A houseboat. Finegan Fine

some miles between us. I’ll give you a good

breakfast in the morning if you’ll help me get

upstream tonight.

The traveler says,

Deal. I owe you that.

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42

The houseboat is moored at a small island in the center of the river,

tied to a tree. Finegan has just finished tying the knots, and returns

to pick up where he left off the day before – making a meal. He is

pulling some potatoes from a bin, and taking some fish out of the

wooden box he uses as a cooler. He sniffs the fish and determines they

are not yet spoiled. Finegan fires the coals and puts a blackened pot

of coffee on the grill, then pulls a pan out and slices potatoes and an

onion into it.

Joey and Barney were asleep on the deck, as usual, but stir due to all

the commotion. The Traveler is asleep on the house roof, hat over his

face, and snoring. Finegan glances at the traveler and says,

We’ve been taking shifts all night. I recon

he’s played out.

Finegan scans the shore in the direction of Millstown, several miles

downstream.

I recon we shook the shufflers. Joey, after we

eat, I’m crashing. You stand watch, eh?

At the smell of frying fish and potatoes and onions in a pan, the

traveler awakes, raising first one knee and then rolling over onto his

side, hand under his chin and hat pushed back on his head.

Boy that smells good . .

Energized, he rolls onto his butt and scuffs on his butt over to the

edge of the roof, climbing down using pile of boxes as stairs.

I’m going upstream a’ways and then overland to

Atlanta. . . Not sure what I’ll find.

Finegan is dishing out the pan-fry onto three plates, and hands one to

the traveler, then pours mugs of coffee. Finegan casts a glance at the

traveler’s shoes, soft sole for comfort while canoeing.

You’ll need some walking boots. What’er you

goin to do with the canoe? Carry is overland? .

. I’ve got some boots in a box. They might fit.

Joey gets his clue and puts his plate down, wiping his mouth with the

back of his hand. He goes into the house and starts searching for the

box labeled “boots”. Finegan is also rummaging around in the laundry

pile, and pulls out a red bandana. He holds it up.

Tie this on a tree where you stash the canoe. .

. Even trade. . . You goin to need some socks?

43

The Castle

The houseboat is approaching a broken concrete dam, shattered by the

earthquakes. The floodwaters have raised the water level to the top of

the former dam, but there is not enough clearance to go over without

scraping the bottom of the houseboat, potentially getting caught and

stranded.

There are flooded trees but mostly the banks are clear and steep.

Finegan selects a sturdy tree as his anchor and ties up. The canoe is

tied firmly to the side of the houseboat, the paddles laid in the

bottom. Not a soul is in sight.

Finegan is pulling a tub out from the clutter, and sorting laundry,

preparing to finally have laundry day. Joey emerges from the house

holding an old Tide box.

This?

Finegan glances up.

No, that’s salt. It’s a brown box. Slivered bar

soap.

The camping grill is at the side, heating a pot of water, which can be

seen steaming. Finegan takes a couple pails of river water, pouring it

into the tub. He examines the box Joey brought from the house and

shakes some of this into the tub, then immediately pours boiling water

on top of the flakes. He then grabs a washing board nearby and starts

scrubbing shirts, wringing them out, and throwing them to the side to

be rinsed later.

Finegan stands straight, sweating a bit, to catch his breath. Looking

to the side, up along the shore, he sees a fisherman.

Company . .

The fisherman is quiet and dressed in earth tones, had been there all

along, not noticed. He nods in Finegan’s direction and recasts his

bamboo pole and line into the river. He does not have expensive fishing

gear, but rather a pole with a line tied to the end, primitive.

Finegan returns to scrubbing his laundry, seeing that his activity is

downriver from the fisherman’s spot, and that they are not interfering

with each other. Joey is picking up the washed items and rinsing them

in the river.

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44