The Emerald Key - By Christopher Dinsdale Page 0,28

course for the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River.

The hidden sun was stretching its long, scarlet fingers across the early-morning sky. A light mist was forming on the water’s surface. Jamie had been paddling for three hours yet the northern shore of the river was still frustratingly far away and he was starting to worry. The good news was that Grosse Isle was now a distant bump in the river behind them. The bad news was that the current of the St. Lawrence kept pushing them downstream, and further away from Montreal, the final port of the Carpathia. Rubbing his eyes, Colin poked his head up out of the hole.

“It’s wet down here.”

Jamie stopped paddling. “Are you sure?”

“See my hand?”

Jamie touched Colin’s wet skin and grimaced. Although an early-morning mist veiled much of the far shore, he could tell it was still a distance away. An innate fear of the water danced in his mind, as the Brotherhood had taught him only the very basics of swimming.

“How bad is it?”

“My blanket is soaked.”

Colin held it up, dripping wet. The glue! He had wondered if the glue was waterproof, but he thought that it would hold out the water for at least a short river crossing. He hadn’t realized it was going to take this long to paddle across the channel. His miscalculation might end up costing them their lives.

“Colin, I need you to try and figure out where the water is coming from, then jam the blanket into that area and hold it there with your feet. Do you understand?”

Colin nodded, smiling, as if he was glad to finally have a task, and disappeared back into the front of the coffin.

Jamie dug furiously at the water. It was his idea to bring Colin with him for the crossing, and now he kicked himself for putting the boy’s life in grave danger once again. Jamie shook his head at the irony. He was supposed to be saving Colin’s life by taking him away from the island. If he had just left him there, at least he would not be in danger of drowning! Jamie tried his best to refocus his thoughts. There must be a way out of this. Death could not be an option.

Just ahead, Jamie could make out a large expanse of watery plants in the early morning fog. He hoped that the plants signified shallow water. If the coffin should go down in the plants, perhaps he could touch bottom. He pulled on the paddle with all his might, but he could feel the craft becoming more sluggish. Water was lapping up against his calves. He was sure that the coffin was going to sink very soon.

Colin re-emerged from the floating crypt. “I’m wet and cold.”

“You did a fantastic job, Colin. Now why don’t you come here, sit on my lap and try to keep out of the cold water.”

Jamie was knee-deep in water when they reached the edge of the plants. The coffin was no longer floating, but ploughing through the water. They were still some distance to shore, but it seemed within reach. The plants brushed past the front of the coffin. Little brown bits from the plants rained down on the sinking lid of the coffin. It would be only seconds before they would have to abandon their lifeboat. With his last few strokes, Jamie reviewed everything he could remember about swimming.

“Colin, when I say, I want you to climb onto my back and hold on as if I were giving you a piggyback ride. Make sure you keep your head above the water. That’s very important.”

“Are we going to get wet?” he asked.

“I’m afraid so. I’m going to try and swim to shore.”

“But the water’s cold!” he protested.

“Our boat is not going to make it, Colin. But we’re closer to shore now. I think we can make it if we swim.”

Without warning, the coffin’s nose dove under the water’s surface. Colin clambered onto Jamie’s back as the coffin completely submerged. Something moved ahead of them. Was it one of those large beasts he’d read about? A moose? Perhaps a person! He took his paddle and waved it frantically above his head.

“Help! Help us! We’re sinking!”

Suddenly, the entire coffin dropped down to the bottom of the river.

“Colin! Hang on!”

“I’m scared!”

But the little boy did as he was told. He grabbed on to Jamie’s shoulders and held on for dear life. Jamie had hoped the coffin might settle on top of the plants and give