Jeannie had cooked some of the corn meal into a porridge and poured it into paper bowls. Marty surprised them with sugar packets from his own bag. The hot food in their stomachs felt really good. Jeff and Jeannie had gotten a few hours of restless sleep, but Marty had been awake all night. When Jeff offered to drive the boat for a while, if Marty showed him how, so that he could get some sleep, Marty just shook his head.
“We’re not that far. Maybe 2 more hours. I’ll be okay.”
Jeff wondered what awaited them. As the boat headed back into the main channel a cool breeze picked up. Jeff pulled a blanket from the straps on the pack and put it around his and Jeannie’s shoulders. It was light now, and he and Jeannie looked in amazement at the scenery. They saw a few small buildings in the distance from time to time, but otherwise it was all fields and grass, with trees in weaving lines following creeks that emptied into the river. A large bird rose up from the tall weeds along the bank.
“A Heron,” said Marty, as they watched it fly in a wide circle, then land near where it had started. The trees had brilliant yellow and red leaves, and they fluttered down, some landing on the surface of the river. One tree, almost bare of branches, had hundreds of small, dark birds all over it, and they rose as one and flew in a big cloud. The sound of their chirping was almost deafening.
Presently they came to the junction of the two rivers Marty had told them about. He followed a bend and went up the river on the right. The river was noticeably narrower now, and they could see rocks under the water sometimes, and there was debris and bushes in the water at the edge. Sometimes they passed submerged trees, and the branches sticking out of the water gently brushed the side of the boat. Marty steered around the things he could see, and Jeff started watching for obstacles ahead of them.
Marty reached forward and tapped Jeannie’s shoulder and pointed up at the sky above the other bank. A large “V” shape of geese was flapping it’s way across the sky. Moments later they could hear the loud “honks” of the birds. Jeff and Jeannie felt like they were in a wonder land. Just when they couldn’t imagine any more wonders, a beaver swam across the mouth of a creek with a stick in it’s mouth, and a minute later they rounded a bend to see 5 deer at the water’s edge, getting a morning drink of water.
They had passed under several small bridges as they traveled, but now Marty slowed down each time they came to one. He seemed to be looking down the roads that crossed over the river, looking for something. Finally he pulled up under one bridge where a gravely bank made a space between the water and the concrete base of the bridge. He cut the motor and hopped out, same as before. This time they pulled the front end of the boat onto the gravel.
“Stay here a minute. Let me climb up to make sure this is the right place,” he said, and was gone before they could speak. He was back in minutes and said, “Yep, this is it. Now, let me have the map again.”
Jeff pulled it out and handed it to him. This time he motioned them both over. He took a pen out of his pocket and made a dot on the map. Furrowing his brow, he studied it a few more minutes, then seemed satisfied. He made a series of light dots in a line that ended at the blue map on the line that indicated the river, where he made a tiny “x”.
“This is where we are,” Marty said and pointed to the “x”. He moved his hand and said, “This is where you’re going. That is, if you trust me and want to go there.” He was pointing at the dot at the end of the line.
“Wait a minute!” Jeannie interrupted. “What do you mean, aren’t you coming too?”
Marty sat back on his heels. “No,” he said. “I’m going back. There might be more people, good people like you two, who need help. Now, this place I’m sending you to, there are good people there. They’ll look after you and teach you what you need to know. Tell them I sent you. That’s very important. You must tell them that.”
“Who are they? What is it?” Jeff asked.
“They’re friends. It’s a farm, basically,” Marty answered.
“Is it where you and your family were going?” Jeannie asked softly.
Marty looked at her, bit his lip, then quietly said, “It is.” He pulled the pen from his pocket and leaned down to the map. Along the white border he wrote: “Hank, I am sending these people to you. Jeff and Jeannie. They are good people. Please take care of them. I hope to see you someday. Marty.”
He put the pen away, then looked at the map again. “You need to follow this road that goes over the bridge until you come to here, this dotted line, which is a dirt road. Listen carefully for cars. There probably won’t be any, but you should hide as quickly as you can if you hear one. Be careful who you trust, but then you already know that.
“This map isn’t very detailed, but if you pay attention to the paved roads you cross, keep count of them, you should be able to get pretty close to the end point. From wherever you decide to leave the dirt road to head toward it, get a good fix on the compass direction, and stick to that as you go through the bush.”
“The bush?” Jeff asked.
“Well, it’s not proper ‘bush’, like they have in Alaska, it’s just wilderness.” He stood up and started to get their things out of the boat.
“There is a red windmill in the yard, a house with pine board siding, surrounded by several outbuildings. They fly an American flag on a tall pole that is painted white. Near it is a wishing well with flowers planted in it. Ask for Hank or Annie. After you tell them I sent you, tell them ‘hi’ for me.”
