Chapter 8 The View from a Window
Jason, Aaron, Swede, Corky and Joshua had come up on Brownie near the cabin. They saw several horses in the fenced area. They left their horses and went towards the cabin, watching what was happening.
"Jason!" Aaron whispered and pointed to the back of the cabin, isn't that Jeremy?" Jason looked in the direction Aaron was pointing and said yes, but then he saw his brother disappear in the window. He did not see anything else. Aaron had his shotgun, and both Swede and Corky had pistols. Jason had his pistol as well. Joshua had the shotgun and they were ready for anything.
"I think we should split up and surround the cabin!" Joshua said as he checked the shotgun. Swede said:
"Corky, you and I can take the front door!" Corky agreed, he too had a pistol. Joshua, go find out what they have in the barn, there are several men in there and I want to know how many before we rush in!" Jason said as Aaron nodded in agreement. Josh, slunk towards the barn. He did not see or hear anyone in the barn but he was cautious. He looked, there was a window on the side of the house, if someone were to look out the window, they would see him. He went around the other side of the barn, looking for a broken board that he could slip through without being seen.
Tom came around and saw him before he saw Tom. Tom walked backwards at first and then realized that he had the advantage and took his gun out to shoot Joshua. Josh had sensed someone had come up behind him, so he quickly lay flat on the ground, still searching for some way into the barn. The man turned around and shot first, and then realized that his target had disappeared. Ralph came out and looked at Tom.
"What did you fire that shot fer?"
"Don't ya see someone lyin' on the ground?" Ralph looked, he saw no one and was about to tell Tom when he saw a board that was out of place on the wall of the barn. Tom was telling the truth!
"Okay Tom, Just stay there I want to check your gun!" Ralph said. Tom thought that was a bit unusual for him but he said nothing until Ralph got up close to him.
In hushed voices, Ralph told Tom that the other person was probably in the building. Tom was to go around to the front to be sure that he had not escaped, Ralph slid in between the boards and waited for his eyes to adjust. Joshua remained quiet. Once Ralph got his bearings, he went to the door and opened it.
"Dd you catch him?" Tom said.
"Does it look like I did?" Ralph said frustrated with not finding the mysterious man.
"Are you sure he did not come out the door, Maybe before you got there?" Ralph asked. Tom looked at Ralph and took a good look around the building, he looked where there were several old barrels of oats for horses and also the wagons that had the supplies and belongings of the Bolts and Biddie.
"I did not see any footprints outside. I wonder if he is hiding in one of the wagons?" Tom said, not sure what else to think of but he wanted Ralph to get onto another subject before he decided to just blow the place up. Ralph liked using dynamite and would use it for any little thing he could think of. His favorite job was blowing up railway bridges, while a train was coming!
Ralph put his finger up to his lips and without a further word he crept up to the first wagon. He motioned to Tom to pick up a pitchfork and start stabbing anything soft in the wagon. While Tom was doing that, Ralph pulled out his gun and was ready to shoot whoever jumped out of the wagon.
Aaron and Jason had moved closer to the back of the cabin. Swede and Corky were on the side of the cabin ready to race into the front door.
"Jason, it looks like they have Biddie, Candy, Jeremy and Barnabas!" Aaron said when he got away from the window. Jason looked at him and nodded his head, he wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he knew that Jeremy and Candy and Biddie needed to get out of there. Sitting on the same side of the cabin as Swede and Corky, they were in the front and he was in the back, he pointed to Swede and then put up 4 fingers, Counting slowly, he inched towards the window. When he reached '4', both groups went into the cabin, Aaron and Jason through the window and Swede and Corky through the door!
In the barn, all was silent as they checked the second wagon, Ralph stabbed the pitchfork and Tom held the gun. They were intent on their jobs when Joshua, jumped down on Tom and knocked him out! Josh had the gun but did not shoot right away.
"Oh, so you think you have caught me, well I will show you!" Ralph said and threw the pitchfork directly at Joshua who was knicked in his arm, but Ralph ran towards him and knocked him over, kicking the gun out of his hand. They rolled around and wrestled for a few minutes, then Ralph pulled out a knife. He had Joshua pinned on the ground and would have stabbed him if it wasn't for a donkey that came from behind them and butted Ralph into the wall. Joshua lay there for a moment and when the donkey came over and nuzzled him, he sat up and took the gun and went over to tie Ralph up. Tom was just coming awake when the donkey went over to Tom and sat on his legs.
"Hey, get this animal off me!" Tom shouted as Joshua finished tying Ralph. Joshua stood for a moment and smiled. He then took the other rope and tied Tom up to a post in the barn. The donkey stood there watching them. Joshua scratched between its ears and said:
"Keep an eye on them friend, don't let them escape!" The donkey brayed and Joshua left the barn. It was quiet in the cabin, too quiet, he crept up to the kitchen window and looked in.
Chapter 9 The Remnant from the Shamus O'Flynn an Irish Ark!
The stillness of the surrounding area struck Wakando and his brother deeply. They felt that they had been punished for the damage that the white man had placed upon the earth. The ravages of the fire were all around. The trees had fallen, the fire had burnt most of the plants, there was a stench from burning flesh of animal. The sounds of the forest were silenced.
