The Emerald Key - By Christopher Dinsdale Page 0,30
judge the angle of the sun.
Where was he? He started to look for other clues. There must be a connection between the woman who had rescued him and this structure. According to the books he’d read back on the Independence, this building was somewhat similar to the bark-covered wigwams that were used by Native people in the eastern part of Canada, but wigwams, he thought, were supposed to be much smaller and dome-shaped. Therefore, it seemed logical that if he had been helped by a Native woman, she was not of the Algonquin or Mikma’q Nations that were supposed to inhabit this part of Canada East. And why was this structure completely abandoned? Surely its size could shelter up to fifty families. Why was it not being used?
Perhaps some answers could be found at the other entranceway. Jamie went outside and circled his way around the entire length of the building, admiring its efficient construction, which used only the materials of the forest. When Jamie turned the far corner of the building, he walked right into a woman coming around the corner in the other direction. Jamie tried to spin away to minimize the impact, but he ended up only spiralling himself into a heap on the ground. The surprised woman put her hands on her hips and stared at him.
“Are you still suffering from your swim across the river?” she asked, in French.
Jamie sat up in the dirt and grinned. “Wasn’t expecting to see you so soon, or so close.”
“Grab my hand,” she offered.
Jamie took her hand, and she easily pulled him off the ground. He was sure it was the same woman who had rescued them from the river. Perhaps a couple of years older than Jamie, she was tall and lean, wearing a cotton blouse buttoned up to her neck and a full length skirt. Her ebony eyes shone with a combination of amusement and concern.
“Thank you for rescuing me and the boy. We owe you our lives.”
“I’m surprised you look so healthy.”
“Why do you say that?” asked Jamie.
“I assume you were escaping from Grosse Isle. Either that, or you were planning on harvesting some wild rice.”
“Those were rice plants I was swimming through?”
“I’m not sure I would call what you were doing swimming, but yes, those were rice plants. I was out on the river early harvesting rice for my village.”
“What village?” Jamie asked, looking first at the building and then out at the surrounding forest.
She laughed. “This is not my village. My village is down that path. We only use the longhouse for traditional ceremonies. I’m by myself because the rest of my village refuses to see you, afraid that you carry the diseases that have ravaged our land. A dozen people in my village have already died from the scourge, including two of our elders.”
“I’m sorry,” replied Jamie. “I can promise you that the boy and I are healthy. If you knew about the diseases on Grosse Isle, then why did you help us?”
She laughed. “Anyone who could paddle across the St. Lawrence River in a sinking coffin could not be that sick. Say, you speak French very well for an Irish boy. How is that possible?”
“I spent two years studying in France.” Jamie tilted his head and eyed her curiously. “This is my first time in Canada so forgive my ignorance but you are not of Algonquin descent, are you?”
“What makes you say that?”
“Just from what I read about this country.” He pointed to the structure behind him. “And the fact you called this structure a longhouse and not a wigwam.”
She nodded, impressed. “I’m Wendat.”
“Wendat?”
“The name of my nation,” she explained. “And my name is Tutuyak Lapointe.”
Jamie smiled. “I’m Jamie Galway and my little companion over there is Colin O’Connor. I don’t recall seeing the name Wendat on any of my aboriginal maps of Canada.”
She shrugged. “It’s because of our history. Our nation was pretty much wiped off the maps in the seventeenth century. My descendants are survivors from a war that took place in a land far away from here. I’m named after a great warrior who helped lead our people to the safety of this new land. Have you come to start a new life in our land as well?”
“Actually, I wasn’t supposed to be here in Canada at all.” Then Jamie explained to her that he was here to find his brother.
Tutuyak frowned when she heard the tale of Ryan’s plight. “I understand the bond of family. You need to