Episode 73
In such extraordinary circumstances Joe was allowed to leave the ship. He raced down the railway tracks which seemed to be the only way to reach the Wall Brothers' shack a mile away. The rising flood-waters had not yet reached the level of the tracks. On the way he saw people moving about in small boats on the river-side of the tracks. Some freight wagons were still using the tote-road but with great difficulty. When Joe finally arrived at the shelter where his two horses were kept, he found the whole area flooded and deserted.
Joe looked inside Mr. Anderson's storage shed and the small building that he had built for his two horses. The animals were gone. Wading knee-deep, Joe moved over to the main shack. The water level inside had reached the lower bunk-beds. He sloshed through the room to his old bed. The wooden box containing all his personal belongings was missing. Where's my kit? thought Joe to himself. He looked everywhere including inside the old pot-belly stove. Finally, he gave up the search.
Joe's feet and legs were beginning to feel the effects of the cold water. He decided to climb up on the mill scaffolding in the middle of the yard to dry off. There was a partially ripped log set in place on the top level that made an ideal perch for him. Once on the platform Joe was about six feet above the flood-level. He stripped off his outer clothing and sat in the sunshine for awhile. Just when he was wondering where he should go next, two Indian girls paddled into the yard in a dugout canoe.
Joe recognized one of them as 'Swamp Sally'. Their boat was loaded with all sorts of salvaged goods that they had fished out of the river. They glided along side the pit-mill where Joe sat in his long-johns.
Sally, who was huddled at the front of the boat and wrapped in a wool blanket, looked up and said, "Hey Joe, this is my friend, Mary. You gotta match?"
In the next episode, BOAT RIDE THROUGH TOWN, Tte Jaune Cache is flooding in a big way! Joe takes a disappointing ride down the main street.
