White Pine

by Caroline Akervik

  We all held our breath while Roget planted the bundle of dynamite and lit the fuse. Then, he frantically waved his arms for the men to swing him up.

  Before I could see if he was clear, there was a huge explosion, white water and logs blasted out of the center of the jam. In the confusion, we lost sight of Roget. But that mountain range of logs was moving. A hooping and a hollering went up from both sides of the river.

  A few minutes passed, and me and the other fellas ran down along the riverbank, looking to see if he’d made it.

  Then, I saw Roget being pulled from the river. His body was all beat up and bloody, and he was holding his side, but he was grinning like a kid on Christmas morning.

  We all rushed over to him, congratulating him and patting him on the back.

  “You did it! You did it!” I shouted. The next moment, I felt foolish for calling out knowing that Roget didn’t think much of me.

  “Sevy, she blew high.” He clapped me on the back as if we were good friends, then accepted more congratulations from Johnson, Dob, and the others.

  I grinned back at him like a fool. Because, despite everything, in that moment, Fabien Roget was again my hero.

  I think that all of us from the Daniel Shaw Company were walking a little taller that afternoon. After all, one of ours had blown the jam.

  Chapter Thirteen

  ~ Going Home ~

  The remaining days of the river drive passed in a blur of freezing water, mugs of hot tar, and pure dog tiredness, but I didn’t want it to end. Near every day, I practiced burling and learned my feet could fly. But each bend of the river brought me closer to home, to Eau Claire, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Sure, I wanted to go home, but I also wanted to keep being the person I was now, a lumberjack and a river rat. I didn’t want to go back to being just a schoolboy. I’d experienced too much to fit back into my old life.

  On the day that we arrived in Eau Claire, the logs went through the flumes into Half Moon Bay. Then, we sorted the logs by company. I kept looking up to see if any of my family had come for me. It was near the noon hour, and I was standing on a log, sorting through others by their marks, when I glanced over on the shore and saw some folks standing there watching us. Leaning on my peavey, I squinted my eyes against the bright afternoon sun. I saw it was my pa, brother and sister all standing up there waving down at me.

  Peter and Marta were jumping up and down, but Pa just waved and waited, like he had all the time in the world. Ma wasn’t there.

  Dob saw them, too. And he saw me looking up at them. “Boy, go on up to them. We won’t get this job done tonight. Me and the boys are going to call it quits for the day soon enough. We all have some celebrating to do.”

  So, I hightailed it out of there. I dropped my peavey on the shore, then hesitated, knowing a river rat never just leaves a good peavey laying around. When I turned to go back and get it, I saw Johan had picked it up.

  He waved to me. “Go on, Sevy.”

  I walked quick ‘til I knew that I was out of sight, then I ran as fast as I could up to my family.

  Pa started walking down toward me when he saw me heading his way. Sure, he was favoring his leg a little, but he was whole and he was walking, near jogging even. When I got close to him, I slowed down.

  “Hi, Pa.” After a moment, I held my hand out to shake his.

  His eyes looked bright. He stared at me. “You too grown up now to hug your Pa?”

  I hesitated for only a moment before launching myself at him. He bear hugged me, then clapped me on the back.

  “Pa...” A lump in my throat kept me from saying more. Sure, I’d hugged my Pa in public, but I still wasn’t about to start bawling, too.

  “Let me look at you, Sevy.” Pa held me at arms length. “Well, you’re thin, so your ma will say. But you’ve grown this winter. You’re near as tall as I am. And thick, too. The winter agreed with you.”

  I nodded, too choked up to speak. It was odd being able to look him in the eye.

  Then, Peter and Marta were on me. Marta was a hugging and a kissing on me while Peter tugged on my arm and asked a thousand questions.

  Finally, Pa said, “Let’s get going home, children. Your mother has planned a fine welcome for you, Sevy.”

  “How did you know I’d be here today?”

  “We knew when the logs were coming in and we’ve been watching ever since.”

  We walked to the wagon that Pa had borrowed for the ride out to Shawtown. Marta and Peter kept a-jabbering away, so I didn’t have to say much, which was good.

