BC shrugged, stared into the distance the way he had stared at the river.
When their business was done, BC and Wind did not go back along the River Trail. Instead they headed south along the foot of Frost’s Bridge, then swung up an exit ramp and onto the bridge itself.
Frost and Wing stood against the east wall of the domicile, where less rain fell. They watched the couple pull their two-wheeled wagon up the slope of the bridge, with their new cargo of bloody meat in a plastic bag.
Wing said “They’re headin’ into Town to trade that meat for his skag.”
Frost said “I know.”
22
Daniel Charlie said “This is called a fish hook.”
Surrey said “You made it too small. Fishes are bigger than that.” He was a sturdy, dark haired, dark eyed boy. He had a wool shift but was barefoot. He sounded as if he were accusing Daniel Charlie of stupidity.
Daniel Charlie said “Will, couldn’t you find some kind of shoes for this guy?”
Surrey said “My feet ain’t cold. You couldn’t even eat a fish that small. One bite.”
Daniel Charlie said “How big is a fish?”
Surrey threw his hands as wide apart as he could.
Will and Shaughnessy snickered. Surrey glared at them with menace. He was shorter than either of them.
They were on Amber’s barge. The tide was changing, and the river was as still as it ever could be, with eddies forming and fading across its surface. The three boys stood around Daniel Charlie, who was sitting at the edge of the barge with his feet dangling over the water. Behind him at the end of his braid his ruined eagle feather brushed the weathered planks. Ten feet to either side of him stood a plastic flower pot with a rose plant. On the plant to his right there were the remnants of a single wilted blossom. He said “You don’t grab the fish with the fish hook. You get the fish to bite on it. The hook gets stuck in his mouth.”
The boys gazed with reverence and fear at the thing Daniel Charlie was pinching between a thumb and a forefinger. He said “It’s hard makin’ somethin’ this small. Hard to get it sharp enough. Fish have tough mouths. It has to be really sharp.”
Shaughnessy said “How do you get the fish to bite on it?”
“Now that’s an intelligent question.”
Shaughnessy stuck his tongue out at Surrey.
A small white plastic bag that said Delta Pharmacy sat to the right of Daniel Charlie near Surrey’s dirty feet. Daniel Charlie reached back into it. He said “I’m always happy when I see a worm. Worms behave like everythin’ is fine and always has been and always will be. Worms are dependable. Not like fish. If I had another daughter I would call her Worm.”
The boys bent close to watch him thread the creature onto the hook. He left a half-inch free to wiggle.
Will said “Fish eat worms?”
“If there’s a fish anywhere in this river it will smell this worm and come runnin’.” A six-foot length of plastic pipe lay across Daniel Charlie’s lap. The line was a blue strand of nylon twine. The float was a small plastic bottle. The weight was a flake of concrete. He called “Amber, where exactly did you see that fish?”
The ancient woman stood near the entrance of her decrepit shack, in her washed-out logger’s shirt and canvas pants and rubber boots. She was hunched over a large orange plastic bag that she was holding open with one hand while trying to stuff a blackened aluminum pot into it with the other. This hand also held her rebar walking stick. Her loose white hair dangled around the opening of the bag. She finally managed to shove the pot in.
The boys moved away as she hurried toward them with short choppy steps. She was bent as if she were expecting flying objects. With every step she punched the deck with the rusted rod. She seemed to be looking out of both her blue eye and her whitened one. She leaned on Daniel Charlie’s head with her left hand and pointed with the rebar to a spot in the water about twenty feet out and slightly downriver.
Daniel Charlie said “Then that’s where I’m fishin’. Watch out, there, Surrey. Watch out, Amber.” Surrey moved back from the edge of the barge. Amber said in her crone’s voice “I’m watchin’” but kept leaning on his head. Daniel Charlie tossed the chip of concrete back onto the deck, and the bottle and baited hook and the line went with it. He cast gracefully, and the float landed where she had indicated, but then drifted on the slow current until all the line was taken up, and then it swung a little toward the shore. “Close enough” he said. “Close enough to smell that worm.”
“And come runnin’” said Surrey.
Shaughnessy laughed. Surrey stared at him till he looked away. It was hard to know whether Surrey was angry or hurt or was simply studying the other boy. Some kind of change was happening in his face.
Slowly the little plastic bottle swung in until it rested in shadow a few feet away from the barge, with the nylon strand taut to the end of the plastic pipe. They all leaned out and stared at it.
Amber said “That ain’t where I saw it.”
Daniel Charlie said “Well I can’t make it stay put.”
“The fish? Of course you can’t make it stay put. It’s a fish.”
“The line. I can’t make the line stay put. Go finish your packin’.”
“I seen you people pull salmon out of this river by the ton. In your fishin’ boats.”
“Who is you people?”
“You Natives. That’s why you want to catch this fish, ain’t it? You want the old days.”
“Don’t forget your squeezebox.”
For a while they all watched the plastic bottle making its little adjustments to the movement of the water, slipping sideways an inch or even a foot before sliding back again. But soon they all must have understood that no fish was involved in these movements, because Amber returned to her packing, and the three boys moved back a ways from the edge.
Surrey still stood a little apart from Will and Shaughnessy. He spat on the silver-weathered deck and said to Shaughnessy “So, is your daddy dead yet?”
Daniel Charlie said “What the hell?” and looked over his shoulder at Surrey.
Shaughnessy paled and said nothing. He glared at the smaller boy. He seemed afraid.
“Or is he just sick? Is he just gettin’ ready to die?” There was, on Surrey’s dark, round, dirt-smudged face, an expression of hostile glee. His eyes were wide and agitated. He shouted “My daddy’s dead! Shot by an arrow!” With a finger he mimicked the crossbow bolt striking his father in the side. He made a noise like something flying fast through the air. “Oh, did he scream!” Surrey hopped around the deck, throwing his arms around and screaming.
“Jesus Christ!” said Daniel Charlie. He scrambled to his feet, still holding the plastic fishing pipe. Amber came out of her shack wearing a yellow rubberized rain hat that covered the back of her neck. Her concertina hung from one hand, making a wheezing sound. She stared at Surrey.
Shaughnessy was white. He turned and walked quickly past Surrey, across the sloping deck and down the gangplank.
Now Surrey was holding an invisible sword with both hands and was thrusting it downwards again and again, and he was screaming “And then they stabbed him! Stab! Stab! Stab!”
Shaughnessy ran up the path that led through Amber’s garden. Surrey stood at the top of the gangplank and yelled “You should’ve seen the blood!”
Daniel Charlie shouted “Hey! Shut up!” He tossed the pole out into the stream. He hustled across the deck, snatched up Surrey and strode down the gangplank, declaring “There’s no god damn fish in this river.”
Will upended the pharmacy bag and sprinkled the bait on the water. He watched the worms drift and sink. After they were out of sight he continued to stare at the water for a while. Then he helped Amber set her concertina in the orange bag. She was shaking her head and moving her lips as if there were something she did not want to believe. Will had tears in his eyes as he swung the bag over his shoulder. She took his arm and they moved with small steps toward the gangplank.