End of the Line

Chapter Seventeen. Suitors

Chapter Seventeen

Suitors 

The storm did not abate until noon the following day, leaving in its wake a shank deep fall of snow that made it impossible for Conker to pull the plank plough through the deep drifts. There was no alternative but to use shovels to clear paths from the farmhouse to the outhouse and the neighbouring cottage. This task took the entire family, with the exception of Ma Benson and the baby, the whole morning, and they still needed to clear the long path to the road. Mrs Maclean suggested there was no point in hurrying such a task, as it would be days before the crews cleared the roads, and anyway there may soon be a thaw. It came the following March. 

Despite the snow, Pop was expected at work, and Bill at school, on Monday morning. The only way to make the trips was by snowshoe, so Bill and his father spent a great portion of the remainder of the weekend mastering the skill, with Meg acting as instructor. There was one worrisome development. Bill suffered extreme breathing difficulty after exercising vigorously for any length of time in the cold air. Sessions would end with him gasping for breath. He obtained some relief by holding his head, draped in towelling, over a steaming bowl of an aqueous solution of eucalyptus oil. Pop had no troubles. Many years of labouring in the mines had built up his stamina and he was soon able to travel long distances at a good pace seemingly without difficulty. 

The moderating influence of the Irish Sea had meant that winters in England had been chilly and wet. There were occasional frosts, but rarely did the lakes freeze. Snowfalls were infrequent and invariably quickly followed by rains. Consequently, the Bensons had never participated in any winter sports and enthusiastically greeted Meg's suggestion that in the afternoon they build a toboggan run in the upper pasture. This involved a lot more spadework, because load-carrying sledges tended to burrow in to the soft snow rather than glide on the surface. 

The two toboggans available were homemade wooden flattops that could seat three adults. As a matter of decorum Mary, Belle and Meg rode one toboggan with Meg steering from the rear. Bill, George, and Dan took the other. With each succeeding attempt, the speed and length of the runs increased. Soon they were streaking across the marsh in to the lower pasture and by the end of the day were even reaching the orchard. This made for a long trek back to the start where a cold disconsolate Betty stood watching the fun. 

Eventually the paths and roads were cleared and it was possible to travel in to town once more, but not by car. Once the temperature dropped below freezing, and the roads were snow covered, the locals mothballed their cars for the winter. Travel was now by sleigh. There were two sleighs in the barn, a small two- seater used for recreation, and a larger one used for transporting logs and fodder around the farm. Knowing they had never ridden in a sleigh before, Meg offered to give each of the Bensons a short ride into the surrounding countryside. Dan accepted the offer with alacrity, George soon followed. Privately Mrs. Maclean objected. 

"Meg you've got nae sense offering to go out alone with those fellas. Especially the bigun." 

"Ma. They're only friends." 

"I dinna think so. I've seen the way they both look at you." 

"You've no need to worry Ma. I know how to handle them."  

This was true. Meg had always been at ease with boys, and as a young girl, she had much preferred male company. She did try to join in with the girls at school, but she had no interest in playing with dolls, or inanely talking about clothes or even worse, boys. She much preferred to build make believe forts and play cowboys and Indians with her brothers. In season, she would even join the boys in games of hockey or baseball and easily held her own.