Catch the Wind: My Journey with Caroline

Caroline tells her mother she believes my dad serves in the navy, that I probably have no other family nearby and will need to find work, and that she hopes I can stay with them for a few days first.

Mrs. Abbott tells Caroline she has a good heart, reasoning that anyone who traveled overland to reach Sackets Harbor would naturally look as worn out as I do. She agrees to take me in until I’m settled. Caroline pipes up that maybe I could help out at the shipyard, which leaves me wondering exactly what I’ve just been volunteered for, since I don’t know the first thing about building ships.

But regardless, how little suspicion Mrs. Abbott seems to have washes a wave of relief through me. I gulp down water from what looks like a barrel sawed cleanly in half. As I’m wiping my face dry, a young man in a naval officer’s coat rushes into the shipyard, too focused to even notice me. I trail after him to stand next to Caroline.

Mrs. Abbott identifies him as Lieutenant Woolsey. She asks if he’s come to ask about the gunboat she’s working on for the navy. He shakes his head and explains he’s come to ask about a hidden cove near Mallard Bay, one Caroline’s papa had mentioned right before he was captured. Mr. Abbott said it’d be perfect for hiding a ship poised to ambush enemy vessels. So far, no one Woolsey has asked knows exactly where it is.

Mrs. Abbott confirms Mallard Bay has always been her husband’s favorite place to fish. Caroline jumps in eagerly, describing how the shoreline hooks a few miles east of Mallard Bay, hiding a cove behind the trees deep enough to hold an entire schooner.

Woolsey asks directly whether Mrs. Abbott would sail out with his crew to point out the cove herself, since it could matter greatly for defending their shore. Mrs. Abbott hesitates. She admits she’s only been to Mallard Bay a couple of times, and wouldn’t know where the cove is. But she could find it with enough time.

But just then, shouting drifts in from the shipyard. Mrs. Abbott glances toward the window with the same frazzled look Mom gets when the twins act up at the worst possible moment. She asks Woolsey if they could wait just an hour, since a sailcloth delivery still needs accepting and Mr. Tate already has more than enough on his hands.

Woolsey turns his hat over in his hands and admits he’s anxious to get a ship into that cove before some enemy vessel slips toward Sackets Harbor first. Beside me, Caroline practically vibrates with excitement, insisting there’s no time to risk waiting, and offers to lead the way herself since she knows that spot better than anyone.

Turning to Lieutenant Woolsey, Mrs. Abbott presses her mouth into a tight line. She reminds him their village was attacked just yesterday, and she needs to know a navy ship is genuinely safe for her daughter. He vows to protect Caroline with everything he has. What he doesn’t do, I notice, is promise the ship itself is safe, and that gap sends a shiver down my neck.

While she thinks it over, she rubs at an ink stain on her finger. The shipyard still needs someone to mind it, so she leaves the choice to Caroline: sail out with Lieutenant Woolsey, or stay behind and take charge of the sailcloth delivery.

Caroline doesn’t hesitate for even a second. The thought of helping Lieutenant Woolsey sets her bouncing on her toes, so eager that I wonder if she’s forgotten I’m standing right here, until she spins around to ask if I’ll come, too.

Suddenly all three of them are looking at me. Impatient to get moving, Lieutenant Woolsey fidgets with his hat. Worry and resolve both cross Mrs. Abbott’s face. Caroline’s eyes practically dance as she waits for my answer.

How badly Caroline wants me to say yes is impossible to miss. Sailing out with her and Lieutenant Woolsey sounds like the adventure of a lifetime, and part of me can’t stand the idea of missing it. But it would mean crossing an enormous, open lake in a creaky wooden boat, maybe with enemy ships lurking nearby, and I honestly don’t know if I have the nerve.