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@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ Birdie smiled in her hammock. She stretched, lifting her arm out to feel the air Delos was 62 feet from her bow sprite to aft rail where Birdie's hammock was tied. She was a gaff rigged Jamaican sloop. Built of strong cedar, sweet smelling. There were two masts, one just fore of midship and another in the cockpit at the rear, where the other end of her hammock was tied. Her father was vague about her origins, or at least how Delos came to be his. As Birdie understood it, she was built in a place called Jamaica, sailed all the way to the coast of a place called France where she ran aground. Her cargo was offloaded and she was abandoned to the waves. That was not Poseidon's plan though. The tides had pulled her back out to sea. And her father, who happened to be on watch on another ship had spied her in the night. Sensing his chance, he'd woken two companions, sailed alongside her and the three trimmed the sails of their vessel, pointed her in the opposite direction and jumped ship for the new one. -One of those companions, Tamba, was walking toward Birdie. Tamba was a tall, powerfully built man who had sailed most of the way around the world with her father, long neither of them seemed to remember a time when they did not sail together. Tamba was her second father, though she never called him Papa. She hopped out of the hammock, her feet landing on the smooth oak planking of the deck with a light thud. +One of those companions, Tamba, was walking toward Birdie. Tamba was a tall, powerfully built man who had sailed most of the way around the world with her father. They had sailed together long enough that neither of them seemed to remember a time when they did not sail together. Tamba was her second father, though she never called him Papa. She hopped out of the hammock, her feet landing on the smooth oak planking of the deck with a light thud. "Morning Birdie." Tamba was from Gambia, across the ocean. An even hotter place, he had told her, which Birdie found difficult to believe. @@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ She could see her brother's unruly mop of hair sticking out the side of the hamm "Papa?" -He nodded to her and then turned back around to watch the sun rise. Birdie ran aft, ducking under booms, and hopping over the coiled lines and small barrels stacked along the gunwales, a name she did not understand since there were no cannon on Delos. Well, none on the gunwale anyway. Below deck in the stern were two small cannon loaded with forks and knives designed to shred an enemy's sails. "Delos is small," Tamba once told her. "We would be blown to bits by a cannon, but we're fast, we can outrun them all. We have just enough fire power to convince any other small, fast ships not to chase us. That's all we need." +He nodded to her and then turned back around to watch the sun rise. Birdie ran aft, ducking under booms, and hopping over the coiled lines and small barrels stacked along the gunwales, a name she did not understand since there were no guns on Delos. Well, none on the gunwale anyway. Below deck, in the stern, were two small cannon loaded with forks and knives designed to shred an enemy's sails. "Delos is small," Tamba once told her. "We would be blown to bits by a cannon, but we're fast, we can outrun them all. We have just enough fire power to convince any other small, fast ships not to chase us. That's all we need." She ducked into the small doorway that covered the ladder leading below decks. Keeping her hands on the rails -- always keep one hand on the boat was her father's mantra -- she flung herself down with a single leap, bypassing the wooden ladder completely. It was much darker below, it took her eyes a moment to adjust. She could see the glow of the stove and Kobayashi's form bent over, stirring a pot. He never looked up at her thud. He kicked a clay pot by his feet so that it slid slightly toward her. She grabbed a basket hanging from the rafters and scooped rice out of the pot and into it. @@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ Tamba grunted. "Easier for you to say." "No." -The rumors from early in the summer, up in the north, were that the British were planning to retake the Bahamaian port of Nassau soon. Once abandoned as useless, pirates had found a use for Nassau and for two seasons running they had openly controlled, administered, governed, and otherwise run the port of Nassau. The entire eastern coast of the Atlantic talked of nothing but pirates. Birdie and her family had overhead plenty during their summer stay on Block Island, a small, nearly bare island off the coast of the colony of Rhode Island. It had no good harbor, little land worth farming, and almost no one went there, making it a popular destination for ships with cargoes that could not sail into Boston proper and expect a warm welcome. +The rumors from early in the summer, up in the north, were that the British were planning to retake the Bahamaian port of Nassau soon. Once abandoned as useless, pirates had found a use for Nassau and for two seasons running they had openly controlled, administered, governed, and otherwise run the port of Nassau. The entire western coast of the Atlantic talked of nothing but pirates. Birdie and her family had overhead plenty during their summer stay on Block Island, a small, nearly bare island off the coast of the colony of Rhode Island. It had no good harbor, little land worth farming, and almost no one went there, making it a popular destination for ships with cargoes that could not sail into Boston proper and expect a warm welcome. Delos was not a pirate vessel, and did not sail with pirate vessels, but it, and Birdie along with it, definitely knew and spent time with ships and crews that were often called pirate by those that spread rumors up and down the Atlantic coast of the colony. Rumors were always saying the British are coming, her father said, and the British never actually came, or came to the wrong place, or not enough of them came. Birdie had lost track of what it was the British did and didn't do. They were about as real as the black and white birds that couldn't fly that Kobayashi swore he had seen on a trip around Cape Horn. @@ -163,39 +163,39 @@ Everyone on the island had seen them come in, but they were still too deep in th ## Chapter 2: Off The Sea -The feel of sand stuck to her fingers. Lulu flicked her fingers and felt the rough sand fall away and the smooth skin beneath. She was inside a pale white cocoon of sheet. She stretched her arms up over her head, feeling for the edge, for the sand. She found it and pull it down over her head and sat up to look around. +Lulu flicked her fingers and felt the rough sand fall away and the smooth skin beneath. She was inside a pale white cocoon of sheet. She stretched her arms up over her head, feeling for the edge, for the sand. She found it and pulled it down over her head. The world was already bright. She sat up to look around. -She was named Linnea for her father's friend in the old country, but her mother called her Lulu the only day she saw her. Like her twin sister she'd been easing sheets and tightening lines since she could walk, crossed an ocean before she'd seen five winters, and survived the burning sun and flaming fevers of the Carolina swamps to reach her ninth year. +She was named Linnea after her father's friend in the old country, but her mother called her Lulu the only day she saw her. Like her twin sister she'd been easing sheets and tightening lines since she could walk, crossed an ocean before she'd seen five winters, and survived the burning sun and flaming fevers of the Carolina swamps to reach her ninth year. -Her skin was brown from long days in the sun. She was thin, but strong. Her body all bone and taut ropey muscle. Her hair was brown bleached to blond by the summer sun. She licked her lip, pulling the beads of sweat into her mouth and savoring the salty flavor. *You are the sea, you sweat the sea all day every day.* +Her skin was brown from long days in the sun. She was thin, but strong. Her body all bone and taut ropey muscle. Her hair was brown bleached to blond by the summer sun. She licked her lip, pulling beads of sweat into her mouth and savoring the salty flavor. *You are the sea, you sweat the sea all day every day.* -She sat on a low rising dune a hundred yards from the shoreline. The eastern sky was already pink and rapidly turning orange. She knew her father would already be awake back at the boat. She hadn't wanted to sleep in the marsh. She preferred the seaside. Near where their camp would be, where she would sleep all winter. She didn't mind the hammocks of the boat, but there was something about the sand that made Lulu sleep easier. It conformed to you, it hugged you. Like the sea, but firmer. +She sat on a low rising dune a hundred yards from the shoreline. The eastern sky was pink and rapidly turning orange. She knew her father would already be awake back at the boat. Lulu hadn't wanted to sleep in the marsh. She preferred the seaside. Near where their camp would be, where she would sleep all winter. She didn't mind the hammocks of the boat, but there was something about the sand that made Lulu sleep easier. It conformed to you, it hugged you. Like floating in the sea, but firmer. -She wrapped the sheet, which had once been the Delos's foresail, around her shoulders and walked down the beach toward the wreck of Arkhangelsk. The Arkhangelsk was the second best thing about winter camp, after her cousins and the other children of the island. The Arkhangelsk was her ship. Well, *their* ship. The island's ship really, but Lulu thought of it as her ship. Nearly as much as she thought to Delos as her ship. Delos might be her home, but Arkhangelsk was her ship. +She wrapped the sheet, which had once been Delos's foresail, around her shoulders and walked down the beach toward the wreck of Arkhangelsk. The Arkhangelsk was the second best thing about winter camp, after her cousins and the other children of the island. The Arkhangelsk was her ship. Well, *their* ship. The island's ship really, but Lulu thought of it as her ship. Delos might be her home, but Arkhangelsk was *her* ship. -She was a 42ft Bermuda sloop that had been taken by the *Whydah* and put ashore with a small crew to careen and re-tar the hull. Unfortunately for the *Ave Marie*, as she was known at the time, her hull was too worm eaten and leaky to be repaired. Even a coat of the quality tar that Birdie's family was known for making wasn't going to save the *Ave Marie*. This had been the subject of some dispute between her father and the would-be captain of the Ave Marie, but in the end, the boat was abandoned on the beach. +Arkhangelsk was a 42-foot Bermuda sloop that had been taken by the *Whydah* and put ashore with a small crew to careen and re-tar the hull. Unfortunately for the *Ave Marie*, as she was known at the time, her hull was too worm eaten and leaky to be repaired. Even a coat of the quality tar that Lulu's family was known for making wasn't going to save the *Ave Marie*. This had been the subject of some dispute between her father and the would-be captain of the Ave Marie, but in the end, the boat was abandoned on the beach. -Two years ago a huge storm that Lulu had fortunately not experienced personally had washed the Ave Marie up and into the dunes. Her main mast was destroyed, but the rest of her, somehow, remained mostly in tact. The next year another storm had brought a huge tidal surge that swamped the dunes, lifting *Arkhangelsk*, as Lulu and Bridie had by then renamed her, and spinning her around, pointing the bow to the sea in the process. Most of her stern had been torn off that time but as she settled back into the shifting dunes, the top deck leveled out. +Two years ago a huge storm that Lulu had fortunately not experienced personally had washed the Ave Marie up and into the dunes. Her main mast was destroyed, but the rest of her, somehow, remained mostly in tact. The next year another storm had brought