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@@ -1,37 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Double Challenge, by James Arthur Kjelgaard - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Double Challenge - -Author: James Arthur Kjelgaard - -Release Date: December 20, 2012 [EBook #41671] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOUBLE CHALLENGE *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at -http://www.pgdpcanada.net - - - - - - - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41671 *** DOUBLE CHALLENGE @@ -43,7 +10,7 @@ http://www.pgdpcanada.net 1958 - (C) 1957 by Jim Kjelgaard + © 1957 by Jim Kjelgaard All rights reserved Second Printing @@ -6163,365 +6130,4 @@ still boss the dog! 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Double Challenge - -Author: James Arthur Kjelgaard - -Release Date: December 20, 2012 [EBook #41671] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOUBLE CHALLENGE *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at -http://www.pgdpcanada.net - - - - - - - - - - DOUBLE CHALLENGE - - By Jim Kjelgaard - - - DODD, MEAD & COMPANY - NEW YORK - - 1958 - - © 1957 by Jim Kjelgaard - All rights reserved - - Second Printing - - No part of this book may be reproduced in any form - without permission in writing from the publisher - - Library or Congress Catalog Card Number: 57-5233 - - Printed in the United States of America - by The Cornwall Press, Inc., Cornwall, N.Y. - - - _For Patty Gallagher, and Linda, Pam, Larry and Craig Lewis_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - 1. THE JOLT 1 - - 2. THE THREAT 17 - - 3. THE CAMP 31 - - 4. THE FUGITIVE 47 - - 5. COON VALLEY 59 - - 6. MESSENGER DOG 75 - - 7. A FLIGHT OF WOODCOCK 91 - - 8. TROUBLE FOR NELS 107 - - 9. A BLACK BEAR CHARGES 121 - - 10. DAMON 137 - - 11. PYTHIAS 153 - - 12. AL'S BETRAYAL 167 - - - * * * * * - -_The characters, incidents and situations in this book are imaginary and -have no relation to any person or actual happening._ - - * * * * * - - - - -DOUBLE CHALLENGE - - - - -1 - -THE JOLT - - -When Ted Harkness reached the summit of Hawkbill, he hurried. He grinned -a little smugly as he did so, for his had been a non-stop climb and most -people who wanted to reach Hawkbill, the highest point in the Mahela and -the only one that wasn't forested, had to rest at least twice. Some, -starting out with firm determination to climb to the top, wavered en -route and never did get there. - -The gorgeous, tricolored collie that had been pacing beside Ted ran a -short ways, snuffled into some brush and disappeared. Presently he came -wagging back, to fall in beside his master, and Ted let a hand rest on -the dog's silken head. A little farther on, the collie pricked up its -ears and Ted stopped in his tracks. - -Just ahead, a fallen tree lay at an angle down the slope. Either rooted -in soft earth or shallowly rooted, it had toppled when its upper -structure became too heavy for its root system to support, and it had -fallen so recently that its leaves had not even started to shrivel. -Sitting nervously on its trunk, suspecting danger was near but lacking -the faintest idea as to where it was, were seven young bobtailed grouse. - -An imp of mischief danced in Ted's eyes. Ruffed grouse were one of the -sportiest and one of the wisest of birds, but they weren't born wise and -experienced. Like everything else, they had to learn and certainly these -grouse weren't old enough to have learned much of anything. Ted said -softly, "Get one, Tammie." - -Very slowly, knowing his game and stalking it as a cat would have -stalked, Tammie slunk forward. Ted watched with great interest. Rarely -could any dog catch a mature ruffed grouse unless it was injured, and it -was questionable as to whether Tammie could take one of these -comparative babies. But he might. - -Tammie neared the log, sprang, and six of the seven young grouse took -fluttering wing. The seventh, clamped in Tammie's slender jaws, -fluttered a moment and was still. Eyes proud, plumed tail waving, Tammie -trotted back to Ted and placed the prize in his master's hand. Ted -complimented him. - -"Good boy, Tammie!" - -He took the young grouse gently, feeling its thumping heart and -understanding its terrified eyes. It wasn't hurt. When teaching Tammie -to catch various birds and animals, Ted had taught him to be -tender-mouthed. After a moment, he tossed his captive into the air and -watched it fly out of sight. - -"Let's go, dog." - -They broke out of the beech woods onto the abutment that rose above. -Almost solid rock, nothing grew here except lichens and, in the cracks, -occasional strips of grass. Bent somewhat like a hawk's bill, it was a -favorite playground for hawks that wanted to test their wings. The view -was unsurpassed. - -Ted sat down on the very tip of Hawkbill and Tammie squatted -companionably beside him. Ted looked at the Mahela. - -For as far as he could see in any direction, forested hills folded into -one another. Spinning Creek sparkled like a silver ribbon that some -giant hand had draped gracefully down a forested valley. The road to -Lorton, from this distance, was a footpath beside the creek. Two miles -down the valley, the green clearing in which lay Carl Thornton's -Crestwood Resort, the only resort in the Mahela and Ted's place of -employment, gleamed like a great emerald. - -Just below, almost at Ted's feet, was the snug log house in which he and -his father lived, surrounded by two hundred acres of forest, except for -small and scattered patches here and there. The Harknesses owned the -last remaining private land in the Mahela. Its only clearings were those -in which the cabin was built and one for a garden patch. Al Harkness -didn't want or need much clearing. He preferred the beech woods to the -cultivated fields, the trap line or woodsman's ax to the plow. - -Behind Hawkbill rose a mountain that, long ago, had been ravaged by -fire. The fire had burned slowly in the lower reaches and the forest -there remained green and virgin. But a little more than halfway up, -probably fanned by sudden, fierce winds, the fire had become an inferno. -Nearly all the trees had been killed and had long since fallen. The -place had grown up into a tangle of blackberry canes, with a few patches -of scrubby aspen here and there. As Ted watched, he saw what he'd hoped -to see. It was only a wisp of motion, a mere flutter in the aspens, and -as soon as Ted spotted it, he lost it. Presently he picked it up again. - -It was an immense deer, a great gray buck. Heavy-bodied, thick-necked, -it would outweigh most big bucks by at least fifty pounds. Massive of -beam, with four perfect points on either side, its antlers were a -hunter's dream come true. It was feeding on something, probably patches -of grass that grew among the briers. Ted's eyes glowed and he continued -to search. - -Presently he saw the second buck, an exact twin of the first. It was -standing quietly in the warm sun, a hundred feet up-slope. - -These were the bucks that were known throughout the Mahela, and far -beyond it, as Damon and Pythias. All who'd seen them thought that either -one, if bagged, would set a new record. But so far, both had carried -their antlers safely through several hunting seasons and from the lazy -way they posed on the mountainside, they might have been two gray steers -in any farmer's pasture. The appearance was deceptive, though, and Ted -knew it. Let anything at all excite either buck's suspicion and they'd -prove their mettle. Ted rubbed Tammie's head reflectively. - -"There they are," he observed, "and one of these days I'm going to hang -one of those heads over our fireplace." - -Tammie yawned and Ted laughed. "Okay, so I'm bragging again. But I'm -still going to do it. Let's go, dog." - -Having seen what he had come to see, he struck back down the mountain, -through the forest of massive, gray-trunked beeches that marched like -rows of orderly soldiers in all directions. Forty-five minutes later he -emerged into his father's clearing. - -No shanty or casual cabin, but a solid log structure built by a master -craftsman, the house was set back against the line of trees. Artfully -designed, it belonged exactly where it was and as it was. The Harkness -house fitted the Mahela as well as did the big beeches against which, -and of which, it was built. With a wing on each side and a covered porch -that jutted forward, somehow the house itself seemed to hold out -welcoming arms. A huge brick chimney told of the big fireplace within. - -To one side was a shed, half of which formed a home for the few chickens -Al Harkness saw fit to keep. There were never fewer than six of these -and never more than ten, just enough to furnish Ted and his father with -the eggs they needed and to provide an occasional fowl for the pot. The -other half of the shed was a storage place for tools. - -Behind the house was another, larger shed which sheltered a gasoline -engine and buzz saw and provided a place for Al to take care of the -furs, wild honey, herbs and other treasures that he brought in from the -Mahela. In front stood the game rack, a cross pole mounted on two heavy -timbers imbedded in the ground. Here hung the deer and occasional black -bear that Al, Ted and their guests brought down. - -To one side lay the garden, big enough to provide all the vegetables the -Harknesses needed but not big enough to make a glaring scar in the beech -woods. As a protection against raiding deer, this garden was surrounded -by an eight-foot fence. The road to Lorton ran about sixty yards in -front of the house but was hidden from it by trees. Beside the road was -the high line with its two wires stretching into the house. There was a -rutted drive that served as an entrance and exit for the battered -pickup truck which was all the car Al Harkness had ever thought he -needed. - -When the boy and dog entered the clearing, Tammie raced ahead and -streaked toward the work shed. Knowing his father would be there or -Tammie wouldn't have gone, Ted strolled up and looked in at the open -door. Sitting on a wooden chair with a broken back, Al Harkness was -using his hunting knife to put the finishing touches on a board over -which, when the time was right, a mink pelt would be stretched. He -looked up and said, "Hi, fella." - -"Hi, Dad. I'm back." - -"Figgered that out all by myself, when your dog came in to say hello." -Tammie was sitting near, watching Al work. For a moment, Ted watched, -too. - -Perfectly-shaped, with exactly the right taper, the board upon which Al -worked did not vary a hundredth of an inch from one side to the other. -Al, who got more money for his furs than other trappers did because he -took better care of them, sliced off another shaving and squinted down -the board. A big man, he seemed as rugged as one of the giant beech -trees. His brows jutted out like stone crags, while the eyes beneath -them were gentle. But they were gentle in the manner of a soft wind that -can become a fierce gale. There was something about him that was more -than faintly akin to the grouse Ted had held in his hand, the rugged -summit of Hawkbill, and the two immense bucks he had seen. Al Harkness -would be out of place anywhere except in the Mahela. - -"What'd you see?" he asked. - -"Damon and Pythias," Ted answered happily. "Anybody who thinks they had -a rack of horns last year should see them now!" - -"Where they hangin' out?" - -"Where they always are at this time of year, in the briers on Burned -Mountain." - -"And where," Al asked, "will they be come huntin' season?" - -"I don't know, but I'm sure going to find out. One or the other of those -heads will hang over our fireplace." - -"For sure now?" Al smiled faintly. - -"If it doesn't, it won't be for lack of trying on my part." - -"One, two, three, four," Al counted rapidly. "One thousand, two -thousand, three thousand, four thousand--You'll have to get at the end -of a long line of hunters who want those heads." - -"I know a lot of hunters have tried for them, but they can be had." - -"Anything can be had," Al observed sagely, "and one nice thing 'bout -young 'uns is they think they can get it. Land either of those bucks and -your picture'll be in every paper in the state. Maybe even in some out -of state." - -"Sure," Ted grinned, "I'll be famous as a deer hunter before I ever am -as a resort owner." - -Finally satisfied with his stretching board, Al laid it carefully in a -corner. He took a blackened pipe from his shirt pocket and an -exquisitely wrought tobacco pouch from his trousers. Made of home-tanned -buckskin, even if the pouch had not borne the stamp of Al's -craftsmanship, it would have been recognized as his. His name, A. -HARKNESS, was stencilled on it. Al filled his pipe, lighted it and -puffed lazy bursts of blue smoke into the air. - -Tammie, who, in common with most dogs, disliked the smell of tobacco, -sneezed and moved farther away. For a moment Al did not speak. Finally -he murmured, "So now you're goin' to be a famous resort owner?" - -"Why, didn't you know?" Ted asked gaily. "The Mahela Lodge will be known -all the way from Lorton to Danzer." - -Al grinned faintly. "That's a real long ways, nigh onto six miles. You -wouldn't change your mind?" - -"About what?" - -"You can still go to college this fall and learn to be a dentist, -lawyer, or anything else you want." - -"Colleges cost money." - -"I have," Al said tartly, "been scarin' up a penny every now and again -since I been changin' your didies. I can still scare up enough to send -you through college, but I mistrust about startin' you in the resort -business. Crestwood cost Carl Thornton more money than I've earned in my -whole life." - -"I don't want to leave the Mahela." - -"Too much of your pappy in you," Al growled, "and not enough of your -mother. I want you to be somethin' besides a woods runner." - -"It isn't that, Dad. I've tried to explain to you. It's the -people--seeing them come in here all tired out, and seeing them go away -rested and refreshed after we've shown them everything we have in the -Mahela. I know college is valuable and I don't look down my nose at -education. But this is my job." - -Al sighed. "I've tried to talk some sense into you. How are you and -Thornton gettin' along?" - -"Dad, Thornton owns Crestwood. I just work there." - -"So that makes Thornton better'n you, huh? You're goin' to be a right -smart passel of time, savin' enough to start your own resort on what -Thornton pays you." - -"I'm getting experience, meeting people, learning how it's done. I'm -really learning the business from the bottom up." - -"Huh?" - -"Nels Anderson and I have been working on the plumbing in Crestwood's -basement," Ted grinned. - -Al frowned. "I'm not foolin'. This is a big job you've set up for -yourself and I don't see how you'll ever get enough money to do it." - -Ted said confidently, "I'll work it out." - -"I wish," Al declared, "that I was eighteen 'stead of forty-nine. I'd be -able to work things out, too. But it's you doin' it. Everybody's got to -live the way they see fit." - -Al picked up another board and began shaping it. Ted took his -pocketknife from his pocket. - -"I'll help you, huh?" - -"Reckon not." Al shook his head. "Sunday's your day off." - -"Let me help. It wouldn't really be work to me." - -"Nope. Even if I did want help, nobody but me can make my stretchin' -boards." - -"Then I'll go get dinner." - -"That's a smart idea." - -With Tammie pacing beside him, Ted went into the house. Everything about -it was solid, strong, heart-warming. The front door was made of oak -boards an inch and a half thick, the windows were set ten inches back in -the log walls, the ample fireplace was of native stone. Obviously it was -the home of an outdoorsman. Two mounted bucks' heads stared from the -same wall, and of the five rugs on the living room floor, three were -bearskins and two were bobcats. Ted's and Al's rifles and shotguns hung -on a rack and there was a glass-enclosed case for fishing tackle. - -But Al Harkness, child of the Mahela though he was, did not spurn modern -conveniences. Electric lights hung from the ceiling. Bottled gas -furnished fuel for the kitchen range and there was a hot water heater. -Al had an electric refrigerator, a large freezer and a tiled sink with -regulation hot and cold faucets. - -Tammie, knowing they'd been out and would go no more, curled up on one -of the bearskin rugs. Ted took a chicken from the refrigerator and began -to stuff it with a dressing made of bread dough, giblets, apples and -seasoning. It was a task he'd done often, and his thoughts wandered. - -Al, who'd never gone beyond the sixth grade, had a near-worshipful -regard for education and he'd insisted that his son be educated. After -graduating with honors from Lorton High, Ted himself realized that -college training would be valuable. But there were other factors -involved. - -With no desire to become a trapper and woodsman like his father, Ted -wanted to stay in the Mahela. It was worthy and wonderful. Wilderness -would always be needed, and, deep inside him, Ted saw himself running a -grand lodge to which guests could come and partake of the benefits -Crestwood's clients certainly found. People who came back to the -wilderness always seemed to be coming back to the source of things and -finding spiritual values that lay only at the source. - -Ted had taken a flunkey's job at Crestwood two days after he graduated. -It did not pay as much as he might have earned elsewhere, but it was -what he wanted and he saved as much as possible. Meanwhile, his dream -continued to grow. The couple of hundred dollars he had put aside was a -mere drop in the bucket compared to the--Ted had never even dared let -himself imagine how many--thousands he needed. But he knew he would find -a way and, above all, he wished that he could make his father know it, -too. - -Ted lighted the oven, put his chicken in to roast and scrubbed potatoes -to be baked in their jackets. He mixed biscuit dough. Since neither he -nor Al cared for dessert, he didn't prepare any. But he did take a -package of carrots and peas from the freezer. He remembered whimsically -that, before they had the freezer, his father used to can dozens of -quarts of vegetables. Dreamily he went about setting the table. As he -did so, he noticed a man in an expensive car driving up the Lorton Road. - -There was a squeal of brakes as he stopped suddenly and a shriek of -tires as he turned up the Harkness drive. He was a short man, and fat, -but his smile was nice, although his eyes were shrewd. - -"Do you own this land?" he demanded. - -Al and Ted told him that they owned it, whereupon the short, fat man -declared breathlessly that a diamond mine had just been discovered in -their back yard and that he, personally, would guarantee them a hundred -thousand dollars for the mining rights! He would give fifty thousand at -once, and it was all right with him if they built a great resort in -front, as long as they didn't interfere with his mine. - -Ted grinned ruefully as his daydream faded and he went to call his -father to dinner. - - * * * * * - -The next morning, the rising sun was only halfway down Hawkbill when Ted -walked to his job at Crestwood. His heart lifted, as it always did when -he saw the place. He liked to imagine that he owned it. - -Semi-luxurious Crestwood, the only resort in the Mahela, had -accommodations for sixty guests under normal conditions and perhaps -ninety if they were crowded in. It was well patronized in fishing -season, had a sprinkling of guests who wanted to do nothing save enjoy -the out of doors when there was neither hunting nor fishing, filled up -again when the small game season started and was packed in the deer -season for which the Mahela was famous. While deer hunting was on, -Thornton turned away twice as many guests as he could accommodate. -Afterwards, Crestwood was closed until fishing season opened again. - -At the far end of a spacious clearing, set back against the beeches and -blending very well with the background, Crestwood's main lodge was a big -log building that contained a dining hall, a kitchen, a lounge, a game -room, an office for Thornton, quarters for the help and rooms for guests -who preferred to remain in the lodge. To one side were ten neat log -cabins that accommodated four guests each in normal times and six during -deer season. The utility rooms and outbuildings were behind the main -lodge and hidden by it and the wide driveway was of crushed stone. - -"Hi, Ted!" - -Ted turned to wait for middle-aged Nels Anderson, his co-flunkey at -Crestwood. Neither brilliant nor subtle, but always gentle, Nels had -been taught by a lifetime of hard knocks to appreciate the good things -that came his way, and, as far as Nels was concerned, the best thing -that had ever come his way was his job at Crestwood. Always a hewer of -wood and a drawer of water, the most Nels asked was to be paid with -reasonable regularity for his hewing and drawing. He smiled a slow -Scandinavian smile as Ted returned his greeting. - -"Good morning, Nels. How are you feeling?" - -"Goot. And you?" - -"First rate. Shall we start earning our wages?" - -"Yah. You go down? Or me?" - -"I'll go. You catch the pipe." - -They entered the lodge. Ted ducked into Crestwood's gloomy basement, -turned on the light and caught up a length of pipe. He and Nels were -running water to some of the upstairs rooms. He maneuvered the pipe -through an already drilled hole and waited for his companion to catch it -and stab it into an elbow. - -Nothing happened and Ted sighed resignedly. Nels was one of those rare -people who know enough about many things to do a passable job. He could -run water pipes and wires, build a stone wall, shingle a roof, tend a -sick cow or horse, fell trees, construct a root cellar and do well any -of a few dozen more things that might need doing. But he was apt to get -sidetracked, in which event he needed a while to wake up. Obviously he -was sidetracked now. Then the door opened and Nels stood behind Ted. - -"The boss, he wants to see you." - -"What's he want?" - -"He forgot to say." - -"Well--" - -"He say right now." - -"Will you take this pipe?" - -"Oh! Yah, I take it." - -Nels took the pipe and Ted went back into the lobby. He knocked on the -office door, and Carl Thornton opened it. - -"Come on in, Ted." - -The boy stepped into the spacious office. The floor was covered with a -thick carpet. At one side was a mahogany desk upon which stood a -typewriter. Over it were hung bookshelves. There were four cushioned -chairs and a satiny davenport upon which the owner usually slept. In a -wall rack were Thornton's high-powered rifle and a belt full of his -distinctive, brass-jacketed, hand-loaded shells. Ted turned to face his -employer. - -In his late thirties, Thornton was not slightly built. But there was -about him an air of slightness that was accentuated by his quick -movements. Thinning blond hair was artfully combed to hide a bald spot. -His eyes were pale blue, almost icy blue, behind gold-rimmed glasses. -The ghost of a smile haunted his lips. He had a flair for conversation -that always made it appear as though nothing anyone else could say was -nearly as important as what he had to offer. - -"I've been watching your work, Ted, and I like it." - -"Thanks, Mr. Thornton." - -"There'll be a better job pretty soon; Crestwood's going to expand." - -Ted's heart leaped. This was what he'd always wanted. "Thank you." - -"A good man," Thornton said, "is not easily come by and I've learned the -value of one. That's why I'm putting you on a special job right now." - -"You are?" Ted's voice quivered eagerly. - -"Yes. You're a pretty good deer hunter, aren't you?" - -"I--I guess so." - -"You know of those two bucks they call Damon and Pythias?" - -"Everyone does." - -Thornton said, "I want them." - -"You--?" - -"That's right. With those two heads on the wall--" Thornton shrugged. -"Crestwood would be mentioned in every paper in the state. If they're -really records, there probably would be national publicity. In any -event, they'll help bring guests here." - -"But--Nobody has even managed to get near those two bucks in hunting -season." - -Thornton looked shrewdly at him. "But before the season?" - -"You mean?" - -"That's just what I mean. Those two bucks don't go into hiding until -after hunters take to the woods. I'm pretty sure that anyone who knew -what he was doing could get both of them before the season opened. How -about it?" - -Ted said reluctantly, "It might be done." - -"Good! Take all the time you need and I'll leave the details up to you. -If you're caught, of course you'll keep your mouth shut and I'll pay the -fine. But I think you'll know how to go about it without getting caught. -Deliver both bucks to Crestwood--we'll arrange those details after you -get them--and thereafter it's up to me. Good luck." - -Ted heard himself saying, "No, Mr. Thornton." - -Thornton looked puzzled. "I don't understand." - -"I can't do it." - -"I've already told you that I'll pay your fine if you're caught." - -"It isn't that." - -"Then what is it? Does it make any difference if those bucks are shot -now or six weeks from now?" - -"Yes." - -"Why?" - -"Getting them now would be violating the law." - -"Who doesn't violate the law? Considering the mass of laws we have, few -people can live a single day without, intentionally or otherwise, -running afoul of them. Have you ever looked up some of the crackpot -laws, such as the one which states that, on Sunday, in this state, no -horse shall wear other than a plain black harness?" - -"It's not that." - -"Ted, do you know anyone at all in the Mahela who lives up to the full -letter of the game laws? Do you know anyone who doesn't take what he -wants when he wants it, in season or out?" - -"Yes." - -"Who?" - -"My father and I." - -There was an ominous silence. Thornton broke it. - -"It seems that I've misjudged you." - -"It seems you have!" Ted's anger was rising. "I'll leave now!" - - - - -2 - -THE THREAT - - -Tramping along the Lorton Road toward his father's house, Ted told -himself that he had been a complete fool. With a start in the only -business that interested him, he had sacrificed everything for what -suddenly seemed a trivial reason. - -Carl Thornton had spoken the truth. Those who lived in the Mahela -thought that just living there gave them a proprietary interest in the -game and fish that shared the wilderness with them. But, except for -Smoky Delbert, a notorious poacher who hunted and fished for the market, -most dwellers in the Mahela confined their poaching to killing a deer -when they felt like having venison or catching a mess of trout when they -thought they needed some fish for dinner. They broke the law, but as far -as Ted knew, their chances of going to Heaven when they died were fully -as good as his. They weren't sinners. - -Half inclined to turn back and tell Thornton he'd reconsidered, still -Ted went on. It wouldn't be easy, but definitely it would be possible to -shoot both of the great bucks before the hunters who invaded the Mahela -when the season opened sent them into hiding. If Ted got them, or even -promised to try to get them, he would be back in Thornton's good graces. - -"If I was smart," he told himself, "I'd tell Thornton I was hunting -those bucks and not get either." - -He played with the tempting thought, then put it behind him and walked -on. Nobody who called himself a man took another man's pay for doing a -job and then failed to do it. Ted asked himself questions and tried to -provide his own answers. - -Was he afraid of Loring Blade, the game warden? He didn't think so. The -Mahela was a big country and the warden could not be everywhere at once. -The chances were very good that anyone who knew what he was doing could -get both bucks safely to Crestwood, where they became Thornton's -responsibility. Besides, Thornton had said he'd pay the fine if Ted were -caught. - -Did he shrink from breaking the law? Yes, of course. At the same time he -knew positively that if he and his father were in desperate straits, if -they had no food and no other means of getting any, he'd shoot deer or -any other edible game he could find, regardless of whether it was in -season or out. - -There seemed to be something else involved and Ted could find no precise -bracket in which it fitted. It concerned the grouse he'd held in his -hand, the cool morning breeze, the view from Hawkbill, his -father--everything Ted loved and held dear. - -His mind was a whirlpool in which nothing at all was clear except that -he could not shoot the two bucks for Thornton. It would be as easy to -shoot Tammie--his lips formed a sick grin at that thought! Yesterday his -dreams had been bright as bubbles in the sun. Today all the bubbles -were burst. There wasn't the faintest possibility of getting a job at -another resort for the simple reason that there was no other resort. - -Of course, if he left the Mahela--But he couldn't do that either. - -Ted was a half mile from their house when he saw Al's tobacco pouch -lying beside the road. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. -Obviously his father had been here--probably he'd been scouting mink -sign along Spinning Creek and had walked back up the road--and he was -forever losing his pouch. But somehow somebody always found it and -brought it back to him. - -Ted tried to put a spring in his step and a cheerful smile on his lips. -A man faced up to his own troubles and did not inflict them on other -people. He tried to whistle and succeeded only in hissing. - -He was a hundred yards from the house when Tammie, who'd caught his -scent, hurried to meet him. Sleek fur rippling and short ears jiggling, -he advanced at the collie's lope, which seems so restrained and is so -incredibly fast. Tammie came to a graceful halt in front of Ted and -looked at him with dancing eyes. - -"Hi, dog! Hi, Tammie!" Ted ruffled his head with a gentle hand as Tammie -fell in beside him. Plucking the tobacco pouch from his pocket, he gave -it to the collie. "Here. Take it to Al." - -The tobacco pouch dangling by its drawstrings, Tammie streaked up the -road. Disdaining the drive leading into the house, he cut through the -woods and disappeared. Ted squared his shoulders, tried again to -whistle--and succeeded. His father must be home. When Ted was working -and Al went out, Tammie always went with him. - -Ted turned up the drive and was halfway to the house when Tammie came -flying back to meet him. They went to the shed in the rear; Al would be -working. Ted peered through the open door and his father, shaping -another stretching board, glanced up to greet him. - -"Hi, Ted!" - -"Hello, dad!" - -"No work today?" - -"That's right." - -Al bent his head to hide the question in his eyes. Something had -happened and he knew it. His voice was a little too casual as he said, -"Figgered when Tammie fetched my tobacco pouch that he'd made up his -mind to go 'round pickin' up after me." - -"No, I found it beside the road and sent Tammie with it. You should put -a string on that pouch and tie it to your britches." - -"Guess I'd ought. Tammie and me took a whirl down the crick to look for -mink sign. Must of lost my pouch on the way back." - -"Find any sign?" - -"There'll be mink on the crick this year. I can take a string of pelts -and leave enough so there'll also be mink next year." - -"Now that's just swell!" Ted bit his tongue. Wanting to keep his -troubles to himself by appearing gay and careless, he'd leaned too far -in that direction and been over-emphatic. Al raised his head and -searched his son's face with wonderfully gentle eyes. - -"Want to tell me?" - -"Tell you what?" - -"What happened to you." - -"Oh," Ted forced what he tried to make a casual laugh, "Thornton fired -me." - -Al remained calm. "He what?" - -"Thornton gave me the gate, the bounce act, ye olde heave-ho. He said, -in short, that I was never to darken his kitchen towels again." - -Al said, "Come off it, Ted." - -Suddenly Ted's misery and heartbreak were too great a burden to bear -alone. He fought to keep his voice from quavering and his lower lip from -trembling. - -"That's right. I've been fired." - -"Want to tell me why?" Al did not raise his voice. - -"I--I wouldn't shoot Damon and Pythias for Thornton." - -Al arched surprised brows. "Why's he want those two bucks?" - -"He's going to expand Crestwood. He said that if he had one or both of -those heads to put on the wall, it would be written up in every paper in -the state. He said they'd help bring guests." - -"Boy, seems to me like you went off half-cocked." