| Subject: The New World - Part #42 |
Author:
Wanda
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Date Posted: 08:29:08 06/26/03 Thu
PART #42
The next morning Catherine told Manobo she wanted to take a trip into Lake Charles, and asked him to please have the driver prepare the carriage. She wanted to leave by ten o’clock. Manobo told her he would take care of lining up the driver and the carriage for her.
Catherine gathered up the papers that Bow had brought to the main house the day before. She had already jotted down the names of the people that Manobo had mentioned. She was curious to see the reaction of Peter Dunkirk when she inquired about those individuals. She wondered why she had such a bad feeling about the man. She tried to assess the situation, and analyze her feelings. He had been kind to her; and he had made suggestions to her of things she might do to help pay off the debt, and get the plantation back on its’ feet. Then it struck her what was bothering her so much. Peter had a rather superior attitude about his person. Also, when he talked he twisted his mustache. That was something that Joshua had always done when he was nervous. Watching Peter Dunkirk twist his mustache reminded her so much of Joshua. She thought about the man’s eyes. They seemed shifty to her. It always made her nervous when someone could not look directly at her; but kept shifting their eyes to this place or that place when they were talking.
She laughed to herself when she thought of those things. She said aloud, “Catherine, get a grip. So, the man is not perfect. He has some annoying habits. Who doesn’t have some annoying habits? She decided she was going to keep her eyes open. She was not about to be led down a path again because she was so naïve.
The driver came to the door, and said he was ready whenever she wished to leave. Catherine said, “I will get my hat and a parasol; and will be with you in a moment.” It was another steamy day, and Catherine had chosen a pale blue dress of light cotton hoping it would be a bit cooler then some of her other dresses.
When Catherine reached Peter Dunkirk’s office, she found he was talking with a client. She was asked to wait for a while as he finished up his work. Eventually, the door to his office opened, and a couple walked out into the main room. She could see the woman had been crying, and the man was trying to comfort her. Catherine wondered about the woman, but said nothing.
Peter cleared his desk; then came out, and asked Catherine to come into his office. She carried the bag with the log book and papers with her. When she was offered a chair across from his desk; she placed the bag upon the desk, and took a seat. Peter looked at her; and asked, “Catherine, what can I do for you today?” Catherine opened the bag, and lifted out the log book and papers. She said, “Peter, I would like for you to look at the log book from the saw mill, and give me some information about the men whose names can be found on the pages. Obviously, they have worked for Joshua up to the cut off period of the last two months. Bow suggested I might want to contact them, and see if they would like to come to work for me.”
Peter went down the list of names; and said, “Catherine, if these men have not worked for two months, there’s a pretty good chance they would have moved on to work somewhere else.” Catherine responded by saying, “I do realize there is that possibility, but I also think it would not hurt to talk to them, and see if they would be willing to come back to work under new management.”
Peter twisted his mustache, cleared his throat; and said, “Catherine, I am going to tell you something you may not want to hear.” She said, “Say it anyway if you feel it is important.” He said, “Catherine, there are not many men who would be willing to work for a woman. Most men would consider that demeaning. You really need a man to manage the saw mill. Men who work in the timber and saw mills are not your silky shirted city men. These men are rough cut, and need a very firm hand. I cannot recommend you try to be the manager out there at that saw mill.”
Catherine looked at Peter and said, “Peter, believe it or not, I do understand what you are saying. It is the same in England. I know the silver business well, but the employees look up to my cousin, George, and to my father. They never look up to me. They see me as the daughter of my father, and a cousin to George, nothing more. As I see it, the next thing to consider is, ‘Where do we find a man who would be capable of managing the saw mill?” Peter asked, “Catherine, why doesn’t Bow do that?” She said, “Peter, Bow feels he must return to the sea. He has freight loaded, and ready to ship out. He does have obligations of his own to handle.”
Peter said, “I will have to give it some thought Catherine. Maybe I can give you a name if I have a few days to think about it.” Catherine said, “Peter, I have a few questions to ask you, if you don’t mind.” Peter smiled, twisted his mustache once again, and said, “Ask away.” Catherine asked, “What do you know about a man whose name is Jean Pierre Boudreau? Peter said, “My goodness Catherine, where did you meet up with Jean Pierre Boudreau?” Catherine said, “I haven’t met up with him; I have just heard about him. Also, I would like some information about a brother and sister whose names are Salvadore and Michelle Doucette. Who are these people?”
To be continued...
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