Mudcat Café message #211454 The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #20177   Message #211454
Posted By: Amos
13-Apr-00 - 09:14 PM
Thread Name: TAVERN STEAMBOAT- Albert Hansell Part 3
Subject: RE: TAVERN STEAMBOAT- Albert Hansell Part 3
Under a spreading willow five miles upstream from the Albert Hansell hidden in the afternoon dappling sunlight, a ragged wooden raft rose and fall in a small backwater where the Mississippi had eaten a cove into the banks, leaving giant thick willow roots exposed like twisted arms plunging into brown water. Jim was hunkered over a small fire, boiling a tin pot of dark sour-smelling tea.
"Y'know, you lucky dat shot came clean out, an' no bone broke.!", he said, smiling over at the resting form of Jeremy Fontaine De Neufchat Piedmont on the bank. "Now we got that fever broke, wound's setting up to heal okay. Just you drink this here brew, make sure evvything turn out right, jus' like I told ya!"

The small towhaired and freckled youth with the straw hat came into the clearing silently from a path leading down the bank; he carried a string with three large river catfish on it, and a huge grin.

They sat, after the meal, picking their teeth and swapping stories of life on the Mississippi. Jeremy felt his healing arm gingerly with the other hand.

"Boys, I been thinking. I think we need to do sumpn to help all those good people back down on the Hansell. They got no idea that I'm still around and they may still be at great risk. Capn Spaugh is a good man and a good skipper and don't deserve noway to lose his boat. But they's no telling whop is friend and who ain't in that lot."

The towhead said, "Shucks. That ain't too hard. Me'n Jim been lots o' places and learned pretty quick how to tell who's gonna hurt us and who ain't. You get a nose fer it, my Samantha used to tell me, ain't that so, Jim?"

Jim reckoned it was certainly so, and Jeremy began to get a subdued twinkle in his prematurely wise eyes.

"Tell you what, boys! Mebbe we could do sumpn to help those folks! I got a tactical proposition fer you, if'n yore innerested!"

And the three young men but their heads together, smoking two pipes between the three of them, til long after the afternoon sun drifted toward the far riverbank.