Bill made some toast on the gas stove, boiled an egg and made a hot cup of coffee for breakfast. He then did his normal chores of removing the ashes and adding coal to the furnace. Because he couldn’t bring the ashes out, he now had three full large ash cans in the corner of the basement. He went back up into the den and looked out the window, which was now totally frozen over by the driving wind. He put on a heavy sweater and went down the stairs. At the bottom he unlocked the door and pressed his shoulder against the cold steel door. Pushing gently at first it moved slightly and he leaned into it. The door opened more and snow started to come through the opening. He really pushed hard and the door opened enough for him to see that it was at least thirty inches high and even higher in the drifts. He quickly closed it as he thought, My gosh I knew it was bad but that was only because that’s what I read in the history books. But being here and living through it is a different story. Now I know why so many people died. It’s horrible out there. He went back up the stairs.
The S.S. Augusta Victoria
Shirley sat on her bed and thought the situation over. As she usually does when she is trying to make a tough decision, she began arguing with herself bringing up reasons for and against her taking action.
If Bill is waiting out there he will soon be in great danger.
What if he is not there?
Well, why wouldn’t he be there?
Because the snow s so deep and the wind is freezing.
I’ve done cross-country skiing when I was in Germany and if he is not here it's only about fourteen blocks from the dock to his place. Dressed correctly it should be no problem for me.
Then that’s it? You’ve made up your mind?
Yes!
She went to the cabin door and saw the young man heading back her way shoveling as he walked head down.
“Excuse me!” she called out over the wind. He kept going and she had to grab his shoulder to get his attention. He almost jumped as she grabbed him and she put her mouth to his ear and said, “Please come into my cabin sir. I wish to speak with you.”
Not sure what to do, he shook his head and kept on shoveling. Shirley grabbed his shoulder again and asked him to step inside for a moment.
“Is there an emergency, m’am?”
“Yes, one could say that.”
He stepped into the warm cabin and she told him to sit near the fire.
“W-What is the emergency?”
“I have need of men’s clothing and am willing to pay you handsomely for trousers, socks, boots, sweater, coat hat and gloves.”
“You wish to leave the ship?”
“Yes. And a woman’s cloak and dress will never do. I offer you twenty-five pounds.”
His eyes opened wide at the price. “All of my street clothes have never been used to eat in a fine hotel, m’am as they truly do not match.”
“I’m not trying to impress anyone. I just know that a long dress and low shoes will never do in this weather. Is it a bargain?”
“It is, m’am. I’ll go to my cabin and return in one hour.”
“Fine.”
Two hours later she looked at herself in her mirror. Dressing in layers she wore her underwear, which was a pair of Turkish legates that one stepped into then slipped her arms into before buttoning up the front. Over them she wore a blouse and finally a man’s blue heavy knit turtleneck sweater. She tucked the sweater into a pair of work trousers held up by a pair of suspenders. She put on the thick socks and high work boots, which she had to stuff some of her handkerchiefs into the toe as they were slightly large for her. She wore the heavy topcoat he provided and topped it off with a knitted naval watch cap. She wrapped a shawl around her neck that covered the cap and her face. His work gloves were slightly larger than hers so she took the opportunity to wear a pair of her opera gloves beneath them. Shirley knew that she could not bring her valise along and asked the young man if he could hold it until the weather changed and she would come back for it. She promised another five pounds and he accepted.
Shirley went down to the second deck and two seamen sat at a desk before the closed door that led to the covered gangway.
“Good day sir, are you planning on leaving?”
“I am, but I’m Miss Shirley Holmes and do wish to leave.” She handed them her key and they asked that she sign a paper that stated she wished to leave even though the ship would allow her to stay until the storm abated. She signed with a flourish and one of the men opened the door. The canvas covered sides and top of the gangway were shaking violently with the winds and Shirley held onto the wooden handrail as she walked down to the enclosed building. Inside she passed a few tired looking workers standing around with snow shovels in their hands. Through the window at the front of the building she could almost make out some of the buildings. There was a hint of a path that she knew went straight up 14th Street and seeing that Bill was not there she hesitated a moment before opening the door and stepping out into the white-out of the Blizzard of ’88.
Bill checked once again on the boiler and was proud to see that he had the hang of it. He walked back up the stairs and at the first floor decided to check on the snow from that perspective. He rubbed a small circle in the window and saw that the snow was up to what he thought was the middle of the two front doors. He decided to check out the vestibule and opened the inside door only to feel the cold penetrating the two doors. Mid way up each of the two wooden doors was a thick glass section that allowed light to enter the vestibule and the bottom half of each glass was in shadow telling Bill where the snow stopped . . . for now. As he turned to go back inside he noticed some mail on the floor. Bill picked them up and saw that one was from the coal company telling him that there was a new and better burning coal available . . . for a higher price. He looked at one that advertised a new plumber in town and the third was a typical letter that had its ink smeared and unreadable from the snow the day it arrived. He slipped a finger in the damp flap and opened the letter. He almost collapsed as he read the letter Shirley had sent him. My dearest Bill, I’ve decided to pop in on you on the spur of the moment as the good Doctor Watson is at a medical seminar and I have just completed redoing my flat. I do hope I’m not intruding and will be at pier 14 on March 13. Hugs and kisses until then. Shirley.
