The man took hold of the rope that connected the Inlet Dancer to the Rising Moon and reeled in the smaller craft. When the pleasure boat was close enough, he tied a clove hitch in the rope that connected the boats and fastened it to the aft cleat. Then he lowered himself onto the bow of his own craft, holding on again for dear life to the boat’s safety rail. He turned and tried to untie the ropes from the cleat on the stern of the Inlet Dancer.
His clove hitch came loose, but the second knot wouldn’t come free with the weight of both boats on it. Cursing against the storm he struggled to free his boat from the other but to no avail.
He slid on his belly down the length of the bow for the Rising Moon and scrambled under the canopy. Moments later he emerged with a hatchet in his right hand and felt his way, the boats roiling in the waves, back toward the bow. As he reached the tip of his boat, he pulled again so that the two boats were bow to stern, and where Archie had made the rope fast around a metal cleat began to chop. A giant wave broke over the bow of the Inlet Dancer and then the Rising Moon, sending a wall of white foam and black ocean into the man’s face, washing him down the slick nose of his boat. He managed to grab the safety rail with his left hand, his right hand still clinging to the hatchet. The water streamed from the bow of the pleasure craft, pushing the man’s legs over the port side as he scrambled to hold onto the boat. Eyes wild with panic, he heaved himself back onto the bow and slid back to the fore of the craft. He pulled the boats together again, raised his right hand, and hacked at the rope on the stern cleat – once, twice, three times he brought the axe down on it – and then he was free. He threw the remnant tatters of the rope into the ocean and slid back to the cockpit, under the canopy. Then he fired up the boat’s 115 outboard motor, switched on the craft’s running lights, and made for home.
Acknowledgements
Frances Thorsen of Chronicles of Crime, Victoria for her extraordinary support, and for reading a late draft of the book, making excellent recommendations, and suggesting NeWest Press as a home for the manuscript.
Kat Wiebe for making this book immeasurably better through numerous edits, suggestions, and tremendous support.
Joe Wiebe and Alison Yauk for support during early phases of the writing.
Greer Chesher and the Ranger Naturalists at Grand Canyon National Park for introducing me to the genre with a gift of Tony Hillerman’s Skinwalkers in 1994.
Connor Sharpe for being the biggest little fan of Cole Black-water.
Josh Slatkoff for his friendship and for reading the manuscript and providing feedback.
Ben Gadd for his insight into the coal industry and the coking coal process.
Joel Solomon and the Hollyhock Retreat Centre for providing time and space to work on this book.
The Alberta Wilderness Association, for its more than thirty-five years of tireless defence of the Cardinal Divide; to all of those in Alberta’s conservation community who have spent the last decade fighting to keep that magnificent landscape wild and free.
This book is set in the Rotis typeface family,which was developed by Otl Aicher in 1988.
Stephen Legault has been a social and political activist for twenty years. He has worked with local, national, and international conservation organizations to protect Canada’s endangered species and wilderness, and to combat climate change. In July 2005 he launched HighWater Mark Strategy and Communications to work with ethically driven businesses, the labour movement, political parties, and cultural organizations. He is Senior Development Officer for Sustainability at the Royal Roads University Foundation. An avid cross-country runner, skier, hiker, and paddler, Stephen has an intimate knowledge of places like Alberta’s breathtaking Cardinal Divide.
His first book, Carry Tiger to Mountain: The Tao of Activism and Leadership, was published in April 2006. He is the father of two boys, Rio Bergen and Silas Morgen. He and his partner Jenn split their time between Victoria, BC and Canmore, AB.
For details about Stephen Legault’s consulting work, visit www. highwatermark.ca. For more information on his Cole Blackwater mystery series, visit www.thecardinaldivide.com.
The Cardinal Divide Page 39
