Hearts Aglow (25 page)
With Jake close on his heels carrying a double-bitted ax, Rob led the way to the trees they would consider for cutting. The introductions had gone all around to the boys, except for the ones clearing brush near the cutting.
“It’s the bull, look sharp!” one man called out to the others.
Jake looked at Rob. “The bull?”
Rob looked back and nodded. “The ‘bull of the woods.’ That’s what they sometimes call the woods boss. I’m the boss today, since Arjan stayed home. ’Course, I’m often the boss for the likes of these fellas, even when he’s here.”
Jake nodded and Rob pointed the way with his measuring stick. “I like the looks of that big one over there. Let’s get to it, boys.”
Heading to a tall longleaf pine, Rob gave a look skyward and Jake did likewise. “I’m checkin’ to see what the crown is like and what kind of toppin’ we might have to be doin’. See, it’s my job to figure out exactly where to make the undercut and such so that we can drop that tree down within inches of mark.”
“Sounds hard.”
“It takes practice,” Rob admitted.
“Yeah, but he’s the best there is . . . ’ceptin’ for G.W.,” another man announced.
“Jake, this is Warren Crandel. He’s a sawyer. Practically can operate a two-man crosscut by himself.”
Warren extended his hand. “You must be the new man.”
“Name’s Jake,” he replied.
“Good to have you,” Warren replied. “Days are long, usually ten to twelve hours. Iffen you git home afore dark, it’s just ’cause you cheated the bull out of hours.”
Jake grinned. “Since I’m temporarily living with ‘the bull,’ I won’t have much of a chance to cheat him out of anything.”
Rob shook his head. “We’re gonna drop this one, Warren. Get Wolcott to top it off for me while I figure out the wedge cut.”
“Will do, Bull.”
Rob waited until the men were helping Ashton Wolcott with his gear before squatting down at the base of the tree to evaluate. Jake got down beside him, only to pop back up when Rob moved to the side of the tree and repeated the action. He gazed upward again, trying to tell the list of the trunk. This particular tree was just about as straight as a chopper could want.
Next he stood and walked several paces out from the tree. He glanced around gauging the other trees in the area and the lay of the land.
“We try to spare the seedlings and young trees,” he explained. “Unlike some, we want to keep growin’ this forest, so we are mighty particular about which trees we cut.”
“But most aren’t?”
Rob shook his head. “Most have what we call the ‘cut-out-andget-out’ way of thinkin’. They are only tryin’ to harvest the most wood in the fastest way possible; then they move on to another location, leaving a field of stumps behind. We clear the stumps – that’s the reason I brought out the kerosene from the house. Once a tree is felled, we drill a hole as deep as possible and pour kerosene down it to kill the roots. After a while the thing just rots and we can pull out the stumps, easy-like.”
He walked around the tree several times, then marked the trunk and walked out through several tall pines to pound a stake in the ground.
“What are you doing now?” Jake asked.
Rob grinned up at him. “I’m markin’ where I want the tree to fall. The boys sometimes wager as to whether they can drive that stake into the ground. Mostly they do it, but sometimes they miss.”
“Looks like an awful narrow place to put it down. You got trees all around it.”
Rob straightened and handed him the mallet. “If they do it right, it won’t be a problem at all. Once Wolcott gets the upper section of the tree cut off, you’ll get to see firsthand how it works. I’m gonna let Warren show you how things are done.”
Jake nodded. “Sounds good to me.” He pulled on well-worn leather gloves and squared his shoulders. “I’m ready.”
By the time the afternoon light was starting to fade, some ten longleafs had been cut and prepared. In all but one instance, the choppers were able to pound the stake into the ground, so Rob rewarded them with a short day.
“I feel like celebratin’, boys. It’s Friday and we’re well ahead of schedule. I’m callin’ it a week. Once we finish loading out the logs, you can head into town. We won’t work tomorrow.”
