Chapter 4 - Regroup and Relax

The first thing Grant did when they finally made it to the living area was to check the icebox. He was surprised at the amount of ice that was still there, at the rate it was melting there would be enough for that day. Instead of taking a shower the two of them walked down to the lake with soap and towel, dove in, lathered up and then ducked to rinse off. They had a bath and a refreshing swim at the same time.

After a leisurely breakfast they took down the canoe and put it in the water. Like most people on vacation, they just explored along the edge of the lake going up the lake towards the stream that fed into it. From time to time Jannie would put the viewing box over the side and look in. The box was just that, an 18" long box about 12" square with a piece of glass in one end. When the glass end was placed into the water and it allowed the person viewing to see into the depths of the water. As it was still midmorning there was lots of light shining into the water for them to see. They saw lots of fish, rocks, snags and other things.

Jannie was looking around at one point and got excited. "Grant, there's a boat down there!"

"Probably some old boat that got away during the spring runoff. How many holes can you see in the hull?"

"That's just it. I can't see any holes but I can see the motor very plain. It looks like one of the big Mercury's, a 100 or 125 hp!"

Taking the box and looking Grant could see it also. The boat was 16 to 18 feet long with a big motor on the rear. It was set over to the side as if there had been two motors mounted and it had lost one. The surprise to them was that the water was only about 20 to 25 feet deep in the place it was sunk. It should be easy to dive down and put a line on for salvage. The problem was they didn't have a line to attach to it! What they did was to sinking a hook into the side of it and leaving the float as the marker. It was small enough that no one should see it accidently yet they should be able to find it again. They both took sightings from different things on shore before heading back.

After lunch they drove to the store that the Smithson's had told them about and talked with the man running it. He looked old enough to have been one of the original settlers for this area! He not only had eating supplies but most things that a person would use around water including some swim fins and masks. Grant bought one of each before asking him if anyone had lost a boat around there. When the boat had been described the man said it might belong to one of the residents that lived nearby. Grant told him where they were staying and that he would show it to the owner if he wanted. He also bought about 50 feet of rope.

They played and had fun the rest of the day but for some reason Jannie kept looking down at her left hand. It was enough to make one think she had an engagement ring on it or something! Grant would catch her at it and smile. When she saw that she would giggle and kiss him.

That evening they didn't make love, they played. They laughed, giggles, rough housed and played. Every time that Grant would get close to a climax he would stop or slow way down. After Jannie got her cookies for the third time he let go and joined her. Snuggling in together the two of them went to sleep.

The Smithsons had a little 5 hp kicker motor locked up in the cabin that fit on the side of the canoe. While plenty large enough to move the canoe along at a nice pace Grant was unsure if it could move the canoe AND the sunken boat. After attaching the motor Grant pulled on it until he got it running and let it run for a while. It finally smoothed out and was running the way it should when he shut it off and refilled the little tank.

On the way back to the site they kept checking the bottom to make sure there was nothing that would get in the way or cause additional damage to the boat. Several times they had to look around for a different way to go so the boat wouldn't go deeper in the water and there was a clear passage for them to move it. Not knowing how long it would take them to tow the boat back nor how long the motor would run on the small tank of gas they had paddled over. Finding their marker took not time at all. When they got close to their reference points Jannie started to cast about for the bobber and picked it out right away. Feathering the paddle Grant moved them closer until they were over the boat. As the lighter of the two Jannie was going to attach the rope while Grant counter-balanced. After she went into the water and while she was putting on the mask he made a loop in the end of the rope and tied three half hitches. They were quick and easy to both tie and untie.

Watching her through the view box Grant saw her attach the rope to the bow of the boat and pull it as tight as she could. On the first dive they now had a line on the boat. In two more dives she had found the release pin and tilted the motor so it wouldn't be digging in the bottom as they moved the boat.

For her to get back into the boat Grant simply formed a loop with the excess rope and wrapped the ends around his hand. Sticking the loop into the water she stepped into it and stood up, scrambling into the boat as he again counter-balanced for her.

Starting the kicker only took a couple of pulls as it had warmed up before and had fresh gasoline in it. Using the paddles they got the canoe turned around and heading in the right direction. Grant then took up the slack and pulled the boat a couple of feet up from the bottom. While it was heavy due to the water displacement it was not as heavy as it would have been on the surface. Bracing himself he put the kicker into forward and advanced the throttle. Watching through the view box Jannie let he know when they started to move. She kept watching the bottom and directing him away from problem areas as they slowly returned to the Smithson dock.

They pulled the boat within 30 feet of the end of the dock and then tied the rope to a support, under water. Pulling the canoe up on the shore they were both tired but happy. They cooled off and worked the strain out of their muscles by swimming around for a bit before getting out of the water and returning to the cabin.

That afternoon while lazing around the water's edge they were interrupted. Grant was leaning back against his tree while Jannie had her head in his lap. They were talking, relaxing and enjoying each others company when the stillness was broken by the blowing of a car horn. Walking back towards the cabin they saw a pickup truck nearly as battered and beat up as Jim Grant's. Seeing them approaching the driver got out of the vehicle.

He was as tall as Grant, maybe even an inch or two taller and would be pushing it to weigh 120 lbs! He had more angles on him than a trigonometry problem, but his thin angular face had a large smile.

"Hello there. Hope you didn't mind the horn, it's lake courtesy. We don't always wear a lot of clothes up here and the horn lets us know to put some on. It's polite to stay with your vehicle until you see people that are dressed," he laughed.