My god, that’s today! Stupid me! Not checking for mail! I-I have to get down to the dock right away. He ran up the stairs two at a time and then into his room where he threw open his closet. He climbed into a pair of full body underwear then a pair of heavy work pants and a tee shirt before pulling on a heavy wool sweater over it. Bill pulled up a pair of thick socks he had just purchased along with calf high leather jackboots. He quickly taped the bottom of the pants to his boots and put on a heavy three-quarter coat instead of a long overcoat that would drag him down in the deep snow. He pulled a knitted navy watch cap down over his ears and then wrapped a long scarf around his neck and as much of his face as he could. He finally pulled on a pair of long work gloves and ran down the back stairs to the garden. He pushed hard and the snow crunched as the door pushed against it giving him just enough room to squeeze through.
The wind slammed into him forcing him back against the closed door. Damn! This is even worse than any story I’ve read relating to the storm. I should really turn back while I can. He mentally shook his head, No way! You have to get to her. Just get to Fourteenth Street where it’s probably shoveled out a bit. After all it is one of the main streets in the city and it will take me right down to the dock. He bent his head and started to walk in the waist high snow.
It took fifteen minutes for him to walk one block and his feet were already getting cold. He saw blurry objects before him and after wondering what they were he quickly wiped the frozen droplets off of his eyelashes. At the corner he automatically turned his head to see if there was any traffic coming and the wind caught his scarf at such an angle that it got loose and he had to grab it and try to retie it as the wind-driven snow got inside the neck of his sweater. It froz
e instantly. He finally got the scarf back on and had to hold it whenever he turned his head. He tripped and fell completely under the snow and as he fought to get up was grabbed by someone else under the snow. Bill almost panicked as he felt he was drowning and each breath he took brought more snow into his mouth and nostrils. He quickly grabbed the person and dragged them up with him. It was a young man whose face was blue and he propped him against a fence as he wondered what to do next.
“I got him fellow.” He looked to see a big policeman holding the man up. “See to yourself.”
Bill once again put his head down and forced himself through the snow. There was a section that had drifts of snow and ice fifteen feet high and he had to crawl over parts of it. He saw a policeman drag another man out of a drift and they both suddenly disappeared in a blast of wind-driven snow. He wondered if they got past the drift.
After three blocks his right foot was wet and freezing cold. He smelled smoke before he saw it and to his right Bill saw a building on fire and people climbing out of the second floor window and sliding down a slope of snow and ice. At the fourth block he was thrown into the side of a wagon that was frozen in place. His jacket tore and once again the scarf was blown away. He grabbed it and tied it as securely as he could. At the fifth street he heard the bell of a fire wagon and stood on a ten-foot drift to see where it was. A cloud of black smoke would usually tell anyone where the fire wagon was, but in this wind the tell tale smoke dissipated right away. Bill was about to get down when he saw it less than one block away. Four muscular horses pulled the red wagon with all their might while the firemen walked behind the wagon in the two narrow paths that the wheels created. As they approached, Bill quickly joined in behind them without a word from the tired men. The going was extremely tough and the snorts from the tired horses were mingled with the sound of the ripping wind. The team turned right at the sixth street and Bill had to walk on alone in the deep snow.
Shirley left the safety of the building and started her trek up Fourteenth Street. The wind was at her back and helped her as she pushed through the deep heavy snow. She made good time, as there were no drifts to speak of because the area was flat and the wind just pushed the snow ahead of her. But once at her third street the drifts started to appear and she had to make wide detours before getting back on track. She passed a bar that had music coming out of the front door as men called out to her. “Hey buddy, the bar is open and warm. Come on in out of that storm.” She waved and kept trudging towards her goal.
It was at street number four that a large sign came loose in the wind and hit her on the thigh. She fell and tried to get up but the heavy sign would not allow her to so she dug lower in the snow and crawled out from under the sign.
Shirley got to street number five and the buildings there gave her a surprise as the way they were positioned made the high winds blow in circles that ripped her scarf off of her head along with her knitted cap. She frantically grabbed for both and succeeded, but putting them back on in the howling wind was almost impossible. She finally succeeded, but by then her entire head and neck were wet and starting to freeze. She kept going and now started to berate herself, Shirley Holmes, you are out of your league in this storm. Why didn’t you stay aboard the ship as any intelligent person would have done? You better hope that Bill is waiting at home with a mug of hot chocolate for you and not out on some mission.
The wind actually increased and with the snow still coming down people who were out in it became tired and when they fell down they felt the need to rest for a moment or two. Those were the people who were found the next few days buried beneath the growing drifts that reached twenty feet in height.
Shirley saw a small curved indentation in the snow between a drift and a turned over wagon where she decided to stop and fix her loose scarf. She felt warmer here then at any time since she left the steamship’s building. She suddenly took hold of herself and stepped back out into the wind. No rest until we are in Bill’s building!
She approached street number six and thankfully the wind was once again behind her.
