by C L Lassila
The snow had stopped falling and with very little wind the evergreens bordering the field were draped in snow. Every branch, every plant, everything, was covered in a layer of snow. The intertwined branches of the now bare trees, all bearing a layer of white snow, had the appearance of course lace. Adelaide looked over the undisturbed blanket of snow on the ground before her. Today her world was wearing white. As she made her way further down the field she noticed a splash of vibrant red, a crimson stain on the pure white snow. It was obvious that it was blood. She walked closer and saw the remains of a rabbit. Near the carcass were patterns in the freshly fallen snow that appeared to be caused by wings. The carcass had been torn open but only partially eaten. Adelaide suspected that she had the answer as to what had the crows so excited. It was most likely an owl.
Darwin walked over and sniffed the carcass.
“Let’s go, Dar. Come on,” Adelaide said.
A bit further on she could see where the crows were focusing their assault. Just as she reached the edge of the forest a large owl took flight, leaving the trees and moving out over the field with a number of crows in pursuit. Other crows, losing interest, began to disperse. With the event over, Adelaide and Darwin turned around to walk back to the farm. As they walked past what remained of the rabbit, she thought how intense the color of the blood was on the white snow. A bright rich red, it was the same color that she had seen on the men who had been wounded when they were tossed by the waves against rocks and wood when their boat went down. It was the color of the stain on the shirt of the dead Mr. Whear, his body torn open by strong beak of the raven. It was the same color as the blood that flowed through her veins. It was the color of life.
After moving on a bit further she looked back over the field and saw three crows taking advantage of the fresh carcass, eating what must be a desirable meal on such a cold day.
“That’s as it should be,” she said to Darwin, “the dead feeding the living.”
The day passed without Jonas’ return. Adelaide believed that Mary had been telling the truth when she said that Calix had left on the boat. She had thought that it would make things easier for her, not wondering if she would see him that day. But she was wrong. She knew now that her desire to see him walk through the door was a desire for something that was not going to occur, but that did not diminish the desire. She thought that she understood why he had left so quickly, and a part of her was grateful for his choice as she would not have had the strength to ask him to go. She knew that neither she nor Calix wanted to be together while always on the lookout for Jonas. And yet the current situation was not one that she wanted either.
The days were growing short. Darkness came early. The temperature remained cold but no additional snow fell for the rest of the week. Sunday arrived and Jonas had not yet returned from Isle Royale. Adelaide decided to attend the morning church service. She hoped to see the postman there as she had not gone into town the past week to see if a new letter from Jonas had arrived. She also wanted to see Mary. She had expected the girl to return to the house but she had not. After her visit to the farm, Adelaide had become concerned about the girl’s fragile state and wished to see how she was faring.
As she neared the church she slowed her pace, wanting to arrive just as the service was beginning. She sat in her usual spot in the back pew but because it was so cold out she let Darwin slip in behind her. Instead of waiting outside of the door, he lay down at her feet. There were fewer parishioners present, perhaps some had left for the winter or had been deterred from attending the service due to the cold. She spotted Mr. Monk seated several pews in front of her. She would try to talk to him after the service. Mary had returned to her place beside Mrs. Fay.
It was Reverend Fay’s usual practice to make announcements before he began the service. After welcoming everyone, he requested that special prayers be made for a sick child and also for a woman, whose name Adelaide was not familiar with, whose husband had drown leaving her with two young children.
He then went on to say, “Now I would like to share with you joyous news from our friend Nathan Pope, whom many of you nursed after he was gravely injured. Our lord watched over him and his beloved wife on their journey back to England and the good lord has continued to bless them.
A letter arrived from Nathan several days ago. He and Amelia arrived safely at their destination where they are now setting up a home. And, joyous news indeed, they are expecting the birth of their first child. Nathan asked me to thank everyone for all that was done for him after his injury. There is a lesson in this for all of us. We never know god’s plan for us. He might bring us to dark places only to have us emerge into light and joy.”
Reverend Fay continued, “On a darker note, a house of ill morals has been built on the edge of town, out near the mining camp. May god grant all of the men the strength to resist this temptation, placed there by Satan to lead them from the path of righteousness.”
Adelaide sat listening to Reverend Fay’s words. When Nathan Pope’s name was mentioned her attention turned to Mary. The young woman, who had been sitting still, her eyes directed toward the floor, had begun the agitated rocking back and forth movement that she had been doing while in Adelaide’s home. Mary continued to rock back and forth for the remainder of the service, not even stopping long enough to stand up when the hymns were sung.
As the church service was concluding, Adelaide hurried to get Darwin back outside before the members of the congregation stood up to leave. If she had not had to get Darwin out of the church she would have tried to catch Mary’s eye. Instead she stood outside of the building and waited for Mr. Monk to exit. She greeted the parishioners as they passed by, engaging in casual conversation with a few, until Mr. Monk appeared.
“Mrs. Rose, how are things with you this fine Sunday morning?” he said in greeting.
“Very well, Mr. Monk,” she replied. “I wasn’t able to get into town this week. I wanted to ask you if there were any posts from my husband waiting for me.”
