[Alaskan Quest 03] - Whispers of Winter (7 page)

Wills and Merry were Jayce’s children. That was all there was to it. Leah would not think of it any other way.

A ruckus on the beach drew her attention even as Leah climbed the steps that led to her home. A sudden chill rushed through her body. She set the sacks down on the step and felt herself inexplicably drawn to the sounds of men fighting.

Reaching the community building, Leah could see that several of the natives were drunk. These were good men—she knew them well, but liquor had clouded their senses. They were angrily raging at each other, and one man was waving a gun. She knew this wouldn’t end well; someone would no doubt get hurt. The whalers with their liquor appeared to be nowhere in sight.

“Put down the rifle,” John commanded as he stepped toward the man.

“He stole my axe,” the man declared.

“He tried to take my wife,” a man named Charlie replied. “I’m going to give his axe back—right in his gut.”

“I didn’t want your ugly woman,” the man shouted in Inupiat.

Leah felt someone at her side and turned to find Oopick. They could only stand and watch the situation play out. Some of the other native men joined in commenting on the situation, some taking Charlie’s side, others taking the side of the armed man.

“You got to put the rifle down, Daniel,” John demanded. “Somebody’s gonna get hurt.”

Then, as if John’s words were prophetic, the rifle went off with a loud cracking sound. Everyone fell silent as Charlie grabbed his stomach and sank to his knees. He looked up, then collapsed on the sand.

Leah put her hand to her mouth. To witness this awful affair, a situation that might never have come about but for the whiskey, was more than she could fathom.

“That’s enough. Give me the rifle.”

“You’re gonna kill me.” Daniel’s eyes were wild with fear.

John shook his head. “No. I’m gonna take you and hold you until the
Bear
shows up. When those government officials come, then I’ll turn you over to them.”

Leah shook her head. There was no telling how long it would be before the revenue cutter returned. Charlie’s family would return to the village for revenge. This could be counted on.

“I won’t go,” the man said, leveling the rifle again. Before anyone could do anything the man began backing away. “I won’t go.”

John approached him, matching each of the man’s steps in equal pacing. “Come on, Daniel. You know it’s the way.”

“I can’t. I won’t.” He backed up another step and stopped. “You go on now, John, or I’ll … well … I’ll have to shoot you.”

John shook his head. “Don’t do it, Daniel. They’ll see you dead if you do.”

“They’ll see me dead anyway.”

John reached for the barrel but had no time to push it away before the gun fired. Leah screamed and Oopick went running. The bullet hit John in the stomach. The big man didn’t fall immediately; instead, he seemed to contemplate the situation as several men rushed Daniel and wrestled him to the ground. Oopick reached her husband’s side just as his body seemed to register what had happened.

Leah was just paces behind Oopick. She’d thought at first that maybe John hadn’t been struck, but when he fell to the ground she screamed, “No!”

Oopick knelt beside her husband, pulling at his clothes to see how bad the wound was and exactly where it was located. Leah helped her, forgetting the others around them.

The wound, located just six inches in from John’s left side, bled profusely. Leah pulled off her
kuspuk
and pressed the soft cotton cloth against John’s abdomen. “We need to get him home,” she said, looking up. “Is anybody sober enough to help?” Her tone held great anger.

“We can help,” several men announced in unison. They came forward to await instruction.

“We need to be careful with him,” Leah commanded. “One of you will need to hold this cloth to the wound while the others carry him. Can you do that?”

The men nodded and Leah stood. Oopick was sobbing uncontrollably, reluctant to leave her husband’s side. Kimik, her son, appeared and helped the men lift his father as Leah took hold of Oopick.

“Come on. There will be time for tears later,” Leah encouraged. “Right now John needs us both.” Oopick looked into Leah’s eyes as if trying to comprehend her words.

Leah knew the next few moments would be critical. “Oopick, John needs us to keep him alive. Come along—we have work to do.”

Chapter Six

T
he ice is melted enough,” first mate Elmer Warrick declared. “I see no reason for us to sit here and wait for a rescue that might never come.”

Jacob shook his head. “It’s very risky to consider heading out, not having any idea of where we are.”

