Acts of Courage (5 page)

“Ready to go?” Father shouted.

“Yes, all ready!”

“Get up!” The reins fell lightly on the horses’ backs, and the wagon started moving slowly down the lane.

Laura looked over to the gravesites of her own mother and her first stepmother. They were on top of a small knoll where red roses grew from June to August. Laura would not see those roses this year. Nor would she see the blossoms come out on the apple tree at the side of the house.

“I don’t want to go,” Charles whimpered, staring up at Laura with his big hazel eyes, so like his father’s. His lips were starting to quiver.

Laura blinked back her tears and smiled at Charles as she put her right arm around him. “And miss that boat ride? You’ll love the boat ride, Charles.”

Reassured, he nodded and leaned his head against his sister.

Laura drew him in closer. The only home she had ever known grew smaller and smaller as the long lane stretched behind them.

EIGHT

The schooner completed its turn from the lake into the mouth of the Niagara River, plunging between the steep shale and limestone cliffs that rose up on either side of the water. Scrubby bushes and trees jutted out from the steep banks. Beyond the riverbanks, Laura could see huge stands of oak, maple, ash, chestnut, and pine. The current in the river was so strong that the ship shuddered as it made slow headway upstream.

The whole landscape was at once gentle and wild. The trees and grass looked almost like the ones that grew at home, but here they were not contained in neat woodlots and meadows. They had grown up together in a wild majesty that no one had yet disturbed. And everything seemed larger and deeper here than at home. A booming sound echoed from up the river.

“What is that sound?” asked Laura, as she looked over the side railing with her father.

“Ah, that is the sound of Niagara Falls. I travelled down here when I visited Newark two years ago. It sounded as loud then as now. And look, the spray from the falls is just over that rise. Can you see it?”

“Oh, yes, I thought it was a low cloud.”

“No, that just shows you how powerful the falls are—to send up a spray like that. I’ve heard you can see the spray from forty miles away on a clear day.”

What a strange country we are coming to
, thought Laura.

Mira walked up beside them. A robust girl, she had taken on the appearance of a farm worker. Her cheeks looked all the more ruddy from the windy, sunny days on deck, and she was almost Laura’s height—five feet four inches. Laura was paler than Mira, which made Mira’s eyes look even darker.

“When are we going to see Niagara Falls, Father? Mira asked.

“Oh, not today.” Father gave Mira a big broad smile. “But isn’t this a grand country? This is where we’re going to make a new life, and where we’re going to stay. Right here in Upper Canada.”

“But, Father, we’re so near the falls. Couldn’t we just go around the bend and take a look?”

“No, Mira, first we need to get settled at the Landing—or Queenston, I guess it’s called now—then I’ll be going out to clear the land site on the La Tranche River.”

“Queenston,” boomed out the schooner’s captain. He must have been as relieved to see the landing point as anyone on board. After a bad storm that had forced them to take refuge on shore, he and the crew had spent a week repairing the schooner before they had been able to continue their voyage, and the vessel was still in rough shape. They would have to take another look at her once they landed. The schooner turned in toward the riverbank. The bank came closer and closer and, finally, the gangplank was lowered.

Father was among the first to go ashore. To find temporary accommodation for the whole family would not be easy, and he needed a head start.

Queenston did not appear big enough to be even a small village. They could only see a few houses at the top of the hill above the shore. Along the shoreline stood a row of rundown huts that looked like part of a decayed military base. Laura wished for Sally’s sake that they could have stayed at Newark by the mouth of the Niagara River, where almost one hundred families were settled. This didn’t look like the kind of place where Sally would want to live.

The ship’s captain approached them, his long bright scarf blowing in the wind. “We’ve unloaded your things now, Missus.” He spoke directly to Sally. “You’ll be just as comfortable on shore. It’s a balmy day.” He smiled as they left him. He did not usually take passengers on his cargo ships, and Laura guessed that he was happy to see them go. It had not been an easy voyage for any of them.

With the help of the crew, the whole family and Sam and Bett were soon standing on the shore beside their belongings.

“Look,” Mira shouted. “There’s a big shade tree over there. Let’s go sit on the grass.” The sun was shining down hotly now.