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Thornton's takin' a lot for granted to think that you, or anyone, could -get either one of those bucks. But if you wanted to hunt 'em, and if you -did get one, 'twould do no harm to give it to him. 'Twould save your job -for you." - -"That would have been different," Ted said wryly, "but that wasn't what -he asked. He wants both bucks _before_ the season opens." - -"So?" Al was almost purring. "And you turned him down?" - -"That's right." - -"You don't aim to change your mind?" - -"No." - -"Not even to get your job back?" - -"Not even for that." - -"You're sure now?" - -"I'm sure." - -"That bein' the case," Al said, rising, "I think I'll go down to -Crestwood and have a little talk with Mr. Thornton. You stay here with -Tammie." - - * * * * * - -When Al Harkness climbed into his old pickup truck and pressed the -starter, his thoughts went back thirty-six years. The Mahela had been -young then, and he'd been young, and that, he'd told himself a thousand -times since, was probably the reason why he'd also been blind. It was -not that he'd lacked eyes, very keen eyes that could detect the skulking -deer in its copse, the grouse in its thicket and the rabbit in its set. -But he hadn't seen clearly what was right before his eyes. - -At that time, the road to Lorton had been a mud track in spring and -fall, a dusty trace in summer and impassable in winter. Nobody had -needed anything better. The only car even near the Mahela belonged to -Judge Brimhall, of Lorton, and excitement ran at fever pitch when the -respected judge drove his vehicle to Danzer, seven whole miles, without -breaking down even once! - -Lorton and the Mahela itself had been almost as far apart as Lorton and -New York were now. Even when the road was good, a traveler had needed a -whole day to go the fifteen miles to town and back. Whoever had -extensive business in Lorton might better figure on two days for the -round trip. The dwellers in the woods had been inclined to sneer at the -town folk as sissified and, in turn, were sneered at for being hicks. - -There'd been seven families in the wilderness; the Harknesses, the -Delberts, two families of Staceys and three of Crawfords. All of them -had gardens, a milk cow, a few chickens, a couple of pigs and a team of -horses or mules. But all this was only secondary--the Mahela itself -fulfilled most of their wants. It was a great, inexhaustible larder, -provided by a benign Providence who had foreseen that men would rather -hunt than work. Al remembered some of the hunts. His father, George -Stacey and Tom Crawford had shot thirty-three deer in one day and sold -them all in Lorton. Two days later, they shot twenty-nine more. - -There weren't that many deer when Al came of an age to hunt. His elders -were at a loss to explain the scarcity, unless some mysterious plague -had come among the animals. Never once did they think of themselves and -their indiscriminate, year-round slaughter as the "plague." On Al's -thirteenth birthday, he shot a buck and a doe. They were the last deer -taken in the Mahela for the next thirteen years. - -It wasn't an inexhaustible larder at all, but just a place that could be -depleted by always thoughtless and often vicious greed. Then had come -the change. - -The Game Department, the Lorton paper announced, had purchased deer from -a state that still had some. In the hope that they'd multiply and -rebuild the vast herds that had once roamed there, twenty of them were -to be released in the Mahela. There was to be no hunting at all until -such time as there were sufficient deer to warrant a hunt, and game -wardens were to enforce that regulation. - -It hadn't been easy. Bitterly jealous of what they considered their -vested rights, the natives of the Mahela had resisted the game wardens. -There had been quarrels and even a couple of shootings. But the wardens -had won out and the deer had come back. - -There were as many as there'd ever been and perhaps more. Protected by -strict and sane laws, they flourished. Seven families had all but -exterminated the Mahela deer. Now four thousand properly regulated -hunters a year couldn't do it, and this Al Harkness had seen. - -He thought of the families--still the Harknesses, the Delberts, the -Crawfords and the Staceys, who lived in the Mahela. With the exception -of Al and Ted, who observed the game laws to the letter, most of them -took more than their share of the Mahela's wildlife. Smoky Delbert was -an especially vicious poacher who belonged, and one day would land, in -jail. But, with game wardens on constant patrol, even Smoky could no -longer indulge in wholesale slaughter. - -There was, Al had always conceded, some excuse for the Crawfords and the -Staceys. Al was the only Mahelaite who'd held on to the entire family -acreage. Glad to raise money any way he could, the Staceys and Crawfords -had sold theirs, all but a homesite and garden patch, and the proceeds -were long since exhausted. Most of the men worked at day labor and their -employment was never certain. Always struggling, there were times when -they would have no meat at all if they did not shoot an occasional deer. -That condition would not endure. Since all the younger people left the -Mahela, preferably for some brightly lighted city, as soon as they -possibly could, the Staceys and Crawfords who remained were not going to -last forever. - -But if there was some excuse for them, there was none whatever for Carl -Thornton. Comparatively wealthy, certainly he was in no danger of going -hungry. Educated, he must understand what conservation meant. Supposedly -intelligent, he must know that nobody at all could take what he wanted -simply because he felt like taking it, or for his own advantage, and -still hope to leave enough for others and for future generations. Al -braked to a halt in Crestwood's drive and entered the lodge. - -Jules Crowley, Thornton's pale-faced clerk, stepped in front of him. -"You can't come in here!" - -Al said, "Oh yes I can." - -He moved around Jules, jerked the office door open and closed it behind -him. Thornton was sitting at his desk, going over some papers. He looked -up. Al hesitated. Now that he was here, just what was he supposed to do? -It would be silly to threaten Carl Thornton, and how could he report him -to the game warden when he had broken no law? Al felt a little foolish -and Thornton's voice was as cold as his eyes when he spoke. - -"What do you want?" - -"You fired Ted?" - -"That's right." - -"What for?" - -"Inefficiency." - -"Ted told me different. He told me you fired him because he wouldn't -shoot those two big bucks for you." - -"He's a liar." - -Al stepped to the desk, twined his right hand in Thornton's lapel, -lifted him to his feet and used his left hand to slap both Thornton's -cheeks. Then he let the resort owner slump back into the chair and -turned on his heel. - -"For callin' Ted a liar," he said. - -He stalked out, knowing as he did so that he had made a deadly enemy but -not caring. Thornton owned Crestwood. But he was still a little man and -sooner or later little men stumbled over big problems. As Al climbed -back into the pickup, he almost forgot Thornton. He had something more -important to occupy his thoughts. - -He had hoped mightily that, after he finished High School, Ted would go -on to college. It didn't matter what he studied there as long as it was -something; a Harkness would go out of the Mahela to become a man of -parts. But Ted had not only wanted to stay in the Mahela, but also to -start a resort there, and for almost the first time in his life Al faced -a problem to which he saw no solution. - -An expert woodsman, he earned a comfortable income. Since his own wants -were simple, there would certainly be enough left over to pay Ted's -college expenses. But Al couldn't even imagine the vast sum of money -needed to start a resort. He had told the truth when he said Crestwood -cost Thornton more than he'd earned in his whole life. - -Al fell back on an idea that he himself had been mulling over. Hunters -and fishermen were a varied breed, with varying tastes. Some preferred -the comforts of Crestwood, but every season numbers of them hauled -trailers into the Mahela or set up tents there and they did so because -they liked that way of hunting or fishing. Not all of them wanted the -same things and not all cared to be crowded. - -Driving back into his own yard, Al got out of the pickup and faced his -son serenely. But seeing Ted's uncertain hand fall to Tammie's head, he -grinned inwardly. The boy turned to Tammie whenever he was worried or at -a loss. - -"Did you see Thornton?" Ted's voice was too casual. - -"I saw him." - -"Did--?" - -"No," Al told him gently. "I didn't. He's still alive and, as far as I'm -concerned, he can stay that way. Ted, let's go up to Beech Bottom." - -"Swell!" - -Ted and Tammie got into the pickup and Al drove. He did not speak -because he was thinking too busily to talk. A father, if he was worthy -of being a father, showed his children the right path. But it was always -better if he could guide them into doing their own thinking, instead of -leading them along the path--and sometimes that called for subtle -measures. - -Two miles up the road, Al came to a clearing. A little less than an -acre, it was a jungle of yellow-topped golden rod. Here and there a -milkweed raised its spear-shaft stem and showed its silk-filled pods to -all who passed. In the center was an old building with all the windows -broken and part of the roof fallen in. Sun, wind, rain and snow had -exercised their own artistry on the unpainted boards and tinted them a -delicate shade which no brush could possibly achieve. There was a little -patch of summer apples and two small bucks, stretching their necks to -get the wormy fruit, moved reluctantly away when the truck stopped. - -Al got out of the truck and Ted and Tammie alighted beside him. Al -looked at the tumble-down building. - -"My gosh! It ain't possible!" - -"What isn't?" - -Al grinned ruefully, "Seems like yesterday I worked here." - -"You worked at the old Hawley logging camp?" - -"Yep. Chore boy. Got up at four every mornin' to feed and curry the -horses so they'd be ready to go into the woods. You wouldn't think -fifteen men, or fourteen men and a boy, ate and slept in that old house, -would you?" - -"It's big enough." - -"By gosh! Seems like a person gets born, takes six breaths and gets old. -That old house is still good, though. Those boards are really seasoned -and I bet they last another hundred years." - -Ted asked without much interest, "What happened?" - -"Old Man Hawley sold everything 'cept that little patch when the state -took over and made the Mahela into state forest. Jud, his son, was goin' -to make a huntin' camp of it. But he never did and he never will. Bet -you could buy the works for a hundred and fifty dollars." - -Ted almost yelled, "Dad!" - -"What's the matter? Bee sting you?" - -"No, but something else did! Dad, I'm going to buy it!" - -"That?" Al looked puzzled. - -"Don't you see?" Ted's eyes were shining and Al knew his heart was -singing. "With more and more people coming into the Mahela every year, -they must have more places to stay. I'm going to tear this house down -and build a camp right here! Bet it'll rent five months out of the -year!" - -"Well, I'll be jugged!" Al hoped Ted couldn't interpret his smile. "That -_is_ an idea!" - -"We'll buy them all!" Ted bubbled, "with the money you were going to use -to send me to college! There're plenty of these small plots in the -Mahela and nobody else wants them! They can be had cheaply! Dad, it can -be done that way!" - -"By gosh, Ted, it might! But it'll take a while." - -"I know but--What's Tammie barking at?" - -"One way to find out is to go see." - -Off in the goldenrod, Tammie barked again. They made their way to him -and found him peering into a shallow little stream, Tumbling Run, that -wound out of the beeches, crossed the clearing and hurried back into the -beeches, on its way to meet Spinning Creek. In the middle of the run, a -small gray raccoon with a trap on its left front paw did not even glance -up. It had fought the trap fiercely and now was too spent and too weary -to fight anything. - -Al's words were almost an explosion. "Smoky Delbert!" - -He jumped down into the creek, encircled the little raccoon's neck with -an expert hand and used his free hand to depress the trap spring. Free, -but not quite believing it, the little animal went exactly as far as the -trap chain had previously let him go and then ventured two inches -farther. Sure at last that the miracle had happened, he scuttled into -the goldenrod. Al jerked the trap loose from its anchor. - -"Let's go, Ted." - -"Where?" - -"You want to buy this place. We'll go into Lorton and see Jud Hawley. -But on the way, we'll have a little palaver with Smoky." - -A half hour later, Al drove his pickup into the Delbert yard, to find -another truck there ahead of him. It belonged to Loring Blade, the -warden, who was talking with Smoky. He turned to nod at Al and Ted. - -"Hi!" - -Al said, "I won't be but a minute, Lorin'." He held the steel trap out -to Smoky Delbert. "This yours?" - -Smoky looked at him through insolent, half-closed eyes. "Nope." - -"You lie in your teeth! I've told you before not to set traps before -furs are prime. I'm tellin' you again and this is the last time." - -"What goes on?" Blade demanded. - -"Nothin' you can help, Lorin'. Smoky, if I find you poachin' in the -Mahela once more, I'm goin' to beat you within an inch of your life!" - -"You got any ideas along that line," Smoky remained insolent, "come -shootin'." - -Al said, "I can do that, too!" - - - - -3 - -THE CAMP - - -Sprawled on his favorite bearskin in the Harkness living room, Tammie -dreamed a dog's good dreams and his paws twitched with excitement as he -lived again some old adventure. Al, sitting in front of the fireplace, -studied the bed of glowing coals within it as though they were as -fascinating as the first coals he had ever seen. Sitting at the table -with a pen in his hand, a pile of fresh paper on one side and a pile of -crumpled sheets on the other, Ted was busy writing. - -He laid the pen down, picked up what he had just written and frowned -over it. Making a motion to crumple this paper too, he thought better of -it and called, "How's this, Dad? 'For Rent, furnished camp in the -Mahela. Bunks for eight. Forty-five dollars a week in small game season, -sixty in deer season. Available for season. Ted Harkness, R.D. 2, -Lorton.'" - -Al shrugged. "Says 'bout everythin' you got to say." - -"I don't know." Ted's frown deepened. "'Bunks for eight,' it says. If a -bunch of deer hunters take the place, they may bring twelve or sixteen. -Do you think I should say, 'Bring extra cots for more than eight?'" - -"Mighty important point," Al said gravely, "but do you figure you got to -throw out that much sign? - -"If I was readin' that and wanted to rent a camp and saw 'bunks for -eight,' I'd calc'late that there wasn't bunks for ten or sixteen. I'd -figger that, if I brought more than eight, I'd best bring somethin' for -'em to sleep on." - -"If I say 'accommodations for eight,' and a bigger party wanted to take -the camp, they might pass it up." - -"'Bunks' is the word," Al pronounced. "Why it's pra'tically liter-choor. -City people are always gettin' accommodations. Might help rent your camp -if they knew they was goin' to sleep on bunks." - -"That's a point," Ted agreed. He continued to frown thoughtfully. "Now -this 'available for season,' do you think I should say at ten per cent -discount?" - -"Nope." - -"But doesn't everybody do that?" - -"Everybody 'cept horse traders, and you can always do your horse tradin' -when and if you have to. But I don't think you're goin' to rent for the -season." - -"Why not?" - -Al shrugged. "Figger it out by yourself. How many city people can take a -whole season just to go huntin'? Most they get is a couple of weeks or -so." - -"That's right, too. Do you think I should say, 'deer and small game -abundant'?" - -"I wouldn't. Nobody'd come into the Mahela 'thout havin' some idea they -could find game here and there's another point." - -"What's that?" - -"You're tryin' to build up a business, and the more repeat business you -can get, the less it'll cost to get it. Promise too much and you might -drive business away. Some people, readin' about over-plenty game, might -expect a flock of grouse behind every tree and a ten-point buck in every -swale and be mad if they didn't find it. Let 'em do their own lookin'." - -"I was thinking of hiring out as a guide." - -"Wouldn't put that in either. Some people want guides and some don't. -Anybody who rents your camp and wants a guide will ask you where to find -one. Then you can dicker." - -"Do you think I'm asking too much money?" - -"Nope. Chances are that you won't get less than six in any party. Split -the cost amongst 'em and it won't break any one. Your prices are fair." - -Ted lost himself in his literary effort. "It doesn't seem very -forceful." - -"Land o'goshen!" Al's eyes glinted with amusement. "You're tryin' to get -information across, not writin' a speech! How many papers you crumpled -so far?" - -"Well," Ted looked at the pile of discarded papers beside him and -grinned, "quite a few. You really think this is all right?" - -"A masterpiece," Al answered solemnly. "Mail it afore you change your -mind again." - -Ted folded his paper, wrote a short letter to the effect that he wanted -his ad to run in the classified section, wrote a check, put all three in -an envelope and addressed it to a leading daily newspaper in a city from -which the Mahela drew numerous hunters. Tammie trotted beside him as he -ran down to the mailbox, put his letter in and raised the red flag to -let Bill Parker, their rural carrier, know there was mail to pick up. -He ran back to the house. - -_"Br-r!_ It's cold!" - -"The jackets in the closet," Al observed drily, "are not there because -they look pretty." - -Ted said meekly, "Yes, Dad." - -He re-seated himself at the table and took up his pen. The first hunting -season, for woodcock, opened next week. Two weeks later, squirrels, -cottontails and ruffed grouse became legal game and the season ran for a -month. During the last week of small game season, black bears could be -shot. Then everything else was closed and hunting wound up with the -three-week deer season. - -Ted calculated carefully. There were six weeks of the small game season. -If he rented his camp throughout at forty-five dollars a week, it would -give him a net return of two hundred and seventy dollars. Three weeks of -deer season would add another hundred and eighty, or a total of four -hundred and fifty. Ted consulted his expense records. - -Jud Hawley had sold them the land with the old building on it for a -hundred and fifty dollars and Al and Ted had torn down the old building -and rebuilt it. Just the same, expenses had mounted with incredible -speed. Al had all the tools, but it was necessary to buy nails. The -window casings Al had fashioned, but the glass that went into them cost -money. They'd had to buy a secondhand cooking range and a heating stove -and enough table and cooking ware to serve many people. Bedding had been -an expensive item, and composition shingles for both the roof and outer -walls had cost a great deal. - -Economizing as much as possible and hiring no labor, the camp had still -cost six hundred and fifteen dollars. However, the old building had -been a huge place and there was enough lumber left over to build -another, smaller camp as soon as they acquired another building site. -Ted nibbled the end of his pen. - -"We'll be in the clear on this one before next hunting season; then -everything it brings in will be pure gravy." - -"How do you figger it?" - -"There's six weeks of small game hunting and three of deer season. If -the camp is rented continuously, it will bring in four hundred and fifty -dollars. Then, when fishing opens--" - -"If," Al broke in, "is a right fancy word. Might be a good idea to rent -your camp 'fore you spend the rent money." - -"It might at that," Ted said meekly, "and I forgot to charge against it -the fifteen dollars the ad's costing." - -"Charge it," Al advised, "and get this one thing straight. There's no -such thing as 'pure gravy.' What a body gets, he works for. What he -don't work for, he don't get. You started the ball rollin', but it will -stop if you don't keep it rollin'." - -"What do you suggest I do?" - -"Just what you are doin', but don't get cocky about it. You've made a -start, but it's a small start that stacks up against a big job. See how -things work out. If they come 'round like I think they will, this camp -will make money. But it won't be your money. It belongs to the job -you've set yourself. Build another camp--and another and another, until -you've got as many as you can handle. Go on from there." - -"Go on?" - -"You started out," Al reminded him, "to own a place like Crestwood." - -"That will take years!" - -"Did you expect to get it in a week?" - -"Well--No." - -"Good, on account you won't. You'll need years. Then, after you finally -get what you want, or somethin' close to it, all the people who set -'round on their hunkers while you worked will still be settin' 'round -tellin' each other how lucky you are." - -Ted grinned, then yawned and stretched. "Gosh! All this heavy -philosophy's making me tired!" - -"What do you think your bed's for?" - -"You get the best ideas!" - -"Oh, I'm the smart one!" Al smiled and filled his pipe. "Catch yourself -some shut-eye. There's work to be done come mornin'." - - * * * * * - -The next morning, with Al driving and Tammie on the floor in front of -Ted, they started back toward the camp they had built. The lazy sun, -reluctant to get out of bed, made a splash of gold only on the very tip -of Hawkbill. The rest of the wilderness was a deep-shadowed green, with -overtones of gray. A doe danced across the road in front of them and -stopped to look back over her shoulder at the passing pickup. They saw -two more does, then a buck--and Al stepped suddenly on the gas. - -Spurting ahead, the old truck still missed by a wide margin a lean -coyote that was running a scant twenty feet behind the buck. Tammie rose -and bristled. Ted held him down. The collie was fast, but nothing except -a greyhound was fast enough to catch a coyote. Visible for only fleeting -seconds, this one disappeared in the forest. Failing to run the coyote -down, Al stopped his truck. - -"Doggone! Of all times to be without a rifle!" - -"It looked to me as though he was chasing that buck," Ted observed. - -Al shook his head. "Just followin' it; one coyote couldn't kill a grown -buck. But he can and will do a lot of damage 'mongst the small game. -I'll have to nail that critter's scalp to the wall soon's I can. Let's -have a look." - -They got out and examined the tracks in the dusty road. Al made careful -observations of his own. He went a little ways into the forest and came -back to the truck. - -"Looks like he's been crossin' here quite a few times. I'll fetch the -rifle tomorrow mornin', on the chanst I'll nail him. If I don't, I'd -best string some traps. Can't have coyotes in the Mahela." - -"We sure can't." - -Without completely understanding his father's bitter lesson--seeing his -beloved wilderness all but denuded of game by thoughtless or greedy -hunters and built back through sound conversation--Ted knew only that Al -had an almost ferocious hatred for destructive elements wherever they -were found. Therefore, the coyote could not be tolerated. Ted's eyes -roved up Hawkbill, and the cool wind felt good on his face. When they -mounted a hill, he strove for and caught a glimpse of the burned -mountain behind Hawkbill. Al saw and interpreted his look. - -"They're there all right, and it's my bet they'll be there after deer -season ends." - -"Not both of 'em," Ted asserted. "I'm going to nail one or the other." - -"Which one you aim to get? Damon? Or Pythias?" - -"Either will satisfy. How do you tell 'em apart?" - -"I imagine there'd be some small differences if a man was close. But on -a far look, I can't tell which is which. They're alike as two peas in a -pod. All I'm sure of is that I never saw bigger bucks." - -Ted said smugly, "Either should be as much advertising for the -Harknesses as it could be for Crestwood." - -"Hadn't you ought to get it first?" Al asked wryly. "Well, here we are -again." - -To the vast delight and relief of a colony of chipmunks that were snugly -at home beneath it, the Harknesses had built their new camp on the site -of the old. However, they had done so to save hauling lumber and because -the old foundation was so solid; any benefits accruing to the chipmunks -were merely incidental. The new camp was a one-story structure, -twenty-six feet long by eighteen wide. - -The exterior, if less than magnificent, did promise comfort. The windows -were small, consisting of four panes each, and set well back in their -casings. Two tin chimneys, one for each stove, protruded well above the -roof. The shingled walls and roof gave assurance that no cold winds -could creep in and there was a covered porch. Probably not so much as -one hunter would ever sit on it, but it did provide a place for storing -wood and keeping it dry. The surrounding goldenrod had been crushed and -scattered and the truck had made its own path in. - -Al drew up in front of the door and Tammie leaped out to sniff at the -various cracks and crevices the chipmunks used in their comings and -goings. Al and Ted went inside. - -In the center of the one room, not too close to the heating stove, was a -long wooden table, with benches on either side. Convenient to it was a -built-in cupboard, one end of which contained tableware and dishes. -Running along the wall, the other half of the cupboard held skillets, -pans and kettles. Nearby was the cooking stove, with cabinets for food -storage and a sturdy table for the cook's use. At the other end of the -building, as far as possible from both stoves, were the bunks. Scattered -along the walls were two secondhand davenports and five chairs that had -seen their best days but would still offer comfort to anyone who'd been -hiking the hills all day. - -Al surveyed the place critically. "Not much like Crestwood." - -Ted teased, "It is kind of ramshackle." - -"Ramshackle!" Al bristled. "Why you young whipper-snapper! This is as -good-built a camp as--" - -"There you are!" Ted grinned. "If you had a choice, would you stay here -or at Crestwood?" - -"Why here," Al grumbled. "I never did go for that fancy stuff." - -"And neither do a lot of other hunters. When they go out, they'd as soon -be in the woods. Besides, the prices here aren't much like Crestwood's, -either. In deer season, Thornton's cheapest room is fifteen dollars a -day. We could rent twenty camps like this if we had 'em." - -"And we won't even rent this'n 'thout we finish it. Now let's do some -figgerin'." - -At the kitchen end of the camp, they had built a wooden stand and in it -placed the tub from a large kitchen sink. There was an overflow pipe -that led to a septic tank beneath the floor of the camp itself; thus it -wouldn't freeze. Al scratched his head. - -"My figgerin's all done." - -"It is?" - -"Yup, and it figgers out the same's it always does. If we want water in -here, we'll have to work to put it in. Get your boots on." - -"Yes, boss." - -Ted donned rubber boots and they went out. Tammie, who had been having -an exciting time trying to catch a chipmunk that insisted on poking its -nose out of a crevice, wagged his tail and ran to join them. A doe that -had come to the apple trees stamped an apprehensive foot and drifted -slowly into the forest. The two workers took a pick and shovel from the -truck, and Al led the way to a little knoll. - -On the very top of the knoll was a seepage of water that sent a tricklet -into Tumbling Run. Green grass, rather than goldenrod, lined its length -and at no place was the runlet more than four inches wide or two deep. -Never in Al's memory had it been more or less; the spring provided a -constant flow. Even in coldest weather, the runlet never froze, and its -banks were always free of snow. It was a favorite drinking place for -deer that found other water icebound. - -Al asked, "Can you think of any more excuses for deep thinkin'?" - -"Not even one." - -"Me neither," Al said mournfully, "so I guess we can start the workin' -part. Do you want the pick or the shovel?" - -"Is there a choice?" - -"Could be, but here's the shovel and you might as well dig." - -Ted sunk his shovel point deep into the wet earth and scooped out a -chunk of soggy earth. Ice-cold, muddy water at once filled the hole and -Ted scooped again. He made a wry face. - -"This is like shoveling glue!" - -"Case you ever get a job in a glue factory, you'll know how to shovel -it," Al soothed. "We got to get down anyway three feet." - -"I'll persevere, but I know now why you wanted the pick. - -"Who's the brains of this outfit?" - -"Obviously you are." - -"There ain't any real need for a pick." Al grinned. "Wet ground don't -have to be loosened. I'll go snake in some wood." - -Al left and Tammie frisked beside him. Both got into the truck, and Al -drove across the clearing into the woods. Then there came the sound of -his ax ringing on dead wood.... An hour later he was back. The pickup's -box was filled with wood and Al dragged a log that he had chained to the -truck. He left the wood beside the camp and, with Tammie sitting proudly -in Ted's accustomed place, drove back for another load. - -Ted continued to deepen the spring. It was cold, dirty work, but it was -a good idea and certainly it would make the camp more comfortable. The -spring must be made deep enough to form a pool. Then its present -overflow would be plugged, diverted into some secondhand pipe they'd -already bought and led into the kitchen sink. Al thought there was -sufficient fall so no pump would be necessary and the water would force -itself through the pipe. Thus the cabin would be assured of a continuous -flow of fresh, pure water. In winter, when the camp would have no -occupants, it would be necessary only to pull the pipe or plug it and so -send the overflow back into its original course. - -Al returned with a second load of wood, dumped it and came up to see how -Ted was doing. Tammie sniffed at the muddy pool, then promptly jumped -into it. He climbed out, shook himself and sent a roily spray flying in -all directions. - -Ted ducked and sputtered, "For Pete's sake, dog!" - -Al grinned. "He thinks you need a bath." - -Ted glanced down at his mud-spattered boots and clothing. "Maybe I do. -Is this deep enough?" - -"Let's have the shovel." - -Ted stood aside while Al took the implement. An old hand at this sort of -thing, he probed expertly into corners that Ted had missed and lifted -out shovelfuls of mud without splashing his clothes at all. Ten minutes -later he leaned on the shovel and inspected the spring, which in its -present stage of construction was a muddy pool, four feet square by a -little more than three deep, with the overflow still going down its -natural channel. - -"That'll do," Al decided. "Now for the plumbin'." - -He caught up a length of pipe, walked to the apple trees, inserted his -pipe in a crotch and bent it into an 'L.' He bent it again, so that one -end formed a gooseneck, and carried his pipe into the cabin. Al -maneuvered one end through an already drilled hole in the floor, hung -the gooseneck over the sink and used a metal clamp to fasten his pipe to -the wall. - -Ted marveled. His father had measured nothing, but the bent pipe fitted -perfectly and the straight half of the 'L' lay flat on the ground -beneath the