Chapter 4

I got the boat underway and soon was on the lee side of the island where it was somewhat calmer. After about 20 minutes, my cabin came into sight. I pulled up and helped Jennifer out of the boat and took her up to my cabin. When we got inside, I found a quilt and moved a chair in front of the fire. Wrapped in the quilt, Jennifer could sit in the chair and warm up.

“I’m going to go and get the rest of the stuff out of my boat and secure it since there’s another storm brewing up,” I told her. “When I get back I’ll replace that sling with a better one and make you something to eat.”

I told Maggie to stay with Jennifer and headed back down to the boat. It was a good thing we got back when we did as the wind had picked up considerably in the last few minutes. I got the duffle bag and plastic container and put them up on the beach out of the way of the waves. Then I pulled the boat up as far as I could and ran the chain from the boat up to the huge stump that I used to secure the boat in times of a storm. Picking up the duffle bag and container, I headed back to the cabin.

I was pleased to see that Jennifer had stopped shivering. ‘At least she’s getting warm’ I thought. “Okay, let’s see what we can do with that arm of yours,” I said as I got my first aid stuff. When I moved to the island, knowing I might accidentally hurt myself and being alone, I knew I’d have to ‘doctor’ myself. I’d talked to the ambulance guys on the main island about this then, acting on their recommendations, I’d purchased an industrial sized first aid kit and a couple of padded aluminum splints – one for an arm and one for a leg. Taking the arm splint, some tensor bandages and a proper sling, I headed over to Jennifer.

“I’m not a doc, but I can put your arm in a splint. Can you stand up so I can take the first sling off?” I asked her. Jennifer stood up and I unwrapped the quilt. I had her sit on a stool while I undid the makeshift sling. “Okay, hold your arm so I can take this rag off and look at things.” Jennifer did as asked and I looked at her arm. It didn’t look like a complete break as the arm was still straight. I figured it might be a ‘green stick’ fracture but it would still be very sore. “I’m going to put this splint on your arm to help protect it. It may be a bit painful but once it’s on and I’ve got it back in a sling, things should feel better. I’m going to pull your sweater up so I can take it off to put the splint on. Sorry about this but it’s your modesty or the pain.” Jennifer grinned and clenched her teeth as I slid the sweater up over her head. I held her injured arm while I helped her take the other arm out then between us, we got the sweater completely off.

This was the first time I’d had a chance to get a good look at her. Jennifer looked to be 14 or 15 and had started to develop quite nicely. I did my best to not stare as I put the splint on and put the arm in the new sling but I’m afraid I wasn’t completely successful. Jennifer was a very attractive young lady. “Okay, that’s the best I can do for you right now. I’m going to get one of my sweaters for you rather than put your wet one back on.” I got a heavy sweater that had been made by one of the local women and pulled it over her, putting only her uninjured arm in a sleeve. The patterns knitted into the sweater are based on ancient Haida symbols and Jennifer asked about it so I told her a bit about where we were and what the various symbol meant.

I asked Jennifer, “Are you allergic to any foods?” Her reply was ‘No’ so I made a big pot of oatmeal and some hot chocolate. I pulled a small table over to the fire and put the oatmeal and chocolate on it for her. “Sorry but the milk is skimmed as I only get groceries delivered periodically. If I can’t freeze it or it isn’t dried or in cans, it spoils pretty quickly.”

“Where are we?” Jennifer asked as she ate. I got a map of the area and showed her then got a map that showed the whole west coast of Canada and the lower part of Alaska and showed her where we were in relation to the mainland of North America. As I was doing this, I could hear the wind picking up and knew I needed to close things up outside.

“Jennifer, there’s another storm going to hit us, probably tonight. The wind is really blowing and I need to make sure everything is secure outside. I’m going to go out for a bit but Maggie will keep you company.” Maggie wagged her tail at the sound of her name.

I went out and made sure everything was okay. It didn’t take long as most things were still secured from the previous storm. I found a couple of tarps that needed snugging up and there were the shutters to close over the windows. The generator was running and the fuel tank was full so we should be okay for a few days.

As I approached the door I could hear Jennifer talking and realized she was talking to Maggie. Maggie is a really good listener, never complaining if you tell her the same story again and again and never arguing with you. When I entered the cabin I saw Jennifer had finished her food and had knelt down to pet Maggie. Maggie was in seventh heaven – another human to fuss over her.

“I see you and Maggie have become friends.” I said with a smile. Jennifer grinned and nodded. “Did you get enough to eat?” I asked her.

“Could I have some more oatmeal?” she asked. “We only had a couple of sandwiches yesterday.”

“You bet,” I said. “I made a big pot as I figured you’d be hungry. Now that things are closed up outside, I’m going to have a bowl of oatmeal too.” I took her bowl and glass, refilled them then set them on the table. I helped Jennifer stand and get seated on the chair again then got a bowl of oatmeal for myself and poured a cup of coffee from the thermal carafe. It wasn’t as hot as I’d have liked but it was okay. I watched Jennifer as she finished off the second bowl of oatmeal. “Feeling better?” I asked her.

“Well, I don’t feel hungry but I’m still pretty shook up.”

I wasn’t surprised at that statement in view of what she’d gone through. “I understand. Let me explain what I can do for you but first I need to let the folks on the main island know that I’ve got you here and that you’re basically okay. I’ll also let them know that the boat is wrecked at the north end of the island and that your folks got washed overboard before the wreck occurred. Doing that will calm a whole bunch of folks down quite a bit. I’ll get on the radio over there (pointing) and as soon as I can raise someone, I’ll get the word out.