Wakando placed several of the warriors near some spots that may have flared up if not watched. Then he went down close to Seattle. He saw that most of the buildings were still standing. He went to the Bolt cabin; it was still standing along with the saloon and dormitory. The church was burnt on one side but the rest of the building was spared. Some more buildings were also spared.
He looked out at the bay; he saw the Shamus O'Flynn anchored out away from the land. He was not sure what was going to happen. But he knew he had to do something to prevent a fire like that from happening again. He would find Stemple and Bolt and see what could be done. Turning back to the inland, he took his warriors and left. They would come back in two or three moons to discuss the future. Now, he had a village to look after and people to care for.
After he left, the silence was deafening. Nothing moved or made a sound. On the ship, Captain Clancy used his looking glass to see if it was safe to come back.
"Captain Clancy, do you see if Candy is back?" Asked Christopher.
"Not yet, they will return soon enough! Oh, there ye are Mr. Stemple. Have a look!" Clancy said as he saw Aaron walking up to the wheelhouse. Aaron Stemple went and looked out towards the land. He was not happy about what he saw. He did see Wakando and his Indians checking the town and then leaving.
"Well, Captain, I suppose we should go back to port?" Aaron said. Clancy looked again and said.
"The natives have left, but I am not so sure it is safe on land yet. Fires can flare up. I suppose Wakando and his people were checking for that very thing in our town?" Clancy asked Aaron. Just then Lottie came up to the top deck and said:
"Well, who decides if we can go back to town or not?" she looked at Aaron and then at Clancy. Christopher and Molly said they had an idea so the adults listened to them.
"Well, it is like we are in Noah's Ark, so when they saw dry land they let a bird out, if the bird came back then there was no dry land. But if it never came back, there was land and everything was okay!" Molly said. Clancy listened and also Aaron and Lottie.
"Seeing as we do not happen to have a bird with us, what do you think if a couple of men go to check the town in a small boat. We can watch for them to wave a flag or something, if it is not safe, they will come back and tell us." Clancy said. Aaron looked a little worried and asked:
"Who will go find that out Clancy?"
"I and a couple of my crew, seein' as how you are guests aboard the ship and I am responsible for youse!" Clancy said and then made to go get a couple of his sailors.
"Clancy, I will go with you!" Aaron said he was worried about the Bolts and those who had left on land, he too had a responsibility to the town of Seattle.
"May I come with you?" Christopher asked
"I think you should wait here Christopher!" Clancy said and Aaron agreed. They sent him back to the lower decks where the rest of the passengers were waiting. They made ready, they took Ken, Ben and a couple of sailors. There would be six of them and they could check to make sure that the town was safe for everyone on the boat to come back.
They got into the lifeboat and rowed to shore. When they reached the shore, they looked at the town. The dormitory stood and so did the saloon. The totem pole was still standing but it was blackened with soot. Aaron and Harve and one of the sailors went to the mill and checked on that. Ben and Ken checked on the saloon and the mercantile. The others scattered about checking buildings and areas that might still be smoldering.
When they returned to the center of the town they made their report.
"The saloon is fine, just a little cleaning will do and we can be up and running in a couple of hours. I checked the outside and perimeter of the saloon, no signs of hotspots!" Ken said
Ben Perkins just came out of his store and said:
"I need to reorder many items everything is damaged from the smoke and ash but other than that my store is okay and Emily will be happy to find out that her home is still standing.!"
"Did you check the outside and around your house and the church?" Aaron asked Ben. Ben nodded yes and said there were no hotspots that he could see.
While they were meeting and getting reports, Christopher climbed out of the boat and headed towards the dormitory. He wanted to be sure that one of his favorite possessions had not been burned. He was glad it hadn't. He then looked around at some of the things that people had left behind. He found the stereoscope that Candy and Biddie had been looking through and the pictures as well. He was going to take it but decided that it was better left on the bed. He heard some noise and went out the side door and down the stairs. He then decided to go up to the camp and see what happened up there.
In the meantime, The reports were all favorable, so Clancy left Aaron and the men at the town to do a little more checking. Clancy said that he would bring the ship into port as soon as he could. He took his navigator with him to be sure that they made it safely in port. An hour later he arrived back on board and told the people that they would be able to get off the ship as soon as he steered the ship into port. The navigator and Clancy went up to the wheel house to get everything ready.
"Lottie, Lottie, I cant find Christopher!" Molly came crying to Lottie.
"What do you mean you can't find him? Were you playing a hide and seek game?" Lottie asked Molly.
"No, I haven't seen him since Captain Clancy and the other men left!" Molly said to Lottie. Lottie thought about Christopher. Usually, he waited for his sister to do something crazy like that but he was getting older and braver.
"Molly, do you think he may have hidden in the lifeboat when they went to shore?"
"If he did he did not say anything to me about it?" Molly said and then she asked "Miss Lottie, do you think he will get hurt?"
"I don't know, but we need to tell Captain Clancy so when he docs we can let Aaron know that Christopher is somewhere in town!" Lottie said to Molly and taking her by the hand she went the wheelhouse.
