CHAPTER XII
The First of the Fishing
For a whole week the thaw went merrily on. One by one the fishingboats left their winter anchorage in the river, and sailed out intothe stormy waters of the bay. By the end of the week JervisFerrars had so far recovered the comfortable use of his feet thathe could wear boots again and go about like other men. Directly hewas able to do this he went down to Seal Cove every day, where heinspected every boat that was ready to put to sea, overhauled thestore shed, and quietly took command, setting Oily Dave on one sidewith as little ceremony as if that worthy had never been master ofthe fleet.
Oily Dave took the change in government with very bad grace indeed,and it is probable that the life of Jervis Ferrars would have beenin very grave danger many times during the next few weeks if it hadnot been for the fact that the Englishman had made a host offriends among the fishers, who would protect him at all risks in anopen attack, while Jervis wisely so far avoided Oily Dave as togive no chance for the secret, cowardly thrusts in which thedeposed man delighted.
Astor M'Kree personally conducted the new boats, one by one, overthe rapids, bringing them down when the river was in flood andanchoring them in front of the store until their crews were ready;and when they had cleared for the bay the fishing was in full swing.
Eight hundred miles away, in the north of the great inland sea, thewhalers and sealers were still fast bound in ice and snow, longingfor freedom, yet forced to wait while the tardy spring creptnorthward. But down in the more sheltered waters of James Baythere was abundance of work for everyone. Hundreds of sealsgambolled on the ice floes and on the shores of the littleuncharted islands which make those waters such a serious menace tothe mariner. Sometimes the boats were away for a week. Sometimestwo days found them headed back for Seal Cove, laden with seals,walrus, and narwhal. Many of them succeeded in getting a goodcatch of white whales, for which those waters are so noted; butthese were caught at the mouths of the tidal rivers, for the whalesgo up the rivers every day with the tide, and it was when the tidewas ebbing that the whales were most easily caught. It was onlythe biggest and strongest boats that ventured so far as the tidalrivers, however, and with these Jervis Ferrars never went. Indeed,but from choice he need never have gone to sea at all, for his worklay more particularly on land, where he had to keep toll of thecatch and take care that the various products of the sea harvestwere properly secured and stored, until the opening of HudsonStrait enabled vessels to get through.
Astor M'Kree had made a queer addition to the side of Stee Jenkin'shouse by building against one end of it part of an old fishing boatwhich had been wrecked in the floodtime, and stranded on the bluffupon which the little house was perched. In this peculiar abodeJervis took his residence, while Mrs. Jenkin looked after hiscomfort and kept his room clean with a slavish industry which shehad certainly never bestowed on her own house.
On most days when he was ashore Jervis contrived to get up toRoaring Water Portage, his ostensible errand being to see 'DukeRadford, who was slowly creeping back to physical convalescence.That is, the bodily part of him was resuming its functions, onlythe mental part was at a standstill; and although the sick manseemed to know and love them all, he had no more understanding forthe serious things of life than an average child of six or sevenmight have possessed. It was well for the family that theirfather's illness in the previous winter had in a measure preparedthem for doing without him, or they must have felt even more keenlythe heavy work and heavier responsibilities which had fallen uponthem. As it was, they faced their difficulties with a quietcourage which left no one with a chance to pity them, althoughthere were plenty to admire "the pluck of 'Duke Radford's young'uns".
It was Katherine who took the lead, the boy Miles being a goodsecond, and proving the more valuable aid because of his habit ofunquestioning obedience. Mrs. Burton was willing for any drudgery,and toiled at housework and nursing with a devotion as beautiful asit was uncomplaining. But she had no talent for leadership and nofaculty for organization, and, what is more, she was perfectlyaware of the lack.
Night school was of course at an end. Indeed, no one had any timefor thinking about education or books. Katherine made valorousattempts to carry on the studies of Miles and Phil, but had to givethem up as useless, lacking strength and opportunity for theendeavour. But the long winter would make up for the neglect ofthe short summer, and she left off worrying over their lapse intoignorance, contenting herself with reading to them on Sundays, and,what was more important still, making them read to her.
