by Robert Boren
Jeb, Frank, and Jerry all raised their hands.
“Great, thanks,” Hilda said.
“I’d love to help, but I can’t climb trees anymore,” said Chester.
Hilda smiled at him.
“Not to worry, Chester. Why don’t you go talk to Arthur and see if he found anything out on his short wave radio?”
“Will do,” he said.
They walked through the front gate of the park. Charlie and Hilda walked over to the shed together.
“I’ll meet you guys at the back gate,” Frank said. “I’m going to go get my pistol.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Jeb said. “Half an hour?”
“Sounds good to me,” Frank said.
“Agreed,” said Jerry. They all took off towards their rigs.
“Are you buying the kid story about the hole in the fence?” asked Jane as she walked with Frank and Lucy.
“It sounds plausible, but I’ll reserve judgment. I don’t think it was an enemy scouting party. I don’t think a flashlight would have scared those folks off. I’d probably be dead right now if they were back there.” After he said that, Frank wished he hadn’t. Jane looked up at him, her brow furrowed. She looked scared.
“I’m going back there with you,” Jane said. “With Lucy and the shotgun. I’ll keep watch while you're up in the tree.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“Yes, I am,” Jane said, “and I won’t take no for an answer.”
Frank nodded.
They got back to the coach, unlocked it, and went in. The AC had been on for a while, and it was nice inside.
“Let’s have a snack,” Jane said. ‘I’m going to wear that small backpack and put some water in it.”
“Smart idea,” Frank said. “I’m going to bring the other backpack. I’ll put the hatchet in there, and a hammer, and some nails, and that folding saw. I’ve got all that stuff in my tool box. You might want to throw a paper bowl in your backpack for Lucy, and some dog treats. We may be out there for a few hours.”
Frank went outside to the back compartment, and grabbed the tools and a box of large nails. He set them on the table under the awning, and then went back into the coach to get his pistol. Jane was loading up her backpack when he got in there.
“Find what you needed?” she asked.
“Yep. I’ll bring out the shotgun. You might want to toss a box of shells into your backpack.”
She nodded. Frank went into the bedroom, and opened the rear closet. He pulled the belt and holster out, and then pulled out a box of ammo. He quickly loaded the belt loops with .44 mag cartridges, and then put on the belt. Then he reached back into closet and pulled out his pistol. He checked it…..only one bullet missing. The one that he shot Officer Simmons with. He pulled a cartridge out of the box and put it into the cylinder, and then put the pistol into the holster. He tied the bottom leather lace around his leg. Then he picked up the shotgun and a box of shells on the way out of the bedroom.
“Here you go, honey,” Frank said, leaning the shotgun against the dinette bench. “It’s loaded, and the safety is on. Be careful.”
“Wow, nice old west look there, partner,” Jane said. She giggled.
Frank shrugged his shoulders, and picked up his backpack. He took it outside and loaded his tools, then carried it back into the coach.
“Want a Clif Bar?” he asked.
“Sure, why not,” Jane said.
Frank took two bars out of the pantry, and they devoured them while standing next to the kitchen counter. They washed them down with water from the fridge dispenser.
“I’m ready, sweetie,” Frank said. He slipped the backpack over his shoulders, and walked out the door, waiting for Jane. She put her backpack on, grabbed Lucy’s leash, and herded her outside. Frank closed the door and locked it.
When they got to the back gate Jeb was already there.
“Hi, folks,” said Jeb. “Brought the dog and a shotgun. Good idea.”
“Hi, Jeb,” Frank said. Jane looked over at Jeb, nodded, and smiled. She felt really self-conscious holding the shotgun.
“Here comes Jerry,” Jeb said, looking past the couple. Frank and Jane turned around and saw him. He was walking up with a rifle. It was hanging off one of his shoulders on a sling.
“No sidearm, huh?” asked Jeb.
