Out of the Wilderness

By Shirley Thulin

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Chapter 8

The next few weeks were hard ones for Marian. She was growing weary, and she was remembering Charles, and she could not straighten out her feelings about him.

Jim was more excited than ever, though, and talked of little else than how proud he was of all the things they had been able to accomplish.

“It will only take me a few days to finish replacing the timber at the mouth of the mine,” he said. “The road is done, the water is drained out of the mine, and next year I can retimber the next level.”

“I’ll be glad when you get the mouth of the mine retimbered,” said Sue. “That wood looks bad to me.”

“It’s looked like that ever since I can remember,” Jim told her. “Dad always started deep inside, so I did.”

“Well, it doesn’t make much difference now,” Marian said. “Jim’s going to fix it, and by Saturday we’ll have all the packing done and be heading for home.” She repeated the last word to herself over and over. It sounded so wonderful. Home …

Jim took his cap from the peg behind the door and put his hand on the knob. “You have made this cabin a home, Mother,” he said.

Marian laughed. “The woman’s touch,” she said. “Now get going, and be sure to keep the twins working. I want you to finish so you can help me pack the last few days.”

“We always work,” Ted protested.

“Well, almost always,” Jed added, “except when we stop to watch the chipmunks hiding their winter’s food away.”

“Or go to find pine nuts …” Jim teased.

“Well, you showed us where to look for them,” Jed reminded.

“And they’ll taste mighty good at Christmas time,” said Marian. “Now hurry along, all of you.”

Marian put the big tub on two chairs out in the dooryard. She had to busy herself so that she wouldn’t think of the way she had neglected to do for David these things he would have appreciated so much. If only I had made this cabin a home for him … She poured buckets of hot water into the tub and swished the suds around. She was putting the clothes into the tub, when she looked up and saw Jake coming. I’m glad Jim isn’t here, she thought.

“Well, you look busy. I guess you’ve found that life here in this part of the country is a lot harder than at home, haven’t you?”

“Yes, it is, but I don’t mind.” Marian wiped her hands and smoothed her hair back from her face.

“Your garden looks good.”

“There isn’t much of it left now,” Marian said aloud, but kept wondering why he had come. She knew it wasn’t to talk about her hard work, or her garden.

“I have something here to show you.” He took some folded papers from his pocket. “Had my lawyer make them out yesterday.”

Marian took them. She didn’t know much about legal papers, but she could tell it had something to do with the selling of the Silver Star and the land that went with it.

“That’s a lot of money,” she said, just above a whisper.

“It’s a lot more than what it’s worth, as mining property, that is. You’d be wise to accept.”

Marian wanted to say she would, but she couldn’t. Somehow the words wouldn’t come, and she kept remembering what Dick had said that first day. “Jake doesn’t offer something for nothing.”

“Why should you be so generous, Jake?” she asked.

“Oh, I’m not being generous. I stand to make a good profit from this property. You see, it is no good for mining, as you probably know. But along with my layout, it would make a good spot for a hunting lodge. Of course, I will have to put a lot of money into it, build several large cabins, put in improvements.”

“I see. Well, I’ll have to think it over. We have done all the work for this year, now.”

“You’ve done all the work for this year, but what about next year? It will be quite a few years before your boy is old enough to do it himself.”

Marian picked up some more clothes and put them into the tub. “You will have to come back after I’ve thought it over.”

He stood there, an awkward silence between them. Then he turned toward the cabin and asked if he might have a drink of water. Marian wiped her hands again and walked behind him to the door. As Jake stepped inside, Marian could tell he was surprised. Even though she couldn’t see his face, the sudden straightening of his shoulders told her that he could not quite believe what he saw.

“You have fixed things up!” He turned to look at her.

“There is still a lot we want to do.”

“I was looking at the mine early this morning … That boy has done a lot, too.”

Jake rubbed his chin, and the look in his eyes upset Marian. She stepped over towards the water bucket, but before she could get him the drink he had asked for, he said he guessed he had better be getting on back, and left.

Marian stood in the doorway of the cabin and wondered at his sudden departure. She finally decided that it was his disappointment at her reluctance to sell, and went back to her washing. But every rub of her hands on the board, accentuated her distasteful feelings for Jake.

Things were going pretty much according to schedule by Wednesday, and Marian found herself sorting and packing with a light heart. Jim and the twins had left early that morning. “We’ll be able to finish today,” Jim had told her, and after watching them go along the road a little way, she returned to her tasks.

It seemed to Marian that the boys hadn’t had time to reach the mine, when they came running back into the clearing.

“Mom, oh, Mom!” Jim was in front of the twins, and he looked like the little boy he had once been, with his face twisted and the tears unchecked, rolling down his cheeks.

“What in the world?” Marian hurried towards him.

