[Canadian West 02] - When Comes the Spring (10 page)

We felt our way slowly back down the trail. In a way, I found the
climb down more difficult than the climb up had been. It seemed that
one was forever having to put on the brakes, and it wasn't always easy
to be sure just where one's brakes were. On more than one occasion, I
started sliding forward much faster than I intended to. Wynn was right.
One did need to sit down and attempt to ease down the steepest parts
in a most undecorous fashion. What if Mother could see me now? I
thought unruefully. I grasped for roots, branches, rocks-anything I
could get my hands on to slow my descent. By the end of the day, my
hands were scratched in spite of borrowing Wynn's leather gloves for
the worst places; my men's pants were a sorry mess of mountain earth
and forest clutter; and my hair was completely disheveled.

However, I still wore a happy smile. It had been some day, a memory I would always treasure.

We stopped at a gushing mountain stream. I knelt down and bent
forward for a drink of the cold, clear water. It had come directly from an avalanche above, Wynn informed me; and I was willing to believe
him. The water was so cold it made my fingers tingle and hurt my
teeth as I drank it. We didn't really need the drink. Our backpack still
held water we had carried with us, but Wynn felt that to make the day
complete I must taste the mountain water. I agreed. I wiped the drips
from my face and shook my hands free of the coldness and told Wynn
how good it tasted. Wynn drank, too, as a reminder to himself that he
had been right. No other water on earth tastes quite like that of a
mountain stream.

The next day I. ached all over. I wouldn't have believed that one
had so many body parts to hurt. Wynn suggested a soak in a hot tub.
It helped some, as long as I stayed there and sat very still. The minute
I moved, I hurt again.

"I had no idea I had so many muscles," I complained.

Wynn offered to give me a rubdown, and I accepted it.

"I wonder how he feels," I mumbled into my pillow, as Wynn
worked at sore muscles in my back.

"He? He who?"

"Her husband. That young couple yesterday. He didn't look exactly
like he was built for climbing mountains."

Wynn chuckled at my comment. "Guess he didn't," he agreed.

"Come to think of it," I went on, "I wouldn't have picked her out
as a climber either."

"Well," Wynn said seriously, "when I first saw a certain, beautiful
young schoolteacher I know, I wouldn't have picked her out as a
climber either."

I laughed in spite of my aches, and then I made a decision. "That's
enough," I said to Wynn. "We have only one more day here in the
mountains and I want to see as much as I can. Maybe my muscles will
ease up some as I walk. Where can we go today?"

"You're sure?" Wynn asked, a bit doubtful.

"Positive," I answered.

"Climbing or walking?" asked Wynn.

"Just walking. Those old pants aren't fit to be worn anywhere till
they are washed."

"Do you have proper shoes?" inquired my practical husband.

I pointed to the pair I had chosen for the day before. Wynn shook
his head.

"Not good enough," he stated, and this time I didn't even argue.

"Okay," I said, "I'll wear the boots." I went for them, hoping with
all my heart that my long skirt would hide them.

It almost did. I smiled to myself and announced to Wynn that I
was ready to go.

We wasted no time. In the morning we went to Bow Falls. They
were not high falls but were nevertheless lovely to watch. The water
ran wildly between two uprisings of mountain rock which confined it
on either side. As it pounded and boiled down the drop of several feet,
the water turned from clear, bright translucent to a foaming milky
white. One could hear the roar long before rounding the turn where
one could look upstream and view the spectacle. It nearly took my
breath away. I would have sat and watched the falls, mesmerized for
the rest of the morning, had not Wynn roused me. "I hate to prod,
but if we are going to fit in the Cave and Basin, we must be going. It's
rather a long walk."

It was a long walk, and already my feet were tired from lifting the
heavy boots step by step; so, as soon as we reached the area where
public transportation was available, I agreed it would be wise to ride
rather than try to hike all the way.

The guide at the Cave and Basin was a jolly Scot who seemed to
be having the time of his life escorting visitors through what he treated
as his private domain. When he saw Wynn, his face spread with a grin.

