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Episode 3
- Riding the Waves
- Mal particularly enjoyed the ferry ride as the boat bounced around in the waves. He moved and swayed with each watery hill and valley, while the rest of the passengers held tightly onto the benches where they sat. Rufus seemed to be enjoying himself as well.
- Mal noticed an unusually high wave rolling head on toward the ferry and decided, in the instant before it hit, that it would be even more fun to stand up to “ride the wave.” The wave heaved up the ferry as Mal jumped up, and he was momentarily suspended in midair as the ferry quickly sunk in the depression that followed the wave.
- Uh oh, he thought, as his feet landed on the ferry’s wet deck, heels first. Then fwoomp!
- It happened so quickly that Mike and Mort didn’t have time to react to the gap that was now between them on the bench. But Rufus, alert to Mal’s sudden movement, leaped out of Mike’s grasp and caught Mal by the sleeve of his shirt as the ferry pitched forward. Dog and boy slid and crashed into the bow before sliding back as the ferry encountered another wave. “Whee,” Mal exclaimed (albeit weakly), annoyed with himself for landing on his back yet one more time during these excursions.
- Mort and Mike were ready to get up and help Mal back to the bench when Agnes reached over to Mort.
- “Don’t! He’s not hurt and he knows better than to disobey us. What if this ferry had an open bow like the Staten Island Ferry? He and Rufus would have both been run over and drowned. Good boy, Rufus!”
- “Bad boy, Mallory Joseph Maloney,” she added.
- Gee, mom doesn’t care if I’m hurt or not, Mal thought. She’s just mad ‘cause I didn’t want to sit on those dumb old benches. Just like she doesn’t care when I sneeze a lot. Other mothers run to get their kids a sweater or something. And she doesn’t yell at Mel as much, either.
- Mal was thinking all those thoughts, and more, about the poor state of mothering he had to endure.
- “And there will be no dessert for you today,” Agnes scolded, reinforcing his thoughts.
- Man, I don’t get to have ANY fun, Mal continued thinking as he scrambled to his feet.
- Fortunately for Mal, the ferry was nearly at the dock, abbreviating further scolding. As they were leaving, Mike asked the captain where they might get some home made, old fashioned hamburgers.
- “Rock Island left you feeling hungry, I take it. And the waves were a bit exciting, weren’t they, young man?” the captain said.
- Mal looked down and didn’t say anything, thinking that a boat’s captain probably needs to see everything on his boat. He hoped he wasn’t going to get another scolding.
- To Mal’s relief, the captain turned and suggested several places to Mike, pointing in the direction where they could find the restaurants.
- It was mid-afternoon when they finished the late lunch of hamburger, brats and other hearty fare, including pastries for everyone but Mal. He didn’t mind so much, though, because he was listening intently to the conversation of some divers at the next table. Mal was fascinated by their recounting the highlights of the day’s dive. They had been exploring the shipwrecks sunk beneath the mildly choppy waters surrounding the island. Visions of pirates and treasure occupied Mal's thoughts, even though neither topic was discussed by the divers.
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- So Much to Do and See; So Little Time
- Agnes sighed. “I guess I try packing too many things into a short time. We’ve only got a few hours until sunset. Let’s check to see what we shouldn’t miss before we need to leave. It might be nice watching the setting sun from the ferry back to the mainland. What do you all think?”
- “Let’s go see the buildings with the grass roofs,” Mel suggested. “It says here they were shipped from a place called Telemark in Norway.”
- “Good idea, Mel,” Mike agreed. “I understand that there are a lot of Norwegians living in Wisconsin. Fascinating people, Norwegians.”
- “Have you ever been to Norway, grandpa?” Mal asked.
- “No, I haven’t, but I would like to go someday. See the fjords, mountains, the Northern Lights and Midnight Sun.”
- “That sounds really interesting, grandpa,” Mal said, enthusiastically. Mal WAS interested in what Mike talked about, but he also hoped that everyone had forgotten his earlier misdeed and wanted to get back in the family’s good graces.
- “How about Mountain Park?” Agnes asked. “See this tower? It says here that we can climb to the top and see all the little islands around this big one.”
- Mort looked at the pamphlet Agnes was holding. “It also says here that it’s got 184 steps. Who’d rather go see the church with a ship hanging from the ceiling?”
- Agnes was clearly outnumbered, so they saw grass roofs, Trinity Church and a Stavkirke (stave church) just across the road from it.
- Back to the Mainland
- The sun over Green Bay was spectacular as the ferry made its way back to the mainland, but Mal barely glanced at it. He kept peering down into the water and kept asking when they would be passing Death's Door.
- "Don't be silly," Mel teased. "You can't see that far down into the water. Even if you could, you wouldn't be able to go down there anyway.
- Mal didn't answer. He imagined how the wind and waves might blow over a sailing ship, what it would be like to be paddling a canoe when a wave suddenly appeared, a wave bigger than the one that caused him to fall on the ferry.
- Mal was disappointed when he realized that they had already passed Death's Door. The ferry was already approaching the pier. The captain must have forgotten to announce it, he reasoned. But it's such an important area, he thought, wondering how the captain could ignore pointing out such an important place.v No one was particularly hungry when they arrived back at the Inn.
- "We should eat something, though," Agnes advised. "We've been expending a lot of energy and I’m sure we will again tomorrow."
- "I agree. Let's find out what choices in lighter fare our inn might have," said Mort.
- "I thought you were going to the fish boil tonight," said Tom, the inn's owner.
- "We canceled and reserved for tomorrow," Mort explained. "We kind of 'bit off more than we can chew' with both Rock and Washington Islands." Mort smiled at his own little joke while nearly everyone else groaned. Except Tom, of course, who smiled along with Mort. He respected his customers and knew how to make them feel comfortable.
- "We were thinking about something light," Mort continued.
- "How about home made vegetable soup, a small salad and some of our hot rolls," Tom suggested.
- “Perfect,” Agnes replied.
- Despite their big lunch, everyone agreed that the soup and salad were delicious. Not surprisingly, everyone was also able to make room for cherry pie.
- Except Mal. Since he wouldn’t be getting any dessert until tomorrow, he offered to feed Rufus while everyone else enjoyed their cherry pie or other pastries. No point in just sitting there, he thought, plus Mel would probably tease him just to annoy him.
- “Careful, it’s getting pretty dark out there,” Mort warned. “Here’s the key to our room. Don’t forget to lock the door when you leave.”
- Mike wondered if Mort and Alice were being too tough on Mal, but kept his thoughts to himself. He didn’t want to meddle in their discipline. Besides, if he chose to say something in the future, he resolved that it would be to Mort and Agnes alone and not where Mel might overhear. Adults need to show a united front in these kinds of matters.
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- LINKS: BOOK 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS
iNTRODUCTION TO BOOK 2
INTRODUCTION TO THE BIOFABLES SERIES
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