Port Needs Help, O’Malley Arrives, Utopia possible…
O’Malley’s Dream sailed into the harbor sporting a large solar panel on the bow of the ship. Master O’Malley had used it to keep the battery for the electric motor charged so they could make the trip from Southmost in just two days.
“Got here as fast as I could,” O’Malley himself was the first off the ship. “Got this idea about how to get those goats of yours to somewhere there is water.” Spacer was puzzled by the large floating object towed behind the ship and now bumping up against the end of the long dock. It looked exactly like a goat corral, but floating with a floor. “I see you looking at my barge. My granddaughter came up with that idea. We were getting ready to hook this dock up to the deep pilings to replace the one the wave took out when she noticed it was like a floor.” He walked down the dock with Spacer as the crew began talking with Boats about who was to be loaded first. The flat was about the width of a dock and had a high woven fence around the sides. There was a divider with a water barrel and some hay at one end and a gate on the side.
“My herder said it would hold a herd of goats and they won’t like it, but they won’t be able to jump over that fence. Colleen comes up with the oddest things, but they always seem to be just what is needed.” O’Malley grinned at Spacer. “Now, where are we taking these folks?”
Word had come from Utopia that there was room on the coast and suggested they unload at Farm Twenty-Two because it had a good dock. It also had unused buildings and pens for the goats. The family currently living there was small and indicated to Sean’s office they would welcome the help. The problem O’Malley saw immediately was the distance. The goats would not survive being towed that far.
“Is there an island closer where we can drop them off for a while?” he said. Spacer called some of the sailors who had sailed with Julie about what was available to the east. They agreed there was a closer island with fresh water and some grazing. Fortunately, the goats liked most of the native vegetation.
“The only problem we’ll have is getting them back,” Jack Little said. “The one we call high rock, that’ll be a safe place for ‘em, but it’s pretty big. Maybe Thomas might want to go with them.” Thomas Lamas was the main goat herd and a loner. He agreed that it would be easier to round the goats up later if he was there to keep them familiar with humans. Since the goats were doing fine with the smelly spring water so far, the ships began loading people to take to Southmost.
“Taking them to Twenty-Two takes too long. Might as well take them to Trade City,” O’Malley said. “Some of these folks have no idea of how long it takes to sail anywhere. It’ll take at least five days out to my place, two to unload, and three days back for this first load. We can’t risk using the motor all the way. Looks like we might have some rain and the battery won’t hold a charge. The folks we take can ride the airship to Twenty-Two if that is what they want. We got work for anyone willing at Southmost.”
“Master O’Malley, do you remember that farm the Verdan family abandoned to the west of you?” Jack Muldoon said as he walked down the dock. “It’s been abandoned for several years but those building should still be standing.”
“I’d forgotten about that place, Jack, and by the way, your mother sends her best to you,” O’Malley said. “The news you were alive and taking up with the Port folks was a surprise, but they said you’re welcome to come and visit any time.”
“I tried to get a message to her, but my uncle had a block against me,” Jack said. “After we get this mess settled, I try and get to see her. I heard my uncle got arrested.”
“True and the family said they didn’t want him back. Lord Donnell said they would be shipping him and a couple of the other troublemakers to that island where we left the bandits from Port.”
“Glad you voted against sending the rest of us there. Most of us were just wanting what Lord Johnson is doing now, changing things.”
“Well, speaking of change, let’s get the littles and the caretakers loaded first. After we take them to Southmost, we can swing past the river delta and see if there is enough left. That’s a great idea, Jack, a great idea.”
***
The evacuation began with a flotilla of small fishing boats following O’Malley’s Dream out of the harbor on the evening shore breeze. O’Malley promised the other ship’s crews that he would pace his ship so they would not cut the wind of any ship following. The smaller ships carried supplies and adults. The larger ship carried most of the mothers and littles. There was general agreement. The littles and those who cared for them went first. As a doting grandfather himself, Master O’Malley was anticipating a wonderful trip.
The winds cooperated and he was able to spend long sessions telling tales and playing games with the littles. The far speakers had sent word of how many were coming and Lady O’Malley let her husband know they were ready. The prince might not be happy, but the O’Malley family would do what was needed.
***
Spacer and the remaining men and women of the community began packing up what they thought they would need. They had every intention of heading for what Jack Little had termed Home Port. That name was not really popular but like Boats said, it would work for now. At least it was nicer than third land mass.
Jack Muldoon had insisted they cut as much of the tree grass as they could. It was easy to work with and the trees on the new land were small. He suggested they bring a start with them because it might grow there in the swampy land where the streams went into the sea.
