With only one thing now on his mind, Carl took to asking Thomas over and over, “When will the chief arrive?” His patience had worn thin now that it had been so many weeks of this time warp.
“I would like to meet this guy. I hear he can do wonderful things, magic things, like help us get back to the lives we came from.” He hesitated to say the time they came from. Thomas would never understand that.
“There’s no telling when he’ll be coming this way, although it may well be any time now, since it’s been a while since the time he last came around. Seems to me he usually comes by soon after a battle. This farm is on his way to his own place, so it’s certain he will stop here on his way. He always does.” As he spoke, Thomas took the large shovel that leaned on the barn wall and started to clean out the horses’ stall.
Carl worked along with him, stacking hay bundles at the side of the stall to be laid down as clean bedding. The big, tall black beauty let out a loud neigh as she watched the men get her place ready for the day. The cow looked on as she chewed her cud. Other animals in the barn had been fed and awaited the same barn-keeping chore for their stalls.
The thick walls of the barn, with the doors closed, kept it fairly warm inside, even to the point where Carl had a few beads of sweat on his brow as he labored with the heavy bales of hay. With only two more stalls to take care of, the morning chores were almost finished. Carl could hardly wait to get back inside the cabin and take the heavy coat and boots off. Oh, what he wouldn’t do for a nice hot shower. But that could only be a dream. No showers around here. He picked up the next bale of hay. He glanced over at Thomas, who had the build of a workhorse, and marveled at his stamina and strength. All of his trips to the health club for his body building efforts, and still nothing ever made him look like this guy.
The morning moved along at a rapid speed as the two men completed their work in the barn to happily return to the cabin just in time for lunch, which Helen had ready and waiting for them. A simple bowl of her vegetable soup along with the flatbread she’d baked that morning.
Little Annie sat at the table playing with her spoon, only to be scolded by her mother to stop it and eat her soup before it got cold. “You have to keep your little belly warm, you know,” she told her with a light touch of encouragement on her arm resting on the table next to her bowl. “I have some sugar candy for you when you finish your lunch.”
That brought a quick turn of events with the little girl. She picked up her spoon and began to shovel the soup into her mouth like some kind of race began. Now that it had cooled to a point for her to get it down faster, it took her no time at all to scrape the bottom of that bowl clean.
The men took turns over a washbasin on the counter, cleaning off the remnants of the barn from their hands. Thomas went first, then took the towel from the rack over the counter, which hung on a ring he’d made for that purpose, and dried his hands while Carl dipped his dirty paws into the cold water, now clouded with the dirt from others before him. Once the two of them finished cleaning up, they went to the table to join the rest of the family in the simple feast that filled the cabin with its wonderful aroma. Helen scooped out the soup into their bowls from the black iron pot sitting on the stove, and then brought it to them at the table. Carl reached for the flatbread and broke a large piece off, ready to dip it into the soup. Beth sat across from him, watching him dig into the food like he hadn’t eaten in days.
Suddenly the door opened and two soldiers walked in, shook off their boots, and smiled. Helen rose quickly to greet them, “Well, look who’s here. Come in and have some hot soup with us,” she told them as they opened their coats and took off their hats. “Tell us what’s new out there,” she asked. “We have had little news lately. Oh…and by the way, I want you to meet our guests.”
Introductions made they sat at the table to join in the meal and discuss the news of the week…the past couple of weeks.
Nathan, a young soldier maybe seventeen or less, spoke up. “We beat the pants off those Brits up there at the fort. Some of the others followed behind them as they retreated up north, but we wanted to get back home for awhile. I haven’t seen my parents in over six months.”
The other soldier, an older man by the name of Samuel, said very little while he devoured the soup set before him. He only lowered his spoon for a few seconds to say something about the chief, which caught the attention of both Carl and Beth. “Yeah, he’s getting things wrapped up at the fort and—”
“Hold it,” Carl spoke up. “Does this mean he’s coming this way to go home? I understand he always stops by here on his way.”
“I don’t know; he didn’t say. We only saw him for a few minutes on our way out. He arrived as we were leaving.”
Thomas joined in. “I expect he will be by soon, if he’s at the fort now. That should mean he’s on his way home, and yes, as I told you before, he does stop here.”
An empty bowl sat in front of Thomas, but a full cup of rum took the place of the spoon he held in his hand. With a few healthy swallows, it went down his throat to join the soup he had already eaten. He looked over at the fire in the fireplace, knowing all too well it had become time to place another log of wood on the burning embers. He set the cup down and rose from his chair. Rubbing his stomach, he went to the fireplace and placed another large piece of wood on the burning logs.
Carl sat with the soldiers to ask about the chief. “So you say you didn’t have time to talk to him. Do you have any idea of him coming this way and when?”
“Can’t say when; he had only arrived at the fort when we were heading out. Who knows how long he’ll be there before he comes this way.” The man shrugged his shoulders.
“But, he will come this way?”
“Oh, yes, he will. He always does.” The soldier put a large piece of bread in his mouth and turned away from Carl to nod at Helen, to give her his approval.
The men were hungry and tired. The long journey had taken its toll on them. Helen offered more soup and a place to rest by the warmth of the fireplace. Carl dropped the subject of the chief for now and let the two warriors to recover so they could be on their way before dark.
With the warmth of the fire, the cabin hosted a nice place for the tired soldiers to rest for a time. They both gathered by the fireplace on the soft fur rug to enjoy the heat that escaped from the burning flames. Crossing their legs, they huddled next to each other and held their hands out to meet the warmth. Samuel, the older of the two, leaned back until he lay flat on the floor. He closed his eyes and yawned, while Nathan looked on with a half smile. It would not be long before they would be on their way again. The rest, well needed, was welcomed by both of them.