Starfish by James Crowley Page A

people get hurt.”
    Beatrice just stared at Lionel. Lionel felt like he was about two feet tall.
    â€œLet’s unpack the supplies and I’ll tell ya all about it. Tomorrow I’ll show you how to make your own bow and maybe, if you promise to hold your fire, teach you how to shoot.”
    They unpacked the supplies as Grandpa continued to tease Lionel about his archery skills. Lionel didn’t mind, as it sure seemed to make Beatrice laugh. when Beatrice did laugh, which was not often, it was infectious. It started low, as a giggle, and slowly grew. She laughed herself into a coughing fit several times over the course of that evening.
    Once the supplies were unpacked and their chores were done, the children settled in before the fire and their grandfather, sitting with his pipe in one of the old creaking chairs. They sat in silence for a while as Grandpa asked them to think about the day and to be happy for what they had. Lionel fell asleep lying next to his sister, appreciating the warmth of the buffalo robe. He did not remember having any dreams when he woke up the next morning.

Chapter Seventeen
    A N O RDERED L ODGE • S MOKING G AME • O LD M AN AND THE B UFFALO • T HE G ARDEN • S TRAW M AN
    THE FOLLOWING day was busy and reminded Lionel of the hectic times back at the boarding school. They got up early and ate a breakfast of cold venison, canned peaches, and coffee. Then Grandpa led them to one of the small outbuildings that stood in shambles within the woods that surrounded the meadow and fallen lodge.
    They cleared away the dense undergrowth, revealing the small encampment’s smokehouse. Grandpa informed them that they must treat the game they killed if they wanted to preserve it and avoid getting sick.
    Grandpa knocked out a small hole in the side of the building with an ax and converted two old bean cans to replace the little building’s rusted stovepipe. He placed the cans into the hole to keep a flow of air to the fire that they were going to build to smoke the meat.
    Grandpa started the fire in their latest addition and asked Lionel to gather wood and stack it against the log sides. Then Grandpa and Beatrice cut the rest of the venison into strips, laid it out in the sun, and covered it with salt. Grandpa said that the salt would help to pull the moisture from the meat and prevent it from spoiling. They hung the salted strips in the smoky room; then Grandpa showed them how to clean the rest of the deer, carefully preserving each and every part.
    â€œWe’ll make all kinds of tools for ya with the bones, and I’ll bet we can fashion some sort of a shirt, maybe some leggings, from the hide.”
    â€œHow about arrows? when are we going to make the arrows?” Lionel asked.
    â€œDon’t you even think about that until we get these chores done,” Grandpa replied turning his attention to the main lodge. He determined that although the roof seemed structurally sound, despite its sloping state, it wouldn’t hurt to reinforce the sagging support beams.
    They went into the woods, and Grandpa selected two tall, straight pine trees with Y-shaped branches near their tops to serve as the new supports. Grandpa thanked the pines for their service and then carefully cut the trees so that they fell where Grandpa instructed them. Lionel told Grandpa how he had led Ulysses directly into the lodge when Beatrice was tired after their long journey, and Grandpa thought that it was such a good idea that they should do the same with newly fallen timber. Grandpa also pointed out that by taking this course of action, they were in no way comparing Beatrice to the fallen logs.
    They tied the trees to Grandpa’s mule and dragged them right into the big main room. Then Grandpa tied a length of rope toward the top of one of the logs and threw the other end over the lodge’s main support beam. He tied the loose end of the rope to the mule, and in no time they hoisted the