Randall could barely contain his curiosity while watering his crops the next morning. He really wanted to know if his homemade traps could actually catch anything, but he decided it would be best to get in the habit of always taking care of his fields before doing anything else. The last thing he needed was to forget about watering them and slow the rate at which they were maturing.
The blueberries and onions he’d put out were already poking through the soil, stretching green leaves up to the sky. He expected they would be ready for harvest before too long, the fast-growing crops of the summer season just like strawberries had been in the spring. He should be able to get two to three plantings of each before fall came. The bellflowers on the porch were also starting to show.
Assuming he had managed to catch something in his trap overnight, he had multiple things he wanted to handle in town that day. He made sure the little chunk of ore he’d collected in the mine the day before was still in his pocket. He found a small cardboard box in the attic to hold any crabs that might be in the trap and left the farmhouse for the day.
The rope leading out into the water was still tight when he untied it from the stick he’d used to anchor it on the beach. He left it where it was and followed the rope out into the water. He pulled up the trap to find two small crabs eying him warily. The back half of the sardine had been nibbled on in several places, but it would likely still attract more crabs if he left it in there. He tipped the trap on its side and shook until the two crabs fell into the box he’d brought with them, pushed the bait into the back portion of the trap, and lowered it into the water again.
With the box in hand, he cut through lightly wooded fields to the north until he reached the road and followed it into town. His destination was the general store. If anyone could tell him what to do with his finds, it would be Hank.
When he went inside, he found a group of people huddled at the counter. Hank and Meredith stood behind the register, while Kate and Desiree were on the side where customers normally waited to pay. They all turned to look at him when he walked through the door.
He stopped, feeling self-conscious with everyone staring at him. “Why do I get the feeling you all were just talking about me?”
Kate and Desiree glanced at each other and blushed.
“Because that’s what they were doing,” said Hank.
“Oh, hush!” said Meredith. “I was just saying that I’d hemmed your overalls but you hadn’t come to pick them up yet.”
“That’s right,” said Randall. “I was busy yesterday and didn’t come into town.”
“They’re ready now, and if you’d like to swap for the ones you have on, I’d fix them up for you, too.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
Examining the box he was carrying none too discreetly, Desiree asked, “What’s that you brought with you?”
“This is something new I’m trying out.” He placed the box on the counter between everyone. “Open it if you want.”
Desiree’s eyes lit up and she grabbed one of the flaps and pulled up. She jerked her hand away with a yell as the top came open. “It pinched me!”
A pair of red claws reached up out of the box, and everyone except Randall took a step back. A red welt was already forming on Desiree’s thumb. Hank was the first to lean forward and look into the box.
“Seems you figured out how to catch crabs,” he said.
“Eww, keep those things away from me,” said Desiree, who was cradling her thumb in her other hand like she’d been stabbed. Randall looked closer, and the skin hadn’t even been broken.
“Don’t you like crabs?” he asked.
“Only when they’ve been chopped up and cooked into a bisque.” She moved to put Kate between her and the box.
“Come on, ladies.” Meredith walked around the counter and down one of the aisles of groceries carrying a feather duster. “You can finish gossiping while I clean the shelves.”
Kate followed her mother, while Desiree took a moment to bat her eyelashes at him before hurrying off after them. Randall watched them leave in confusion.
“What was that all about?” he asked.
“Desiree was telling them she saw you at the beach the other day,” said Hank. “There was a lot of, ‘he said this, and then I said that,’ going back and forth while they discussed what the things you said meant.”
“Desiree mentioned hanging out at the beach in the afternoon, so I went after I got tired of working on the farm. We made a sandcastle and talked, but it wasn’t like I was being cryptic. I basically said whatever I was thinking at the time.”
Hank chuckled. “I’ve told them a hundred times that guys aren’t complex. We say what we’re thinking, as you so eloquently put it. They’re still going to analyze it for some greater meaning.”
Randall looked down the aisle. Meredith was picking up cans and dusting them off while Kate and Desiree talked back and forth, one or the other occasionally glancing in his direction.
“I don’t get it,” said Randall.
“Look, son,” said Hank. “I’ve lived with these woman for two decades at this point, and I still don’t get it. But they seem to enjoy talking this stuff over, and in my experience it’s best to leave them to it. Now, what exactly did you have in mind to do with these crabs?”