  “Sevy,” Pa said, touching my arm when I went to untie the brown nag pulling it. “I spoke with Joe Lynch and he said you did a fine job this winter. Your mother and I are proud of you, real proud of you.”

  “We have a surprise for you,” Marta chanted, a grin on her face.

  “Yessiree,” Peter added.

  I grinned back, and reached over and flipped up the brim of his cap. “Aw, come on and tell me. You never could keep a secret.”

  “I can, too,” he answered.

  “No, you can’t, Peter.” Marta stuck her tongue out at him. “You know you can’t, which is why I told Ma that you shouldn’t come today.”

  “You’ll hold your tongue this time, Peter.” Pa glowered, but his voice lacked its usual weight.

  Whatever the surprise was, they clearly expected me to be pleased with it. So, I didn’t say a thing. I just looked down at the ground and scuffed my toe in the dirt while Pa climbed up into the driver’s seat. He moved real gingerly, and he shook a little bit when his weight went on the leg. It worried me some. I couldn’t see him lumberjacking again moving as he was now. Once he was on board, the rest of us scrambled up and I sat right next to Pa.

  Riding through town and over the bridge felt strange. Eau Claire looked real normal, like it always had. The sawdust-covered muddy streets, the pine-board sidewalks, the saloons, shops and houses, all of it was the same. But I had changed. Could folks see that? Would anyone be able to tell? How would it feel to be just a schoolboy again?

  In no time at all, we were heading up our street and then I saw our house. There were folks spilling out of the little whitewashed building and gathered in the tiny yard beside it.

  My jaw dropped. “Pa?”

  “Yes?”

  “Why are those folks there?”

  “To welcome you home.”

  “That’s your surprise,” Marta put in.

  “Why isn’t anyone working today?”

  “It’s Saturday.” Peter rolled his eyes.

  I’d lost track of the days during the river run. We’d arrived in Eau Claire on a Saturday.

  Then, I saw my Ma. She stood right in front of everyone else. She looked the way she always had, with a smile that warmed me from the inside out. Wearing her church dress, she still had an apron on, which she used to dry her hands. She ran towards us. I jumped off that still moving wagon, and then she was holding me, hugging me. She smelled so good and familiar and for the first time since leaving the Northwoods, I felt peaceful about being home.

  “Oh, Sevy.” She grasped my shoulders and looked me up and down. “You’ve grown. And to think I used to carry you everywhere with me. Look how long your hair has gotten.” She touched my hair and I pulled back.

  “Ma,” I muttered, rolling my eyes, very aware that there were people all around us.

  “Yes, well, you are so grown up now.” Her brown eyes were bright with unshed tears, but she smoothed her dress and took my arm. “You have a lot of friends here to see you today.”

  “How did you get everyone here? I mean, I didn’t even know what day we’d be getting into Eau Claire.”

  “We heard you were likely coming in today. Jeremiah Ritter saw you down at Half Moon, and he brought us word. Then Marta, Peter, and Hugh went around and told folks we were having a get together. Folks began stopping by, lots of them, all bringing something.”

  She led me into the little yard where we greeted neighbors
, my pa’s friends from the mill, and some friends from school, and even Mr. Watters.

  “You’ll have to tell me all about your adventures up north,” Watters said. “I hope that you conducted yourself well.”

  “Of course my son did.” My mother bristled. “Sevy’s a good boy and a hard worker.”

  Sure, she was defending me, but I’d gotten used to standing up for myself and now I felt about ten years old.

  “I hope to hear about your adventures,” Watters said. “It will be the closest I’ll ever getting to working the pine, as they say.”

  But I didn’t say yes or no.

  Watters seemed to take my cue. “Well then, Sevy, Mrs. Andersen.” He nodded to my mother and moved away.

  “You help yourself to something to eat. That’s Mrs. Olson with one of her pies. I’ll be right back.” She bustled off while I eyeballed the grub that was already out on our table. Ma and the other ladies had laid out quite a spread even with the short notice. My mouth was watering. Then, someone grabbed me from behind and spun me around. Immediately, I ducked and got ready to come up fighting, but found myself staring right at Hugh’s flushed face and bright red hair. He was even taller, skinnier, and more red headed than when I’d last seen him.

