mother’s idea to ask him to supper, perhaps sensing what she felt. She recalled how relaxed he’d seemed at first but a shadow had fallen over the evening after her mother had gone to bed, when he’d talked about how he felt about the career he’d left behind in Boston. It was clear that his brother’s death had affected him deeply, and that it had left a legacy of bitterness in him. He might have exchanged his career as a prosecutor for that of small town lawyer, but he still viewed the world through a narrow lens,
seeing issues as either black or white. That worried Ella. No relationship between two people could flourish when one of them harboured secrets. Perhaps she’d hoped that she could confide in Matt, that he would understand what had happened, but as she’d listened to him talk she’d reluctantly admitted to herself that she couldn’t take the chance. The knowledge saddened her.
All that day she and Gordon worked, hauling the traps they’d placed along this stretch of shelf, and then more that they’d set close to a finger of rock that protruded from Seal Bay on the rugged western side. In all, they brought up two hundred and eighteen traps, and in each case though the bait was gone the traps were empty. Ella wondered why Jake hadn’t simply cut off her trap lines from the buoys, costing her a sixty-dollar trap as well as the catch, but she guessed this was his way of extending her misery. He was taunting her. He wanted to see her return to harbour each day, after working ten hours, for nothing.
It was late afternoon by the time they headed back towards Sanctuary. They were a mile off the island when a movement in the sea several hundred yards to their port side, brought Ella back to the present. A fin broke the surface of the water, and then another. As she watched, entranced, a pod of killer whales moved in a northerly direction, rising and dipping in the swell. She called out to Gordon and pointed, and they watched them pass. Orcas were regular visitors to the gulf around this time of year, but not in great numbers and Ella was always fascinated when she was lucky enough to see them. They came in from deep water to catch migrating fish, but these days pickings were lean for man and orca alike and it didn’t help that some fishermen, like the Roderick brothers, would shoot at them on sight, claiming they competed for fish. She had seen Bryan Roderick once, standing on the deck of the Seawind, aiming his rifle at a pod of orcas which had veered away and picked up their pace. When the Seawindhad. changed direction to pursue them she’d hailed them on the radio and threatened to report them. They would have denied it, but at least on that occasion the threat had been enough to stop them. She remembered looking through her glasses and seeing Bryan, appearing disturbingly close, staring back at her.
Returned to the present, Ella experienced a vague sadness as she watched the orcas pass by. In their diminishing forms something irretrievable was vanishing from the gulf.
Overhead a lone kittiwake soared, following their path.
The bull noted the sound of the small boat’s engine as the pod cruised past. He saw the two figures on board and heard the sound of a winch and the hiss of a trap being raised from the seabed. He was used to the sight and sound of man and the way in which they hauled vast catches of fish from the sea by net or hook. He understood also that some vessels could be dangerous, and was cautious when the pod were in their vicinity.
The pod turned westward later in the evening and eventually came close to the mainland shore. The bull heard the sounds made by a large school of feeding shad directly in their path. Three of the orcas swam in a long, wide sweep around them, and when they were in position the others, led by the bull, advanced on the fish. Two more of the orcas dived deep to prevent the shad escaping once they became aware of what was happening. The rest maintained silence
seeing issues as either black or white. That worried Ella. No relationship between two people could flourish when one of them harboured secrets. Perhaps she’d hoped that she could confide in Matt, that he would understand what had happened, but as she’d listened to him talk she’d reluctantly admitted to herself that she couldn’t take the chance. The knowledge saddened her.
All that day she and Gordon worked, hauling the traps they’d placed along this stretch of shelf, and then more that they’d set close to a finger of rock that protruded from Seal Bay on the rugged western side. In all, they brought up two hundred and eighteen traps, and in each case though the bait was gone the traps were empty. Ella wondered why Jake hadn’t simply cut off her trap lines from the buoys, costing her a sixty-dollar trap as well as the catch, but she guessed this was his way of extending her misery. He was taunting her. He wanted to see her return to harbour each day, after working ten hours, for nothing.
It was late afternoon by the time they headed back towards Sanctuary. They were a mile off the island when a movement in the sea several hundred yards to their port side, brought Ella back to the present. A fin broke the surface of the water, and then another. As she watched, entranced, a pod of killer whales moved in a northerly direction, rising and dipping in the swell. She called out to Gordon and pointed, and they watched them pass. Orcas were regular visitors to the gulf around this time of year, but not in great numbers and Ella was always fascinated when she was lucky enough to see them. They came in from deep water to catch migrating fish, but these days pickings were lean for man and orca alike and it didn’t help that some fishermen, like the Roderick brothers, would shoot at them on sight, claiming they competed for fish. She had seen Bryan Roderick once, standing on the deck of the Seawind, aiming his rifle at a pod of orcas which had veered away and picked up their pace. When the Seawindhad. changed direction to pursue them she’d hailed them on the radio and threatened to report them. They would have denied it, but at least on that occasion the threat had been enough to stop them. She remembered looking through her glasses and seeing Bryan, appearing disturbingly close, staring back at her.
Returned to the present, Ella experienced a vague sadness as she watched the orcas pass by. In their diminishing forms something irretrievable was vanishing from the gulf.
Overhead a lone kittiwake soared, following their path.
The bull noted the sound of the small boat’s engine as the pod cruised past. He saw the two figures on board and heard the sound of a winch and the hiss of a trap being raised from the seabed. He was used to the sight and sound of man and the way in which they hauled vast catches of fish from the sea by net or hook. He understood also that some vessels could be dangerous, and was cautious when the pod were in their vicinity.
The pod turned westward later in the evening and eventually came close to the mainland shore. The bull heard the sounds made by a large school of feeding shad directly in their path. Three of the orcas swam in a long, wide sweep around them, and when they were in position the others, led by the bull, advanced on the fish. Two more of the orcas dived deep to prevent the shad escaping once they became aware of what was happening. The rest maintained silence
Similar Books
