Read Online That Forgetful Shore by Trudy Morgan-Cole - Free Book Online

whalers a-sailing from Dundee,
Manned by British sailors to take them o’er the sea…
    His little-boy voice is thin as a penny whistle but he sings out every word clear and true, and on tune as well. His right hand taps lightly on his thigh, lining out the rhythm of the song.
    It occurs to Trif that Charlie’s pose is the exact copy of his grandfather, old Uncle Jedidiah Mercer, one of the best storytellers and singers on the Point. Trif is sure the old man cannot read a word or sign his name, but she, like everyone else on the Point, has sat spellbound, whether in the church hall or in his kitchen, as Uncle Jed rhymes off some ancient song or tall tale.
    Joe Bishop watches Charlie with a smile on his face. She is sure this was Mr. Bishop’s idea, that he put Charlie on to the idea of learning a song by heart from his grandfather. Charlie has clearly inherited not only his grandfather’s memory but his flair for dramatic presentation: he pauses, crescendos, even gestures from time to time as he sings about the Polina , the fastest ship in the whaling fleet.
    For she challenged all, both great and small,
From Dundee to St. John’s!
    Charlie hops off the stool and sweeps a bow towards his schoolmates, who all applaud. When Joe Bishop stands up, he says, “It’s almost four o’clock, and I haven’t time for my recitation today – and anyway, I’d rather leave you with Charlie’s song, for I couldn’t do a better performance than that. All stand for prayer.”
    He leads them in the Lord’s Prayer to close the day and then they all flood towards the door.
    That night Trif finishes off a letter to Kit:
    You are so blessed, you can’t know, and I know it’s a wicked sin to envy but I can’t help it, tho’ it doesn’t diminish my love for you, which is Strong and Deep as ever it was. But someday you will be in charge of your own classroom, and be able to do as our Dear Pedagogue does, to Inspire and Educate, to find a spark of Hope even in the Dullest. Oh, if you had seen Charlie Mercer singing today, seen how our old teacher coaxed him to find his own buried Talent. How proud I was of Charlie, how admiring of Pedagogue, how envious of you, who will spend your working life in such Worthy Endeavour!
    But I remind myself: “Brighten the Corner Where You Are, Tryphosa!” I have been given this little task, to help our Dear Pedagogue with the children and to make his task lighter, and I must do it with the best will in the world. Perhaps when I have proven Faithful in a Few Things, I will, like the loyal servant – like you, my dearest Peony – be made Ruler over Many. Such is my prayer, as I go to my bed tonight, and think of you so far away, under the same sky, the same moon, the same stars.

Kit
    There is power, power, wonder-working power,
In the precious blood of the Lamb!
    Shouts, tambourines, stomping feet and clapping hands carry the joyful sounds of worship up through the roof of the Salvation Army Citadel in Bay Roberts and straight to heaven. Kit mouths the words, unable to stop watching Trif dance as she beats her tambourine. Trif is completely lost in the music, lost in God. Kit will not get her back until the meeting ends, until the preaching finishes and the call comes and Trif goes up to the mercy seat, weeping over her sins, asking Jesus back again over that well-worn threshold into her heart.
    How many sins can Trif have committed since last Sunday? Kit wonders. The only one she knows of for sure is the sin of envy, for this one Triffie has confessed to her. Triffie commits and confesses the sin; Kit feels the guilt and does the penance.
    It’s only natural that after Trif has worked for more than a year as Mr. Bishop’s assistant, she will be jealous when the School Board finally agrees Missing Point needs a second teacher – one with a Third Grade certificate at least – and hires Kit. They cannot afford