An Island Between Two Shores (11 page)

“And we’re just a piece of that?” stammered Liana.

“You owe me because your daddy owed me. You can’t quit. Nobody gets to quit. Do yourself a favour,” he drawled with mock boredom, “and sign over the deed tomorrow when the offices are open. I suggest you clean yourself up. You even look like a Siwash.”

“You’ll pay for what you’ve done,” she vowed, shooting a glare.

Cody snickered. “You’re just a girl with no men around to protect you; don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“You heartless son of a bitch!” blurted Liana in disgust.

Continuing in a low tone, Cody seethed, “Listen, girly, I’m feeling generous. You get to walk away.” And then in a loud voice to the entire room, he exclaimed, “I’m feeling very generous today. MaeBeth, everybody’s breakfast is on me.” The room erupted with a cheer for his good graces. “As for you, Lady, I suggest you be smarter than your father or that Siwash friend of his,” said Cody withmock sincerity.

“Cody, you’ve made a terrible mistake,” Liana promised with a stony grimace.

“The only mistake I made was assuming you was dead.”

Liana looked at the brightening streets through the streaked glass windows. Three ravens were tormenting a dog tied to a post. They bounced on the snow mere inches from the extent of the mutt’s line. The dog brayed and lunged but was unable to reach them. MaeBeth slid two plates of eggs and toast across the table. As he picked up his fork, Cody smiled at Liana.

“I suggest you hire your passage. I’m not looking over my shoulder because of no crazy bitch.” He grinned. “I’ll give you a couple of days to get out of town. Now, I’m hungry. Let’s eat up while it’s hot.”

Silently he shoveled the reconstituted powdered eggs into his mouth and dipped his sourdough toast into his coffee. Within a minute his plate was clean. He dropped a nugget the size of his thumb on the table and rose to his feet. He stretched his arms and then tipped his hat to Liana.

“Remember, two days. That’s all. And don’t forget to transfer the deed to me. You don’t want to want to have an accident like your Pa.” This statement reconfirmed what Liana already knew but her heart still sank to hear him say it. A scowl creased her forehead.

“Don’t be a fool,” added Cody, standing and putting on his parka. “Know when you’re beat.” He turned and stomped to the door. The other patrons all tried to meet his eyes with a nod. Liana intently watched his flamboyance, his confidence.

Liana sat in her chair, considering her options. After a while she absentmindedly ate her eggs and toast. Her head swam with Cody’s threats and his admission of everything she had assumed. She knew what she had to do. When she was finished eating, she stood and paid with a single gold nugget. She pulled on her coat and made her way through the tables to the door. Nobody paid her any notice. Liana wondered why they didn’t notice the wolf’s cry. It seemed so close and loud. It almost seemed as though the wolf was in the hotel, but she couldn’t see it anywhere.

L
iana crossed the icy dirt street to Bacson’s Dry Goods. The shopkeeper had just opened and was pleased to see Liana. “You’re my first customer of the day,” he said by way of greeting.

Liana smiled. “I’m looking for a small leg-hold trap and some black shoe polish.”

“Sure, we have plenty,” said the shopkeeper, walking past a barrel of salt pork and reaching to a cluster of traps hanging off a single nail on the wall. “Here you go,” he said, handing the trap to Liana and turning to rummage for a tin of shoe polish.

“Will you be needing anything else?” he inquired, placing the shoe polish on the counter.

“Some snare wire,” said Liana. She pointed at a small coil on a nail next to the traps on the wall. She hesitated, then picked through a pile of work clothes for a few minutes. “I will take these pants and these shirts and this coat,” said Liana, lifting the clothing onto the counter.

“Is that all you’ll be needing?”

“I will also need some food delivered to a cabin up the river,” Liana said. “I don’t know whose cabin it is, but I ate everything he had,” smiled Liana. “I know you can handle it.”

Used to this kind of directive, the shopkeeper placed a map on the counter and asked Liana to mark the cabin’s location. Liana quickly found the canyon that was marked with little squiggly wave symbols and straight parallel lines. The island wasn’t marked on the map, but Liana was able to fairly accurately deduce the distance of the cabin from the bottom of the canyon. “Tell whoever goes up there that if they reach the canyon, they’ve gone too far.”

The man smiled with amusement while he lifted a canvas bag to pack the purchases. “I need to replace a lot of tinned goods,” she continued. “Stew and cherries mainly. And throw in a box of matches.” Liana collected a large assortment of goods she had either eaten or craved when she was at the cabin. She passed the map back to the shopkeeper and he promised to have the provisions delivered by dog team within a couple of weeks. Liana felt good replacing the food but shuddered at the thought of eating canned stew or canned cherries ever again.

“Will that be all?” asked the shopkeeper again.

“Yes, that’s it,” said Liana, taking the trap and inspecting it in the weak winter sunlight coming in the front window.

“Will you be needing any bait? I’ve got some dried salmon the martens can’t keep away from.”

