Catch the Wind: My Journey with Caroline

In the end, Caroline decides Captain Miller should be the one to settle Martha’s fate. Martha still stands in the water, an odd mix of pride and terror on her face. Rowing closer, Caroline tells her she’ll be treated fairly if she stays with us.

Agreeing, Martha lets her shoulders drop and reaches out for a hand up into the boat. It takes both of us to haul her in, and she lands in a soaked, muddy heap. Even so, she finds a seated position and sits with her back straight. Watching her face something this hard without a single complaint fills me with a quiet shame. If she can be taken prisoner without whining about it, surely I can manage to help Dad once Mom is gone.

We wait in silence as Caroline rows us back toward the other skiff, which has become lodged in the cattails. The wind picks up around us. For a couple seconds, I wonder if it’s going to rain on us. But it doesn’t.

None of us say a word. We haven’t heard any muskets firing. Everything is still. We wait for a long time.

Suddenly, we hear triumphant shouts erupt from the trees, and Seth bursts into view, cheering that they’ve taken the fort without firing a single shot. Behind him come the American men, herding four British soldiers who look more deflated than dangerous. No woman stands among the prisoners, which tells me the Americans have let Martha’s mother go. Maybe Captain Miller will free Martha, too.

Grabbing my hand, Caroline thanks me for coming along, admitting that capturing four soldiers probably doesn’t sound like much. Firmly, I tell her it is plenty, and that her father would be proud of her.

Caroline introduces Martha to Captain Miller. He tells her she’s free to go, and that her mother’s already waiting at the fort. He never came here to make war on women. Martha thanks him, explains that her mother has no one else in the world, then thanks Caroline and me for treating her decently before slipping off into the trees.

Her words stay with me. Once Mom ships out, will Dad feel just as alone in the world? He’s never once complained about her leaving, but he must dread it every bit as much as I do. Everything they used to share is landing on him alone now. And I haven’t given him a single reason to believe he can lean on me.

Maybe it’s time I complained less and helped more, like putting plates in the dishwasher without being asked or keeping the twins busy with new projects. Maybe we can work on a new photo album. That way, the twins won’t miss Mom as much and when she gets home, she won’t feel like she missed everything. I decide that once we’re back in Sackets Harbor, I should tell Caroline that my family needs me home.

The men load all four prisoners into the two skiffs, and we ride low in the water as we shove off. Caroline sounds just as confident as ever, calling out that we’re setting sail. I only smile, already certain of where we’re headed: toward the American shore, and toward home.