The Northwoods

by Jane Hoppen

  Evelyn and Sarah looked at each other.

  “We’ve been expecting both you and Sam, though I’m awfully glad you showed up first,” Evelyn said. “I was wondering when the camp would close for the season.”

  “We finished up about a week and a half ago,” Henry said. “This is the first chance I had to come for the horse.”

  “Peter, come out here,” Evelyn called out.

  Peter stepped out of the house, with Karl and Louise following behind him.

  “This is one of the jacks from the lumber camp,” Evelyn said. “His name is Henry. Henry, these are my children.”

  The children looked at him in awe.

  “Go get Henrietta out of the barn, Peter,” Evelyn said. “Henry’s ready to take her home.”

  “Henrietta?” Henry said with a smile.

  “Never did know the horse’s name,” Evelyn said.

  “Lady,” Henry said. “Her name is Lady.”

  “Peter will fetch her for you,” Evelyn said. “Would you and your friend like a cup of coffee?”

  “Almost forgot he was with me,” Henry said sheepishly. “This is my brother Joseph. Want a cup of coffee, Joe?”

  “I’m good,” his brother said. “But thanks for offering, ma’am.”

  “We can’t stay,” Henry said, unable to keep his eyes off Evelyn. “We dropped our mother off in Maple Grove so she could buy some supplies. I still can’t believe you were George.”

  “I’m glad the disguise was a success,” Evelyn said.

  Henry smiled.

  “Sam will be confused as hell when he comes looking for George,” he said.

  Evelyn looked at Sarah.

  “I guess we’ll deal with that day when it arrives,” she said.

  Peter returned from the barn with Henry’s horse, and Henry ran his hands over the animal.

  “I’m surprised she’s still standing,” he said.

  “She got us home safely,” Evelyn said. “I can’t thank you enough for that.”

  “It’s only fair,” Henry said. “You treated me better than anyone else up at that camp.”

  Henry tied the horse to the rear of the wagon and then walked over to Evelyn.

  “I guess this is good-bye,” he said. “I don’t imagine our paths will cross again.”

  “Not at that camp, they won’t,” Evelyn said. “Take care of yourself, Henry.”

  “It’s nice to have met you…Evelyn,” Henry said.

  He held out his hand and Evelyn firmly shook it. She and Sarah watched in silence as he climbed back into the wagon and he and his brother headed down the road, a cloud of dust trailing behind them.

  “I guess we should be expecting a visit from Sam sometime soon,” Evelyn said.

  Sarah recoiled at the thought of seeing him again.

  “What should we do?” she asked.

  “Keep the guns loaded,” Evelyn said matter-of-factly.

  “Oh,” Sarah said in surprise.

  “Just in case,” Evelyn said.

  “Of course,” said Sarah.

  She knew that Evelyn would do anything to protect her children and the farm, even her.

  “Come on, children,” Evelyn said.

  The children ran to her and they all went back into the house.

  * * *

  During the last week of March, the days began to warm a bit, and by the second week of April, one could hear the sap from the maple trees dripping into the buckets that were in place beneath the spigots tapped into the trees. The snow was nearly gone, and only a few drifts that had blown in on the shaded sides of some buildings and trees remained. Geese flew over in large formations, returning from their winter getaways, their honking echoing across the sky. The spring was arriving gently and casually, with the frost leaving the ground and the first shoots of green grass beginning to appear through the brown growth of the preceding year. The children were out of school, ready to help on the farm for the spring and summer, and Evelyn had already made the trip to town to buy the seeds she planned on sowing that season.

  “The ground has finally thawed,” she announced one morning at breakfast. “Peter and I will start to plow the fields today.”

  “Does that mean I can break ground in the garden?” Sarah asked.

  “Sure does,” Evelyn said. “You’ll find everything you need in the small tool shed near the barn. Louise, do you want to help Sarah with the garden?”

  “Yes,” Louise said.

  She clapped her hands.

