An Island Between Us

by K'Anne Meinel

  Cass climbed up effortlessly onto the wagon seat and commanded, “Walk Stanley, walk Stella.” Cass turned her attention to her two horses, whose ears twitched, and listening to Cass, began to walk down the street.

  Stephanie watched in fascination. The horses hadn’t needed the lines that Cass now unwound, and she hadn’t even set the brake. The horses had immediately begun upon Cass’s command. They drove for several blocks along tree lined streets before Cass spoke again, “Left Stanley, left Stella,” and amazingly, the horses turned left at the next street. The streets were decorated with nice houses and a few businesses on the corners, or on alternate streets. They were soon in a part of town not nearly as nice, and Cass pulled up in front of a dilapidated tavern before saying, “Whoa,” and the horses stood quietly. She jumped off the seat and went inside, never looking back at Stephanie or saying anything.

  Stephanie stared in amazement at the tavern as though unsure of why someone like Cass would go in such a place. She told the boys to stay in the wagon. They never looked up from the puppies they were petting, their hands shoved between the slats of the crate. She awkwardly climbed out of the wagon and followed Cass. The sight inside wasn’t much better with slovenly men with their shirts open, their sleeves pushed up to their elbows and their arms exposed, sitting around stools and tables. They gawked at her attire, her Sunday best. Her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the room and she saw a long bar along one wall and men standing around slurping beer and hard liquor. The smell in the place wasn’t much better than its appearance. She set her face as she saw Cass talking earnestly to a tall dark mustached man. He looked like the picture she had of Vince Lancaster. Two other men were listening to Cass unashamedly, and the room quieted as Stephanie came further into it. Every eye went from her to the tall handsome man.

  “I told you, I ain’t gonna marry her,” he was saying and with the silence in the room his voice carried.

  Cass noted the silence and looked around in time to see the hurt cross Stephanie’s face. The man saw her too at the same moment. His friends smirked and one snickered. Stephanie turned and walked out the door. Cass whirled around and took Vince by the lapels and twisted them in one hand.

  “You wrote her. You made promises. Why’d you send her the train tickets if you weren’t gonna marry her as you promised?” she hissed angrily. Every ear in the room was listening.

  The man tried to get her to release his shirt. It was choking him, and he looked alarmed. “You saw her: she’s as big as cow. She didn’t tell me...” he began.

  “You’re a liar,” Cass hissed. She pulled out her knife quick as a flash and held it to still his hands from releasing her hold on his shirt. The room was even more silent at that moment. His two friends stopped laughing and looked serious. “You promised to marry her, children and all; you sent her the tickets and made other promises. You’re a liar Vince Lancaster, and everyone knows it. You made promises to that woman out there, and she traveled here because of them. For what? A bit of a laugh, for fun? That’s fraud. I’m sure the sheriff would like to hear about it.” Then she had a thought. “How much money you got on you Vince?” she asked.

  He was startled at the change of conversation. The knife unnerved him and he stammered, “A few dollars.” he began, but she gave his shirt a twist. “I have fifty dollars,” he said. His friends sucked in their breath. That was a lot of money. No one had known Vince Lancaster to have that kind of money, ever.

  “You’re going to pay the lady for her time and the effort of getting here,” Cass told him.

  “I already paid for her ticket,” he began and then immediately regretted giving himself away with that statement.

  “And now you’re going to pay for the promises you made her. Pull out your wallet,” she held the knife but not in what could be called a threatening manner.

  Vince looked around at his friends and drinking buddies, but none of them were going to interfere. At the amount of money he had stated, they had all turned on him. He had borrowed, caged free drinks, and generally free-loaded for far too long on too many for them to be sympathetic. He gingerly reached into his pocket for his wallet and thought momentarily of reaching for the gun, but something in Cass’s eyes and the sharpness of the knife told him he would never make it. He opened the wallet and took out five tens; Cass saw there was more in there and said, “All of it!” He handed her the entire sixty dollars as she let go of his lapels but still held the knife. She stuffed the money in her shirt and watched him carefully.