“And leave our things here?” Sally sounded alarmed.

“We can take almost everything except the biggest trunk. No one’s going to walk away with it without our noticing. But I could stay and guard it.”

“That won’t be necessary, Laura. We can see it from there,” said Sally. “Now, everyone take a piece of luggage and let’s head up that hill.”

Sally sounded relieved now that she was on land, and that made everyone happier to help. Even Charles proudly struggled along with a large canvas bag over his shoulder.

Once all the luggage had been carried up the hill, everyone except Sam sat under the oak tree. He had insisted on going back to guard the large trunk. Laura leaned against one side of her own trunk and watched the sailors unloading barrels and taking cargo from the teamsters onto the ships. One wagoner had a huge pile of furs on his wagon. When he reached the ship, the skipper counted them and motioned to his men, who set out several barrels and a few crates. With firm, fast strides, the wagoner walked from the dock to his wagon and back, loading his produce. When he finished, he grabbed the horses’ reins and walked beside the creaking and groaning wagon as he urged his team up the steep path toward the oak tree.

Now that he was coming closer to where the family was sitting, Laura guessed he wasn’t a farmer because his clothes were too neat and fresh. Yet he was not wearing the uniform of a soldier or the powdered wig of an English gentleman.

To everyone’s surprise, he drew his horses to a halt right in front of the oak tree. As the horses rested, he looked over at them. His deep blue eyes were bright against his dark hair and thick sideburns, and his nod of welcome was accompanied by a kind smile that lit up his whole face. His eyes rested on Sally, who was struggling to get Appy to go to sleep.

Quietly, he stepped toward them. “May I help, Madam?” he said with a friendly smile.

“We’re expecting my husband shortly.” Sally eyed him cautiously. “We’ll manage, but—thank you.”

He noticed her hesitation. “Are you folks planning to settle around here?” He pulled his horses’ reins more tightly, for they were ready to go now.

Sally nervously shifted Appy to her other arm. “Yes—but not in this area—farther inland. We’ll be stopping at Queenston for a while, though.”

“Well, in that case, we’ll be neighbours for a while. I’m James Secord, and I’ve just opened a general store in St. David’s, five miles away. Perhaps you’ll come by one day.”

Sally nodded and smiled. “Yes, we’ll be needing supplies.”

“Well, just ask anyone in Queenston the way to my store. I’d be honoured by your visit.”

James lifted the horses’ reins to get ready to leave, and gave the nearest one a light slap on the rump.

Then, before she knew what she was saying, Laura blurted out, “Excuse me, but you could help us with a trunk. It was too heavy for us to bring up with the rest.”

He pulled the reins taut and turned to Laura. “I’d be glad to.” He drove the team ahead a few feet and looped the horses’ reins around the branch of a sturdy maple sapling.

Laura stepped along beside him as he headed down the slope. She had to walk quickly to keep pace with him.

“There it is.” Laura pointed to the only trunk in among barrels and crates. Sam was leaning on it.

James took one look at the big trunk and the tired elderly man. Then he saw a wagoner coming down the hill with a teenaged boy sitting beside him, and James called out, “Hey, Josh, could you give me a hand?”

The boy was thin, but had a big smile and was willing. So Laura didn’t tell James that she figured she could have helped him and Sam better than the boy. It was obvious they knew each other, and Josh liked being helpful.

James took the heavy lower position of the trunk, and Sam and Josh took the other end and carried it up the hill to the oak tree, where they set it down beside the smaller trunks.

“Thank you,” Laura said, as the men stood for a moment to catch their breath. As James turned to her and smiled, Laura realized he was about her own age.

“I’m pleased to help,” he said, looking at her intently. “Are you folks from the States?”

Laura hesitated and then said, “Yes. A friend of my father has picked out a land site for us near the La Tranche River.”

“I guess you won’t be at Queenston very long, then?”

Laura thought he looked disappointed but could not be sure. “I don’t know,” she said. “My stepmother would like to stay here or at Newark.”

“Well, if you have any trouble finding accommodation, try Fairbank’s Tavern. Tell them James Secord sent you. It’s a good inn. You’ll be treated well there. Goodbye now.”

