“What’s going on, May-Bell?”
“Jack, there isn’t any time for this. I have to go find Tess. She left on her own early this morning, and hasn’t returned since.” Mabel was beginning to feel overwhelmed. It was not like Tess to leave her in the dark. “I need a ride to East Hill. She took my skiff, and that’s the last place she’s been seen.”
She quickly climbed in with Jack, and they hurried on their way. She tried not to think of the worst, but she couldn’t help but worry. What would have sent Tess out there on her own? What is it, Tess, what are you keeping from me? Mabel tried to think of why her sister would have gone alone, but didn’t have a clue.
***
The rain had started to come down at a heavy pace as they approached East Hill, but Mabel hadn’t even noticed. Her mind was busy trying to put the pieces together; she just couldn’t see the connection.
She knew that Tess had been getting up earlier over the last several weeks, but had attributed that to her wanting to get her chores done early. Why would she take the skiff, and to East Hill of all places? They didn’t really know anyone there, not well enough to visit, at least, and she had not mentioned a boy. It was so far out, on a good day getting there took an hour. She just could not imagine Tess going it alone. She was missing something. How could she not have noticed that something was up?
“Mabel! Are you coming?”
She looked up at Jack, not realizing that they had reached the dock. The two of them climbed up the muddy slope as quickly as they could. They stopped along the way to ask each person that they passed if they had seen Tess, and no one had.
They went into the market with the hope that they would have better luck. Finally a young boy who had overheard them talking to a shopkeeper came up to Mabel and pulled on her shirt tail to get her attention.
“Hey, I saw a girl like you described just this morning. I saw her go into the shoemaker’s shop.”
“Thank you so much!” she said to the child.
Mabel knew exactly where it was, because she had been there on several occasions. Everyone knew the shoemaker. As she entered the shop, the man acknowledged her with a nod.
“If you’re looking to buy today, stock is low. It’s been quite busy around here, due to the new search party getting ready and all.”
“No, not today. I am looking for someone, a young girl, blonde hair, fifteen years old.” She felt hopeful that he would remember seeing Tess.
“There was a young girl, not from around these parts. She came in this morning looking for a new pair of mudders. I made her a fair trade, and she went on about her business.” He shrugged his shoulders while giving her a curious look.
“Did she say where she was going?”
He shook his head slowly. “No, can’t say that she did.”
Mabel felt disappointed as they walked the rest of the market. This turned out to be a complete waste of time as they did not find out any more information than they had already gathered.
Maybe she has made it back home by now, Mabel thought as they carefully made their way back to the skiff. She was still trying to put two and two together.
“Does she have a boyfriend?” Jack said out of nowhere.
“No, I thought about that already. She would have told me.”
“Well, she didn’t tell you about taking the skiff.”
“I would have known.” Certainly she would have, she thought.
“It’s probably nothing. She just needed a new pair of mudders and didn’t want to bother you with it.” He tried to be encouraging, but he could tell it wasn’t working. He looked over at where Mabel was sitting and studied her for a moment. He had never seen her like this before. She usually had a scowl on her face, and was full of sarcasm. But not today. She looked confused and Jack could sense her dismay. He wanted to comfort her, but didn’t know how.
Mabel took in a deep breath and tried to calm herself. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” She just wished she knew where Tess was at. It was going to be tough not to scold her, but this could not be taken lightly. She was going to remind Tess that the skiff was hers and it was not to be taken without her knowledge.
Just then Jack heard a shout. Looking up, he saw a skiff approaching with a white flag. He knew it was from his village so he steered in its direction.
“Hey, what are you doing with May-bell?” Ralph said as he gave them a curious look. “Is your skiff stranded? I saw it at the cave.”
“The cave!” She looked at Ralph, wondering why on earth it would be over there. “When? How long ago?”
“Just now. I was over that way searching for goods, and I saw it tied to the dock. The strange thing is, there were other boats tied there too. I didn’t recognize any of them. They looked a lot different than the ones from around here, and they didn’t have any flags, either.”
“Let’s go!” Mabel said.
She felt a sudden dread. Her heart was pounding so fast she thought it would explode. She had no idea what this was all about, or why Tess would be there. Her mind raced as she tried to put the pieces together. There had never been strangers in their lands before. Who could these people be, and what could they possibly want with Tess?
Chapter 4
“I think it’s probably a good idea if you go back with Ralph,” Jack said.
“No way. I’m staying right here with you. What if Tess needs me?”
“I really don’t think that is a good idea, Mabel. What if we need more help?” He didn’t want to scare her, but he had a bad feeling about these newcomers. Jack thought it would be best if she was not there when they approached them.
“It’s not happening! We’re just wasting time sitting here arguing, when we could be doing something,” Mabel shouted.
Jack knew this was a fight he could not win. He should have known better, as she was as stubborn as a goat.