  “Hugh.” I couldn’t help grinning back. Hugh had that effect on a person.

  “You missed a lot of fun this winter, Sevy. But you’re back now and everything will be like it used to be.”

  Would it? I felt downright peculiar.

  Hugh leaned close, his blue eyes bright with excitement. “She’s here.”

  “Who?”

  “Adelaide Jaeger. She came with my sister. They’re over on the other side of the house.

  We ambled outside all casual like and there I glimpsed Hugh’s sister Margaret and with her, sure enough, was a girl with a familiar long blond braid. Adeleide. Suddenly, she turned, saw me, and smiled. At me. Right at me! Out there, in the sunlight, she looked as pretty as a picture. I didn’t realize I’d been staring until I saw her blush. We both turned away at the same time.

  “She’s asked me about you a couple of times this winter. You gonna talk to her?”

  I couldn’t keep up with him. It was all too much to take in. Adelaide may very well have come to see me, but I didn’t know what to say to her, and having thought about her all winter sure didn’t help.

  Still I let Hugh drag me over to the two girls. Before I knew what was what, I was standing right in front of her and she was looking at me.

  “Here he is,” Hugh announced.

  I glared at him.

  He cocked an eyebrow at me.

  “Hello, Sevy,” Adelaide said, her voice soft and sweet, just like I’d remembered it.

  “Adelaide.” I nodded like Mr. Waters had. “How’s your pa?”

  “He’s just fine, thanks for asking.”

  “How’s school?” I wanted to think of something interesting to say, anything at all, but I couldn’t come up with a thing.

  “Good,” she said. Then, we both stood there and stared at each other. I couldn’t think of a thing to say.

  “Sevy, I want to hear all about what it’s like, lumberjacking and running the river. All of it. Did you get hurt? We heard a couple of fellas drowned during the river run this year. Were you scared?” He didn’t pause, even to take a breath.

  With Adelaide’s eyes on me, I started to sweat. “Uh, there ain’t much to tell.”

  “Come on, Sevy. I want to hear about everything.”

  I saw Margaret roll her eyes at Adelaide, but still I couldn’t think of anything smart or interestin’ to say.

  Then, Margaret waved to someone in the crowd. “There’s Ellie. Come on, Addie. Bye boys. Hugh don’t forget to check on Owen,” she said, referring to their younger brother before tugging the other girl away.

  I saw Adelaide steal a glance back at me.

  “Were you scared much?” Hugh asked.

  “What? Nah. She’s just a girl.”

  “Not by Adelaide, by lumberjacking.” He smacked me on the back of the head. “Did you hear the news about the burling contest? There’s going to be one down on Half Moon tomorrow afternoon, when we’re all done with church going. I heard that the lumber companies put up the prize. A hundred dollars! I’m thinking of trying myself, and I ain’t ever learned how.”

  He kept rattling on, but I wasn’t listening. A hundred dollars! If I won it, Pa might not have to go lumberjacking next winter. If we were lucky, maybe we’d finally have enough with what my folks had already saved to buy a farm of our own.

  I could see it all: me, winning the prize, and everyone being there to see it. Maybe even Adelaide. She may even get so excited that she’d hug me or give me a kiss.

  “A hundred dollars?” I repeated. “For a burling contest?” It didn’t seem possible.

  “Yup. I told you,” Hugh nodded triumphantly, excited to share the big news. “The lumber companies are putting up the money. Now that the logs are in and the jacks are here, the whole town’s celebrating.”

  Every year, when the log run was finished, folks let loose in Eau Claire. With the lumberjacks in town with money in their pockets, the saloons stayed open late into the night and streets were filled with folks during the day.

  “What are you boys up to?” I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder as my pa came up.

  “I was telling Sevy about the big burling contest on Half Moon Lake.”

  Pa nodded, amused by Hugh’s excitement. “The bosses think that the contest will be a good way to keep the tensions down between the companies. They don’t want any trouble this year. It’s a winner take all event. You know of any good burlers from your outfit? Someone I should put some money on.”

