 
DAVID SHATH SQUARE Chapter Fifteen
When we reached the white sand beach, I was thirsty, hungry, and tired. The effort of lugging Shadow to the lake had exhausted me. The day was hot and sultry and the sun was merciless in the blue dome of sky.
I let go of Shadow's hindquarters and collapsed into the cool water at the edge of Lake George. Thoreena placed his head on the sand then plunged into the lake. She swam with her mouth open sucking up gallons of water like a jack fish hunting minnows.
"I'll never take fresh, clean water for granted again," she said, changing from a powerful breast stroke to a fast crawl. After our ordeal, she still had plenty of energy. I sat in the shallows too weary to move.
"Hardy," she said. "If I'm not mistaken, those plants in the bay are arrowheads."
"Yeah, I suppose they are," I said, trying not to nod off.
She swam toward the plants with leaves shaped like arrowheads that grew out of the water.
I watched through half-closed eyes as she dislodged the plants from the bottom of the lake by digging with her toe. The bulbous roots that looked like small potatoes floated to the surface.
By this time, my eyes were fully open and I had taken an interest in Thoreena's activity. I stood up, waded into the water and joined her.
"These look very tasty," I said. "In fact, I don't care if they're poisonous. I'm going to eat one now."
"They're not poisonous, Hardy. They're good food," she said. "But before you eat, peel the skin. It's tough."
I peeled the onion-like skin as fast as my shaking hands would allow, and then shoved the entire root into my mouth. It tasted like a raw potato -- delicious beyond imagining. I began to eat the roots as fast as Thoreena could dig them.
I remember my grandfather said that you'd be surprised at what you'd eat. I never really understood what he'd meant until this moment, although once I read a story about a hungry priest who stole a bone from a dying dog. The priest knawed most the bone clean before he threw it back to the dog.
"Hardy," I heard Thoreena say, "wouldn't it be nice of you to dig some tubers for me and Shadow?"
"I'm sorry," I said between mouthfuls. "I'll get right to it."
Digging arrowhead roots with your big toe isn't as easy as it looks. It took me several minutes to work the first one free.
Thoreena ate a mouthful and then offered the rest to Shadow, but he turned his head in disgust. He was content to lie with his legs in the water and his head on the warm sand. Thoreena felt his nose. It was dry. The crease on his head had scabbed over but didn't look infected. She lifted his back leg out of the water and removed the poultice to examine the wolf bites. Yellow pus ran from both wounds. The skin around the bites was swollen and red and the leg was hot and puffy.
"We've got to get to the cabin right away," said Thoreena.
"How are we going to move Shadow through this thick bush?" I asked.
"Isn't there a trail?"
"Not since the government closed the lake to development."
"I guess we'll have to swim," Thoreena said.
At first, it was easy going. The water was shallow and the white sand extended into the lake. We waded easily supported by sand. But as we progressed, outcroppings of rocks and fallen trees began to encumber our progress.
"We'll have to beat a path through the bush or swim around this stuff," Thoreena said.
"I'm okay to swim," I said, "but will Shadow be strong enough to make it?"
"It's your call, swim or walk."
I guess if there was one thing that bugged me about Thoreena it was she didn't respect my position as alpha male. Even though she asked my opinion beforehand, she knew I 'd follow her instinct because she had this annoying habit of being right.
"Okay, let's swim. But we'll have to help Shadow," I said.
The cool water had renewed some of Shadow's strength. We swam behind him, supporting his back legs while he kept his head above water and made progress by churning the water with his forelegs.
We walked and swam for the better part of two miles, judging by the shoreline, until at last, near the east end of the lake, we could discern a dilapidated wooden cabin built on a granite prominence overlooking the water.
"It's magnificient," Thoreena said.
"I reserve judgement until we've had a closer look," I said.
We waded through reeds, cattails, and arowheads as we approached the cabin on the lake. I could see the gable roof had been covered with pine shakes, now rotting, and a lean to had been added with a tin roof made of sheets salvaged from ginger ale, root beer and whiskey ads.
The path to the cabin, at least I think it was a path, was overgrown with black mustard, cotoneasters, and all kinds of wild grasses I couldn't identify.
The door was half-hung on a rusted hinge and the interior was dark and dank except for a hole in the roof that let a fraction of sunglight enter the centre of the building. There was a hole in the floor for a root cellar and a bunk bed with straw mattresses against one wall. The only useful thing in the cabin was a wood stove that seemed to have survived the elements by hiding beneath an overhang of roof that for some reason hadn't collapsed in 35 years of neglect.
"Home, sweet home," said Thoreena, surveying the mess.
"I think I need a nap." I said, collapsing on the lower bunk bed.
"Hardy, aren't you excited. You can't nap now. We've got work to do on our new home. And Shadow needs attention."
"You know, Thoreena, I didn't think having a family was going to be this much trouble," I said, attempting to drift away into mindless sleep.
To Chapter Fourteen
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