Episode 74
"Do I have a match?" complained Joe. "I'm afraid not. I don't even have pockets." The two young girls giggled as Joe pulled on his wet wool pants.
"You need a ride somewhere?" asked Sally. "We can take you right downtown. This canoe can hold a lot of people."
"Sure thing," answered Joe as he laced up his soggy boots. "Do you girls know old John Wall?"
"I don't think we've heard of that one, Joe," answered Sally. "But, if you can sing the first two lines, we would know for sure. The Shuswap have a good ear for music."
Joe was in no mood for frontier-humour at that moment. "I'm talking about the man who lives here with his brother. The names are John and Bill Wall," explained Joe.
"Mary and me know lots of workers here at 'Teddy-Wann-Cash'. We don't know the names, just the people."
"What about Bjorn Anderson?" asked Joe. "He's got my two horses."
"Sally and Mary sat in the canoe shaking their heads. Joe climbed down from the pit-mill scaffolding and boarded their craft. He sat in the middle, surrounded with wet articles that the girls had scavenged from the water. With Sally at the front and Mary at the back, they paddled their way over to the Main Street of Mile 52.
The canoe glided between two buildings and turned left onto the street. There was water about two feet deep in most places and it became deeper as they approached the original path of the river. Most of the store owners had piled their salvaged goods in front of their buildings on tables or anything that stood above the waterline. Shop-workers were slowly transporting their goods to higher ground.
Mr. Crumby at the general store had a large sign posted: "We Are Still Open." Joe thought this was rather peculiar as the store showed definite signs of collapsing. One side of the building appeared to be lower than the other.
Joe and the girls were unable to find anyone who remembered seeing Mr. Anderson or the Wall brothers. They returned to the shallow end of the street. Then, Joe saw something that made him stand up in the boat.
In the next episode, THE PACK-BOX, Joe finds one of his pack-boxes and continues to hunt for the rest of his gear.