cabin. - -Ted asked, - -"What now?" - -"Let's eat." - -"Most sensible idea I've heard all day." - -They ate the sandwiches and drank the coffee they'd brought along while -Tammie, sitting hopefully near, expertly caught and gobbled the crusts -they tossed him. Then the two went back to work. - -Taking a bit of soap from his pocket, Al soaped the threads on another -length of pipe; filling the threads, the soap would prevent leaks. The -two "plumbers" then fitted this section into the pipe that protruded -beneath the cabin and continued with additional lengths until they were -within five feet of the spring. - -Al cut that five-foot length off with a hack saw. He plugged the cut end -with a piece of wood, started at a point about a foot below the top of -the knoll and used the flat of his ax to drive the plugged section of -pipe through so that it emerged a foot below the surface of the spring. -He screwed the short length into the already laid pipe and straightened. - -"Now we're diggin' where there's taters!" he said cheerfully. - -Catching up the shovel, he closed the spring's outlet with dirt and mud. -Then he rolled up his right sleeve, reached into the water and pulled -the wooden plug out. A second time he straightened, grinning. "If it -don't work, it's a sign we did it wrong. Let's go see." - -They re-entered the cabin and stood expectantly near the sink. For a -moment nothing happened. Then a series of choking gurgles and a rush of -air came through the gooseneck. This was followed by a muddy trickle -that subsided to a few drops. Then there was a violent surge of water -that leveled off to a steady flow. Al and Ted looked triumphantly at -each other. - -"It works!" Al said. - -"Running water yet!" Ted exulted, "Even if it is muddy!" - -"It'll clear itself in a few hours." - -"Don't you think we should have a faucet on this gooseneck?" - -Al shook his head. "Not in cold weather. It don't freeze 'cause it runs -fast. Come spring, we may tie a faucet onto it." - -"What do we do now?" - -"Go home. It's quittin' time." - -Ted was surprised to find that long evening shadows were slanting across -the valleys. They had worked hard, and perhaps that had made the day -seem so short. Only when they climbed back into the pickup for the ride -home did he realize that he was very tired. He tickled Tammie's silken -ears. - -"Tomorrow's another day," he murmured. - -"Yep," Al agreed somberly, "and another day brings more work. Reckon -I'll take after that coyote. He's got to be caught. You want to saw -wood?" - -"Sure thing." - - * * * * * - -Early the next morning, Al let Ted and Tammie off at the camp and turned -back, with traps and rifle, to get on the trail of the marauding coyote. -While the collie renewed his acquaintance with the chipmunks, Ted laid a -chunk of wood in the sawbuck and sawed off a twelve-inch length. He -sawed another ... and worked until noon. After lunch, he started -splitting the wood he had sawed. It was the right way to do things. If -hunters cut their own wood, they might injure valuable trees. - -Evening shadows were long again when Al came to pick him up. "Get your -coyote?" Ted greeted his father. - -"No, but I will. I found where he's runnin' and I put traps in the right -places. See you got a sizable pile of wood." - -"I haven't been loafing." - -"Not much anyhow." - -Ted said tiredly, "What a refreshing sense of humor my old pappy's got." - -They turned into the driveway of their own house, to see Loring Blade's -pickup truck already there and the game warden waiting. With him was -Jack Callahan, Sheriff of Mahela County. - -Al's voice was weighted with surprise as he welcomed them. "Hi, Lorin'. -'Lo, Jack. Been waitin' long?" - -"Not very long," Loring Blade said. "We figured you'd be in about now. -We have to ask you some questions, Al." - -"Well, come in and ask." - -They entered the house and Ted snapped on the lights in the living room. -He started into the kitchen to prepare supper. Al swung to face their -guests. - -"Ask away," he invited them. - -"We came to find out," said Jack Callahan, "what you can tell us about -the shooting of Smoky Delbert." - - - - -4 - -THE FUGITIVE - - -The words brought Ted to a shocked halt, just as he was entering the -kitchen. He turned to stare in disbelief and Tammie, sensing that -something was wrong, searched his master's face as though this would -show him what he must do. Failing to find any guiding sign, the collie -turned toward the two strangers. He did nothing and would do nothing -until Ted or Al told him to. But he was ready for any part he must take. - -In his turn, Ted looked to his father for a clue and found none. -Whatever Al might feel, he was successfully hiding it, and his voice was -neither raised nor lowered when he spoke. - -"Somebody finally got him, huh?" - -Jack Callahan challenged, "What do you mean by that?" - -"Where you been the past twenty or twenty-five years, Jack? Smoky's been -askin' for it at least that long." - -Callahan's voice was hard as ice and as brittle. "You didn't answer my -question." - -"So I didn't, but I will. I know nothin' 'bout who might've shot Smoky, -but I can think of lots of reasons why." - -"Is this yours?" - -Callahan's hand dipped into his pocket and came up bearing Al's -distinctive tobacco pouch. Ted gasped. His father was unmoved. - -"Yep. But I haven't seen it for two weeks or more." - -"That's true!" Ted asserted. "He hasn't had it for at least that long!" - -Al said quietly, "Stay out of this, boy." - -"You needn't stay out." Callahan swung toward Ted. "Was your father with -you today?" - -"Well--no." - -"Where was he?" - -"He was out hunting a coyote." - -A note of triumph in his voice, Callahan turned again to Al. "By any -chance, a two-legged coyote?" - -Al said disgustedly, "Don't be a fool!" - -"Did you have your rifle with you?" - -"What would you carry if you was huntin' a coyote? A pocketful of -pebbles?" - -"Can you account for your actions of today?" - -"Yep. Crossed the nose of Hawkbill, went into Coon Valley, climbed that -to its head, swung behind Burned Mountain, crossed the Fordham Road and -come back by way of Fiddlefoot Crick." - -"Can you prove all this?" - -"Sure!" Al snorted. "I'll get you an affy-davit from a couple of crows -that saw me." - -"That is your tobacco pouch?" - -"I've already said it is." - -"That pouch," and again Callahan's voice rose in triumph, "was found not -six feet from where Smoky fell!" - -"So?" - -"Al, I'd hate to have to get tough with you." - -"Don't think you'd better try it." - -"Loring heard you threaten to shoot Delbert." - -"And I also," Loring Blade broke in, "heard Smoky threaten to shoot Al. -There's more than one side to this, Jack, and suppose you simmer down?" - -"I'm in charge here!" - -"But you're getting nowhere. Al, will you talk to me?" - -"I'll tell you what I can, Lorin'." - -"If you had anything to do with this, tell your story now. I don't hold -with shooting, but certainly I never held with Smoky Delbert. I, for -one, am willing to believe that, no matter how it happened or who he -met, Smoky raised his rifle first. I've known him a long while." - -"But you never jailed him." - -"Only because," the warden said, "I could never catch him. He was crafty -as he was mean. But he's still a human being." - -"Could be some argument 'bout that," Al murmured. "Lorin', where was -Smoky shot?" - -"Coon Valley," the warden answered reluctantly. "Almost beside those -three big sycamores near Glory Rock." - -"Is he dead?" - -"No, but he probably would be if he hadn't dragged himself to the -Fordham Road. Bill Layton, passing in his logging truck, found him and -took him into the hospital at Lorton." - -"Is he goin' to die?" - -"He's in a bad way." - -"Has he talked?" - -"Not yet." - -"How about the bullet?" - -"It went right through him; we couldn't find it." - -"How do you know he was shot near them three sycamores in Coon Valley?" - -"Bill told us where he picked him up. Jack and I went up there to see -what we could find and," the warden shrugged, "the back trail wasn't -hard to follow. Smoky was hit hard." - -"And you found my tobacco pouch?" - -"That's right, Al. It was within a few feet of where Smoky fell." - -"How do you know he fell there?" - -Loring Blade shrugged again. "He laid a while before he started to drag -himself out. There was plenty of evidence." - -"Now here's a point, Lorin'. I've already said I was in Coon Valley -today. Suppose I had my pouch, couldn't I have lost it when I passed the -sycamores?" - -"You could have." - -"What time did you go up Coon Valley?" Jack Callahan broke in. - -"'Twas before eight. I started early." - -"Then you crossed back to the Fordham Road?" - -"Don't try to snarl my words up," Al warned. "I've already said that I -went up Coon Valley to its head and crossed back of Burned Mountain to -the Fordham Road." - -"But you heard no shooting?" - -Al seemed a little contemptuous. "You ever make that crossin'?" - -"I asked you a question." - -"And I asked you one. Did you ever cross that way?" - -"No." Put on the defensive, Callahan sulked. - -"Try it," Al advised shortly. "It's a right smart hop. There's places -back in there where you couldn't hear a cannon fired in Coon Valley." - -"Look, Al," Loring Blade pleaded, "I'll ask you again to tell your -straight story. I'm sure there has to be more to it than this. I know -you too well to think you'd shoot Delbert or anyone else down in cold -blood. Won't you help me to help you?" - -Al said doggedly, "I've told my story. Seems like there's an easy way to -settle this whole works." - -"What is it?" - -"Delbert ain't dead. When he talks, he'll tell who shot him." - -"There's no guarantee that Delbert will ever talk." - -Jack Callahan said, "I'm afraid I'll have to take you in, Al." - -"On what grounds?" - -"Suspicion. If Delbert lives, the charge will be assault with a deadly -weapon. If he dies--" Callahan shrugged. - -Al looked aside, and the fierce storms that could rage in his usually -gentle eyes were raging now. Ted shivered, and then Al calmed. - -"All right, Jack. If that's the way it must be." - -"You won't resist?" - -"I promise I won't raise a hand against you or Lorin'." - -Loring Blade said relievedly, "That's a help, Al. Thanks." - -"Is there any reason," Al asked, "why a body can't eat first? Ted and -me've been out sinst early mornin' with only a snack in between." - -Loring Blade said agreeably, "No reason at all, Al." Callahan glared at -the warden. Al smiled faintly. - -"Have a bite with us, Lorin'?" - -"I'll be glad to." - -"How about you, Jack?" - -"Look here, Al, if you try anything--" - -"I've give my word that I'll raise no hand to either of you." - -"See that you keep your word." - -"Leave that to me. Will you eat with us?" - -Callahan answered reluctantly, "I'll stay." - -"Then Ted and me'll be rustlin' a bite." - -Silent, but seething inwardly, Al joined Ted in the kitchen. Knowing -something was amiss, but not what he could do about it, Tammie lay down -woefully on his bearskin rug. Wanting to speak, but not knowing what to -say, Ted looked dully at his father's face. It was unreadable. - -Finally Al said, "We'll all feel better when we've had a bite to eat, -and I for one am hungry." - -He lighted a burner and stooped to take a kettle from beneath the sink. -Ted stared his astonishment. Al had the huge kettle, the one they used -when there were ten or more hunters staying with them. Half-filling it -with water, he put it over the burner to heat and took an unopened peck -of potatoes from their storage place. Industriously he began to peel -them. - -Ted said, "Dad--" - -"We'll need plenty," Al broke in. "S'pose you get about four more -parcels of pork chops out and start 'em cookin?" - -"But, Dad--" - -"Let's not," Al whirled almost savagely, "waste our time talkin'. Let's -just do it." - -Sick with fear, Ted did as directed. He and Al froze pork chops six to a -package, and three were all a hungry man wanted. Four more packages -meant that they would cook thirty pork chops, and what were any four -men--even four ravenous men--to do with them? Ted got four more packages -out and began breaking them apart. He stole a sidewise glance at his -father. Had this sudden, terrible accusation unseated Al's reason? Ted -put the still frozen pork chops into two of their biggest skillets and -began thawing them over burners. Loring Blade came into the kitchen. - -"Can I help?" - -Al said, "Reckon not, Lorin'." - -"My gosh! You're making enough for an army!" - -"Might's well have plenty. Ted, give me another sack of biscuit mix." - -Ted's head whirled. He licked dry lips and looked at the two pans of -biscuits Al had already prepared. Loring Blade turned away and in that -instant when they were unobserved, Al shook a warning head. Ted took -another sack of biscuit mix from the cupboard while cold fear gnawed at -him as a dog gnaws a bone. If there was some idea behind this madness, -what could it possibly be? Al was preparing enough food for a dozen men. - -Ted turned to his skillets full of sputtering pork chops while Al tested -the boiling potatoes with a fork. - -"Most done," he commented. "How you comin'?" - -"Another five minutes." - -"Guess I can drain the spuds." - -He drained them into the sink, shook them, and added a generous hand -full of salt and a bit of pepper. He shook the kettle of potatoes again -to mix the seasoning thoroughly. Then he put them on the table and -pushed the hot coffee pot to a warming burner. While Ted took their -biggest platter from the cupboard and began forking pork chops onto it, -Al slipped in to set four places at the table. - -"Ready?" - -"All ready." - -"Guess we can eat, then." - -Leaving the potatoes in their huge kettle, he carried it in and put it -in the center of the table. Ted brought the platter of pork chops and -returned to the kitchen for coffee. Al passed him with two plates of -biscuits. - -"Chow." - -Jack Callahan, who had been so grim and unrelenting and now seemed to -regret it, smiled. - -"Whew! Are four of us going to eat that?" - -"If we can." - -"I'll do my darndest." - -"You're s'posed to." - -"Doggonit, Al," Callahan said plaintively, "don't blame me for this. I -have a job and I intend to do it!" - -"I know." - -"There's nothing personal." - -"I know that, too." - -"Do you have to be so gloomy?" - -"What'd you do if you was on your way to jail? Turn handsprings?" - -Loring Blade grinned mirthlessly, speared two pork chops and added a -generous helping of potatoes. He broke a hot biscuit and lathered it -with butter. The game warden began to eat. - -"Seen Damon and Pythias lately?" he asked companionably. - -"Nope." - -Loring Blade looked down at his plate. Under ordinary circumstances they -could have made easy conversation. But circumstances weren't ordinary; -the shadow of one in trouble cast its pall over the other three. The -game warden ate a pork chop and some of his potatoes. Then, unable to -refrain from talking about that which loomed so largely, he burst out, -"Al, for pete's sake! If you have anything to say, say it! If you shot -in self-defense, I, for one, will buy the story. There's a way out if -you'll take it!" - -"I've told my story, Lorin'." - -"You refuse to admit you shot Delbert?" - -"I didn't shoot him." - -Callahan said, "There's evidence to the contrary." - -"So?" - -Ted toyed with a single pork chop, one potato, and almost gagged. He -took a drink of hot coffee and found it stimulating. Tammie, lying on -the bearskin, looked questioningly at his master. Loring Blade pushed -his plate back. - -"I'm full. Told you you cooked far too much." - -"No harm's done." - -"We'll help you clean up." - -"Right nice of you." - -Al put the uneaten pork chops, a great pile of them, in two covered -dishes and placed them in the refrigerator. He covered the kettle of -potatoes and left them on the table, and put the biscuits in the -breadbox. Ted washed the dishes and Loring Blade dried them. - -While he worked Ted brought some order to his scattered thoughts. His -father was in trouble, serious trouble, and nothing mattered now except -getting him out. That meant the services of a skilled attorney and they -had little money. But he could sell the camp for at least as much as it -had cost and probably he could get a job in Lorton. Ted washed the last -plate and Loring Blade dried it. There was an uneasy interval during -which nobody did or said anything because nobody knew what to do or say. - -Finally Loring Blade asked, "Are you ready, Al?" - -"Yep." - -"Shall we go?" - -"Guess so." - -Ted said firmly, "I'm following you in. I'm going to see John McLean -tonight. He's a good lawyer." - -There was a ring of command in Al's voice, "No, Ted!" - -"But--" - -"Don't come to Lorton tonight! Stay right here!" - -Ted said reluctantly, "If that's what you want--" - -"That's what I do want. This thing's too harebrained already. No use -makin' it more so by actin' without thinkin'." - -"I'll come in in the morning." - -"If you think best. So long for now." - -The door opened and closed and they were gone. Ted heard Loring Blade -start his pickup and watched the red taillight bobbing down their -driveway. They reached the Lorton Road and Loring Blade gunned his -motor. - -Ted sank dully into a chair and Tammie came to sit comfortingly beside -him. The big dog shoved his slender muzzle into Ted's cupped hand, and, -getting no response, he laid his sleek head on his master's knee. The -measured ticking of the clock on the mantel seemed like the measured -ringing of tiny bells. Ted fastened his gaze on it, and because he had -to do something, he watched the clock's black hands creep slowly around. -Like everything else, he thought, time was a relative thing. Fifteen -minutes seemed no more than an eyewink when one was busy, but it was an -age when you could do nothing except struggle with your own tortured -thoughts. - -Another fifteen minutes passed, and another, and an exact hour had -elapsed when Tammie sprang up and trotted to the door. He stood, head -raised and tail wagging. Ted opened the door. - -"Dad!" - -"'Fraid I got to move, Ted. Help me pack all thet grub we cooked for -supper, will you? Hills'll be full of posse men for the next few days -and I can't be startin' any fires." - -"But--" - -"I kept my promise," Al assured him, "and all I promised was that I -wouldn't raise a hand 'gainst Lorin' or Jack. Never did say I wouldn't -jump out of the truck when it slowed for Dead Man's Curve." - -"They'll be on your trail!" - -"Not right away, they won't. I went into the woods when I took off and -they're lookin' for me there." He grinned briefly. "Callahan found me. -'Come out or I'll shoot!' he said. I didn't come out and he shot. Hope -the beech tree he thought was me don't mind." - -"You could have run from here if you were going to run anyhow!" - -"When I run," Al Harkness said, "nobody 'cept me gets in the way of any -bullets I might draw. Think I want 'em shootin' up you or Tammie?" - -Al laid a canvas pack sack on the kitchen table. While Ted wrapped the -cooked pork chops in double thicknesses of waxed paper and the excess -biscuits in single, his father spooned the potatoes into glass quart -jars and mashed them down. He packed everything into the rucksack and -added a package of coffee, one of tea, some salt and a few -miscellaneous items. Donning his hunting jacket, he shouldered the pack. -Filling two pockets with matches, he slid two unopened boxes of -cartridges into another. Finally he strung a belt ax and hunting knife -on a leather belt, strapped it around his middle and took his rifle from -its rack. - -"Don't try to find me, Ted." - -"What shall I say if they come?" Ted whispered. - -"Tell the truth and say I was here. They'll find it out anyhow." - -"What are you going to do?" - -"Lay in the hills 'til somethin' turns up. Can't do nothin' else now." - -"Dad, don't go!" Ted pleaded. "Stay and face it out. It's the best way." - -"It might have been," Al agreed, "and I was most tempted to go clear in. -But it ain't any more." - -"Why?" - -"Lorin' had his radio on; listened on the way down. Smoky Delbert come -to and talked. He named me as the man who shot him and said I shot from -ambush! Be seein' you, Ted." - - - - -5 - -COON VALLEY - - -Tammie whined uneasily and Ted woke with a start. He glanced at the -clock on the mantel and saw that it read twenty minutes past five. The -last time he had looked, he remembered, the clock had said half past -two. Obviously he'd fallen asleep in the chair where he'd been waiting -for someone to come or something to happen. No one had come, but they -were coming now. On the Lorton Road, Ted heard the cars that Tammie had -detected twenty seconds earlier. - -He got to his feet and looked out into the thin, gray mistiness of early -dawn. With its lights glowing like a ghost's eyes in the wan dimness, a -car churned up the Harkness drive and a second followed it. The boy -shrank away. Last night's events now seemed like some horrible -nightmare, but the tread of steps outside and the knock on the door -proved that they were not. - -Ted opened the door to confront Loring Blade and Corporal Paul Hausler, -of the State Police. He glanced beyond them at the men gathered beside -the cars and saw that three of the nine were attired in State Police -uniforms. The six volunteer posse men were Tom and Bud Delbert, Smoky's -brothers; Enos, Alfred and Ernest Brill, his cousins; and Pete Tooms, -who would go anywhere and do anything as long as it promised excitement -and no monotonous labor. - -Loring Blade greeted Ted, "Good morning, Ted." - -The boy muttered, "Good morning." - -"You seen your dad?" - -"Yes." - -"I mean, since we took him away last night?" - -"Yes." - -"Did he come back here?" - -"That's right." - -"What time?" - -Ted hesitated. He'd had his eyes fixed on the clock, but seconds and -split seconds counted, too. - -"I don't know the _exact_ time." - -"Better tell the truth," Corporal Hausler warned bluntly. "It can go -hard with you if you don't. Where's your father now?" - -"I don't know." - -"Maybe a couple of slaps will jar your memory!" - -He took a step forward. Tammie, rippling in, placed himself in front of -Ted. There was no growl in his throat or snarl on his lips, but his eyes -were grim and his manner threatening. Hausler stopped. - -"I don't think you'd better let him bite me." - -Loring Blade said quietly, "Cut it out, Paul. There's enough trouble in -this family without adding unnecessarily to it. Ted didn't do anything." - -"He can tell us where his father is." - -"I cannot!" Ted flared. - -"When did he leave here?" - -"Last night." - -"What time?" - -"I forgot to hold a stop watch on him." - -"Why didn't you stop him? Don't you know that failing to do so can make -you liable to arrest as an accessory after the fact?" - -"A sheriff and a game warden couldn't stop him." - -"He's right," Loring Blade agreed. "We couldn't. Why don't you start -your men into the hills?" - -"If he left this house," Hausler threatened, "we'll be on his track in -two minutes." - -He turned and went out, and Ted laughed. Loring Blade swung to face him. - -"You feel pretty bitter, don't you?" - -"How would you feel?" - -"Not too happy," the warden admitted. "Why did you laugh?" - -Ted grinned faintly. "Does that trooper really think he, or anyone else, -can track Dad?" - -"If he does have such ideas," Loring Blade conceded, "he'll soon have -some different ones. Nobody can track Al Harkness." - -"Nor can they find him." - -"Perhaps not immediately, but sooner or later they will." - -"Yes?" Ted questioned. "Send a thousand men into the hills, send a -thousand into any big thicket, and they wouldn't find him unless they -happened to stumble right across him." - -"Al can't stay in the hills forever." - -"Maybe not, but he can stay there a long time. He knows every chipmunk -den in the Mahela." - -"He won't be easy to find," the warden conceded, "but he will be found. -What time did he come back last night?" - -"Just about an hour after you took him away." - -Loring Blade exclaimed, "Wow!" - -Ted looked quizzically at him and the warden continued, "We were on Dead -Man's Curve, and he was between Jack and me, when suddenly he pushed the -door open and just seemed to float out of it. We beat the brush around -Dead Man's Curve until one o'clock this morning. About then I tumbled to -the idea that he must have come back here." - -"Why didn't you come last night?" - -Loring Blade shrugged. "He slipped through our fingers once. It wasn't -hard to figure that he wouldn't have done that only to let himself be -picked up again. Besides, it did seem sort of useless to hunt him at -night. He headed into the woods, and because he didn't make a sound that -either Jack or I could hear, we thought he was holed up right close. -Ted, do you think he shot Smoky?" - -"No!" - -"Why not?" - -"He said he didn't." - -"Delbert said he did." - -"Just what did he say?" - -"That's all. He regained consciousness briefly. The officer with him -asked who shot him and he said Al did from ambush. I doubt if he's -talked since." - -"Do you believe Dad shot Smoky?" - -The warden frowned. "If he did, it wasn't from ambush. There's more to -it than that. We could have brought it out, but it will be harder now. -When Al ran, he made things look pretty bad." - -"Not to me." - -"But to a lot of other people. Do you think you can get him to come back -and give himself up?" - -"I asked him last night to stay and face it out." - -"Why wouldn't he?" - -"Dad's part of the Mahela," Ted said quietly, "and the Mahela's code is -the one he knows best. He would not go to jail for a crime he didn't -commit, any more than a wild deer would voluntarily enter a cage." - -"Doggone, that sure complicates things. Do you have any bright ideas?" - -"What did you find in Coon Valley?" - -"Just what I told you, Smoky's back trail and your dad's tobacco pouch." - -"Nothing else?" - -"Smoky's rifle. We brought it in with us." - -"No sign of anything else?" - -Loring Blade answered wearily, "You know what it's like there. Unless -it's a trail like Smoky's, and Smoky was bleeding hard, there's little -in the way of sign that a human eye can detect." - -"Just the same, I think I'll go up there." - -"What do you expect to find?" - -"I don't know. Anything would be a help." - -"Guess it would at that. Good luck." - -"Are--are you going to join the hunt for Dad?" - -Loring Blade grinned wryly. "I'm not that optimistic. I agree with you -that, if Al wants to lose himself in the Mahela, he won't be found. But -sooner or later he'll show up. He can't spend the winter there." - -"I wouldn't bet on that." - -"Bet the way you please. Now I'm not saying that you will, but if you -should run across Al up there in the hills, see if you can persuade him -to give himself up. He still has a good case, in spite of Smoky's -testimony. Too many people know Al too well to believe he'd shoot -anybody from ambush; he has a lot of friends. The only ones who'd join -the posse were Delberts and Pete Tooms, and I sure hope none of them -stumble across Al. If they come in fighting, he's apt to fight right -back, and one stove-in Delbert around here is enough. Good luck again, -Ted." - -Ted lost his belligerence; the warden was his father's friend. "Stay and -have breakfast with me." - -"Thanks, but we breakfasted in Lorton before we came here. I'll be -seeing you around." - -"Do that." - -The warden left and Ted was alone except for Tammie. He dropped a hand -to the collie's silken head and tried to think a way out of the -bewildering maze in which he was trapped. He was sure of two things; Al -had not shot Smoky Delbert and his father would stay in the hills until, -as Loring Blade had said, winter forced him out. But it would have to be -bitter, harsh winter. Al could make his way in anything else. - -Ted whispered, "What are we going to do, Tammie?" - -Tammie licked his fingers and Ted furrowed his brow. The situation, as -it existed, was almost pitifully vague. A man had been shot in Coon -Valley, and the only signs left were the hurt man's trail and an -accusing finger to point at who had hurt him. There had to be more than -that, but what? Loring Blade had found nothing and Loring was an expert -woodsman. However, even though everything seemed hopeless, somebody had -better do something to help Al and, except for Loring Blade, Ted was the -only one who wanted to help him. Even though it was a slim one, finding -something that the game warden had not found seemed the only chance. -Ted decided to take it. - -"But we'll eat first," he promised Tammie. - -Ted prepared a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs and fed Tammie. Then -he fixed a lunch and, with Tammie beside him, got into Al's old pickup. -He gulped. The seat had always seemed small enough when he and his -father occupied it together. With Al gone, and despite the fact that -Tammie sat beside him, the seat was huge. Ted gritted his teeth and -started down the drive. - -He turned left on the Lorton Road, slowed for the dangerous, hairpin -turn that was Dead Man's Curve, speeded up to climb a gentle rise, -descended back into the valley and turned again on the Fordham Road. A -well graded and not at all a dangerous highway, somehow the Fordham Road -had never seemed a place for cars. It was as though it had always been -here, a part of the Mahela, and had never been torn out of the beech -forest with gargantuan bulldozers or ripped with blasting powder. For -the most part, it was used by the trucks of a small logging outfit -which, under State supervision, was cutting surplus timber and by -hunters who wanted to drive their cars as close as possible to remote -hunting country. - -Ted slowed up for five deer that drifted across the road in front of him -and stopped for a fawn that stood with braced legs and wide eyes and -regarded the truck in amazement. Only when Ted tooted the horn did the -fawn come alive, scramble up an embankment and disappear. The boy smiled -wearily. Had Al been with him, both would have enjoyed the startled fawn -and they would have talked about it. - -An hour after leaving his house, Ted came to the mouth of Coon Valley. -Long and shallow, the upper parts of both slopes were covered with -beech forest. But if any trees had ever found a rooting in the floor of -the valley or for about seventy yards up either side, they had died or -been cut so long ago that even the stumps had disappeared. The usual -little stream trickled down the valley. - -Ted pulled over to the side and stopped. He got out and put the truck's -keys in his pocket. Tammie jumped to the ground beside him. The big -collie bristled and walked warily around a dark stain in the road. Ted -fought a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. There was no doubt that -some hurt thing had lain here, but unless someone had told him so, he -never would have known that it was a man. Ted licked his lips, and -Tammie stayed close beside him as they started up the valley. - -Smoky Delbert's journey had indeed been a terrible one. Had he not been -hardened by a lifetime of outdoor living, probably he never could have -made it. In a way, Ted supposed, it was Smoky's atonement for his many -vicious practices. Yet, the boy found it in his heart to admit that, -whoever had shot the poacher and forced him to crawl, wounded and -bleeding, to the Fordham Road, was even more vicious. - -Ted stirred uneasily, then calmed himself. Al had said it was no part of -his doing. Therefore it was not. Who had done this dreadful thing? - -A spring trickling across the valley had left a soft spot. Here Ted -stopped instantly. Very plain in the soft earth were the tracks of a -single, unshod horse that had walked down Coon Valley and back up it, or -up it and back down. Ted could not be sure, but his heart leaped. Loring -Blade and Jack Callahan had said nothing about any horses. Who had taken -a horse up the valley, and why? His interest quickening, Ted looked for -more horse tracks. - -He found them farther on, where the trail became a stretch of sand from -the little stream's overflow, but he still could not determine whether -the horse had gone up or down the valley first. He knew definitely only -that it had traveled both ways, and if he could find out why, he might -also find a clue as to who had shot Smoky Delbert. Ted kept downcast -eyes on the trail. - -Save for that unmistakable sign left by Smoky Delbert and an occasional -path or little trail which anything at all might have used, for a long -ways he found only scattered indications that Coon Valley was traveled -at all. The lush grass, beginning to wither because of lack of rain, -formed its own hard cushion. An Indian or bushman tracker might have -been able to read the story of what had come this way. Ted could find -little. - -Trotting a little ways ahead, Tammie stopped suddenly, pricked up his -ears and looked interestedly at a small clearing that reached perhaps -three hundred yards into the beech woods. Following his gaze, Ted saw -two brown horses and a black one. Their heads were up and ears pricked -forward as they studied the two on the trail. Ted sighed in resignation. - -The Crawfords and the Staceys, who lived in the Mahela, each kept -several horses. Why they did, why they kept any at all, only they could -explain, for neither had enough land to warrant keeping even one horse. -Still they had them. The horses were usually left to forage for -themselves from the time the first spring grass appeared until hunting -season opened. Then sometimes they were pressed into service, to pack or -pull the tents and gear of hunters who had a yen for some remote spot, -or to pack out deer or bears that had been brought down a long ways from -any road. - -At any rate, the horse tracks were explained. While it wasn't usual for -one horse to break from its companions and go wandering, now and again -one would do it. The black horse broke from the two browns, trotted down -to Ted, arched its neck and extended a friendly muzzle. Ted petted him. - -"Lonesome for a human being, fella?" - -Ted went on and the black horse followed him a little ways before it -turned back to join the other two. - -A half mile from the Fordham Road, Ted came to the three sycamores near -Glory Rock. - -The sides of Coon Valley pitched sharply upwards here, and the beech -forest came closer to the valley's floor. The three sycamores, a giant -tree and two near-giants, rustled their leaves in the little breeze and -remained aloof from everything else, as though they were the royalty in -this place. Even Glory Rock, an elephant-backed, elephant-sized boulder -whose ancient face wore a stubble of lichens, seemed demure in their -presence. To the left, a raggle-taggle thicket of beech brush crawled to -within twenty feet of the valley's floor. - -Ted looked down at the place where Smoky Delbert had fallen, and there -could be no mistaking it. The boy stood still, searching everything near -the spot, and as he did hope faded. - -The bullet, Loring Blade had said, had gone clear through Smoky. That, -within itself, was unusual. With no exceptions of which Ted knew, -everybody who came into the Mahela used soft-point hunting bullets that -mushroomed on impact. But now and again, though very rarely, a faulty -bullet didn't expand when it struck. Probably that was another factor -that had saved Smoky's life. A mushrooming bullet did awful damage. In -spite of the fact that some of it might escape the hunter, probably at -least eighty per cent of anything hit with one died sooner or later. -Smoky, Ted's experience told him, never would have moved from beside the -sycamores if this bullet had mushroomed. - -Ted furrowed his brows. The bullet might prove a lot, but finding it was -as hopeless as locating a pebble in the ocean. There was nothing except -the sycamores and grass right here, and none of the sycamore trunks were -bullet marked. Going through Smoky without expanding, the bullet had -snicked into the ground the same way. Locating it might mean sifting -tons, and perhaps dozens of tons, of earth. Even then, unless one were -lucky, the bullet might elude him. - -Tammie, who was sitting beside Ted and staring into the beech brush, -whined suddenly. In turn he lifted both white front paws and put them -down again. He drank deeply of some scent that only he could detect. Ted -looked keenly at him. - -"What have you got, Tammie?" - -Tammie ran a little ways toward the beech brush and turned to look back -over his shoulder. Ted frowned. Loring Blade had reported correctly and -in full everything that could be found in the valley, but Loring hadn't -had a dog with him. Obviously, Tammie's nose had discovered something -that any human being might well miss. - -Ted ordered, "Go ahead, Tammie." - -The dog started up-slope toward the brush and Ted followed. He ducked -into the thicket, so dense that, once within it, visibility was limited -to twenty feet or less and there were places where he had to crawl. In -the center of the thicket, Tammie halted to look down and Ted came up -beside him. - -In the center of the beech brush was a well-marked trail used by deer -that knew perfectly well the advantages of staying in a thicket. Tammie -was looking down at a splash of drying blood, obviously a deer had been -badly wounded here and had fallen. Ted heaped lavish praise on his dog. - -"Good boy! Good boy, Tammie!" - -He set his jaw and his eyes glinted. Unless a hunter were within twenty -feet of the trail, in which case it was highly improbable that any deer -would have come down it, nobody within the beech brush could have -wounded the deer. But how about the opposite slope? - -Ted retraced his steps and climbed to the top of Glory Rock. From that -vantage point, where he could look across at it instead of trying to -look through it, the beech thicket became more open. He couldn't see -everything, but he could see very plainly the place where the deer had -fallen. Moving to one side, Ted had the same view. The deer could have -been shot from any of a dozen places on this slope.... What had taken -place assumed definite shape in Ted's mind. - -Smoky Delbert, always the poacher, had known of the beech thicket and -the trail through it. He had waited for a deer and shot one when it -appeared. Somebody else, somebody who knew and took violent exception to -Smoky and his antics--and there were at least thirty men who did--had -either happened along or had witnessed the whole thing. Probably there -had been an argument, followed by the shooting. - -No nearer a solution than he had been before, Ted nibbled his lip in -frustration. He knew now why Smoky had been shot, but he still hadn't -the faintest idea as to who had shot him. All he had were widely -scattered pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, with too many pieces missing. -However, first things came first and he'd better get the hurt deer, for -it was both practical and merciful to do so. Badly wounded, it couldn't -possibly travel far. If he found it still alive, the least he could do -was put it out of its misery. If it was dead, he should save what could -be salvaged of the venison. Al would have done the same had he been -here. - -Ted said, "Come on, Tammie." - -They returned to the place where the deer had fallen and took up the -trail. It was easy to follow, for the animal had been badly hurt. -Straight down the trail it had run, and sixty yards farther on Ted found -where it had fallen again and thrashed about. The beech brush blended -back into beech forest and the trail Ted followed swerved to within -twenty feet of the valley floor. He found a great puddle of blood where -the deer had fallen a third time. - -He marveled. The deer had been down three times in a little more than -three hundred yards and it never should have been able to get up and go -on. But it had gone on and it had also nearly stopped bleeding. From -this point there was only a spot here and there to mark the leaves. Ted -shook his head. If he wasn't seeing this himself, he wouldn't have -believed it. He remembered that a deer is an incredibly tough thing. It -can still run after receiving wounds that would stop a man in his -tracks. - -Overrunning the trail, the boy had to stop and circle until he picked -it up again. It was necessary to do this so many times that, by -midafternoon, he was scarcely a mile from the three sycamores. A half -hour later he lost the trail completely; the deer had stopped bleeding. -Ted made a wide circle in an effort to find the trail again, and when he -failed, he made a wider circle. He stopped to think. - -He'd have sworn, knowing how hard the deer was hit, that it would never -run five hundred yards. Obviously he had guessed wrong, and what now? -Anything he did would be little better than a shot in the dark, but if -he could help it, he would not leave an injured beast to a lingering, -terrible death. Wounded wild things were apt to seek a haven in -thickets. Perhaps, if he cast back and forth through brush tangles, -Tammie would scent the deer again. - -Ted made his way to a grove of scrub hemlock, cut from there to a laurel -thicket and pushed and crawled his way through half a dozen snarls of -beech brush. He knew that he was not going to find the wounded deer and -he sorrowed for the suffering animal. About to drop his hand to Tammie's -head, he found that the collie was no longer beside him. - -He was about twenty feet back, dancing excitedly in the trail. His ears -were alert, his eyes happy, and there was a doggy smile on his jaws. He -had a scent, but it was not the scent of a wounded deer. Ted took his -handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to the dog. - -"Take it to Al," he ordered quietly. "Take it to Al, Tammie." - -Carrying the handkerchief, Tammie streaked into the forest and -disappeared. Ted walked down Coon Valley and waited at the truck. An -hour and a quarter later, no longer carrying the handkerchief, Tammie -joined him. Ted petted him and looked somberly at the forest. He didn't -know where Al was hiding and he didn't want to know. - -But Tammie knew. - - - - -6 - -MESSENGER DOG - - -In the gathering gloom of the beech woods, a silver-throated thrush sang -its evening song. Then, starting where it had ended, the thrush repeated -the same notes backwards. Ted paused to listen and Tammie halted beside -him. The boy grinned faintly. Because it first seemed to wind itself up -and then to unwind, Al had always insisted on calling this thrush the -"winder bird." It was, Ted supposed, as good a name as any. - -Tammie sat down and turned a quizzical head to look at the harness he -was wearing and, for excellent reasons, could wear only at night. Ted -himself had made the harness from a discarded pack sack. It had a chest -strap to keep it from sliding backwards, a belly strap to prevent it -from falling off, and on either side was a spacious pocket with a flap -that could be fastened. Right now, the pack was laden with thirty pounds -of junk that Ted had picked up around the house. - -Tammie tried to scrape the harness off with his right hind paw. Ted -stooped to pet and coax him. - -"Come on, Tammie. Come on. That's a good boy!" - -Tammie sighed and got to his feet. He didn't know why he was thus -burdened and he had no aspirations whatever to become a pack dog. But if -Ted wanted it, he would try to do it. He followed to the end of the -drive and stood expectantly while Ted opened the mailbox. - -The metropolitan daily in which Ted had placed his ad, and that was -always delivered to the Harknesses a day late, lay on top. Beneath were -thirteen letters. - -Ted's heart began to pound. He'd watched the mail every day, but except -for the paper, the usual hopeful bulletins addressed to "occupant," and -a few miscellaneous items, there had been nothing interesting. Ted had -almost despaired of getting anything, but he realized, as he stood with -the letters in his hand, that he hadn't allowed hunters enough time to -answer his ad. - -The thirteen letters represented more first-class mail than the -Harknesses usually received in three months, and Ted held them as though -they burned his fingers. They were important, perhaps the most important -letters he had ever had or ever would have, for the future of the -Harknesses could depend on what was in them. - -Ted ran back up the drive. Running with him, Tammie was too busy to pay -attention to the obnoxious pack. Ted burst into the house, slammed the -door behind him, laid the letters and papers on the table and knelt to -take the pack from Tammie. He thrust it, still laden, into the darkest -corner of a dark closet and turned excitedly back to the mail. - -Sighing with relief, Tammie curled up on his bearskin. Ted looked at the -sheaf of letters. Except for two, they were addressed in longhand. He -picked one up, made as though to open it then put it back down. If the -news was good, it would be very good. If bad, it would be very bad. His -eye fell on a box on the paper's front page. - - GUNMAN STILL AT LARGE - - After a week's intensive manhunt, Albert, "Al" Harkness is still at - large in the wild Mahela. Harkness, named by Clarence Delbert as - the man who shot him from ambush, escaped from two officers the - same night he was apprehended. Delbert, still in critical - condition, has supplied no additional details. Corporal Paul - Hausler, of the State Police, has expressed confidence that - Harkness will be captured. - -Ted pushed the paper aside and stared across the table. For three days -the hunt had been pressed with unflagging zeal. Only Pete Tooms and the -duly deputized Delberts had gone out for two days after that and now, -Ted understood, even they were staying home. They had discovered for -themselves what Ted and Loring Blade had known from the start: if Al -chose to hide in the Mahela, he couldn't be found. But the item in the -paper cast a shadow of things to come. - -Al could hide for a while, perhaps for a long while, but without proper -equipment or a place to stay, even he couldn't live in the wilderness -when winter struck with all its fury. Sooner or later, he would have to -come out, and what happened when he came was so terribly dependent on -what was in the letters! Ted slit the first one open and read, - - Dear Mr. Harkness: - - I saw your letter in the _Courier_ and we would like to rent your - camp for the first two weeks of deer season. Can you let me know at - once if it is available? There will be ten of us. - -Ted put the letter aside and picked up the next one. That likewise -wanted the camp for the first two weeks of deer season. There would be -eight in the party. But there was a very welcome, "I enclose an advance -to hold our reservation," with a twenty-dollar check made out to Ted. He -folded the note over the check and took up the third letter. That also -wanted the camp for the first two weeks of deer season. Ted turned to -Tammie. - -"Doesn't anybody hunt anything except deer?" - -But the fourth letter, containing a deposit of ten dollars, was from a -party of grouse hunters who wanted the camp during the first two weeks -of grouse season, and the fifth had been written by a man representing a -group of hunters who obviously liked to do things the hard way. Scorning -anything as easy as deer, grouse, squirrels, or cottontails, they wanted -the camp for bear season. There was no deposit enclosed, but if they -could be persuaded to send one, the camp would be rented for another -week. The next five letters, two of which contained deposits of twenty -dollars each, were all from deer hunters who wanted to come the first -two weeks of the season and the one after that was from a confirmed -grouse hunter who wished to come the first week. Ted picked up the last -letter, one of two that were typewritten, and read: - - Dear Ted Harkness: - - For lo, these many years, my silent feet have carried me into the - haunts of big game and my unerring rifle has laid them low. I have - moose, elk, grizzlies, caribou, sheep and goats to my credit. - Honesty compels me to admit that I also have several head of big - game to my discredit, but that happened in the days of my callow - youth, when I thought hunting and killing were synonymous. - - Presently, in my mellow old age, I still love to hunt. But I have - become--heaven help me!--a head hunter. In short, I want 'em big or - I don't want 'em. I do not have a whitetail buck to which I can - point with pride. Living in the Mahela, and I envy you your - dwelling place!, you must know the whereabouts of such a beastie. - - The simplicity of your ad was most impressive and I always did - admire people who sign themselves "Ted" rather than "Theodore." I - do not want your camp, but do you want to guide a doddering old - man? Find me a room, any old room at all as long as it's warm and - dry, and I'm yours for three weeks. Find me a buck that satisfies - me and, in addition to your guiding fee, I'll give you a bonus of - twenty-five dollars for every inch in the longest tine on either - antler. - - Humbly yours, - John L. Wilson - -Ted re-read the letter, so friendly and so obviously written by a hunter -who had experience, time and--Ted tried not to think it and couldn't -help himself because his need was desperate--money. The Harkness house -was very large and, now that Al was not in it, very empty. There was no -reason whatsoever why John L. Wilson, whoever he was, should not stay -here. Twelve dollars a day was not too much to ask for board, room and -guide services. As for the twenty-five dollars an inch--there were some -big bucks in the Mahela! - -Ted sat down to write, "Dear Mr. Wilson: Thanks very much for your -letter--" He crumpled the sheet of paper and started over, "Dear Mr. -Wilson: There are some big bucks--" Then he crumpled that sheet and did -the only thing he could do. "Dear Mr. Wilson: I am going to tell you -about Damon and Pythias." - -Ted told, and he was scrupulously honest. His father, born in the Mahela -almost fifty years ago, had never seen bigger bucks. Certainly they were -the biggest Ted had ever seen. In their prime now, royal trophies, a -couple of years would see them in their decline. Ted gave it as his -personal opinion that both were at their best this year. Next season, -they would not be quite as good and the year after, Ted thought, both -would bear the misshapen antlers that are so often the marks of old -bucks. But just getting a shot at either would involve more than a -routine hunt. The two bucks were very wise; many hunters had tried for -them and nobody had come near to getting either. It might very well take -three weeks just to hunt them, and Ted could not guarantee success. -However, though they were far and away the biggest, by no means were -Damon and Pythias the only big bucks in the Mahela. He concluded by -writing that Mr. Wilson could stay with him, and that his fee for board, -room and guide service would be twelve dollars a day. - -Ted sealed the letter, addressed it, put two stamps on, marked it air -mail and turned to the others. He shook a bewildered head. The way Carl -Thornton ran Crestwood, catering to guests had always seemed the essence -of simplicity. Obviously, it had its headaches. - -Of the dozen applicants for his camp, eight wanted it in deer season -only and all wanted the first two weeks. Ted screened the letters again, -then narrowed them down to the three who had sent advances. They'd -offered earnest intent of coming, the rest might and might not appear. -But which of the three should he accept? - -Ted solved it by consulting the postmarks on the letters. All had been -mailed the same day, but one had been stamped at ten A.M. and the other -two at two P.M. Ted wrote to the author of the letter with the earliest -time mark, a Mr. Allen Thomas, and told him that the camp was his for -the first two weeks of deer season. The other two checks--if only he had -three camps!--he put in envelopes with letters saying that, he was very -sorry, but the camp had already been reserved for the time they wanted. - -Then, in a flash of inspiration, he opened both letters and added a -postscript, saying that the camp was still available for the last week -of the season. He grinned ruefully as he did so and seemed to hear Al -saying, "'Most missed a pelt there, Ted." - -Ted assured the other deer hunters that his camp was reserved for the -first two weeks but open the third. He contemplated bringing his price -down to forty-five dollars for that week. Then he reconsidered. Most -hunters thought that hunting would be much better the first of the -season than it ever could be the last, and, in part, they were right. -Unmolested for almost a year, during the first days of the season game -was apt to be less wary. As compensation, during the latter part of any -season there were seldom as many hunters afield. Anyhow, deer hunters -who really wanted a camp would not let an extra fifteen dollars stand in -the way of getting one. - -Writing to the bear hunters, Ted accepted a tentative reservation that -would be confirmed as soon as he received a deposit of ten dollars. Too -many people made reservations with no deposit; then, if something arose -that prevented their honoring their reservations, they simply didn't -come. Anyone who paid money in advance would be there or cancel in -plenty of time to get their money back. - -Ted told the grouse hunters who'd sent a ten-dollar deposit that the -camp was theirs for the first two weeks of the season and he pondered -over the other grouse hunter's letter. - -Nobody at all had applied for woodcock season because, Ted decided, -woodcock are so uncertain. One of the finest of game birds, they are -also migratory. A few nested in the Mahela, but they were too few to -attract sportsmen. Depending on conditions, flight birds might and might -not be in the Mahela during the season and some years they by-passed it -completely. But when they came, they offered marvelous shooting. - -Ted wrote the second grouse hunter, a Mr. George Beaulieu, that the only -vacancy he had left was for the third week of grouse season. But was he -interested in woodcock? If he was, and if he would advise Ted to that -effect, Ted would be happy to call him long distance in the event of a -worthwhile flight. - -Tammie rose, yawned prodigiously and lay down to sleep on his other side -for a while. Ted shuffled the pile of letters, which he needn't put in -the mailbox because he was definitely going into Lorton in the morning, -and pondered. - -It hadn't worked out quite as he'd hoped it would, with the camp rented -continuously throughout six weeks of small game hunting and three of -deer. He figured with his pen on a discarded piece of paper. The camp -was definitely rented for two weeks of grouse and one of bear hunting at -forty-five dollars a week. That added up to a hundred and thirty-five -dollars. It was certainly rented for two weeks of deer hunting at sixty -a week, thus he would have a hundred and twenty dollars more. - -Ted sighed wistfully. Two hundred and fifty-five dollars was by no means -an insignificant return on their investment, even if they had put a -price on their labor, and they could look forward to the next hunting -and fishing seasons. If Al were here, they'd be happy about it and -eagerly planning more camps. - -But Al wasn't here, and all that mattered now was that, by the end of -deer season, Ted could be certain of having at least two hundred and -fifty-five dollars in cash. If John Wilson came, stayed with Ted for -twenty-one days, and paid him twelve dollars a day, that would be two -hundred and fifty-two dollars more. If Mr. Wilson got a buck that -satisfied him, and the buck's antlers had one tine nine inches long-- - -"Cut it out!" Ted advised himself. "Cut it out, Harkness! Count on what -you know you'll have, and that's two hundred and fifty-five dollars." - -Tammie, hearing Ted's voice and thinking he was called, came over to sit -beside his master. He raised a dainty paw to Ted's hand and smiled with -his eyes when the boy took it. Ted glanced at the clock. - -"Great guns! Twenty past one! We'd better hit the hay!" - -He shucked off his clothes, put on his pajamas and crawled into bed. But -even though he was tired, sleep would not come because he was thinking -of Al. How was his father spending this chilly night--and where? In some -cave perhaps, or some thicket. Ted tried to put such thoughts behind -him. Wherever Al might be, that outdoorsman was warm, dry and even -comfortable. But Ted's mind insisted on seeking the gloomy side, and he -was brought out of it only when Tammie whined. - -Instantly Ted became alert. Taught to whine but never to bark when a -stranger came near the house, Tammie was warning him now. The boy -slipped out of bed, and, in the darkness, he felt for his shoes and -pulled them on. He laced them so there would be no danger of tripping -over the shoelaces and soft-footed across the floor to take a five-cell -flashlight from its drawer and his twelve-gauge shotgun from its rack. - -Out of the night came a sound that has been familiar since the first -ancient man domesticated the first chickens. It was the sleepy squawk of -a hen protesting removal from its warm roost. Ted opened the door -softly, stabbed the darkness with his light and trapped within its beam -a figure that ran from the chicken coop toward the forest. - -"Get him, Tammie!" - -Tammie rippled forward, and the light magnified his bobbing shadow -twenty times over. He was not a dog but a monster, a nightmare from some -antediluvian swamp, bearing down on the fleeing man. He rose into the -air, struck the runner's back with his full weight, knocked him -sprawling and snarled over him. It was what he'd been trained to do and -it was all he'd do unless his captive tried too hard to get up. Then a -little fang-work might be necessary, but this prisoner wasn't even -moving. - -Ted shined his light into the terrified face of a young ne'er-do-well -known to his parents as Sammy Allen Stacey, to himself and a few of his -intimates as S.A., and to too many others as Silly Ass. - -His captor asked sternly, "What are you doing here?" - -"Uh--Nothin'." - -"What's in the sack?" - -"I--I just borrowed three of your hens!" Sammy started to sniffle. "I -was goin' to bring 'em back tomorrow! Honest!" - -"Guess I'll go back to the house," Ted said meaningfully. "When I hear -you scream, I'll know Tammie's working on you." - -"No! Don't! Please don't!" - -"Think you can stay out of other people's chicken coops?" - -"Yes! Yes!" - -Ted ordered, "All right, Tammie." The collie moved back and Ted -addressed the prostrate youth. "Get up and get out of here. If ever you -come back again, I'll just turn you over to the dog." - -Sammy rose and ran into the woods. Ted returned the three indignant hens -to their roost and addressed Tammie, "I'll bet that, if ever he is found -in another chicken coop, it won't be ours. You must have scared some -sense into him." - -Back in the house, Tammie sought his bearskin. Ted replaced the -flashlight and shotgun, took his shoes off and went back to bed. -Tomorrow he must go to Lorton but it needn't be bright and early -because, by Mahela standards, Lorton just didn't get up bright and -early. - -Ted slept until a quarter to seven. An hour later, with Tammie on the -pickup's seat beside him, he started down the road. - -He drove slowly because the business and professional offices in Lorton -wouldn't open for another hour. Coming opposite Crestwood, he saw Nels -Anderson, his former partner, working with a pick and shovel beside the -driveway. Ted eased his truck over and stopped. - -"Hello, Nels." - -"Py golly, Ted!" Nels' face could never reflect anything he did not -feel. "Is goot to see you!" - -"It's good to see you, too. How are things?" - -"We must not holler. Yah?" - -"Guess it never does any good. How's the boss?" - -Nels smiled sadly. "Mad." - -"What's he mad at?" - -"Me. I go to fix the freezer and he say, 'Get out of there, you crazy -Scandahoovian! From now on you work only outside and joost three days a -week!" - -"For Pete's sake! Why?" - -"He's mad." - -"Why don't you get a different job, Nels? One you can depend on?" - -"Yah, I like to. I do not like Mr. Thornton no more." - -"Why not?" - -"He gets mad. You hear from your pa, Ted?" - -"No." - -"I'm awful sorry," Nels said gravely. "I do not believe your pa, he -shoot this man like they say he did. If I could help him, I would." - -"Thanks, Nels. Be seeing you." - -"So long, Ted." - -Ted drove on, wondering. He'd had only two personal contacts with Carl -Thornton--the day he was hired and the day he was fired. He couldn't -really say that Thornton was not an unpredictable individual, given to -sudden rages, because he didn't know him that well. He had impressed Ted -as somewhat cold and carefully calculating. The boy shrugged. Nels was a -nice person. But an idea soaked into his head about as easily as -sunbeams penetrate mud. Probably he'd broken some rule which he had not -understood and still didn't understand, and Thornton was punishing him. -But putting him on halftime, and Nels with five children to support, -seemed like extreme punishment. - -Ted drove on to Lorton, where, even though most of the town's residents -were his friends, he could not help feeling self-conscious. Smoky -Delbert's shooting had brought Lorton more fame, or notoriety, than it -had known since its founding. The story had been in most of the State's -papers and gained wide distribution through a couple of news services. -Parking in front of the First National Bank, Ted left Tammie in the -truck, dropped his stamped letters in a mailbox and walked up the dimly -lighted stairs that led to the law offices of John McLean. Edith -Brewman, McLean's ageless secretary, had not yet come in but John McLean -was rummaging through her desk. - -He looked up and said, "Howdy, boy." - -"Good morning, Mr. McLean." - -Ted stood awkwardly, a little embarrassed and a little lost. Just how -did one approach an attorney and what did one say to him? John McLean -continued to paw through the desk and Ted studied him covertly. - -A huge, gaunt man in an ill-fitting suit, with unkempt gray hair and a -black tie askew on his collar, John McLean looked like anything save the -successful attorney he was. His dress and person were part of a clever -act. Slouching into a courtroom, he was more apt to provoke snickers -than admiration. But an opposing attorney who underrated him, and most -did, literally fell into his clutches. There was a silver tongue behind -John McLean's rather slack lips and a razor-sharp brain beneath his gray -hair. He grinned loosely now. - -"Edith's too darn' orderly. When she puts something away, I can never -find it. What can I do for you?" - -"I'm Ted Harkness, Mr. McLean." - -"I know." - -"I want to find out if you'll take care of my father." - -"Judging from what I've read in the papers, your dad's taking pretty -good care of himself." - -Ted said hesitantly, "He can't stay in the Mahela forever. Sooner or -later, they'll get him." - -"Sooner or later," John McLean said, "they get everybody. Wish people -would stop making a joke out of that old saw, 'Crime Doesn't Pay.' It -doesn't." - -He resumed poking through the desk while Ted stood uncomfortably, not -knowing whether or not he'd been dismissed. Two minutes later, John -McLean whirled on him. - -"Is your dad guilty?" - -"No!" - -"How do you know?" - -"He said he isn't!" - -John McLean chuckled. "Simmer down. I don't want to fight you. Just -wanted to find out if you had a good reason for thinking your dad -innocent." - -"Is the reason good enough for you?" - -As though forgetting Ted, the attorney opened another drawer and leafed -through its contents.... He said suddenly, "I'll take the case." - -Ted sighed relievedly, "Oh, thank you!" - -"Better save that until after the trial." - -"But--" - -"Save your worries, too." - -"Then you can help him?" - -"We'll figure out something. Who did shoot this Delbert?" - -"I wish I knew." - -"So do I." - -Ted said uneasily, "I haven't any money right now, but I'll have at -least two hundred and fifty-five dollars, and perhaps a great deal more, -right after deer season." - -John McLean murmured, "It'll help. The price of justice is too often too -blasted high." - -"Do--Do you want to talk with Dad soon?" - -"Where is he?" - -"Laying out in the Mahela." - -"The Mahela's a big place." - -Ted said honestly, "I don't know where he is. I haven't seen him since -he left but--I could get a message to him." - -"I won't ask you how. Does your dad mind laying out?" - -"No." - -"Then leave him until the time's right. It would have been better if -he'd given himself up right away; but staying out now will do more good -than harm. People, even prosecuting attorneys, can forget quite a bit in -a short time." - -"Is there anything else?" - -"When he comes in, or when you bring him in, I want to be the first to -talk with him. Can you arrange that?" - -"I'm sure I can." - - * * * * * - -That night, back at the Harkness house, Ted took Tammie's harness from -the closet and emptied it of junk. He replaced the junk with an equal -weight of food, added a handful of matches, thrust a pad of paper and a -pencil into one of the pockets and strapped the harness on Tammie. Ted -took his dog to the back door and let him into the darkness. - -"Take it to Al," he ordered. "Go to Al, Tammie." - -Tammie, who hadn't been able to see any sense in the pack but who saw -it now, raised his drooping ears and wagged his tail. He raced away in -the darkness. Ted had scarcely closed the back door when there was an -imperative knock at the front. - -He opened it to admit Jack Callahan. - - - - -7 - -A FLIGHT OF WOODCOCK - - -The sheriff stood tall in the doorway, his face unreadable, while at the -same time he seemed to strain forward like an eager hound on a hot -scent. - -Disconcerted, showing it and aware that he showed it, Ted fought for -self-possession. He said, "Well hello." - -"Hello, Ted." Callahan was not unfriendly. "How are things?" - -Ted tried to cover his confusion with a shrug. "Not much change." - -"You seem," Callahan was looking narrowly at him, "a bit nervous." - -"Is that strange?" - -"Guess not." Callahan was too casual. "It's probably a nerve-wracking -business. Uh--thought I heard you talking?" - -"You might have. I was talking to Tammie." - -"Your dog, eh?" - -"That's right." - -"I don't see him around." - -"I just let him out the back door. He likes to go for a little run at -night." - -"I'm darned," Callahan said, "if I didn't think I caught a glimpse of -you letting him out. Tammie looked awful big." - -"He's a big dog." - -Just how much had Callahan seen? Definitely, a pack-laden collie was not -going camping and Callahan would know where it was going. The sheriff -dropped into a chair and crossed his right leg over his left knee. - -"I know he's big, I've seen him before. But he sure looked bigger than -usual. That's a mighty good dog, Ted." - -"Yes, he is." - -"Highly-trained, too, isn't he? That dog will do almost anything you -want him to, won't he?" - -"Oh, sure," Ted said sarcastically. "Every night he sets his own alarm -for five o'clock. Then he lays and lights a fire so the house will be -warm when I get out of bed." - -"Aw now, Ted!" Callahan said reproachfully. "You know darn' well what I -mean! Why only the other night I found Silly Ass Stacey running down the -road like a haunt was chasing him. 