“I was hoping you could give me some hints for how I could use them.”
Hank thought it over. “Well, you could always eat them, but two that small wouldn’t be much by themselves. I hear they make good bait for catching certain other ocean creatures like eel or squid. You could also sell them, in which case you’d be welcome to use the collection box at your farm.”
“Oscar bought some of the fish I caught before,” said Randall. “Would he be interested?”
“Probably, but we have a deal not to compete with each other after some unscrupulous tourists played us off one another to get higher prices for some fish they caught. So you’ll get the same amount whether you sell it directly to him or he gets it through me.”
“How do you make any money in that deal?”
“He pays me a little extra as a delivery fee,” said Hank. “He doesn’t have to deal with haggling, and he gets the supplies he needs to run his pub with no hassles.”
“I guess that sounds worth it.” Randall looked at the two small crabs in his box as they tried to find a foothold on the smooth cardboard to climb out. “I’m guessing I wouldn’t get much for these two, so I think I’ll hold onto them.”
Randall closed up the box before the crabs found some way to escape. He took the sample of ore he’d gathered in the mine and placed it on the counter.
“Well now…” Hank picked up the rock and turned it around in his hand. “I’ve not seen anything like this in a long while. Where’d you find it?”
“There was a trail leading up into the hills behind Sweetwater Farm. When I followed it to the end, I found a mine entrance that had been boarded up. A chunk of rock had fallen from the ceiling not too far in, and I broke this piece off.”
“That’s copper ore if I’ve ever seen it.” Hank handed the piece back. “I knew Jack had a source out there somewhere, but he stopped bringing it in to sell, so I’d assumed the vein had run dry. Although he did say at one point that it was simpler to focus on his crops and order what he needed from the mainland than spend his time doing the back-breaking work to dig it out.”
“Is it worth anything?” asked Randall.
“The thing about ore is that most of the weight is in the rocks, not the useful metal that’s locked inside it. Although, we can’t order more from the mainland, so having a source on the island is pretty lucky. As far as a price, you’d have to talk to the blacksmith at this point. He’s the only one capable of smelting it down into something useful.”
“I’ve not met the blacksmith yet. Anything you can tell me about him?”
“Nate’s about as straightforward as they come. He’s probably the most hard-working man in all of Haven, and his arms are the proof. Be honest with him and you’ll never have a problem doing business there. He buys a loaf of cinnamon raisin bread every time he comes in here, and he tends to favor the sweets table when he shows up at our monthly social gatherings. Normally I’d say sugary foods like that will make you gain weight, but the forge must burn it off him.”
Randall made a mental note about the sorts of food the man liked. “Do you think he would agree to a similar deal as you have with Oscar? I don’t have a way to transport the ore directly to him.”
“Give me a second.” Hank walked down one of the aisles of food and came back with a loaf of bread and set it on the counter. “Give this to Nate with my compliments, and tell him I can transport the ore to him. Once he’s extracted the metal, he can pay me what it’s worth plus a small percentage for hauling it for him. I’ll deposit your portion in your account at the town hall. It might take an extra day or two, but both Nate and I will make sure you get the full value you’re owed.”
“Sounds like a deal.”
Randall held out his hand and Hank shook it. He picked up the box with the crabs and turned away from the counter. He walked back to where the women were making their rounds, dusting off the cans and boxes and realigning them on the shelves. Desiree had been in the middle of telling a story, but she quieted immediately after he walked up.
To Meredith, he said, “Would you mind if I traded the pairs of overalls now?”
“Of course.” She led him back to the changing booths and retrieved his previous pair of overalls from a box hidden in the corner. “Switch into these, and I’ll make the same adjustments to the pair you’re wearing.”
When he pulled on the pair that had been resized, the difference could be felt immediately. The straps no longer dug into his shoulders, and he could move around freely without worrying the seam running between his legs would ride up somewhere that made him uncomfortable. It was like a completely new pair of pants. While he was getting dressed, he could hear the sound of feet shuffling nearby and the occasional suppressed laugh. He even caught the phrase, “not quite as white as the other day,” along with a bout of giggling. He looked down and realized the fabric of the privacy curtain didn’t reach all the way to the floor.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
When he’d finished and stepped out of the changing area, he found Kate and Desiree standing only about ten feet away, deeply engrossed in looking through the clothes racks in the kids section. When they saw him watching them, they both burst out laughing.