“Oh, Mother … the mine … it’s caved in.”

“Caved in?”

“The front’s all caved in,” Ted verified.

“The rotten wood …” Jed guessed.

“It wasn’t the rotten wood. It wasn’t that bad.” Jim turned to look in the direction of the mine.

“Jim, tell me what …”

“The whole front section of the mine has fallen down. The tunnel’s packed solid with dirt and rocks.”

“But how …?”

“I don’t know. It was that way when we got there.” He kicked at the ground with his foot.

“It must have been the way Jed said. The wood was just too rotten and gave way …”

“I don’t know … All I know is that all our work has been for nothing. It will take weeks to dig it back out, maybe months!”

“But the road. We fixed the road.”

“That won’t count for enough. The work on the mine, along with fixing the road, was barely enough.”

Marian said, “But it can’t be … it just can’t be! Our whole summer …” She was searching desperately for something to say to comfort him, but she just stood there, bewildered.

“I guess Jake was right,” Jim said, his eyes dry now, his voice low. “We should have sold out to him when he offered.”

“Don’t talk like that, Jim.”

“Well, we have lost the whole thing. We may as well have sold out as to just lose it.”

“I can’t believe we’ve lost it. Not after we’ve worked so hard. There must be some way.” But her words stopped. Jake was coming towards them.

“I just came form the mine. Was anyone hurt?”

“No … no one was hurt,” Marian answered.

“You are the just the man we want to see.” Jim’s tone frightened Marian.

“Please, Jim …”

“Your offer still good?” the boy asked.

“Why yes, but …”

“Well, we want to sell out,” Jim said.

“No, we don’t.” Suddenly Marian’s mind was clear. “We’re not going to give up, not after all we have done. This property has been in the family for a long time, and we’re going to keep it, somehow.”

“But the boy’s right, Ma’am. There really isn’t much you can do.” Jake was ready to agree with Jim.

“There is something we can do. We can stay and dig the mine out. Even if we have to do it with our hands!”

“We have to get back for school,” Jim reminded her.

“I … I know … but …” Marian was grasping for an answer. “Spring vacation. We’ll come back then and finish!”

“Oh, Mom, let’s not kid ourselves. That may be all right for this year, but what about next, and the next? It’s just too much for us to handle.”

Marian looked at her son. He avoided her eyes. “Jim, you don’t really want us to sell, do you?”

“Of course he does,” Jake said. “He’s a sensible boy.”

Jim looked at his mother and then at Jake. Slowly the expression on his face changed from one of despair to a flickering of hope. “No, but what can we do?”

The sound of the car made them all turn in the direction of the road. “It’s Dick and his father, but it isn’t Saturday. I wonder …”

“Hi. Seen anything of a stray horse? Our new mare strayed away.”

“No, I haven’t,” Jim said.

“Well, Jake.” Dick and his father got out of the car. “Didn’t expect to see you here. You were over at the Silver Bear a few minutes ago.”

“Yes, I just dropped by to see my neighbors.”

Dick looked at Marian, and then at Jim. He seemed to know that there had been something going on. “How is everything, Marian?”

“Oh, Dick, the mine caved in. All of our work has been for nothing.”

“Caved in?” Dick’s father narrowed his eyes and looked at Jake. “Did anyone get hurt?”

“No, Mr. Tucker. No one got hurt, but we will lose the mine now. There isn’t time to dig it out again.”

Mr. Tucker was still looking at Jake. He didn’t seem to hear Marian. He rubbed his chin and said, “You know, it seems to me that I once heard of another mine caving in, didn’t I, Jake?”

“Did you, Tucker?” Jake’s voice was harsh, but there was a scared look in his eyes. “I better be headin’ back.” he turned to leave. “You be thinking about that deal we were talking about. I’ll be back.”

“Just a minute, Jake.” Mr. Tucker stepped in front of the big man, and Marian saw him bristle. “What deal’s this you’re talkin’ about?”

“Don’t figure it’s any of your business,” Jake said, stepping past the little man.

“Well, I’ll make it my business. You weren’t figuring to buy this property, were you, Jake?”

“Like I said, it isn’t much of your business.” Jake’s huge hands clenched into hard fists at his sides, and Dick stepped between them.

“Take it easy, Dad.”

“Son, it’s hard to take it easy when you know so much about a man that isn’t good.”

“You don’t know anything about me.” Jake was grinning now. “You really don’t know one thing about me, old man.”

“I know you had a hand in the caving in of another mine that you later bought, and I know you have been getting away with deer meat out of season, and I know why you want to buy this mine, too.”

Jake’s smile vanished, and his words cut through the air. “You’re only guessing, Tucker. If I want to make this property into a hunting lodge, that’s my affair.”

“A hunting lodge? Well, that’s a good one. You found out about Johnson’s mill, didn’t you?”