a huge tidal surge that swamped the dunes, lifting *Arkhangelsk*, as Lulu and Bridie had by then renamed her, and spinning her around, pointing the bow to the sea in the process. Most of her stern had been torn off that time but as she settled back into the shifting dunes, the top deck leveled out and she wasn't hard to climb. Lulu stood atop a dune studying her now. She still listed a little to port, but not much more than last year, and not so much that you couldn't race around the upper deck just like you could on Delos, but you could race around Arkhangelsk as much as you wanted and no one would give you a job to keep you busy like they would on Delos. Well, Captain Birdie might try, but just let her. Lulu always ignored Captain Birdie's orders anyway. -Lulu walked around the Arkhangelsk, checking and comparing with her memory of it when they'd left last year. If there had been a storm over the summer it didn't seem to have affected the wreck at all. She stuffed her sheet in the hold so it wouldn't blow away and climbed up to the top deck. The wood was dry and brittle but so far it had not broken up as much as she would have expected. She and Birdie had begged their father to tar it, that it might last but he refused, the tar was too valuable. +Lulu walked around the Arkhangelsk, comparing her memory of it to the way it looked now. If there had been a storm over the summer it didn't seem to have affected the wreck at all. She stuffed her sheet in the hold so it wouldn't blow away and climbed up to the top deck. The wood was dry and brittle but so far it had not broken up as much as she would have expected. She and Birdie had begged their father to tar it, that it might last but he refused, the tar was too valuable. She watched the sun rise over the sea from the deck. The wind was already blowing strongly offshore. White peaks churned in the wind tossed sea, blending white and green and murky brown waters into the kind of messy chop no one wanted to sail. It looked like the winter sea. It was technically still summer, but clearly the sea was already thinking of winter. She was glad they'd made it in last night. If they were trying this morning they'd have never made it. -She sighed and went to retrieved her sheet. Delos was waiting. She already knew she'd be yelled at for not helping out. She was always being yelled at for not cleaning up, not helping load, not helping unload, not helping keep the ship ship shape. She hated those words. Ship shape. It sounded stupid. Who wanted something ship shape? And why was swabbing even a thing? Normal people mopped. Why did sailors have to swab? Even the word made it sound harder. And it was, it was like moping while standing on the back of a horse. The thought of horses made her want to get back. Her father had promised her he would teach her to ride this year. She jumped off the bow into the soft sand and began walking back to camp. +She sighed and went to retrieved her sheet. Delos was waiting. She already knew she'd be yelled at for not helping out. She was always being yelled at for not cleaning up, not helping load, not helping unload, not helping keep the ship ship shape. She hated those words. Ship shape. It sounded stupid. Who wanted something ship shape? And why was swabbing even a thing? Normal people mopped. Why did sailors have to swab? Even the word made it sound harder. And it was, it was like mopping while standing on the back of a horse. The thought of horses made her want to get back. Her father had promised her he would teach her to ride this year. She jumped off the bow into the soft sand and began walking back toward the marsh where Delos waited to be unloaded. --- -She walked over the dunes into the area that would be the camp and took stock of it. The fire pit would need to be dug out again, the bamboo frame of the little hut that would be their winter home was nowhere to be seen, but she assumed her father or Tamba knew where it was buried. Or would claim too. There were already two barrels plopped unceremoniously in the middle of what would eventually be camp. Not very ship shape she thought as she started down the trail to the marsh. +On the way she walked over the dunes into the area that would become her home for the winter and took stock of it. The fire pit would need to be dug out again, the bamboo frame of the little hut that would be their winter home was nowhere to be seen, but she assumed her father or Tamba knew where it was buried. Or would claim too. There were already two barrels plopped unceremoniously in the middle of what would eventually be camp. Not very ship shape she thought as she started down the trail to the marsh. -When she got to Delos everyone was already up and unloading barrels. There was no breakfast in sight and her stomach was growling. "Lulu, good of you to join us again" Her father smiled, but his tone of voice told her she was late. Papa did not suffer anyone not pulling their weight. She looked around. Henry and Birdie were bringing things up from the hold and stacking them as best they could and the listing deck. Delos was aground now that the tide was out. +When she got to Delos everyone was already up and unloading barrels. There was no breakfast in sight and her stomach was growling. "Lulu, good of you to join us again" Her father smiled, but his tone of voice told her she was late. Papa did not suffer anyone not pulling their weight. She looked around. Henry and Birdie were bringing things up from the hold and stacking them as best they could with the deck listing hard to starboard. Delos was aground now that the tide was out. -Her father and Tamba were alongside Delos, looking over the pirogue, which had been stored for months now in the hold. They seemed satisfied with it and set in the muddy water next to Delos. +Her father and Tamba were alongside Delos, looking over the pirogue, which had been stored for months now in the hold. They seemed satisfied with it and set it in the muddy water next to Delos. The pirogue was small, narrow boat, like a canoe but with a sail. It could comfortably hold three people and load of cargo. It could hold more if you didn't mind being uncomfortable. It was what they used to fish the bank, get upriver to the trading post, and get back and forth between shore and any ships anchored offshore. For reasons no one could remember it was named Maggie. -She was about to ask her father were Aunt Māra and her cousins were when she felt herself grabbed from behind and swept off the ground into her Aunt Māra's arms. She was squeezed tight against a warm soft chest. "Lulu. I've missed you so much." Aunt Māra kissed her cheeks before she put her down and spun her around. Lulu wrapped her arms around her. "Māra, I missed you." Lulu felt the warm of Aunt Māra's belly against her face, she felt the warmth spreading through her body and all the tighter. +She was about to ask her father were Aunt Māra and her cousins were when she felt herself grabbed from behind and swept off the ground into her Aunt Māra's arms. She was squeezed tight against a warm soft chest. "Lulu. I've missed you so much." Aunt Māra kissed her cheeks before she put her down and spun her around. Lulu wrapped her arms around her. "Māra, I missed you." -"Hi Lu." said a shy voice behind her. She slipped slow out of Auntie Māra's embrace and turned to face her cousin Francis. He looked older. She wondered if she did too. His front teeth had finished growing in and he looked somehow like an adult. Lulu wasn't sure she liked this look, but she hugged him anyway. +"Hi Lu." said a shy voice behind her. She slipped slowly out of Auntie Māra's embrace and turned to face her cousin Francis. He looked older. She wondered if she did too. His front teeth had finished growing in and he looked somehow like an adult. Lulu wasn't sure she liked this look, but she hugged him anyway. "The Arkhangelsk is still in good shape." @@ -205,71 +205,75 @@ She was about to ask her father were Aunt Māra and her cousins were when she fe "By yourself?" -She looked at him like he had two heads. "Of course." She could see the way he whithered under her looks and it made her feel guilty. She didn't mean to make him feel bad, but he asked such silly things sometimes, and she had no time for questions which seemed to her to have obvious answers. It made her dislike him a little for making her feel like she was a mean person. She was pretty sure she wasn't a mean person. Why did Francis seem like he thought she might be? Henry and Owen saved her from further awkwardness by zooming by at top speed chasing each other with wooden swords. "Hi Lu!" screamed Owen as he dodged around her and dove into the oak shrubs after Henry, who hadn't even acknowledged her existence. +She looked at him like he had two heads. "Of course." She could see the way he whithered under her looks and it made her feel guilty. She didn't mean to make him feel bad, but he asked such silly things sometimes, and she had no time for questions which seemed to her to have obvious answers. It made her dislike him a little for making her feel like she was a mean person. She was pretty sure she wasn't a mean person. Why did Francis seem like he thought she might be? -Francis took the opportunity to go back to where he and Birdie were helping unload stores from the ship. Lulu watched him go, feeling that sinking feeling she got every autumn when her brother and sister abandoned her. They didn't mean to. They didn't really, especially Birdie, who always went out of her way to make sure everyone was included in everything. Still, Birdie and Francis were like a little team. And Owen in Henry were another little team. Lulu did not have a team. There was just Lulu. In some ways she liked this, it left her free to do the things she wanted without anyone interfering. She could spent her time with Aunt Māra or go exploring the rivers and marshes in Maggie. She loved sailing the muddy, reedy shallows. She love to use the vines hanging from the big oaks that stretched out over the river to swing out and drop midstream into the delicious cool pool of black water. Sometimes she would spend the afternoon hunting plants in the thickets. Other days she raided birds nests of their eggs. +Henry and Owen saved her from further awkwardness by zooming by at top speed, chasing each other with wooden swords. "Hi Lu!" screamed Owen as he dodged around her and dove into the oak shrubs after Henry, who hadn't even acknowledged her existence. -Lulu went back up onto the ship and helped gather up the pots, taking extra care with Kobayashi's precious rice steaming baskets. Kobayashi was Japanese and while he would eat the rice that was grown in the Carolinas because he wasn't about to starve to death, whenever he could he bought rice from ships returning from Asia. He never boiled it, he shook his head at the way the Africans and Lulu's family boiled their rice. Instead he boiled water and put the rice in a woven basket over the boiling water and let the steam cook it. It took longer, but even Tamba admitted it was the best rice he'd ever had. Lulu would never tell Kobayashi, but she liked the Carolina rice better. It was mushier, nuttier. It became part of the fish stews in ways that Kobayashi's rice never did. Although she liked his better when they were eating dried fish or Pemmican at sea. Maybe, she thought as she walked down the path to camp, she liked both kinds of rice. Maybe there wasn't a best rice, maybe there was the best rice for each thing. That was what Papa always said, there is no best, best for this, best for that, best for now, but no best always. +Francis took the opportunity to go back to where he and Birdie were helping unload stores from the ship. Lulu watched him go, feeling that sinking feeling she got every autumn when her brother and sister abandoned her. They didn't mean to. They didn't really, especially Birdie, who always went out of her way to make sure everyone was included in everything. Still, Birdie and Francis were like a little team. And Owen in Henry were another little team. Lulu did not have a team. There was just Lulu. In some