It was delightful to be abroad in those days of early spring, andKatherine especially enjoyed the journeys to Fort Garry, when sherowed across the corner of the bay and felt the sweep of the breezecoming in from the wider waters beyond. Phil was her companionalways now, because when she was absent Miles must be at home tolook after the store. There were other journeys to be taken also,which, but for the portages, might have been regarded as pleasuretrips pure and simple. But the portage work was hard, and by thetime Katherine and Phil had tramped three times over a mile and ahalf of portage, laden with sugar, bacon, and flour, returning thefourth time for the birchbark, they were mostly too tired to regardthe journey as anything but very hard work indeed.
Yet in spite of this it was lovely to be out in the fresh air andthe sunshine. When Katherine heard the long, laughing chuckle ofthe ptarmigan, or saw the trailing flights of geese headednorthward, she could have shouted and sung from sheer lightheartedjoy at the coming of spring. But, however high her spirits rose asthe weather grew better and finer, there was always the cold dreadin her heart because of what the summer must bring. Of course, ifher father remained in his present condition he would feel andunderstand nothing of the embarrassment which must fall alone uponher in meeting Mr. Selincourt. It was the dread and shrinking atthe thought of this meeting which robbed the spring days of theirkeenest joy, and although she would be happy sometimes, thehappiness was certain to be followed by fits of black depression,especially after the doing of a long portage.
There was a long, low shed at Seal Cove, where all the fish oil,whalebone, blubber, ivory, skins, and other produce of the seaharvest were stored pending ocean shipment. Jervis Ferrars had asmall office railed off from one end of this unsavoury shed, and hewas sitting in it writing, one afternoon in early May, when he sawKatherine's boat coming across from Fort Garry. He had beenlooking for it any time within the last hour, and had begun towonder that it was so long delayed. But it was coming at last, andputting on his cap he locked his office and went out to hail theboat. This was no birchbark journey broken by weary toiling to andfro on a portage trail, but Katherine and Phil were seated in oneof the good, solid boats turned out by Astor M'Kree, and both ofthem looked even brighter than usual.
"Are you coming home with us?" Katherine asked, as she came withinspeaking distance and saw that Jervis had his birchbark by atowrope.
"That is my desire, if you will have me," he said.
"With pleasure. You shall be company, and sit in the place ofhonour," Katherine said with a laugh, feeling that the occasion hadsomehow become festive, even though two miles of rowing against thecurrent lay in front of her. "Phil, move that bundle from the seatand let Mr. Ferrars sit there; he will be more comfortable."
"Thank you, I don't want to sit there, and if I can't do as I likeI shall get into the birchbark and paddle you up river on atowrope, which will jerk you horribly, and probably capsize me,"said Jervis, with an obstinate air.
"What do you wish to do?" she asked demurely.
"I wish to sit where you are sitting now," he answered. "Then Iwill row you up river and give you a necessary lesson in steering;for don't you remember how nearly you upset us into the bank thelast time but one that I rowed you up?"
Katherine flushed, but there was a laughing light in her eyes asshe replied: "Oh yes! I remember perfectly well, but that was quiteas much your fault as mine, for you were telling us of yourexperiences in that
Nantucket whaler, and they were quite thrillingenough to make anyone forget to steer."
"There shall be no such temptation to forgetfulness to-day; that Ican safely promise you," he answered, holding the boat steady whileKatherine moved to the other seat. Then, tying his birchbark onbehind, he stepped into the vacant place and commenced to pull upstream with long, steady strokes.
"You were a long time at the Fort to-day," he remarked presently.
"Yes, Mrs. M'Crawney is ill, and it was only common humanity to dowhat I could for her," Katherine answered gravely, for poor Mrs.M'Crawney had made her heart ache that day, because of the terriblediscomfort in which the poor woman was lying, and the homesicknessfor old Ireland which seemed to oppress her.
"I thought she looked ill the other day when I was over there, butshe would not admit it. I wanted to tell her that less hot pastryand more fresh air would work a cure perhaps; but it does not do tothrust one's opinion unasked upon people, especially when one isonly a doctor in intention and not in reality," Jervis said, with atug at the oars which expressed a good many things.