“We have a good idea that we’re close to the Russian Territories,” Dr. Ripley replied. “Not only that, but as the crew’s physician, I have to interject my opinion on the matter. We all have scurvy in various stages. Our diet is so imbalanced that most of us are dying of malnutrition. Not to mention that the captain has developed trouble with his heart and Bristol is sporting three toes that we’re going to have to remove tonight or see him dead in a week.”

“We’re all dying?” Matt questioned. He cast a quick glance at Jacob, as if to ascertain the doctor’s truthfulness.

Ripley shrugged. “If not exactly, then we soon are to be. Our bodies need a balance of vegetables and fruits. Foods that are obviously missing from our diet. Exposure to the elements is another issue entirely.”

“But to head out without any idea of where we’re going,” Jacob began, “is risking death as much, if not more, than staying here.”

“I agree with Jacob,” Jayce said, looking to each of the men. “We have shelter here and enough food for the time being. I propose a compromise: Rather than just sit here indefinitely, what if we agree to remain here until July tenth? That will still give us plenty of time to head out and risk the open water.”

The men considered this for a moment while Jacob posed a question. “Dr. Ripley, since you are concerned about the issues of our health, would this be an acceptable compromise to your way of thinking?”

Ripley rubbed his bearded chin. “That’s not much more than a month. I suppose it would be acceptable. Although I will say that every day we wait, we grow weaker from our lack of proper nutrition.”

“I agree,” Jacob said, nodding. “Captain Latimore is a very sick man, even now. I know Ben and Travis are suffering a great deal as well.” Those two hadn’t been themselves since developing a bronchial infection two months back. “It’s not my desire to keep any of us here a moment longer than needed. You must understand me on this point, if nothing else. I desire to be home as much as anyone here. I won’t keep us here any longer than necessary. You have my word on this.”

The men met his earnest gaze and one by one nodded in agreement of his words. Jacob knew their longing for home was strong—as was his own. He wanted nothing more than to wake up in his own bed and be among friends and family. The crew needed to see that he was just as connected to this goal as they were.

“Very well. We shall stay here until July tenth. If rescue hasn’t come by that time,” Jacob announced, “we will set out on our own.”

He walked away from the group, feeling a mixed sense of frustration and relief. He was glad that Jayce had suggested the compromise but worried about what would happen if no one found them by the tenth of July.

“I hope you didn’t mind my suggestion back there.” Jayce came alongside Jacob and matched his stride. “I wasn’t trying to usurp your authority.”

“I’m glad you thought of it, Jayce. Someone had to come up with something to calm them down.” Jacob stopped and looked back at the waters of the Bering. There was still ice here and there. A great many floes dotted the otherwise tranquil waters.

“They just don’t know what they’re asking for. I’ve been out there in an umiak when the village was hunting whale. It isn’t easy even when you have healthy, experienced men who know the lay of the land and the currents. These are men whose bodies have been compromised by the elements and lack of proper food. They are weak, and their minds are not as clear as they need to be.” Jacob turned back to Jayce. “None of our minds are working as well as they should. I found myself struggling with a column of figures this morning that normally would have been easy to add.”

“I know what you’re saying is true, but we can’t give up hope.” Jayce pointed out across the water. “There are a lot of seals with pups out there. The fishing has been decent, and now that we’ve located the area where the birds are building nests, we can have eggs. All of these things will keep us alive and well fed, even if they don’t offer the balance the good doctor wishes us to have.”

Jacob shook his head. “My teeth are loose. My gums are spongy.”

“Mine too,” Jayce admitted. “So we have scurvy. It’s to be expected.”

“It’ll kill us if we don’t find better food or someone to rescue us.”

Jayce shrugged. “We can’t sit around worrying about it. Someday something is going to kill us. If we just dwell on it, we’ll only manage to hurry it along. Frankly, I think we’ve come through Arctic winter in good order. I honestly believe help is on the way. We’re going to make it.”

“I can only hope and pray that we’ve gotten through the worst of the weather,” Jacob muttered. “I know for sure we can’t go through another winter unless we prepare.”

“We aren’t going to need to go through another winter,” Jayce declared. “You agreed to the compromise. If rescue hasn’t come by the tenth, then we’ll head out.”

Jacob tried to imagine making it back to Alaska. “Jayce, do you hear what you’re saying? Do you understand the dangers and the near impossibility of such a trip with these sick men?”

