All rights reserved by Denlinger's Publishers, including the right to reproduce this electronic book, or portions thereof, in any form, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

In 1940, the time of this story, little was known about Multiple Sclerosis. There was no known cure or treatment. welfare and other State assistant was non existent. Robbed of balance, coordination and many of their basic body functions, victims of the disease could only turn to family and friends for help.

Today, private medical insurance, federal disability insurance and other State funded assistance is available.

Recently, drug have been developed that slow the progression and relieve some of the distressing symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis. Ongoing research promises better treatments and eventually, a cure may be found.

The progress that has been made is due largely to the efforts of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, to whom this work is dedicated.

From the day that I first dreamed of writing this novel I realized it would not be a singular effort. To fuel my ego and provide impetus, I begged friends and family to read my first efforts then fished in vain for complements. It was stop and go for several months as I groped through history books for details, names, dates, and places.

I was beginning to doubt my resolve when my wife, yielding to my total preoccupation, agreed to edit the first few chapters. I became totally committed when she asked, in a tone of disbelief, "Honey, did this really happen?"

From my wife's interest, word spread through the family and eventually I had a small cadre of patronage. Many provided information, encouragement, suggested lines and edited punctuation. As support widened it became easy to forget some that contributed. For that reason I apologize to those that I herein fail to acknowledge.

First, I am grateful to SHIPMATES who shared card games and lonely night watches with me. I have used many of their yarns as comic episodes to develop characters and advance my story. I've forgotten their names. If any of you are living, please contact me. I need to hear from you.

Thanks to JOHS. ANDENÆS, OLAV RIESTE and MAGNE SKODVIN for their book, "Norway and the Second World War," (Johan Grundt Tanum Forlag - Oslo, Norway.) Because they wrote in English, my fictional enactments of wartime situations in Norway are statistically plausible and reflect a true picture of Norwegian life under Nazi occupation.

Norwegian tradition and the culture of that time could only be learned from someone who had lived through it. For that, I have HJØRDIS DAHL, my Norwegian cousin to thank. She also gave me love, encouragement, and provided Norwegian translations where needed.

JON ROGNES of Trondheim, Norway, radio jounalist, translator, teacher and friend, was among the first to urge me to write the story.

MATTIE MAE LEE, a dear friend, read an early draft of the manuscript and assured me that I had a marketable product. Later, she drew the pencil-sketch illustrations used at the start of each section.

JOE DINICOLA, a friend who encouiraged me and kept my computer running smoothly and loaded with up-dated programs.

The entire LATHAM family gave me much needed encouragement.

Last, but most important, thanks to JEANNIE, my wife of 50 years, for editing, encouragement and, above all, her understanding, patience, and love.

At age 17, caught up in the patriotic atmosphere of World War Two, he dropped out of school and enlisted in the U.S. Navy expecting to take up arms against America's enemies. Instead he found himself In the Naval Construction Battalion building runways, roads and barracks on the already recaptured Island of Guam.

When he returned to Seattle, he put his career and education on hold, and found work in the fishing industry among Norwegian fishermen who had known his parents.

For the next 10 years, he fished commercially from Alaska to Mexico catching herring, salmon, halibut, sardines and tuna.

At 30, he left the sea, completed his education and became a building contractor. In his spare time he wrote stories about his life as a fisherman.

Art was living the good life until, in 1977, he went to his doctor with complaints of weakness and awkwardness. After weeks and months of testing, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a disease that robbed him of balance and coordination.

Undaunted, he took inventory of his remaining abilities, returned to college, joined a creative writing group, and began to write with determination.

Though fiction, many of the episodes in this book are based on his life and the lives of his shipmates during the 10 years that he spent as a fisherman.

Still living in Southern California, Art writes stories, articles and a monthly news letter for his local MS support group. Though confined to a wheelchair, he lives a full and active life with Jeannie, his wife of 50 years.

Around the turn of the century, immigrants to America left their families and culture behind amid the poverty and deprivation that they were escaping from. Most of them, while learning a new language, gravitated to low-paying, menial jobs.