  “You don’t mind the company?” Evelyn asked Sarah.

  “Not at all,” Sarah said.

  She took one of Louise’s hands.

  “What do you want me to do?” Karl asked.

  “You can start to collect the maple syrup,” Evelyn said. “Do you remember where you and Peter tapped the trees with your uncle?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Karl said earnestly.

  “Make sure you come back home when Sarah rings the lunch bell. No dawdling.”

  “I will,” he said.

  Evelyn looked at Sarah.

  “Peter and I will take some lunch with us and return in the early evening for dinner,” she said.

  Sarah nodded and took a deep breath. This day will be a test. Can I pull my own weight?

  When breakfast was over and everything was cleaned up and put in its place, everyone headed in different directions. Karl gathered the buckets he would need out of the root cellar and took off for the woods. Evelyn and Peter went to the barn to prepare Red for a day of plowing. Sarah helped Louise put on a light jacket and gave her a wicker basket filled with packets of seeds to carry. They went to the tool shed, and Sarah took out a hoe, a spade, a trowel, and a pair of work gloves.

  * * *

  In the barn, Evelyn put a collar on Red and attached some straps to the harness, adjusting them so they would fit the collar. She fastened the traces to them and put the surcingle around the horse, attaching a fastening to the traces to keep them from sagging. After that, she took the bit and made a bridle of the halter by fastening it with a couple of snaps and attached the reins.

  “Does it look right?” she asked Peter.

  He inspected the rig.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said.

  “We’re ready, then,” Evelyn said. “I’m going to go tell Sarah the layout for the garden, and then we can get started.”

  “Okay,” Peter said.

  Evelyn left him in the barn and went to join Sarah and Louise at the garden plot. Sarah was sorting through the packets of seeds, and she looked up as Evelyn approached.

  “I forgot to tell you the layout for the garden,” Evelyn said.

  “The layout?”

  “You have to put the plants where they’ll flourish the most,” Evelyn explained. “The tomatoes need to go in the western corner, where they’ll get the most sunlight. The string beans will grow up along that trellis on the east side, and the greens do well in this patch here.”

  “You don’t think I know what I’m doing?” Sarah asked.

  Evelyn looked at her, startled. Am I being too bossy? Am I treating her like a child?

  “I just know how it needs to be done,” she said. “We depend on the garden for most of our food.”

  “I know, but where do the flowers go?” Sarah asked.

  Evelyn almost laughed, thinking Sarah was kidding, but she stopped herself. Sarah was serious.

  “The flowers?”

  “A home needs food and flowers, Evelyn,” Sarah said.

  “Of course,” said Evelyn.

  That never would have crossed my mind, she thought, scanning the garden for a place to plant the flowers.

  “The flowers would do well here,” she told Sarah.

  Sarah became flushed.

  “You don’t think it’s silly, do you?” she asked.

  “No,” Evelyn said. “Not at all.”

  Sarah released a quiet sigh of relief.

  “I’m ready, then,” she said.

  “I’
ll see you at the end of the day,” Evelyn said as she turned to go join Peter.

  * * *

  “Let’s get this plow on now,” Evelyn told Peter when she returned to the barn.

  Peter helped her maneuver the plow into place, and with the ends of the reins tied together, Evelyn passed them over her right shoulder, crossing her back and under her left arm, so that her hands were free to guide the handles of the plow. She was truly stepping into George’s shoes. They exited the barn and headed to the field where they would plant the potatoes. Evelyn set the plow upright, lifted the handles to allow the point of the share to enter the ground, and then gave Red the command to move forward. Peter followed closely behind her, using a harrow to work the soil that the last of the snow had left moistened. They moved down the plot until they reached the end, and then Evelyn stopped Red and bore down on the plow’s handles to pull it out of the sod so she could turn Red around and begin a furrow in the opposite direction. By the time a quarter of the field was plowed, it was lunchtime. Evelyn and Peter fetched their lunch bucket and sat beneath a tree.