His horses had become restless. He loosened their reins, slapped them lightly against their backs, and said in a low voice, “Get up…haw.”

The rear of the wagon was not yet over the hill before Mira sat down with a sharp thud on Laura’s trunk and exclaimed, “My…Is he ever handsome! I sure hope he’s a sample of the young men around here.”

Laura smiled at her sister. “His name is Josh.” She guessed he would only be a couple of years older than Mira.

“I’m not talking about that
boy
. I mean James.”

“He seemed pleasant enough,” admitted Sally, “but I don’t like to see you speaking so much to strangers.” She was looking straight at Mira with a slight frown.

“That won’t leave us many people to speak to,” Mira muttered.

The sound of another wagon coming along the pathway interrupted them. Another man had stopped, allowing his horses to get their second wind.

“Just arrived from the American States, have you?” he said gruffly. He was about Father’s age and a farmer, for he was dressed in a homespun smock.

Sally hesitated before she answered—the question was so abrupt. Then she replied directly, “Yes. We’ve come to settle here.”

“Loyalists? Driven off your lands?”

“No, we’re settlers.”

“Settlers, eh?” The man frowned, cracked the reins over his horses’s backs, and briskly pushed along up the hill.

Somewhat surprised, Laura was still staring in the direction where the man had disappeared when she spotted her father. He strode over the crest of the hill and hurried down along the path toward them.

When Father reached them, he mumbled somewhat apologetically to Sally, “The village isn’t as large as I thought. There are only two or three good stone houses in the whole place.”

“Well, we can’t worry about that now, Thomas,” said Sally. “Just get us into the inn. Charles is getting so restless.”

Father looked at the grass beneath his feet. He couldn’t face Sally’s anxious eyes. “There is only one inn, and it’s full. I figure we can stay in one of those empty soldier’s huts we passed along the way.”

The silence hung heavy between them all for a few minutes. Then Laura remembered what James had said.

“Father, a man helped us with our largest trunk, and he said to ask at Fairbank’s Tavern and to tell them James Secord sent us.”

“That’s the place. They have no rooms left.”

“Let’s ask again and give them the message.”

“I don’t see what good that’ll do.”

“Why don’t you try, Thomas,” Sally interrupted. “This man did seem sincere.”

“I’ll go with you. I’d like to see the village.” Laura turned to walk up the hill.

Father reluctantly started up the hill behind her. They had not walked more than a few hundred feet beyond the top of the slope when they saw the inn on the right side of the path. It was a grey clapboard building with a verandah all across the front. At once, Laura recognized the horses hitched up outside. “That’s James’s team and wagon,” she said excitedly. Father was only slightly moved by her enthusiasm, for he was very tired and not too hopeful about this second attempt to find rooms at the inn. He had come only to please Sally.

Attached to the north side of the inn was a shed over fifty feet long, where horses were eating in their stalls. Behind them was a forest of unhitched wagons and buggies. The inn must really be full. Laura’s heart sank, but she and her father kept walking up to the main entrance of the inn. Father hesitated just inside the doorway. “It’s no use, Laura. The man at the desk is the same one who refused me before.” He turned and trudged back out the door.

Laura stood alone in the entrance and looked around the room. Behind the man at the desk was an open doorway to a larger room, where several men were sitting around a table. Voices drifted out to her, but she could not hear any distinct words. A meeting of some sort must be in progress.

“Laura,” her father was calling. She turned to go but, just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Startled, she turned and looked up directly into the eyes of James Secord.

“Miss Ingersoll? Are you looking for rooms for your family?”

“Yes, but Father tried here already, and they said there was nothing left.”

“Oh, I see. Well, I’ll ask for you if you wish.”

“Oh, yes, would you?” Laura said hopefully.

James Secord walked over to the desk while Laura stayed back in the doorway. James spoke in a low voice to the man there, who put down his fine quill pen as he talked. Laura saw the man shake his head, but when James muttered something back, he nodded. Meanwhile, Father had come back inside to find out why Laura was lingering behind.

James came toward them before Father had a chance to speak. “Mr. Ingersoll, I’m James Secord. Welcome to Queenston.” He extended his hand and smiled a welcome.