“One of the elders said back on Terra, they called it bamboo, but we started calling it tree grass because it describes it better,” one of the Grounders said. “This is a hybrid with one of the native reeds but that is one characteristic they didn’t breed out, spreading and growing fast.”
“It’s handy stuff,” Boats said. “But I hope we can have real wooden houses on that new place.”
“There are trees a plenty. Most of the ones where we landed are small, but you can see larger ones up on the hills. It looks as if they had the burning trees there and they’ve been crowded out with these small ones. Another thing there is there is rock. If we can figure out how to cut it, we’ll be able to have houses like the main house here.” A sailor who had seen the third land mass said.
***
That evening, one of the renegades told the gathered adults about the Verdan farm and the problems it had. “My aunt was one of the Verdan survivors. They started with the water grain from Terra, but the water was too cold. The family caught some of the crabs and tried to start growing the crab glass, but all the crabs died. Again, the water was too cold. Then they tried fishing in the delta swamps but all they caught were the native fish we can’t eat. Then the family caught the summer fever and most of them died. So, few people were left, they joined another family, and the site was taken out of the rotation.”
“And you want us to move there?” Jack Little snorted. “Sounds like a lovely place.”
“True, my little friend,” the man said. When the laughter died down, Jack Little, who towered over his good friend continued. “There has to be a better reason to consider this spot.”
The man then explained that the fish they caught was used to made the psy numbing tincture and the water was cold because of a flow from the north. The water was cold enough that the oily fish could be caught off the coast. “You have two things to harvest and trade there. The swamp roots have thrived up the river a bit where the water is warmer, and the buildings should still be in pretty good shape. It’ll be a good place until we can get the third land cleared.”
***
Spacer and Boats got the settlement organized quickly. Pots that had been used for years to grow beans and other food crops were replanted with tree grass. They were not sure the tree nuts could grow in the third land or in Utopia, so they just harvested what was ripe and hoped they’d be able to come back and harvest the rest. What seaweed that was almost ready to process for fiber was gathered and used to bundle the drying racks. Each family had been given some of the lined hampers from the trade collection to pack their personal belongings. The huts and shelters were dismantled. Someone noticed that the logs used for the roof of the dock building could be used to make a raft similar to the one O’Malley had for the goats. The nut tree trunks were not good lumber, but they floated well and lashed together, it would work to haul things to whichever place they decided. The dismantled shelters filled the first barge so more of the large nut trees were cut. Some of the weavers rigged fences along the edges similar to what was done for the goat barge. It would keep things from falling off if the sea got rough. The days that followed were busy as they waited for the flotilla to return.
***
Just as she had promised, Beth Ann and her crew took some of the settlers from each island to collect what food and supplies they could. Each group had swamp roots and several pots of vined food plants. Spacer was not sure they could fit all of them on the barge the men were building but they were going to try.
“You have to consider how much these things weigh,” one of the fishing boat captains said. “I know we carry a lot on these little ships, but we don’t go very far or very fast.”
“We’ll have to go slow over to the new place anyway,” one of the explorers said. “There are some wide stretches where we’re out of sight of land that might get rough.”
“We’ll need some of these because we may not have seed for the plants unless we harvest some,” someone pointed out. “But we really don’t need as many as we’re collecting. Both places have land we can have real gardens.”
“True enough,” Spacer said. “We’re getting this done a lot faster than I expected. Glad a couple of those small fishing boats stayed. We got way too many people here to keep up feeding like we have.”
***
“Those crossbows we got from O’Malley came in handy last night, Spacer,” Joe Marine walked up to the Bridge porch as Boats and Spacer were having first meal. “These land shakes stirred up those big lizards out in the back swamp. We shot one and the rest ate him and swam off. Seems they don’t care what the meat is.”
“I guess we need to warn the folks to keep away from that back swamp. They might start wandering around during the day because of the shakes.”
“What kinds of critters do they have over in the new place? Any ideas yet?”
“Julie and the crew didn’t see anything, but they were busy and only there during the day,” Boats said. “Ask Murphy or Jack Little what they saw, heard they spent the night.”
“All I heard about were the bugs,” Jack Little said. “Guess we’ll see when we get there. I expect the big cats will be around. We’ll still need these bows. We’ll need to get more bolts from Utopia.”
Spacer sighed. Another things they would need to trade for. The list was getting longer and longer. He finished his bowl of swamp root and sat watching the men and women of his community working together. It was a good sight. The community was going to be preserved either at the place in Utopia or in the third land. He suspected they would take the farm in Utopia for a few years. The third land needed a lot of work before it would support them. If they kept working with O’Malley and the ship builders, it might be they could live in both places. Elder Garza had said that you either worked on the change or you reacted to the change and had chaos. Working with it seemed to be a much better thing to do.
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