LAKE OF THE SWANS
Book 2 of 3
Chapter 35
Returning to work, John and Laureal entered the forest where they tapped several pine trees. They employed a slightly different method for gathering pine sap than maple sap. Once they had the sap flowing, they returned to their worksite where they replaced the old coals around the rice jar with fresh coals from the fire pit. The coals burned at 1,100°F. The rice jar could withstand temperatures of 3,000 degrees.
Having replaced the coals, our young couple returned to the woods where their wooden catch cups were already full. This was because pine sap flows quickly in the spring. So they had several pints of pine sap, which they stored along with the other raw materials they had gathered for processing. And because collecting the sap brought back fond memories of a cold autumn morning and a maple tree in the woods, they took a brief work break in their hut. Afterward, they ate several of the whitefish that Cody had caught (considered one of the best-eating freshwater fish in the world). They then dug out the smoldering fire coals and extracted the rice jar from the hole. They also extracted the catch pot that had been beneath the rice jar. The catch pot contained a thick, dark oil, and with a drop of it on his index finger, John thought it interesting, for as he rubbed it between his finger and thumb, it turned a dark blood red. They opened the rice jar and removed the root wood chunks, which had turned to pure charcoal. Last but not least, they ground the charcoal into a fine powder and stored it.
With their work done, John and Laureal splashed their faces and hands clean and went to join the family for supper in the waning daylight. Laureal told her grandmother of their progress and asked once again how their work would help Weya—
“I understand your curiosity, dear,” Emma replied, “but as I said, it is a thing better shown than explained. And I will show you, in the morning.”
“Mrs. Summerfield,” Anders began, “if I may offer an observation. It would appear the One that made all this is of a mind to protect your wolf friend, and is working through you to do so. I mean, I cannot know His mind, of course, but from what your family has told me, it sounds like the wolf was sent to you for a purpose, and...perhaps, that purpose is not yet fulfilled.”
Laureal squished her lips in thought.
“I have to admit,” Cody began, “I didn’t think much of Weya until she saved us from having to eat our dogs.”
“And when the grizzly raided our camp, she threw in with us,” Mia added.
“Yeah. She didn’t have to put herself in harm’s way, but she did.”
“She saved my life.” John’s tone bore a healthy measure of respect.
“And you are yet to tell Julian and me the story,” Anders protested, for the story had been promised.
“Well, sir,” John began, “It was so dark, I couldn’t see ten paces, but I sure could hear Emma shout, ‘Don’t ruin its hide!’”
Laughter went round the fire.
“Well, I’m sorry," Emma protested, “but who wants a hide that’s full of holes?”
“Where was it?”
“Right here, nosing in this fire pit!” Cody exclaimed.
“It was a dark night,” Mia put in. “The dogs woke us up a few hours before dawn.”
“Jessie woke up first. She’s the one who set the dogs on it.”
“Weya woke me,” Jessie clarified. “She has this low half-bark thing she does when something’s amiss. Then the dogs woke and started barking something terrible. I heard the bear snarling at Weya, and Weya growling at the bear. That’s when I knew I had to free Yike and Nemo. So I did, and they bolted to join Weya.”
“I saw it first!” Cody stated as if declaring dibs on something. “A big’ol humongous shadow! The dogs were dancing around it, barking up a storm, and it was snarling to warn them away. But it wasn’t going after them. It was digging in the fire pit, at least, it was until the wolf charged in and bit its back leg.”
“What happened next?”
“Grandma told us to hold our fire.”
“Alright,” Emma put in as if she’d had enough, “so what if I didn’t want to damage the hide more than necessary? That was not my main concern! The bear was in the yard, distracted by the dogs. It wasn’t even aware of us, or it didn’t seem to be worried about us anyway, so why jump the gun and draw its ire? Then it would charge before we could get our act together.”
“So what did you do?”
“John speared it,” putting her arm around her husband and smiling up at him. “He speared it through both lungs.”
“A lucky shot in the dark,” and shaking his head, “I should have been torn to pieces.”
“Really? What happened?”