This story deals with those Scandinavians who brought their fishing skills to the Pacific Northwest where the fjords of Alaska, so like those in their homeland, allowed them to ply their skills productively.

What the fjords and prosperity could not replace was the comfort and protection of the families and friends they had left behind.

The galley table, where ten big men could eat together at one sitting, was the hub of their social life. It was here that activities began and ended and where a cup of coffee, a card game, or companionship could always be found.

Stories told around that table form the crux of this book.

Set in the late forties, "Spawn of Norway" tells the story of Erik Kjell, son of Norwegian immigrants. His father, Ben Kjell, a commercial fisherman, drowned at sea when Erik was five. His mother, Anna Eva Nygard Kjell, suffered with a crippling disease. Erik and his brother, Arnold were cared for in an orphanage until he reached the age of twelve, then were placed on a farm to work for their keep while attending high school.

When Erik becomes seventeen, he feels used and abused. He escapes his bondage and finds summer work on a salmon tender in Alaska, hoping to follow in his father's footsteps and become a commercial fisherman.

In prologue, he attends his mothers funeral, meets many who share his name and claim love, even kinship, but have not contacted him in the seven years that he lived in the orphanage, nor did they offer help for his crippled mother after his father's death. Instead, they wrongfully committed her to the State Asylum. An anger is born within him that day that will fester for many years.

The story opens in Kodiak, Alaska as Erik steps aboard the Outcast, a 90 foot fishing boat, to begin an adventure that will take him from Kodiak to Seattle and eventually to San Pedro California. Circumstances place him in exciting, hazardous and comical situations.

Among the crew of the Outcast and others he meets, are some who knew his father and mother. They want to befriend him, but are distanced by his bitterness over the neglect and mistreatment of his mother.

His tragic childhood is told in dialog between two fishing-boat captains who had known his parents and in letters from his older brother and childhood friends.

Erik is unaware of his mother's family, who at the time of his father's death, tried to reach Anna Eva to bring her and her sons back to the family farm in Norway. Their letters were intercepted by the his father's half-sister and half-brother who could loose their property in Norway if Erik or his brother returned to claim it under Norwegian Law of Inheritance. The life of his mother's family parallels in time, Erik's life in America. Chapters tell of the family's struggle to contact Erik's family and to survive under German occupation.

In Alaska, Erik meets Gunner Haig, a young Norwegian refugee from the war in Europe who becomes his close friend. At Herring Bay, Gunnar wins an ill-conceived and poorly orchestrated raffle for a walrus tusk and is threatened by knife-wielding participants who feel cheated. They threaten his life should he ever again returns to Herring Bay. An outlandish ploy is acted out to divest him of that threat.

In Kodiak, Erik visits a café/bar known as the Green House. He had heard of it through a pair of sisters, Prissey and Barbara Holly, from the orphanage. He learns of their legendary father, Doc Holly, and meets their Aunt Sarah Wells, proprietress of the Green House, who also knew Erik's mother and father. Sarah Wells and others of the Green House staff become principal characters as the story unfolds.

When the Outcast gets to Seattle, the now grown-up, gorgeous, but promiscuous Holly sisters entangle Erik in an amateurish attempt at prostitution resulting in the arrest of all three. Walter (Chief) Varness, owner of the Outcast, Anker (Skipper) Mathiesen, Sarah Wells and others who knew his father, manage to rescue him but a stern judge makes him choose between military service or jail. He enlists in the Navy. The story picks up when he returns from the war.

A letter from Gunnar's brother, smuggled out of Norway, informs him of his family's oppressive life under Nazi occupation and of his father's execution for complicity with the Norwegian Underground. In grief and remorse for not taking part in the war, he enlists in the U. S. Marine Corps and goes to war in the Pacific. The story takes a tragic turn when he is reported killed in action at Okinawa then later turns to joy when he shows up in San Pedro, alive and well.

When the war is over and Erik re-joins the Outcast in San Pedro, he matures, becomes a fisherman and, eventually, assumes a leadership roll on the boat.