He walked over and started to push the boat toward the water. “Best get going! You won’t make it one day, but if you keep moving, you’ll only have to camp one night. Good luck!”
Jeff hurried over and offered his hand. They shook, and he said, “Thanks, Marty. Good luck to you, too. Be careful, but then you know that!” They grinned at each other.
Jeannie walked over and held out her hand too. She fought back tears and her hand was shaking as she shook his. He smiled at her and said, “you’re a tough gal! You’ll be fine. Take care of each other!”
Then he jumped in the boat and took off. All too soon it was quiet. They picked up their packs and walked around to the side of the bridge.
“Well.” said Jeff.
“Yeah. Well.” said Jeannie.
They stood there for several minutes. The sun felt warm, and there was mist rising in the shadows where the heat of the day was mixing with the cool damp left from the night. The view was pretty much the same both directions. Hills were spread across the land, up and down, and lines of trees that they knew followed creeks. The road was a narrow strip of gray asphalt that looked like a line drawn on the ground and ended on the horizon on each end.
“I guess we go this way,” Jeff pointed to the east. “Ready?”
She nodded and they shouldered their bags. Jeff helped Jeannie climb over the guard rail and they started walking.
CHAPTER EIGHT
They weren’t far from the river when the landscape began to change. The wetland plants gave way to dry grasses and fading wildflowers, and huge fields of stubble left after the harvest. Jeff walked over to the edge of one and picked up a few oval brown seeds, which he put in his pocket. Maybe he would find someone who could tell him what they were.
When the sun was high overhead they stopped for a snack. They still had several candy bars left, so they split one. They’d been holding back on them in case they would come in handy for bartering. It was a long shot to think someone would trade real food for a candy bar, but they were hedging their bets that it had been long enough to be something of a delicacy.
Finally they reached the dirt road Marty had marked. The tree with the black mark that Marty said was from lightening was just where he said it would be, and when they looked closer at the thicket of trees near it, they saw the outlines of a building so dilapidated it had small trees growing out through it. Marty had told them it would be there. They turned and started walking on this road.
“Wow, this feels weird. Nice, but weird,�
�� Jeannie said, rolling her shoes on the unfamiliar surface of the dirt road.
“Brings back memories for me, of my grandpa’s house,” said Jeff.
“How come you never mention your Grandma?” she asked.
“She died when I was little. I don’t remember how old I was, but it must have been grade school. I was excused from class to go to the funeral with my parents. I don’t’ remember much about it but I remember there were other kids there that were my cousins. They lived far away and as far as I remember, it’s the only time I ever saw them,” he said.
They walked on in silence. Jeannie was still fascinated with the dirt road. She scuffed her feet to stir up dust. She picked up a handful of the loose dust and let it trickle through her fingers. At the surface it felt warm from the sun, but the dirt underneath was cool.
“I’m tired,” she said presently. “My legs feel like they weigh 100 lbs. EACH!”
“Mine too. I think I’m getting dehydrated. You probably are too. I think we should boil more water and refill our bottles so we can drink more, next time we cross a creek.” Jeff wiped the sweat off his brow and was surprised to see a brown film on his hand. He wiped again and looked at it. Then he looked at the dust swirling up into the air from the breeze and realized that’s where the grime came from. That, and the fact that it had been a few weeks since he’d had a shower!
They plodded on along the road. One foot fell in front of the other, and soon everything around them disappeared from their minds. Just the feet. Right foot. Left foot. Again. And again.
A shadow fell over them and they looked up in surprise. Cottonwoods lined a small creek, which was so small it ran through a culvert instead of a bridge. They dropped their packs at the edge of the road and ran down to the edge of the water. Jeannie fell to her knees and put her hands in the water. It was colder than the air and moving fast. She splashed water onto her face and blinked through the droplets and saw Jeff doing the same thing.
They scrubbed their arms and faces and necks, joyously splashing water just to see it fly. Jeff got up to get the bottles, and Jeannie, not able to wait longer, cupped water in her hands and drank it. She immediately felt guilty and didn’t tell Jeff when he reappeared next to her. They opened the bottles and drank as much as they could hold. Then Jeff got out the stove and they dipped water out of the creek and boiled it in the pan.
It took a while to boil enough water to fill all of the five bottles that were empty. While they were near a water source they went ahead and cooked the last of the cornmeal. It was also the last of the propane in the first bottle, and Jeff changed to the other bottle to finish the cooking.
He was in a quandary about the empty propane bottle. He didn’t believe in littering, but he didn’t want to carry the useless, empty propane bottle. Finally he dug a hole in the soft dirt with a stick and buried it. Then he forgave himself and let it go.