ways she liked this. It left her free to do the things she wanted without anyone interfering. She could spent her time with Aunt Māra, or go exploring the rivers and marshes in Maggie. She loved sailing the muddy, reedy shallows. She love to drift along under the big oaks that stretched out over the river. She loved to beach the little boat and use the vines hanging down from the oak branches to swing out over the river and drop midstream, into delicious cool pools of black water. Sometimes she would spend the afternoon hunting plants in the thickets. Other days she raided birds nests of their eggs. Maybe she reasoned, she had the biggest team of all. Maybe the whole island was her team. This thought made her smile. -All morning Lulu helped haul food and gear out of the Arkhangelsk down the trail to the cluster of dunes at the south eastern tip of the island. Here, alongside the mouth of the southern Edisto river they used a sheltered area of dunes to make camp. It had been their winter home for three years now, ever since the northern end of the island shifted and the water turned too salty to even cook with. Her cousins continued to make their camp at the north end of the island. +Lulu went back up onto the ship to help gather up the cooking pots, taking extra care with Kobayashi's precious rice steaming baskets. Kobayashi was Japanese and while he would eat the rice that was grown in the Carolinas because he wasn't about to starve to death, whenever he could he bought rice from ships returning from Asia. He never boiled it, he shook his head at the way the Africans and Lulu's family boiled their rice. Instead he boiled water and put the rice in a woven basket over the boiling water and let the steam cook it. It took longer, but even Tamba admitted it was the best rice he'd ever had. Lulu would never tell Kobayashi, but she liked the Carolina rice better. It was mushier, nuttier. It became part of the fish stews in ways that Kobayashi's rice never did. Although she liked his better when they were eating dried fish or Pemmican at sea. Maybe, she thought as she walked down the path to camp, she liked both kinds of rice. Maybe there wasn't a best rice, maybe there was the best rice for each thing. That was what Papa always said, there is no best, best for this, best for that, best for now, but no best always. + +All morning Lulu helped haul food and gear out of Delos and down the trail to the cluster of dunes at the south eastern tip of the island. Here, alongside the mouth of the southern Edisto river they used a sheltered area of dunes to make camp. It had been their winter home for three years now, ever since the northern end of the island shifted and the water turned too salty to even cook with. Her cousins continued to make their camp at the north end of the island. Kobayashi, Tamba and her father set about constructing their camp, which consisted of little more than a thatched hut, built to a design the native people, most of whom were now gone, had showed them. It was, as all great shelters are, ingeniously simple. First they set up a pole structure made half of oak timbers, which gave it strength, and half of pine timbers, which were bent to give it shape. The structure was then covered with thatching made of reeds. Her father and Tamba had the basic structure done by mid afternoon. For the time being they draped an old, but freshly tarred, sail over the top to stop the rain. In the next few weeks everyone would chip in to make the thatching, which would slowly take the place of the sail cloth. Eventually it would cover the entire hut, down to the sand, except for one spot toward the rear, which her father called the back door. No one ever used it, but you could, if you lay down and wormed or rolled your way under the last layer of thatch, slip outside. -With the structure up, Lulu and her sister set about cleaning the inside, picking sticks and other debris out of the sand they'd be walking on, sitting in, and sometimes sleeping on for the next five or six months. Aunt Māra helped then hang the hammocks, which they'd use for beds when the weather drove them inside. Most of the time it was warm enough to sleep outside with a sheet and one of Aunt Māra's quilts, which is how Lulu, Birdie and Henry preferred it. The hut was better than being rained on, but the rest of the time they would rarely be in it for more than a few minutes at time. +With the structure up, Lulu and her sister set about cleaning the inside, picking sticks and other debris out of the sand they'd be walking on, sitting in, and sometimes sleeping on for the next five or six months. Aunt Māra helped them hang the hammocks, which they'd use for beds when the weather drove them inside. Most of the time it was warm enough to sleep outside with a sheet and one of Aunt Māra's quilts, which is how Lulu, Birdie and Henry preferred it. The hut was better than being rained on, but the rest of the time they would rarely be in it for more than a few minutes at a time. + +Lulu stepped out from under the sail cloth her aunt was busy tying down and into the sun. It was hot, humid still. She guessed it was early September, but she didn't keep track of the date the way her father did in the ship's log. She knew the position of the sun and the phase of the moon. Those were the only useful accountings of time in Lulu's world. The moon told her what the tides would be like, how many stars would be visible, and whether or not it was a good night to hunt turtles. The position of the sun told her how much longer it would be hot, and when it was safe to stop worrying about storms. It was still hot and humid. Storms might well still be coming. -Lulu stepped out from under the sail cloth her aunt was busy tying down and into the sun. It was hot, humid still, but the sun was near it's zenith and not directly overhead. She guessed it was early September, but she didn't keep track of the date the way her father did in the ship's log. She knew the position of the sun and the phase of the moon. Those were the only useful accountings of time in Lulu's world. The moon told her what the tides would be like, how many stars would be visible, and whether or not it was a good night to hunt turtles. The position of the sun told her how much longer it would be hot, when it was safe to stop worrying about storms. It was still hot and humid, storms could still be coming. +The first thing she saw stepping out of the hut was their communal cooking area, which consisted of a fire pit, along with several old, weathered trunks of palm trees they used for sitting or as tables if they sat next to them in the sand. This was where the days started and ended, where guests would come to sit and talk, where visiting ship crews would tell the news from Boston, London, Kingston, Madagascar, Nicobar, Manilla. It was where Lulu and her sister would fall asleep at night, watching the fire listening to tales of storms, close calls in the rigging, sand bars where they should not have been, and cruel captains cursed in language their father told them not to use. The fire was the center of their world and the best thing in it. -The first thing you saw stepping out of the hut was their communal cooking area, which consisted of a fire pit, along with several old, weathered trunks of palm trees they used for sitting or as tables if they sat next to them in the sand. It was where the days started and ended, where guests would come to sit and talk, where visiting ship crews would tell the news from Boston, London, Kingston, Madagascar, Nicobar, Manilla. It was where Lulu and her sister would fall asleep at night, watching the fire listening to tales of storms, close calls in the rigging, sand bars where they should not have been, and cruel captains cursed in language their father told them not to use. The fire was the center of the world and the best thing in it. +When they had too they could cook on a small fire inside the hut, and around winter solstice it would be cold enough for a few weeks that they'd use the fire place inside for heat, but mostly, life was lived outside, under the sun and moon. -When they had too they could cook on a small fire inside the hut, and around winter solstice it would be cold enough for a few weeks that they'd use the fire place inside for heat. +Birdie and Henry were down by the shoreline gathering small stones to fill some gaps in the fire pit. Her father and Kobayashi took the pirogue upstream to find larger stones to brace the iron tripod, which was where they did most of their cooking. It was their father's doing, though Kobayashi did much of the cooking. Papa had forged the tripod using iron scrounged from a shipwreck many years ago. -Birdie and Henry were down by the shoreline gathering small stones they could use to build up the fire pit. Her father and Kobayashi took the pirogue upstream to find larger stones to brace the iron tripod, which was where they did most of their cooking. It was their father's doing, though Kobayashi did much of the cooking. Papa had forged the tripod using iron scrounged from a shipwreck many years ago. +When her father and Kobayashi returned Lulu went to help unload the stones, but they were too heavy for her to carry. She contented herself gathering wood for the fire. It wasn't hard. The past summer's storms had brought down plenty of dry oak branches that lay amongst the sandy leave debris of the forest floor. Lulu ducked into some thickets of palmetto to see what had made its home in them this year. She flushed a few quail, and started a dozen squirrels angrily chattering and twitching their thick fuzzy tails at her. When she had enough twigs and small branches to fill the leather thong, she looped it tight, heaved the bundle unto her shoulder, and headed back to camp. -When her father and Kobayashi returned Lulu went to help unload the stones, but they were too heavy for her to carry. She contented herself to gathering wood for the fire. It wasn't hard, the past summer's storms had brought down plenty of dry oak branches that lay still dry amongst the sandy leave debris of the forest floor. Lulu ducked into some thickets of palmetto to see what had made its home in them this year. She flushed a few quail, and started a dozen squirrels angrily chattering and twitching their thick fuzzy tails at her. When she had enough twigs and small branches to fill the leather thong she looped it tight, heaved the bundle unto her shoulder, and headed back to camp. +Her father arranged the tripod and tested its balance with a kettle full of water. They carried a number of large kettles, far larger than they needed to cook for the six of them, for occasions when a ship came to careen. Then whole crews of men, sometimes as many as a hundred would eat with them. Usually Tamba would kill a few pigs on those occasions. Last summer some sailors had managed to kill a bear. -Her father arranged the tripod and tested it's balance with a kettle full of water. They carried a number of large kettles, far larger than they needed to cook for the six of them, for occasions when a ship came to careen. Then whole crews of men, sometimes as many as a hundred would eat with them. Usually Tamba would kill a few pigs on those occasions. Last summer some sailors had managed to kill a bear. Lulu sat now and watched as Papa lit a fire, said a prayer thanking Hestia, and threw some Frankincense resin on the flames. The sweet, light scent of Frankincense filled the air in the dunes and it immediately smelled like home to Lulu. +Lulu sat now and watched as Papa lit a fire. He said a prayer thanking Hestia, goddess of the hearth, and threw some Frankincense resin on the flames. The sweet, light scent of Frankincense filled the air in the dunes. It smelled like home to Lulu. The long afternoon shadows began to race their way across the clearing they'd be calling home for the next six to eight months. Lulu turned and looked west. A little back from camp there was a line of oak trees that then gave way to the marsh where Delos would be anchored for the season. In the shade of those oaks they would soon construct great kilns