Brides of Alaska (6 page)

“I'll build up the fire and heat some rocks to put in bed with her,” August offered. “We can pack them around her blankets.”

“Let's get her to her room,” Vern suggested.

“Lead the way,” Sam replied as he got to his feet and lifted Julie before August or Vern could move.

Vern nodded and August went to the fireplace. Sam followed Julie's father, ever mindful of Julie's near-lifeless body.

“Put her on the bed,” Vern said as he pulled back the covers.

“We'd better get her out of these clothes,” Sam said, without any concern for the propriety of the situation. “They're still frozen, but when they thaw, she'll be soaked.”

“You're right of course,” Vern answered with a worried look on his face.

Sam was already unfastening Julie's belt as Vern prepared to pull the icy denim jeans from his daughter's half-frozen frame.

Pulling off the pants, Vern leaned over and felt the heavy woolen long johns that Julie had wisely thought to wear.

“These are dry,” he said with a sound of relief.

“That's good,” Sam said and added, “but this shirt was sweat-soaked. It was frozen solid, but it's already starting to melt. I'd suggest you get her a dry one. I'll leave the room so you can change her privately.”

Vern nodded. “I'll take care of it now. You might want to help August.”

Sam reluctantly left Julie's side. His brown eyes betrayed the concern in his heart.
Dear God
, he prayed silently,
You must save her!
Pausing at the door, Sam shook his head and took a deep breath before adding,
Thy will be done
.

August was lining stones in the fireplace when Sam entered the front room.

“How is she?” August questioned anxiously. He glanced up and met Sam's worried expression. “Is she going to make it?”

“I don't know yet,” Sam said as he handed rocks to August. “She's pretty cold and her pulse is real slow. I wish I had my duck down comforter. It's of little use to anyone back at my cabin.”

“We've got a goose down mattress on Pa's bed,” August said hopefully. “Could we make use of it?”

“We might be able to cut it open at one end and slide Julie inside,” Sam replied in an eager tone. “Would your father mind?”

“Not if it's going to save Julie's life,” August said, dusting his hands off as he got to his feet. “It belonged to my mother. It was her most beloved possession. She always said it was like sleeping on a cloud. She wouldn't even use it for everyday. Come on,” he motioned. “Let's go get it.”

Sam helped August remove all the bedding, and together they pulled the mattress off the bed.

“I can manage this,” Sam said as he hoisted the mattress on his back. “You get some of those rocks. Get the flattest ones and we'll put them under Julie. The rest we can put over and around her.”

“That ought to warm her up,” August said and went to retrieve the rocks from the fire.

Julie moaned, speaking in her delirium. “Tried to find the way,” she whispered. “Papa!”

“I'm here, darling,” Vern said as he finished buttoning the dry flannel shirt he'd just clothed his daughter in. He patted Julie's arm and talked loudly to her.

“You can't sleep now, my Jewels. It's time to wake up. Come on, we're all waiting for you.”

“Too tired,” Julie whispered. “Let me sleep.”

Just then Sam entered the room, bringing in the feather mattress.

“If you don't object, I'd like to cut this open and put Julie inside. I think the goose down will warm her faster than the wool blankets.”

“That's brilliant, Sam,” Vern said as he pulled a knife from its sheath on his belt and handed it to him. “Be my guest.”

Sam sliced the end of the mattress open just as August came in with a tray of warmed rocks.

“This is going to be a real team effort,” Sam said as goose feathers puffed out of the open end of the mattress. “Vern, if you can hold this, I'll lift Julie while August arranges the rocks on her bed. After he's finished, we'll put the mattress on the rocks and put Julie inside it.”

The father and son nodded. Sam went to Julie's bedside. She looked so pale and helpless. Her dark hair spread out around her, making her face seem unnaturally white.

Sam thought she looked beautiful, more beautiful than any other woman he'd known. He'd lost his heart to her and prayed that she'd live long enough for him to share a place in her heart.

Cradling Julie as though she were a child, Sam stepped back and let August and Vern work. It was only a matter of seconds before they were ready to put Julie inside the mattress. Together, they eased her down into the goose feathers.

“Now, August, how about some more of those rocks? We can pack them all around the sides and put some on top as well,” Sam said as he pulled the mattress up to meet just under Julie's chin.

Julie murmured incoherent words as the men worked around her.

“I'll get some coffee on the stove and warm some cider. That way we can start getting her insides warmed up as well,” Vern suggested. “Sam, would you mind staying with her?”

“You know I wouldn't. Go on. I'll be here, friend,” Sam replied, and Vern hurried from the room.

When Vern returned, he took turns with Sam and August forcing warm fluids into Julie's mouth. The passing hours filled the men with apprehension. Were they doing enough or had they forgotten something?

As warmth entered Julie's body, she felt as though the blood were thawing in her veins. Pain roused her to consciousness. When she opened her eyes, Sam's face stared back at her.

“Hello,” Julie said nonchalantly.

Sam smiled broadly. “Hello, yourself. How do you feel?”

“Buried alive,” Julie said as she tried to sit up.

“You stay put, Jewels,” her father spoke authoritatively. “You nearly froze to death.”

“I remember,” Julie said as she fell back against the pillow.

“You gave us a bad scare, little sister,” August said, leaning over the foot of Julie's bed. “I think you aged me ten years, and I'm positive you did the same to Sam.”

“That's for sure,” Sam laughed.

Julie shook her head at the three men.

“How long did it take for you to find me?” she asked.

“That depends on how long you were with the dogs,” Sam answered.

“It couldn't have been much more than an hour. Maybe half again as much.”