  “I’m Cass Scheimer from Merrill if the Sheriff wants to make something of this, but keep in mind Vince, you committed fraud against that woman and I don’t think it would go too kindly in your favor if you try anything. She has the evidence of your letters, and they are signed in your name whether you wrote them or not. Furthermore, everyone here heard you, and I don’t think too many here would call themselves your friend. I suggest you don’t try that scam again.” She glared at him for a moment and using her peripheral vision she glanced around the room to ascertain if she could leave it without trouble. Her knife and her manner seemed to guarantee it. Sixty dollars though was a powerful enticement to any of these men. She had shock on her side and made her way outside without being stopped. She put the knife away once she was outside.

  Cass didn’t say a word to Stephanie as she climbed into the wagon and said, “Trot Stanley, trot Stella,” and the horses after a few steps broke into a trot as Cass gathered up the reins. Neither horse was bothered as a horseless carriage went noisily by them going the opposite way on the street. As they turned a corner and began making their way north, Stephanie began to sob.

  Cass handed her a handkerchief she fished from her pocket as she let her get it all out of her system. They passed over the train tracks as they headed out of Wausau. A second and a third set of tracks passed before Stephanie got herself under control.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said quietly as she looked around wondering what she could do. Everything they owned had been sold, and while it was a small sum of money, she certainly didn’t have enough to live on with two small children and another on the way.

  Cass reached into her shirt and pulled out the money she had gotten from Vince. “Vince wanted you to have this. It isn’t much, but it’s a start,” she said by way of explanation. “As to what you’re going to do, I have a farm north of here near Merrill, and I need a housekeeper,” she said not expecting a reply.

  “I can’t let you...” Stephanie began, but Cass stopped her.

  “Look, I really do need a housekeeper. I live practically alone, and I work outside all the time. My mom passed away a few years ago, and the house is going to seed. You need a place to live, and I’ve got plenty of room for the four of you,” she grinned as she glanced down at the belly Stephanie was unconsciously holding protectively.

  Stephanie absorbed this information slowly. She was stunned to find that Vince Lancaster wasn’t the man he appeared to be in his picture or wonderful letters. She had a good idea how Cass had probably gotten the money from him. She was so grateful for the offer of a place to live that she sighed in relief. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around the surprised woman and gave Cass a hug.

  “Thank you. I’ll accept,” she said quietly as she released her. Cass gave her a lopsided grin and returned the hug gently before letting her go. They both glanced back at the boys who had settled down with their hands in the crate and leaning against the baggage Cass had placed behind them. They and the puppies were both dozing off after their hard day.

  “They look tired,” Cass observed.

  Stephanie grinned; she too was exhausted after their four-day train ride, changing several times, and the frightening events since they had arrived. “They are good boys, but this has been a long trip.”

  “You want to settle down on the sacks?” Cass indicated the flour, sugar, and salt.

  Stephanie looked at them longingly and nodded. “Do we have a long drive?” s
he asked.

  “’Bout seventeen miles. We will be lucky to get home before dark,” Cass answered. It was a long way, which was why she didn’t drive it too often. However, she hadn’t wanted the animals to stay one day on the train more than necessary, and the little side train that would have brought the crates to Merrill from Wausau would have taken an extra two days for the freight. Two days could sometimes mean life or death with animals and poultry; she hadn’t wanted to take the chance. She had waited too long already to get them. The extra money she got on her trade goods, and the money she had saved on her purchases, made the whole trip worthwhile.

  Stephanie packed the money in her reticule and carefully climbed around the seat to the wagon proper to settle herself onto the sacks. Closing her eyes, she was surprised when Cass threw a blanket over her. She smiled up at the strange woman who had been her lifesaver today and saw something funny on her face. It was there for only a moment, and then it was gone. She settled in under the blanket, feeling its warmth over the weight of her jacket. She wondered if the boys were warm enough, but they had their coats and were out in the sun.

