Jeremy, Jason and Aaron turned out in the drizzle of dawn to bid godspeed to the travelers. Aaron approached Katie as the others spoke quietly amongst themselves.

     "I hope you'll change your mind and return to us. I can't help thinking there is some misunderstanding that could be cleared up if only..."

     Kate smiled, "I'm going to miss you, Aaron. I'll write to you if you promise to return the favor."

     "I'll do that."

     Clancey gave the call to board and Joshua gathered up the bags. Jeremy stood before Kate to say his good-byes. "Candy would be here but she didn't want to upset Molly and Christopher."

     "It's all right." Katie couldn't trust herself to say anything more than that. She gave him a quick hug instead and as she did, Jeremy whispered, "come home soon, Katie."

     "I'll be back for your wedding," she whispered back.

     Jason took his brother's place, wrapping Kate in his arms. "Don't stay away forever, Cricket."

     Katie's reserve almost crumbled. Why was she leaving these people who loved her? Why couldn't she stay? One glance at the place where the dormitory had stood gave her the answer. Lucy and Maude were huddled together under a gray umbrella beside the scorched foundations of the burned buildings. The women were determined to see that Kate Macready left Seattle as gossip had informed them she would. The ladies nodded to her from within a veil of fog.

     Katie put on a brave smile for Jason. "When you come to San Francisco, Jason. I'll make sure your visit is front page news in the Register."

     Jason placed his hand on her shoulder. "Just promise me you'll be careful. It's only been five months since the trial."

     "I'll be careful," she murmured.

     Clancey called one last time. Katie stepped across the gangplank then turned to give Aaron and her brothers a final wave as the Seamus pulled out toward the open sea. When the fog erased them from her sight, Clancey broke the uneasy silence. "Young Bolt, help hoist the mainsail! You want to book passage this time of year, sir, you're going to pull your weight and more to get us to California."

     "Aye-aye, Clancey!" Joshua was grateful for the task. The entire morning had been a trial for him. He'd intended to court Katie in San Francisco; instead, he was taking her there to separate her from himself. The funny thing was he didn't know exactly why this had all come about. Kate still wouldn't speak to him.

     Once Katie was settled below, she removed her newsboy clothes from her satchel. The reporter planned to pull her weight on this voyage as well. Working with the sailors she'd met on her last trip would keep her mind off the great ache in her heart each time she saw Joshua.

     Later that afternoon when Joshua and Lottie joined Clancey in his cabin for a drink, Kate took to the deck to aid the sailors in their tasks. The girl watched the youngest crewmember, Rob Wilkins, as he formed a sling out of rope. A bucket of pitch and a brush was placed at his feet. "Hello, Rob. What are you planning to do?"

     "Hello, Miss Kate, the captain wants me to pitch a few loose boards portside."

     "While we're sailing? Isn't that dangerous."

     "I'm the polliwog of the crew. The captain wants to know how I'll stand up to the sea."

     Kate nodded. She was all too familiar with initiations. "Still, it doesn't seem safe to me."

     "The wind isn't strong now, Miss. If I fall in, I'll swim alongside 'til someone throws me a line."

     "Rob, would you let me do this for you?" she asked suddenly.

     The young man was taken aback. "You?"

     "Yes! Let me swing over the side. I'll have the job done quick as a wink."

     The young sailor liked Kate and was willing to let her do anything she pleased; however, he wasn't certain how his captain would feel about it. "Miss Kate, you'd better talk to the captain first."

     Kate took the sling from his hands and placed it around her hips.  "If I don't ask him, he can't say no, now can he?" She picked up the bucket and brush. "I'll be done before he comes up on deck. If he finds out, just tell him you couldn't stop me."

     Which would be the truth the teenager thought to himself.

     Katie hiked herself up on the railing, handed Rob the pitch and lowered herself over the side. Once she was secure she smiled up at him."I'm ready. Hand me the bucket." He did, with great misgiving, and she began the job.