"Ralph at the store says you might have found my boat? I lost it last spring during the runoff." he continued.

"Well sir, we found a boat. It only has one motor on it now, looked like it was a big Merc."

"If it's mine it's a Merc 125, I had two of'em on there," he said pulling a piece of paper from his shirt pocket. "Here's my registration with the numbers that should be on the bow of the boat. Do they match?"

Looking over the boat registration Grant saw that it was the same boat.

Sticking his hand out he said, "Looks like we found your boat for you. My name's Grant Avery, this is my fiancee, Jannie Baker."

"Sorry, I'm being impolite. I'm a Grant also, Grant Sherman. My folks were Civil War buffs."

Walking towards the lake they chatted until they got there.

"I have a posted reward of $200. for information on my boat. Is that enough? If it's not I can increase it if I can get my boat back in reasonable shape."

Shaking his head Grant told him, "Mr. Sherman, I have thirty-five dollars tied up in your boat. That's all I want. I'm not trying to make money off your misfortune."

"You're not like many young men I know but if you're friends of the Smithsons I should've expected it. They're some of the most neighborly outsiders I ever met." Pulling a wad of twenties from the bib pocket of his overalls he peeled off two. "I don't have any change so I guess you'll have to make a profit off it after all," he said with a grin, passing the money to Grant. "When can you show me where my boat's sunk?"

Stepping off the end of the dock Grant felt around until he found the rope and then the end. Handing the end to Mr. Sherman he told, "Pull hard, it's a slip knot but it's wet. Your boat's at the end of that line!"

After a couple of hard yanks Sherman slowly pulled the rest of the slack out of the rope.

"That rope is 50 feet long, subtract a couple of feet for the knot and you see how far out she is," Grant told him.

Tying the rope off to the pier Sherman shucked his clothes to the bathing suit he was wearing and followed the rope to his boat. After diving back down a couple of times he came out of the water shaking his head.

"I wouldn't have believed it. The windshield's busted and the seats are probably ruined from all the water but the hull looks intact and the forward hatch is still shut. Would it bother you if I came back tomorrow afternoon with my trailer and hauled it out?"

"No sir, not in the least. We'll see you then," Grant replied after seeing a negative shake from Jannie.

The next afternoon Sherman was back and again blew his horn. When they joined him they pointed out a way to drive to the lake shore. While there were lots of trees there was still enough room for them to maneuver his truck down to the water line. The person in the cab of the truck looked like a younger version of Grant Sherman. He looked to be about fourteen and was tall already, angular and as thin as a rail like his Dad. They did differ however as the younger version had a club foot. It was evident when he sprang from the truck to direct his father to the water's edge.

Grant whispered to Jannie who ran back to the cabin and then he joined Sherman. Tying the rope on the boat to the winch they began to slowly crank up the slack. The lake bottom here was sandy and firm so there should be no additional damage to the hull of the boat. When the boat got close they removed the rope and ran out the winch cable. Sherman also pulled the two bailing plugs from the stern so the water would run out as they drew the boat out of the water. Once they got the bow of the boat onto the rollers of the trailer the rest was easy.

As Buddy Sherman was tying down the boat Grant pulled his father away.

"How well do you know the Smithsons?"

"Well enough that every time one of'em is up my family and I visit and he and his visit with me, why?" Sherman replied.

"Do you know them well enough to see how much better they both move around? Kelly's shoulder giving him no more problems now and Bill's knees working like they should? I healed them, I'm a Sioux Shaman. Would you mind if I healed Buddy's foot?"

"Don't you think I want Buddy's foot to be straight and whole? The doctors say there's nothing they can do to correct the problem."

"That's what they said about Kelly's shoulder and Bill's knees. They did what they could to repair the damage and caused nearly as much as they helped. I healed them, could I try with Buddy?"

"And what's it going to cost me?" he asked. It was plain that he was expecting it to be a small fortune.

"Two things. First, your silence. You don't tell anyone, not even your wife."

"Ok, I can live with that and the second?"

"Look at my lovely lady. Jannie is just as lovely on the INSIDE as she is beautiful on the outside but Mr. Sherman she can't cook for sour apples. How about Sunday dinner for the two of us?"

Shaking his head with a snort he asked, "That's all?"

"Just like with your boat, I'm not trying to make money off your misfortune. I'm paid big bucks to heal people who can afford it. Like you said about the Smithsons, I'm trying to be neighborly."

Sherman couldn't speak, tears rolled down his cheeks as he gripped Grant's hand, HARD.

"You go keep my lady company while I talk with Buddy," he told the very moved father leading him over to Jannie. Taking the book she had retrieved for him he joined Buddy at the end of the truck.

"Buddy, I just talked with your Dad. He said with your permission I could look at your foot. Sometimes I can help people with things like that and I'd like to see if I can help you if you'll let me."

"Ain't nothing you can do but you can look I guess. You won't hurt me poking and gouging around on it?"

"No, that I can promise. I won't hurt you."

Leading him to the truck he had the boy sit inside and hang his foot outside. Placing his hand behind his head and a finger on his forehead Grant started to concentrate. After a bit he had to grab Buddy and gently lay him down.

Opening the anatomy book that Jannie had brought him to the drawings of the foot he looked it over before grasping the toes and the lower leg. Closing his eyes he pictured the foot the way it should be, not as it was. Slowly the foot elongated as the bones inside shifted around to where they were supposed to be. Stopping long enough to measure the left foot against the right he started back until the right foot was the same size, same shape and correctly structured. Gently moving the foot and leg inside the truck he closed the door and slowly stood up.