“Oh, my dear, you haven’t heard,” Mr. Monk answered. “The boat from Isle Royale which was carrying the mail was destroyed by fire. Thank the Lord that all of the men got off, but nothing on board could be saved.”
“Perhaps that is why Jonas has not returned yet,” Adelaide said.
“I am sure that he will be back soon,” Mr. Monk continued. “But if he is delayed much longer it might be a good idea to come and stay in town until his return. One big snow and your farm will seem much farther away from town than it does now.”
“Thank you for your concern but I know that he will be back in a day or two,” Adelaide replied.
Adelaide headed back down the road toward home with Darwin at her heels. She thought about how much Reverend Fay’s words must have hurt Mary. How hard it must have been for the poor girl to hear that Nathan and his wife were expecting a child, when she was also pregnant with his child and he knew nothing about it. He was living the life that she had wanted to share with him but he was living it with someone else.
The wind had picked up during the time that she was at church. The gusts were so strong that at times the wind brought her stride to a halt. Large flakes of snow had begun to fall, carried sideways by the wind rather than gently drifting to the ground.
She was happy to finally arrive home and quickly rebuilt the fires in the stove and the fireplace. Then, concerned about the chickens, she went out to give them water and extra feed. The temperature had also dropped and her hands grew cold as she quickly did what she could to make the chickens as comfortable as possible.
The wind was rattling the windows when she came back indoors. Shivering, she went to warm herself in front of the fire, holding her cold hands in front of her. The strong wind brought back memories of the night that the boat went down in the Sault, and she thought with concern of the possibility that Jonas could be out on the lake. She quickly dismissed the idea. It was Sunday and it was highly unlikely that Jonas was traveling today.
“You have the right idea, Dar,” she said. “I think that we might be house bound today.”
By late afternoon the snowfall had become so heavy that all that Adelaide could see when she looked out of the window was a wall of white. The snow, whipped by the wind, obscured everything else from view. With the temperature continuing to drop, she spent most of the afternoon close by the fire, reading a book from Mr. Greenfield’s library. The story transported her from her place by the fire and provided an escape from all that she was feeling. Caught up in a fictional tale about adventures on the other side of the world, she did not think about her love for Calix or her worries about Jonas’ safety as he once again traveled on the temperamental lake, or her sadness over Mary’s plight.
Before darkness fell, Adelaide pulled herself away from the book and back to her reality. The stew that she had made was almost ready. She was worried about the chickens even though Calix had assured her that they had a strong, sturdy house. Compelled to check on them one more time, she put on her heavy clothes and braved the winter onslaught. Darwin followed her to the door but after poking his nose out into the cold he seemed inclined to stay indoors.
“Come on, Dar. I’m not going back out until the morning,” Adelaide said.
The dog reluctantly followed her out but stayed near the porch while she brought a bucket of feed over to the chicken coop. The snow, carried along by the strong winds, stung as it hit Adelaide’s face. The wind driven snow made it difficult to see and, struggling to keep her footing, she managed to slowly make her way to the coop. Once there she poured the feed out quickly. The chickens were hunkered down and Adelaide now felt reassured that they would be safe.
The wind almost blew her sideways as she pushed through the drifting snow to get back to the house. While she was in her coat and boots she decided to move more wood from the porch into the house. She had thought that the porch would provide her some protection from the weather but the wind seemed to be blowing from every direction at once, swirling the snow around her. After struggling with one armload of wood she abandoned the idea. There was enough firewood in the house to keep her and Darwin warm until the morning. She opened the door and Darwin slipped in in front of her.
“You don’t like this weather, Dar?” Adelaide said laughing. “I share the sentiment.”
She brushed the snow from the dog’s back.
“Go and dry off by the fire,” she said.
Chapter 14
Jonas had his things packed and was eager to be on his way. The hike to port would take the better part of the day. Tomorrow he would take the boat back home to Copper Harbor. He was just leaving camp when word reached him that there had been an accident at the mine site. A section of the excavation had collapsed, leaving one of the miners pinned beneath debris. Knowing that it would delay his return home, Jonas dropped his bags and ran to the site to assist in the rescue. The rescue had to be done with care so as to not cause a second collapse. Beams and rocks covered the man’s legs. Slowly, carefully, over the course of several hours they worked to dig out the trapped miner. Finally he was freed but it was obvious that his legs were badly broken. He would have to be carried to the port.
A blanket was sent for. This could be used to move the injured man back to camp but a stretcher would have to be constructed to carry him to the boat. No one from the camp would be able to make tomorrow’s boat. Jonas’ return to Adelaide would be delayed by several days. The injured miner whose name was John Mallard was given a bottle of whiskey to drink. This was the only remedy available to treat the pain that he was in. A makeshift stretcher was constructed but in the morning they realized that it was not sturdy enough to carry John, who was a very large man. A new one had to be made. This delayed their departure by one more day. Finally they were ready to leave early Sunday morning. Eight men, including Jonas, left camp just after sunrise. John Mallard, clutching his whiskey bottle, was carried on the stretcher. Their plan was to make it to the harbor by nightfall and then take the next available boat to Copper Harbor.