  “After lunch you can take the plow,” Evelyn said as she handed Peter a sandwich and an apple.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said.

  As they ate a soft breeze blew. The only noise was the sound of the insects whirring and buzzing by.

  “How do you feel these days about Sarah being with us?” Evelyn asked.

  He finished chewing and gulped.

  “I didn’t like it at first, but I guess it’s all right,” he said begrudgingly. “She’s a good baker.”

  “She does know how to bake,” Evelyn agreed. “I’m happy she’s here. I can’t run the farm and take care of you and your brother and sister on my own.”

  “I know,” Peter said. “I just wish… I miss Pa.”

  Evelyn hugged him close to her.

  “I know that,” she said. “We all do. Sarah isn’t here to replace him, you know. No one can replace your father. Just give her a chance. This is all new to her, too.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Peter said.

  Evelyn ran a hand through his hair.

  “You look more like your father every day,” she said. “You ready to take up that plow?”

  “Sure am,” Peter said.

  They set aside the lunch bucket and rose to return to Red, who was grazing in the grass.

  * * *

  Sarah finished turning the soil in the large garden plot, with Louise trailing behind her, and stood back to admire her work. The dirt looked dark and fertile. She glanced up at the sky, the sun climbing to its noonday high.

  “We should probably take a break and get some lunch together,” she said to Louise. “Are you hungry?”

  “Yes,” Louise said.

  Sarah set her tools aside, and as she took Louise’s hand, she heard screaming coming from the woods.

  “Karl!” Louise said.

  “I hear him,” Sarah answered.

  She hoisted up Louise and ran toward Karl’s voice, grateful that Evelyn had given her a thorough tour of the land beyond the house and barn.

  “He’s back by the pond,” she said, mainly to herself. Panic crawled into her voice. “I hope he didn’t try to cross it.”

  When she pushed through the woods into a small clearing, the pond came into view and she spotted Karl, frantically flailing in the murky waters, thin sheets of ice engulfing him.

  “Damn it!” she said.

  She put Louise down and looked around for something, anything that she could use to reach Karl. She found a long tree branch that would suffice and bent down until she was at eye level with Louise.

  “Louise, I have to help Karl,” she said. “I need you to stay right here and hug this little tree until Karl and I get back. Don’t let go. Just hold on to the tree. Okay?”

  She took Louise’s little arms and placed them around the trunk of a slender birch tree.

  “Do you understand?” she asked. “Hold on tight.”

  “I will,” Louise said as she began to cry. “Karl! Karl!”

  “Just hold on!” Sarah said. “I’ll get Karl!”

  She grabbed the branch off the ground and ran toward the pond and Karl. She plunged in and immediately lost her breath. The water was bone chilling, and her wet dress and undergarments felt like an anchor, weighing her down. Still, she pushed forward steadily. Karl was fighting even more frantically as she moved toward him, then he sank below the surface and popped back up, choking and wheezing, trying to catch his breath.

  “Karl!” Sarah shouted. “Grab the branch, Karl!”

  She extended the branch until it was less than an arm’s length away from Karl, while trying to maintain her balance and planting her feet on the muddy bottom of the pond.

  “Karl!” she shouted again. “The branch!”

  Karl finally locked his eyes onto hers, stretched his arms out, and latched onto the branch. Sarah slowly and steadily pulled him toward her. She didn’t want him to lose his grip.

  “Hold on,” she called out. “Hold on.”

  When Karl was close enough for her to reach him, Sarah released the branch, grabbed him under his armpits, and pulled him to her. She lifted him up, his body shivering uncontrollably, and painstakingly trudged out of the pond as the remaining sheets of ice broke around her. When she stepped out of the pond, they both fell to the ground, trying to catch their breath. Sarah eventually stood and gathered Karl into her arms. He was crying, choking in jagged breaths of air. Louise ran to them and flung herself against Sarah.

