jennifer in to pick up the sticks and put them back outside. Foster came in and looked around. It felt good to be in a home again. It had been many years since he had been in a home with a young family and children.
"So, where do you come from Mr. Foster?" Candy asked as she dished up dessert.
"Oh, here and there, out yonder, near and far! I was once a sailor, so I sailed on ships to far away places. I sailed with a captain named Clancy and another named Harmon!" At the mention of Harmon and Clancy both Candy and Jeremy perked up and Jeremy asked:
"When did you see Captain Clancy last?" Candy looked at Jeremy with a questioning look, but he ignored her and waited to hear Foster's answer.
"Well, the last time I sailed with Captain Clancy was when he was traveling to the south seas back in 1855 or so. We was young then, and wild. Clancy had just become captain of a ship and he was sailing her around the horn and over to places like Japan and China!" Jeremy listened, Candy did not look like she was listening but as she cleaned the youngest and got him ready for bed, she heard some of the conversation. She had learned a lot about Captain Clancy, and she knew he had traveled quite some distances but had not really known if he had sailed to Japan or China. She made a mental note to ask him the next time they were in town. Jeremy sat and listened as did her brother Christopher, who was always ready to hear tales of the high seas.
"Did you see any pirates?" Christopher asked with a yawn.
"Why lad, I sure did, they were fearsome as well!, in fact, one of them pirates raided the ship we were on. Oh, we had a horrid fight we did, but Clancy and me, we stood our ground and sent those scurvy rats running back to their ship, then we fired on them and sunk their ship and now they are all down in Davy Jones Locker, suffering the death at sea! Some says you can hear them wailing on a misty night!" Foster laughed when he saw Christopher's face get worried. Jeremy saw that as well and said:
"Chris, have you finished your homework, I think Miss Brandon assigned you a book to read?" Chris looked at Jeremy, although he was his brother-in-law, he still had to pay attention to him when it came to things like school and behavior. Jeremy wasn't really strict, but he often talked and reasoned with him more than disciplining, although there were times when Candy said that Christopher needed a little more discipline than reason.
"Yes, but please can I stay a little longer, I like his stories?" Chris said as he looked at Jeremy, who in turn looked at Candy. She was looking at him with that look that said he should tell Chris to get to his homework.
"Well, Chris, by the way Candy is looking at me, I think you need to read at least one more chapter before going to bed. You can tell Mr. Foster goodnight and you will probably see him tomorrow." Chris stood there for a moment and then said:
"Goodnight Mr. Foster, good night Jeremy!" Chris said and went upstairs to his room. He had the room to himself since Jasper was still only 3 and often would get up at night and go roaming around the house. Candy made sure that she was awake and had snack or something for him. That kept him from wandering as well as helped him to sleep. They had discovered this when she had tried to have him sleep with Christopher in his room. Chris was sleeping later and later and found out that he had woke up when Jasper woke up and played with him and then would be too tired to wake up in the morning.
"Well, Foster, we have a guest room you can sleep in tonight. I will show you where the blankets are and we wake up pretty early, I have to be up on the mountain by 6 am so Candy gets up about 5 to start the fire. If there is anything you need please let us know." Jeremy said as he showed Foster the little room off the sitting area. It was small, there was a cot, with blankets and pillows ready and waiting, some hooks on the wall to hang clothes and a nightstand handmade to sit beside the bed for anything that were in pockets that needed to be nearby.
Jeremy went upstairs to his and Candy's bedroom, they had a small alcove that was close to Candy's side of the bed for Jasper. Candy always thought of her children as her babies, at least until they would reach the age of reason. But she forgot that Jasper seemed to be a little more on the reason side than his sister who was only a year older. They were hoping that these midnight walks would end soon.
"Do you think Jasper will be okay tonight?" Jeremy asked Candy as he got undressed and crawled under the blankets with her.
"I hope so, did you lock the bedroom door, so he can't get out? I know he knows how to open the doorknobs that is how he got out two nights ago!" Candy said as she put the small container of milk by the crib. Jasper would have been sleeping in a bed by now, but his midnight walks worried Candy. The crib was definitely too small for him but that is what they had.
"I remember when my cousin Albert was little, he would go for walks in the middle of the night. It seemed his walking did not stop until he was in his teens!" Candy said to Jeremy as they snuggled close together. Jeremy had his face in her hair, feeling it so soft and warm he took his hand and caressed her cheeks and said:
"I hope he gets over this night walking soon, I am kind of frustrated with him in here every night!" He looked at her with love in his eyes and a smile on his lips. He wanted her, oh, how he wanted her. But having a 3-year-old in the same room was very hard for him to feel comfortable.
"Jeremy darling!" Candy whispered, Maybe we could put a curtain up so that he cant see us?" She wanted him as well. It had been too long; they had done everything they could but still the desire for each other was getting stronger and stronger.
"I will find some material and hang it up tomorrow!" Jeremy said quietly, snuggling up close to her. Candy smiled, yes, they would find a way. They both settled down for the night and soon both of them were asleep. They were so sound asleep, that they did not hear Jasper, climb out of the crib, and work the lock on the door and go out of the bedroom and down the stairs.