Jayce grinned. “But you taught me that we serve a God of impossibilities. Are you suddenly changing your mind?”

Jacob sighed. He felt wearier than he’d ever been in his life. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m tired, and like I said, I’m not thinking clear. I think heading out will be death, but I can’t blame them for wanting to get home.”

“We all want to get home, but we need to make sensible plans,” Jayce said, matching Jacob’s stride. “We can do this, but as you’ve said over and over, we need to work as a team. If you desert us now, the team will fall apart.”

“But what happens if no one comes for us by the tenth?” Jacob looked at Jayce without stopping, then just as quickly turned his attention back on the hill they were climbing. “Those men will expect me to produce a miracle. A miracle I simply do not have.”

“Since when have you ever been in the miracle business?” Jayce asked sarcastically. “You aren’t God, Jacob. Stop trying to be Him.”

This caused Jacob to pause. He felt his anger rise as his hands automatically balled into fists. He wanted to punch Jayce, but just as quickly he calmed, knowing that Jayce had done nothing wrong. He’d spoken the truth. Jacob squared his shoulders and walked a few more steps to the ridge. “If no one comes, we will load up the boats and head out. But to where? To what? How will we make our way if the storms come? You can’t ride out a late-season blizzard in an umiak.”

“I don’t have all of your answers, but we can pray and trust that God will send us what we need. If not a rescue ship, then surely Latimore can be of help. He’s sailed the waters of the Bering before.”

“If Latimore survives he might be able to offer some insight, but by his own admission, he has never been in this area. We may be in the Chukchi or even East Siberian Seas. There’s no real way for us to know.”

At the top of the hill, Jacob sat down on a rocky outcropping. “I keep looking for a sign—something to tell me where we are. Are we on Wrangell Island or Skeleton Island or something else entirely? We found signs of that one camp, but we don’t know that it had anything to do with the men of the
Karluk
. I was under the impression that some kind of marker had been left behind.”

Jayce eased onto the rock with a bit of a moan. Jacob had forgotten that Jayce had twisted his back just days earlier as they wrestled a seal onto the shore. He seemed to still be quite sore, and that only made Jacob feel more guilty for his rapid ascent to the top of the ridge.

“How’s the back?”

“It’s better. Truly.” Jayce added the latter as Jacob cast him a look of doubt. “I think a nice hot bath would help.” He grinned. “Maybe a Turkish bath with steam and eucalyptus branches.”

“And a soft bed,” Jacob added.

“And Leah to give me backrubs.” Jayce picked up a rock and gave it a toss. “I miss her more than anything else. I can’t help but wonder what the little ones are doing now.”

“They aren’t so little is my guess,” Jacob countered. “They’re a year old. I thought of that the other day. If we’ve managed to keep proper records, then they’ve had their first birthday.”

“I know. I realized that too,” Jayce’s voice was filled with longing.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. When we get back … I’m leaving Alaska.”

“What?” Jayce shook his head. “What are you talking about? You told me Alaska was in your blood—that you’d never leave.”

“Helaina Beecham’s in my blood too,” he answered softly. He had her face emblazoned on his memory. “She’s all I think about—she’s all I really care about.”

“But leave Alaska?”

Jacob leaned his arms against his knees. “She said Alaska was too hard for her. That life there was too isolated. How could I go seeking her as a wife, knowing that she’d only be miserable there?”

“But to give up your life for the love of a woman—that’s kind of dangerous. You know it could spell trouble in the years to come. When things are hard, you’ll blame her. You might even end up pining away for what might have been and come to resent her for taking you from all that you knew.”

“I could never feel that way about her. Could you feel that way about Leah?”

Jayce sighed. “That’s a bad question to ask me—or maybe I should say a good question. I’m the one who avoided a relationship with her not only because of her age, but because I figured she’d leave Alaska and I didn’t want to. Even the summer before we married she was talking of going to Seattle to hunt for a husband. That put me at odds again. Would she really leave Alaska? Would she ever come back? I knew I would never have planned to be at odds with her if we married and she suddenly wanted to leave the Territory. Neither would you set out to feel that way toward Helaina, but it could come later in life. You have to be realistic about this and not just think about it with stars in your eyes and your heart all aflutter. You’re talking about a life change that you would never consider for any other reason.”