“Ralph, go on and be quick about it. Get back here as fast as you can,” Jack said. Then he told Mabel, “I think it’s best if we just wait for the others to arrive. We can watch from a distance. That way we can see what our best course of action is,” Jack said as he fished out his magnifiers from his bag. After a quick look he handed them over to Mabel. “Here, take these and tell me what you can see.” He hoped that if Mabel could see Tess, it would help her relax.
She could just make out Tess sitting at the mouth of the cave. There was a small fire, and two men were standing to her left. They were leaning on the wall of the cave talking to one another. She scanned the hill, and did not see anyone else. She looked back down at the dock, and saw her little skiff sitting there. There were two other boats; one was much larger than her own. There was also a smaller one docked beside it. She knew it must be their scout boat. It appeared that it was tied up to the larger boat, so that the men could haul it along behind them.
“I only see two men. I think we should just approach them to see what this is all about.” Tess did not appear as though she was being restrained; maybe this was all just a misunderstanding.
“No, no, I think we should just sit tight and wait for the others,” Jack said as he scanned the water in search of them.
“What’s taking them so long? I can’t just sit here any longer, Jack! I can’t! Let’s just go!”
Jack looked over his shoulder one last time, hoping that he could see Ralph and the others he had sent for, but no one was in sight. Slowly he began to row towards the cave island. His gut instinct told him this was a bad idea, but he knew that if it was his family up there, he would want to do the same thing.
They tied up to the dock as quietly as they could, and walked to the edge of the hill. “I’ll lead the way, so I can help pull you up if you get stuck,” Jack offered.
Mabel just rolled her eyes. She was willing to let him take the lead if it made him feel better. She knew good and well she was perfectly capable of climbing that hill.
When they neared the top, they both were surprised when no one approached them. Mabel ran to Tess
with tears in her eyes.
“Tess, are you all right?”
Tess jumped up and hugged her sister. “I have been waiting for you all day. What took you so long?”
“What do you mean, you’ve been waiting on me? How was I supposed to know where you were? It’s not like you told anyone,” she said as she gave Tess a quizzical look.
Just then Merth stepped out from the shadows of the cave. “I hate to break up such a sweet reunion and all. Your friend here is just fine! She’s been waiting for someone to arrive so she could send along a message.”
“What message?” None of this made any sense to Mabel; she was getting more and more confused by the minute.
“He, or, ah, they claim that they now own this island. They’ve been holding me here, waiting for someone to show up looking for me so they could spread the word,” Tess said.
“What! That is absurd. Who are these people and where did they come from?” Mabel answered, staring at Merth.
He gave her a look that said back off, so she knew she wasn’t going to get any answers.
“You can take your little friend here and go on your way, but don’t come back without food or goods. That is the only way you’ll be getting any coal. You be sure and tell everyone now, you hear. I won’t be responsible if anything should happen. Now you’ve been warned! Go on,” Merth ordered.
Mabel took note that she only saw three men as they made their way back down the hill. She noticed that they all looked the worse for wear. Only one was old enough that she would actually call him a man. The other two were much younger. None of them looked exactly threatening to her, either.
They got into their skiffs and had begun to pull away when Ralph finally showed up with a couple of his buddies.
“You’re a little late,” Jack said, shaking his head. “I thought I said to come back with some men,” he said as he looked at the young boys that Ralph had brought with him.
“Well, you told me to make it fast, and they were already at the dock when I arrived. They volunteered to come with me,” Ralph answered. “It was the best I could do in a hurry.”
Slowly a few other skiffs began to arrive. They were making their way to the cave to replenish their coal.
Jack explained the situation to them. “Now hurry and go back to your villages. We need to let the leaders know. We don’t want to put anyone in danger if we don’t have to, but we need to come up with a plan.”
Before Jack and Mabel parted ways, Jack said that he would meet back up with her later that evening at her village. He told her that he would be sure to let her in on any information he could gather from his own leaders. Mabel agreed, knowing they definitely needed to work together to come up with a solution. All of the villages would have to pull together to both reclaim the coal, and to find out where these men had come from.
Mabel had so many unanswered questions, but first she had to attend to the problem at hand. As soon as they arrived, Mabel and Tess went to look for the mayor. There was chatter among the villagers, so she knew that the word had already gotten around.
***
As Mayor Olsen stood at the square, preparing to address her people, she tried her best to steady her nerves. She was treading on new territory, and knew that this was going to cause fear amongst her villagers. They had never had newcomers come into their territory before, and hostile ones at that. This was not something she could explain or easily pass off as nothing to worry about. She knew this was a big deal, and was not quite sure how to handle it. This was the first time she herself had felt fear. She was unsure if there would be a peaceful solution.
“I’m sure by now everyone knows of the events that have unfolded today. I, along with help from leaders of the other villages, am working on a peaceful solution. Our goal is to have this standoff be resolved without any violence,” stated the mayor.
Everyone looked to one another with great concern, as they had never encountered civil unrest before. This was cause for great worry. Mabel and Tess held hands while the mayor spoke.