     For the first time in a long time, the young woman felt the thrill of the unexpected. It was this exhilaration which partially cleared the melancholy from her heart. Icy cold waves splashed against her and she laughed at the pure joy she felt at being a part of the rhythm of the sea.

     Rob watched her from above with a mixture of dread and admiration. He encouraged her to hurry the job. Kate had just finished her last brush stroke when Joshua, Clancey and Lottie emerged from the captain's cabin.

     "I don't know where she is." Lottie was saying to the men. "She's changed clothes..."

     Clancey called to Rob who was the only sailor on deck, "Robby, lad."

     The poor boy jumped a mile and turned, trying to hide the rope from the group. "Aye, Captain."

     "You're not seasick are you? Hangin' over the side like that?"

     "No, Captain."

     "Good. Now, can you tell us where the lass is that boarded us in Seattle?"

     "Miss Kate?" he asked, hedging.

     "Yes, Miss Kate," Joshua answered suspiciously.

     "I did see her..." Poor Rob couldn't have been more uncomfortable. He wouldn't have known what to say or do next if Kate hadn't chosen that moment to call up to him.

     "I'm finished, Robby. Hoist me up!"

     Clancey, Lottie and Joshua shared a look of disbelief before peering over the side. Katie was swinging through the sea spray as calmly as if she'd been suspended from a tree branch. She held tightly to the bucket and brush with one hand and the rope with the other. Her blonde hair was plastered to her head and she was drenched from head to foot.

     "What the devil are ye doin' down there?" Clancey bellowed.

     "Hello, Clancey." She greeted happily. "The boards are sealed tight."

     "Are they now? I have half a mind to leave y' there for the rest of the voyage. Who gave y' permission to go over the side?"

     "No one. I want to work on the Seamus the same way I did on my last trip."

     "The captain hires his crew, Missy, and I don't take volunteers, especially ones who get the notion to do any fool thing they please on board my ship." He turned to Joshua. "Pull her up, bucko."

     Joshua took hold of the rope gladly. Clancey was gearing up to give her a royal chewing out, which he hoped would do her some good. Maybe it would help her regain some of the sense she appeared to have lost since the fire.

     Joshua yanked on the line with all his might. Kate wasn't ready for the sudden motion. She lost her grip on the bucket and leaned forward to retrieve it. A second jerk on the rope sent the girl reeling headlong into the ocean below.

     Lottie screamed out once and Clancey yelled. "Man...ur, woman overboard!"

     Rob grabbed for the nearest life belt. Joshua rushed to the side just in time to see the blonde head bob once above the surface before disappearing under a swell. Without a word, he tore off his shoes and threw himself over the railing after her.

     As soon as she hit the water, Kate pushed herself away from the hull of the ship to avoid being sucked under its wake. As she swam along underwater, something secured itself around her waist. She struggled against it until whatever it was gave up its hold. Katie surfaced at last, gasping in great gulps of air. Joshua came up sputtering beside her holding the side of his neck.

     "What are you doing?" he yelled. "I was trying to save you!"

     The anger in his eyes set off the pent up emotions inside of her. "I don't need anyone to save me," she snapped back.

     All on board were relieved to see the two swimming alongside the Seamus. "Avast, Young Bolt!" Clancey tossed two life rings to him. Josh caught them and slapped one over the girl's head. She placed her arms through it avoiding his glare.

     "Are you all right?" Lottie asked, when they were both safely back on board.

     Clancey turned Joshua's head to the side. "What happened here?"

     A long scratch ran from underneath Joshua's left ear to just below his chin.

     "I did it," Kate admitted through chattering teeth. "I felt something grab me and I panicked."

     The captain smiled in spite of himself. "Thought he was a sea serpent, hey? Get yourself below and change into dry duds before you catch pneumonia." Katie nodded and stepped out of the puddle of salt water that had formed beneath her. "And don't let me catch you anywhere you've no permission to be," he warned her.

     "Yes, Captain." Kate shivered. She looked back once more before descending into the hold. "This is going to make one terrific story."