There had been snow earlier in the week. This made the trail slippery and difficult to traverse. The condition of the trail coupled with the fact that they were carrying a stretcher slowed their progress considerably. Jonas began to question his choice to stay out on the island so late into the fall and after the first several hours of hiking he began to doubt whether they would make it to the port by nightfall. But they needed to press on. The injured man needed to be seen by a doctor as soon as possible and Jonas did not relish the thought of camping out this time of the year, when the temperature could dip below freezing at night.
Jonas pushed the men to walk faster. They rotated turns as stretcher bearers, in an attempt to keep any of the men from growing too tired. By late morning the wind shifted and the snow began to fall. Jonas, who was looked to as the leader of the small group of men, made the decision to move onward, hopeful that the weather would not deteriorate further.
****
Adelaide filled a dish with the stew that she had made and put it on the floor for Darwin to eat. She still felt a chill, even when wrapped in a blanket and seated by the fire. Although she was not particularly hungry she thought that perhaps some hot food would help to warm her. After eating a few spoonfuls of the stew she set the bowl down. She didn’t have an appetite. Pouring what remained in her bowl out into Darwin’s dish, she watched as the dog emptied the bowl.
“Is it good, Dar?” she asked, pulling the blanket tight around her.
She listened to the wind beating against the windows. Her thoughts turned to Jonas. Was he safe wherever he was?
****
Mary sat beside Mrs. Fay in the church. Her mind was wandering as the service began. She paid little attention to the words that Reverend Fay was saying. And then a name penetrated her thoughts. Reverend Fay had said his name. He was talking about the man that she loved, the man who was the father of her child. Mary lifted her eyes from the floor and looked up at Reverend Fay. Was Nathan coming back? But then she heard him mention the woman. Mary thought about the first time that she had seen her. The stranger had been sitting next to Nathan’s bed, holding his hand and then she took Nathan away from her. Mary had followed them to the church on the morning that they were married. She opened the church door just wide enough to be able to see them exchange their vows. Reverend Fay married them. How she hated Reverend Fay. How she hated that wretched church. When they left the church she followed them to the harbor. Nathan went away on the boat. He left her. He left her and their baby. And now he was having a baby with that woman.
As she listened to Reverend Fay’s words she began rocking back and forth. Her eyes looked back down to the floor. Eventually she didn’t hear his words anymore. She blocked them out. When the service was over she felt Mrs. Fay’s hand touch her shoulder.
“It’s time to go, dear,” she said.
Mary stood up and walked with Mrs. Fay out of the back door of the church. As they walked to the house, a woman from the congregation called to Mrs. Fay. As soon as Mrs. Fay’s back was turned Mary ran off into the woods.
****
The wind had continued to increase in intensity and soon the men were battling against it as they pushed themselves onward. Jonas was growing concerned that even though they were moving as fast as they could, they would not make it to the harbor before dark. None of the men in the group had lived through a winter there and none of them had any experience surviving in extreme winter weather. John Mallard, whose legs had been splinted before they left camp, would occasionally moan in pain. This would result in the men who were carrying him slowing down their pace out of concern that they were hurting him. Jonas would urge them on, or take the place of one of the stre
tcher bearers, explaining that the sooner they got John to a physician the sooner his injuries could be treated. But hearing their friend’s moans took a toll on the men’s morale. John Mallard insisted that he was doing okay and urged them to go as fast as they could.
“I can handle it,” he said. “Don’t worry about me.”
But even with his words it was difficult to know that they had hurt their friend when a misstep would cause him to cry out. Soon the men were growing tired and they had the now heavy snow as well as the strong winds slowing their progress. And they still had a long way to go.
****
Darkness had come. What had been a stormy day now became a stormy night. The windows had become coated with the wet, wind driven snow, completely obscuring any view. Nothing could be seen through them. Adelaide had to get up to use the chamber pot. The bedroom felt cold so she decided to start a second fire in the bedroom fireplace. It was time to retire for the night.
While Calix was there she had taken to sleeping in the nude, but tonight, still bothered by feeling chilled, she put on one of Mr. Greenfield’s winter night shirts and a pair of socks. After putting extra blankets on the bed she crawled in, hoping that she would feel better in the morning. Darwin jumped up onto the bed, making himself comfortable his body pressed up next to Adelaide’s. While his sleeping on the bed had been considered a nuisance when Calix was with her, tonight it was appreciated. She pulled the blankets up under her chin and watched the shadows cast by the flames dancing on the walls.
****
Mary ran into the woods as fast as she could run. She wanted to get away from the Fay’s and the church. She wanted to get as far away from them as she could. They had begun to refer to her as their daughter but she was not their daughter. They helped the woman take Nathan away from her. She ran until she had to stop and catch her breath. She could feel her baby moving inside of her. The cold and the wind were making it hard for her to breathe. She sat down on a fallen tree and rocked back and forth. Where could she go? She didn’t want to return to the Fay’s house. She thought of what Reverend Fay had said, warning the men about the temptation of the house of ill morals. He would not look for her there. She had seen some of the woman coming and going. Some of them were not much older than her.
