The Days After (Big River) Page 12

  “It may come to that. I think the more we mess around with this jam, the more dangerous it is. Our best chance is working up river here and making an effort to break it up all at once. Water is probably about nine feet deep here. I'll have to get one of the big lanterns, seal it up in a zip loc bag. Remember how I had to do that, when I made a repair in the hull?”

  Louis said, “I don't like it...I don't see any way around it though, we have to get through. It's getting pretty late in the day. Let's go back and make our plans, get a fresh start in the morning

  The paddle wheeler was anchored far enough down river from the barge dam for the water be mostly smoothed out. They all sat at the cabin table and the men told the women what they thought had to be done to get passage up river. It was risky and it would be dangerous. They had to do what was necessary to get them through and they all knew it. They pushed down their fears and talked about the plans.

  Angel had a rock in her heart. She knew that Clay did not even like to be in the water, she also knew that there would be no talking him out of this. She said, “Clay, I don't suppose you have any scuba gear?”

  “No, as you have noticed, I am not that big of a diving enthusiast,” he smiled. “What I do have is a length of hose, I can get some extra breaths from it, as long as I am not too deep. And, I have a mask.”

  “We have used it before when repairing the boat,” said Louis. “We put a flashlight in a zip loc bag and tie it to the end of it, so he can see it through the muddy water. We will do the same with the bigger battery lantern for him to carry when he is under. We'll tie a rope around him and I'll keep time. The hose has a bell on the top end, if he doesn't pull on that hose every minute, so I know he is getting air, I will pull him up. He can only do that two or three times and he has to surface.”

  Penny said, “That's the scariest thing I ever heard. Are you sure you can this, Sugar?”

  “I can do it,” was the short answer that Clay gave.

  It was settled. Penny and Angel insisted that they would take the second watch, so that the men could sleep most of the night. The morning came and the two women wearily stood at the rail and watched the loaded speedboat move away. No one but the kids had been interested in breakfast. The day was clear and the river was calm except right below the accidental dams.

  The boat was loaded with ropes, the breathing hose, the lantern, a couple of life vests, some purified water, towels and first aid supplies. Two pistols and a rifle lay on the seat beside Louis. They squeezed through the clear area once again. Clay said, “Let's start here next to the opening, we can work our way back towards the barge until we think there is enough water cleared.”

  Louis said, “The old Annie doesn't draw that much water. If we can get a wide enough path clear of junk, we can maneuver her through.”

  In a T-shirt, shorts and on old pair of tennis shoes, Clay stood in the boat and tied the lantern to his waist, switched it on. He tied another rope around his waist, took a deep breath and eased from the side into the muddy water, left the boat rocking. Louis immediately checked his watch and dropped the hose over the side, the dim flashlight pulled the hose down through the water, about five feet. Clay had only let himself drop about six feet, holding on to the rope, he didn't want to drop on the debris. He picked up the lantern and tried to see below through the murky water.

  As the light made a pale beam, it showed piles of interlocked boards and poles and steel bars, going several feet beneath him and back towards the middle of the river, where the barge had dumped it. He went back up the rope to the surface, he bobbed on the surface and got his breath.

  “What do you think?” said Louis.

  “Give me the rope with the hook and chain on the end. I am going as deep as I can and try to tie off to something. All we can do is back off and pull, see what happens,” said Clay.

  He and Louis nodded, he took the end of the rope and a deep breath, pushed his way back down through the water. A wide black head with long whiskers startled him as a big catfish swam from the wreckage. He looked back up, spotted the hose, went up and took a breath. He pulled the rope, pushed as far down as he could, moved the lantern back and forth and spotted a pole that he could tie off to. His chest was already feeling tight, but he got the rope tied around the pole. Back to the hose, he took another breath and went to the surface. He climbed up a rope ladder into the boat.

  “Okay,” he said. “Let's see what we can do.” Louis pulled in the hose and his safety rope, while Clay dried off.

