In the Midst of Tribulation (11 page)

"Okay, you want to watch where the sun is, so that you can keep your shadow off the water."
Cody asked, "I thought you wanted an area without trees?"
"That was just so none of you snagged a tree when we practice casting. We're going to work on you all being able to put your hook where you want."
"Why?"
"Trout like to hide behind rocks and let the water swirl their food right to them. Look for eddies in the water and cast just up river from the eddy. Then, let your bait bump by and you might get a strike."
"Bait?" Eva asked with a moue of distaste. "I don't want to have to put worms on the line."
"No, no. We're using artificial baits." Martha opened up the gearbox and showed them all the assorted flies.
"How come there are so many different types?"
"Depending on what you're catching, you change your bait. Trout like flies and salmon like worms."
"I thought you said no worms," Eva nearly wailed.
Martha reached into the bottom of the box and pulled out a handful of neon rubber worms. "I did. We're going to use these."
"Oh." Reaching out, Eva took one of the slightly sticky worms. "They feel weird."
"They're designed to move a lot with the current to mimic how a live worm would wiggle." Martha handed out a worm to everyone and showed them all how to attach it to the lines.
The lessons progressed smoothly and they were able to catch a couple of fish for dinner. They returned to the camp, grateful for the fire that Jay built. They dried their clothes while the potatoes cooked.
Jay showed them a way to cook the fish that involved two stakes driven into the ground near the fire's edge and inclined over the flames. The fish were held between the stakes with a couple of sticks. The slow cooking made the fish very tender and juicy.
Dinner was a congenial affair. Without Doris' sobering influence, the conversation among the group was free flowing and filled with laughter. Clean up was quick and easy and everything quieted down as the fire started to die out.
"We should hang the rest of the food." Jay voice carried on the night air.
"There a problem with scavengers?"
"There are occasionally bears out here. The smell of the smoker may draw them and there is no reason to give them any more food than necessary."
Working together, the three adults secured the rest of the potatoes, the corn meal, rice and other staples in a large bag and hoisted it up about twenty feet above the ground. With that accomplished, they all went back to their positions in front of the fire.
Martha sat with her back against the fallen log with Susan snuggled up with her. She looked across the glowing coals of the campfire at Jay who was leaning on one elbow. Carol and Eva were sitting cross-legged next to each other, giggling about the happenings of the day. Cody was almost asleep, nodding off after over exerting all day in an attempt to burn through all the testosterone running through his system.
"What are we going to do with them?" asked Martha, fondly.
"I think we should start a school." Susan's voice carried on the night air. She ignored the "Aw, mom!" from her kids and went on, "All of us have information that we should pass it on before it's too late."
Jay started to sing, "Don't know much about history, don't know much biology."
"I think you're wrong there. Beyond your extensive library, you've got great an incredible wealth of knowledge in that skull of yours."
"Harmony is the teacher. I mean, seriously, I've never taught before."
Martha pointed a finger at her. "What do you think you've been doing since we got here? You've been an extraordinary teacher."
"That's more sharing than teaching."
"Call it what you will." Susan rubbed her cheek against Martha's thigh. "I think we should all make a list of what we know and what we feel capable of passing on. And Jay, you should do a breakdown of your books."
"You're not going to make us attend classes?"
"I don't see why not. The world as we know it may have ended but that doesn't give us the rights to lower our expectations for our children. Besides, it will be a way to keep busy during those long winter days."
Despite grumbling, the teenagers were actually looking forward to getting back into the habit of schooling. They were all of above average intelligence and missed the daily mental challenge they used to get from the classroom.
"Let's call it a night, everyone. We can discuss our plans for the future later." Jay stood up and banked the fire before she headed to the area they had dug for waste. Speaking over her shoulder, she called, "Susan, your and Martha's tent is the one furthest from the rest."
The teenagers fell over themselves laughing at the blushing adults. They ignored the mock glares and went to their separate tents.
Cody was bunking with Jay and the two girls were sharing the tent next to them. He didn't mind since it meant he got the tent to himself for the rest of their stay at the river. Asleep almost before his head hit the pillow, Cody didn't even stir when Jay entered the tent and crawled into her sleeping bag. She quickly joined him in slumber.