that would be used to make the tar that brought them to the island in the first place. Across the flat reedy world of marsh was another line of oaks and then a no man's land of cypress swamp and brackish water that slowly, as you moved south, resolved itself into the southern fork of the Edistow River. Beyond that were the great pine forests of the low country where they would dig stumps and then haul them by barge and horse out here to the beach where they would burn them, slowly extracting the sap and then boiling it down into a sticky resin that sealed wood against the sea. They ate dinner as the sun set through the trees behind their half-finished hut. Lulu went down to the shore and rinsed her abalone bowl. The air had a hint of chill at the edge of it. The sea was cold on her feet. When she came back her father and Kobayashi were laying oak logs on the coals that had cooked dinner. It wasn't long before the fire was roaring and light filled the circle of dune. Lulu sat on a log of gray driftwood and watched her Uncle Cole play the fiddle while Birdie and her father danced in circles. Henry and Owen sat on a log next to her Aunt Māra and directly across the fire. Lulu smiled. She like winter camp, she liked her family. She knew enough of the world to know they were different. Perhaps even odd to most people. But she didn't care. She was glad they had a place to live their lives the way they wanted to, a place they could fish, a place they could weather storms. -She had heard someone once whispering in a shop, calling them pirates, but she didn't think they were. They had never captured a ship or found any treasure. She asked her father about it and he laughed and said no, pirates have much bigger ships than we do. But maybe someday Lulu. He had that twinkle in his eye that made it seem like anything was possible, like when he told stories around the fire on winter evenings and Lulu felt like the worlds he described were out there somewhere, waiting for her to discover. Worlds of pirates and ships and storms, talking animals, strange mythical creatures. Her father never failed to take what would always start as a normal story and turn it in someway that you never saw coming but afterward couldn't imagine turning out any other way. +Birdie sat down beside her breathing hard. Her father pulled Henry up and danced with him and then he switched to Lulu. After a while Uncle Cole professed he was tired and put away the fiddle and sat down by the fire. There was catching up, plenty of poking fun, a rather long story about planting rice that Lulu lost track of in the middle when she began to doze off. It wasn't a made up story like the ones her father told around the fire on winter evenings. These where the stories Lulu wanted to hear. The stories that felt like they were real. Like the worlds he described were out there somewhere, waiting for her to discover. Worlds of pirates and ships and storms, talking animals, strange mythical creatures. Her father never failed to take what would always start as a normal story and turn it in someway that you never saw coming but afterward couldn't imagine turning out any other way. -Tonight though he did not tell any stories. He danced. First with Birdie, then with Henry, then with her. After a while Uncle Cole professed he was tired and put away the fiddle and sat down by the fire. There was catching up, plenty of poking fun, a rather long story about planting rice that Lulu lost track of in the middle when she began to doze off. She found a blanket in the pile of still unsorted belongings in the hut and went partway up a dune where she could still feel the heat the fire, but also see the stars and the sea. She fell asleep watching Castor and Pollux twinkle in the night. +Later she found a blanket in the pile of still unsorted belongings in the hut and went partway up a dune where she could still feel the heat the fire, but also see the stars and the sea. She fell asleep watching Castor and Pollux twinkle in the night. ## Chapter 3: Birdie Organizing Camp -It was hard to believe it would be cold in another turning of the moon. Or, maybe two this year, thought Birdie as she sat sweating in the sweltering afternoon heat, weaving swamp grass with Kadiatu and her mother. They were making the last five or six mats that would serve as the walls to their house. Birdie and her father had already set up the inside of the hut. She loved to organize things, to find a place for everything and put everything in its place. Her father loved the result, but not the process. He left that to Birdie, only stepping in from time to time to point out that they needed something to be in a particular place. Pans by the fire for instance. Birdie had wanted to hang them from the rafters, but her father said no, by the fire. Where we use them. Besides, if they hang they can fall. If they're on the ground they'll never fall on someone's head. The thing was, they would have look so beautifully organized hanging there. Kobayashi agreed and he cooked nearly as many meals as their father, but he too wanted them on the ground. It is sometimes necessary to not be quite as beautiful so that it can be more safe. +It was hard to believe it would be cold in another turning of the moon. Birdie sat sweating in the sweltering afternoon heat, weaving swamp grass with Aunt Māra and Lulu. They were making the last five or six mats that would serve as the walls to their house. Birdie and her father had already set up the inside of the hut. Birdie loved to organize things, to find a place for everything and put everything in its place. Her father loved the result, but not the process. He left that to Birdie, only stepping in from time to time to point out something that needed to be in a particular place. Pans by the fire for instance. Birdie had wanted to hang them from the rafters in the hut, keep them away from the sand so their food wouldn't be sandy. Her father said no, pans by the fire. Where we use them. Besides, if they're on the ground they'll never fall on someone's head. -She settled for hanging the bag she had made last year from the rafters. She had woven it from spare hemp, scrap fabric, and the occasional reed to make it more water proof. It held her book, which she brought everywhere with her, sketching the things she saw all around her. Shells, plants, birds, boats, the shore, the clouds, the sea, Birdie drew everything. When she wasn't drawing she was imagining the drawing she would soon make. Sometimes she drew what she saw around her, other times she drew when she saw in her mind. +She settled for hanging her bag from the rafters. Birdie made it the previous year. It was woven from spare hemp line and scrap fabric, with the occasional reed to make it more water proof. It held her sketchbook, which went everywhere with her. She loved to sketch the world around her. Shells, plants, birds, boats, the shore, the clouds, the sea. Birdie drew everything. When she wasn't drawing she was imagining the next drawing she would soon make. -She would lay in the dark of the hut at night, listening to the soft sigh of the others breathing while white shapes danced in the darkness behind her half closed eyes. She would watch them until she made some sense out of them and then arrange them into scenes, organize them, find where each belonged. Sometimes, when the moon was waxing, she could creep silently out from under the warmth of the covers, and slip outside to draw by the moonlight, or firelight if her father was still up, as he often was. He would stare at the glowing coals, she would draw, and they would be together silently in some way that felt to her deeper connected than when she was talking to someone, despite the fact that neither of them ever said a word, or even acknowledged each other's presence. +She would lay in the dark of the hut at night, listening to the soft sigh of the others breathing, while shapes danced in the darkness behind her half closed eyes. She would watch them until she made some sense out of them and then arrange them into scenes, organize them, find where each belonged. Sometimes, when the moon was waxing, she could creep silently out from under the warmth of the covers, and slip outside to draw by the moonlight, or firelight if her father was still up, as he often was. He would stare at the glowing coals, she would draw, and they would be together silently in some way that felt to her deeper connected than when she was talking to someone, despite the fact that neither of them ever said a word, or even acknowledged each other's presence. -Drawing as much as she did required Birdie to make her own ink. She did it the way her father taught her, blending octopus ink and pine tar to make a dark grayish purple that was good for outlines. She made paint too. Green could be had from just about any plant, and she'd discovered how to make yellows and reds by experimenting with flowers that grew around the island. She needed a good blue though, blue had thus far eluded her. Paper and brushes were harder to come by, those she had to buy in Charlestown. +Drawing as much as she did required Birdie to make her own ink. She did it the way her father taught her, blending octopus ink and pine tar to make a dark grayish purple ink that was good for drawing outlines which she could fill with color. She made paint too. Green could be had from just about any plant, and she'd discovered how to make yellows and reds by experimenting with flowers that grew around the island. She needed a good blue though, blue had thus far eluded her. Paper and brushes were harder to come by, those she had to buy in Charlestown. She still had two of the three brushes she'd bought last year in Charlestown using the money she'd managed to make by drying fish with Lulu and Francis. They fished and dried all through the first Autumn moon and managed to preserve enough of their catch that they were able to trade in Charlestown. They spent some of their money on enough peppermint sticks for everyone back at camp, and then they split the leftover money evenly between them. Lulu bought a doll, Birdie bought horsehair paint brushes, and Francis bought a small compass which Birdie did not have the heart to tell him, was not very accurate. One of the brushes she'd lost somewhere on the voyage north to summer camp on the cape. She thought she had packed them carefully away after she'd struggled to paint the ship's rigging one day. The next day when she went to get them out there were only two. She'd searched the entire hold, everyone had pitched in, but they never found it. Delos claimed that brush as her own. Luckily it was her least favorite brush anyway. Still, she had already built a new rack to dry fish on again. As soon as their camp was set up, the hut thatching finished, she was planning to get out to the bank to start fishing. She was going to get more brushes, and this time they weren't going to get lost, she was going to sleep with them if she had to. -"Birdie?" Kadi was looking at her with a curled smile. "Your mind moves much faster than your hands." +"Birdie?" Aunt Māra was looking at her with a curled smile. "Your mind moves much faster than your hands." Birdie looked down and realized she'd been holding the same strand of reed for, how long? She did not know. She had been thinking of drawing, painting. "Sorry, I was thinking." -Kadi's mother laughed, "How old are you Birdie, already lost in thought?" She shook her head. :"You are your father's child." She laughed again. +Aunt Māra laughed, "How old are you Birdie, already lost in thought?" She shook her head. "You are your father's child." She laughed again. -This last comment startled her, did she disappear like her father? Was that what it was like for other people when she was thinking? What that what it was like for her father when he disappeared from the present? +This last comment startled her, did she disappear like her father? Was that what it was like for other people when she was thinking? Was that what it was like for her father when he disappeared from the present? -Kadi laughed again, "right back to