A rousing cheer went up from the men, who quickly stepped up the process of skidding the logs to the train car. In another two hours they were done, anxious to clean up and get to town.
Rob himself was spruced up and standing at the door of the parsonage a short time later. He couldn’t help but be unnerved by the beauty of the young lady who greeted him.
“Evenin’, Miss Shattuck. I was wonderin’ if you cared to take a walk with me, but I see it’s gettin’ pretty dark.” Rob fought to keep his voice steady.
“I have a better idea,” she said. “Why don’t you come inside and have some cake and coffee. I just poured Father a cup and was getting ready to cut the cake.”
He followed her into the house. “Thank you. Thank you, kindly. I reckon that would just about hit the spot.”
“Father, look who’s come to call,” she said, leading Rob into the kitchen. The parsonage was much too small for a separate dining room, but Mara had made a lovely setting in the kitchen. The small table and chairs could manage up to four people and perfectly suited their needs.
“Welcome, Rob. Good to see you. What brings you around?”
To their surprise, Rob didn’t reply as they expected. “I had a question about finding God’s will.”
Mara gave her father a brief glance before heading to the counter. “I’ll get your coffee.”
“Have a seat, Rob,” the pastor directed. “I’ll do what I can to help you in this matter.”
Rob did as he was told but lost little time in expressing his thoughts. “I’ve been thinkin’ a lot on it, and figure God is after me to do somethin’. I’m just not exactly sure what that is. I think I have an idea, but I want to know without any doubt that it’s God’s will.”
Pastor Shattuck nodded. “I can appreciate that. It’s only a fool who doesn’t seek the Lord on such matters.”
Mara came to the table with the steaming mug. “Would you care for sugar and cream?”
Rob shook his head. “I drink it black. The stronger the better.”
She smiled. “I think you’ll find this to your liking, then.” She walked back to the cupboard and took down some small plates.
Rob turned back to the pastor. “My uncle told me – well, Ma and Deborah told me the same thing – that a fella ought to pray and read up on the Bible. I’ve been doing that quite a bit, and I’m still not sure.”
“Some things take time, but you can rest assured that the Lord has thoughts on what He wants for you.” He took hold of his Bible and opened it. “Here in Jeremiah, chapter twenty-nine, verse eleven, it says, ‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.’ ” Pastor Shattuck looked up. “Do you understand that passage?”
“I reckon so,” Rob said. “Seems to me it means that God wants to make us hopeful about our days. He’s tellin’ us that He doesn’t want evil for us – and that He has an expected way for things to turn out.”
Pastor nodded as Mara put down plates of cake in front of them. “This is your mother’s lemon cornmeal cake recipe,” she told Rob.
“Thank you. It’s one of my favorites.”
She went back for forks and napkins, then joined them at the table. “Would you mind if I share this conversation?”
Rob shook his head and got to his feet to help her with the chair. “Not at all.”
“If he doesn’t mind, I surely don’t,” her father replied.
Mara situated herself and smiled. “One of my favorite verses is in the first chapter of James. ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.’ He goes on to caution that we should ask in faith, believing that God will answer and that we not be wavering.”
Rob considered the words. “I’ve been askin’, that’s for sure.”
“And what is God telling you?” Pastor Shattuck asked.
“Well, that’s the thing,” Rob began. “I felt like He wanted me to learn to read better – maybe learn more than I already knew. So my sister has been helpin’ me with such things. I’ve mostly been readin’ on the Bible, and because of that, I feel sort of like maybe God wants me to do somethin’ more than loggin’.”
“Such as?”
Mara remained silent, but Rob could sense a quiet intensity in the way she listened. He shrugged. “Well, that’s the problem. I’m not entirely sure. Sometimes I think maybe He wants me to become a preacher like you.”
Mara gave a sharp intake of breath, but when Rob turned she looked perfectly at ease. She smiled and asked, “More coffee?”