“Girls,” said Meredith, which brought their laughter to an abrupt halt. “Don’ t you have work to do?”
“Yes, mother,” said Kate, who headed into one of the farther aisles with the feather duster.
“I should get back to the cafe.” Desiree winked at him. “Come see me at the beach again. We’ll work on our tans.” She turned and headed out of the store.
Meredith shook her head. “They wouldn’t laugh so much if I sent them to help you on the farm for a day or two.”
“Do they have any experience chopping firewood?” asked Randall.
This time, it was Meredith’s turn to laugh. “They’d be back here in under an hour, I reckon.” She took the overalls he’d just changed out of. “I’ll have these ready tomorrow. You can pick them up anytime you want.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
He retrieved the box of crabs and loaf of bread he’d left beside the changing booth and walked out of the store.
#
Randall took a slight detour before heading out the east side of town. He walked through the entrance to the harbor and followed the road down to the bay. He could see Yuki sitting at the same spot near the end of the pier where they’d met before, and he hurried out to talk with her.
“Hey,” he called as he walked along the pier. “I’ve got something you might find useful.”
Yuki stood and gave a slight bow as he approached. She looked at the box in his hands and asked, “What is that?”
“Open it.” He held the box out to her.
She took the offering with both hands and pulled at the flap holding the box closed, her eyes shining when she saw what was inside. “I used to catch small crabs like these in the tidal pools when I was a kid.”
“I tried my hand at trap-making,” said Randall. “These two crabs were in the trap this morning when I checked. I thought you might be able to use them as bait.”
“That’s so thoughtful!” She closed the box as the crabs were climbing on top of each other to get out. “I’ve seen eels lurking among the rocks at the bottom of the harbor, but I haven’t been able to draw them out with sardines. Perhaps they’ll be more interested in these crabs.”
“Good luck with them.” Randall turned to go. “Sorry to run off so soon, but I need to go meet with the blacksmith.”
“Next time, then.”
While he was walking away, Yuki’s reel clicked as she drew in her line behind him.
Once back at the entrance to the harbor, he took the road heading north out of town. By the time he crossed the bridge where he and Yuki had caught trout the last time he came here to fish, he could hear the sound of metal striking metal in the distance. The road split on the opposite side of the bridge, with one branch going straight north and the other curving gradually away to the southeast.
The blacksmith’s shop stood on a small hill to the south of the crossroads. Black smoke rose up from a chimney set into the wall of a workshop. A pair of double-wide doors on the front had been thrown open to reveal a large circular fire pit that bathed the entire inside of the workshop in a dull orange light. Two men worked there, one pressing down on the handle of a large bellows while the other hammered at a piece on an anvil next to the forge.
When Randall came close enough, he recognized Anthony as the one at the anvil. The other man was older, with lines beginning to form around his mouth and eyes. Randall guessed he was probably nearing forty, but it was hard to tell as he’d completely shaved his head. He wore a white tank top that was stained with sweat on the sides. He stood up from the bellows and came out to greet Randall, equal in height to his 5 feet 11 inches.
“Welcome,” said the blacksmith. “What can I do for you?”
Anthony interrupted before he could answer. “Hey, Randall. This is the one I told you I met at the party at the end of last season.”
“Nice to meet you, Randall. I’m Nate.”
They shook hands, and the blacksmith had a surprisingly gentle grip for someone who looked like he bent metal bars in half for fun. Randall handed him the loaf of raisin bread Hank had given him.
“Hank said I should come talk to you,” said Randall. “He asked me to give this to you since I was coming out this way.”
“That’s very thoughtful.” Nate opened the bag and took out a piece of bread, which had already been sliced. He offered some to Randall and Anthony, who both shook their heads. “I’ll have to thank him next time I’m in town. So why did you need to talk to me?”
Randall pulled the chunk of ore out of his pocket. “I found this in a cave situated on the mountain behind Sweetwater Farm. We thought it might be something you could use.”
Nate took the bit of rock out of his hand and looked it over. “Looks like copper, although there might be traces of other metals like iron mixed in. Let me test it a bit.”
