Besides her seaworthiness, Silverwind
offered something just as important to Sam. He could pull her
into a harbor and not be noticed, not a single eye turning his
way. If he had chosen a hundred-foot international yacht the same
could not be said. Although beautiful in her lines and certainly
in her abilities, Silverwind was close enough to ordinary to suit
Sam’s purposes.
Sam was a long-muscled swarthy-skinned
man who stood all of six feet two inches in his stocking feet,
part Tilok Indian, handsome with curly dark hair that fell down
over his ears. His face was more angular than round, with fine
features, smooth and unblemished except for two scars, one over
his right eye maybe a half inch, and a small nick at his chin.
His eyes were amber.
Since his retirement he had taken to
wearing a gold earring in his left ear. Around his neck, usually
out of sight, he wore a braided rawhide necklace with turquoise
stones and a golden sun locket the size of a half dollar. When
it had belonged to his grandfather, the picture in the locket
had been of Sam as an infant. Now the picture was of his grandfather,
Stalking Bear,
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in ceremonial regalia at the annual gathering
of the new beginning. His grandfather had said about Sam that
he had a look of eagles in his eye. Whether it was there or not,
Sam had a strong personal presence that he had learned for professional
reasons to disguise. Usually he sailed in a raffia hat and sunglasses
but wore his work clothes, a loose pullover shirt and simple pants
–again by design, nothing to call attention and nothing
memorable.
Sam’s ultimate destination of
the moment was Sydney, BC, just across from Vancouver. He’d
have dry dock repairs made while he wintered in the mountains
of California, where he would feed his soul. After that perhaps
he would come back to this watery evergreen wilderness or maybe
head to the South Seas. Sam no longer made plans more than a few
months ahead.
Looking along the rock faces that bordered
the entrance to Devil’s Gate, he focused on the sharp tide
line where the salt water had killed the small evergreens, as
if some giant made a regular trimming. Farther along toward the
pass itself the rocks were gray black, steep, and treeless,
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