The clearing was quiet except for the occasional giggle from the girl's tent and low moans from Susan and Martha's. Soon, even those noises stilled and the camp slept to the sound of river rolling past.
There was a chill to the air the next morning. When the teenagers were rousted from their tents, they saw Jay and Martha over by the smokehouse. It was a box about two feet square and five feet high. The top three quarters was solid, except for an inch gap near the top.
She pointed to the pit under it. "You build the fire and let it burn down to embers. Only then do you fill the box with fish that have been filleted and gutted. We don't want to cook the fish, just smoke it. You close the top section and then, you feed the leaves and green wood to the fire. Don't forget, it will need to be tended regularly through the day and night."
"How long is it going to take?"
"Depending on the thickness of the meat, three days should be sufficient."
Martha divided her attention between the box and her fishing students. "So, you figure two days of heavy fishing, three days of smoking and fishing for our dinner and then home?"
"Something like that." Jay used her ax to chop off the branches from a large limb Cody had dragged back to the camp. "If you want to explore, there is an old mill upstream a ways. It was still abandoned the last time I was through here but you should always be careful of squatters."
Susan looked at the eager faces and nodded. "We might give it a try."
"Keep as many of the fish you're not smoking alive as long as you can. We can freeze what isn't smoked."
"Great. Are you going to head back now?"
"No, I'll gather some more wood while the first shift fishes."
"You're going to steal our product?"
"You betcha. I plan on taking up enough for dinner tonight."
The camp ate a cold breakfast and started work with Cody helping Jay find wood for the smoke house. The sun was climbing in the sky when she called out to Susan that she was ready to go.
"You have enough fish?"
"Yeah, Martha's been on fire. She got five without breaking a sweat."
"Considering the temperature of the water, I'm not sure that means anything."
Jay smiled affectionately at her. "I'll be heading up now."
"Okay, we'll be here."
"I'll start looking for you in five days. Either Piper or I will come looking for you at seven." Jay lifted the string of fish. "Thanks for these. I'm sure we'll enjoy them tonight."
"Bye, Jay," Cody, Carol and Eva chorused.
"Hey! Eyes on your lines," yelled Martha. She winked at Jay as the teenagers focused their attention back on fishing.
Chapter Nine - Higher Ground
Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith, on Heaven's table land,
A higher plane than I have found;
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground
Words: Johnson Oatman, Jr., 1898. Music: Charles H. Gabriel
Jay came back from the fishing camp with four fillets on a string. She came up the old hunting trial and surprised Doris and Piper who were sitting on the porch. She tried to hide her grin at the dirty look Doris shot her and said, "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."
"Maybe we should tie a bell around your neck."
Piper shook her head at Doris' testy remark. "Good to see you back. I was just thinking how good it would be to see someone."
Laughing, Jay held up the fish. "Well, I'm back and I brought dinner."
"I guess I can take it that the fishing trip is going well?"
"You certainly can. The kids have taken to it like, well, a fish to water."
"That's just awful." Piper couldn't believe how easily she fell into a joking mood. After years of terrible tension, less than a week at the cabin made much of that time just a memory.
"How are you going to cook them?"
"I haven't decided yet. What would y'all like?"
"What are our choices?"
"Fried, poached, or grilled."
Piper smacked her lips. "I'd like grilled."
"Excellent. Let me put these in the fridge until dinner."
"What shall we do until then?"
"Oh, I'm sure that we can find something to do."
"I'm enjoying sitting here in the quiet." Doris stated.
"I know," Jay said, clapping her hands. "Let's go bring down a tree."
Piper grinned at her. "I'm game."
"Excuse me? A tree?" Doris looked concerned.
"Yep."
"What do you expect us to do?"
"I cut a couple of trees that were dying this spring. I was planning on letting them dry in place until the end of winter but needs must. They're up the hill a couple hundred yards."
"What do we need?"
"You mean, other than brute force? Come on downstairs and help me gather what we need." Jay led the other women down into the basement. She handed out a saw and an axe before grabbing a pair of wheels and a couple of straps.
