Sackett's Land

His name, too, I placed there, although the place a man leaves is in the hearts of those he leaves behind, and in his work, not upon a slab...

            We went back to the boat, then, and shoved off, lifting our sail and pointing our bows again to the north. And all that day we saw no sail, nor the next nor the next nor the next.

            When again we walked upon land it was on the shores of the northern sound. I killed a deer there, at ninety paces, with one arrow, and we ate well. Later we collected the leaves from a plant Sakim recognized and made a tea, and not a bad one.

            We rested on the sand, and Sakim said to me, 'It is a good land, this, a fine land.' He sat up suddenly. 'You should stay in this land, this should be your home.'

            'Here?' I was not astonished, for the thought had been in me, too.

            'Perhaps. I would like a family. A man should build. He should always build.'

            'You want sons?'

            'Sons and daughters.'

            I raised on one elbow. 'I wonder about you, Sakim.'

            'There is no need. I was once almost a philosopher, my friend, but there was too much of the rascal in me. There was also a woman ... the daughter of a very important man. I was rascal enough to woo her, and philosopher enough to leave quickly when we were discovered.'

            'Have you never been back?'

            'To be killed by soldiers? Or imprisoned? Besides, she was a philosopher, too.'

            'What do you mean by that?'

            'When she saw that I was gone she faced the realities and married another man. Now she is rich, important, and domestic. I would no longer be interested in her, and she would only be amused by me.'

            'You were a student?'

            'I was a teacher. My father, my grandfather and my great-grandfather were judges, and so was I to be.'

            'You were fortunate. I had few books, and no school.'

            Sakim shrugged. 'You had your father, obviously a wise man, and you had a gift.'

            'I? A gift?'

            'A gift of listening. When men spoke, you heard, and of what you heard, you thought.' He sat up. 'And now,' he smiled wickedly, 'Oh, Master of Wisdom, we should float our craft ... We will catch no Tiger on this shore.'

            Our sail was no sooner up, our craft before the wind, than we saw her, broad and beautiful across the way, Captain Brian Tempany's three-master coming down upon us, all sails set and a bone in her teeth, as the saying is.

            We hove to and, with Sakim at the tiller, I stood by the mast and waved my hat.

            She came along up to us, taking in sail as she approached, and there were faces at the bow rail and aft, and there was Captain Tempany, and Corvino!

            Corvino as well, and Jublain ... good old Jublain!

            And then another face. I was startled and blinked my eyes, but it was she. It was Abigail.

            Her hair blowing in the wind, smiling at me, her eyes bright with welcome.

            'See her, Sakim?' I said, half-turning. 'That is why I dream.'

            'I see, I do indeed. But she is not to dream about, my friend, she is the dream!'

        Chapter 13

            An hour later, in the cabin, and over a glass of sack, I explained our situation.

            Tempany did not interrupt, only nodding from time to time as he paced the deck. 'So we suspected,' he said, 'but there was no chance. The Jack slipped from her moorings and was well down the river before we discovered that you were missing.'

            He paused. 'You have furs, you say?'

            'Getting them will not be easy. I am afraid it cannot be done without alerting Bardle. He has you outgunned, Captain.'

            'Perhaps. And we want no trouble.' He frowned. 'We should recover your furs, then sail up the coast. There're the Spanish below us.' He glanced at me. 'What would you suggest?'

            'Move now ... at once. Recover the furs and get away before Bardle is prepared. Once he knows your vessel is in these waters, he will be alert.'

            Tempany moved to the companionway and called. In a few minutes he returned. 'You're sure of the water's depth?'

            'We are ... and Sakim and I will go in after the furs.'

            He went on deck and Abigail smoothed her skirt with careful hands. 'I was dreadfully frightened,' she said quietly. 'I was afraid something terrible had happened to you.'

            'How do you happen to be here?' I asked.

            She laughed. 'I convinced him I'd not be safe in London! I think he wanted to bring me, anyway, and all he needed was an excuse.'

            'Have you been ashore?'

            'Oh, no!'

            'It's beautiful,' I said. 'So many kinds of trees, and flowers everywhere. Of course,' I added, 'there's alligators and bears and Indians.'

            'We saw some alligators, and once some Indians came out and tried to get us to come ashore. We did not go, although we traded with them for some dried meat and a couple of huge turtles.'

            'I am glad you came,' I said suddenly. 'I have been thinking of you.'

            She glanced at me. 'Really? With all those alligators and Indians to think of, I am surprised.'

            'From alligators and Indians there is always a chance of escape,' I said smiling.

            'And from me?'

            'A much smaller chance, but I am not sure I would try.'

            Tempany called down the hatch. 'Sackett? Come on deck.'

            He had land on his starboard bow. It was the passage from the northern sound to the southern. I stood by him as we started into the passage, for we had passed it before.

            'That man you have with you? He's a Moor?'

            'Aye, a good man, and an educated one.' I told him about Rufisco and the sudden attack by Indians.

            'I've been told some are friendly,' Tempany commented.

            'Some are, but others are as different as Europeans, either as individuals or tribes. We are at war with the Spanish, or on the verge of it. A ship at sea is in danger from whatever ship it encounters. Indians may be friendly one time, enemies another. They respect strength, and very little else.'

            When we had passed into the southern sound and saw no sail, we went below, and for the first time in many weeks I sat down to a civilized meal with well-cooked food.

            As we ate, I told him of my thoughts of the land. 'It is beautiful, and there is nothing in England that surpasses it. I think I may well continue to venture here, to trade with the Indians, perhaps even to buy land from them.'

            'It is soon,' Tempany objected. 'It is too soon. A fancied slight can turn them against you. I have no dealings with these Indians, as they are called, but I have dealt with others of a similar kind, and they are easily offended. One can create trouble through misunderstanding, for their ways are different than ours.'

            'Granted ... but I shall learn.'

            'You had best come back to England first,' Tempany said, 'there is the matter of a gentleman who would make you his heir. And no small thing it is.'

            For a moment I was silent. How to tell him the spell those empty rivers had cast upon me? Or the vastness of that land out there? The mystery of it?

            'I must go beyond the mountains,' I said.

            'There are always mountains,' Tempany said grimly, 'of one kind or another. Think, before you