Chapter 16

16
ISLAND OF PARANEHO, AMAPA STATE, BRAZIL

The keel and most of the ribs were assembled. The remaining ribs lay in the clearing in various states of completion. The two worked silently, boring holes and doweling the next rib into place. At nineteen years, Jesus still had a good natured deference to Juan's two year's seniority. Juan was a sort to whom this respect meant nothing. The two had been shoulder to shoulder since birth.

Jesus was short and dark. His long curly black hair fell in rivulets over his broad shoulders. Both he and Juan worked hard on the island, even more since Juan's father, Prospero, had passed away. Healthy innocents, they were just as at home casting the nets or in the fields. Neither one thought anything of running the five miles back to the settlement after a long night of fishing, eating a simple breakfast of tortillas and beans, then helping with the plowing all day.

Life on the island was hard, but it was healthy. Everyone worked while there was light and slept when it was dark. Juan and Jesus were evidence enough of the virtue of simple living. They were both good natured, handsome and strong.

"Jesus, have you learned enough to build a boat by yourself? When we're through with this one, we should make another so we can spread the net across." Juan spoke over his shoulder as he strained to align the rib.

Jesus laughed. "Let's make this one first. I never thought such a small boat could take so much work. I respect your father so much for having been a carpenter. He made all this look easy."

"Yes. Doing this work makes me miss him. Even salvaging parts from the old boat makes me think of him. I can see him fishing with Jose -- I can even see them all coming here."

"Juan, living in a place like this makes Me think that your father is still around. It is almost as if I expect to see him coming down the path to help with this carpentry."

"It will be good to replace the old raft. That thing could break up in a big wave. With Your father fishing from it, it could be a great loss. Anyway, even though father is gone, You can still learn all the secrets he taught me." Juan's strong arms relaxed with the dowel in place. "Now tap that in with the mallet while I hold it in line. Try to not split it." Looking up he added, "I wish I had paid better attention when he was showing me how to do things."

Jesus tapped in the dowel, speaking without looking at the older boy. "Of everything I have learned to do in my life, working with wood this way seems to interest me the most. It almost seems as if I have done something like this before. Of course, I haven't."

"Maybe you're just a natural carpenter. Did you ever think of that? There's nothing wrong with being a carpenter." Juan speculated. "Perhaps we could earn wages on the mainland doing carpentry work. It's just a thought."

Juan went on. "My father only had these four tools, but he told me there are others. The carpenters on the mainland use more than four tools. If you were going to be a carpenter, you might want to learn about the other tools. Maybe we can take this boat to the the mainland someday and learn more from the carpenters there, even though we wouldn't have money to buy tools, we could at least watch them while they did their work." Juan spoke with a far away look when he talked about the mainland.

"My father said that the boat would never be big enough to go to the mainland. He said it was thirty or forty miles away and that we could be lost at sea." Jesus answered. Looking into the troubled eyes of his friend, "I know what you're interested in and its not tools. My dad told me not to worry about girls. He told me he had a plan for that when it was time."

Juan looked miserable. "It'll have to be a better plan than anything I can think of. You and I wouldn't have much chance with girls even if we could get to the mainland. We're so poor that the postal boat doesn't even come any more. It hasn't come for three years since it brought that letter to Juanita."

Jesus smiled mischievously. "I'm going to go swimming in the surf. Since you stink so bad, you ought to go too! We can leave the tools here and gather them up on our way back. After we're sure this boat works well, we'll build a really big one. We'll see the mainland someday, even Amapa, if we can find it!"

The older boy began to laugh, tripping Jesus with a quickly placed foot. Then he slapped the younger boy over the head with a good natured pat. The trip to the beach was a running wrestling match through the jungle.

When they finished their project, Jose said the boat was very well made, but just for fishing close to the island. It was not at all suited for a trip to the mainland.