  The rope that was tied to the bottom of the jam was also tied to a big eyehook in the bottom of the speedboat. Louis said, “I am thinking that we better not just haul ass. We might tear the whole rear end out of the boat.”

  “Yeah, let's just ease out until it starts pulling and see if it will do anything at all,” said Clay.

  Louis turned the boat up river and idled along until the rope became taut, he then gave it a little more gas and tried to move forward. The motor roared but nothing gave. He backed up a short distance and tried again. This time, it seemed like something moved. One more try and they were suddenly loose, some of the lumber and poles protruding through the surface of the water tumbled and broke free and floated down river. They hauled in the rope and released the pole they had pulled from under the pile and let it float down river.

  “Well, at least we didn't tear the boat up,” said Louis.

  It was a start, they might be able to make a clear trail. They moved back in closer to the jam, and two more times repeated their process. Each time, a little more of the jam floated away. Clay was so tired, wet and dirty. His hands were cut and bruised and his chest actually felt sore. “I think we are getting close, friend. If we did one more pull, it might clear the passage.”

  His friend looked him over, “Look, Boss, you are about done in, I think. How about if we go to the Annie, get a bite to eat, rest a while. Then we can come back and maybe get this finished.”

  In the cabin, Clay sat on the floor and let Angel put some salve on his hands, he rested his head back against the padded bar front. She placed her fingers in his still damp hair and dropped them to his cheek, “You're exhausted. How is it coming...do you think it is going to work?”

  He put one of his scraped hands on hers, “I'm fine. Yeah, it's working. We are clearing the way. I think one more big pull and we can get the boat through.”

  Clay was risking his life, for all of them. She loved him for it; at that moment she knew that she loved him, period.

  A couple of hours of rest and some food, did both men good. Clay felt much better and was ready to finish this job. The speedboat once again rocked near the jam. It did look as if one more good pull could open the way. The captain pushed his way down and looked for a good pole to tie off the chain to. He spotted one. Damnit, he was going to have to get a breath before he could hook to it. He spotted the hose, went for his air and as he kicked back down to the pole, he felt something hard scrape along his leg. Startled a bit, he lost some of his breath. He moved back to the hose again and as quickly as he could, back down to tie off the pole. He popped to the surface and a dark stain flowed around him. Louis leaned over the side, his eyes widened, “Clay, stay still.” A long dark water moccasin slithered across the surface right behind the weakening man. Louis pulled out his pistol and shot. More dark stain floated in the brown water. “Oh my god, are you bit?” He noticed now that something was wrong with the captain. Louis reached for his hand, pulled him to the back of the boat and struggled to help him in. A long ugly gash split the shin of Clay's leg.

  “That's not a snake bite...what happened?” said Louis, reached for the first aid. He had a stronger aversion to snakes than Clay did to the water.

  “Don't know,” said Clay, “probably a piece of steel. Hurts like hell though.”

  Louis dribbled some of the clean water over the cut, squirted some antibacterial cream on and wrapped it up, best he could. The swimmer looked a little pale.

  “Okay,” sai
d Louis, “Let's get this deal done.” He moved the boat around and did the slow tugging, he hoped for the last time, because his friend was certainly not going back in that water. This time a large portion of the jam crackled and splashed and let go. The loosed pieces tumbled and rolled down the river. “Hot-damn!” he shouted, “I think we did it. I think we can get through now.”

  Then he noticed how ill Clay looked. He moved the boat back towards the paddle wheeler, dodging the debris. He got him inside the cabin and told Penny to bring a cot. Angel had some very basic nursing. She had wanted to be a nurse, and had gotten maybe a third of the way through school when she became pregnant with Allie. She just had to go to work when she discovered she was going to have no help or support. Her face was clouded with concern as she checked out the deep cut on Clay's leg. There was no way she could do any stitches. Since it was on his shin, perhaps if they doused it with more antiseptic and wrapped it real tight, it would heal. She gave him some over the counter pain killers and he slept the rest of the day, on the cot in the open cabin.

