A Light In The Window by Janelle Jamison

Author:Janelle Jamison
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2012-05-14T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

January 1925 started out cold, with the mercury dipping to thirty below zero. Julie took extra precautions to maintain warmth and safety on the trail by carrying more blankets, additional food, and dry fuel for fires.

She had read several articles in the Nome Nugget of the army’s findings while experimenting with temperature in the far north. Apparently, it wasn’t enough to calculate the outside temperature when determining how dangerous conditions were. The speed of the wind had to be considered as well. The army had concluded that, while a fifteen-degree temperature seemed warm to the natives of Nome, if the wind were blowing at ten to twelve miles an hour, it would feel more like forty below zero. Something called windchill, Julie remembered, and it could create problems for a person on the trail.

The snow had been sporadic that winter, and Nome’s streets weren’t buried as deeply as they usually were at the first of the year.

Julie knew that however good conditions were in Nome, she had no way to tell what would greet her as she moved out across the less- traveled trails.

“We haven’t had any traffic from the west or north,” she said as she finished her coffee one morning with Dr. Welch and his wife. “So I have no way of knowing what the trails are like.”

“I wish I could go with you,” Dr. Welch replied honestly. He loved to drive his dogs and found city life a bit stifling at times.

“Actually, I wish you could, too,” Julie said with a smile for Dr. Welch’s wife. “I love to watch your husband at work, Mrs. Welch.”

“Now, Julie, I think we’ve been friends far too long to continue with the Mrs. Welch title. Just call me Lula; all my friends do.”

“I like to call her Lu,” Dr. Welch said with a fond smile for his wife, “among other things.”

“You’re being quite impossible today, Dr. Welch,” Lula said with a teasing note to her voice. “You’re probably better off with him staying in Nome, Julie. I have a feeling he’d want to wander off and do some ice fishing or visit, if he went on the trail.”

Julie laughed and glanced at her watch. It wouldn’t be light for another three hours, but the trail beckoned. “I’m going to have to be on my way. Thanks again for the coffee, Lula,” she said, trying the name for the first time. “I should be back in a few weeks.”

Just then a loud knock at the door caught their attention. “A doctor’s house is an open arena,” Lula said with a smile. “I’ll just see who that might be.”

Lula Welch opened the door to reveal an Eskimo man. “I have sick children,” he said in a worried way that caused Dr. Welch to jump to his feet.

“What seems to be wrong?” he questioned the man, as Lula brought his fur parka.

“They’re burning with fever, and their throats are sore,” the man answered.

“How old are they?” Dr. Welch questioned. Lula brought his medical bag and set it on the table.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.