Chapter 2 Midnight wanderings
Jasper climbed out of the crib. He went to the bedroom door. Looking at the door and deciding that he would have to climb on a chair, and seeing as there was no chair in the bedroom, he walked around to the window. Jeremy had started to build a small balcony for Candy, off the bedroom so that they could sit in the early morning and enjoy each other's company and look out upon the beautiful mountain that he owned. Jasper was quick to notice that the window had not been secured after Jeremy had worked on the balcony earlier that week. Neither he nor Candy remembered, since it was warm, and summer was upon them. Jasper went out to view the balcony. The moon was shining bright, and he could see that there was no way to get down without landing on the ground a little to hard. He looked around and noticed that his father had left a small ladder on the balcony. They were only one floor up, so it didn't need to be too long. Jasper looked and thought about it. Then carefully pulling the ladder to the edge of the balcony he was able to get it over the balcony but with some noise. He stopped and waited. Jeremy turned over and opened his eyes. Jasper, stood quite still, he was in the shadow, so Jeremy did not see his son. Then Jasper waited a few more minutes and slid the ladder down with a silent thud. He climbed down the ladder and then proceeded to take a walk in the dark.
Candy woke up suddenly and wondered what woke her. She looked around for a minute then taking the candle, she lit it to check on Jasper. He was sleeping in his bed, she checked the milk, it had been drunk and he was making all the right sounds of a small child asleep. She went back to bed and to sleep feeling like everything was all right with the world. Jasper, had just come up to the balcony and was waiting for her to go back to bed. When she did, he went in quiet as a mouse, got into the crib. Put the little puppy near him in the crib and lay down and fell asleep.
Clancy had left Lottie's, way after midnight, he was not going anywhere for a couple of days, so he decided that he needed some refreshment for a couple of hours. He was walking back to his ship when he saw a small child wandering around in the center of town. He checked what he was drinking and then wobbled on to the ship and to his cabin and went to sleep.
The moon was shining bright, when there was a strange howling in the forest near the town of Seattle. A sound that woke up the ladies who were left living in the dorm as well as Lottie who had just gone to sleep after closing the saloon. She went to her window and looked out. She did not see anything except what seemed to be a small boy wandering through the middle of the street. She looked again and saw nothing. There was no more howling, but she wondered if what she saw was not a 'what' but a 'who'? and she wondered why the 'who' was out at that time of night and why he was howling?
Joshua had been out most of the night with some friends in town and had headed back to the camp. He had heard the howling as well. He did not have any weapon with him but picked up a small branch that had been cut and left laying on the ground. If it was a wolf or a wild dog he would be able to defend himself quite easily. Nothing showed up. But he wondered just the same what the sound was and what was making that sound. As he got nearer the camp he could see someone up there by the office tent, Jason was sleeping there already, Jeremy was home with Candy, so what, or who was at the tent.
Joshua crept up to the tent, and looked, there was no light, but he sensed something was near the tent. All of a sudden, the tent collapsed, Jason was buried under the tent. He could not get out; the canvas tent was heavy plus one of the poles had fallen on top of him. Joshua quickly grabbed the only part of the tent that was moveable and did his best. Swede came up, he had been awakened by the sound of the howling. A couple of the other men came to help get the tent and the tent pole off of Jason, who was not able to breathe because the pole and the canvas had landed on him, and he was on his stomach when the tent collapsed.
"Jason! Jason! Answer me!" Joshua shouted. He could see his brother squeezed between the heavy canvas and the pole. Swede and the other two men lifted the pole and moved it away. Joshua grabbed the canvas of the tent and took a knife to cut it away from his brother. When they had removed the canvas that covered Jason, Joshua called his name again.
"Jason, Jason, speak to me!" He waited and so did the others. They did not hear much of anything, but a small grunt and an elbow moved up as Jason tried to push himself up off the cot. Joshua scrambled to get the canvas tent off his brother and helped him turn over.
"What happened?" Jason asked as he sat on the edge of the cot.
"The tent collapsed on you, Jason!" Joshua said as he helped his brother to walk away from the tent.
"Joshua, why, why did the tent collapse?"
"I don't know, Swede and Corky are trying to find out, but there is not much light now, we may have to wait until daylight.!" Joshua said. Jason stood up after breathing a little easier, he took a deep breath but found that when he exhaled, something hurt.
"Jason, I think you need to see the doctor. You may have a broken rib?" Corky said as he looked at him. Jason looked at Joshua and said:
"Josh, I think Corky may be right, I am going to our cabin in town. We won't be able to use the tent, do you think you can collect the books and bring them to the cabin?" He said as he began to cough. It hurt when he coughed but he did not let anyone see. Swede and Corky got the wagon to help Jason get down to his cabin. Josh, started to move the canvas so that he could get the books and other office essentials safely out of the now collapsed tent.
By the time Joshua had everything hauled down to the cabin in Seattle, it was daylight. Jeremy had just finished his breakfast and was walking up to the camp. Foster stayed and helped Candy with some things and then went down to the town to find Clancy to reminisce about old times. Sthe sun was out, it was going to be a warm day. The men headed to the mountain, those who had stayed at the camp were up and getting ready to start the day. Jason had not come back up the mountain but had gone to see the doctor. Joshua was up on the mountain when Jeremy arrived to see the main tent was down and Swede and Corky were just reporting to Joshua about why the tent collapsed.
""Josh, the tent collapsed because one of the lines was cut!" Corky was saying
"And besides that, the lines that hold the tent pole up, were severed so that they would break when the canvas started to go down!" said Swede
"Wh-what happened Josh?" Jeremy asked, then he noticed that Jason wasn't there. He was about to ask when Josh said:
"Jason is all right, he has gone to see the doctor. We just found that a line or two has been cut and then the lines for the center pole were cut in such a way that when the canvas started to collapse the main pole would come down!"
"Who wou-woul-would do such a th-th-thing!" Jeremy asked No one knew or could think of anything.
"We aren't sure, but we will need to have a new place to keep our books and receipts!" Josh said.