  Cass drove along not really seeing where they were going. She trusted her horses, and they had taken this trip a couple of times in their lifetime. The woods closed in on both sides of the rocky road interspersed here and there with meadows. Occasionally a track, a drive, or even another road intersected theirs. Cass could see where farmers were carving out farms just like her own from the wilderness. Her own farm had been in their family since the time of her grandparents. They had settled in the Merrill area in huge deep woods so that Grandpa could hunt and trap while he cut down trees and carved out a farm that existed to this day. Her own father had enlarged the farm and added a small mill to cut the trees for their own use. He had used water from the nearby creek to turn the wheel that turned the saw. His only disappointment in the farm was that his own son didn’t take pride in it. Cal had turned wild, and his only release was in the trapping and hunting he did practically all year long. Cass’s father had left the farm to Cass solely, but she shared whenever Cal was around. Cal had understood their father’s decision and accepted it. Even he had to admit it would be foolish to leave him something he didn’t want and would never use. The death of their mother a few years ago had saddened them both, as it was the last link with a time where neither had any responsibilities. Cass had grown up working on the farm, as naturally as most boys, and her father, at least, had been proud of her accomplishments. Her mother and father had been pleased with her natural abilities around the farm where Cal showed no interest.

  Cass had started raising poultry, and even now, in the back of her wagon were new kinds to add to her flocks. She now raised chickens, ducks, and geese, mostly for egg and meat production, but these new and different breeds would enhance her flocks. She wanted to raise turkeys, but everyone said it was too cold this far north in the big woods of Wisconsin. She wanted to prove them wrong but would wait until next year. She had enough on her plate with the plowing, seeding, weeding, cultivating, and harvesting. She did it all, and she did it alone. Now, she had Stephanie Evans and her children. She didn’t know why fate had put them in her path, but she hadn’t lied about needing a housekeeper. She didn’t need the added mouths of Stephanie and her children, but she had an affinity for children and enjoyed them. Maybe God had put them in her path for a reason. She would wait and see. Deep down a momentary thought crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed it and thought about other things.

  The miles passed, and it gave her a lot of time to think. The horses were very strong and the wagon no effort for them to pull. They were also expertly trained by Cass, so she didn’t worry that her hands weren’t tight on the reins. She watched Stella a little more closely than Stanley, since she was due next month to foal. She had considered leaving her home but didn’t want to drive Stanley single. Besides, she knew that Stella might hurt herself if left behind since she had been teamed with Stanley since they were both foals. Stanley, too, was a mare, but Cass had called her Stanley since the name seemed to fit. She didn’t know why Stanley wasn’t also with foal since she had bred both of them to a Belgian stud over at Dahlmer’s in Brokaw. It had killed her to pay a whole fifty cents for each of them to be bred, only to find that Stanley hadn’t taken. Well, she couldn’t afford to have her own Belgian stud, so she had to pay to have her horses bred. She knew that Dahlmer’s would let her breed Stanley again for free since the first time hadn’t taken, but Stanley hadn’t come into season again. She would have to wait.

  The added poultry to her flocks wouldn’t require much more work, but she wondered about putting in more feed for her stock, as well as for her new housemates. Kids didn’t eat much, but then, they were always growing, so who knew? They wouldn’t take up much room, and she had plenty. Grandpa had built the house himself, and it had three bedrooms upstairs: a large long one that had always been referred to as the boy’s room, as it stretched out the length of the kitchen; a smaller one over the living room for the girls; and a third over the den that had been her parents’ bedroom and before them her grandparents, a fair-sized room with a queen-sized bed and matching furniture. Grandpa had bought this set for her parents when they married. Cass had turned a fourth and smaller room into an indoor bathroom with modern plumbing. It even had running water! She enjoyed a good soak in the tub, and it was heaven after a hard day’s work to sit and ponder. She liked it more in winter, when she no longer had to make the long trip to the privy out back. The pipes now led to empty into the large lime-lined pit that had once had a shack over it. She had a second and smaller “powder room,” as her mother had called it, downstairs behind the kitchen by the basement door. It contained no tub but a toilet and a sink, and it was convenient for washing up. Her mother had welcomed both of these additions, as she had hated warming water on the stove for years. Cass had further modernized the house after her father’s death by putting in a modern washing machine in the basement, so that Mom could hang their clean clothes on the line, or in bad weather, on the lines inside strung along the ceiling. No more heating the water and wringing it; the machine did all that for her. Hanging the clothes to dry was a joy after the machine took care of the hard work.