  Louis had not exactly had an easy day either. He rested in he and Penny's small area. They all stayed quiet and just did what was necessary. Late in the afternoon, Allie tip toed into the cabin and to Clay's cot. She kissed his cheek and whispered, “Poor Captain Clay.”

  Outside, Angel leaned on the rail, there wasn't much breeze today. Allie came beside her mother, “Are you sad, Mommy? Captain Clay is hurt, huh? I think he's too hot in there.”

  Angel looked down at her, “What, honey? Yes, he's hurt, he will be okay. It is hot today.” She pulled her hair up off of her neck.

  “But he's real hot, Mommy...his face is hot,” the little girl whined.

  It sunk in, what Allie had said. She hurried into the cabin and felt of Clay's forehead; burning up, he had fever. Oh god, if he was getting an infection, what would they do? As Penny walked in, she said, “He's got fever. Get Louis, would you?”

  When Louis came, she asked him to bring the mattress from Clay's bunk. “It's just too hot in that little room,” she said. She dug around in their medical supplies. When she uncovered the wound, it was red around the edges. After pouring on hydrogen peroxide, making sure the wound was clean, she spread on more antibacterial cream and tightly wrapped it again. He moaned a time or two and looked at her with feverish eyes. The old penicillin pills lay in the bottom of the medicine supplies. It's worth a try, she thought. He roused enough for her to get one of the pills and some fever reducer down him.

  Angel dragged her bed in to be right beside Clay. With Allie curled next to her, she watched all through the night. Not knowing whether the old antibiotics were any good, she decided to give them every three to four hours and hope. So, she watched him, washed him with cool cloths, checked and medicated the wound and regularly gave him pills. He often whispered Angel in his fog.

  By the following evening, he was a bit more alert. She could not say that he was better, but at least, he did not seem worse. He was propped up on some pillows and Louis sat in a chair on the other side of his bed. “You look like ten miles of bad road, Boss,” he smiled.

  “Um-m, you ought to be looking out from this side,” he said in a not very strong voice. “Louis, we have to get moving. We could get to Dan's in maybe a week. We need his support and we need to get off this river.”

  The auburn haired nursemaid jumped in, “Listen, Hon. You are not getting up from this bed, for a while. Your leg has some infection. I think we might can beat it...possibly those old penicillin pills haven't lost all of their stuff. You absolutely cannot move around. If we keep the wound dressed, you keep taking the pills and stay still, there's a chance it will be okay. I am emphasizing chance.” She looked directly at Louis and then back to Clay and refused to let the tear escape from her amber eyes.

  “Louis, do you think you can get the Annie through the clearing we made? If you could just keep moving a little each day, get through Omaha...” he seemed very tired.

  “We can handle it,” he looked at Angel and Penny, “Isn't that so?” They reassured Clay, even though they were full of doubts. He laid back and was soon asleep again.

  The next morning, Louis very adeptly guided the big paddle boat through the narrowed waterway that they had worked to clear. Penny and Angel walked up and down the sides with long poles and pushed away any piece of debris that floated at them. Only once did they hear a scraping noise on the bottom, thankfully it had not been a piece of steel, maybe just a piece of lumber and they got through with no damage. The captain, still fighting a little fever slept through the passage.

  Clay's good crew lived up to their name, over the next four days, they guided the Annie Belle up the Missouri, they kept the watches and they nursed their captain. They had made it through the last city of any size, Omaha, Nebraska. Right before the sun came up, the air still and hot, Louis took the paddle wheeler under the bridge that spanned the river. Clay had been given a gun, and his cot pulled next to a window. A flurry of shots had rained down from the bridge, it seemed it was just for show, no attackers pursued and they glided on past the city.

  On day five, the Annie Belle and crew had reached the small finger of South Dakota that stuck in between Iowa and Nebraska. With luck and if they had no trouble locating the farm, they would be at Dan's in less than two days. Angel walked the early watch that night. She moved up the stairs to the top level, in the light from the full moon, she saw Clay at the big round ship's wheel.