“I’ve got one, but I’m a better shot with this and don’t mind carrying it,” he said. “Is there a showdown at high noon, Hoss?” He was looking at Frank’s western style belt and holster. He chuckled.
Frank shrugged, with a sheepish grin on his face.
“Guess it’s going to take me a while to live this down,” he said. “What’s that you have?”
“Oh, this is just an old M-1 Carbine. Handy but not very powerful. The best thing about it is that it'll fire as fast as I can pull the trigger.”
“Oh yeah, I remember those,” Frank said. “My cousin had one. Uses that .30 Carbine round. No recoil at all, and a lot of fun to shoot.”
“Yes, it’s fun to shoot, but if you have to stop somebody, better hit them in the right place,” Jerry said. “Let’s go. Charlie left the gate unlocked for us. He’s already over at the hole in the fence with Hilda.”
Jeb opened the gate and walked out, followed by the rest of the team. The woods really captured Lucy’s interest. She was trying to pull ahead of Frank.
“Settle down, girl, we will be out here for a while,” Frank said.
“You want to split up?” asked Frank.
“Yeah, you can go with Jeb and I’ll take care of Jane,” Jerry said. Then he laughed. Jane didn’t look very amused.
“No, I think I’ll take Jane with me, thanks,” said Frank, taking it as a joke.
“Of course, just joking around,” he said. “My wife might be a little upset if I did that. She’s the jealous type.”
“Is she here?” Jane asked. “Your wife, I mean.”
“Yes, she’s in the coach with my mother-in-law.”
Jeb cracked up.
“Doesn’t sound like much of a vacation.”
“Actually, I like Rosie a hell of a lot,” Jerry said. “She's a great mother-in-law. That old broad can drink me under the table, too.” He laughed again. Jane gave him a sideways glance.
“Jane and I will take that one,” Frank said, pointing of to the blind on the right.
“Sounds good,” Jeb said. “We’ll take the one that’s a little past that, towards the front section of fence.”
They split up.
“Wow, get a load of that guy,” Jane said. “Did you think that was funny?”
“No. Wonder what his wife is like?”
“Good question. I imagine we’ll find out sooner or later.”
“I don’t think she was at the clubhouse meeting. I remember Jerry, but he was there alone. He asked a lot of questions.”
“He seemed serious at that meeting. Not so much today. Maybe he’s just coming off of the stress.”
“Possible,” Frank said. They stopped in front of the trees where the blind was.
“Wow, that’s pretty tall,” Jane said.
“Yes, it looks taller up close than I expected. I’m going to have to go up slowly and hammer a nail or two into each of those rail pieces to make sure it stays fastened to the trees.”
“I don’t like this. Be careful,” Jane said. Frank took off his backpack and put in on the ground. Lucy ran up and sniffed it.
“Sorry girl, the treats are in mom’s backpack.”
He pulled out the hammer and the box of nails. Then he turned and looked at the tree.
The blind looked nice. It was set into three trees that were close together. The ladder was home made. There were 2X4s for the edges; two ten foot pieces on each side, bolted together. The rungs looked very strong. They were held to the 2X4s with carriage bolts and nuts. Frank grabbed it and shook it. It was solid, from what he could tell.
“It actually feels pretty good. I’m going climb it slowly, wi
th some nails in my shirt pocket and the hammer in my belt.”
“Alright. I’ll be watching.”
“If Lucy starts to growl, make sure I know about it.”
Jane nodded. She had a worried look on her face.
Frank started up. The ladder was sturdy. The rails were nailed into the tree every so often, but that wasn’t the main thing holding it. Frank could see that the tops of the rail were bolted onto the bottom frame of the blind above.