  Cass stopped along a creek so the horses could drink long and hard for the remainder of their trip. She climbed along the wagon to fetch the canteen and fill it upstream from the horses. She made sure her poultry and pups had water and checked that the children were still sleeping. The trip had obviously exhausted all of them, and they probably had not gotten much sleep on the train. She made sure a tarp covered the crates. The sun, although it was early spring, was still hot and the trip strenuous for her new stock. The puppies were flat out and sleeping soundly inside their crate, just like the boys sprawled out beside them. She smiled thinking about her plans for those pups. She started the horses up again, and they were on their way as she wondered if these pups would live to grow up. She had a problem with foxes, bears, an occasional coyote, and even wolves. Although Cal had trapped most of them out in their area, they still were occasional menaces as new ones moved in. She had lost her large male shepherd dog last year to a marauding bear, and it had taken her a year to save enough to buy these two from a breeder. She had chosen a male and a female from different litters although she still had her female shepherd. She hoped this male puppy would live to breed with both her females, and she could sell the pups herself. A real Noah’s ark she had on her farm. The dogs would sound the alarm and perhaps help her with her stock. She had trained Shia and her dead mate, Shem, herself. The bear had caught him with a swipe that had opened his skull and bashed him against the stone of the barn, but the bear’s own life had ended with her shotgun. It was too late for Shem, but she had used the bear pelt towards paying for these two puppies. The bear meat had been welcome, as well. Nothing was wasted on her remote farm.

  The sun was beginning to set, and she was tired herself as they began to drive down the long drive that
ended at her farm. She woke Stephanie, noting that both boys were already awake and looking about them with interest.

  “We’re here?” Stephanie asked sleepily as she stretched.

  “Almost, it’s up there,” Cass indicated with her chin.

  “Where are we?” the larger of the two boys asked. He sounded frightened, waking up with large trees towering over them.

  “We’re at Cass’s farm,” his mother told him reassuredly.

  The boys stood up to see their new surroundings, holding onto the crate for balance. They were traveling along a very long line of trees. They lined a large fenced field that had been planted in corn the previous year. The cut off stalks were all over the field. A cow and a yearling calf grazed and watched as they passed. A lone horse was farther out in the field and neighed in welcome when it saw them. The cows began to walk along with them, realizing that it was almost time for milking and feeding. The drive ended in the farmyard, turning in towards the house, which had been hidden behind a large hedge of cherry bushes. Two large trees in the front yard provided the house with shade. They passed a small screen house as they came around it to the backyard in front of the barn. Cass pointed out that the trees were apple and pear.

  “They say pear can’t be grown this far north, but my Grandpa proved them wrong. He said with enough protection from the cold winter winds, they would do fine.” A large white barn dominated the farmyard. Beyond it was a silo and beyond that, a well house. A garage was across the yard with doors on both sides. One could drive through these doors to the other side of the barn, so that she could unhitch the horses out of the weather, and the buggy or wagon could be left inside. Paddocks lined two sides of the barn. The third side was taken up by poultry pens divided into long swathes and covered in wire over the sides and top to keep out hawks, owls, falcons, and the occasional eagle. The cow and the yearling calf, as well as a chestnut mare, were already waiting at one of the paddocks that led out to the field they had been grazing in. Snow lined the edges of the fields near trees that shaded it from the sun. Each paddock was lined with trees around the edges, and Stephanie could see where large woods once stood in the fields. The woods came right up to the barnyard behind the garage. A large woodpile of full sized logs and trees lay next to the garage and another beyond the well house.