The Light Keeper's Legacy (A Chloe Ellefson Mystery) by Kathleen Ernst Read Free Book Online Page A

to criticize any fly speck or tarnished spoon. “I’m glad the visit went well.”
    “He dropped off a library box, so I have a new book to share,” Emily added. She sat on a log near the fire and pulled the treasure from her basket. “ Miriam the Avenger . I’ll read, and you stop me whenever there’s a word you don’t know.”
    “That would be happy. Start with ‘avenger,’ please!”
    Emily tipped her head thoughtfully. “Well, an avenger is someone who wreaks vengeance … ” She tried again. “Suppose someone killed somebody. If the dead man’s brother found the killer and then killed him , he would be an avenger. He would get re-venge by a-venging his brother’s death.”
    Ragna reached for her twine. What type of woman was this Miriam? “Very well,” she said. Emily settled on a log and began to read.
    William Betts had been assigned keeper duty at Pottawatomie Lighthouse soon after Anders and Ragna settled on Rock Island. After Emily married William she visited the fishing village right away, introducing herself and inviting her new neighbors to tour the lighthouse. Ragna had fumbled to make conversation with this confident Yankee girl. “I can help you learn English,” Emily had offered.
    Now Emily read two chapters before closing the book with a decisive snap. “Very good!” she said. “You knew almost every word.”
    Not really, but Ragna didn’t want to admit that. She wanted to embrace everything about this new place.
    “Do you want to practice writing?” Emily pulled a small slate and pencil from her basket. Ragna dropped the net in her lap and carefully wrote her name.
    “I always have to remind myself not to say Rag-na,” Emily said. “That’s what it looks like in English.”
    Ragna didn’t like the harsh sound of that. The Danish pronunciation, Rhan-ya , came from the back of the throat, with a much softer and lovelier sound.
    “Now the rest of your family,” Emily prompted her.
    Ragna wrote her husband’s name first. Then her brothers, Carl and Jens, who had recently arrived on Rock Island.
    “Very good!” Emily beamed at her pupil. Then her smile faded. “The afternoon is almost passed. Anders and your brothers are still out?”
    Ragna turned toward the lake. “They are.”
    “No wind,” Emily said sympathetically. “That means a long day.”
    “They say gillnet fishing is more bad than fifteen years. ”
    “It would be better to say, ‘Gillnet fishing is the worst it’s been in fifteen years’.” Emily squeezed her hand gently. “How far out are they?”
    “They set nets ten miles out,” Ragna said. “Not so difficult yesterday, with a good wind for the sail. Today, they had to row. Once they lift the nets and set new ones, they’ll have to row back.” Six hours of rowing, perhaps eight. Anders shared his Mackinaw boat with her brothers now, thank heavens. Carl and Jens could take turns at the oars.
    “At least they can clean the fish in the boat,” Emily said. In rough weather, when pitching waves made knife-work impossible, dressing the fish couldn’t begin until the men reached shore.
    For a moment both women were silent. Someone was chopping firewood nearby, and one of the Irish women sang a song in her native tongue as she filled net boxes.
    “That new law from the State Fish Inspector is a … ” Ragna paused, groping for the right English word.
    “William said it was a nuisance,” Emily supplied. “He said it seemed designed to annoy and hinder fishermen to the fullest extent possible.”
    Nuisance . Ragna turned the new word over, tucked it away. “Anders wants to obey all laws, but we are so close to Michigan, Illinois … ” Her thoughts moved faster than words. Fishermen caught selling fish out of the county would be fined. But if a steamer docked from Chicago with buyers on deck and ice in the hold, did the Wisconsin Fish Inspector expect the men to turn down a sale?
    “It’s not practical,” Emily agreed.
    “And with the