Frontier and pioneer life -- Québec (Province) -- Fiction; Historical fiction; Short stories
led to a steamer lying in the canal. He sought out the captain and
told him to take the girl and land her at Beauharnois, and the captain
promised he would to oblige the minister and refused the dollar he
offered. The stranger handed it to her with the words, “I must leave
you, for others are perishing,” and slipped away before she could thank
him. That evening she was landed at Beauharnois and when the steamer
left the wharf for the Cascades she felt more lost than ever, for she
heard nothing but French, and not a word she understood. She spied
a man putting bags of flour in a cart with a face that she thought
was that of an Old Countryman. She went up to him and he answered
her in English, or rather Scotch, for I know him well; he lives near
the Meadows. She told where she wanted to go. “You’ll be ane o’ thae
emigrants,” says he, “an may hae the fever.” “I’ve had it,” says Ellen,
“an am well again.” “Aye, but ye may give it to ither folk.” At this
a Frenchman came up to speak to the man and on seeing Ellen put his
hand to his mouth and drew back. “Louis,” says the Scotchman, “tak
this lassie hame wi you and give her a nicht’s lodgin.” Louis shook his
head. “I’ll pay you, man,” shouted the Scotchman. “No, no,” said Louis,
making a sign of horror, “me not let her in my house.” “You are a’ o’
ae kirk and suld be kind to ane anither.” Without replying, Louis left.
“Weel, lassie, gin they’ll no gie you cover in this town, ye maun gae
wi me,” and with that he went into the tavern at the head of the wharf
and came back with some bread in his hand for her. He spread his horse
blanket on the bags for her to sit on and off they started. It was a
long drive in the dark, for the horse walked every step of the way, and
Ellen fell asleep. On waking at the rumbling of the cart ceasing, she
found they were standing in a farm-yard. The night was clear but cold,
but she had not felt it, for the Scotchman had tucked his big coat
around her. He told her he dare not take her to the house for fear of
infecting the children. Lighting a lantern he showed her to a corner
of the barn, where she lay down to sleep, while he went to unyoke his
horse. On waking in the morning she stepped into the yard, where she
found the Scotchman unloading his cart. “I’ve been waitin for you,”
says he, “an dinna tak it unkind if I say you maun go at ance on yer
way. Were my naebors to hear o’ ane wha has been sick o’ the fever bein
here, my place wad be shunned.” Putting something to eat in her hand he
bade her follow him, and pointed out the road she was to take for her
uncle’s place, and by observing his directions had succeeded.
“An so there’s only yirsilf left?” asks my wife.
“Av our family,” says she, “but unless he’s dead since I left, there’s
my cousin Gerald in the fever sheds at quarantine.”
Gerald was my sister’s only child and I had heard after her death he
had gone to Maynooth to be a priest.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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