Sophie's Journey - Chapter 31
Lost in the Willows
The ringing of axes traveled through the encampment. Anne stirred, pressing close to Sophie. Peter and Emma slept, their breathing soft. Sophie awoke, then drifted back into sleep when Otto suddenly cried out in alarm. She arose to quiet Otto, and he clung to her. Outside, dawn turned the hollow gray. The trees remained black against the light sky. She smelled campfire smoke and meat. Her stomach tightened. They had killed a cow. She had almost forgotten what that was like.
She sat up and crawled out of the tent. The camp was already busy. Men moved around the carts. Peder Mortensen and his son were working on a handcart, fitting a new axle. Others worked with him, their hands black with grease and tar. Repairs had started.
Marianne came to her elbow with a tin cup containing something hot. Although her eyes had red rims and her face looked pale from fatigue, she managed to give a thin smile. "It's broth," she said, "from the cow. There's not much of it, but it warms the bones."
Sophie took the cup and wrapped her cold fingers around it. The heat helped. "Any news?" she asked, though she was afraid to hear it.
Marianne shook her head. "They sent more men at first light. Captain Willie went with several others. The first two searches found nothing." She looked toward the trees, where the hollow was dark. "They will find her, or she will come back. She must."
Sophie drank the broth. It was thin and greasy, nevertheless warm. She thought of Sister Stewart, somewhere out past the trees. The hollow looked gentle, but it could swallow a person. A hundred yards, and you could disappear.
"The children?" Marianne asked.
“Peter is still sleeping. He has earned his rest.” Sophie answered. “He's a good boy and strong,” she continued, her speech showing the sadness that comes to mothers when they see their children aging too quickly. “We would never have made it without Peter and Captain Savage helping.”
Marianne nodded and replied, “You speak truly." Pointing to a cart with a cracked wheel, she continued, “It’s good that we can make repairs here.” Two men held the handcart steady while another tied a split log around the break, fastening it with rawhide. The work was rough, but it would hold. It had to.
Sophie gathered up her children and fed them the broth that was left. Soon the hollow buzzed with activity as people took advantage of a morning without travel to make repairs and regroup. As they worked, Sophie and Marianne kept watching the edge of camp, waiting for the searchers.
When they saw them return, they looked weary. Brother Oliver shook his head at Captain Siler and said, "Nothing. We followed her tracks to the creek, but then lost them in the willows. The ground is too soft to leave any prints."
Captain Siler's jaw tensed. "Captain Willie took eleven men on his third expedition, and they went deeper, towards the south bluffs. If she's walking, she might now be miles away."
The afternoon dragged. Sophie washed clothes and mended Peter's shirt. The children played quietly near the tent. Anne grasped her skirt.
Late in the day, sunlight glimmered through the trees. A noise rose at the edge of camp. Sophie looked up from her sewing. Someone staggered out of the trees, helped by two men Sophie did not know.
It was Sister Stewart, but she looked changed. Her dress was torn and muddy. Scratches marked her face. Her eyes were full of exhaustion. She moved slowly, dragging her feet. Captain Woodward walked next to her, steadying her. He had found her while cutting timber.
The camp assembled around her. Women brought blankets, food, and water. Sophie pushed through the crowd. She reached Sister Stewart as the woman collapsed. They laid her on the ground. Sophie knelt and pressed a cup of water to her lips. Sister Stewart drank, water running down her chin. Her hands quivered too much to hold the cup.
"Easy," Sophie whispered, using the very tone that she adopted when her children awoke from nightmares. "You're safe now."
Sister Stewart had great difficulty focusing her eyes on Sophie, as though Sophie were a figure seen through deep water. "I heard..." she spoke quietly, her words dry and broken like that of withered leaves. "I heard the cattle and the axes. I pursued the sound."
Sophie took her hand. The fingers were ice-cold, nails broken and dirty. "You did well. You found your way."
They gave her beef soup. Sister Stewart ate quickly, soup running down her chin. Color came back to her cheeks. She closed her eyes and slept, her head on a rolled blanket.
Sophie laid another blanket over her and stepped away. The camp seemed less heavy. But Willie and the eleven men had not returned.
Sophie returned to her children and held them close. Emma wondered, "Is the lady all right?" with a serious look on her delicate face.
"She will be," Sophie said, "because she's strong, just like all of us."
By evening, the camp was grateful but uneasy. Captain Atwood called the Saints to prayer in the middle of the hollow. Sister Stewart was found, but Captain Willie, and the eleven men were still missing in the dark.
Later on, the captains talked in low voices. As Sophie settled her children, she caught pieces of their talk. The third group had not come back. As night came, worry replaced relief. Peter came and joined her, his young face serious in the light of the fire. "Will Captain Willie be all right?" he asked.
"Sophie said that he had eleven brothers and that he knew the country better than most of the others; therefore, he would be able to find his way back."
She watched the tree line, hoping someone would appear from the dark. Time passed. The fire burned low. Sophie was about to give up and crawl into the tent when she heard it. The sound of voices, many voices, approaching through the trees. She stood, her heart beating fast.
Captain Willie appeared first, followed by the other men, mud-spattered and weary. The camp stirred, people emerging from tents, calling out in relief and welcome.
"We found her trail," Captain Willie announced, his words projecting across the hollow. "Tracked it to the south bluffs, but lost it near dark. Deemed it best to return and make a fresh start in the morning if needed."
He paused, and it seemed everyone tried to speak at once. "She's found?" Captain Willie asked.
Captain Siler came forward, grinning. "She came in on her own this afternoon. Heard Woodward's men cutting timber and tracked the sound. She is exhausted, although alive. Sleeping now."
The tension left Captain Willie's shoulders. He closed his eyes and moved his lips in silent prayer. When he opened them, his eyes were bright.
"Then we are all restored," he said in a soft voice. "Thanks be to God. We are all restored."
The camp kept the celebration quiet. There was little to share, but the mood was lighter. Sophie hugged her children and kissed their foreheads. For one night, they were safe.
That night Sophie slept peacefully. The axes were quiet. The lost had been found. The hollow was still except for the river and her children's breathing next to her.
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