"It is a good thing for us that you are not really a doctor, orelse you would not be looking after Mr. Selincourt's fishinginterests, and then you would not have been here to take care ofFather," Phil said.
Katherine laughed as she remarked: "For pure, unadulteratedselfishness that would surely beat the record, Phil. I expect Mr.Ferrars hates Seal Cove nearly as much as he did the Nantucketwhaler."
"No, he does not," Jervis broke in. "Sometimes of course Seal Covesmells rather strongly of fish oil, warm blubber, and putrid sealmeat; but, taken as a whole, there are many worse places to livein. I found a bank gorgeous with anemones in blue and redyesterday, and that within ten minutes' walk of the fish shed."
"I know it," said Katherine. "That bank is always a beautifulsight; but wait until you have seen the rhododendrons on the longportage."
"Where is that--at Astor M'Kree's?" asked the young man, whose timewas too much occupied to admit of much exploration of theneighbourhood.
"No, four miles farther up the river, and the portage is a mile anda half long. Phil and I call it the backache portage," repliedKatherine.
"Why, do you deliver goods so far out? With no competition to beafraid of, I should have thought you might have made your customerscome to buy from you," he said, frowning, for he knew very wellwhat kind of work was involved in a portage, and it did not seem tohim a fit and proper employment for a girl.
"But there is competition," laughed Katherine. "There is PeterM'Crawney, with all the great Hudson's Bay Company behind him.That is our most formidable rival, while up on Marble Island therehas been started a sort of United States General Stores and CannedFood Depot. Of course, that is eight hundred miles away, andshould not be dangerous, but it makes more difference than anyonemight suppose."
"Well, it isn't round the corner of the next block at any rate,"Jervis replied, laughing to think that trade could suffer from arival establishment so far away.
"Yes it is, only the block is a big one, you see," she answered,and they all laughed merrily. When one is young, and the sun isshining, it is so easy to be gay, even though grim care stalks inthe background.
"I thought that you and M'Crawney were rather in the position ofbusiness partners than trade rivals," Jervis said, as, passing thelast bend of the river, he swung the boat along the stretch ofstraight water to the store.
"In a sense we are partners; that is, we agree to work together,and to supply each other's shortages in stores so far as we can.But the rivalry is there all the same. Peter M'Crawney knows hewould sell three times the stuff that he does now if it were notfor us; while of course our hands would be freer but for him, onlywe are tied to him, because half of our customers are able to payus only in skins, and then Peter M'Crawney is our Bank of Exchange."
Katherine could not forbear a grimace as she spoke, for peltry canbe a very odorous currency, and she had to examine every skinclosely before deciding what it was worth in flour, bacon, ortobacco, because the red man is a past master in the art ofoutwitting the white man, when it comes to a question of trade.
"The plan of bartering skins for stores is not a good one, and theman who buys the skins ought not to be the one who sells the sugarand tea," Jervis remarked in a dictatorial tone; but Katherine onlylaughed at him, and said that he knew nothing whatever about thered man of the Keewatin wilds, or he would never suggest cashdealings.
"Still it will come, and the red man will be educated to a properappreciation of his privileges," Jervis maintained, with the quietobstinacy that Katherine had sometimes noticed in him before.
"I hope I shall be out of the trade before that time comes," shesaid, as she guided the boat in to the landing place. "As soon asMiles is able to take control of the store I shall return to myproper avocation of school teaching--that is, always providingthere are children to be taught."
'Duke Radford sat in a cushioned chair at a sun-shiny window of thekitchen. He looked up with a smile when his daughter entered theroom, and when she bent over him to kiss him he murmured: "PrettyKatherine", and stroked her face caressingly; then he turned withthe pleased eagerness of a child to greet Jervis, whom he regardedas a very good friend indeed.
Katherine sighed as she went back to help with the unlading of theboat. It was a great comfort to feel that her father sufferednothing either in body or mind, but sometimes she would have beenvery thankful if she could have gone to him with her businessworries, and got his advice on things which perplexed her so much.However, it was something to be thankful for that his burden ofapprehension was lifted so completely, and the thought of thisbanished her tendency to sighing, bringing the smiles back instead.Life might be hard, but while there was hope in it, it could not beunbearable.