“From the information we have gathered, it appears that there are only three men. What we don’t know is where they have come from, or if there are any others that we need to be concerned about, who have yet to arrive. We have sent out a scouting party to check each of our borders even as I speak. We are going to need our men to rise to the occasion, and volunteer when the time arises.” She spoke with a calm and steady voice as she tried to evoke a confidence that at this moment she did not possess.
Several of the men stood up to offer their assistance, eager to protect what was theirs. Shouts arose from the back, protesting the plan. They demanded justice, and were announcing their rights to just go and take the island back with force. They wanted answers, and they wanted them now.
“Gentlemen, please settle down. There is a right way and a wrong way to handle this. Let’s try the peaceful way first,” the mayor said as she motioned for everyone to remain calm. “Now, if any of you would like to volunteer, please step forward.”
Mabel looked around as a large majority of the men headed up to the stage to show their support for the cause. She felt someone squeeze her hand and assumed it was Tess. She was surprised to find that it was Jack holding her hand. She wasn’t sure when that had happened, but much to her surprise she did not pull away.
“I think it’s best we leave now, just in case this gets ugly,” he said in a whisper.
Jack made sure he walked Mabel and Tess to their home, even though there had never been any cause for worry in the past. The way the day had gone so far, he didn’t feel like taking any chances.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Mabel,” Jack said as he waved goodbye and left for home.
***
Mabel could not wait to get Tess alone to find out what it was she was being so secretive about. The questions were piling up, and she wanted answers.
“Are you ready to tell me what was so important that you had to go out by yourself this morning?”
Tess looked as though she was going to be defiant at first, standing there with her arms folded in front of her and a cold stare in her eyes. Then she slowly let her arms drop to her sides and Mabel saw her face had softened, as there was a break in her resolve.
“I was going to tell you soon, I promise. I just needed a little more time. I have decided to go out on the search party with the other volunteers.”
“What! Are you crazy? There’s no way I am going to let you go!” Everything was starting to make sense now: Tess getting up early in the morning, and taking the skiff to East Hill without telling Mabel.
“Mabel, I’ve made up my mind. You cannot make this decision for me. I am fifteen now and can make this choice on my own. I really prefer to have your blessing, but I will be going either way,” Tess vowed.
Mabel saw a passion in her sister. A fire had been lit, one that was going to be hard to put out.
“Tess, I can’t stand by quietly and just let you go. You aren’t ready yet. I don’t think you realize what’s out there. Once you go, there will be no turning back. It is forever!”
Tess nodded to her sister. “That’s just it, Mabel. No one knows what’s out there. I have to find out for myself, and I need to know what happened to Mom. I just have to! I can’t do this anymore,” she cried as a tear began to roll down her cheek.
“If you go, what will be left for me, Tess? What will I do without you? You don’t understand, Tess, I need you.” As soon as the words had escaped her mouth, the idea caught Mabel by surprise, but she realized that it was the truth. She did need her sister.
“Besides, I promised Mom I would keep you safe.”
“Don’t you see, Mabel, you have. Now your job is done. It’s time I take care of myself, and do what is best for me.”
“Let’s not talk about this anymore for now, Tess. We have bigger problems at hand.” Mabel had seen and heard just about enough for one day. Right now she just needed to take things on one at a time.
***
Mabel lay in her bed thinking about the events of the day. So much had happened, it was hard to comprehend. She could not understand what Tess was thinking; it was completely irrational. Of course she knew the driving force behind it, but to go out into the great wilds without discussing it with her first seemed unimaginable. This caught her completely off guard. She had thought they could talk about anything, especially something as important as this.
Then there were the newcomers. Where did they come from? Did they honestly think that they could just come in and take over the coal, and nobody was going to say a word? The thought of this was baffling and disturbing.
Mabel did not know how all of this was going to play out, and it was all becoming mentally exhausting. She found much to her surprise that her thoughts kept wandering back to Jack. She had never noticed how handsome he was before, and kept chastising herself for thinking so. She could not shake the feeling of his hand in hers. It had felt so strong and sincere. Was he just trying to comfort her, or was there something more? She cursed herself; of course he was just comforting her. Remember what a jerk he is, she told herself, but for some reason those thoughts kept melting away. All she kept seeing was his dirty blond hair and caring eyes. She drifted off to sleep with thoughts of Jack on her mind.
Chapter 5
Merth stood on the dock looking out at the muddy water. He tightened the rope on his filthy pants, trying to keep them up on his ever-shrinking waist. No one was coming as of yet, but he knew that was soon going to change. He hoped he was not making a mistake; life had been full of them thus far. At this point he didn’t see an alternative course of action. This was the first unoccupied piece of livable land they had come by, and it had resources too. It had just seemed logical at the time. He finally had something he could bargain with to help keep his boys safe. He was having serious doubts now, though. Merth knew that he was nothing like the pillagers of the west. Who did he think he was fooling? They didn’t even have weapons, unless he counted his pocket knife and the paltry sticks that he and the boys had spent the last several days whittling away at to make hunting spears.