| Subject: The New World - Part #38 |
Author:
Wanda
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Date Posted: 15:08:30 06/24/03 Tue
PART #38
Bow said to Catherine, “You do realize if you decide to stay this is going to involve much hard work and restructuring of your life. Are you prepared to do that?” Catherine answered, “Bow, without your help I would not consider doing this. But I feel I can count on you to help me do what needs to be done. Do you have any idea how long you will be out to sea?” Bow responded by saying, “I will probably be gone a period of approximately two months.”
Catherine was very quiet; and Bow noticed her furrowed brow. He said, “Catherine, you seem upset.” She looked up at him, and said, “Bow, what will I do if problems develop when you are gone?” He said, “You will handle them. If you do not know what to do, then ride into town; and talk to Peter Dunkirk. I am sure he will be more then happy to give you some advice as to what to do. Manobo is very knowledgeable about things around the main house. He will keep the other servants in tow, so you won't have to be concerned about that. You work things out with him, and let him take care of the servants. Catherine, you are going to have to convince yourself and the servants you are the mistress of the house. Don’t let them walk all over you. You can be fair, and you can be gracious, but you must also be firm. If they find they can walk all over you, they will be more then happy to do so.”
Bow told Catherine he was concerned about the lumber business, and wanted to go look things over. He did not feel he could advise on that part of the plantation business until he had the opportunity to look around, talk to the men, and see what was taking place.
Bow went down to the stables, and saddled a horse to ride out to timber area of the plantation. He had no idea what would be necessary to improve the income from the lumber business. Was it a matter of putting out more money to hire men and improve equipment? He would have to check things out pretty well for Catherine’s sake. He wondered who was in charge. Joshua was always so distant when he tried to talk to him about the business of the plantation and saw mill that there was much he did not know.
It had been a long time since Bow had ridden across the meadows of the plantation. It felt good to cover some of the ground he had ridden when he was a child. He and his mother had stayed at the plantation many times when his father was at sea. His mother had never taken the name of her notorious husband Jean Lafitte. When his parents had opportunity to get together, Bow and his mother would travel to New Orleans for his father had living quarters in the city. They would spend time together until it was time for Bow’s father to put out to sea once again. Bow’s mother was a gentle and refined French woman with good breeding. As a child, Bow often wondered how his parents had met and married. Though they did not see each other often, they loved each other dearly. His mother never discussed her husband’s work or lifestyle. She lived an entirely different life from his, yet managed to be part of his life when they could make the arrangements to be together.
Bow knew his father had a rather bad name with many people, but he remembered his father as a man who loved his wife and son. Now that he was an adult, he felt differently about his father then he did as a child. Bow was ridiculed by some people as he was growing up. They called him the son of a pirate; and some of the boys would pick up pebbles and throw at him. They teased him about having a blue beard, which Bow could not understand until he was older.
Reaching the timber area, Bow could see that the saw mill was in a rundown condition. None of the men were anywhere to be seen. He wondered what had happened to the men. The equipment was rusting, and it appeared that it had been a long time since the saw mill had been functioning. He walked up to the building that served as the office. As he got closer to the door of entrance, he saw that the lock had been broken.
Bow pushed open the door, and walked inside. He could see the safe had been broken into, and papers were scattered all over the floor. What were people trying to find? Was it money? Had Joshua not paid his men, and they had made a decision to steal what they felt was rightfully theirs’? How long had it been since the men had actually worked out here?
To be continued...
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