  In the door of the control hut, she said, “Clay?” in a soft voice. He stood, both hands on the wheel, in his faded dark blue T-shirt and jeans, the canvas shoes on his feet. After the days of being bedridden, he managed to hobble into his bunk room, dress himself and get up the stairs. His fever had been gone for about two days, the wound looked free from infection, although, only time would tell how much damage had been done. He reached his hand out for her and pulled her up into the circle of his arm. She put her arm around is waist.

  They just stood for a while and held each other. “I think we are going to make it, Angel. I am not sure that I would have made it at all, if it hadn't been for you.”

  She looked up at him, “None of us would have made it without you, Clay.”

  In the stillness and quiet, he kissed her and whispered, “I love you, Angel. I want you and Allie to be with me, Always.”

  “I love you...just try and get rid of us,” the amber eyes sparkled in the moonlight.

  ***

  Dan's Farm

  They were in South Dakota and Louis was glad that Clay was up and about enough to help him locate his brother's farm. They still refused to let the captain stand at the wheel all day long, but he steered the boat for about half the day. In the evening when they anchored down, he talked to them all around the supper table.

  “I think we will reach Dan's farm tomorrow,” he said. “He gave me a couple of landmarks and distances. There's a channel, a small tributary that runs up into the edge of his property. The last time that I had any communication, he told me that the channel was about six feet deep at the shallowest, which would be at the end of a pier that he has built. If we are careful, we should be able to get all the way up to his property edge.”

  The children's excitement at the possibility of making it to this “Farm” that they had heard about for over two months, was only slightly more than the four adults. Clay now had time, however, to allow himself to worry that his brother and family were safe and that there was still haven there.

  They had only moved along for about two hours when Clay spotted the two big trees, with one felled between them. He looked closely and spotted a small star carved into the one that was closest to a narrow channel. When he and his brothers were boys, their dad always talked to them about the North Star and about navigating by it at night. He swung the Annie Belle out and into the channel, kept her as near to center as he could. The channel took a slight turn back to the starboard and up ahead, he could see a pier. When he reached the pier, he once again
saw a small star carved in the post at the end.

  The shorelines were lined with thick stands of hardwood trees and there was no view beyond them. Clay said, “I just know this is the place. Still, to be cautious, Louis and I will take a look. You girls be ready to defend here, if we are mistaken.”

  The two men stepped out onto the pier, their pistols at the ready. From the edge of the trees, a man stepped out. He was taller and heavier than Clay and his voice seem to boom across the woods, “Clay!” He began to run and his younger brother moved as fast as his sore leg would allow. Dan grabbed him in an embrace that nearly took them both off the pier. “You made it... you made it, thank God, you are here.” He grabbed Louis in a bear hug, “Louis, old friend, welcome.” Louis laughed and patted him on the back.

  Dan looked back at the two women and children and motioned with his big hand, “Come on, what're waiting for? You're home now.” Penny, Angel and the children walked up the pier and got the same hearty hugs that the men had received. Allie was all full of giggles and rode on the brother's shoulders as the moved through the trees. When they emerged from the trees into a clearing, a tall wooden fence stretched out in front of them and they could see the pointed steep roof of a house behind it, solar panels lined the roof. Dan whistled and a heavy gate swung open. They all entered through the gate and a steel bar dropped back across the gate.

  A robust boy, about fourteen, who had closed the gate, said, “Hey, Uncle Clay.”

  Clay gave him a hug, “Hello, Clayton. You're just about grown.”

  Two large dogs of undetermined breed dashed up, much to the children's delight. A tall one with at least three colors on his short coat, stopped to wiggle wildly at the feet of Allie, who Dan had swung to the ground.

  On the long porch of the two story farm style house, stood a pretty young girl, Dan's twelve year old daughter and a pleasantly full figured woman in jeans and a peasant style blouse, her gray tipped black hair was a close cap of soft curls. She gave Clay a big hug and pinched his cheek. “What's with the bad leg, kid?”