'Don't go up there!' he told me. -'Don't go up to Harknesses! They have a man-eating dog and it just ate -me!'" - -Doubtless unintentionally, Callahan had given something away. The -Harkness house was being closely watched or the sheriff wouldn't have -been on the Lorton Road at the hour when Sammy ran down it. In full -control of himself now, Ted did not let himself reveal what he had just -learned. He said grimly, "Sammy was in our chicken coop." - -"_Hm-m._ Want me to pick him up for it?" - -"I doubt if he'll be as fond of chicken stealing from now on. Tammie -knocked him down and did a little snarling over him. He didn't hurt -him." - -Callahan grinned. "Figured that out all by myself; nobody who'd most -been eaten could run as fast as Silly Ass was running. Hope it does -teach him a lesson; if he gets rid of his oversized notions, he won't be -anything except a harmless sort of nut. Jail might make him vicious. But -that's what I mean about your dog. You've really got him trained." - -"I spend a lot of time training him." - -"You have to if you want results, but it's worth it. You have a dog you -can really work." - -"There are limits." - -"Of course. Of course there are. A dog's a dog. But I'll bet," Callahan -looked squarely at Ted, "that Tammie would even go find your father if -you told him to." - -"You're sure?" - -"Well, who could be sure? But I admire trained dogs no end and yours is -the best I ever saw. Call him back, will you? I'd like to see him -again." - -"I--" Ted hesitated and hated himself because Callahan noticed his -hesitation. "I don't know if I can. Tammie takes some pretty long -rambles at night and he may be out of hearing." - -"You'll have Loring on your tail if he bothers game." - -"Tammie doesn't bother anything unless he's ordered to do it." - -Callahan said admiringly, "That's where training comes in. This could -even be a story!" - -"What could?" - -"Why, your dad laying out in the Mahela. He doesn't have any grub except -the load he cooked the night Loring and I were here--and wasn't I the -dope not to see through that? He needs about everything. You can't take -it to him because you could be followed. But you have a big, strong, -well-trained dog. You, oh you might even make a pack for him. Then you -load the pack and send it to your dad. Who's going to follow Tammie? Get -it?" - -Ted looked at the floor. Coming at exactly the wrong second, Callahan -had seen enough to rouse suspicion but not enough to be sure of -anything. The boy conceded, "It's a story all right." - -"Could even be a _true_ story, huh?" - -"You're doing the guessing." - -"Oh, well," Callahan shrugged, "I didn't come here to bother you. But I -sure would like to see that dog of yours again and I haven't much time. -Call him back, will you?" - -Both hands in front of him, fingers tightly locked, Ted walked to the -back door. When Tammie took anything to Al, he usually ran. If he had -run this time, and kept on running, he would be out of hearing. If he -was not out of hearing, he would come back. Ted hoped Callahan didn't -see him gulp. If Tammie returned with the pack, it would be all the -evidence Callahan needed that the dog could find Al. But not to call him -would serve only to convince the sheriff, anyhow, that Tammie was on his -way to Al. - -Ted opened the back door and whistled. He waited a moment, whistled -again and closed the door behind him. - -"He'll come if he heard." - -"And if he didn't," Callahan commented, "he's a long way back in the -Mahela, huh?" - -"That's right." - -"Now that's strange," the sheriff mused. "I know a little about dogs. -You take an airedale, for example. He'll make long tracks, if he gets a -chance. But I always thought a collie was pretty much the home type. I -never figured they'd get very far from their doorsteps. Unless, of -course, maybe it's a trained collie that's sent away." - -"Dogs vary." - -"Of course, of course. There's no rule says two of any one breed have to -be alike. Couple of years ago, over beyond Taylorville, we had to get a -pack that was running wild and, believe it or not, there was a Boston -bull with them. Now who'd think a Boston bull--What's that?" - -"I--I didn't hear anything." - -"Well, I did. Ah! There it is again!" - -A second time, and unmistakably, Tammie's distinctive whine sounded at -the back door. Ted's heart plummeted to his toes and his throat went -dry. He was about to rise and let Tammie in--the only thing he could -do--but he was forestalled by Jack Callahan. - -"There he is. He heard you, all right. I'll let him in." - -He walked to the back door ... opened it. Ted hoped his gasp was not as -loud as it seemed. Wearing no pack, Tammie came sedately in, greeted -Callahan with a wag of his tail and tripped across the floor to sit down -beside his master. The boy bent his head to conceal ecstatic eyes. -Poker-faced Callahan showed nothing of what he must be feeling. - -"Just as handsome as I remember him!" he said admiringly. "That dog's a -real credit to you, Ted!" - -"He has just one little flaw," Ted said gravely. "Sometimes he thinks he -sees things he never saw at all." - -Callahan grinned engagingly. "Some people make that mistake, too. -Especially when there's deep shadow. How are you making out, Ted?" - -"All right. My camp's rented for five weeks and I may rent it for -woodcock season, if the flight comes in." - -"Loring told me there's flight birds at Taylorville. He said there's -quite a few, and he thinks there'll be a big flight." - -"Hope it comes here!" - -Callahan said soberly, "If it'll help you, so do I. I'm sorry you're in -trouble." - -"Trouble comes." - -"I know, but being the sheriff who makes it isn't the snap job it's -cracked up to be. I've had to hurt a lot of people I'd rather not -bother, but when I swore to uphold the law, I didn't make any exceptions -and I'm not going to make any. I hope you don't hold that against me." - -"I don't." - -"Just so you understand. A lot of people who cuss peace officers would -find out for themselves what a mess they'd be in if there weren't any." - -"I know that, too." - -"Then you know why I must bring your dad in. When I do, and I will, -he'll get every break I'm able to offer. By the same token, Smoky -Delbert may have some breaks coming. So long for now, Ted." - -"So long." - -Callahan left and Ted was alone with Tammie. He tickled the big dog's -soft ears. - -"The Lord watches over idiots!" he murmured. "He sure enough does!" - -What had happened was obvious. Disliking the pack anyway, Tammie hadn't -gone more than a couple of hundred feet before ridding himself of it. -Only he knew how he'd unclasped the buckles, but he'd managed. Of -course, when ordered to do so, he should have gone to Al. But he could -be forgiven this time. - -"I'd best get to bed," Ted told him. "I don't know where you left that -pack, but do know I'd better find it before Mr. Callahan comes back this -way. That man has sixteen eyes, and don't ever let's think he's dumb! He -came right close to tipping over our meat house tonight!" - -Ted was up an hour before dawn and had breakfasted by the time the first -pale light of day began to lift night's shroud from the great beech -trees. With Tammie at his side, he stepped out the back door and formed -a plan of action. - -He didn't know exactly how much time had passed between his whistle and -Tammie's appearance at the door, but it couldn't have been more than -fifteen or twenty seconds. Certainly the collie had needed some little -time to rid himself of the pack. It couldn't possibly be far from the -cabin. Ted petted the dog. - -"You lost it," he scolded gently. "Why don't you find it?" - -Tammie raced ahead twenty yards, whirled, came back to leap at and snap -his jaws within a quarter inch of Ted's right hand, then flew away -again. He continued running around and around, stopping at intervals to -snap. But though he never missed very much, he never hit either. - -Ted walked slowly, on a course parallel to the cabin, and he turned his -head from side to side as he walked. There were no thickets or windfalls -here. There was nothing at all except the big beeches. Wherever Tammie -had dropped it, the pack wouldn't be hard to see. - -Descending into a little swale, Ted flushed three woodcock out of it. -Their distinctive, twittering whistle, which Ted had always thought was -made by wind rushing through stiff flight feathers, sounded as they -flew. The boy's eyes glowed with pleasure. - -The ruffed grouse was a marvelous game bird and nobody who knew him -well, or even fairly well, would ever deny it. But there was a very -special group--Ted himself belonged to it--who held the woodcock in -highest esteem. Swift-winged and sporty, the woodcock had an air of -mystery and romance possessed by few other wild things. - -Measuring eleven inches, from the tip of his bill to the end of his -tail, the woodcock's plumage varied from black to gray, with different -shades of brown predominant. So perfectly did they blend with their -surroundings that, even though a hunter might watch a flying woodcock -alight on the ground, he was often not able to see it afterwards. Their -legs were short and their bills, with which they probed into soft earth -for the various larvae and worms upon which they fed, were ridiculously -long. But their eyes remained their outstanding characteristic. - -Placed near the top of the head, they were luminous and expressive, as -though, somehow, they mirrored all of nature. They were very large in -proportion to the bird's size. Whoever saw them would never forget them -and who knew the woodcock knew one of the finest and most delightful of -all wild creatures. - -Ted marked the trio down, but he did not approach them again. The season -was not open, and nobody could ever be sure of woodcock. Perhaps these -were stragglers. Maybe they marked the vanguard of a big flight that -would be in the Mahela when the season opened and maybe they didn't. -He'd have to wait and see and, even then, neither he nor anyone else -could be sure. Cover that might be alive with woodcock one day could be -empty, or hold only a few birds, the next. During the night, every -woodcock had often picked up and moved on. - -When he'd gone as far as he thought he should, Ted moved twenty-five -yards deeper into the woods and swung back on a course parallel to the -one he'd followed. He began to worry. - -The pack couldn't possibly be far because Tammie hadn't had time to go -far. It was good sized, so it should be easy to see. Ted made another -swing about. Two hours after he had started hunting, he stopped. He was -a half mile from the house, definitely the extreme limit Tammie might -have reached. The boy went back to cover the same area more -carefully.... He went through it a third time. By midday, he was wholly -baffled. - -The pack was not here. Where was it? Had Jack Callahan, nobody's fool, -seen more than he had admitted seeing? Had he slipped back after leaving -Ted and found the pack himself? It seemed improbable. Recovery of the -pack, so obviously for a dog and not for a man to wear, would be proof -within itself that Ted had intended to send Tammie to Al. And if -Callahan had the least reason to suppose that Tammie could really find -Al, he'd be in the house right now, insisting that he do it. Ted petted -the collie. - -"Why can't you talk?" he murmured. "Why can't you tell me what you did -with it?" - -Tammie licked his master's fingers and wagged his tail. Ted sighed. He'd -looked in all the places where the pack might be and hadn't found it. It -stood to reason that nobody else was going to find it either, or at -least, they wouldn't find it easily. Still worried, Ted went back to the -house and fixed a lunch. He thought of looking for the pack some more -and decided against it. There was no other place to look but there were -things to do. He hadn't been at the camp since the night Al was accused -of shooting Smoky. If he intended to rent it to hunters, he'd better go -see how things were. - -Ted chose to walk, for he had been doing a great deal of serious -thinking and had changed many of his ideas. Running a successful resort, -or even a successful camp, involved a great deal more than just being a -gracious host. In any city, or even any town, such a camp probably -wouldn't rent at all because it was so radically different from what -urban residents had come to expect in their dwellings. But it fitted the -Mahela, and for a short time each year, it would be appreciated because -it offered a refreshing change from conventional living. But there was -still more involved. - -Few people wanted to get into the out-of-doors merely for the sake of -being there. The place must offer something, and beyond any doubt the -Mahela's prime attraction was its deer herds. But nobody, regardless of -whether he was running Crestwood or renting camps, could hope to make a -living just from the three-week deer season alone. He would also have to -lure all the small game hunters and all the fishermen he could, and if -he didn't lure them honestly, they'd never come back. It stood to reason -that nobody who lived a couple of hundred miles from the Mahela could -know what was taking place there. They must be kept informed, and Ted -wished to walk now because he wanted to judge for himself whether or not -there would be a worthwhile flight of woodcock. - -The birds might be anywhere at all. Ted had flushed them from the very -summit of Hawkbill. But as a rule they avoided the thickest cover and -haunted the streams, bogs and swamps because they found their food -along stream beds and in swamps. With Tammie trailing happily beside -him. Ted followed the course of Spinning Creek. - -He flushed two woodcock from a sparse growth of aspens and watched them -wing away and settle on the other side of the creek. Then he put up a -single and, farther on, a little flock of five. In the clearing, almost -at the camp's door, another single whistled away and dropped near -Tumbling Run. That made nine woodcock between the Harkness house and the -camp. Definitely it was not a substantial flight and no hunter should be -advised to come to the Mahela because of them. But there were more than -there had been. - -A doe and two spring fawns were nosing about the apple trees. Bears had -been climbing the same trees, leaving scarred trunks and broken branches -in their wake. Black bears, of which there were a fair number in the -Mahela, would come almost as far for apples as they would for honey. But -they came only at night and did a lot of damage when they climbed the -trees. However, these tough apple trees had been broken by bears every -year they'd borne a crop and they'd always recovered. They'd recover -again, and Ted supposed bears had as much right as anything else to the -apples. He grinned. The fruit was gnarled and wormy, but it was a -woodland delicacy and woodland dwellers competed for it as fiercely as a -crowd of undisciplined children might compete for a rack of ice-cream -cones. - -Ted walked all around the camp, saw nothing amiss and unlocked the door. -He pulled the hasp back, went in--and saw Tammie's pack lying under the -table. Momentarily alarmed, he stopped. Only one person could have left -the pack! He picked it up and thrust his hand into a side pocket. He -found and pulled out a page torn from the pad of paper he'd inserted in -the pack and read the penciled note. - - Dear Ted; I was cuming to see you last nite. Tammy met me a sniff - from the dor and I snuck up and saw Calhan. Gess he wants to see me - rite enuf but I don't want to see him! - - Hope taking Tammy's pak don't throw you off. - - I can get along a good spel with the stuf in the pak and wudcok - seson cuming on. I've saw a mess of flite wudcok. Don't send Tammy - agen without you know it's safe and send him after midnite. I won't - be so far away he can't get to me and bak. Watch Calhan. He's - sharp. - - Your dad - - P.S. I got the kyote. - -Ted heaved a mighty sigh of thanksgiving. Al had the pack's contents and -there were three blankets missing from the camp. For the first time, the -dark clouds that surged around the boy revealed their silver lining. Al -was still a fugitive, but he had enough to eat and he was sleeping under -blankets. It seemed a great deal. - -Ted read the note again and smiled over it. A hunted outlaw, Al was -still abiding by the principles in which he believed. He might have been -justified in killing game for food, but the reference to woodcock season -indicated that he had done no such thing. Possibly--Ted remembered that -he had his coyote traps--he had caught a bobcat or so. The season was -never closed on bobcats and, if one could overcome natural -squeamishness, they were really delicious eating. Ted lifted the stove -lid, put the note within, applied a lighted match, waited until the -paper burned to ashes, then used the lid lifter to pound the ashes to -dust. - -He looked fondly at Tammie, who had been nowise derelict. Ordered to go -to Al, he had done exactly that and it was none of Tammie's doing if Al -had been within a "sniff" of his own back door. - -Ted said cheerfully, "Guess we'll go home, Tammie. But we'll come back -for the pack tonight, Mr. Callahan, or some of his friends, probably -will be patroling here and there." - -That night there were three more letters, two from deer hunters who -wanted the camp the usual first two weeks of the season and one from a -grouse hunter who wanted the first week. Ted advised them of the camp's -present status, put his letters in the mailbox and lifted the red flag -to let the carrier know there was mail to pick up. The next night there -were five letters, two of which had been sent airmail. Ted opened the -first. - - Dear Mr. Harkness: Your letter intrigued us no end. We haven't seen - a good flight of woodcock for ten years and didn't think there was - any such thing any more. Should they come in, by all means call me - and reverse the charges. My business phone is TR 5-4397; my home is - LA 2-0489. Call either place and we'll start an hour afterwards. - There'll be seven of us, and I enclose a ten-dollar check as - deposit. - - Cordially, - George Beaulieu - -The second airmail letter read: - - Bless you, Ted! You've started me dreaming of Damon and/or Pythias. - One or the other will do, but nothing else, please! By your own - invitation, you're stuck with me for the full twenty-one days. - I'll see you the day before the season opens. - - Gratefully, - John L. Wilson - -There was a check for a hundred dollars enclosed and almost grimly Ted -folded both checks in his wallet. He'd have to spend some money for -food, but not a great deal. The freezer was almost full and much of the -garden remained to be harvested. He stared at the far wall. - -He had not planned it this way. He had looked forward to a happy -venture, to enjoying and helping his guests, and if he made money in so -doing, that would be fine. Had things turned out as he'd planned, there -was already enough money in sight to build and equip another camp. But -that was not to be. Al had to come out of the Mahela some time. When he -did, they were in for a fight, and money would be a powerful weapon in -that all-out battle. They must win, and anything else must be secondary. - -The other three letters were from deer hunters who wanted the camp the -first two weeks of the season. - -Ted devoted the next fortnight to harvesting the garden. He dug the -potatoes, emptied them in the cellar bin and stacked squash and pumpkins -beside them. Bunches of carrots and turnips were stored in another bin, -and shelled beans were put in sacks. - -Almost every mail brought more letters, and two out of three were from -deer hunters. Ted rented his camp for the season's third week. Maybe -nobody could make a living from deer hunters alone, but anybody who had -enough camps, perhaps ten or twelve, could certainly earn a decent sum -of money from just deer hunters. - -The Mahela changed its green summer dress for autumn's gaudy raiment and -the frosts came. Woodcock continued to drift in, and two days before the -season opened, they arrived in force. Where there had been one, there -were thirty, and still they came. Ted drove into Lorton and called from -the drugstore. - -"Mr. Beaulieu?" - -"Yes?" - -"This is Ted Harkness, Mr. Beaulieu. The woodcock are in." - -"A big flight?" - -"The biggest in years." - -"We'll be there tomorrow," George Beaulieu said happily. "Hold the camp -for us!" - -"I'll do that, and anybody in Lorton can tell you where to find me." - -"Thanks for calling. We'll be seeing you." - - - - -8 - -TROUBLE FOR NELS - - -In the beech forest, just beyond Tumbling Run, a buck so young that -budding antlers did little more than part the coarse hair on its head -stamped a front hoof and snorted. Old enough to have a vast admiration -for himself and his own powers, but too young to have any sense, the -little buck snorted again and tried to sound as ferocious as possible. -Nosing about for any apples that might remain under the trees near Ted's -camp, he had stood his ground gallantly when Ted and Tammie approached. - -Not ten minutes before their arrival, he'd chased a rabbit away from the -trees and he was so impressed by that feat that he thought he could -chase anything. But when Ted and Tammie refused to run, he'd trotted -into the forest to do his threatening from a safer place. He snorted -again, more hopefully than angrily, and when he did not regain -possession of the apple trees, he looked sad. Ted grinned at him. - -"Junior's almost decided he can't bluff us, Tammie. Poor little guy! -He'd just about convinced himself that he's a real ripsnorter of a buck. -Oh, well, it's a hard world for everybody." - -Ted continued to string clotheslines between the apple trees. He pulled -them tight, tested their tension with an experimental finger and turned -thoughtfully back to the camp. It might be a hard world for adolescent -bucks, but if it weren't for the fact that his father was still laying -out in the Mahela, right now it would be a pretty good one for Ted. - -True to his promise, George Beaulieu and his six companions had arrived -the day before woodcock season opened. In his mid-fifties, Beaulieu was -branch manager for an insurance company. Of the six men with him, only -twenty-six-year-old George Junior, an insurance salesman who thought his -father was the greatest man in the world and who wanted nothing more -than to follow in his footsteps, had been less than middle-aged. The -other five were a filling station owner, a dentist, a toolmaker, an -electrical appliance dealer and a printer. Their party had been -complemented by two dogs, an English setter and a springer spaniel. - -There had been nothing sensational about any of them, including the -dogs. Except for George Beaulieu, his son and the printer, none of the -men had been even fair hunters. The three, far and away the best of the -seven gunners, had averaged three shots for every woodcock brought down. -The worst gunner, the electrical appliance dealer, who appropriately -enough was named Joseph Watt, had fired at least fifteen times for every -woodcock he put in his pocket. Yet Ted felt that the happy man had lived -through an uplifting and a near-sensational experience. - -Although unpretentious, his guests had definitely not been meek or -demure. Whoever missed an easy shot, which practically all of them did -at least twice a day, was needled mercilessly by the others. Not one -among them, under the best of conditions, could have made even a meager -living as a professional hunter. Yet they represented the best type of -present-day game seekers. - -They had come to shoot woodcock and they would have been disappointed -not to shoot some. But they did not pursue their quarry with the -calculating coldness of a Smoky Delbert or, for that matter, with the -intense concentration of an Al Harkness, when Al was after a pelt he -wanted. They were out for fun and they had fun, and although game -mattered, meat did not. There were so many woodcock that everybody, even -Joseph Watt, got some. But considering the shells they shot, the camp -rental, food, transportation and licenses, their game probably cost them -at least fifteen dollars a pound! - -After the first week ended and there seemed to be more woodcock than -ever--the flight was still coming in--they had decided that another ten -years might pass before they saw this again and stayed the second week. -They'd left only this morning, promising to be back next year if there -was another flight of woodcock, or for grouse if there was not. - -Ted hummed as he started toward the camp. The Beaulieu party had been -wonderful guests and certainly they were welcome back. If the Mahela was -good for them, they were just as good for the Mahela. - -Ted gathered up as much bedding as he could carry. He'd been a little -worried about it because he'd provided neither sheets nor pillowcases. -But lack of them hadn't seemed to worry the Beaulieu party in the -slightest. Most people who hunted all day were too tired by night to -care whether their beds were formal, or anything except comfortable. -Next year--always supposing his father and he still had the camp, Ted -thought that they would have to provide linens, too. Summer campers -spent more time in camp than hunters did, and they were apt to be more -particular. - -Ted hung the blankets and quilts on the lines he had strung and pinned -them securely. If they aired all day long, they'd be fresh by night. The -grouse hunters--Ted had corresponded with an Arthur Beamish--were due -some time after supper and there would be ten in the party. - -The small buck, that had been lurking hopefully near and awaiting a -chance to come back, snorted his astonishment when the bedding began to -blow in the wind and ran away as fast as he could. The little fellow -thought he was fully capable of dealing with anything natural, but -wind-blown bedclothes smacked of the supernatural. Ted lost himself in -thought. - -The camp was completely rented, except for the third week of small game -season, and it would return a little more than four hundred dollars in -rent. Added to that was the money he'd certainly get from John Wilson, -and the total was more than it had cost to build and furnish the camp. -Some of it would have to go for food and John Wilson probably would -expect good things to eat, but he'd get them. Ted had six woodcock, a -gourmet's delight, in the freezer, and he would add the legal two days' -possession limit of six grouse. He'd need more than that, but even after -buying whatever was necessary, he'd still have enough money to put up a -hard legal battle for Al when his father finally had to surrender. There -would be at least twice as much money as Ted had told John McLean he -would have. If more was needed, and it probably would be, he'd sell the -camp. - -Ted gathered up the dirty towels and wash and dish cloths, put them in a -bushel basket brought along for that purpose and replaced them with -fresh, clean laundry. The Beaulieu party, another proof of their -sportsmanship, had left the camp in fine shape, with the dishes washed -and stacked where they belonged and the floor clean. Tammie came in the -open door and Ted grinned at him. - -"Guess we can go, Tammie, and you'd better rest a bit. You're going into -the hills tonight." - -Tammie wagged an agreeable tail and trotted out to the pickup with his -master; Ted eased the little truck onto the road. - -He'd sent Tammie, with a load of food, the night before the Beaulieu -party arrived and everything had gone without a hitch. Tammie had left -shortly after midnight and returned two and a half hours later. The pack -was empty save for the note Al had thrust in it. - - Dear Ted: Tammy cum al rite. This works good, huh? I got enuf to - last me anyhow 2 weeks mor. Don't send Tammy befor. The les you got - to send him, the beter it is. Good luk and thanks. - - Your dad - -Ted sighed wearily. He'd hoped that, with passing time, the situation -would clear itself or be cleared. If anything, it was worse. - -Definitely out of danger, but due for a long convalescence in the Lorton -hospital, Smoky Delbert had told everything. Starting from the Fordham -Road, he had gone up Coon Valley with the intention of finding good -places to set fox traps. He'd carried his rifle because there was always -a chance of seeing a fox or bobcat, predators upon which there was a -bounty. He'd known Al Harkness was ahead of him, for Al's distinctive -boot marks had been left in the soft place where the spring overflowed -the Coon Valley trail. Nearing the three sycamores, and without any -warning at all, Al had risen from behind Glory Rock and shot. - -It was a simple, straightforward story and one that bore out other known -facts. By his own admission, Al had been in Coon Valley the same day. He -did wear boots with soles of his own design, and therefore they were -distinctive. Smoky Delbert, a woodsman of vast experience, might very -well have seen these tracks, in spite of the fact that Loring Blade had -missed them. Ted sighed again. - -The papers had printed Smoky's