Bill’s foot was numb and he morbidly decided that at least he didn’t feel any cold in it. As he trudged towards the docks he was constantly looking across the street just in case Shirley was also walking in this blizzard.
It was at Fifth Avenue and Fourteenth Street that Bill saw a figure stumbling slowly, head down in the opposite direction. He saw that it was a man and was about to continue on when he remembered her dressing as a man when she worked for Scotland Yard and knew that of all the women in the 1800s she’d be the first women to dress as a man if that’s what it took to get something done.
“Shirley!” He cupped his hands to his mouth and called out again, “Shirley Holmes! Is that you?” He crossed the broad street as fast as he could and swung in behind the person who was walking up Fourteenth Street. “Hey,” he said as he grabbed the person’s shoulder. A man with a long red mustache turned and asked loudly, “Am-am I still on Fourteenth Street or have I drifted off, sir.”
A disappointed Bill had to shout over the wind as he answered, “Yes sir, you are on Fourteenth Street. Good luck.”
On the opposite side of the street Shirley suddenly stopped and raised her head. Was that Bill I just heard? “Bill!” She shouted only to realize that she hardly heard herself over the howling wind. She saw one of the fifteen-foot high snowdrifts that had a wagon as its base. Shirley quickly climbed up using the wheel spokes as a ladder and soon stood on top of the drift. She saw movement across the street and a figure of a man just as he fell down. Shirley waited for him to get up and when she realized that he wasn’t getting up, she climbed down and crossed the street to help him.
Bill was trying to get up but his ankle was sprained and he slipped and fell again. He began crawling to a fence that offered something of a shelter out of the wind and realized that he had lost a glove somewhere.
A hand reached out and took his. He looked up, but the wind-driven snow acted like a white curtain preventing him from seeing the face of his helper. And then the face came close and they both lit up as they recognized each other. Without a word they embraced and in a moment their tears were frozen on each other’s cheeks.
Still without speaking the couple started their trek to Bill’s building. It was two steps forward followed by one step back as the wind shifted when it met a street corner or different shaped buildings. They were both bent over and now Shirley developed a limp as snow got into her boot. It was natural to keep their eyes closed against the wind, but it also had the effect of walking in their sleep, which became more and more what their bodies wanted to do. They both saw the small section where the wind had created a horseshoe shaped area that was no more than four feet wide. They rested their tired and cold bodies in the center as the wind whipped all around them. They did not have the energy to even speak and just huddled together and closed their eyes.
“Two people over there,” said Rocky Perna as he looked through the small infrared scope at the heat signature of two bodies that were warmer than the cold snow.
“The only two on this street?” asked John Brand.
“Yes, John. We still have another eight blocks to go before we get to the Fourteenth Street pier.” He turned and addressed the slim man carrying a doctor’s kit. “Matt do we have more hot drink on the sled?”
“Yes, Mister Perna. Plenty more.”
“Those two are not moving,” called out Rocky as he put the unit in his pocket and zipped it closed. I say we get across the street and check them out before continuing.”
The three men easily walked over the snow in their snowshoes and Rocky was the first to enter the horseshoe area, bend down and shake the two men who were now almost covered with snow.
“Hot drink needed here!” he shouted as he brushed the snow off of Shirley’s face. “Wha?” he said as he recognized her. He jumped to Bill quickly as John joined him. “It’s them! Its Bill and Shirley! We got them!”
Matt joine
d them and went to the wide toboggan he pulled behind him and grabbed a yellow box. He placed it on a fairly flat section of snow and pulled a lanyard. The sudden sound of CO2 being released was heard as the box quickly transformed into a five-man tent. It shook against the wind but was designed to stay flat in heavy winds. Matt quickly unzipped the opening and Rocky and John dragged the two into the tent. Matt crawled in and popped open a small battery powered heater and placed it on the floor of the tent and then zipped the tent closed. Rocky and John rubbed their faces and hands while Matt rolled out a battery operated electric blanket that they put over the two. Finally they urged them to drink a cup of hot chocolate. Bill opened his eyes and squinted as he tried to make out where they were and who was with them.
“J-John? Matt? Rocky? Is-is that you guys?”
“Yes,” answered John as he pressed him back to the horizontal position. “Just relax and sip the hot drink.”
After five minutes both were alert and full of questions.
“Sir,” said Matt, “We shall answer all of your questions once we have you back safely in the club.”
“The club? That means that the time portal is working again . . . well,” he continued, “of course it’s working. How else could you be here?”
In less than thirty minutes the two were dressed in battery-heated lightweight rain resistant one-piece zippered suits that had a hood, which tightened around the face. They wore ski masks and snow goggles and high rubber boots that were battery heated. Finally they wore elbow length heated gloves. With their energy restored they stood and watched as Matt pulled the tent down and it went back to its original size. They both put on a pair of snowshoes and followed Rocky who pulled the toboggan. Shirley and Bill declined the offer to ride on the toboggan and they started off with Matt and John following.
On the way back the small group stopped for five different snowbound people and gave them the last of the hot drink. Back at the club’s garden Bill asked Matt, “Are you going to set the Time Frequency Modulator for 2016?”
Time Travel Adventures of the 1800 Club, Book 14 Page 19