He grabbed a small crucible from a shelf by the door and dropped the nugget into it. He placed the crucible into the center of the forge where the coals glowed the brightest. Anthony took over at the bellows, blasting air through the hot coals until they turned an angry red color. After a few minutes, Nate picked up the crucible with a pair of tongs and removed the rock. He then poured a little trickle of molten metal into a mold and let it cool. In the end, they had a flat lump of dull brown metal about the size of a fingernail. Nate poured water into the mold to cool it off, then picked up the chunk of metal with his bare fingers.
“It’s definitely copper.” Nate handed the metal disk over to Randall. “That’s not a bad amount given how small the sample was you brought me. Was there more ore like this inside the mine?”
“Yeah,” Randall said as he examined the thin piece of copper. It wasn’t even enough to make a penny. “Would you be interested if I could bring more of this to you?”
“No doubt about that,” said Nate, and Anthony nodded along in the background. “We’re running low on all kinds of things at this point. I had a stockpile of metals I’d ordered from the mainland before the ferry disaster, but I’ve used up most of it. I wasn’t sure what I’d do when it ran out.”
“I don’t have a way to transport the ore here,” said Randall. “Hank offered to deliver it for me in exchange for a small fee. How much would it be worth to you?”
“Rates varied depending on fluctuations in supply. Given that I can’t even order from the mainland, I could offer the highest rate, which was 100 bits per pound of metal I was able to extract.”
Randall almost sputtered at the offer. That was a better price than he’d received for any of the crops or fish he’d sold up to this point. He’d be a fool not to take it.
“That sounds like a reasonable price,” he said.
“If you find any other metals, let me know. I could really use iron and lead the most, but I wouldn’t turn anything away. I’d give you a similar price, on the high end of what I’ve paid in the past.”
Randall held his hand out and they shook on the deal. “I’ll keep my eyes open as I explore the mine more.”
“That’s a weight off my mind.” Nate took a second slice of raisin bread and munched on it. “I was worried I’d completely run out. You can’t do much smithing without some metal to work with. And Anthony gets to practice his smelting skills, which we kind of neglected since what we ordered from the mainland was already pure.”
Anthony groaned. “It’s not my favorite type of work.”
“It’ll be useful later,” said Nate, “if you decide to experiment with new alloys. It’s good to know where the metal comes from and how you can prepare it for different uses.”
“Speaking of that,” Randall interrupted. “The tools that were left at the farm aren’t in the best of shape. Would you be able to craft new ones for me?”
“It’s possible, once we have the metal to spare. Copper doesn’t make great tools, but they’d be better than using your bare hands. Bronze would hold up better, but I’d need some tin to mix in with the copper. And if you can find some iron ore, I could make something much sturdier.”
“I’ll have to see what’s available. Hopefully you’ll be restocked before the tools I have start breaking. Most were rusty and deteriorating from not being used.”
“Come back anytime, and I can upgrade your equipment,” said Nate.
“Will do.” Randall nodded to both of them and walked back to the road. By the time he crossed the bridge, the sound of hammering had started up again behind him.
He whistled to himself as he proceeded into town, thinking of the amount of money he stood to gain, assuming there were more deposits of ore like the one he’d found near the entrance to the mine. He was so zoned out, he didn’t realize someone was standing at the crossroads by the harbor until he heard his name being called.
Yuki waved when he finally saw her. “Look what I caught.”
She held up her stringer, and two long, slender fish dangled almost to the ground. They had short snouts and tiny fins compared to the length of their bodies, and skin that shifted in color from brown to green with small white spots like it had been spattered with paint. They looked to be between four and five feet long.
“That’s great!” He bent down to examine one and it thrashed around. “Were they difficult to catch?”
“They fought quite hard, and it’s easy to see why they’re called slippery. However, they went right for the crab meat when I cast near the rocks.”
“I’ll have to bring you some more to use as bait,’ said Randall.
“Only if you let me treat you.” Yuki lowered the stringer, dropping the eels into a small net that she propped up on her shoulder. “I promised Betty that if I caught some eels, I’d show her how to prepare them like we do at home. You should come to the pub tonight for dinner, on me. They’re quite delicious.”
Randall had never eaten eel. He always thought they looked kind of gross the way they moved around, reminding him of snakes, which he also didn’t have much interest in eating. But Yuki was quite insistent, so he agreed to come back in the evening and at least give it a try.
In the meantime, he had the opportunity to collect more ore at the mine.
#
Relationships
Hank ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Meredith ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Nate ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
#
* * *