Catch the Wind: My Journey with Caroline

Caroline and I watch from the woods as Jed walks right past without noticing us. I whisper, asking if that’s really the woodworker who was rude to her earlier. Arms crossed, she nods and explains that when Papa was taken prisoner, Jed was the only man at the yard who doubted Mama and her could run it.

A sharp, ax-shaped tool swings from his hand as he heads down the beach, away from us. Caroline identifies it as an adze, used for shaping planks, and adds that there’s no good reason for him to have it off the shipyard during a lunch break. I ask if he’s stealing it, and she looks horrified at the thought, since tools are difficult to replace right now. The men still need to finish the gunboat before the British return. Glaring after him, she insists she trusts him about as far as she could throw him.

Caroline wonders aloud whether the British might be paying him to sabotage the shipyard, and suggests we hurry back to report what we’ve seen. But then she hesitates. If we don’t follow him now, we might never know for certain what he’s actually doing. I agree that we need to find out.

Before I can second-guess myself, Caroline is already urging me to hurry. We stick to the forest path above while Jed sticks to the beach below, close enough to track him without being seen, though we lose sight of him a time or two before he reappears. Suddenly Caroline’s hand clamps down on my arm. She’s certain he’s about to cut into the woods.

The last thing I want, if Jed really is working for the British, is for him to spot us. Scanning for cover, my skin prickles until I settle on a fallen tree tangled in vines. We duck behind it just as Jed crashes off the beach and into the trees, following no path at all.

For a moment, only a bird sings somewhere overhead. Caroline and I exchange a glance, both braced for whatever happens next. Then Jed lets out a sudden “Yah!” that makes us both jump, and my pulse hammers so hard I can’t tell it from hers. Another holler follows, then a heavy thump. Whatever he’s really up to out here, sneaking off with a stolen tool clearly isn’t the half of it.

Beside me, Caroline lifts her head very slowly. Holding my breath, I hunt through the tangle of vines until I find a gap wide enough to see through.

Jed stands not far off, shoulders heaving, out of breath. He swings the adze back like he’s aiming for a home run, shouting, “This is what you deserve!” Wood explodes off the tree where the blade lands. I can’t tell who he thinks he’s yelling at.

Furiously, Caroline whispers that he’s going to wreck their adze and that she has to stop him. It’s too dangerous, I hiss, telling her not to go, but she’s already scrambling to her feet before I can grab her arm. Out of the bushes she bursts, shouting at him to stop.

Jed whirls around, startled, then furious the instant he recognizes Caroline. He demands to know why she’s here. Scrambling up after her, I shout at him not to dare hurt her.

Darting his eyes between the two of us, he insists he’d never hurt Miss Caroline. The adze drops to his side, and he claims there’s an explanation for all of it.

Caroline pauses. Then, arms folding and chin lifting, she challenges him to explain exactly how swinging that adze at a tree is anything else than trying to break the adze.