     Joshua picked up his shoes and squished his way across the deck toward his quarters. This voyage was turning into much more than he had bargained for.

     Later that evening Katie failed to come to supper.

     "Says she's not hungry." Lottie explained with a shrug.

     "She's not sick, is she?" Clancey asked, pulling up to the table.

     "No, she's writing. Has been since you fished her out of the ocean."

     "If she gets all her stories this way, it's a wonder she's still alive."

     Joshua had been puzzling over Katie's strange behavior all afternoon.

     "When we were growing up, Jeremy and I would dare her to do the most outrageous things we could think of. She never backed down. We thought it was funny at the time. If I'd known we were setting up a pattern for the rest of her life, I would have left her alone."

     "I've seen people do this before," Lottie said. "They take wild risks with their lives that no one understands. The lucky ones stop before it's too late."

     "Why do they do it, Lottie?" the logger was truly interested. "Ever since she set foot in Seattle she's been killing herself trying to get that paper started. Then she shuts herself up like a clam and runs away from everyone who cares about her. Now she's hanging over the side of the Seamus. I don't get it."

     "Katie may have lost one dream too many." Lottie sighed, "We need to be patient with her until we get to San Francisco, Josh. I have a feeling that, deep inside, she's hoping someone will give her a reason to return to Seattle."

     Joshua remembered Andrew's pocket watch and wondered again at the message it might hold. He also remembered the kiss they had shared. Katie had to feel something for him to give him a kiss like that. Maybe he was the one, the only one, who could give Cricket a reason to come home. Joshua looked up from his meal to see Lottie gazing at him with a knowing smile. She gave him a quick wink before turning back to her conversation with Clancey.

     After dinner, Joshua took a stroll around the deck. He turned the corner and saw Kate sitting on the prow, hanging her legs over the edge.

     The reporter hadn't stopped thinking of Joshua all evening. She wondered what he would have said to her on the walk they never took. She wondered what promises might have been made. If only she hadn't started that fire, if only she hadn't overheard Candy's conversation with the Betterment League.

     "Going for another swim?" Joshua interrupted her thoughts.

     Kate jumped, "Oh, Squid, you startled me." She looked at him in the last rays of the lingering sunlight. The scratch under his chin had dulled to a bright pink. "I'm sorry I scratched you."

     "I'm sorry I scared you." Joshua moved over to her and looked out at the sea.

     Kate grew nervous as he stood so close beside her. She had to convince him that she was not the girl for him. He had to find another girl to love, a girl whose name would not be associated with disaster.

     "Cricket, I've wanted to talk to you..."

     Kate quickly placed her hands on the ropes and pulled herself into a standing position on the rail. Joshua watched as she moved precariously along the edge.

     "You're going to fall in again," he warned.

     "I wouldn't have fallen in the first time if you hadn't yanked on the rope like that. Robby told me it was you."

     "I didn't think you'd fall in. I was angry and pulled too hard."

     "I figured as much."

     At that moment the sails caught a breeze and the ship lurched forward. If Joshua hadn't been right there to grab her, Kate would have landed in the ocean. He pulled her back and she landed on top of him instead.

     "Nice catch, Josh," she laughed as she sat up.

     The logger wanted to give her a good shake but remembered Lottie's advice and tried to be patient. "Cricket, you're twenty-three years old. Don't you think it's time to start acting your age?"

     She frowned and rose to her feet. "And exactly how does a twenty-three year old act, Mr. Bolt?"

     Joshua sighed, " Listen, Cricket, I don't want to argue. I only want you to be more careful."

     Kate moved away from him. His tenderness was wearing away her resolve.  "What good is it if I'm careful or not?" she muttered petulantly.

     Joshua frowned, "If you really mean that, that's the most selfish thing I've ever heard you say, and if you don't mean it, it's the stupidest thing you've ever said."

     "Good-night, Mr. Bolt." She turned on her heels and left him standing on the deck.