“Nice job on this,” he muttered to himself. He started climbing up faster, feeling more confident. There was one spot where the rails were coming loose slightly, about two thirds of the way up. He got the hammer out, and pulled a couple of nails out of his pocket. He hammed a nail into each of the rails and on into the tree. That made it feel a little sturdier. He got to the top and looked at the wall, which was on a hinge, with a handle on the bottom. He pulled the door open far enough to get in. The inside was much nicer than he expected. It was triangular, bolted into the trees in such a way that the trees could move in the wind but the blind could float with it. There was a bench that ran along the back two walls of the triangle. There was a safety rail that could be lowered across the front when the blind was occupied. It had a hinge on it, and was in the up position. The door could be fastened to that so you wouldn’t fall out. Frank hoisted himself up and stood on the platform. The walls were about chest high. He tried sections of the floor with his feet. It was solid. Not even any termite damage. It was all pressure treated lumber. Frank wondered how the builder hoisted all of this heavy wood up here.
“Wow, this thing is great,” Frank shouted down to Jane.
“Good. Be careful.”
Frank laughed to himself. There was a large wooden chest in the middle of the floor, about three feet high. It looked like it was used as a table. Somebody used marine varnish on the top, to seal it up. He sat down on the bench and looked around. Sitting down, you could just see over the walls. Perfect. He noticed that the top of the table had a hinge. He pulled it up. It creaked, but opened easily.
Frank started to laugh as he looked inside.
“What’s so funny?” shouted Jane.
“You have to see this,” he shouted down to her.
Chapter 7 – Up in the Blinds
Jane looked up at the blind. Frank was still up there laughing.
“Honey, you really need to come up here and check this out.”
“I’m afraid to climb up there,” she said.
“It’s really easy. The ladder is sturdy. You can make it.”
“What about Lucy?”
“Tie her to that small tree over there, and leave your backpack down there if you’d feel better.”
“Okay, but if I get scared part way up, I’m going back down.”
“No problem.”
Jane led Lucy over to the small tree. She tied her up there, but took her backpack with her.
“What about the shotgun?” she shouted.
“Just a minute….I’ll come down far enough to grab it from you.”
Frank got back on the ladder and quickly climbed down. Jane held up the shotgun and Frank grabbed it by the receiver. He turned and climbed back up with it. Jane started up. Lucy was watching her, and barked a couple of times.
“Quiet down, girl,” Jane said. “I’ll be back down in a few minutes.”
Jane made her way up. It was much easier than she thought it would be. Frank held the wall open for her and she climbed up. When she was inside Frank pulled the wall shut and put down the safety rail.
“Wow, this is pretty nice,” Jane said, looking around. “It’s like a kid’s clubhouse.”
“Sure is. Look at the view, too. You can see quite a ways. See the stream over there?” He pointed.
“Yes. Very charming up here. So what was so funny?”
“Sit down,” Frank said. He motioned to a spot on the bench. She sat, and Frank sat next to her. Then he raised the table top back on its hinge until it was all the way open.
“Good Lord,” she said, laughing. “I wonder if Hilda knows about this.”
Frank laughed. “I doubt it.”
The chest contained several bottles of whiskey, a bottle of gin, and some shot glasses. There was a small kerosene heater in there with a can of fuel, some playing cards, and a stack of girly magazines.
“This was a man cave…..err man treehouse,” Jane said, laughing. The items in the chest were a little dusty, but it didn’t look like they ever got wet.
“Yeah, I’ll bet Hilda’s late husband spent a fair amount of time up here. All the comforts of home.”
“No bathroom, though,” Jane said.
“Well, most of the time a man wouldn’t have a problem.”
“Eeewwww!” Jane said. “Hope it didn’t land all over the ladder.”
Frank cracked up.
“Should we tell Hilda about this?” he asked.
“I don’t think we should. I’d mention it to Charlie, and he can tell her if he thinks she would want to know.”
“Sounds reasonable,” Frank said. “Maybe we could sneak up here for a little fun from time to time.” He grinned.
“No chance, buster,” she said. “Somebody would hear us.”
“Oh, alright,” he said, trying to give her a pouty look. She laughed, and put her hand on his shoulder.
“You want to go back down?” Frank asked.