An unopened letter from Erik's aunt in Norway comes into his possession when his dead father's half-brother dies. This supports Erik's suspicions of treachery against his mother. With Gunnar's help, he contacts his mother's family in Norway, the plot is exposed and Erik's anger is appeased.

Erik visits Nygard farm and meets his mother's family.

During the depression of the 1930s, the Kjell brothers age 6 and 7, become wards of a morose society that places them, first in an orphanage and then, when they are big enough, on a sheep farm to work for their keep.

As they mature, through old letters and photos they learn of their Norwegian ancestry. Erik, the youngest, becomes suspicions of a conspiracy by his father's family in Norway, a conspiracy designed to deprive the boys of their rightful inheritance.

On his mother's grave, Erik vows to expose the treachery that had put her there.

At the age of seventeen he flees his bondage and finds work on a commercial fishing boat among Norwegian fishermen who had known his parents.

His search for evidence to substantiate his suspicions leads him through many adventures, some humorous, some romantic and some tragic.

In one incident his enchantment with the gorgeous and promiscuous Holly sisters, whom he remembers from the orphanage, combined with his naiveté puts him at odds with the law:

Barbara directed Erik to turn left on Hill Street and drive slowly while she watched for her sister. Near the bus station, the sidewalk teamed with service men. They spotted Prissy under the awning of a dress shop, wearing a low-cut silk blouse and a tight, short, skirt. One arm held a folded sweater, the other circled the waist of a sailor.

Erik double parked. "My God," he said in disgust. "She's dressed like a whore."

Barbara stepped from the van. "For Christ's sake, Erik, grow up." She turned and folded her seat against the dash, providing walk-through access to the cargo area.

Prissy entered immediately wearing a broad smile. She held Erik's head in both hands and planted a kiss on his mouth. In her soft, alluring voice she said, "It's great of you to help us out, Erik. Just drive around till I tell you to stop."

She brushed the curtain aside and entered the cargo area. The sailor followed, handing Erik some folded bills as he passed. Erik, in disbelief, stared at the money until triggered to action by Prissy's stern command from behind the curtain, "Drive, Erik."

Mesmerized, Erik obeyed. He put the van in gear and drove, too fast, at first. Then he slowed, circled the block and headed back toward the waterfront. He wanted to get away and was about to stop and abandon the pair.

"Park somewhere," Prissy said. "Somewhere dark."

Before he could bring the van to a stop, the sailor opened the door and was gone.

"I'm leaving you Prissy," Erik opened his door. "I didn't realize what you girls were up to and I sure as hell ain't no pimp."

"Oh, Erik," Prissy's whimpered. "I didn't know you felt that way." She came from behind the curtain, tugging at the hem of her tight skirt. Seeing Erik walking away, she jumped from the van and followed him, pleading as she ran. "Please, Erik. We don't have to do this. We just thought you might like to make some really big money." She caught up to him and held his arm, begging as he dragged her along. "Erik. Please, Erik."

He stopped but couldn't bring himself to look at her. "I want to go and see Bonnie. Tell me the truth, Prissy, is Bonnie expecting to see me tonight, or did you and Barbara make it all up?"

"She wants to see you, I just know she does," Prissy said.

Ignoring her pathetic reasoning, he again started to walk, this time in the direction of the bus station until Prissy, still holding his arm, relented. "All right Erik, we'll go home. Just drive back so we can pick up Barbara."

Barbara was a power that Erik didn't want to deal with. Still, he saw the logic of Prissy's proposal. He hesitated and looked at her. "Okay, but if Barbara is standing there with another sailor, I'm gone."

"She'll go with us, but you have to give me a chance to talk to her," Prissy said.

When they found Barbara she was, indeed, holding a sailor. Prissy jumped from the van, leaving the seat upright to block access. As she tried to reason with her angry sister, the sailor reached in and took hold of the seat back.

Erik brushed away the hand and slid to the passenger's side. "Back off, sailor. The girls are through for the night."

Barbara stepped in front of the sailor. "Get out Erik. You're not needed here."