"Aye, an' how be ya, Delaney?" he cried, wringing Wynn's hand
vigorously.

He didn't allow Wynn a chance for an answer. "An' shur now," he
went on, "an' don't be a-tellin' me thet ye've found yerself a lass-an' a
bonnie one she's bein'."

Wynn proudly introduced me. I hoped with all my heart that the
jovial man would not look down and see my mannish boots peeking
out from under my sweeping skirt. He didn't look down. Instead, he
grabbed a lantern and hurried us off on our tour of his Cave and Basin.

"A sight like this ye'll never be seein', not anywhere in this world,"
he informed me, rolling his is delightfully.

I shivered some as we followed the man into the cave and along
rocky uneven steps to deep within the earth. It got cooler and more
mysterious as we advanced; and the old man talked in a spooky, confiding tone, pointing out strange shapes and shadows as he whispered
eerie suspicions about what they might have been in some long ago
yesteryear. I shivered more noticeably now, and Wynn reached to place
a protective arm around me. "Don't pay any attention to his stories,"
he whispered in my ear. "He makes them up as he goes along."

"An' look there now," went on the Scot, leaning close and lowering
his voice as though someone from the dead past might hear him and
take offense. "See there by yonder wall-that there mysterious shape."
His finger pointed it out, and the lantern swung back and forth, making the strange shadows dance.

"Right there," the man leaned even closer to me to make sure that
my eyes were following his pointing finger. "Thet there is a skeleton.
Thet of an Indian warrior caught here in the cave. He must have been
wounded in battle-or else waitin' out a thunderstorm-and somehow
he got caught and held here an' never did leave." He paused. "'Course,
I just tell thet to the young lasses thet I don't want to spook none," he
added confidentially. "What really happened, I'm a-wagerin', is thet he
was murdered right here." The is rolled round and round on his
tongue.

I shivered again and we moved on, the lantern bobbing and shivering, too. Again and again, we had things pointed out to us and then
we descended a ladder to an underground pool steaming with heat.

"Kneel down careful like and put yet hand in."

I wasn't very brave and clung to Wynn's hand as I knelt to feel the
water. It was, indeed, nice and warm.

"What heats it?" I asked in surprise.

"Aye," laughed the Scotsman. "Only the good Lord knows. He
keeps a few secrets of His own. I'm a-guessin' we'll never know unless
He decides to be tellin'."

We retraced our steps. I was looking forward to being back out in
the warm sun again, though I wouldn't have missed the experience for
anything. I was unprepared for the brightness as I stepped out from
the cave. My eyes protested and I closed them tightly and turned away in the opposite direction so I might open them at my own choosing.

My eyes soon adjusted and I was able to turn back to the cheery
guide with a smile of approval for his Cave and Basin. He seemed to
feel it was very important that we had enjoyed our venture. I put out
my hand.

"Thank you so much," I said, meaning every word of it. "I enjoyed
that ever so much."

His eyes twinkled. He took the proffered hand and shook it heartily and then turned to Wynn.

"I always wondered why ye kept on a-waitin' and a-waitin instead
of takin' ye a wife, an' now I know. Ye were just a-waitin' fer the finest
thet there be."

Wynn grinned.

"Well, the best to ye both now," said the Scot, and he gave Wynn
a hearty slap on the back and turned to care for more of his tourists.

We were almost back to Calgary when my honeymoon reverie was
broken and my thoughts went instead to all that needed to be done in
one short day. I stirred rather uncomfortably and Wynn sensed my
restlessness.

"Something wrong?" he asked, very sensitive to my changing
moods.

"I was just thinking of all that needs to be done tomorrow," I
admitted.

"It shouldn't be too bad," he tried to assure me. "Your trunk is all
ready to go and most of the other things are all packed and waiting.
There will just be a few last-minute things to be gathered together."

"But all those wedding gifts?"

"Julie and Mary volunteered, didn't I tell you?"

"I don't recall-"

"I'm sorry. I meant to tell you, so your mind would be at ease."

"That's fine," I said, feeling better about it. "I do hope they are
careful and use lots of packing. Some of those porcelain things are very
delicate."

