Chapter Nine
By the time the goatsarrived two weeks later, Agnes had a system for the fish that worked beautifully.They were finished by early afternoon, and she had more than enough time to fix supper and even do some baking or make jam or can vegetables.It was working out better than she had thought it could.
Her nets were full most days, and she had started sharing the smoked salmon she made with the others.The men had finished the barn, and they had started the cold house.The trick with the cold house was digging deep enough into the soil that they could use the permafrost to help keep the meat cold enough not to spoil.Because they were so close to the river, the permafrost was deeper than in most places, and they had to dig a full four feet before they could build up stone walls around the frost.
The men promised the cold house would be ready for the fall hunting, when most of the moose, deer, and caribou would be ready.
At lunch, the day the goats were finally there, Belle asked the others, “Has anyone heard from the girls planning to come?I haven’t heard a peep in weeks.”
They all exchanged glances.“I haven’t,” Agnes said.
“Nor I,” Maggie replied.
“Not a word,” Sally said, frowning.“I wonder if they all decided not to come.”
“I think they’d have written if they decided not to come,” Belle said.“How many were considering it?”
Agnes thought through it, counting the friends on her fingers as she said their names.“There’s Ella, Myrtle, Lula, and Josephine.There were others, but those were the four actively pursuing the idea.”
“I wonder why they haven’t written,” Sally said.“If only to say they’re not coming.I’m a bit worried.”
“Everett told me that Aaron was on his way to pick up a bride,” Belle said.“I wonder who it is.”
Maggie sighed.“I guess we’ll just need to wait and see.”
“It’s a good thing we all got along at the hotel,” Agnes said.“We don’t have to worry about who may be coming.”
“That’s true,” Belle said.“We need to think about potential jobs for anyone coming.In case they want them, of course.”
“I think Myrtle would want to bake.She’s more of an indoor near the fire sort, and she talked a lot about the bakery her parents ran before they died in the fire that burned it down.She seemed to always have a dream of baking.”
“Well, hopefully she’s coming soon then,” Belle said.“I find it hard to keep up with hunting and baking now that Bertie is here.He has to be my top priority.”
Maggie nodded.“I can collect forage with the baby once it’s born, but I would need to find a way to wear him or her on my back.”
Belle waved her hand dismissively.“That should be easy.”
“I will bake in the winter...”Maggie said.“And the winters are long.I can only forage up until the snow starts, and then there’s little I can do in that regard.”
“Very true,” Sally said.“Same with my crops.I should have most everything harvested by mid-September.”
“Did you can your rhubarb pie filling?”Belle asked Sally.
“I did.I’ll be baking pies for the store come winter.I think we’ll all be doing some baking this winter.”Sally sighed.“Surely we’ll bake too much if all of us are doing it.”
“I don’t think so,” Belle said.“I want to knit again this winter.And we can make quilts together.”
“We’ll choose a cabin and all meet there every afternoon to do our crafts together,” Sally said.
“That’s a good idea,” Agnes agreed.
On her way home after lunch, Agnes’s mind was filled with what she could do to continue to make money throughout the winter.Of course, she could sell goat milk and cheese, but she wanted something more.She’d have to think on it more as she cleaned her fish that afternoon.
As they were eating supper, she brought up the subject to Jasper.“I was wondering what I should do to make money in the winter.I can sell goat milk and cheese, but I’m not sure that will feel like enough work to keep me occupied.”
Jasper shook his head.“You don’t need to make money all the time!”
“But I want to!”