When everything was packed up they resumed walking. The shadows were getting long, but they figured they’d have a couple more hours of good light. The sun slid behind the hills and a chill started creeping into the air. They stopped to put on their coats, but after a while Jeannie started shivering. They looked for a place to stop.
“Why don’t we just go over behind one of these hills, out of sight of the road?” Jeannie asked.
Jeff looked at the nearby hills and picked one that would hide them, but didn’t seem too far away. It took a lot longer to get to it than they thought it would. Distances were deceiving in this country.
When they were out of sight of the road Jeff looked for a flat clearing. The ground seemed really bumpy, but he used his foot and chunked out some rocks and sticks to make a big enough spot. He pulled the tent free from where it was tied to the backpack and shook it out of the stuff bag. He unrolled the tent and a bunch of poles fell out. They seemed to be long, thin plastic poles with a rubber cord running through the inside of them, holding them together. That part wasn’t hard to figure out. He straightened them and they locked together almost on their own.
He studied the tent, trying to figure out what to do next. Rows of hooks ran along the seams of the top of the tent, and he laid the poles over them and hooked it all together. Then he figured out that the ends of the poles went into the little pockets on the bottom of the tent below each row of hooks. This was easy!
He stuck the first one in a pocket and walked around to the one opposite. He couldn’t get it to stretch far enough to poke it in the other pocket! He had to keep jiggling the little hooks to work their way along the tent pole. Finally he got it in. He let go and the arched stick promptly fell over, taking the tent with it.
“I think I should hold it upright while you do the others,” Jeannie said. She walked over and took a hold. In minutes Jeff had the rest of them in and they stood back to admire the round tent.
“Cool! Our first house-building project!” Jeff said with a grin. Jeannie smiled at him. He bent down and unzipped the door of the tent and looked in. “I think we can move in now! But it‘s going to be hard to carry you over the thresh hold!”
They put their packs in the tent and climbed in with them. Jeff zipped the door, then unzipped the smaller of the two windows. They spread out the blankets and put the sleeping bag over them, then crawled in and laid there. Darkness spread over the land and the stars came out.
“Can you believe all the stars! It’s amazing! I knew there were more than we could see in the city, but this is just incredible!” Jeannie raved. Jeff agreed. Soon they were both asleep, and it was a mercifully deep sleep. Neither one heard the coyotes that yipped and howled in the distance several times in the night. It would have been a frightening experience to ones not used to the country.
CHAPTER NINE
Jeff woke first in the morning and went out to watch the sun rise. The air was cold and damp, and everything was soaked with dew. His feet got soaked when he walked away to take care of business. He went back to the tent, took off his shoes and socks, and crawled back in with Jeannie. She woke up and said “I’m glad you came back. I’m cold.”
He pulled her up against him and they stayed there until the sun was high enough to warm things. They hated to lose travel time, but just couldn’t stand the cold. When they got up, Jeannie’s head spun and she felt dizzy. She steadied herself and forced herself to be calm and the feeling passed.
“You’re probably just hungry, and the chill didn’t help either,” Jeff said. They packed everything up and ate the two granola bars Marty had given them the morning before. They’d given him two candy bars as a gift and he’d wanted to give them something. Jeannie felt better, but her stomach was upset and felt like she had a rock in it. She felt sticky and sweaty, yet cold at the same time.
“I think I’ll feel better after we start walking,” she said. They shouldered the packs and hiked back to the road. The grass was still wet in places and their feet were soaked when they got to the dirt road, but walking kept their toes from freezing. The air warmed quickly as the sun climbed through the sky.
Trees started appearing in places besides along creeks, and the type of tree started changing. Pine trees of some kind, they knew that because of Christmas trees. When they stopped for lunch they sat on a bed of pine needles under a tree. Looking back the way they came they realized they were getting higher, because they could see a long way across the land. The direction they were headed was rolling hills that blocked the view until they topped each one and saw the one beyond it.
They used a pen to mark off each paved road they crossed and knew they were getting close to their turn off. Both were anxious about that part of the trek, for there was no road. They would be crossing the countryside. They wondered about a place that had no road that went to it.
Clouds rolled in over the afternoon and blocked the sun. It began to drizzle and they put their coats on. It was too warm for coats, but at least it kept them dry, until they were so sweaty in the coats that it wouldn’t have mattered if the rain had gotten them wet inste
ad.
They realized their mistake, but it was too late. They kept their misery to themselves and kept walking. Jeannie started shivering and hid it from Jeff, who seemed lost in his own world. She stumbled, then lost her balance and fell to the ground.
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