"He what!"
"He hid on the lifeboat, when you all went to shore!" Molly said to Clancy.
"That boy is getting too big for his britches! Okay, when we make land, Lottie, you and Molly go directly to Mr. Stemple, he will know what to do!
Chapter 10 A Long Walk
Christopher was slightly scared when he reached the logging camp. The woods did not have their usual sounds. The wind was blowing but the trees were not rustling. There were no birds or squirrels chirping or looking for nuts. He walked into the center of the camp. He felt like he was in a cathedral. The sun was shining on the blackened trees, and the silence he felt hurt. He wondered what had happened. He saw the office, it was a brand-new office once, the tents were either still up and wet from water being poured on them earlier before they left, one tent, the main tent had been knocked down. He walked a little stepping lightly because he could feel something that he never felt before and did not have the words to describe it.
He heard a noise that sounded like something large coming near. He scrambled to hide behind an old tree that had survived. An old man and bigfoot were walking through the camp.
"Well, Sasquatch, that was some fire. I am glad it is over, but I am sad that it did all that damage!" Caleb said as he and bigfoot walked around. Bigfoot said something that Christopher could not hear but he did hear Caleb's voice.
"I think that there is someone here, yes, I can feel it. Come out, it is okay, it is just me Caleb and Sasquatch!" Christopher came out from around the tree and then when he recognized them he ran to them and started to cry.
"Did you get left behind child?" Caleb asked as he pushed Christopher away so he could talk to him.
"No, we took the ship out to the harbor. But my sister has been kidnapped and the Bolts went looking for her!" Caleb listened and so did Sasquatch.
"Where do you think they took her?" Caleb asked
"I only know that they blocked the road to Tacoma and they are on that road!" Christopher said. Caleb shook his head and said to Christopher.
"I want to be sure there are no hotspots and then we will go look for your sister."
"What is a 'hotspot'?"
It is a spot that may still be burning but isn't strong enough to do anything. We need to get those out quickly so a fire doesn't start again!" Caleb said as he directed Christopher to have Sasquatch pick him up to carry him. It was going to be a bit of a walk.
"Do you know what happened to the office tent? It is on the ground, usually those tents don't get flattened like that during a fire?" Caleb asked as he walked over to the tent and saw that the pole had been pulled out and some ropes were cut, not the ropes for the pole though. 'Someone was tied to this pole' he thought and showed Sasquatch the ropes.
"Look!" Christopher was pointing to the ground; Caleb bent down and saw a metal box that was just under the tent. It had the initials: 'V S' on it. Caleb opened the box and found some papers and money. He looked at it a little while and then decided to put it in his pack.
"Christopher, you have good eyesight, this might help us later on down the road. Lets start moving!" Caleb said and they started their long walk
Joshua looked through the kitchen window. There were two men sitting next to Victor, he did not see Jeremy or Candy. He crept around to the front of the house and saw Swede and Corky ready to run in at any moment. He heard some noise at the back of the house. Swede and Corky pushed the door open and immediately rolled to the floor. Two shots were fired, but no one was hurt, yet!
Jason and Aaron had come out of the bedroom ready to shoot at anyone they saw. But all they saw was Victor, playing a game of cards and having a glass of wine.
"So nice of you to drop in! I do hope you will stay for dinner; Mrs. Bolt and my sister-in-law, Mrs. Smith will be fixing dinner shortly. Jason was confused, he thought they had been in the bedroom when he went through but soon found out that Victor had moved everyone to another place in the house. He rang a bell and two more men came into the room.
"Max, please bring my brother and Mr. Bolt out." Max went to a closet and opened it, inside Barnabas was tied up and so was Jeremy. Max grabbed both of them by their ropes tied around their hands and placed them into chairs. Then he and his partner Gregor stood by each one of them with a knife in their hands.
"Now, Mr. Bolt, Mr. Stemple, and your friends, Big Swede and Corky, I recall Won't you sit down on the chairs provided! They looked and there were four chairs that were behind them. Swede looked at Jason who nodded for them to sit down. They all sat. Biddie brought in the drinks, She was scared and shaking. She handed each of them a drink. Then Candy came in with another tray and took it to Barnabas and Jeremy.
"Thank you ladies, you may go back and wait. This won't take long." Victor said.
"Gentlemen: A toast to my ability to see beyond the normal circumstance and plan for it!" He was about to take a drink and then said:
"Oh, come come, only two are poisoned!" He took a drink from his glass and waited for them to drink as well. When they did not, he said:
"I had a feeling that you would not drink but here is what I am going to do!" He went around to the front of his desk then walking over to Barnabas first he had him take the drink and drink it. Then he waited, nothing happened.
"Well, will wonders never cease! Let's see if this drink is spiked! He handed the drink to Jeremy who threw it on the floor and broke the glass. Victor looked at the mess and nodded his head to Max who took his knife and was about to cut Jeremy when Jeremy turned around and punched him. Jason and Swede managed to drop their drinks and run over to help Jeremy, but a shot was heard again. Inside the door, Joshua stood, holding a shotgun in his hand.