story and most were sympathetic. There -had even been a couple of resounding editorials demanding that Al be -brought in--regardless of the cost and effort that might be expended to -apprehend him--and face the justice he so richly deserved. But editors -were not the only ones who had swung to Smoky's side. - -Time, John McLean had asserted, made people forget. Only, in this -instance, it had made too many of them forget that Smoky Delbert was a -vicious poacher. He had, instead, become the wronged innocent, and when -Ted went into Lorton now there were those who averted their faces when -they passed him or even crossed to the other side of the street to avoid -meeting him at all. - -Carl Thornton had become something of a local hero. Nobody knew how the -news had leaked out, but everyone knew that Crestwood's owner was -paying all of Smoky's extensive hospital bills. That puzzled Ted, for -Thornton had never seemed the type to care about anyone's welfare save -his own. But he would do anything that worked to his own advantage, and -perhaps he thought it worth his while, at the price of Smoky's hospital -expenses, to have Lorton solidly behind him. There could be no doubt -that Lorton was there. - -"Cut it out!" Ted urged himself. "You don't like Thornton, but give him -credit, if credit's due." - -Ted swung up the Harkness drive and parked. While Tammie went off on an -inspection tour to assure himself that everything was as it should be, -the boy took the basket of laundry inside. He grimaced. Modern in some -respects, Al had by no means accepted the streamlined age as an unmixed -blessing. He'd bought a freezer and refrigerator because their -advantages were obvious. But he scorned washing machines and was sure -that, though clothes emerging from one might look clean, they couldn't -possibly be as pure as those that were washed on a scrub-board. - -Ted put the washtub on its stand, filled it with hot water, added soap -and went to scrubbing. He rinsed the laundry, ran it through a hand -wringer and hung it on a line stretched behind the house. - -An hour before sundown, he went back to camp to replace the bedding and -wind his clotheslines on a spool. He got his own supper, fed Tammie, -washed the dishes and had just finished putting them where they belonged -when the collie whined a warning. A car, followed by a second, came up -the drive and, a moment later, there was an unnecessarily loud knock on -the door. - -Ted opened it to confront a rather plump man, who was probably in his -mid-thirties. He was dressed in a gaudy wool shirt, hunting pants, -ten-inch lace boots, and around his middle was belted a hunting knife -almost long enough to be a small sword. His black hair was a little wild -and so were his eyes, but his smile was pleasant and his outstretched -hand was quite steady. - -"Ted?" - -"That's right." - -"I'm Beamish," the other stated, a little thickly. "B'-gosh, we found -you!" - -"You certainly did!" - -Ted smiled faintly. Hunters going into camp often did a little -anticipatory celebrating and evidently Arthur Beamish had been overdoing -it. - -"This the camp?" he asked. - -"No, the camp's farther up the road." - -"Good!" Arthur Beamish said happily. "You go in the woods, you go in the -woods! More woods, the better! That's what I always say! What do you -always say?" - -"Same thing." Ted grinned. "If you want to follow me, I'll show you the -way up there." - -"Ride with ya," Beamish declared. "Tha's just what I'll do." - -"You're welcome." - -Ordering Tammie to stay in the house, Ted guided his exuberant guest to -the pickup and opened the door for him. Arthur Beamish bellowed, "Follow -us, men! Ah, wilderness!" - -He sat companionably close and draped a friendly arm across Ted's -shoulder. "Lots of grouse?" - -"Plenty. You like grouse hunting, eh?" - -"Best darn' game there is!" Beamish exploded. "I rather get me one -grouse than forty-nine deer! And I get 'em, too!" - -"You do?" - -"Didn't you ever hear about me?" - -"I--" Ted hesitated. Obviously, he was supposed to know his guest. But -he didn't, yet to say the wrong thing might mean to give offense, -"Uh--aren't you--?" - -"Tha's right!" Beamish said happily. "I'm Beamish, the trapshooter! -Traps in summer, grouse in season! Br-br-br! Up they go! Bang! Down they -come! Every time!" - -Ted twisted uneasily. Three grouse was the daily bag limit. Nobody -should need, or take, more than that. He calmed himself. As yet, nobody -had taken more. He pulled in to the camp and stopped. - -"Fine camp!" enthused Beamish, who could see only that part of it which -was illuminated by the pickup's lights. "Best I ever did see! Great lil' -camp!" - -The other two cars stopped and the rest of the hunters got out. Even in -the night, there was that about them which at once set them apart from -the quiet Beaulieu party. They were younger, more restless, and they -fairly oozed that nervous sparkle which so often marks young executives. -They were also sensible--only Arthur Beamish and one other had been -over-indulging themselves. Definitely, the drivers of the two cars were -in full possession of all their faculties. - -The three beautiful setters that had ridden in a pen in one of the car's -trunks were as smartly turned out as the men. Obviously, they were -hunting dogs, the best money could buy. But this crowd had money to -spend. - -"Come 'round!" Arthur Beamish bellowed. "Wan'sha to meet Ted!" - -One by one, Ted was introduced to the rest of the party and as he met -them, he liked them. If they were young and restless, they were also -competent and talented and they had an air of belonging here in the -wilderness. Probably this was not the first camp they'd ever seen. - -"Let's go in," Ted suggested. - -Arthur Beamish bubbled, "You get the best ideas!" - -Ted let the men into the camp, watched closely as they inspected it and -knew definitely that they'd been in such places before. Their glances -were quick but all encompassing. - -One of them, and although Ted did not remember all the names, he thought -this one was Tom Strickland, turned with a smile. "This will do very -well. Do you know where we can get a wet nurse?" - -"A what?" - -Strickland grinned, "A sort of combination cook, fire-builder, -sweeper-upper, dishwasher; we'll want to spend our time hunting." - -"I think I can find somebody. Is nine dollars a day all right?" - -"Sure. Can you send him up tomorrow?" - -"Send him tonight!" somebody yelled. - -Strickland said scathingly, "I wouldn't inflict you wild hyenas on -anyone tonight. I'll cook breakfast." - -"Oh, my aching ptomaine!" - -Ted grinned. "I'm sure I can send somebody tomorrow. Everything's O.K., -eh?" - -"Right as rain." - -Ted got grimly back into the pickup and started down the road. Nine -dollars a day for fourteen days meant another hundred and twenty-six -dollars that probably would be sorely needed when Al had his inevitable -day in court, but Ted hadn't wanted to accept the job tonight because, -somehow, doing so would have seemed grasping. But he'd swallow his pride -and take it tomorrow. He must think of nothing except clearing his -father's name. - -Back at the house, Ted loaded Tammie's pack very carefully. Laying out -in the Mahela, Al would not expect and did not need luxuries. Ted packed -cornmeal and oatmeal, desiccated soup, a parcel of dried apricots, -powdered milk, sugar, tea, flour. But when everything else was in, there -was room for a parcel of frozen pork chops. Ted added them and a note. - - Dad: Everything's fine. There are grouse hunters in camp now and - there will be bear hunters next. Take care of yourself and let me - know what you need. - - Love, - Ted - -At five minutes past midnight, he strapped the pack on Tammie, took him -to the back door and let him out. Just as he did, there was an almost -timid knock on the front door. He jumped nervously. - -"Go to Al!" he urged. "Take it to Al, Tammie! And please run!" - -He shut the back door and perspiration broke on his brow as he stood -anxiously near it. Callahan, whose suspicions should have been -effectively lulled, was not lulled at all. He'd merely bided his time, -struck at the right hour and Ted was trapped. - -He crossed the floor on shaky legs and opened the front door to come -face to face with Nels Anderson. Ted gasped. - -His one-time working partner was pale and looked ill. Weariness had -left its impression in great blue patches beneath both eyes, but it was -not entirely physical weariness. Nels had suffered some terrible -shock--and in his extremity he had come to his friend. - -"Nels! What's wrong?" - -"I," Nels forced the shadow of his former smile, "am all right." - -"Come on in!" - -"I--I do not want to bother you. But I saw your light and--" - -"What on earth have you been doing?" - -"Walkin'. Yoost walkin'." - -"All night?" - -"I--" Nels looked at the floor. "I did not want to see Hilda. I--I lose -my yob." - -"How come?" - -Nels smiled again, but it was a sickly smile. "Mrs. Martin, she's -helpin' in the kitchen while huntin' season's on, she says, 'Nels,' she -says, 'the door on the walk-in cooler is stuck. I can't open it. Can -you?' I say I open it and Thornton comes. 'Told you to stay out of -here!' he yells. He was awful mad. 'Now get out and stay out!' So, no -more yob." - -"You'll get another one." - -"Oh sure. I get another one easy. You--You know where?" - -Ted said recklessly, "I know where you can work for the next two weeks. -There's a bunch of hunters in my camp and they're looking for somebody -to do their cooking and odd jobs. Get up there tomorrow morning and say -I sent you. The pay is nine dollars a day." - -Stars shone in Nels' woebegone eyes. "You mean it?" - -"Sure I mean it." - -"Yah! I go tell Hilda!" - -Nels had shuffled in the door but he seemed to float out of it. Ted -stared grimly at the black window. He needed the money himself, but Nels -had a wife and five children and whether or not they ate regularly -depended on whether Nels worked steadily. Ted paced back and forth, then -sank into a chair. - -Weariness overcame him and he dozed.... He awakened suddenly, sure he'd -heard something. Then Tammie whined for admittance and Ted got up to let -him in. He took off the pack and looked for the note he knew he would -find. - - Dear Ted: Tammy cum agen, as you know. I'm set rite nise now. There - is no need to send Tammy agen for a cuple weeks. Tel your bear - hunters that a lot of bears hang out in Carter Valley. - - Your dad - - - - -9 - -A BLACK BEAR CHARGES - - -Ted had had an awakening. - -Four days after he sent Nels to work for the Beamish party, Nels had -come back singing their praises in the loftiest tones. They were all -gentlemen of the highest order. Nobody cared what he cooked as long as -there was plenty of whatever it was. Driving Nels into Lorton, Mr. -Strickland had asked him to order groceries and had paid the rather -large bill without a murmur. That night they'd voted him the best camp -cook they ever saw and given him a ten-dollar tip. - -Of course, they were a little bit queer. He'd told them his name at -least a dozen times, but everybody insisted on calling him Hjalmar. They -pronounced it exactly as it was spelled, too. Nels didn't mind because -Hjalmar was certainly a fine old name. But it had taken him almost a day -to get used to it. - -They were wonderful hunters, especially that Mr. Beamish. The first day -he'd shot five grouse, the second seven, and on the two succeeding days -he'd shot five and seven. That made twenty-three grouse in four days -and he'd used just thirty-two shells. It must be some kind of record or -something, Nels didn't know. However, each day everyone else in the -party had paid Mr. Beamish money. Nels understood if Mr. Beamish scored -too many misses, he'd have to pay all the others. Still singing the -praises of the Beamish party, Nels hurried off to resume his duties with -them. - -Ted was left to ponder a problem that he had hoped he would never have -to face. - -Too many people--who were too often intelligent people--took game laws -far too lightly. They shot what they wished when they wished to, and few -of them ever thought that they were doing any wrong. Actually, in every -sense of the word, they were thieves. Bag and possession limits, insofar -as it was humanly possible to apportion wild game justly, were provided -so everyone might have a share and still leave some behind. Who took -more than his share, took from all the others. - -Beyond the shadow of a doubt, it was the duty of anyone who knew of game -law violations to report the violator to the nearest warden so the -proper action could be taken. But how could Ted report Arthur Beamish's -when Beamish was his guest? The boy still hadn't made a decision when, -the next day, Loring Blade came in. - -The warden said quietly, "I've been watching the grouse hunters in your -camp." - -"You have?" - -"Yes, and I arrested one of them this morning, a man named Beamish. He's -killed nineteen grouse that I know of, seven over anything he should -have had, in four days." - -Ted said reluctantly, "He's killed twenty-three." - -"How do you know?" - -"Nels told me." - -"Wish I'd known that, but I think he'll toe the mark now." - -"What'd you do to him?" - -"Took him before Justice McAfee. Mac fined him fifty dollars and a -positive revocation of his license if he violates any more." - -"But--" - -"But what?" - -"There's a twenty-five dollar fine for every illegal grouse. As long as -you were taking him in, you should have had him fined a hundred and -seventy-five dollars." - -"Not him," Loring Blade declared. "You can't hurt him too much by -hitting him in the pocketbook. His hunting privileges are what he holds -dear." - -It was, Ted decided after the warden had left, a smart way to do things. -The penalty for breaking game laws should be harsh, but fining Arthur -Beamish a hundred and seventy-five dollars would bother him less than a -ten-dollar fine might inconvenience a Stacey or a Crawford. However, -Beamish's hunting privileges really meant something to him. - -At any rate, the warden's method worked. Nels, who lost none of his -admiration for the grouse hunters, gave Ted a complete report at -intervals. Nobody in the camp took more than the limit after Beamish was -fined--and there was still another angle. Ted had always known that he -and his father were in the minority--sometimes it seemed that nobody -except he and Al cared what happened to the Mahela. But now the boy was -assured that others worked for its best interests, too. - -The grouse hunters had gone home and for a whole week there would be -nobody in the camp. There was nothing to worry about in the immediate -future. Al, as his last note indicated, was doing all right. The Beamish -party, who'd really liked Nels, had expressed their satisfaction in more -lavish tips and for the first time in three years, Nels' family could -get by for a while, even if he did not work. However, he could certainly -work all through deer season. The Andersons might face a bleak New Year, -but they would have a happy Christmas. - -Ted had decided to seize the week's interlude as a fine time to go over -the camp from top to bottom, but there was little to do. Nels would -never write a learned dissertation about Shakespeare, or come up with a -startling new aspect of the nuclear fission theory, but whoever hired -him got all they paid for, plus a substantial bonus. Working by the day, -in Nels' opinion, meant working twenty-four hours, if that were -necessary. The cabin was spotless. Even the blankets had been aired. - -With time heavy on his hands, Ted fretted. He collected the six grouse -to which he was entitled and put them in the freezer. For lack of -something else to do, he went twice more to the three sycamores near -Glory Rock, the scene of Smoky Delbert's shooting. He didn't find -anything, but he hadn't really expected to discover any new evidence or -clues. Looking for them had helped kill time while he waited anxiously -for the bear hunters. - -Deer were not especially hard to get, if all one wanted was venison; -there were does and young deer that wouldn't even run from hunters. But -the big old bucks with acceptable racks of antlers got big because they -were wary and they were difficult to bring down. Woodcock were sporting -and who hunted grouse successfully had every right to call himself a -hunter. Squirrels were fun, providing one hunted them with a rifle -instead of a shotgun. But unless one used dogs to bring them to -bay--and it was against the law to use dogs on any big game in the -Mahela--black bears were far and away the most difficult game of all. - -Keen-nosed and sharp-eared, they almost always knew when hunters were -about. Wise, they were well aware of the best ways to preserve their own -hides. As circumstances prescribed, they could slink like ghosts or run -like horses and they laid some heartbreaking trails. Fifty miles was no -unusual distance for a black bear to cover in a day and they were full -of tricks. Ted himself had followed black bears on snow and come to -where the trail ended abruptly. The bears had walked backwards, stepping -exactly in the tracks they had made running forward, and made a long -sidewise jump that always delayed their pursuer and sometimes baffled -him. - -Some men who'd spent their lives in black bear country had yet to see -their first one. It took hunters of the highest caliber to get them, and -thus Ted looked forward to those who would occupy his camp. But while he -waited there was little else to do and he spent some of his time in -Lorton. - -Just another sleepy little town for forty-nine weeks of the year, Lorton -was almost feverishly preparing for its moment of glory. If it was not -exactly the center of all eyes, due to its geographical position as the -town nearest the Mahela, it was the center of deer hunting. Every room -in its two hotels and three motels had long since been reserved and any -householder with a room to rent could have a choice of at least ten -hunters. In the next few weeks, Lorton would see at least twice as many -deer hunters as it had permanent residents. Its normally quiet streets -would have bumper-to-bumper traffic. Parking space would be at a -premium; there'd be crowds waiting in every eating place; stores would -sell more merchandise than they did at any other time of the year; and -any Lortonite who knew anything at all about the Mahela, even if his -knowledge was limited to how to get into it and out of it again, could -have a job guiding deer hunters, if he wanted it. - -In addition, every camping ground in the Mahela would have its quota of -trailers, tents and hardy souls who either slept in cars or made their -beds on the ground. Sometimes, in the event of heavy storms, these -venturesome ones got into trouble and were trapped until snowplows or -rescue parties reached them. But this fall the weather had been mild, -almost springlike, and there was every indication that it would continue -to be so. - -Twice, just after the grouse hunters left and again four days later, Ted -sent Tammie to Al. He would send him again just before deer season -opened, for that was an uncertain time. There would be hunters -everywhere and no assurance as to what they would do. Horses, cattle, -sheep, leaves fluttering in the wind and men had all been mistaken for -bucks with nice racks of antlers and punctured accordingly with -high-powered ammunition. If Tammie should be delayed and have to come -back in daylight, there was no guarantee whatever that some -trigger-happy hunter would not consider him a choice black and white -deer. Stocking Al with plenty of everything he needed meant that Tammie -would not have to go out again until deer season ended. - -Ted spent the two days prior to the opening of bear season cutting more -wood for the camp. On the afternoon before, he built and banked a fire -in the heating stove so that the camp would be reasonably warm and dry -when the hunters arrived. Then he prepared his supper and Tammie's and -was ready for the knock on his door when it sounded. He opened the door -and blinked in astonishment. - -The man who stood before him was young, not much older than Ted himself, -and very grave. He wore hunting clothes and hunting boots, but perhaps -because they were new, they seemed somewhat ill-fitting. Strapped around -his middle were two belts, one containing a knife with a blade at least -a foot long and the other supporting two enormous 45 caliber revolvers. -He was making every effort to appear nonchalant, but it was an effort so -strained that the effect was a little ludicrous. His eyes brimmed with a -lilting excitement and a vast anticipation. - -"Mr. Harkness?" - -"Yes." - -"I'm Alex Jackson." - -"Oh, yes." Ted extended his hand. "Glad to see you, Mr. Jackson." - -"As you can see," Alex Jackson indicated the two revolvers, "I'm ready -for them." - -"Uh--are you going bear hunting with revolvers?" - -"Oh, no! Definitely not. I have my rifle, too. It's just that one must -be prepared when the beasts charge." - -"Ah--What'd you say?" - -"I said--Oh, before I overlook it." - -Alex Jackson took out his wallet and counted out the thirty-five dollars -still due on the camp rental. Ted tried to collect his spinning -thoughts. Expecting a seasoned, experienced hunter, he'd met instead a -youngster who talked seriously about black bears charging. Or hadn't Ted -heard correctly? He slipped the money into his pocket and looked -sidewise at his guest. - -"If you'll follow me, I'll take you to the camp." - -"Would you have a little time to talk?" - -"Of course." - -"May I bring the fellows in?" - -"Certainly." - -The man turned to beckon, and somebody shut off the car's idling motor -and flicked off its lights. Five more hunters came into the house, and -Ted was introduced as they came. None were older than Alex Jackson. Two, -Alex's brother Paul and a youngster named Philip Tarbox, looked as -though they should be behind their high-school desks, rather than in a -hunting camp. Alex Jackson turned with a smile. - -"Now you know us. How do you like us?" - -"Fine," Ted murmured. "Uh--how much bear hunting have any of you done?" - -Alex Jackson's eyes were full of dreams. "None of us have ever hunted -any big game, but I've read all about it." - -"You've never hunted?" - -"Not big game," Alex Jackson said modestly. "You see, I just came of age -last month and thus was able to handle my own affairs. But I've always -wanted to hunt big game, especially bears." - -"Do--do your folks know you're here?" - -"Paul and I haven't any, and I am now Paul's guardian. But the other -fellows' parents do. Yes, of course, and they were glad to have them in -my charge. I've been counsellor for three summers at Camp Monawami. You -needn't worry about our ability to handle firearms. We've all hunted -rabbits. But I would like to ask your advice." - -"Sure." Ted felt weak. - -"Philip, Steve, Arnold and Wilson are armed with nothing but shotguns. -Do you think I should return to the town through which we just passed -and buy them rifles and revolvers?" - -"Gosh no!" - -"I'm worried," Alex Jackson said seriously. "Grimshaw, in his _Bears of -the North_, says that when the beasts charge--" - -"Grimshaw was writing about grizzlies. These are black bears." - -"Oh!" Alex Jackson elevated his brows. "You can say definitely that they -will not charge?" - -"Nobody can say that. They're wild animals." - -"I thought so!" Alex Jackson seemed vastly relieved. "Will a shotgun -halt them when they charge?" - -"Oh, yes." - -Ted wished he could sink through the floor. Expecting hunters, he had -his hands full of what, very literally, were babes in the woods. But -they had a great dream and a great hope, and regardless of who told them -that not once in 1000 times will even a wounded black bear charge a -hunter, they wouldn't believe it because they did not care to believe -it. They had come bear hunting to live dangerously! - -Alex Jackson nodded happily. "Thank you very much. Now will you please -show us the camp?" - -"Follow me." - -As he drove up the Lorton Road, Ted gave himself over to his own grim -thoughts. Obviously, there was much more to building and renting camps -than met the casual eye. One never knew who was coming or what they'd -do. Now he was certain only that this crew of naive hopefuls should not -venture into the Mahela alone. He wasn't even sure that they should be -permitted to stay in camp without supervision, but he'd risk that much -for at least one night. He parked in front of the camp, waited for his -guests and admitted them. - -"Just what I'd hoped for!" Alex Jackson exclaimed. "Semi-primitive -surroundings! Delightful!" - -Ted asked, "Can you handle the stoves and everything?" - -"Oh, yes! Oh, indeed yes! But perhaps you will tell us where we have the -best chance of encountering bears?" - -"I'll do better than that. I'll show you." - -"That's good of you. Would you care to start at daylight?" - -"I'll be here." - -"We'll be ready." - - * * * * * - -On arriving at the camp a half hour before daylight the next morning, -Ted saw that it was not burned down and that his young guests had made -no obvious blunders. Rather, with breakfast eaten and the dishes stacked -away, they seemed to be doing pretty well for themselves. But, even -though they knew what to do around a camp, the fact remained that none -of them had ever hunted big game. - -Ted exchanged greetings and looked out of the window. Renting hunting -camps might be a nice way to earn a living, but there must be easier -ones! The very fact that he'd rented his camp to them implied an -obligation. Six hunters who knew exactly what to do had little enough -chance of getting a bear. These youngsters had one in a thousand. But if -there was any way to do it, Ted still had to offer them their money's -worth and he considered himself responsible for them. Sending them into -the Mahela alone probably, and at the least, meant that they would get -lost. - -"Ready?" he asked. - -"Let's go!" Alex Jackson said happily. - -Ted led the six into the lightening morning. Since there was no snow, it -was futile even to think of tracking a bear. Without any experience, -these youngsters had no hope whatever of staging a successful drive, or -putting four of their number in favorable shooting positions while the -rest beat through the forest and tried to drive a bear past them. Only -Alex Jackson and his brother were armed with rifles, therefore they were -the only two who had even a slight chance of getting a bear, should one -be sighted at long range. But the possibilities of even seeing a bear -were so slim anyway that Ted had not wanted Alex to buy rifles for the -other four. - -There was just one faint hope.... This was the season of the Great -Harvest. Frost had opened the pods on the beech trees and beech nuts had -fallen like rain into the forest litter below. Tiny things, they were in -vast quantity. Deer, bears, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons, foxes, -practically every creature in the Mahela was spending almost full time -filling itself with beech nuts or storing them away. Winter, that would -bring hunger and lean bellies, was just ahead and well the wild things -knew it. - -If Ted posted his crew at favorable places among the beech trees and if -they sat absolutely quiet, one or more of them might at least see a -bear. Very definitely there was not much of a chance, but there was none -at all if they did anything else. - -Al had told of a lot of bears in Carter Valley and Ted took his hunters -there. He left them in various strategic places where scraped and pawed -leaves told their own story of being turned aside so that hungry -creatures might partake of the beech nuts hidden beneath. Lacking snow, -there was no foolproof way to tell just what had been scraping or -pawing, but something had and it might be bears. - -After the rest had been posted, Ted took Alex Jackson out to the rim of -Carter Valley. The slope pitched sharply downwards and rose just as -sharply on the other side, but here the valley was shallow, with perhaps -a hundred yards to its floor. It was possibly another hundred yards from -rim to rim, and the opposite rim was almost treeless. About a half mile -away across the treeless slope was a crumbling slag pile. Years ago a -vein of coal had been discovered here and mined as long as it paid off. -But it had ceased to pay and had been abandoned long before Ted was -born. Only the tunnel and the slag pile were left. - -The opposite slope was covered with beech brush that would be jungle -thick to anyone within it. But from this vantage point, eyes could -penetrate the brush. Any bear going up or down the valley, and one might -do just that, would certainly travel through the beech brush and any -hunter posted here would surely have some good shooting. Ted turned to -Alex Jackson. - -"You stay here." - -"Here?" - -"Yes. Move as little as possible and make no noise. Watch the beech -brush across there. Sooner or later a bear's going through it. I'll pick -you up tonight." - -"Right-o." - -That night, the bear hunters were still reasonably happy. All had seen -squirrels and feeding grouse. Four had seen deer and three had watched -turkeys feeding. Paul Jackson had thought he'd seen a bear, but it -turned out to be a black squirrel running on the opposite side of a -fallen tree, with only its bobbing back appearing now and then. - -For the next few days, the sextette stayed quite happy. Then deer, -squirrels and turkeys began to pall. They were proud bear hunters, and -so far they hadn't seen even a bear's track. The last day, -disappointment was in full reign. They'd not only told their friends -they were going to get a bear but, Ted suspected, Alex Jackson had done -considerable talking about the way bears charged hunters. - -Nevertheless, they all followed Ted back into Carter Valley and the five -younger hunters took the places assigned them. It was the best way. -They'd occupied these same stands for six days without seeing any bears, -but sooner or later the law of averages would send one along. - -With Alex Jackson in tow, Ted started back toward the valley's rim. Alex -Jackson touched his arm. - -"I say, would you mind if I just wandered about on my own?" - -"Not if that's the way you want it." - -Alex Jackson had arrived so full of dreams and spirit and now he seemed -so despondent. "I won't get lost--and I may find something," he said -quietly. - -"Good luck," Ted replied gently. - -Ted wandered gloomily out to the rim of the valley and sat down in the -place Alex Jackson had been occupying. Not every hunter can leave the -woods with a full bag of game, but Ted felt that, somehow, he had failed -this eager young group. His guests might at least have _seen_ a bear. -Carrying no rifle--he was the guide--and with nothing special to do, -Ted basked in the warm sunshine. - -An hour later, his eye was caught by motion down the valley. Coming out -of the semi-doze into which he had fallen, he looked sharply at it and -gasped. A bear, not a monstrous creature but no cub--it weighed perhaps -250 pounds--was coming through the beech brush. It was about two hundred -yards down the valley and halfway up the other slope, and it was not in -the slightest hurry. It stopped to sniff at some interesting thing it -discovered and turned to retrace its steps a few yards. Then it came on. - -Ted groaned inwardly. A rifleman posted here could have an easy -shot--and Alex Jackson had sat here idly for six days! The bear came on -for another sixty yards, lay down beside a huge boulder and prepared -itself for a nap. - -Ted crawled away. Bears have a remarkable sense of scent and good -hearing, but very weak eyes. This one couldn't see him. If it smelled -him, it certainly would not be where it was. If he was very careful, it -might not hear him. As soon as Ted thought he was far enough from the -valley's rim, he rose and ran back to where he'd left Paul Jackson. - -That alert youngster heard him coming and had his rifle ready, but its -muzzle was pointed at the ground. Paul Jackson lacked experience, but -not sense. He wasn't going to shoot at anything until he knew what was -in front of his rifle. - -Ted