  “Grab on to my dress, Louise,” she said. “Hold on tight. We need to get to the house as fast as we can.”

  She felt Louise against her and started to walk as quickly as she could, pushing past bushes and trees and making sure that Louise was still by her side. The weight of Karl slowed Sarah down, and when the house finally came into view, she sighed with relief.

  “We’re almost there, Karl, just a little ways to go,” she said.

  When they reached the house and went inside, she sat him down on the bench in the sitting area, put Louise beside him, and ran upstairs to grab the blankets off her and Evelyn’s beds. She stood Karl up, removed his wet clothing, and wrapped a blanket around him. She started a fire in the fireplace, wrapped the other blanket around herself, and sat beside Karl, pulling him close to her, hoping that the warmth of the fire and her own body heat would eventually suck the cold out of him.

  After nearly an hour had passed and Karl had calmed down, his small body pulling in the heat from the fire, Sarah stood up.

  “You two stay put,” she said. “I’m going to put on some dry clothes, and then I’ll warm up some soup for all of us.”

  Karl and Louise huddled next to each other, and Sarah went upstairs and quickly changed. When she returned downstairs, she went down to the root cellar and found the jar with the leftover soup from the night before. She put the soup in a pot and set it on the stove. By the time she had served herself and the children their late lunch and cleaned up the kitchen, the sun was lowering in the sky.

  Sarah sat with Karl and Louise near the fireplace. She felt anxious as she waited for Evelyn and Peter to return from the fields, as she feared that Evelyn might blame her for the incident and find her inadequate. Of course this would happen on my watch, she thought.

  “It’s warm as a hothouse in here,” Evelyn called out when she and Peter finally entered the house. “What’s going on in here?”

  “We’re in the living room,” Sarah answered. “We had an accident.”

  “An accident?” Evelyn said as she stepped into the room with Peter behind her.

  When she saw Karl, she rushed over to him and looked at Sarah.

  “He tried to cross the pond,” she said. “Louise and I heard him screaming for help.”

  Evelyn sat beside Karl and wrapped her arms around him as he began to sob against her. Peter sat on the floor with Louise by his side.

  “I am so glad you’re okay,” Evelyn said to Karl.<
br />
  “I’m so sorry,” Sarah said.

  “You saved him,” Evelyn said. “If you hadn’t been here, he would’ve had to fend for himself. Who knows what might have happened.”

  Sarah dropped her head.

  “It’s true,” Peter said.

  Sarah glanced at him. She could tell from the look on his face that, though he wasn’t particularly happy about it, it was indeed the truth.

  “It’s just fortunate that you were still in the garden,” Evelyn said. “If you had been in the house, you never would have heard his screams.”

  With that, Karl started to sob again.

  Evelyn took one of Sarah’s hands in her own and squeezed it.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “I’m just relieved that I made it to him in time,” Sarah said.

  * * *

  When they all gathered for dinner that evening, the mood was joyous. Everyone was happy that Karl was safe. Bowls were passed around the table and the kerosene lamp flickered over the room.

  “I imagine it was pretty scary when you fell into that pond,” Evelyn said to Karl.

  “It sure was, Ma,” he said. “I got stuck, and there was so much ice.”

  “You know you shouldn’t have crossed, Karl,” Peter said.

  “I know, but it looked solid,” Karl said defensively.

  “The lakes and ponds are deceptive this time of year,” Evelyn gently said.

  Karl lowered his eyes.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said.

  “It’s a good thing Sarah knew how to save you,” Peter said earnestly.

  Sarah looked up from her plate. For the first time, she felt as if she might have a chance with Peter, that he might eventually accept her presence on the farm. She had finally done something to prove herself worthwhile.

  After the children went to bed that evening, Evelyn and Sarah sat on the porch with cups of coffee. They sat silently, the sonorous hooting of an owl in a tree on the edge of the woods filling the air.

  “I feel terrible about what happened today,” Sarah said.

  “Why?” Evelyn asked.