Rob shook his head and rubbed his jaw. “I don’t know how a fella tells what’s God sayin’ somethin’ to his heart and what’s just his own self wantin’ such a thing.”
“And have you long thought of becoming a pastor?” the older man questioned.
“No. Not a’tall. I figured to be loggin’ all my life. My pa figured both of us boys would take over for him and Uncle Arjan. Now I don’t feel at all certain about that. Ma says she’d be right proud to have a preacher in the family and that I should do what God’s callin’ me to do. I just want to be sure it’s God doin’ the callin’.”
“And why would Satan benefit by having you study the Word of God and teach it to others? Seems to me the devil would rather put people away from such notions.”
“Well, that’s what I figured, too,” Rob said. He took a long drink of the coffee.
“I find that fasting and prayer often help me to resolve matters,” Mara said. “I will happily fast and pray for you, Mr. Vandermark.”
He looked at her in disbelief. “You would? But why?”
She smiled. “Because you want an answer, and I care about you getting that answer.”
“Mara’s good about that,” Pastor Shattuck said, patting her arm. “She’s prayed and fasted many a time for me. She’s a good woman.”
Rob couldn’t deny that – not that he wanted to. They finished their cake and coffee, and by the time Rob was headed to the door, Pastor Shattuck excused himself to head over to the church and followed Rob outside.
“Trust the Lord, Son. He will guide your steps,” the pastor told him. “Mara, I’ll be home in an hour.”
Mara stood in the doorway to bid Rob good evening. The soft glow of lantern light cast elusive shadows around them, but Rob felt a nearly uncontainable urge to kiss her. He held back, though, and instead simply studied her for a moment. He had never met another woman like her. She made him feel . . . well, whole.
“I appreciate you bein’ willin’ to fast and pray for me. It’s a kind and generous offer. I still don’t understand why you would take on such a task.”
Mara smiled and backed up to take hold of the door. “It’s what we are to do for one another, Mr. Vandermark. And I have a vested interest. When God gets through showing you what all you need to do for Him, then I will benefit, as well.”
“How’s that?”
She began to close the door, but murmured, “Because then He will see us become man and wife.”
A
UGUST 1886
On Sunday, the first of August, Deborah waited outside the church to speak with Christopher. She’d not seen much of him in the past few days, and though she had been free to assist him in his rounds, he had refused or simply not been available to explain.
“Are you avoiding me?” she asked as he started to head toward his house.
He looked at her, his expression rather pinched. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been dealing with several matters.” He paused and shook his head. “Look, I can’t explain just now, but I won’t be able to use your help in the next few weeks.”
“But why?” She crossed the short distance. “Have I done something wrong?”
He shook his head. “No. Certainly not.” He glanced up and Deborah could tell someone was approaching. “I can’t talk about it right now.” With that he departed just as Jael came up to join her.
“What was that all about?” her friend asked.
“I honestly don’t know.” Deborah watched Christopher disappear from view. “But hopefully I’ll soon find out.”
She was still pondering Christopher’s words the following Saturday. Deciding that enough was enough, Deborah told her mother she was going to take Jake into town to meet Mr. Perkins and also so that she could speak with Dr. Clayton about making rounds next week.
“Jake went to get the carriage ready,” she told her mother in the summer kitchen. Sissy bent over a big mixing bowl and threw her a smile.
“Goin’ a-courtin’?”
“Not exactly,” Deborah replied. “I do plan to see Dr. Clayton, but it may not be all that pleasant.”
“Well, if you’re going to see Dr. Clayton, be sure to take him these corn cakes. Remind him they’re awfully good with molasses. That should sweeten the matter.”
Deborah took the cloth-wrapped bundle from her mother. “I doubt I’ll have to remind him.” She made her way to the barnyard and found that Jake was still harnessing the horses. The growing heat made Deborah irritable, and that, coupled with Christopher’s strange actions and Jake’s increasing attentions, made her want to run and hide in the forest.