came close and whispered, "Come on! I've got one spotted!" - -"You have?" - -"Take it easy and quiet! He won't be there if you don't!" - -Nearing the valley's rim, Ted dropped back to a crawl. He peered at the -boulder and breathed easily again; the bear had not moved. He put his -mouth very close to Paul Jackson's ear. - -"There he is!" - -"Where?" - -"Just to the right of that big boulder!" - -"I see him!" - -Paul Jackson knelt, rested his right elbow on his right knee, raised his -rifle--and Ted groaned silently. The youngster's stance was perfect, but -so was his buck fever. The rifle shook like an aspen leaf in a high -wind. It blasted, and Ted saw the bullet kick up leaves twenty feet to -one side of the sleeping bear. - -The bear sprang up as though launched from a catapult and kept on -springing. Straight up the slope he went, and across the nearly treeless -summit. - -Ted shouted, "Shoot!" - -"Did you say shoot?" - -Paul Jackson was still in a daze, bewildered by this thing that could -not be but was. The bear was four hundred yards away when he raised his -rifle a second time, shot and succeeded only in speeding the running -beast on its way. He lowered his rifle and muttered, "I guess I'm not a -very good hunter." - -"Nobody connects every time." - -The bear was running full speed toward the old mine tunnel. Surprised, -its first thought had been to put distance between the hunter and -itself, but now it was planning very well. The old tunnel had one outlet -that led into a dense thicket of laurel. Certainly the bear knew all -about this and he would go into the thicket. Definitely, he was lost to -the young hunter. - -Then, within the mouth of the old tunnel itself, another rifle cracked -spitefully. The running bear swapped ends, rolled over and lay still. -Alex Jackson emerged from the tunnel. - - * * * * * - -Twenty minutes later, when Paul and Ted reached him, he was sitting -quietly beside his trophy and looking at it with unbelieving eyes. But -they were wonderfully happy eyes. Long ago he had dreamed his dream. -Now--and probably it never had been before and never would be again in -hunting annals--he had seen it come true. He looked dreamily up at Ted -and Paul and his voice was proof that, whether it's bringing down a -bear, shooting a hole-in-one, or playing a perfect game of chess, any -dream can be as bright as the dreamer makes it. - -"It charged," he said. - - - - -10 - -DAMON - - -In the parking lot beside Lorton's little railway station, Ted sprawled -wearily in his pickup truck. - -It had taken much of the day to bring Alex Jackson's bear out of Carter -Valley. The animal might have been skinned where it fell, cut up and -brought out piece by piece, but not one of the young hunters would hear -of such a thing. They had come a long way and worked hard for this -trophy; they would take it with them intact. It had been necessary to do -things the hard way. - -Dragging it would have injured the fine pelt, so Ted had lashed its feet -to a long pole and put a man on each end. The start had been easy, but -game carried in such a fashion has an astonishing way of adding weight. -By the time they'd traveled a quarter of a mile, instead of a mere 250, -the bear weighed at least 2500 pounds, and the panting carriers were -relieving each other every fifty paces. - -Finally, they'd reached an old tote road up which Ted could drive with -his pickup and the rest had been easy. They'd lashed the bear on Alex -Jackson's car and six exhausted but happy youngsters had piled in to -begin their long journey homewards. - -Ted grinned to himself. He'd spent a week with the Jackson party solely -because he'd thought they would get into trouble if he did not. No -guide's fee had been expected or asked, but, just the same, it might -have been good business. The fathers of three of the youngsters were -ardent hunters themselves. Ted had been assured over and over again that -they'd hear about the Mahela and be directed to Ted, far and away the -world's best guide. The youngsters were certainly coming back for -fishing season and to spend part of their summer in the Mahela and -they'd want the cabin. - -Ted's grin faded. Next year there might not be any cabin to rent. He -stretched wearily in the darkness and yawned. - -He'd reached home just in time to pack Tammie and send him on what must -be his last visit to Al until deer season ended. Sending him so early -might have been taking a chance, but when Ted next returned home he'd -have a guest with him, and letting anyone else see the packed Tammie -would surely be taking more of a chance. Ted had fixed a meal for -himself, taken two woodcock from the freezer and put them in cold water -to thaw. Then he had driven in to meet John Wilson. - -The little station's windows looked as though they hadn't been washed -for the past nine months and probably they hadn't. Lights glowed dully -behind them, and the clicking of the telegrapher's key sounded -intermittently. Ted looked about. - -The parking lot was full, and the night before deer season opened was -the only time throughout the whole year when it ever was. Though by far -most of the deer hunters came by car, some traveled by train from -wherever they lived to the city of Dartsburg, sixty miles away. Then -they came to Lorton on what some of the local wags described as the -"tri-weekly"--it went down one week and tried to come back the next. -Actually, it was a daily train, and in spite of a superfluity of jokes -and near-jokes about it, it kept a tight schedule. - -When Ted's watch read ten past seven, he left the pickup and went to -stand in the shadows on the waiting platform. The drivers of other cars -joined him, and here and there a little group of men engaged in -conversation. Then the train's whistle announced its approach and every -eye turned down the tracks. - -Ordinarily, the train pulled a combined baggage and mail car and one -coach, but on this eventful night a second coach had been resurrected -from somewhere and every window gleamed. The train hissed to a halt and -hunters started piling off. Without exception, they were dressed in -hunting gear; red coats, red caps and whatever they fancied in the way -of trousers and footwear. They lugged everything from suitcases to -rucksacks and, invariably, either strapped to the luggage or carried in -a free hand, rifles were in evidence. - -The men waiting on the platform went forward to greet hunters they knew -and bundled them off to cars. Jimmy Deeks, Lorton's only taxi driver, -called his "Taxi!" just once and was stampeded by a dozen hunters who -wanted to go to a hotel or motel. There was some little argument and, -after promising to return for the rest, Jimmy went off with as many -hunters as his cab would hold. - -The arriving crowd thinned rapidly and Ted looked with some -bewilderment on those who were left. He'd never seen John Wilson and -hadn't the faintest idea as to the sort of man he must look for. -Certainly he'd be alone, and the only hunters left were in groups of -three or more. Then Dan Taylor, the station agent, passed and saw Ted. - -"Hi, Ted." - -"Hi, Dan." - -"Waitin' for somebody?" - -"Yup." - -"Well if he ain't on this train, he's sure walkin'!" - -The station agent guffawed at his own not very subtle humor and moved -on. A second later, a man detached himself from one of the groups and -approached Ted. He was not tall, even in hunting boots he lacked five -and a half inches of Ted's six feet. He wore a red-plaid jacket, a -red-checked cap and black wool trousers that tucked into his boots. In -his right hand was a leather suitcase and in his left he carried a cased -rifle. Despite the gray hair that escaped from beneath his cap, he -walked with a light and firm tread and humor glinted in his eyes. - -He asked, "Are you Ted Harkness?" - -"That's right." - -The man put his suitcase down and thrust out his right hand. "I'm John -Wilson." - -Ted shook the proffered hand. "I--I thought you'd be different." - -"Don't let my grotesque appearance frighten you. I'm harmless." - -Ted blurted out, "You said in your letter that you're a doddering _old_ -man." - -"Ten years older than Methuselah." John Wilson laughed and the sound -was good to hear. "I'm glad to know you, Ted." - -"And I you. Shall we get out to the house?" - -"If you don't mind, I'd like to grab a bite to eat. The dining car on -the Limited was crowded and I couldn't get in." - -"The cafes will be crowded and we'll have to wait. I'll fix you -something, if you want to come along now." - -"Fine!" - -Ted picked up the suitcase, escorted John Wilson to the pickup and put -the luggage in the rear. About to open the door for his guest, he was -forestalled when John Wilson opened it himself and climbed in. Ted -settled in the driver's seat. - -"Mind if I smoke?" John Wilson asked. - -"Not at all." - -He lighted a pipe and sat puffing on it while Ted steered expertly -through Lorton's hunting season traffic. A happy warmth enveloped him. -He liked most people, but very few times in his life had he been drawn -so close to one on such short acquaintance. John Wilson was probably ten -years older than Al, but far from doddering. He was that rare person -whom age has made mellow rather than caustic. - -Then they were on the Lorton Road and started into the Mahela. John -Wilson spoke for the first time since leaving the station. - -"They crowd in." - -"For deer season they do," Ted agreed. "The day after it ends, you could -shoot a cannon down Main Street and never hit a person." - -They passed a tent set up beside the road, and a gasoline lantern -burning inside gave its walls a ghostly translucence. There was a neat -pile of wood beside it and wood smoke drifted from a tin pipe that -curled through the wall. The car in which the campers had come was -backed off the road. It was a good camp and as they passed Ted was aware -that John Wilson knew it was good. But he said nothing, and Ted had the -impression that he did not talk unless he had something worthwhile to -say. - -A quarter mile beyond the camp, the truck's probing lights reflected -from the startlingly bright eyes of a deer. Ted slowed. Deer were always -running back and forth across the road and, since bright lights dazzled -them, they would not always get out of the way. They came closer and the -lights revealed very clearly a magnificent buck. - -So alert that every muscle was tense, he stood broadside. One rear leg -was a bit ahead of the other, the animal was poised for instant flight. -His antlers were big and branching, and in the car lights they looked -perfectly symmetrical. It was a splendid creature, one that would -command attention anywhere. After ten seconds, it leaped into the forest -and disappeared. - -John Wilson said, "A nice head." - -He spoke as though the buck had delighted and warmed him, but there was -in his voice none of the babbling enthusiasm which some hunters, upon -seeing such a buck, might express. Obviously, he had seen big bucks -before. - -Ted commented, "He was a darn' big buck." - -"As big," and a smile lurked in John Wilson's voice, "as your Damon and -Pythias?" - -Ted answered firmly, "No sir. He was not." - -"Then I am in the right place?" - -"I hope so, Mr. Wilson." - -"It'd be just as simple to call me John." - -Ted grinned. "All right, John." - -They passed more tents and trailers, swerved to miss a wild-eyed doe -that almost jumped into the truck. Finally, Ted drove thankfully up the -Harkness driveway. The house was stocked with everything they needed, -and as far as he was concerned, he was willing to stay there until deer -season ended. At any rate, he hoped he'd have to do no more night -driving. - -He escorted his guest in, snapped the light on and waited for what he -thought was coming next. It came. John Wilson glanced about and he -needed no more than a glance. It was enough to tell him what was here -and his voice said he liked it. - -"You do all right for yourself." - -"Glad you like it. If you'll make yourself at home, I'll have something -to eat rustled up in a little while." - -"Let me help you." - -"It's a one-man job." - -John Wilson reclined in an easy chair while Ted went into the kitchen. -He put a great slab of butter in a skillet, let it brown, seasoned the -brace of woodcock, put them into the pan, covered it and turned the -flame lower. He prepared a fresh pot of coffee, biscuits, potatoes and a -vegetable. All the while, he waited nervously for Tammie to whine at the -door. There'd have to be some nice timing when the collie returned. Ted -must slip out, strip the harness off and let the dog in without letting -John Wilson know he'd worn a harness. - -When the meal was ready and Tammie still had not come, Ted's nervousness -mounted. The dog was a half hour late already. What could have happened -out in the Mahela? Ted put the dinner on the table and tried to sound -casual as he announced, "Chow's ready." - -"This is 'chow'?" John Wilson chided him. "Butter-browned woodcock is -deserving of a better name. Let me at it!" - -He cut a slice of the dark breast and began to eat it. "_Mm-m!_ That's -good! Something wrong, Ted?" - -"Yes--uh--That is, no." - -"You're nervous as a wet cat." - -"My dog's out and I'm a little worried about--There he is now! Go right -ahead and eat." - -Tammie's whine sounded again and Ted slipped out the back door. Hastily -he knelt to strip the harness off and take Al's note from the pocket. -Then he threw the harness aside--he'd get it in the early -morning--tucked the note in his pocket and, with Tammie beside him, went -into the house. John Wilson stopped eating to admire. - -"That's a beautiful collie. What's his name?" - -"Tammie, and he's just as good as he looks." - -Tammie sniffed delicately at their guest, received a pat on the head and -went to stretch out on his bearskin. John Wilson glanced at him again. - -"Aren't you afraid to let him run?" - -"After tomorrow, poor Tammie will be confined to quarters until deer -season ends." - -John Wilson nodded. "That's wise, some hunters will shoot at anything. -What time do you plan to get out in the morning?" - -"Whenever you care to leave." - -"Isn't it traditional for hunters to be in the woods at dawn?" - -"That's right." - -"Then let's not violate revered custom. Where do these two big bucks -hang out?" - -"They've been on Burned Mountain for a long while. Hunters may put them -off there and then again they may not." - -"Where do they lurk during deer season?" - -"Nobody knows exactly," Ted admitted. "They've been seen in a dozen -parts of the Mahela. Sometimes they've been 'seen' in a dozen different -places at the same hour on the same day. We'll just have to plan as we -go along." - -"That suits me. I'll help with the dishes." - -"I'll do them." - -"You'll spoil me!" - -"Take it easy while you can. You're in for some rough days." - -John Wilson resumed sitting in the easy chair. Before Ted washed the -dishes, he stole a glance at Al's note. - - Ted; I got enuf. Don't send Tammy agen til deer seson ends. I wish - your sport luk. I saw one of the big buks on burned mountin today. - Gess you'll find both. - - Your dad - -Ted nodded, satisfied. If Damon and Pythias were still on Burned -Mountain, he knew exactly where to go. He touched the note to the flame, -waited until it burned to ashes, swept them into a wastebasket and -joined his guest. - -John Wilson, looking at the dying embers in the fireplace, asked -quietly, "Got your campaign mapped, General?" - -"Only the first skirmish. I know--That is, I'm pretty sure that Damon -and Pythias are still on Burned Mountain." - -"Then at least we'll know where to find them." - -"I believe so. Do you mind if I carry a rifle?" - -"Why, I hope you do." - -"I won't shoot either Damon or Pythias, even if I should get a shot," -Ted promised. "But I would like to get a buck. It helps a lot on the -meat bills." - -"By all means get one. Pretty warm for this time of year, isn't it?" - -"Too warm. Some snow would be a great help." - -They exchanged more hunting talk, then went to bed. - -An hour before dawn the next morning, after ordering Tammie to stay in -the house, Ted closed the back door behind him and started up Hawkbill -with his guest. He walked slowly, for Hawkbill was a hard climb for a -young man, even in daylight. Though John Wilson was by no means -doddering, neither was he young. Ted stopped to rest at judicious -intervals. - -The darkness lifted slowly, but it was still a thick curtain of gray -when, in the distance, a fusillade of shots rang out. Ted grimaced. Some -fool, who couldn't possibly see what he was shooting at, had shot -anyhow. That was one way hunters managed to kill each other instead of -game. - -As daylight became stronger, shots were more frequent. Some quite near -and some far-off, the sounds were a ragged discord, with now four or -five hunters shooting at the same time, then a single shot or succession -of shots, then a lull with no shooting. Hunters were seeing deer and -shooting, but definitely not all of them were connecting. As Ted knew, -many a deer, many a herd of deer, had emerged unhurt after a hundred or -more shots were fired at them. - -Ted mounted the crest of Hawkbill and turned to offer a hand to his -panting guest. John Wilson wiped his moist brow. - -"Whew! Why didn't you tell me we were going to climb the Matterhorn?" - -Ted grinned sympathetically. "You're up it now, and we can see what -there is to be seen." - -Ted buttoned his jacket. The weather was unseasonably warm, but here on -Hawkbill's summit, little fingers of cold that probed at his exposed -nose and throat told of chillier things to come. While the temperature -made no difference, snow would increase their chances a hundred per -cent. He studied Burned Mountain. - -Spread out in a thin skirmish line, a party of red-clad hunters were -about halfway up it. A deer fled before one of them and the man stopped -to raise his rifle. There sounded the weapon's sharp bark, but the deer -ran on and disappeared in some brush. - -John Wilson said, "He should have had that one with a slingshot." - -"Wonder if he could tell whether it was a buck or doe. I--There he is!" - -"There who is?" - -"One of those big bucks! See him?" - -"No." - -"A quarter of the way below the summit. Look a hundred yards to the -right of that light-colored patch of ground and thirty yards down -slope." - -"I still don't--Oh, my gosh!" - -He uncased his binoculars, put them to his eyes, focused and stared for -a full three minutes. When he took the glasses down, there was a gleam -of purest ecstasy in his eyes and at the same time a little awe. - -"There isn't a buck that big!" he murmured breathlessly. - -"Look again," Ted invited. "Wonder where the dickens the other one is." - -He searched the briers, a little puzzled. Damon and Pythias were known -as such because, except during the rutting season, they were never far -apart. But definitely only one of the two huge deer was on Burned -Mountain now. It was very unusual. - -Ted shrugged. There was no unchangeable rule that said the two big bucks -must always be together. Maybe the sound of shooting or the hunters -going into the woods had caused them to separate, or perhaps they had -parted for reasons of their own. - -The shooting continued spasmodically, and not too far away came the -outlandish cacophony of shrieks and shouts that meant a hunting party -was staging a deer drive. A thin voice screamed, "He's coming your way, -Harvey!" - -As Ted continued to watch the big buck, John Wilson became restless. - -"Let's go after him." - -"Wait a bit," Ted advised. "It isn't going to be that easy." - -The climbing hunters, about a hundred and fifty yards apart, broke out -of the forest and into the briers. Two of them were so placed that, -unless he moved, they would pass the big buck at almost equal distances. -But the buck let them pass without so much as flicking an ear. He knew -very well exactly where both hunters were, but he was no fawn to panic -because men were in the woods. The buck had a good hiding place, knew -it, and he had eluded hunters this time merely by doing nothing. - -"He's smart, all right." John Wilson had appreciated the strategy, too. -"What do you suggest, Ted?" - -"I'm going over to flush him out. You stay here and let me know what he -does." - -"But--What good will that do?" - -"Deer are pretty much creatures of habit. He's in that bed now because -he likes it. If he doesn't become too frightened today, the chances are -good, both that he'll go into the same bed tonight and that he'll do the -same thing when he's flushed out of it tomorrow. Only you'll be waiting -for him." - -John Wilson nodded. "That listens all right." - -"Wave your red hat when he goes," Ted directed. "I'll see that and wait -for you, and we can figure our next move afterwards." - -Unencumbered by an older companion, Ted half-ran down the opposite slope -of Hawkbill and started swiftly up Burned Mountain. He had no hope of -seeing the buck, but just going to the bed where it had been lying was -within itself no easy task. Viewed from the summit of Hawkbill, various -parts of Burned Mountain had various distinguishing characteristics. But -once on the mountain itself, everything looked alike. Ted emerged from -the forest into the briers, crashed a way through them, and when he -thought he was very near the place where the buck had bedded, he turned -to see John Wilson waving his hat. - -Ted sat down for what he was sure would be a long wait. He had climbed -to this place in twenty-five minutes, but he was eighteen years old. - -An hour later, he heard John Wilson's, "Hall-oo!" - -"Here!" Ted yelled. - -Carrying his hat, streaming perspiration, but entirely happy, John -Wilson panted up to join him. - -"He went out," he said cheerfully, "and I'll swear he flushed no more -than twenty yards ahead of you! Thought sure you'd see him." - -"Where'd he go?" - -"Quartered up the mountain and crossed the summit just a little to the -right of some white birches." - -Ted nodded. The course described by John Wilson had kept the big buck in -thick cover all the way. It was the route he might have been expected to -take, except that there were a dozen others with brush just as thick. -However, there was every chance that he would go the same way a second -time and tomorrow morning John Wilson would be posted in the birches -while Ted tried to drive the buck through. - -"What's it like on top?" John Wilson asked. - -"Patches of laurel and rhododendron. We'll go see what we can do." - - * * * * * - -That night, tired and hungry, the pair made their way down Burned -Mountain. They hadn't seen the monster buck again, but were in no wise -disheartened. There were twenty days of the season left and John Wilson -had had, and failed to take, a chance at a very good eight-point buck. -Obviously, he'd meant it when he said he wanted only the biggest. - -Ted prepared supper and washed the dishes afterwards.... The two hunters -were sprawled in the living room when Tammie whined to announce that -someone was coming. A minute later there was a knock at the door and Ted -opened it to confront George Stacey. - -"Come on in, George." - -"Cain't. Gotta git home. Thought I'd stop an' tell ya that Thornton, -down to Crestwood, fetched in one of them big bucks today." - -"He did?" - -"Sure did, an' hit's big enough for ary two bucks. Go see hit. Hit's -a'hangin' on the game pole." - -"Thanks, George." - -"Yer welcome. Go see hit." - -"Want to go?" Ted asked his guest. - -"Sure thing!" - -The night air had a distinct bite, and a definite promise of freezing -cold to be. Ted turned the heater on, and after they'd gone a mile or -so, the pickup's cab filled with welcome warmth. - -As soon as they came in sight of Crestwood it was evident that something -unusual had occurred at that resort. Carl Thornton provided parking -space for his guests. Now all the available area was filled and parked -cars lined both sides of the driveway. Ted backed into one of the few -empty spaces. He and John Wilson got out to join the crowd at the game -rack. - -Crestwood's hunters had brought in seven other bucks this opening day -and three of them were big deer. But the biggest seemed puny beside the -monster that the crowd was eyeing. Its antlers were laced close to the -game pole, but its outstretched hoofs nearly touched the ground. If this -buck did not set a new record, it would come very close to so doing. - -John Wilson murmured, "Gad, what a buck! Is the other as big?" - -"They're twins." - -Ted went up for a closer look. He put his hand on the hanging buck and -set it to swinging gently. He gasped. As unobtrusively as possible, -hoping none had noticed his outburst, he drew back into the crowd. - -But several matters that had been very cloudy had become very clear. - - - - -11 - -PYTHIAS - - -Ted lingered on the fringes of the crowd, and in his mind's eye he -conjured up an image of Nels Anderson. Nels always earned his pay plus a -little bit more, and Ted wondered why Carl Thornton had fired him. But -he wondered no more. - -The great buck hung on Crestwood's game rack and bore Carl Thornton's -deer tag, but it had never been killed today. The weather, though -colder, still had not dipped to the freezing point and the big buck was -frozen solidly. The others hung limp and pliable. - -Failing to persuade Ted to hunt the big bucks for him, obviously -Thornton had hired someone else and Ted's thoughts swung naturally to -Smoky Delbert. Smoky would do anything for money and he knew how to -bargain. If he'd hired Smoky, Thornton must have paid a stiff price and -the rest was simple. - -Crestwood's walk-in refrigerator had a freezing compartment that would -accommodate a side of beef. It had been necessary only to bring the buck -to Crestwood--no impossible or even difficult feat--hang it in the -freezer, and on this, the first day of the season, bring it out again. -Nels, of course, had been fired solely to keep him from discovering what -was in the freezer. It would hurt both Thornton and Crestwood if it were -known that Thornton had bought his buck. The favorable publicity for -which he'd hoped, and which he'd certainly get unless Ted exposed him, -would turn to scathing condemnation. - -Alan Russell, Crestwood's part-time bookkeeper, broke from the crowd and -came to Ted's side. - -"Hello, Ted." - -"Hi, Alan." - -"Some buck, eh?" - -"Sure is," Ted said wryly. "I can imagine Thornton telling his adoring -guests just what a Daniel Boone he had to be to get it." - -"After this season he won't be telling 'em at Crestwood." - -"Why not?" - -"Thornton's sold out." - -"Sold out!" - -"That's right." - -"When did all this happen?" - -"It's been hanging fire for a couple of months, but the prospective -buyers met Thornton's price only three days ago. It was a stiff price." - -"Are you sure?" - -"I'm handling the book work." - -Ted said happily, "Alan, I love you!" - -The other looked suspiciously at him. "Do you feel all right?" - -"I never felt better!" - -Ted's heart sang. Game laws were game laws, and they applied to Carl -Thornton as well as to everyone else. But Crestwood was important to the -economy of the Mahela. One did not jeopardize the livelihood of those -who worked there, or the sorely needed money Crestwood's guests spent in -the Mahela, because of a single illegally killed buck or half a dozen of -them. But now Ted was free to act. He sought and found John Wilson. - -"Shall we go?" - -"Guess we might as well. Looking holes right through this buck won't -bring the other one in range. Wonder how the lucky cuss got it?" - -"I have an idea." - -"I expect you have. _Br-r!