“In a minute. I want to look out in all directions,” she said. She stood up and did a slow turn around. “You can hardly see the park from here. Too many trees.”
“Yes, but you can see the stream and surrounding areas back there really well. I’ll bet this was a prime hunting spot because of that.”
“It’s probably going to be a good sentry post too,” Jane said. “If kids are drinking down by the caves and the stream, there must be an easy way there. I didn’t see anything in the front half of the park that looked like a good route to get back there.”
“We’ll have to check that out,” Frank said.
“It’s really beautiful up here,” Jane said.
“Yes it is. I could spend some time up here.”
“With the booze and magazines?”
They both cracked up.
“Alright,” Jane said. “I’m ready to get down now.”
“Okay, I’ll hold the door open for you.” He flipped up the safety bar and pushed the wall out of the way. Jane carefully got back on the ladder and started down. Frank closed the top of the chest, and then followed her. Lucy started barking when she saw them coming, her tail wagging.
“Where to now?” Jane asked, as she untied Lucy from the tree.
“You want to go check out the caves?”
“Sure, now that we know where they are.”
“Alright,” Frank said. “You want the shotgun back?”
“Sure,” she said. Frank handed it to her, and they walked towards the creek. They could hear the rushing water as they approached.
“Wow, look at this,” Frank said, pointing to a small waterfall that flowed into a large pool.
“Yes, I can see why kids want to hang around here,” Jane said. They walked over to the water’s edge and looked. There was some evidence of people being here – little pieces of litter here and there.
“That must be the caves,” Frank said, pointing to a stone wall about 30 yards to their left. They made their way up there, over a well beaten path.
“I don’t think I’d call these caves,” Jane said. “More like a series of rock outcroppings. They aren’t very deep.”
“Just enough to get out of the sun or the rain,” Frank said. He climbed back into the first one. The floor was stone. You could almost stand in there.
“Look over to your right, Frank. Beer cans.”
Frank went over there and picked one up. He shook it back and forth and listened, then smelled the opening.
“Yep, it was probably kids last night alright. There's still some beer residue in the can. It smells fresh.”
“I’ll bet the kids were on a hunt for more to drink, like Hilda suspected. I’ll be in there in a minute to take a few pictures with my iPHONE.”
Frank nodded. Then he laughed.
“What?” Jane asked as she got under the outcropping.
“Condom wrappers,” Frank said, pointing.
“Well, I guess this is better than the back seat of a car,” Jane said. She giggled. “As long as they brought a blanket or something.”
“Another place we could try out, perhaps?”
“I’m not a teenager anymore, Frank,” she said, looking at him and smirking. Frank laughed.
Lucy growled, and then barked a couple of times, looking towards the stream. Frank put his hand on his pistol, and Jane froze.
“Frank, that you back there?”
It was Jeb.
“Yeah, Jeb, we’re up here,” he replied. “We found evidence that kids were here, probably last night.”
Lucy growled again as Jeb walked up, but then she stopped when she realized that she knew him.
“I told you it was a good idea to have your dog with you,” Jeb said, smiling. “What did you find?”
“These beer cans,” Frank said, pointing over to them. “They are still wet inside, and they smell fresh.”
“Figures,” Jeb said. “Is that what you guys were laughing about?”
Jane looked at Jeb, her face turning read. Then she looked up at Frank.
“You can tell him about that,” she said. Jeb looked over at Frank.
“Oh, it’s nothing, just some condom wrappers,” Frank said.
Jeb looked embarrassed.
“Sorry, Jane,” he said.
“For what? I was just a little embarrassed.”
“Where’s Jerry?” Frank asked.
“His wife called him and asked that he come back after we were done with the blind. He went back to his rig.”
“How was the blind?”
“Pretty beat up, but we hammered it back together. How about the one you guys were at?”
“It’s perfect,” Frank said. “Very sturdy. I had to drive a couple of nails in on the ladder, but other than that it’s in real good shape.” Jane started to giggle.
“What?” Jeb asked.