  Immediately, I thought of one particular jack. But he wouldn’t be likely to enter a burling contest, would he?

  “I sure do, Pa. Put your money on me.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  ~ The Contest ~

  The next morning, I was up before dawn. I was tired, but had been unable to fall asleep for much of the night.

  Seeing me in my river rat gear, Ma just shook her head, a small smile pursing her lips. “Haven’t you had enough of it yet?”

  “Just this one last time, Ma. Then it’ll all be over with. You’ll come watch, won’t you?”

  “Of course.” She hugged me tight. She smelled like oatmeal and brown sugar and it felt good to be home.

  In was near sunrise when Hugh and I got a ride down to Half Moon Lake on a milk delivery wagon.

  It was still early enough in the morning that tendrils of steam were rising up off the lake. Men were already moving around on the lake’s surface, sorting logs. A few town folk were moving around the lakeshore as well.

  Hugh was uncharacteristically quiet, which was just fine with me, because I was looking for my crew. We found them soon enough. The Push, Dob, the Swedish brothers, Bob Johnson and Roget were all there.

  “Sevy,” Dob greeted me. “Did they manage to beat city back into you?”

  “What?” I asked. That fella did say the oddest things. I jerked a thumb at Hugh. “This here’s my buddy, Hugh McLean.”

  “We’re here for the burling contest. Sevy’s gonna compete.”

  Dob glanced over at me, his eyes sharp.

  I nodded.

  The fellas began to swarm around me, talking a mile a minute.

  “You think you can beat me?” Ole asked thumping his chest. “How do you like that, Johan? The student tries to beat the teacher.”

  “Who are you kidding, Ole?” Bob Johnson snorted. “It’ll be a miracle if you can even get up on that there log after last night.”

  “I’ll beat you both,” Johan announced.

  “I’ll leave you young roosters to sort things out. I haven’t had any breakfast yet. I could use a stack of flappers and some black lead. Anyone want to join me?”

  So, Dob headed off, and Johan and Ole went to register for the burling contest. I had to register, too, but
everything was happening so fast that I wanted to catch my breath. I told Hugh and the other fellas I’d be down in a minute.

  I looked down over that log filled lake, thinking about how I’d helped fell some of them. The logs were so thick in the water that I wondered if I could walk across the lake on them from shore to shore. It seemed impossible now that I was back that all of it, my winter in the Northwoods, had really happened.

  “We did well this year.”

  I turned. Roget had appeared right beside me, looking down at the logs. “It was a good season.”

  “Sure was.”

  He looked right at me and, for the first time, I realized I could look him in the eye. I was now as tall as he was. He’d seemed like a giant to me when I’d first gotten to camp.

  “You been paid?” he asked.

  “No.” I shook my head. “I ain’t gone down to the office yet.”

  He nodded. “Make sure they don’t cheat you. You did a man’s work this winter. I’ll talk to the Push and make sure that the company pays you right.”

  “Thanks.”

  Still, he stared at me, obviously wanting to say something else.

  “You’ll go back to school now?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.” I exhaled slowly. Going back to school. It seemed like another life. “Well, maybe I’ll see you up north some time.”

  “Non.” Roget looked at me real intent. “You don’t go back. You are not one of us and never will be. I will talk to your father.” With that, he turned on his heel and walked away.

  I didn’t say a thing, just stood there and took it. I was finally done trying to prove myself to Fabien Roget. You can’t fix what’s wrong with other folks, as my ma always said. Besides, it was time to go and sign up for the burling contest.

  It was all set up right at Half Moon Beach. Not far off the shore, a big, thick, near twenty-inch pine log floated in a roped off area where I guessed the water was more than waist deep. Though it was real early yet, folks were already moving around. When I went and gave an official my name, I peeked over the fella’s shoulder and saw that a lot of jacks were already entered. It shouldn’t of surprised me. After all, a hundred dollars was at stake, a fortune for men who earned a dollar a day risking their lives in freezing conditions all winter long.