The doctor sat in his room, drinking soda and thinking about what Irma had said. It brought up memories he had buried deep. Many years ago when he was 7 years old, they had had a house fire, too. He too had lost his precious dog, Henry, a cocker spaniel who was his best friend. But he had also lost his mother in that fire. She had gotten all of the children out and then went back in to get Henry and their bird and a burning wooden beam had crashed down over the door, blocking her exit. The doctor sobbed. He had been homeless for a number of years, separated from his brothers and sisters and staying with relatives who didn’t really want him or understand what a young boy who lost his mom and his dog was going through.

The doctor stayed up late, thinking. The words kept ringing in his ears that Irma had said,”How can people with a conscience live with themselves after treating a body like that?”

Max found himself in Alaska, at last! He had figured out by now that to get that large an amount of people up here, they would have had to have a very large boat. So he started asking around at the dock about a large boat and if anyone had seen a large number of elderly people. The Alaskan people were helpful but no one at this port had seen anything. So, after satisfying his curiosity, Max left for the next town. When he first got to town, Max saw several older folks fishing by the shore. They caught his eye and he wondered…..”Hmm, I am going to watch them for a while and see where they go. Maybe this time I have found them. “ He sat at a little sandwich shop by the dock and kept watch over them.

After a couple of hours, Max didn’t want to wait any longer. He strolled over to them and started talking about fishing. “How long have you folks been fishing here?” he asked.

One of them answered, while pulling in a fish, “I been fishing here ever since I was a small boy.”

His friend said, “Yeah and that is the biggest fish you ever caught!” Ribbing him because the fish he pulled in was only about 6 inches long! Then he said, “I just moved here ten years ago and I always pull in bigger fish than he does!” Then they both roared with laughter when he pulled in, not a fish but an inner tube from a bicycle!

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Max was disappointed and said good-bye. These were long time residents and not the ones he was looking for. It was getting dark so Max tied up for the night and figured he would look again tomorrow.

Donald had marked out a ten by ten foot area for the pantry and enough room for stairs leading to it and explained it simply to Leonard and turned it over to him. He knew Leonard would take this project and run with it. Leonard and Jim were the main men on the digging, but there were several others who were not quite as fit who also wanted to help. They were able to work a short while to spell Leonard and Jim while they took a break two or three times a day. When Donald and Bruce got back from hunting, they were amazed at the progress the guys had made on the first day. The hole in the ground was already 6 inches deep! Donald said, “At this rate, we will be able to frame the pantry next week! You guys are amazing!”

Bruce said, “Come look at what we got.” The guys walked over to the little shed and Bruce showed them a beautiful buck! Just then the supper bell rang and Bruce decided to stay and get the deer started being processed. He had the guts out and half of the deer skinned before Donald got back from dinner.

Donald took over and Bruce went to supper. He thought while he finished skinning the deer, “Bruce has the confidence to lead a hunting party, now. I want to ask around and see if we have any other men who are good with a gun that Bruce could take out tomorrow. I want to see if anyone is interested in setting traps. I was thinking we could start with wire traps for rabbits. We have an overpopulation of rabbits this year and rather than see them starve this winter, let’s put them to good use feeding our crew.”

The following day, Max traveled further up the coast to the next town. He saw a large yacht parked inside a boathouse and a man working on it. He walked over to him and asked, “Nice yacht! Is it yours?”

“No, I am just servicing it. It belongs to the man who owns a hunting lodge up the way,” the man answered.

Max said, “Oh, I was hoping to do some hunting while I was here. ”Where is this lodge?”

“You probably couldn’t find a room there. He has got a bunch of elderly people living there” They just came in last month. But I can give you directions if you are still interested.” He wrote down directions for Max.

Max was so excited that it was hard for him to conceal it. He thought, “I have found them! I have done it! They are within my grasp now!”