“You have no right …”

“Well, right or wrong, you had better stay away from this mine.”

Tucker couldn’t say any more, because Jake pushed him to one side and walked away fast.

No one spoke until the air cleared a bit, then Mr. Tucker said, “He knows about Johnson’s plans to build a mill. I didn’t think the news had had a chance to get around yet, but I can tell he knows.”

“Someone’s going to build a mill?” Jim was excited. “That means we can start shipping again.”

“Yes, it means lots of things, son. It means the town will be building up again. There is ore in these old mines that nobody even heard of a few years back. They will be moving in here, family after family.”

“Then Jake didn’t want to make a hunting lodge …” Marian couldn’t believe Jake’s deception.

“No, sir, he wants to mine the ore.”

“But he didn’t really cave our mine in, did he?”

“I don’t know. Nobody has ever been able to catch him at his tricks. Everyone thinks he had a hand in running the Wrights off their place last year.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter, if he did it, or if it fell down by itself. We have to sell.” Jim’s excitement of a few moments ago had changed.

“What do you mean, Jim?” Dick asked.

“We have to go back Saturday. That doesn’t give us time to dig it out.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry, son,” Mr. Tucker assured him. “We’ll get some of the men and help. You aren’t going to lose the mine. Not while I’m still able-bodied.”

“We can’t let you do that,” Marian told him. “You and Dick have already done so much for us, bringing our supplies all summer, and …”

“Say, that reminds me,” and the little man’s eyes danced with a secret he seemed reluctant to tell. “What did you do with all that paint and other fixings you had us bring up?”

“Oh, we just fixed up the cabin a bit.”

Marian was almost ashamed of the time she had wasted on the cabin. I should have helped Jim more at the mine, she thought. We could have finished replacing that bad timber sooner.

“Just fixed up the cabin.” he laughed a squeaky little laugh and could hardly stand still for the thoughts he was thinking.

“Come on, Dad,” Dick was grinning now, too, knowing how his father loved a surprise. “Tell us what this is all about.”

“You don’t have to dig out the mine this summer, time to worry about that next year. Go home and file the papers that you did all the necessary assessment work.”

“But I don’t understand,” Marian said.

“Don’t you see? The work you did on the cabin counts, too. The cabin is part of the property, and a mighty important part, too! If you improve the cabin, you improve the property.”

“Really?” Marian’s heart felt like playing a game of leap frog. “You mean the tarpaper on the roof, and the shelves and the closet …”

“Yes, and the paint in the kitchen, and come to think of it …” The old man slapped his knee. “I’ll bet this will be the first time that old office will receive listed improvements such as a painted kitchen and waxed floors!”

Jim stood there, grinning and sniffling.

“Well, I guess we had better get back to finding our horse,” Dick said.

“I had almost forgotten why we came,” Mr. Tucker spoke slowly. “You know, it’s almost worth losing a good horse if it kept Jake from getting away with something.” Mr. Tucker got in the car.

“When do you want me to come for you?” Dick got in the car, too.

“Tomorrow,” Marian said, “if it’s all right.”

“It will be fine, and, Marian, if I were you, I would file a complaint to keep Jake off your property.”

“Oh, she won’t need to, now that he knows we have found out about him. He will stay away,” Mr. Tucker said, “no doubt about that.”

As the car drove away, Jim said, “I think I’ll go take a look at the mine. Maybe we left some of our tools out. I’ll be back soon.”

“All right, Jim,” and Marian checked her impulse to go with him.

She knew he wanted to be alone while he said goodbye to the mine until next year. She picked up a bucket. They didn’t need any water, but she wanted to go for some anyhow. She had some goodbyes of her own to say. She wanted to say goodbye to the mountains, now dotted with fiery reds and yellows, and to the majestic trees that had somehow given her some of their strength. She wanted to thank the wilderness for sharing with her a secret, the secret of finding the strength within oneself to do the things that must be done. By coming to the wilderness, she thought, I have found my way out of my private wilderness.

As Marian stood on the little hill by the well, she knew that never again would she feel so all alone, or frightened. Charles was wrong, she thought. I don’t need anyone … someday, maybe, but not now.

Back at the cabin she asked the children how they were coming along with their packing.

“Can we take our rocks with us?” Tommy wanted to know.

“And our pine cones?” Jill asked.

“When we come back, I’m going to get deep in the mine with Jim,” Jed planned.

“I’m going to save my money to buy a camera,” Sue added. “Then I can show Kathy and the others how beautiful it is here.”

“And I’m going to bring yards and yards of red and white checked cotton for curtains, and some of my pictures to hang on the walls,” Marian said. “And, oh, yes,” she laughed, “a new scrub board. I wore the old one pretty thin this summer.”

(The End)