it. Go girl, go and play, we will finish this." +Aunt Māra laughed again, "right back to it. Go girls, go and play, I will finish this." -Birdie looked up at her to see if she was serious. Birdie had a momentary pang, she was abandoning them to work on her own house, she should make her own house. +Birdie looked up at her to see if she was serious. Birdie had a momentary pang, she was abandoning her to work on her own house. She should make her own house. -"Don't worry," said Kadi, "Go and play. This is almost done anyway." +"Don't worry," said Aunt Māra, "Go and play you two. This is almost done anyway." -Birdie jumped up, blurted out a thank you and took off down toward the dunes where she knew Lulu and Francis were digging up last year's stumps and spreading cut reeds to dry. She reached the top of the dune and stopped so abruptly she nearly toppled over. Lulu and Francis were down below, spreading reeds along the side the dune and weighting them down with drift wood gathered from the beach. Judging by the pile near Lulu they had about ten minutes of work left. Birdie shouted in the wind, "Hurry up, and meet me at the ship." +Birdie and Lulu jumped up, blurted out a thank you and took off down toward the dunes where they knew Francis was digging up last year's stumps and spreading cut reeds to dry. Birdie reached the top of the dune and stopped so abruptly she nearly toppled over. Francis was down below, spreading reeds along the side of the dune and weighting them down with driftwood gathered from the beach. Judging by the pile near him he had about ten minutes of work left. Birdie shouted in the wind, "Hurry up, and meet us at the ship." -They looked up at her squinting. She saw Lulu nod. Birdie turned and walked out to the harder sand near the shoreline and made her way down to the Arkhangelsk. She saw Henry and Owen playing on the rear deck. For reasons she did not understand no one ever made either of them do any chores, though both were perfectly capable of helping out. Somehow they both got a pass. Birdie was pretty sure she'd had chores at their age. She tried to set aside the anger she felt rising in her chest when she realized they'd had nothing to do all day but go play hunting in the forest with their bows and arrows and play out here on the ship. Her ship. She stopped herself. Their ship. Everyone's ship. Poseidon's ship. The island's ship that it had been so kind as to preserve so they could use it. Grateful, always be grateful for the gifts we have. +He looked up, squinting at her, smiling. He nodded. Birdie turned and walked out to the harder sand near the shoreline and made her way down to the Arkhangelsk. She saw Henry and Owen playing on the rear deck. For reasons she did not understand no one ever made either of them do any chores, though both were perfectly capable of helping out. Somehow they both got a pass. Birdie was pretty sure she'd had chores at their age. She tried to set aside the anger she felt rising in her chest when she realized they'd done nothing but play on the ship all day. Her ship. She stopped herself. Everyone's ship. Poseidon's ship. The island's ship. The ship that the island had been so kind as to preserve so they could use it. She thought of Tamba. Be grateful Birdie, always be grateful for the gifts we have. -It wasn't long before Lulu and Francis arrived and they began to play. As with most of their adventure's it started with Lulu creating a back story. They were a family of sea gods who had been cast out of the high temples where their mother and father had disowned them for some reason that Birdie wasn't entirely clear on. From that time they were doomed to wander the seas for forty years, and woe to any ships that crossed their path for they would devour them and all their sailors. As captain is was Birdie's task to find a new homeland, but since they could not find it for forty years she mostly just conjured ships for them to attack. +It wasn't long before Francis arrived and they began to play. As with most of their adventure's it started with Lulu creating a back story. They were a family of sea gods who had been cast out of the high temples where their mother and father had disowned them for some reason that Birdie wasn't entirely clear on. From that time they were doomed to wander the seas for forty years, and woe to any ships that crossed their path for they would devour them and all their sailors. As captain it was Birdie's task to find a new homeland, but since they could not find it for forty years she mostly just conjured ships for them to attack. Lulu had a back story for every one of those ships too. Birdie sometimes complained to her that half the time they were playing they were just listening to Lulu tell stories, but everyone else seemed to really enjoy these outlandish tales. Too outlandish for Birdie's taste. Who had ever heard of sea gods cast out of somewhere? How did a god get cast out of something? What was the point of being a god if you can get cast out just like a person? @@ -287,7 +291,7 @@ Lulu climbed up on the railing of the ship, balanced for a moment there, and the "Come on Owen," Francis shook his head. "Let's see if we can find some duck eggs in the marsh." -They left. Henry sighed and climbed up to look after Lulu. "You think she'll come back." +They left. Henry sighed. "You think she'll come back?" "Of course." @@ -299,15 +303,15 @@ Birdie studied her brother. He could be completely infuriating sometimes, but Bi They climbed up on the railing just as Lulu had and, though neither of them said anything they both knew what they had to do. They jumped off the railing, hit the sand running and began to shriek like banshees as they ran down the shoreline after Lulu. -She was laughing by the time they caught up to her. Laughing and throwing seaweed at the gulls. Birds were thick just down the shoreline from where they were standing. Birdie saw the silver flash of a fish as a school attempted to get away from the swooping gannets and pelicans. She wished she gone out to the banks to fish. +Lulu was laughing by the time they caught up to her. Laughing and throwing seaweed at the gulls. Birds were thick down the shoreline from where they were standing. Birdie saw the silver flash of a fish as a school attempted to get away from the swooping gannets and pelicans. She wished she gone out to the banks to fish. -Lulu and Henry walked up the beach and sat on a ledge of sand, inching themselves forward until their weight made it collapse and sent them sliding down. The kept getting up and doing it again. Birdie went over to join them. +Lulu and Henry walked up the beach and sat on a ledge of sand, inching themselves forward until their weight made it collapse and sent them sliding down. They kept getting up and doing it again. Birdie went over to join them. "Bee," started Lulu when they all sat down to catch their breath. "Do you like Francis and Owen?' "What? What do you mean like them? They're our cousins, of course I like them." -"Even when they're fantastically dense and clueless about the world around them" Lulu had a triumphant look on her face, as if she'd just somehow trapped Birdie. +"Even when they're fantastically dense and clueless about the world around them?" Lulu had a triumphant look on her face, as if she'd just somehow trapped Birdie. Birdie considered this for a minute. "Well, yes, I still like them. It's like Papa says, you can like someone even if you don't agree with them." @@ -317,7 +321,7 @@ Birdie considered this for a minute. "Well, yes, I still like them. It's like Pa "Because he's so *nice*. blabidy blabidy blah" Lulu stuck her tongue out and imitated their father's voice so eerily well that Birdie had to laugh in spite of herself. -Henry fell back in the sand laughing. "Do it again, Lu, do it again." +Henry fell back in the sand laughing. "Do it again. Do it again." And so she did. But then the scowl returned to her face. "Well I don't care if they're our cousins, I don't like them. I think they're dull little boys with no imagination." @@ -327,7 +331,7 @@ And so she did. But then the scowl returned to her face. "Well I don't care if t --- -Kobayashi was digging up a roasted boar when they got back to camp. He and Tamba had killed it with a single arrow the day before. "Lucky shot," Tamba had said when he told her father the story. They butchered the animal, splitting it between their camp, her cousin's camp down the beach, and a family of Edistow that were camped across the river mouth. Kobayashi, who claimed to have been a cook in the emperor's household before he was Shanghai'd from a Hayama bar, had buried their portion of the boar the day before in a pit of coals. He pulled it up and gently unwrapped it from the great leaves of seaweed he'd wrapped it in. +Kobayashi was digging up a roasted boar when they got back to camp. He and Tamba had killed it with a single arrow the day before. "Lucky shot," Tamba had said when he told her father the story. They butchered the animal, splitting it between their camp, her cousin's camp down the beach, and a family of tk that were camped across the river mouth. Kobayashi, who claimed to have been a cook in the emperor's household before he was Shanghai'd from a Hayama bar, had buried their portion of the boar the day before in a pit of coals. He pulled it up and gently unwrapped it from the great leaves of seaweed he'd wrapped it in. Her father and Henry dragged some driftwood up from the shore and soon they had a good blaze going. Her Aunt Māra and Uncle Cole came with their cousins. The incident on the beach was forgotten. The boar was sweet and salty and possibly the best thing Birdie could remember eating. The fat and juice drained into her rice and she ate until her belly ached. @@ -351,9 +355,9 @@ Her father grunted. "I didn't leave anything. I was driven out." "Why?" -"Yes, why?" +"Yes, why?" Birdie blurted it out before she could stop herself. They all glanced over at her. -Her father shrugged. "I don't know. I think on this all the time. I think perhaps it is because they cannot stand the idea that not everyone is as miserable as they are." +"I didn't know you where awake little one." Her father shrugged. "I don't know why. I think on this all the time. I think perhaps it is because they cannot stand the idea that not everyone is as miserable as they are." Tamba laughed. "You may be on to something there. These people came to our shores too and seemed unable to leave us alone. And look what they do to the people on these shores. Some people Birdie, I don't know, they won't leave you alone. It is a great mystery." @@ -363,11 +367,11 @@ Her father sighed. "Drive might be the wrong word." Tamba burst out laughing. "Yes, I think it would be. I have no love of the British or any of the rest of the people you call lowlanders, but I know you well enough to know that no one could drive you out of anywhere. You'd die in a hole before you'd be driven anywhere." -Birdie expected her father to join in Tamba's laughters, but he did not. He ignored him completely. "We left Birdie because I was tired of the place we were. I wanted to go somewhere no one knew my name, somewhere I didn't have to do anything so I could chose what I wanted to do. So I could be free of the obligations that places lay upon you." +Birdie expected her father to join in Tamba's laughter, but he did not. He ignored him completely. "We left Birdie because I was tired of the place we were. I wanted to go somewhere no one knew my name, somewhere I didn't have to do anything, so I could chose what I wanted to do. So I could be free of the obligations that places lay upon you." Kobayashi was nodding. "I too left to be free. It is a hard thing for some. For me it was easy because when I am here, I can breath, I am free, no one looks for anything from me. I an able to be who I am. Your father can be who he is," Kobayashi's eyes twinkled, "he can wear his loin clothes and do his dances by the seashore." -Now her father laughed. "I will never live down the loin cloth will I?" Everyone shook their heads. "That's fine. That's what I wanted too, a place of