“I heard the commotion and feared a bear was getting into the hut out front. I grabbed my spear and took off running. The dogs were making a racket. It was very dark and I didn’t see the grizzly charging me. It came out of nowhere. I had a split-second at best, and…no one is that fast. I was as good as dead when, at that very instant, Weya snagged the bear from behind…snagged it good! It squealed and skidded as it reeled around. It took a mighty swipe at her. It went after her so fast. I don’t know how she managed to avoid it but, she jumped, and it missed her by a hair. Yike and Nemo made him think twice about pursuing her, and that’s when I saw my chance. I shouted and it reeled back my way. As it did, it exposed its flank, and I threw my spear. By sheer good fortune, the momentum with which it reeled towards me helped to drive the spear in deep. It went through one lung and into the other, but it didn’t seem to make an ounce of difference. If Yike and Nemo had not attacked its backside, it would have killed me all over again. Anyway, no more had it driven Yike and Nemo back than it spun and came after me in leaps and bounds. I’d gotten a small head start while the dogs distracted it. I had no weapon. I was running for all I was worth, and still, it would have been on me had it not been for the ferocity of the canines, especially Weya. Jessie came running from the side and hurled a spear. It went into the grizzly’s neck and caused it to stumble, but still it came on. That’s when Cody, having got into position, fired two rounds. I was so close I could hear the thuds of the rounds. On the second round, the beast let out a terrible squeal. I ran a bit further before realizing it was no longer after me. I turned to see it lumbering away...a big shadow, making for the forest like trying to get to safety. Yike and Nemo followed, snarling and barking. Weya stood watching as if she somehow knew the fight was over, and sure enough, the grizzly paused about halfway to the wood, wavered, and fell dead.”
“I feel sorry for it,” said Sophie.
“What for?” Noah asked.
“It only wanted something to eat.”
“It certainly did,” said Mia, drawing Sophie into her lap, “and it would gladly have eaten you.”
Chuckles went around the fire.
Anders turned to John, “If I may be forgiven for prying, sir. May I ask why you didn’t use your special weapon to begin with?”
“I would have, but it was in the big hut.”
“I should have shot sooner,” Cody confessed. “I…
“I’ll tell him, Cody,” cutting the boy off with a friendly hand gesture. “The bear was between Cody and me. If he had fired and missed, he would have hit me. He ran to gain a line of fire before getting two shots off, each hitting the bear in the chest, the second through the heart.”
“It all happened so fast,” Cody began excitedly, wanting to tell all, except that John cut him off again, gently and yet, with added gravity—
“Cody, you saved my life. And for now, that is all that need be told.”
John turned back to Anders, “Sir, the knowledge of the weapon is a secret this family paid for in blood and tears. And if I thought it would do any good at all, I would send it to the depths of the lake.”
In the silence that followed, a chorus of frogs held a crescendo, accompanied by the splash of a jumping fish, and the hoots of an owl calling from the wood.
“Mr. Summerfield,” Anders began, “although you are something of an enigma to me, it is obvious that you are sincere in your convictions. And as crazy as it may seem to think that men once flew above the clouds, I am inclined to believe there is something to what you say.”
Anders had seen the evidence. He had stood before one of the most impressive ruins on earth, once known as New York City. Most impressive, not because it had more skyscrapers than Hong Kong at the time of the great downfall, but because it had the most skyscrapers built in an era when granite, limestone, and brick composed most of the structures. For even though a great many of the old towers had been pulled down to make way for modern skyscrapers of lightweight steel and glass, a great many old ones had survived to stand amid the rubble of their modern replacements. Relics of an age before digital architecture, they owed their survival, in large part, to stonework. The Empire State Building, as a prime example with its 32 million pounds of limestone and granite, plus 10 million bricks, yet stood at a height of thirty-three stories! The ruins of Manhattan Island, in the eyes of Anders, a young mercenary at the time, had been nothing less than staggering. Somewhere in the distant past, a truly fantastic race of beings had left their mark. And as Anders saw it, it stood to reason that the builders of such a world, having done all they could to prevent its collapse, but alas, in grim acceptance of impending doom—would seek to safeguard their treasures beyond the reach of common tomb raiders which, as Anders knew from his own past, were largely brigands, drunkards, and whore chasers.
“A lightning bug!” cried Noah, leaping to his feet.
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