“I don’t think so. Just this stuff, and please make sure to deliver the canned goods to that cabin,” she said, handing a few nuggets to the man. The man smiled broadly as he pulled a scale from behind the counter to weigh the nuggets and make change. “That won’t be necessary,” said Liana, opening the door.

“Have a good day,” said the shopkeeper cheerfully, calculating his substantial tip.

Liana stepped into the crisp morning air and stowed the trap and shoe polish deep in her big jacket pocket. She looked in both directions and decided to walk down Broadway. The snow was piled loose in the road and many of the boardwalks were clear. Narrow paths twisted through waist deep banks of snow to stores, cabins, and tents. Her breath held heavy in the brisk morning air and she walked deliberately. The town was still waking, and few people were about.

At the end of Fourth Street, Liana spotted Cody’s house on a steep hillside. It was a log cabin, slightly bigger than most. The cabin had two small windows in the front, trimmed with white lace curtains. A dark green door boasted a brass
knocker shaped like an upside-down fist. It was a modest home for someone as rich and powerful as Cody, but he had another house in Seattle said to be one of the grandest painted ladies on the west coast. His wife and kids lived there, but he hadn’t seen them in years.

Liana stood under a large spruce tree a half block away. She stashed her bag of new clothes between the roots and opened the tin of shoe polish. She started to spread it on the metal trap. The cold made spreading the paste difficult, but Liana was able to coat the trap with thick, dark clumps. In a few minutes the trap was entirely covered in the thick grease.

Liana walked toward Cody’s place. She slipped silently through the open gate and into the back yard along a narrow path that lead to the outhouse. She smiled, remembering Henry’s comments about the outhouse at the cabin being ten yards too far from the cabin in the winter and ten yards too close in the summer.

After the trap was set, Liana left Cody’s yard. She looked back at the cabin and felt conflicted. Henry had never told any stories about revenge. As she stood under the spruce tree, she felt a momentary pang of regret. But Cody had taken so much from her she didn’t feel enough remorse to alter her decision. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she turned to walk back downtown.

The sun was higher in the sky and Liana’s stomach was declaring itself hungry again. She walked the boardwalk until she saw a tent restaurant selling donuts and coffee. She pushed back the canvas flap and sat at a long bench with several men. The tent was warm and unbearably humid. A woodstove crackled and popped. The men all had straggly beards and the sallow faces of veteran Stampeders—hungry and exhausted.

She asked the cook for a basin and some soap. He warned her she would incur a nickel surcharge. Liana nodded. Within moments, an enameled metal basin of warm water slid across the table toward her. Liana submerged her blackened hands into the lukewarm water with an inaudible gasp. The harsh lye soap and shoe polish quickly turned the water an opaque, oily mess. When her hands were cleaner, she stood and carried the basin outside, where she threw the water into the snow and wiped her hands dry on her pants. Returning to the tent, she thanked the cook and sat at the table to sip coffee and quietly enjoy a donut.

The men were discussing a new survey. The chief surveyor was already hiring a line crew to help make sense of the imprecise staking of the gold claims during the previous winter. The men were optimistic that there would be some valuable “fractions” as a result. As this was important talk of gold, nobody really noticed Liana and she didn’t say anything until she paid. Once again she took a small nugget from her pocket and smiled as she emerged into the brightness of the cold morning.

Liana trudged toward a yard behind the police barracks near the river. Before she got within spitting distance of the yard, huskies began to howl and bark at her approach. Fifty or sixty dogs were chained to trees and beside them sat a lone white canvas tent with a black stovepipe thrusting above it. In front of each dog was a metal bucket or bowl. Two or three of the dogs slept curled in the snow, their tails over their noses to keep them warm. But the rest of the dogs barked and howled and jumped at the end of their chains. Liana stood at the front of the tent, where dog sleds rested against log supports.

“Hello. I’m looking for Nelson,” she called above the din.

“He’s gone. He’s outside for the winter. Got sick,” said a youthful voice from within the tent.

“Well, can I talk to you about hiring a team then?” asked Liana.

“Sure, we can talk. C’mon in,” instructed the voice.

Liana pulled away the heavy tent flap and stepped into the warm, dark interior. Sitting in the corner on a pile of furs was a boy, perhaps sixteen or seventeen.

“I’m Nelson’s nephew, Drake,” he said.

“Hi. I’m Liana.”

“You look familiar.”

“I once lived in Dawson,” she answered haltingly. “It was a long time ago.”

“Where’re you headed?” Drake asked.

“The coast, and I have to leave today.”

“Why now? There’s a horse sleigh going out on Friday. You should take the Royal Mail. It’d be safer.”

“No. I have to leave now,” she insisted. “I can’t say why and nobody can know that you are taking me—for both our sakes.”

“Sounds intriguing,” he drawled.

“Can you do it? Can you take me out?” asked Liana insistently.

“Of course I can, but it will cost you,” Drake said.