"Packing?" echoed Wynn. "They won't need much packing. Mary
has volunteered to store them in her attic. They will be careful, I'm
sure.

"Store them?"

Now it was Wynn's turn to show surprise. "Elizabeth, you weren't
thinking we would be taking all these things with us, were you?"

"Well-yes-I-"

"We couldn't possibly. The Police Force allows so many pounds of
baggage per person. We have already stretched our limit. Besides, such
things would serve no purpose-have no function-in the North."

For a moment I wanted to. argue. Their function would be to make
a home-to make me feel more like a homemaker. Wasn't that function enough? I didn't argue though. I remembered well my prayer of
three days before and my promise to my God to let Wynn be the head
of the household. I waited for a moment until I was sure I had complete control and then I looked at Wynn and gave him one of my
nicest smiles.

"I guess that is all taken care of then."

Wynn put an arm around me and drew me close, even though we
were on a crowded train.

"Thank you, Elizabeth," he whispered against my hair, and I knew
I had gained far more than I had lost in the exchange.

As expected, the next day was a busy one. My family was still with
Jon and Mary. They would be staying for a few more days before heading back east. I was glad I still had this one brief day with them before
I would be heading north.

However, there would be no more late-night chats with my sister
Julie. Her things had been moved from the room I had used for so
long at Jon's, and the room was now set up for Wynn's and my use. It
seemed rather strange at first, but I quickly got used to the idea.
Already, I didn't know how I had ever managed without Wynn, and I
had been a married woman only four short days.

Wynn was gone a good share of the day, running here and there
making final preparations. He had an appointment at the Royal North
West Police Headquarters for last-minute instructions and took our last
trunks and crates down to be weighed and checked in. We would be
starting our journey by train, then switching to boat, and ending by ox
cart or wagon. Had it been the winter months, we would have also
used dog teams.

We did not retire early. There was no need to conserve our energy.
We had all the next day to sleep on the train if we wished. It seemed
far more important now to sit and chat with the family. Reluctantly,
we finally went to bed.

I climbed the stairs to my room for one last time. Who knew when
I might sleep here again? I had grown to love this room. I had always
felt welcomed and loved in Jon's home. I would miss it. I would miss
them. I would miss each one of the children. They might be nearly
grown before I saw them again. And what of my dear mother and
father? Would they still be in their Toronto home when I returned
from the north country? What about Julie? Would she marry while I
was gone? And Matthew? He would be a man.

I did not dread my future with Wynn in his North. The only thing
that bothered me was that I would miss so much of what went on
here. If only I could freeze everything in place until I came back again
so I wouldn't need to miss so much. But that was impossible. One
could only be at one place at one time. The world in Toronto and here
in Calgary would continue to go on without Elizabeth Delaney, and I
must accept the fact.

I felt a bit teary inside as I turned my face into my pillow. For a
moment, I was afraid I was going to cry; and then Wynn reached for
me and rubbed his cheek against mine.

"Are you ready for adventure, Elizabeth?" he whispered to me, and
I could detect excitement in his voice.

"Um-hum," I murmured, reaching up my hand to feel the strength
of his jawline. I smiled into the darkness, and Wynn could feel the pull
of my facial muscles as they formed the smile. He kissed me on the
temple.

"I've never been so excited about heading north, Elizabeth," he
confided. "Always. before, I've known how much I was really leaving
behind. This time I can only think of what I am taking with me."

I stirred in his arms.

"I hope I never disappoint you, Wynn."

"I'm not worried about that." His voice was very serious now. "I
only hope and pray that you are never disappointed. The North can be
cruel, Elizabeth. It's beautiful, but it can be cruel, too. The people they are simple, needy people-like children in many ways. I guess it's
the people who draw me there. I love them in some mysterious way.
They trust you, lean on you, so simply, so completely. You sort of feel
you have to be worthy of their trust."

`And I'm sure you are."

"I don't know. It seems as if I've never been able to do enough.
What they really need are doctors, schools, and most of all missions.
Missions where they can really learn the truth about God and His plan
for man. They have it all so mixed up in their thinking."