“Well, let's see.” Vern figured in his head. “We started around nine. That would've made it ten or ten-thirty when you left the building. We didn't find out that you were missing until noon. After that we took turns looking for you. Sam and Kodiak found you just after two.”

“Kodiak?”

“That's right. When we weren't having any success finding you, we decided to get help from the dogs. Since you'd been working with Kodiak, we put him onto your scent, and he helped Sam locate you.”

“Is he all right?” Julie questioned weakly.

“Who? Sam?” Vern teased.

“No, no. Kodiak. He didn't get too cold, did he?”

“You stop worrying about that dog. He's doing fine,” Vern chided. “We need to know how you feel.”

“I hurt,” Julie answered honestly. “I suppose that's a good sign. I feel like I ought to be issuing a lot of thank you's.” She looked at the three men who watched her so intently and added, “I thank God for all of you.”

Vern's eyes grew misty. “Come on, August. Let's get some more rocks heated. Sam, you make sure she drinks more of this hot cider.”

“I will,” Sam promised as Vern and August disappeared out the door.

Julie looked at Sam. He hadn't shaved, and the shadow of stubble on his face only made him more handsome. “Thank you for saving me,” she whispered.

“You've already thanked me,” Sam stated as he helped her to drink the cider. “Several times.”

“I did? When?”

“When I found you. When you were lying here muttering in your sleep. In fact,” Sam said with a self-assured grin, “you said quite a few interesting things.”

Julie swallowed hard to steady her nerves. “I did? Well, I imagine the cold affected my mind.”

“Oh, I don't know about that,” Sam said in a thoughtful way that made Julie wonder what she'd said.

“Just who are you, anyway?” she questioned, causing Sam to burst out laughing.

“What a question! You know full well who I am. Your brother and I have known each other for seven years.”

“I know all that,” Julie said as she stared at the ceiling to avoid losing herself in Sam's eyes. “I want to know, well, I want to know more.”

Sam laughed. “All right. Where would you like me to begin?”

Julie's forehead furrowed slightly as she considered what she wanted to ask. “I suppose at the beginning,” she finally answered. “Where were you born?”

“Sacramento, California, in 1889—although we weren't there long enough for the ink to dry on the Bible entry. My father was bent on finding gold. He was always late to everything, including the gold rush.”

Julie laughed. “Unlike his son, who seems to make a habit of arriving right on time.”

“My father had big dreams. He was one of the reasons I came on up to Nome after my mother died,” Sam answered.

“Is your father dead as well?”

Sam nodded. “He got into a fight over a claim. The man took a knife out and killed him then and there. They strung the killer up not twenty feet from where my father lay dead and hanged him. My mother was never the same after that. She was left with three children and had no idea how to support them. The miners were good to her, however. They took up a collection and gave her three hundred dollars.”

“What happened after that?” Julie asked, fascinated with Sam's story.

“She moved us around. Sometimes she did laundry for other miners. Other times she'd cook and run a boardinghouse. When my sister married and moved off, I was thirteen and my younger sister was nine. Ma moved us to Seattle, where talk of the gold rush to Nome and the Klondike was all I ever heard tell about. It got in my blood, and I promised myself that I'd one day make the trip to Nome and find the gold that had eluded my father.”

“Sounds interesting,” Julie said, “but why did it take you so long before you came to Nome?”

“I couldn't leave my mother and sister, and they didn't want any part of it. My mother was getting old, so I went to work. I did a little bit of everything but finally stayed with shipyard work. My sister married at sixteen and offered to take my mother back East with her, but Ma wanted to stay close to where my father was buried. She made me promise to bury her in California, so I stayed on.”

“You never married?” Julie asked boldly.

“No,” Sam said with a smile. “I never found the right woman. My mother died not long before my twenty-eighth birthday, and right after I got her buried alongside my father, I boarded a ship for Nome and never looked back.”

“It must have been lonely for you,” Julie said thoughtfully. She knew how the loss of her own mother had left an unfillable hole in her heart.

“Yeah, I guess it was in some ways. Of course, I had the comfort of knowing she was saved. I'd see her again, and that made it a lot easier to deal with.”

Julie's eyes opened wide. “So you're a Christian?”

Sam grinned. “Yes, I am.”

“Tell me how you came to know God,” Julie said as she shifted her weight.

August and Vern came in with a tray full of rocks. “Sam, you take the rocks from the bed, while we put these hot ones in their place,” Vern said, using tongs to place hot rocks around Julie's covered feet.

August held the tray, while Vern positioned each rock. Sam put the cooled rocks in a pile on the floor, and when he reached beneath Julie to retrieve the rocks which August had placed underneath her, the girl began to laugh.

“I thought this mattress was a little lumpy. Now I see that it was just that I was sleeping on rocks.”

Sam bent over her and reached across to get the last of the stones. He gave Julie a wink and quickly handed the rocks to Vern.

“We'll warm up another batch, Sam. How are you doing, Jewels?” Vern asked as he put a hand to his daughter's forehead. “You feel much warmer. That's a good sign. Let's just hope you don't suffer from frostbite.”

“Please don't worry, Papa,” Julie said and pulled her arm out from the mattress to touch her father's hand. Feathers flew everywhere, causing Julie to sneeze. It was only then that she realized they'd stuffed her inside the goose down mattress. “What a wonderful idea! Who thought to put me here?” she asked.

“It was Sam's idea,” August replied. “Sam was determined to save your life, and he usually gets what he wants. They don't call him Lucky Sam for nothing.”

“Lucky Sam,” Julie echoed as she looked up and met Sam's eyes.