possibility. A place individuals can do as they wish, no matter how eccentric that might be, so long as it doesn't harm anyone else or try to force anyone else to pay their bills." He shrugged. "You wouldn't think that would be so hard to find really, but it is, by god it is. I've been nearly around the world and this coast here, this is close as I have come." +Now her father laughed. "I will never live down the loin cloth will I?" Everyone shook their heads. "That's what I wanted too, a place of possibility. A place individuals can do as they wish, no matter how eccentric that might be, so long as it doesn't harm anyone else or try to force anyone else to pay their bills." He shrugged. "You wouldn't think that would be so hard to find really, but it is, by god it is. I've been nearly around the world and this coast here, this is close as I have come." "That seems silly. Why would anyone care what you did? That would just make them stupid." @@ -385,23 +389,25 @@ Kobayashi grunted. "True." Aunt Māra leaned forward and stirred the fire until a log caught and flame flickered orange light on all their faces. Lulu and Henry were asleep, their heads in Aunt Māra's lap. Birdie yawned. Her father looked over at her. "You got us all serious Birdie, should I pull out the fiddle, lighten up the night?" -She surprised herself by saying no, that she was tired. She gathered up her quilts and walked up the rise of the dune, away from the fire and lay down in the sand, spread layers of quilt over her until she could feel a cacoon of warm begin to form around her. She laid her head back and looked up. The dusty spray of the milky way spread across the sky. Orion the hunter stood tall and strong, his bow ever at the ready. He must be with us she thought, he must be Alban. Maybe he too is looking for a place to be who he is, a place he can hunt and run free. As her eyelids dropped the stars seemed to gather up, and pull together, to rain down around her and keep her safe and warm there beside their brother the sea. Where she was free. +She surprised herself by saying no, that she was tired. She gathered up her quilts and walked up the rise of the dune, away from the fire and lay down in the sand, spread layers of quilt over her until she could feel a cocoon of warmth begin to form around her. She laid her head back and looked up. The dusty spray of the milky way spread across the sky. The hunter stood tall and strong, his bow ever at the ready. He must be with us she thought, he must be Alban. Maybe he too is looking for a place to be who he is, a place he can hunt and run free. As her eyelids drooped the stars seemed to gather up, and pull together, to rain down around her and keep her safe and warm, beside their brother the sea, where she was free. ## Chapter 4: Among the Stumps Lulu hopped from stump to stump. Crouching down, her knees bent like coiled springs and then sprong, she exploded toward the next stump, landed, teetered, stopped there. There were plenty of stumps. The whole forest was gone. -"Unbelievable what these people will waste." her father had grumbled earlier as he paddled Lulu and Tamba upriver in the pirogue. Tamba sat in the bow. Lulu in the middle. They were headed inland to inspect stumps. "They probably cut them all down for some waterfront mansion." +"Unbelievable what these people will waste." her father had grumbled earlier as he polled the pirogue through the marsh. Tamba sat in the bow. Lulu in the middle. They were headed inland to inspect stumps. "They probably cut them all down for some waterfront mansion." -Tamba turned carefully around, not letting his weight move side to side, and smiled knowingly at her. "Rice lulu. They cut em down for rice. They sell the timber to the city." Tamba smiled again, rolling his eyes toward the sky. They both knew her father, who was standing in the stern of the boat, pushing them through the marsh with the long pine pole, could not see Tamba's rolled eyes beneath his hat. But they both waited and heard him grumble again, "stop rolling your eyes behind my back Tamba." They all laughed. +Tamba turned around carefully, keeping his weight in the center of the boat for balance. He smiled at her. "Rice Lulu. They cut em down for rice. They sell the timber to the city." Tamba smiled again, rolling his eyes toward the sky. They both knew her father, who was standing in the stern of the boat, pushing them through the marsh with a long pine pole, could not see Tamba's rolled eyes beneath his hat. But they both waited and heard him grumble again, "stop rolling your eyes behind my back Tamba." They all laughed. "The rice will give them food. And we can buy it." -Lulu heard her father grunt and mumble something about diggers. Tamba turned around again. The boat slid silently along the edge of the marsh, where a thin line of trees still stood, offering some shade from the already brutal mid-morning sun. +Lulu heard her father grunt and mumble something about diggers. Tamba turned around again. + +The boat slid silently along the edge of the marsh, where a thin line of trees still stood, offering some shade from the already brutal mid-morning sun. The water ran out right before the line of great oaks started. There were clumps of prickly, fan-leaved palmetto trees growing beneath the oaks. The muddy bank of the marsh quickly gave way to the dark coloured clay, mixed with sand and hundreds of years of leafy hummus. This was the soil, rich in nutrients, that would grow rice. -The water ran out right before the line of great oaks started. There were clumps of prickly, fan-leaved palmetto trees growing beneath the oaks. The muddy bank of the marsh quickly gave way to the dark coloured clay, mixed with sand and hundreds of years of leafy hummus. This was the soil, rich in nutrients, that would grow rice. "For a time at least," her father had said as he dragged the small pirogue up onto the muddy clay bank, next to a stand of palmetto and tied the pirogue to a tree. "But you take away the pine and it all goes, nothing will hold this soil." +"For a time at least," her father said as he beached them on a small sandy bank. They climbed out and her father tied the boat to an oak. "But you take away the pine and it all goes, nothing will hold this soil." -"Rice will hold the soil." Tamba stood under the shade of an oak, arms crossed, nearly invisible in the darkness of the shade. +"Rice will hold the soil." Tamba stood under the shade of an oak, arms crossed, nearly invisible in the depths of shadow. "You know this?" @@ -419,35 +425,41 @@ Her father smiled at Tamba. "I am not bitter." "No, not you." Tamba shook his head slowly, a sly look crossed his eyes, "But you are waxy. Skin like tallow. So white." -Her father laughed. They walked through the oak and palmetto forest toward the bright clearing ahead. Lulu puzzled over why her father and Tamba argued about rice, why they cared at all, since neither of them farmed. Her father hated farming and made no secret of it, though he was happy to live by farmers. The Geechee were good farmers. But most of them were not free. +Her father laughed. They walked through the oak and palmetto forest toward the bright clearing ahead. Lulu puzzled over why her father and Tamba argued about rice, why they cared at all, since neither of them farmed. Her father hated farming and made no secret of it, though he was happy to live by farmers. The Geechee, the people who farmed inland from here, were good farmers. Lulu and her family made period trips upriver to trade with them and the Waccamaw. Tamba and her father walked out into the field, leaving her at the tree line. They stopped every so often to dig at the roots of the stumps with their sharpened staves, marking choice stumps as they went. She could hear them still arguing about rice as they worked. "Mind the gators Lu," her father called over his shoulder. "And the snakes. Fresh cuts and all." -Cutting trees stirred up the forest. Stirred up the animals of the forest. The plant eaters lost their homes, the insects lost their homes. The animals that ate the insects lost their food. Only the animals at the very top stood any chance. The snake might get the homeless mouse, but eagle got the snake. Nothing got the alligator though. Nothing ever got the alligator. Her father always said not to fear the alligator, but to respect it. Give it a wide berth and do what you can to make sure it doesn't see you as meat. She sat down on stump and wondered what made you look or not look like meat. +Cutting trees stirred up the forest. Stirred up the animals of the forest. The plant eaters lost their homes, the insects lost their homes. The animals that ate the insects lost their food. Only the animals at the very top stood any chance. Snake might get the homeless mouse, but eagle got snake. Nothing got the alligator though. Nothing ever got the alligator. -Lulu didn't think alligators were scary anyway. She'd once been sitting on a fallen log in the river upstream, dangling her feet over, gnawing on a stick of dried fish when a small alligator swam up beneath her. It stayed back and seemed to watch her. At first her heart leaped into her throat and beat so hard she could feel the blood pounding in her ears. But then some part of her reasoned with the fear, it was in the water, she was on a log. If it was going to try to jump at her, it would not have swum up on the surface. She turned over the situation in her mind for several minutes and eventually her heart slid back down into her chest, her breath began to come again and she found herself strangely relaxed as the aftermath of fear, the relief of not being eaten washed over her. She and alligator sat like that for some time, eyeing each other. Lulu reasoned they were probably close to the same age. Maybe not in years, but the alligator was probably about the equivalent of an seven year old, which was how old Lulu was at the time. This made her feel closer to it, they had that at least in common. It was not easy being seven. Lulu knew that. The alligator probably knew that to. What did a seven year old alligator have to do? Did it have a moody father? Was its mother alive? Did it have cousins and aunts and uncles? Did it have to stand watch? Probably not she reasoned, alligators don't sail. Then she pictured an alligator trying to sail, an alligator propped up on its hind legs, one hand (or claw?) on the wheel, one holding a spyglass to its eye. +Her father always said not to fear the alligator, but to respect it. Give it a wide berth and do what you can to make sure it doesn't see you as meat. She sat down on a stump and wondered what made you look or not look like meat. -The ridiculousness of this image helped relax her even more and she went back to eating her dried fish. The moment she took a bite though, the alligator's eyes flinched. She couldn't describe it, but she saw something almost like hurt flash through it's eyes, the same sort of thing she'd seen in the eyes of her cousins' dogs, the pain of a pack animal whose pack isn't sharing its food with them. Except that alligator weren't pack animals. Or were they? Lulu wasn't sure, but she didn't think so. Still, did one need to be a pack animal to feel hurt when someone doesn't share their food? She momentarily thought of Birdie and how she always took the last bowl of food, letting everyone else have theirs first. She waved the stick of dried fish at the alligator, "you want some of this?" "Of course you do." +Lulu didn't think alligators were scary anyway. She'd once been sitting on a tree trunk that had fallen out over the river. It made a good jumping platform, but this day she was just dangling her feet over, gnawing on a stick of dried fish when a small alligator swam up. It stayed a little ways back and seemed to watch her. + +At first her heart leaped into her throat and beat so hard she could feel the blood pounding in her ears. But then some part of her reasoned with the fear, it was in the water, she was on a tree trunk a good five feet above the water. If it was going to try to jump at her, it would not have swum up on the surface. She turned over