American fiction -- 20th century; American poetry -- 20th century; Short stories, American
A steep sandy road ran down the hill to the bay through the timber.
From Smith’s back door you could look out across the woods that ran
down to the lake and across the bay. It was very beautiful in the
spring and summer, the bay blue and bright and usually whitecaps on
the lake out beyond the point from the breeze blowing from Charlevoix
and Lake Michigan. From Smith’s back door Liz could see ore barges
way out in the lake going toward Boyne City. When she looked at them
they didn’t seem to be moving at all but if she went in and dried
some more dishes and then came out again they would be out of sight
beyond the point.
All the time now Liz was thinking about Jim Gilmore. He didn’t seem
to notice her much. He talked about the shop to A. J. Smith and about
the Republican Party and about James G. Blaine. In the evenings he
read the Toledo Blade and the Grand Rapids paper by the lamp in the
front room or went out spearing fish in the bay with a jacklight with
A. J. Smith. In the fall he and Smith and Charley Wyman took a wagon
and tent, grub, axes, their rifles and two dogs and went on a trip to
the pine plains beyond Vanderbilt deer hunting. Liz and Mrs. Smith
were cooking for four days for them before they started. Liz wanted
to make something special for Jim to take but she didn’t finally
because she was afraid to ask Mrs. Smith for the eggs and flour and
afraid if she bought them Mrs. Smith would catch her cooking. It
would have been all right with Mrs. Smith but Liz was afraid.
All the time Jim was gone on the deer hunting trip Liz thought about
him. It was awful while he was gone. She couldn’t sleep well from
thinking about him but she discovered it was fun to think about him
too. If she let herself go it was better. The night before they were
to come back she didn’t sleep at all, that is she didn’t think she
slept because it was all mixed up in a dream about not sleeping and
really not sleeping. When she saw the wagon coming down the road she
felt weak and sick sort of inside. She couldn’t wait till she saw Jim
and it seemed as though everything would be all right when he came.
The wagon stopped outside under the big elm and Mrs. Smith and Liz
went out. All the men had beards and there were three deer in the
back of the wagon, their thin legs sticking stiff over the edge of
the wagon box. Mrs. Smith kissed Alonzo and he hugged her. Jim said
“Hello Liz.” and grinned. Liz hadn’t known just what would happen
when Jim got back but she was sure it would be something. Nothing had
happened. The men were just home that was all. Jim pulled the burlap
sacks off the deer and Liz looked at them. One was a big buck. It was
stiff and hard to lift out of the wagon.
“Did you shoot it Jim?” Liz asked.
“Yeah. Aint it a beauty?” Jim got it onto his back to carry to the
smokehouse.
That night Charley Wyman stayed to supper at Smith’s. It was too late
to get back to Charlevoix. The men washed up and waited in the front
room for supper.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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