"Fine with me," Erik said. He pushed the sailor down as he stepped to the side-walk, then turned and braced for a fight. He was puzzled when his adversary made no move to get up. The explanation came from behind as a policeman wrapped an arm around Erik's neck, cutting off his air supply and completely immobilizing him. "Relax kid," the officer said. "Fighting is my job and I'm better at it than you."

In an episode aboard the Outcast, the skipper is frustrated by the superstitions of some of his crew members. He finds a solution and beats them at their own game:

When the boat was emptied, cleaned and ready for sea, lunch was served. After, as the men smoked and drank coffee, Anker entered the galley and called for their attention.

"I want you all to listen good to what I'm about to say. There's been a lot of bullshit superstition bandied around this boat, but from now on, it stops. Now, every fisherman from Maine to California knows it's good luck for a virgin to piss on the net."

Interrupted by snickering, he wrathfully said, "Anyone who doesn't think I'm serious about this, can pack his seabag and look for another job."

The statement sobered the men.

"There's a nice, young lady in my cabin right now, who's ready and willing to do the deed for us."

Anker motioned to Erik and Haakon. "Her name is Coreen and she's had a few drinks. You two go to the bridge and help her down the ladder."

The men stepped out on deck and watched Haakon descend backwards from the bridge with Coreen cradled protectively between himself and the ladder. Mid-way down Coreen exploded, "Watch where you're putting your hands, Buster. Nothing's free around here."

When they reached the deck, Anker tenderly took her arm "Okay, now, just let the boys help you." He motioned again to Erik and Haakon. With their assistance, Coreen climbed to the top of the net pile, hiked up her bleached, white dress and squatted down.

Watching from the galley door, Elias whispered to Walt. "Coreen might bring us good luck, but a virgin she ain't. I heard that she went aboard the Trisket last month, and laid the whole crew."

Walt took his pipe from his mouth. "The Drisco brothers don't know that, and remember, the Trisket was high boat last month."

The story parallels the lives of Erik's relatives living in Norway under Nazi occupation. There, His mother's brother, Erling, shares his suspicions of treachery.

"But, Olivia," Erling said, "you did, in fact, take ownership of the Kjelstad property when Grava Karl died!"

"I did, and if you had bothered to check the records, you would have found that the property was transferred to me under state control and that all parties with valid claims, including Ben Kjell's sons, were paid their rightful share."

Erling snickered. "Their rightful share. I checked the records. The pittance that they received was the amount that you would have received had Ben's sons been here to claim their rights."

Olivia looked away. "But they were not here and I was married, living in this house with my husband. The old place had to be sold. Everything was done legal and proper"

"Legal, perhaps, but not proper," Erling said. "It would have been proper to sell it and share the proceeds with Jonas and Ben's sons."

"Sell it to whom?" Olivia said. "Even now, no one will live there. Only Jonas --." She froze mid sentence and put a hand to her mouth.

"Go on," Erling said. "Finish it. Only Jonas wanted the house. Isn't that what you were going to say?"

Olivia's fright turned to anger. She rose. "You Nygards think that no one else has suffered a loss. Why was the death of your sister more tragic than the death of my brother? When my only living brother wanted to come back to Norway, was it not right that I should help him?"

"Then my suspicions are correct," Erling said. "You and Jonas conspired to get the property that rightfully belonged to Ben's sons."

"Your suspicions are only your suspicions."

"The records show that you bought it," Erling said. "At a time when no one in Norway had money, you bought it. Tell me, Olivia, was it Ben Kjell's money that paid his two sons for a house that was already theirs?"

"Bring charges if you must," Olivia said. "But you have no proof that I acted improperly. Your accusations are unfounded. Now I must ask you to leave my house. My husband will be home soon, and I have no wish to burden him with this matter."

Among Erik's shipmates, and others that he meets, are some who would befriend him, but are distanced by his bitterness. It was among these that he eventually found the truth that would salve his anger.

Electronic Editions: ( * Disclaimer )
Download via Email $6.95
3.25" PC disk $6.95 + $2.55 shipping and handling each disk.

NEW - InstaBook paperback Edition

BOOKSTORE | THE PUBLISHER | ANSWERS ABOUT ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING | EDITING SERVICES | E-MAIL