Catch the Wind: My Journey with Caroline

Captain Miller agrees with Caroline’s plan and tells her it’s time to go. He spins toward his men, barking orders and telling them they won’t need to fuss with the skiffs while the fort’s being taken.

Caroline turns to me, her eyes lit up like storming the fort is nothing to fear. But a handful of British soldiers keeps me from sharing her excitement, so I look away rather than meet her gaze.

A dozen what-ifs twist through my stomach. What if Captain Miller’s small band fails? Would they be captured, Caroline and me right along with them? I force myself to breathe and shove the panic back down.

I stay glued to Caroline’s side while the men scramble into the skiffs. Seth climbs into ours, too, along with one more man, and once he’s rowed us clear of the dock, Caroline hauls up the sail. She announces that we’ve got a fair wind today, sounding completely unbothered. Whether that calm is real or just a show for my sake, I can’t tell.

Pine Island’s marshy shore isn’t far, and the sail there doesn’t take long. Once we’re close, the thick woods onshore send a shiver through me. Is a British soldier watching us from in there right now?

Seth must catch my fear, because he murmurs that the fort sits in a clearing on the island’s far side, out of sight from here. Caroline leans in, bumping my shoulder, and I know she’s thinking exactly what I am. We’ve crossed straight into enemy territory.

Our two skiffs slow and glide into the marsh. Once Caroline lowers the sail, Seth rows us as close to shore as he can. A pair of ducks explode out of the water quacking, startling a shriek out of me.

Good cover surrounds Caroline and me among the cattails while we settle in. The rest of the raiders, Seth included, climb over the sides into the muck. Captain Miller hands coils of rope to Seth and the other boy. All the other men keep their guns raised clear of the water.

The captain’s voice drops low and hard as he orders us to hold our position until they return, warning we might need to escape the island fast. Caroline tells him solemnly that we understand. I only nod.

Caroline keeps our skiff steady by gripping a fistful of marsh grass. I grab the second skiff to keep it from floating away.

We watch through the reeds as the men wade ashore almost without a sound and disappear into the trees. Whispering, I ask how long a raid like this usually takes to finish. Caroline shrugs. She tells me that once it starts, we’ll surely hear the muskets fire, and after that, there’s nothing left to do but wait. Waiting has never been my strong suit, so the minutes crawl by.

Just then, splashing starts somewhere close to where we’re hidden, like footsteps wading toward us through the marsh. Caroline’s eyes snap to mine, both of us thinking the same thing: is a soldier creeping up to seize the skiffs, and us right along with them?

We hold still and listen. Nothing happens. Maybe it’s nothing after all, I tell myself, grasping for hope.

Splash! Any hope I had collapses. This one sounds closer than the last, and I hold my breath.