the situation in her mind for several minutes and eventually her heart slid back down into her chest, her breath began to come again, and she found herself strangely relaxed as the aftermath of fear, and the relief of not being eaten, washed over her. She and the alligator sat like that for some time, eyeing each other. Lulu reasoned they were probably close to the same age. Maybe not in years, but the alligator was probably about the equivalent of a seven year old, which was how old Lulu was at the time. This made her feel closer to it, they had that at least in common. It was not easy being seven. Lulu knew that. The alligator probably knew that to. What did a seven year old alligator have to do? Did it have a moody father? Was its mother alive? Did it have cousins and aunts and uncles? Did it have to stand watch? Probably not she reasoned, alligators don't sail. Then she pictured an alligator trying to sail, an alligator propped up on its hind legs, one hand (or claw?) on the wheel, one holding a spyglass to its eye. + +The ridiculousness of this image helped relax her even more and she went back to eating her dried fish. The moment she took a bite though, the alligator's eyes flinched. She couldn't describe it, but she saw something almost like hurt flash through its eyes, the same sort of thing she'd seen in the eyes of her cousins' dogs, the pain of a pack animal whose pack isn't sharing its food with them. Except that alligators weren't pack animals. Or were they? Lulu wasn't sure, but she didn't think so. Still, did one need to be a pack animal to feel hurt when someone doesn't share their food? She momentarily thought of Birdie and how she always took the last bowl of food, letting everyone else have theirs first. She waved the stick of dried fish at the alligator, "you want some of this?" "Of course you do." She bit off a decent sized piece and held it up. "This is all I have, and I have to paddle all the way back to camp." She regarded the dried fish in her hand again. "Still, I know what it's like to want something and not be able to get it. So I want you to have it." Having made up her mind to do it, she tossed the fish in to the water quickly before she could change her mind. The alligator swam quickly toward it and in a movement so deft and fast Lulu barely saw it, it swallowed the stick of dried fish. Now it was closer to Lulu, nearly at her feat. And once again they stared at each other for a long time. Lulu took another bit of fish and broke off a smaller piece and tossed it to the alligator. This time it knew what it was, and it snapped it up without hesitating. Lulu saw its teeth and for a moment she was afraid again. What if it followed her to the bank when she walked up the log and back down to the pirogue, which was tied just upstream? What if she was a fool to feed an alligator and it wasn't thinking she was nice, but trying to decided why dinner was feeding it dinner? -She pushed these thoughts out of her head and decided she liked her original story, the alligator was cute, maybe even cuddly in some strange way, and they were friends. Until something happened to make this seem wrong, this was the story she was sticking with. She took another bite of fish and flung some to the alligator, but this time she threw it behind the creature so it had to turn around and swim the other way, she liked her story, but she also liked to cover herself. As the gator turned around and circled back to get the fish she wondered, was feeding an alligator respecting it? Was thinking it was cute respecting it? She wasn't sure. She knew getting it to back away from her was respecting it. +She pushed these thoughts out of her head and decided she liked her original story, the alligator was cute, maybe even cuddly in some strange way, and they were friends. Until something happened to make this seem wrong, this was the story she was sticking with. She took another bite of fish and flung some to the alligator, but this time she threw it behind the creature so it had to turn around and swim the other way. She liked her story, but she also liked to cover herself. As the gator turned around and circled back to get the fish she noticed it's other eye was gone. She'd been so transfixed by the eye it had kept on her she had not noticed that its second eye was gone. Before she had much time to think about it the gator swam off downstream. -Eventually she'd walked off the log and back to her boat to make her way home. The alligator had gone its way. Apparently it had not seen her as dinner. Or she'd given it enough dried fish that it had changed its mind. +Eventually Lulu walked off the log and back to her boat to make her way home. The alligator never showed up again. Apparently it had not seen her as dinner. Or she'd given it enough dried fish that it had changed its mind. -Remembering the alligator made Lulu want to see one. Sort of. A small one again. But it was already mid afternoon and she hadn't seen anything but biting flies and mosquitoes. The sun was directly overhead and felt like it had been worked with bellows. Lulu could just barely see her father on the far side of what had once been a forest of broom pine. Slash pine the sailors called it. Whatever you wanted to call it, it was gone. No more tufts of green above to filter the harsh clean light of day, no more long thin needles to whistle in the wind when the onshore breezes started. It was a dead still afternoon. The world highlighted in a glare that made it difficult to see. It was hot, humid. The air felt like a wet wool blanket wrapped around you. Lulu decided she would not like to be a rice plant or anything else that tried to get along in this place. She liked it better back at camp. By the sea, in the wind. What was life without wind? +Remembering the alligator made Lulu want to see one. Sort of. A small one again. But it was already mid afternoon and she hadn't seen anything but biting flies and mosquitoes. The sun was directly overhead and felt like it had been worked with bellows. Lulu could just barely see her father on the far side of what had once been a forest of broom pine. Slash pine the sailors called it. Whatever you wanted to call it, it was gone. No more tufts of green above to filter the harsh clean light of day, no more long thin needles to whistle in the wind when the onshore breezes started. It was a dead still afternoon, the world starkly highlighted in a glaring light that made it difficult to see. Lulu decided she would not like to be a rice plant or anything else that tried to get along in this place. She liked it better back at camp. By the sea, in the wind. What was life without wind? She jumped to another stump and looked down. It had her father's mark on it. A square inside a diamond. "Two squares really," he had once told her and her sister, "one is just rotated 90 degrees. It's easier to draw than four interlocking circles, which is what I used before." -Lulu shielded her eyes from the sun and lifted a gourd of water to her mouth. It was bitter and hot, but it coated her throat for a moment and kept her tongue from feeling so swollen. She was hot and bored. She wished she'd stayed with her sister and her aunt in camp. Even cleaning and drying fish would better than this stillness and heat. Anything to escape this relentless sun. At least at the beach, at camp, there was a breeze. +Lulu shielded her eyes from the sun and lifted a gourd of water to her mouth. It was bitter and hot, but it coated her throat for a moment and kept her tongue from feeling so swollen. She was hot and bored. She wished she'd stayed with her sister and her aunt in camp. Even cleaning and drying fish would better than this stillness and heat. Anything to escape this relentless sun. + +Lulu was glad she had her straw hat. It had been a gift from a woman who came with a careening ship the year before. It was too small now though, it perched on her head rather than fitting snugly as it used to. She had tried soaking, stretching and pulling, but nothing worked. It was just too small for her now. "At least your head is growing," her sister had teased her that morning. -Lulu wore a straw hat that a woman had given her the year before when a ship had come to careen on the beach. Despite repeated soaking, stretching and pulling, the hat was too small for her now. "At least your head is growing," her sister teased. Birdie was nearly a head taller. Lulu wanted to punch her in the mouth, but instead she took off her hat, hit her sister over the head with it, bared her teeth and growled at her. Then she ran before Birdie could retaliate. Sometimes it was intolerable to have a twin. Usually though these moments were just that, moments. And then they were gone as quickly as she felt them, though she was not above drawing them out for a while to get at her sister, who rarely seemed to feel this way. +Birdie was nearly a head taller than Lulu and whenever she pointed out their difference in size4 Lulu wanted to punch her in the mouth. Instead she took off her hat and hit her sister over the head with it and growled at her like a panther. Then she ran before Birdie could retaliate. Sometimes it was intolerable to have a twin. Usually though these moments were just that, moments. They were gone as quickly as she felt them. Not that she didn't sometimes drawing them out for a while to get at her sister. -Sometimes Lulu needed to get away, to be alone, so she had come today with her father and Tamba out into the scorching midday sun to find stumps to dry for next winter. Her father made carvings in each stump, a square within a diamond, the beginning of wisdom he told her when she asked what it meant. Whatever that meant. They'd come for a week on either side of the full moon, to work in what light could be had, digging stumps and hauling then back to the beach, to the dunes just beyond camp, where they would be piled in great heaps to lie there for a year, drying like great white bones bleaching in the sand until they were so weathered they were gray. Soon Tamba and her father would repair the kilns and start making tar with the stumps they'd gathered last year. +Sometimes Lulu needed to get away, to be alone. That's why she had come today with her father and Tamba out into the scorching midday sun to find stumps to dry for next winter. Her father made carvings in each stump, a square within a diamond, the beginning of wisdom he told her when she asked what it meant. Whatever that meant. They'd come back here next full moon to work in what light could be had, digging stumps and hauling then back to the beach. They would pile them in to the dunes just beyond camp, where they would lie for a year, drying like great white bones bleaching in the sand until they were so weathered they were gray. Soon Tamba and her father would repair the kilns and start making tar with the stumps they'd gathered last year. -Lulu and Birdie and Henry and two other families worth of children, their cousins and friends, would gather moss and dry grass to feed the slow heat of the kilns. As the wood burned the dark pitch drained down to the bottom of the kiln and dripped into barrels set below the catch it. This was the Arkhangelsk tar. The way her father's people had made it for generations he said. The archangel tar that kept the ships afloat, the rigging tight, the sailors safe and bought Lulu and Birdie and Henry a place in the world, clothes to wear, food to eat and sometimes even peppermint treats or dolls or new ribbons for her hair. These stumps were the reason Lulu's life was possible. +Lulu and Birdie and Henry, along with their cousins and friends, would gather moss and dry grass to feed the slow heat of the kilns. As the wood burned the dark pitch drained down to the bottom of the kiln and dripped into buckets set below the catch it. This was the Arkhangelsk tar. The way her father's people had made it for generations he said. The archangel tar that kept the ships afloat, the rigging tight, the sailors safe and bought Lulu and Birdie and Henry a place in the world, clothes to wear, food to eat and sometimes even peppermint treats or dolls or new ribbons for her hair. These stumps were the reason Lulu's life was possible. But that didn't make the day any cooler or her patience any greater. @@ -457,17 +469,17 @@ When they finally did return, both were pouring sweat and no longer bickering ab Her father ruffled her hair as he stepped over her into the boat. He pushed them out again, following the trail through the reeds, back to the deeper waters of the marsh, toward the river. Lulu watched the little black snails, which had climbed ever so slowly up the reeds as the tide had come in while they were hunting stumps. It was was nearly time now little snails, nearly time to slide back down, nearly time for the tide to return to the sea. -The moon was nearly full so she doubted they'd gather any stumps this moon. There was still too much to do. They hadn't yet been to Charlestown. Lulu hated town because she had to wear a dress. Most of the year she wore the clothes of the Edistow, a deerskin skirt that reached midway down her shins and was fringed with shells. Lulu was extremely proud of it and forever changed shells when new ones washed ashore. Unlike her sister she often wore a cotton shirt if she was going to be in the sun all day, but she had not today. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a single braid that reached nearly to her waist and had shells woven into it. She looked, aside from her slightly lighter skin, like everyone else on the island they called home. +The moon was nearly full so she doubted they'd gather any stumps this moon. There was still too much to do. They hadn't yet been to Charlestown. Although she wasn't sure they'd go this year, with the rumors of the British around her father would probably prefer to save their trip to town for spring, when they were leaving. That was fine with Lulu. She hated town because she had to wear a dress. Most of the year she wore the clothes of the Waccamaw, a deerskin skirt that reached midway down her shins and was fringed with shells. Lulu was extremely proud of it and forever changed shells when new ones washed ashore. Unlike her sister she often wore a cotton shirt if she was going to be in the sun all day, but she had not today. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a single braid that reached nearly to her waist and had shells woven into it. She looked, aside from her slightly lighter skin, like everyone else on the island they called home. -The Edistow have lived here for hundreds of years, probably more, her father said. There were few of them left, but enough still that her family traded with them. Her father changed their camp from a canvas tent to one of the circular pole structures he'd seen the Edistow use and it was still what they called home. Her father had also taken to wearing a deerskin loincloth for a while. Lulu thought he looked ridiculous with his thick black beard and hairy chest and then the little flap a deerskin which reached right above his knees and looked, no matter how long it might have been, too small on his rather large body. At nearly six feet their father towered over almost everyone on the island. Tamba shook his head and walked away when he'd seen her father in the loin cloth. Later he told Lulu, "You should have seen when he tried the grass skirts." Kobayashi threatened to sign on with the Royal Navy if her father didn't go back to wearing pants. Her father became rather indignant. "They've lived here longer than we have, I expect they know what's best to wear," he said. But after a few days, and a badly sunburned butt, he had returned to wearing pants. +The Waccamaw have lived here for hundreds of years, probably more, her father said. There were few of them left, but enough still that her family traded with them. Her father changed their camp from a canvas tent to one of the circular pole structures he'd seen the Waccamaw use and it was still what they called home. Her father had also taken to wearing a deerskin loincloth for a while. Lulu thought he looked ridiculous with his thick black beard and hairy chest and then the little flap a deerskin which reached right above his knees and looked, no matter how long it might have been, too small on his rather large body. At nearly six feet their father towered over almost everyone on the island. Tamba shook his head and walked away when he'd seen her father in the loin cloth. Later he told Lulu, "You should have seen when he tried the grass skirts." Kobayashi threatened to sign on with the Royal Navy if her father didn't go back to wearing pants. Her father became rather indignant. "They've lived here longer than we have, I expect they know what's best to wear," he said. But after a few days, and a badly sunburned butt, he had returned to wearing pants. This was how he looked in her earliest memories and how she preferred he look all the time. Lulu looked back at him now, pushing them slowly along, still sweating, eyes fixed on some point in the distance. Lulu loved her father, but often felt lost around him. He could be stern, or even cross with her or Birdie or Henry, at times, but more often he just seemed to be elsewhere, lost in depths of thought no one, not even Tamba seemed able to plumb. The worst was that he often returned from wherever this far away place was quickly with startling bursts of temper. Just as often though it was laughter. What was hard was figuring out which it would be at any given moment. When they were at sea, it was always laughter. On the land, it was hard to tell. -Lulu thought about this, about the mother she never knew, about things she barely remembered, different rivers, different marshes, different shorelines with the cold smell of wet mud and salt brine, the barnacle crusted rocks that had cut her feet until they bled. She could still feel them sometimes when she starred into the fire in the evenings or when she watched the stars at night, lying under her sheets in the soft cradle of sand. She did not miss it exactly. She did not remember enough to miss it. But she did think of it sometimes on the edge of sleep, she'd hold it in her thoughts, turn the memories over and around, looking for details she'd missed in all the times before. Though it had been a long time since she'd found a new detail she didn't already hold in her memory, still she did it most every night, letting those old visions usher her into sleep on the early autumn nights when the mosquitoes dove at her all night long, even through the smoke of the smudge fires. +Lulu thought about this, about the mother she never knew, about things she barely remembered, different rivers, different marshes, different shorelines with the cold smell of wet mud and salt brine, the barnacle crusted rocks that had cut her feet until they bled. She could still feel them sometimes when she starred into the fire in the evenings or when she watched the stars at night, lying under her sheets in the soft cradle of sand. She did not miss it exactly. She did not remember enough to miss it. But she did think of it sometimes on the edge of sleep, she'd hold it in her thoughts, turn the memories over and around, looking for details she'd missed in all the times before. It had been a long time since she'd found a new detail she didn't already hold in her memory, still she did it almost every night, letting those old visions usher her into sleep on the early autumn nights when the mosquitoes dove at her all night long, even through the smoke of the smudge fires. Lulu could feel the water pulling them now, partly the tide of the marsh, partly the current of the river, it was drawing them to the sea. The boat rocked slightly as her father laid the pole down and took up the paddle he used to steer. She looked back and he was sitting, smiling now as they drew nearer to home. Stern and distant though he might sometimes be, her father was almost always smiling when his face was turned toward the sea and the wind was on his cheek. -Shadows of moss lengthened across the ground like fingers stretching out of the oak trees by the time the pirogue finally nosed onto the sandy shore of the island. It was a half mile walk to camp. Lulu hopped off the side of the boat and into the water, wading ashore. She glanced back at her father who nodded once. She needed no further encouragement, taking off down the path that led back to camp. +By the time the pirogue finally nosed onto the sandy shore of the island, shadows of the great hanging moss lengthened across the ground like fingers stretching out of the oak trees. It was a half mile walk to camp. Lulu hopped off the side of the boat and into the water, wading ashore. She glanced back at her father who nodded once. She needed no further encouragement, taking off down the path that led back to camp. Lulu rounded the corner at full speed, through the tall field of sea oats that formed the southern border of their camp, bursting out of the grass like a lion. She smelled the warm sweetness of fish stew. Her aunt was stirring a kettle over the fire. Her sister and Henry came running from the other side of camp, calling her to come to the dunes, but she was hungry. She ran over and hugged her aunt, who pulled the stray hairs from her face, tucked them back behind her ears and scooped her up a bowl of stew with a piece of cold fried bread. Lulu slurped at the hot stew, earning her a frown from her aunt. "Don't slurp Lu." @@ -497,11 +509,11 @@ Henry was five, and as their father said, clever as a Lynx and innocent as the d Despite his twinkle, Henry never got away with anything. He was too naturally mischievous and yet not sneaky. If something was amiss in camp, some prank played, some calamity caused, everyone always came looking for "the little brown imp." The only other possible culprit was their cousin Owen, but he was a year younger, actually quite sneaky, and lived a mile down the beach with their aunt and uncle, which generally absolved him. -They crested the last dune and from the top the Arkhangelsk came into view lying in a gully just beyond the beach, listing slightly to port, her mast pointing nearly due north, marking time nearly as well as a sundial. The three ran down the slope of the last dune in great bounding leaps, sinking deep into the soft sand and leaping out again great whooping war cries rising from their lips. +They crested the last dune and from the top the Arkhangelsk came into view lying in a gully just beyond the beach, listing slightly to port. The three ran down the slope of the last dune in great bounding leaps, sinking deep into the soft sand and leaping out again great whooping war cries rising from their lips. Lulu ducked under the crumbing beam that had once supported the deck, following Birdie down into the hold, where the new pot sat on their makeshift stove. It was a world of black and white, dark shadows punctuated by bleach white light streaming in the occasional holes in the deck. The damp sand under the shadows was a cool luxury after the heat of the swamp. Lulu sat down and Birdie passed her the pot. She felt it cool and smooth in the darkness. She ran her finger along the lip feeling the nicks where metal tongs had banged into it. She passed it back to Birdie who put it on the stove. They all went out to gather crab shells and seaweed for a stew. -It was dark by the time they walked back to camp. The air had turned cold as the sun set. Not cold, but cool enough that Lulu got her blanket out of the hut. They only ever slept indoors in the worst of weather. Lulu brought out her blanket and lay down in the sand, pulling it over her. She lay for along time whispering with Birdie about plans for the next day, watching the thin sliver of moon drag its light across the shifting ripple of the sea. +It was dark by the time they walked back to camp. The air had turned cold as the sun set. Not cold, but cool enough that Lulu brought out her blanket and lay down in the sand, pulling it over her. She lay for along time whispering with Birdie about plans for the next day, watching the thin sliver of moon drag its light across the shifting ripple of the sea. ## Chapter 5: Fishing the Bank |