The Expeditions by Karl Iagnemma Read Free Book Online Page A

completing portages while bearing ninety-pound bales of furs. Catlin describes similar feats performed by pregnant women.”
    “She is but half Native.”
    “I can bear as much as any man,” the woman said suddenly. Her English was tinged with a French accent. “More than some, even.”
    “And regardless, we have no other possibilities to consider.” Professor Tiffin sighed. “Her husband is
absent,
you see. Every healthy voyageur is departed for the summer. It’s only soldiers and drunk men in this funny town, and we
must
depart!”
    “Your language,” Mr. Brush said. “We are in the presence of a lady.”
    The woman turned to the window. Outside lay a dusty strip of road and beyond it the beach, the straits, then the Canadian shore with its bright, tiny cabins. She studied the scene with her lips pursed. It was as though she wanted badly to speak but did not know the words. Elisha guessed that she might be twenty-two years old.
    He stepped into the parlor. Neither Mr. Brush nor Professor Tiffin noticed his presence; then the boy cleared his throat.
    “Ah, young Elisha,” Tiffin said. “Let me introduce Madame Susette Morel. She is the wife of Monsieur Ignace Morel, the voyageur I engaged to guide us this summer. He was to sail with me from Detroit, however he never came aboard. Apparently he is nowhere to be found.”
    Elisha smiled at the woman. Her eyes were the color of peat. A faint white scar, like a chalk streak, ran along her jaw. Susette Morel nodded stiffly to Elisha then turned back to the men.
    He sat on a stool and attempted to study an engraving above the fireplace. It was a scene of Canton harbor crowded with junks and schooners and Chinese fishing boats. Elisha’s gaze moved back to the woman’s scar. She was older, he decided, twenty-five or even thirty. A tobacco pouch was knotted to her sash. Beside it hung a beaded knife sheath.
    “I propose we travel without a guide,” Brush said. “We will pack twenty pounds extra weight each, rely on the Bayfield chart for reference. It is incomplete but likely adequate. With all respect to Madame Morel, it would not be proper to travel in mixed company. This is not a pleasure tour.”
    “You will not find the image stones without a guide.” The woman edged forward. “They are located far inland, through a very big swamp. They are impossible to find unless you know them. You need a guide.”
    “Well! In that case we will enquire at a Native village about their location. Natives living nearby will no doubt know the whereabouts of these precious stones. We will engage a trustworthy savage to lead us the final distance.”
    “A trustworthy savage!” Professor Tiffin gasped in feigned astonishment. “Do you suppose such a mythical creature exists?”
    The supper bell rang. Immediately footsteps moved across the ceiling and down the stairway, accompanied by muted conversation, a burst of laughter. A heavyset gentleman glanced into the parlor and said, “Hurry or you’ll lose your chance!” The kitchen door shut with a bang.
    “Perhaps we should continue over supper,” Elisha said quickly. “We’ll compromise better with food in our stomachs. And then we could hear more from Madame Morel.”
    “In fact, we are settled.” Mr. Brush rose and bowed to the woman. “Madam, I thank you for your patience.”
    “We are not settled!” Professor Tiffin jerked upright, his nose nearly grazing Brush’s chin. Their difference in height seemed to startle Tiffin. He said, “Hear me now, friend: We will not find the image stones without a skilled guide. We will certainly not find them with a crude map and our good intentions. Now, this expedition’s commission authorizes me to engage a guide, and Madame Susette Morel is the guide I have chosen to engage.”
    “This expedition’s commission was drafted by a shallow-brained clerk in the land office in Detroit. It can be amended to account for unforeseen circumstances.”
    “If you do not agree with