_ It's getting cold." - -"It will be colder. We have to hurry." - -John Wilson looked at him curiously. "What's up?" - -"I'll tell you in a minute." - -They got into the pickup. Ted started the motor that had not yet had -time to cool completely, and a trickle of warmth came from the heater. -John Wilson looked sharply at Ted. - -"All right. Give." - -"Did you notice anything unusual about that buck?" - -"Only that it's the biggest I ever saw." - -"It's also frozen solid." - -"I--I don't understand." - -"The weather hasn't been cold enough to freeze deer. Thornton never -killed that buck today." - -"Then he--?" - -"That's it exactly." - -There was a short silence. John Wilson broke it with a quiet, "Is there -a story behind it?" - -"There is." - -"Want to tell me?" - -Ted told of his love for the Mahela, and of a heart-rooted desire to -dedicate his life to helping people enjoy it. He spoke of his work at -Crestwood, and of his great dream to have a similar place, one day. He -related as much as he knew, which was as much as anyone knew, of the -story of Damon and Pythias. He told of Carl Thornton's commissioning him -to get both bucks before the season opened, of his refusal to do so and -the consequent loss of his job. - -He described the camp, and how and why it was built. Then the bombshell; -Smoky Delbert's shooting and Al a fugitive in the Mahela. He spoke of -his father's near-passionate interest in true conservation, and of his -near-hatred for those who violated the sportsman's code. However, aware -of Crestwood's importance to the Mahela, knowing that this violation -would hurt and perhaps ruin Thornton, Al himself would not have reported -it. But now that Thornton was leaving, was there any reason why he -should be shielded? - -There was another brief silence before John Wilson said quietly, "Don't -do it, Ted." - -"You mean let him get away with it?" - -"Under any other circumstances," John Wilson said, "I'd say drive into -Lorton and report him to the game warden. As things are with you now, if -you do, you'll hate yourself. How are you going to decide exactly -whether you turned him in to settle a grudge or because you're a -believer in conservation? I agree that he should be arrested and fined. -But arresting him won't return the buck to Burned Mountain. It won't do -anything at all except bring Thornton a hundred-dollar fine, and he can -spare the money. Yes, I'd say let him go and good riddance." - -"But--" - -"You asked my advice and you got it. If you turn him in, you'll hurt -yourself more than you will him. By all means report law violators, but -never let even a suspicion of personal prejudice influence your report. -It won't work." - -"I guess you're right." - -"I hope I am." - -That night the temperature fell to zero, and every buck on every game -rack in the Mahela froze solid. There was no longer any evidence -whatever to prove that Damon, as Ted thought of the great buck on -Crestwood's game rack, had been taken by other than legal means. - -Even if Ted wanted to do something now, his chance was gone. - - * * * * * - -For twenty days, always leaving the Harkness house before dawn and never -getting back until after dark, Ted and his guest had hunted Pythias. - -They had seen deer, dozens of them, and Ted had dropped a nice -eight-point so close to his house that they had needed only fifteen -minutes to dress it out, slide it in over the six inches of crisp snow -that now lay in the Mahela and hang it on the game rack. John Wilson had -had his choice of several bucks, and at least four of them had been fine -trophies. But he had come to hunt the big buck that still lurked on -Burned Mountain and he was determined to get that one or none. - -It looked as though it would be none, Ted reflected as he sat in front -of the blazing fire, tearing a bolt of red cloth into strips. Pythias, -who had sucked in his woodcraft with his mother's milk, had only -contempt for any mere human who coveted his royal rack of antlers. - -The second day of the season, giving John Wilson ample time to post -himself in the white birches, Ted had gone to the bed in which they'd -seen Pythias on the first day. A small buck and two does had gone -through, but Pythias had not. Most deer have favorite runways, or paths, -that are as familiar to them as sidewalks are to humans. Pythias seldom -used one, and he never took the same route twice in succession. - -Hunted hard every day, he hadn't let himself be chased from the top of -Burned Mountain. Staying there, he knew what he was doing. Sparsely -forested, the top of the mountain was given over to a devil's tangle of -twining laurel and snarled rhododendron. Some of the stems from which -the latter evergreen grew were thick as tree trunks, and some of the -winding, snaking branches were thirty feet long. It was heartbreaking -work just to go through one, and impossible for a man to do so without -making as much noise as a running horse. Once within the laurel or -rhododendron, and some thickets were a combination of both, it was -seldom possible to see seven yards in any direction. Often, visibility -was restricted to seven feet. - -Pythias haunted those thickets that varied from an eighth of an acre to -perhaps eighty acres. Chased out of one, he entered another, flitting -like a gray ghost through the scrub aspen that separated them. Then he -lingered until the hunters came and entered another thicket. Only when -going through the aspens, where he knew very well he could be seen, did -he run. In the thickets he walked or slunk, and he never made a foolish -move. - - * * * * * - -Every day there'd been snow--and John Wilson and Ted had had tracking -snow for seventeen of the twenty days--they'd found Pythias' bed and -his fresh tracks. His hoofmarks were big and round, and they indicated -him as surely as a robe of ermine or a scepter marks a king. But except -for the first day, when he'd been hopelessly out of range, the two -hunters hadn't seen him even once. Pythias could never conceal the fact -that he had walked in the snow. But he could hide himself. - -Methodically, Ted continued to tear strips from his bolt of red cloth -and lay them on the table. Tammie, grown fat and lazy during the three -weeks he'd been confined to the house--even though Ted had let him out -for a run every night--raised his head and blinked solemnly at the -fireplace. Bone tired, John Wilson turned in his chair and grinned. - -"You have enough of those red ribbons so you could fasten one on half -the deer in the Mahela. Think they'll work?" - -"I don't know of anything else. We've tried everything." - -"It's been a good hunt," John Wilson said contentedly, "and a most -instructive one. I don't have to have a buck." - -"But you'd like one?" - -"Not unless it's Pythias." - -"We have one more day and I have plans. Here, let me show you." - -Ted tore the last of his red cloth into strips, pulled his chair up to -the table, took a sheet of paper and a pencil and drew a map. John -Wilson leaned over his shoulder. - -"This is the Fordham Road," Ted explained, "the first left-hand fork -leading from the Lorton Road. Climb over the mountain and drop down the -other side. The first valley you'll see, it's right here, is Coon -Valley. You can't miss it, there's a turnout and hunters have been using -it. Park the truck and walk up Coon Valley. In about half a mile, or -right here, you'll come to three sycamores near a big boulder. On this -slope," Ted indicated it with his pencil, "there's a thicket of beech -scrub. You can see everything in it from the top of the boulder, Glory -Rock. Climb it and wait." - -"That's all? Just wait?" - -"That's all. If I can put him out of the laurel, there's at least an -even chance he'll cross the ridge and try to get back into the thickets -at the head of Coon Valley. If he does, he'll come through the beech -scrub." - -"And if you can't?" - -"He won't." - -"What time do you want me there, Ted?" - -"There's no great hurry. He isn't going to leave his thickets easily. It -will take you about an hour to reach the mouth of Coon Valley and maybe -another half hour or forty-five minutes to get set on Glory Rock. If you -leave the house by half-past six, you should be there soon after eight. -That's time enough." - -"How long should I wait?" - -"Until I pick you up, and I will pick you up there. I may not come -before dark. If I can put him past you, I will." - -"As you say, General." - -The tinny clatter of Ted's alarm clock awakened him at half-past three -the next morning. He reached down to shut it off, reset it for half-past -five and stole in to put it near the still sleeping John Wilson. Ted -breakfasted, gave Tammie his food and a pat, donned his hunting jacket, -put the strips of red cloth into the game pocket and stepped into the -black morning. - -He bent his head against the north wind and started climbing Burned -Mountain. He knew as he climbed that he was pitting himself against a -force as old as time. - -The woodcraft of Pythias, or any deer, shamed that of the keenest human. -Deer could identify every tiny sound, every wind that blew and the many -scents those winds carried. They knew everything there was to know about -their wilderness and they were all masters of it. No human could hope to -equal their senses. - -But Pythias, the greatest and most cunning of all, was still a beast. He -knew and could interpret the wilderness, but he couldn't possibly apply -reason to that which was not of the wilderness. If his confidence could -be shaken.... - -It was still black night when Ted reached the summit of Burned Mountain, -but he had crossed and re-crossed it so many times in the past twenty -days that he could do so in the darkness. Pythias was there, and -possibly he already knew that Ted was back on the mountain. But he'd -feel secure in the thicket where he was bedded and he would not go out -until he was flushed. - -Ted sought the aspen grown aisles between the thickets. He hung a strip -of red cloth on a wind whipped branch, walked fifty yards and hung -another. The night lifted and daylight came, and an hour later Ted tied -his last strip of cloth to a twig. Carrying no rifle--but Pythias -couldn't possibly know that--he put his hands in his pockets to warm -them. Now he had to flush the big buck. - -He and his guest had left the great animal in one of the larger thickets -last night, but it was almost certain that he hadn't passed the whole -night there. Ted circled the thicket, found Pythias' unmistakable tracks -and followed to where the big buck had nibbled tender young aspen shoots -and pawed the snow to get at the dried grass beneath it. Thereafter -Pythias had done considerable wandering. Ted worked out the trail and -discovered where his quarry had gone to rest in another thicket. - -He tracked him in, and he'd done this so many times that he knew almost -exactly what to expect. The big buck would wait until he was sure -someone was again on his trail, then he'd get up and sneak away. There -would be nothing except tracks in the snow to mark his going. A man -could not travel silently through the thickets, but a deer could. - -Deep within the thicket, Ted found the bed, a depression melted in the -snow, to which Pythias had retired when his wandering was done. The -tracks leading away were fresh and sharp, no more than a couple of -minutes old, but they were not the widely spaced ones of a running buck. -Knowing very well what he was doing, aware of the fact that he could not -be seen while there, Pythias always walked in the thickets. - -However, when he decided to leave this thicket, he had leaped through -the scrub aspen separating it from the next one. It could have taken him -no more than a second or so. If a hunter had been watching, he would -have had just a fleeting shot and only a lucky marksman would have -connected. Ted followed fast. There were no cloth strips in these -aspens. - -But when he came to where Pythias had intended to leave the next -thicket, he discovered where the big buck had set himself for the first -leap then wheeled to slip back into the laurel. Ten feet to one side, -the strip of cloth that had turned him still whipped in the wind. -Pythias had tried again to leave the thicket, been turned a second time -by another fluttering cloth and leaped wildly out at a place where Ted -had hung no ribbons. - -The buck's pattern changed completely. He was safe in the thickets, knew -it, and had never deigned to run while sheltered by friendly brush. Now -he was running, either in great leaps that placed his bunched feet six -yards apart or at a nervous trot. Ted began to have hopes. - -Pythias had the acute senses of a wild thing plus the cunning of a wise -creature that had eluded every danger for years. But the wilderness he -knew changed only with the changing seasons. What did the fluttering -cloths mean? Where had they come from? What peril did they indicate? -Pythias' tracks showed that he was becoming more nervous. - -Ted pushed him hard. The buck could not reason, but if he passed enough -of them safely and discovered for himself that there was no danger in -the red ribbons, he would pay no more attention to them. An hour and a -half after taking the track Ted knew that, at least in part, he had -succeeded. - -Unable to decide for himself what the fluttering cloths meant, Pythias -swung away from the thickets into beech forest. Now he ran continuously. -In the thickets, knowing very well that he could not be seen, he had -walked until the fluttering cloths introduced an unknown and possibly -dangerous element. This was beech forest, with visibility of anywhere -from fifty up to as much as two hundred and fifty yards. A hunter might -be anywhere and well the buck knew it. He was going to offer no one a -standing shot. - -Ted followed swiftly, for now the hunt had a definite pattern. A young -buck, chased out of the thickets on Burned Mountain, might linger in the -beeches. A wise old one would hurry as fast as possible into the -thickets at the head of Coon Valley, and the nearest route lay through -the scrub beech at Glory Rock. Ted was still a quarter of a mile away -when he heard the single, sharp crack of a rifle. - -He left the trail and cut directly toward Glory Rock. A volley was very -picturesque and sounded inspiring, but whoever ripped off half a dozen -shots in quick succession was merely shooting, without much regard to -aiming. Ted murmured an old hunter's adage as he ran, "One shot, one -deer. Two shots, maybe one deer. Three shots, no deer." - -He ran down the slope into Coon Valley and found John Wilson standing -over Pythias. The hunter's delighted eyes met Ted's, but mingled with -his delight was a little sadness, too. - -"I now," John Wilson said, "have lived." - -"You got him!" - -"I got him, poor fellow!" - -"He'll never be a better trophy than he is right now." - -It was true. At the height of his powers, Pythias faced a certain -decline. Soon he would be old, and the wilderness is not kind to the old -and infirm that dwell within it. - -John Wilson laughed. "I know it. Look at him! Just look at him! I'll bet -his base tine is thirteen inches long!" - -Ted said, "Ten inches." - -"Are you trying to beat yourself out of seventy-five dollars? I did -promise you twenty-five dollars for every inch in its longest tine, if I -got a head that satisfied me! This is surely the one!" - -Ted grinned. "I'll dress it for you," he offered. - -He turned the buck over, made a slit with his hunting knife and pulled -the viscera out. At once it became evident that John Wilson was the -second hunter of whom Pythias had run afoul, for he had been wounded -before. Ted probed interestedly. Entering the flank, the bullet had -missed the spine by two inches and any vital organs by a half inch. It -had lodged in the thick loin, and nature had built a healing scab of -tissue around it. - -Ted probed it out with his knife and almost dropped the missile. In his -hand lay one of Carl Thornton's distinctive, unmistakable, hand-loaded -bullets. - -John Wilson asked, "He's been wounded before, eh?" - -"Yes!" - -"Ted, I swear that you're more excited than I am!" - -_Ted scarcely heard. He was here, beside Glory Rock, the day after Smoky -Delbert was shot. Damon and Pythias, always together, and a deer so -badly wounded that it couldn't possibly go on. Damon hadn't gone on. -Only Pythias had. Hurt but not mortally, he had left enough blood on the -leaves to convince Ted that there'd been only one deer._ - -"When do you suppose he picked that one up?" John Wilson asked. - -"I don't know." - -_Carl Thornton, who got what he wanted, had decided to get Damon and -Pythias himself._ - -"He's darn' near as big as a horse," Wilson said. - -"Sure is." - -_A horse, a friendly, easily caught horse, that had gone down Coon -Valley that night with Damon on its back, then been released to go back -up it._ - -"You certainly know how to field-dress a buck." - -"I've done it before." - -_Smoky Delbert, happening to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. -Thornton couldn't afford to be found out. Smoky would blackmail him._ - -_Thornton paying Delbert's hospital bills._ - -"Did I hit him square?" - -"A good neck shot." - -_Factory-loaded ammunition that almost never failed to mushroom. -Hand-loaded cartridges that might fail._ - -John Wilson fumbled in his pocket. "Doggone, I seem to have lost my -pipe." - -_Al, forever losing his tobacco pouch, had gone to see Carl Thornton the -day Thornton fired Ted._ - -Ted wiped his knife blade on the snow, stood up and sheathed his knife. -He looped a length of rope around the great buck's antlers. - -"He'll be easy to get out of here," he said. - - - - -12 - -AL'S BETRAYAL - - -Deer season was ended and the village of Lorton brooded moodily between -the snowclad hills that flanked it. From now until arriving fishermen -brought new excitement, Lorton would know only that which arose from -within itself. Ted, who had put John Wilson and his great buck on -yesterday's outgoing train, steered his pickup down the street with its -plow-thrown heaps of snow on either side and drew up in front of Loring -Blade's house. He said, "Stay here, Tammie." - -The collie settled back into the seat. Ted walked to the front door, -knocked and was admitted by the game warden's attractive wife. - -"Hello, Ted." - -"Hello, Helen. Is Loring home?" - -"Yes, he is. Come on in." - -She escorted the boy into the living room, where, pajama-clad and with a -pile of magazines beside him, Loring Blade lay on a davenport and sipped -lazily from a cup of coffee. He looked up and grimaced. - -"Whatever you want, I'm ag'in' it. I aim to stay here for the next -nineteen years." - -Ted grinned. "Have they been pushing you pretty hard, Loring?" - -"I've been on the go forty-seven hours a day and, at a conservative -estimate, I've walked nine million miles since deer season opened." - -"Was it bad?" - -"No worse than usual. Most of the hunters who came in were a pretty -decent lot. But there always is--and I suppose always will be--the wise -guy who thinks he can get away with anything. I caught one joker with -nine deer." - -"Wow!" - -"He was fined," Loring said happily, "a hundred dollars for each one and -suspension of hunting privileges for five years." - -"Smoky Delbert give you any trouble?" - -"You know better than that. Smoky can't walk a hundred yards from his -house and won't be able to for a long while to come." - -"I feel kind of sorry for the poor cuss," Ted murmured. - -Loring Blade looked at him sharply. "You didn't come here to ask me -about Smoky." - -"Oh, yes I did. Who talked with him after he was shot?" - -"I did, for one. Why?" - -"What did he tell you?" - -The warden shrugged. "You know that as well as I do. Smoky was walking -up Coon Valley when your dad rose from behind Glory Rock and shot him." - -"Can you tell me the exact story?" - -Loring Blade looked puzzled. "What do you want to know, Ted?" - -"Did Smoky hear any shooting?" - -"Come to think of it, a half minute or so before he got to Glory Rock he -heard two shots." - -Ted's heart pounded excitedly. The two shots had been for Damon and -Pythias. Smoky wouldn't have heard the one that got him. Ted continued -his questioning. - -"Did Smoky have any idea as to who was shooting at what?" - -"He thought your dad was banging away at a varmint." - -"Then he did know Dad had gone up Coon Valley ahead of him?" - -"Why yes, he saw his boot track in the mud. But you knew that." - -"Was Smoky afraid to go on?" - -"Why should he have been afraid? Who expects to get shot?" - -"Tell me exactly how he said he saw Dad shoot him." - -"Smoky was near the three sycamores when he thought he saw something -move. A second later, your dad rose from behind Glory Rock and shot -him." - -"Smoky's very sure of that? It was Dad that rose from behind the rock?" - -"He told the same story at least a dozen times that I know of. It never -varied." - -"Dad didn't step out from beside the rock, or anything like that?" - -"No, he rose from behind it." - -"Loring, has it occurred to anybody, except me, that the back of Glory -Rock is a sheer drop? Anyone who could rise from _behind_ and shoot over -it would have to be at least nine feet tall!" - -"I--By gosh, you're right! I knew Al never bush-whacked him! He must -have been standing in plain sight when Smoky came up the valley!" - -"Smoky never saw who shot him." - -"That's not the way he told it." - -"Think!" Ted urged. "Think of the sort of man Smoky is. There was bad -blood between him and Dad and had been for some time. You were there -when Dad dressed him down for setting traps before fur was prime. There -was, as you'll remember, talk of shooting even then. Smoky knew Dad had -gone up Coon Valley ahead of him; probably he even _thinks_ Dad shot -him. He said he saw him because he wanted to be sure of revenge. Smoky -would do that." - -"Yes, he would. But it seems to me that you're doing a lot of guessing." - -"Maybe. You brought Smoky's rifle out?" - -"Yes." - -"Had it been fired?" - -"No, the bore was mirror slick." - -"What would you do if you ran across Dad?" - -"I'd bring him in, if I had to do it at gun point." - -"Loring, I am going to do something that neither you nor I thought I -would ever do. I am going to betray my dad into your hands." - -"Then you do know where he is?" - -"No, I haven't seen him since the night he left." - -"Cut it out, Ted. We all know you've been taking him supplies and we've -tried a dozen times to catch you at it. You do know where he is?" - -"I don't, but Tammie does." - -"So!" the warden exploded. "Callahan was right! He thought he saw Tammie -leave your house that night with a pack on his back. But when you -whistled him in, and he didn't have any pack, Callahan figured he'd made -a mistake. How'd you manage that?" - -"Dad was coming to see me and he saw Callahan, too. He met Tammie within -yards of the house and took his pack off. Loring, if this is to be done, -it's to be done my way." - -"What's your way?" - -"You do exactly as I say." - -"I'm listening." - -"Meet me at my house two hours after midnight. We'll cross the hills to -Glory Rock; we won't be able to walk up Coon Valley. Then you're to hide -behind or beside the rock, any place you can listen without being seen, -until I say you can come out." - -"Now look here, Ted, I like you and I like your dad, but I'm not -sticking my neck out for anybody." - -"I promise you won't, and I also promise that you will get a chance to -bring Dad in." - -The game warden pondered. Finally he agreed, "All right, Ted, it'll be -your way. But if there are any tricks, somebody's going to get hurt." - -"O.K. Meet me at two?" - -"At two." - -Ted drove happily to Nels Anderson's modest house and found his friend -chopping wood. Nels greeted him with a broad smile. - -"Hi, Ted! Come in an' have a cup of coffee?" - -"I can't stay, Nels. How are you doing?" - -"Goot, goot for now. Them deer hunters what stayed in your camp, they -paid me nice an' I get another yob soon." - -"Crestwood's changing hands and the new owners are taking over next -week. You might go ask them for your old job back." - -"Yah! I do that." - -"If you don't get one there," Ted said recklessly, "I myself will be -able to offer you something that'll tide you over until you get another -job. I'm going to build more camps." - -"Py golly, Ted, I yoost don't know how to thank you!" - -"Will you do me a favor?" - -"For you I do anything!" - -"Then listen carefully. At seven o'clock tomorrow morning I want you to -go to Crestwood and see Thornton; he'll be out of bed. Tell him that -there's something near those three sycamores in Coon Valley that he'd -better take care of." - -Nels scratched his head and let the instructions sink in. "At seven -tomorrow mornin' I see Thornton. I tell him, 'There's somethin' near -them three sycamores in Coon Valley you better take care of.'" - -"That's it." - -"Yah, Ted, I do it yoost that way." - - * * * * * - -Ted's alarm awakened him at a quarter past one. He reached down in the -darkness to shut it off, and as he lay there he knew a cold foreboding. -Until now, the day to put his plan into execution, he had been very sure -he was right. But suppose he was wrong? Al would be in Loring Blade's -hands, delivered there by his own son! Ted got up and almost grimly -clothed himself. His father couldn't stay in the Mahela much longer -anyhow, and Ted knew he was right. When he was dressed, he sat down and -wrote a note: - - Dad; Meet me at the three sycamores near Glory Rock and bring - Tammie with you. It's very important. When you get there, hide in - the beech scrub until you think it's time to come out. You'll know - what it's about after you arrive. - - Love, - Ted - -He put the note in a pliofilm bag and was just on the point of handing -it to Tammie when he hesitated. Timing was very important, and certainly -Al Harkness was never going to show himself at the three sycamores if he -saw Loring Blade anywhere near them. Ted put his doubts behind him. His -note said plainly that something was stirring and his father wasn't -going to show himself anyway until he knew what it was. - -Ted opened the back door, gave the pliofilm bag to Tammie and said, -"Take it to Al. Go find Al." - -Tammie streaked away in the darkness and Ted turned back to the kitchen. -He set coffee to perking, laid strips of bacon in a skillet and arranged -half a dozen eggs nearby. At seven o'clock--and because he was who he -was it would be exactly seven o'clock--Nels would go to Carl Thornton -and deliver Ted's message. If Thornton was innocent, he'd probably think -Nels had gone crazy. - -But if Ted was right and he was guilty, Thornton would come up Coon -Valley as soon as possible, to find and destroy any incriminating -evidence that lay there. He would get the message at seven. Give him ten -minutes to get ready, forty minutes--Crestwood was nearer than the -Harkness house--to reach the mouth of Coon Valley and another twenty -minutes to reach the sycamores. If he was not there by nine o'clock, he -would not come. - -There was a knock on the door and Ted opened it to admit Loring Blade. - -"Hi!" - -"Hi!" the warden grumped. "I've made all arrangements." - -"For taking Dad to jail?" - -"For having my head examined!" the warden snapped. "Who in his right -mind would let himself in for this sort of thing?" - -"In about three minutes," Ted promised, "I'll have hot coffee and bacon -and eggs. You'll feel better then." - -They ate, the warden maintaining a sour silence and Ted again filled -with doubt. All he really knew was that Carl Thornton had killed Damon -and wounded Pythias before the season opened. The wounded deer in the -beech scrub could have been shot by anyone at all and-- - -No, they couldn't. Al and Smoky Delbert, as far as anyone knew, had been -the only two people in Coon Valley that day. Al wouldn't shoot an -illegal deer and Ted had Loring Blade's word for it that Smoky's rifle -had never been fired. There had been a third party, and after Ted chased -him out of the thickets on Burned Mountain, Pythias had cut through the -beech scrub. Obviously, he knew the route and he wouldn't have -remembered that, a couple of months ago, he had almost come to disaster -on it. A deer's memory isn't that long. - -When the two had finished eating, Ted asked, "Shall we go?" - -"I'm ready. But if we're going to Glory Rock, why can't we drive to the -mouth of Coon Valley?" - -"You promised to do this my way." - -There must be nothing to warn Carl Thornton away--if he came--and fresh -tracks leading up Coon Valley might do just that. - -Loring Blade said, "I suppose I might as well be a complete jackass as a -partial one. We'll walk." - -They went out into the cold night, while the north wind fanned their -cheeks and trees sighed around them. A deer snorted and bounded away, -and there came an angry hiss from a weasel that, having all but cornered -the rabbit it was hunting, expressed its hatred for humans before it -fled from them. - -Ted asked, "You tired?" - -"Lead on." - -The wan, gray light of an overcast morning fell sadly on the wilderness -when the pair came again to the three sycamores and Glory Rock. Ted's -watch read seven-thirty. Carl Thornton had his message and, if he was -guilty, even now he was on his way. - -Loring Blade asked, "What now?" - -"You'd better hide." - -"Oh, for pete's sake--" - -"Dad isn't going to walk into your open arms." - -The warden said grimly, "All right. But if he doesn't come, there'll be -one Harkness hide tacked to the old barn door and it won't be your -dad's." - -He slipped in behind Glory Rock and it was as though he'd never been. -Ted was left alone with the keening breeze, the murmuring trees and the -Mahela. He looked across at the beech scrub where Al was supposed to -hide, where he might even now be hiding, and saw nothing. He shivered -slightly--and knew that he was lost if Thornton didn't come. - -Then he was sure that Thornton was not coming ... but when he looked at -his watch it was only five minutes to eight. There simply hadn't been -time.... Mentally Ted ticked another hour off. However, his watch said -that only seven minutes had passed and he stopped looking at it. -Forty-eight hours later, which his faulty watch said was only -forty-eight minutes, he looked down the valley and saw motion. - -Ted stood very still in front of Glory Rock, and a prayer went up from -his heart.... When the approaching man was very near he said, "Hello, -Thornton." - -Carl Thornton stopped, and for a moment shocked surprise ruled his face. -But it was only for a moment. He replied coolly, "Hello, Harkness." - -"I see," Ted observed, "that you got my message?" - -"Message?" - -"The one Nels Anderson gave you at seven o'clock this morning. The one -that sent you up here." - -"What are you talking about?" - -"This--and I found it within six feet of where you're standing. Now do -you think it could be the bullet that went through Smoky Delbert?" - -Ted took from his pocket the bullet he had dug out of Pythias and held -it up between thumb and forefinger. Again, but only for an almost -imperceptible part of a second, Carl Thornton's composure deserted him. -Then, once more, he was the master of Crestwood and as such he had no -association with ordinary residents of the Mahela. He said scornfully, -"Give me that bullet." - -"Well now, I just don't think I will. The Sheriff, the State Police--and -maybe others--will sure be interested as all get out. You'll have some -explaining to do, Thornton, and _can you explain_?" - -"I want that bullet!" - -"Why do you want it, Thornton?" - -"Give me that bullet!" - -"Not so fast. I might _sell_ it to you. What's it worth for you to have -it?" - -Carl Thornton's laugh carried an audible sneer. "You slob! You hill -monkey! You're even lower than I thought! Sell the evidence that would -clear your own father for money!" - -"Then you _did_ shoot Smoky!" - -"I want that bullet!" - -"Come take it." - -"I'll do just that." - -Ted balanced on the balls of his feet, a grin of sheerest delight on his -face. Thornton was bigger than he--and heavier--and he was moving like a -trained boxer. But because his back was turned, he did not see Tammie -burst from the scrub beech and race him down. Tammie went into the air. -His flying body struck squarely and Carl Thornton took two involuntary -forward steps. He fell face downwards and rolled over to shield his -throat with his right arm. Tammie's bared fangs gleamed an inch away and -Thornton's voice was muffled. - -"Call him off! I'll give you a thousand dollars for the bullet!" - -"No, thanks," Ted said evenly, "and I wouldn't move if I were you. -Anyway, I wouldn't move too far or fast. Tammie might get nervous." He -raised his voice. "All right, Loring, I think he'll tell you the rest -now." - -Ted scarcely noticed when Loring Blade came out from behind Glory Rock -because his whole attention was centered on the man who emerged from the -beech scrub. Al Harkness was lean as a wolf. His ragged hair had been -hacked as short as possible with a hunting knife and his beard was -bushy. His tattered clothing was held together with strips of deerskin, -fox pelt, wildcat fur and fishing line. But his step was lithe and his -eyes were clear and happy. - -"Hi, Ted!" - -"Hello, Dad!" - -They came very close and looked at each other, saying with their eyes -all that which, for the moment, they could find no words to express.... -Then Al asked, "How you been, Son?" - -"Fine! Had a swell season! As soon as you get squared around again--and -used to living like a civilized man--we can start two more camps." - -"Right glad to hear it. You'll have your lodge yet." - -"Might at that. How have you been?" - -"Not too bad." Al grinned his old grin. "Not too bad at all." - -"Hey!" Loring Blade called plaintively. "Call your dog, will you? I've -told him six times to get away so I can start taking this guy to jail -and all he does is growl louder!" - -Ted turned and snapped his fingers. - -"Come on, Tammie. Come on up here and join your family." - - - - -JIM KJELGAARD - - -was born in New York City. Happily enough, he was still in the -pre-school age when his father decided to move the family to the -Pennsylvania mountains. There young Jim grew up among some of the best -hunting and fishing in the United States. He says: "If I had pursued my -scholastic duties as diligently as I did deer, trout, grouse, squirrels, -etc., I might have had better report cards!" - -Jim Kjelgaard has worked at various jobs--trapper, teamster, guide, -surveyor, factory worker and laborer. When he was in the late twenties -he decided to become a full-time writer. He has succeeded in his wish. -He has published several hundred short stories and articles and quite a -few books for young people. - -His hobbies are hunting, fishing, dogs, and questing for new stories. He -tells us: "Story hunts have led me from the Atlantic to the Pacific and -from the Arctic Circle to Mexico City. Stories, like gold, are where you -find them. You may discover one three thousand miles from home or, as in -_The Spell of the White Sturgeon_, right on your own doorstep." And he -adds: "I am married to a very beautiful girl and have a teen-age -daughter. Both of them order me around in a shameful fashion, but I can -still boss the dog! We live in Phoenix, Arizona." - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Double Challenge, by James Arthur Kjelgaard - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOUBLE CHALLENGE *** - -***** This file should be named 41671-8.txt or 41671-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/6/7/41671/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at -http://www.pgdpcanada.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Double Challenge - -Author: James Arthur Kjelgaard - -Release Date: December 20, 2012 [EBook #41671] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOUBLE CHALLENGE *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at -http://www.pgdpcanada.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41671 ***</div> <h1>DOUBLE CHALLENGE</h1> @@ -6335,389 +6297,6 @@ adds: "I am married to a very beautiful girl and have a teen-age daughter. Both of them order me around in a shameful fashion, but I can still boss the dog! We live in Phoenix, Arizona."</p> - - - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Double Challenge, by James Arthur Kjelgaard - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOUBLE CHALLENGE *** - -***** This file should be named 41671-h.htm or 41671-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/6/7/41671/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at -http://www.pgdpcanada.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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