"What are those for?"
"Well, we can roll the log part of the way but there are a lot of other trees up there. It's a pain to be constantly forcing it around the obstacles. It'll be easier if drag it."
"Drag it? You expect us to drag a log?"
"Duh. How else did you think we'd get wood for the fireplaces?"
"There are only three of us. We should wait until the other's come back." Doris tried to hand the saw back.
"We don't need them. Hell, I've brought logs down with just me and dogs." Jay fondled the ears of the two black mutts.
"Then use them. Don't bring us into it."
"No." Piper's tone was sharp. "We're in this together. We'll go and work together." She glared at Doris until the taller woman nodded.
Jay smiled in thanks. "Let me get a basket."
"What for?"
"You never know what you may find that you'll want to carry back home. I take a basket anytime I go wandering. It keeps my pockets from getting too dirty." She glanced at her companions. "Ready? Okay, follow me." She flipped the straps over her shoulder and whistled to the pack of dogs. She tossed a ball out before her and laughed at the melee that ensued.
Amazed that the dogs could chase the ball and run uphill, Piper spoke quietly, "You've had the dogs for a while."
"They're a family group. My neighbor from the other side of the mountain has a male lab. I've kept a female from each litter and sold the rest to other neighbors."
"They are well-trained."
"Well enough."
"Do you plan on getting more?"
"Replacement only. They're starting to eat me out of house and home."
"What have you been feeding them?"
"They're natural scavengers. I feed them leftovers with supplements from the animals I've killed. I don't eat the intestines or bones and the dogs love them."
"So, I should make sure I bring the offal back?"
"Yeah. I've found a way to use most everything. If possible, bring the whole animal back and we can bleed it on the rack near the house and dress it there."
"No problem."
"You say that when you don't have close to 200 pounds of deer over your shoulder."
"Now I know the real reason you keep stressing the buddy system. Free labor."
"A burden shared is a burdened lightened."
Doris caught up with them. She was panting. "How much further?"
"Not much." Jay pointed up. "See the patch of sunlight over there? That's the space that was created when it came down."
Stepping into the clearing, the three women walked around the fallen tree. Piper spoke for all of them, when she said, "That's awfully big."
"Indeed it is. Just think of all the dinners and cozy nights it'll supply." Indicating the branches, Jay asked Doris, "You start sawing off everything on this side and Piper will chop off on her side."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to see if I can find any other deadfall trees. No reason to waste energy chopping trees down when some are already on the ground." Jay whistled to the dogs and began hiking farther up the side of the mountain.
"I don't know who she thinks she is, leaving us with all the work."
"I'm sure that she'll be doing her fair share." Piper reassured her between strikes of her ax. She quickly developed a rhythm and dropped into a trance state. When she finally looked up toward the sky, she noticed that at least a couple of hours had passed. Glancing over to her workmate, she saw that Jay had replaced Doris at the saw.
"Didn't see you come back."
"You were working awfully hard."
"Find anything?"
"Yeah, there is a dead tree about five hundred yards east. I think it's been six months or so. We can come back up and take it down in the next couple of days after we've dealt with this one." Stopping to wipe her brow, Jay added, "I also got a basket of mushrooms."
"How do you know they're safe to eat?" Doris' voice interrupted.
Her lips tightening in annoyance, Piper looked around for the other woman and saw her sitting on the stump. "Why don't you make yourself useful and collect the branches?" she asked. "I'm sure that we can use them for kindling."
"Right you are. After we get the log down, we'll need to return to gather what's left."
With ill concealed reluctance, Doris stood up and brushed off the seat of her pants. She moved very slowly and tossed the branches into a haphazard pile.
"Should we tell her that it would be easier if she stacked them properly?" asked Jay in a soft voice.
"Doris has never struck me as being particular open to new ideas or to long term planning."
"How did she make it this far?"
"Basically, Martha and Susan took the two of them in and made sure that they always had something to eat and a safe place to stay."
Jay turned and watched Doris for a moment. Shrugging it off, she put her back into sawing off the rest of the limbs. When that task was done, Jay measured the width of the tree.