“I don’t care about the cost. I care about leaving as soon as we can.”

“Well, I can get you to Anderson Roadhouse tonight. I usually skip about half the road houses, and if the weather isn’t too cold, we can even run in shifts with lanterns.”

Liana felt a sense of relief wash over her frame. “That sounds good. How many dogs will we bring?”

“How much stuff are you carrying?” he asked.

“Just what I’m wearing. I travel light.”

“It will cost you a hundred plus meals and lodging at the roadhouses,” he said confidently. “I need to take some dried salmon for the dogs; that’ll cost. But we’ll be in Whitehorse in no time.”

“That sounds good,” said Liana. “Can I help you get things prepared?”

“Yeah, you can water the dogs. Start by going to the river. There’s an auger beside the little red flag on the river.” He looked at Liana and doubted her experience with an auger. “It was opened last night so you probably will only have a couple of inches of ice to cut.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t risk being seen with you. Is there anything inside I can do?”

“You really are on the run,” said Drake, somewhat surprised.

“Let’s just leave it at that. Tell me how much salmon you need; I’ll arrange for that and pay for it. Then I’ll walk outside of town toward the creeks. I will meet you where the Klondike meets the Yukon.”

“That path is well travelled. You may want to wait until after dark,” suggested Drake.

“How about if we meet at seven at the forks?” she said.

“That will work. For now, why don’t you go back to my cabin and make up some beaver and rice for the dogs,” said Drake, pointing to his cabin next door. “We’ll freeze what they don’t eat and take it with us.”

“I can do that,” replied Liana, pleased to have something useful to do.

“The beaver meat is in the cache.”

Liana handled the salmon order, then went to the cabin and lifted an enormous bucket on top of the stove after filling it with snow. Eagerly she climbed a narrow ladder to a cache about a dozen feet off the ground. She pushed open a small hatch and reached around in the dark until she found the beaver meat. Once inside the cabin, she dumped the meat into the pot; it was dark and rich with fat. Liana thought about how welcome this meat would have been on the island. She left the improvised pot to cook and walked back to town.

Liana thought about going back to the hotel and looking for any acquaintances but reasoned that some might be working for Cody. She knew at least one of them sometimes slept in his bed. “If it wasn’t for Henry,” she thought, “I would be in the cemetery above town—or rotting out in the underbrush.”

She knew it was best to get out of town before Cody even knew she was gone. But first she went to a washhouse and asked for a bath. She gave the attendant a nugget and took a towel and a bar of soap. She walked into a tiny room that held a huge tin tub full of steaming water. The window was covered in a thick layer of ice that kept her privacy from the outside and filtered a thin, translucent glow in the bright afternoon sunlight. She quickly stripped and dangled a foot in the scalding water. When she lowered herself into the tub, she felt overwhelmed and lost her breath. She spent the next hour turning the water a grayish hue. Once the bath had cooled to lukewarm, she dried herself and dressed in the new clothes. She tossed her grimy old duds in the corner to be thrown out and inspected herself in a mirror hanging on the wall. She turned to view the scars on each of her hips and smiled broadly. Liana could hear a wolf calling somewhere from the street below.

Liana walked out of the washhouse a new person. Her neatly coiled hair steamed in the cold and she proudly strode down the street. She returned to Drake’s tent and asked if she could help prepare the dogs. He commented that she looked different; Liana surprised herself with a blush. Drake had her ladle scoops of warm broth and beaver meat into the dogs’ bowls. They in turn howled in frenzy, their lips quivering in anticipation. The smell of the stew made Liana choke but to the dogs it was nirvana. They liked salmon head stew even better, Drake told her. Drake carried the nourishing meal to the screaming huskies while Liana watched from the cabin. One dog looked like a wolf and Liana walked closer to see. It was larger than the other dogs.

“Drake, is that one a wolf?” she asked.

“Blue, well, half of her is,” he said proudly. “When her Ma was in heat, a wolf pack was in the area.” They watched Blue devour her food. “We’re lucky they didn’t just leave a collar. That’s happened a lot around here.”

“She looks one hundred percent wolf,” said Liana.

“Everybody thinks so,” Drake continued. “Makes some people uncomfortable. I once caught a guy in the yard that wanted her hide,” he said, shaking his head. “Worth a lot of money, she is.”

Liana couldn’t stop staring at Blue. “She’s beautiful.”

“If it was up to me we would have kept the litter,” he said wistfully, “but all we kept was Blue. The best lead dog in the Yukon, I figure.”

Drake walked away from the dogs and began to prepare the sled and the lines. He inspected the runners and joints and positioned a couple of dusty caribou hides in the basket for Liana to sit on, as well as a buffalo robe to cover her. He laid out the dogs’ harnesses and attachments in front of the sled. Testing, Drake stepped on the sled’s brake and threw an anchor into the snow. That accomplished, he suggested they go up the street for pork and beans and waffles.