Chapter 5
Moments later, both men stepped out and looked around uneasily. Nick and Mandy stayed in the shadows hoping they couldn’t be seen or heard, even with the bright moonlight overhead. With more and more curiosity, both kids watched as one of the men crossed the narrow road and disappeared into the trees. Soon he was back and said something to his companion.
By now, Butch was excited and anxious to jump out of the truck bed. With a short whistle from the first man, Butch jumped out and scrambled up the embankment into the trees. Both children could hear his yaps and yowls. Apparently, he caught the scent of something and was in hot pursuit. The two men dashed after him.
“I wonder what they are doing?” Nick wondered aloud.
Before Mandy could answer, they heard another shot. Like before, the sound echoed eerily through the forest. Instinctively, Nick and Mandy ducked down, startled and frightened, staying close to the roadside shadows. They waited tensely for more sounds, mostly to know where the men and their dog were because the barking had stopped just before the gunshot.
Nick agonized over what he and Mandy should do next. For a moment, the thought of getting back to Aunt Clara’s cabin had been interrupted by the concern for their immediate safety and now he was trying to come up with a new plan of action. Still pondering on their situation, Butch burst from the underbrush near the truck. He jumped into the back and watched, waiting for his two masters to return. Within minutes, they emerged, dragging something behind them. Another deer! Quickly, they hoisted it up and over the side of the truck bed. Nick could hear a muffled thud as they flopped it on top of the other slain deer. Butch was beside himself with anxiety. Pacing back and forth, with an occasional little yap, the truck started up and with a jerk then continued on down the narrow dirt road.
There were no more flashlights and the truck was moving more quickly. Nick and Mandy waited until it rounded the next curve then began running down the road in the same direction. Nick knew the men wouldn’t be able to hear them now. At the same time, he was now curious what these men were doing with two dead deer and especially why they were hunting them at night. If nothing else, he hoped more than anything that somehow this road would lead them back to Aunt Clara’s. With the truck in front of them they felt less afraid and especially since the men now seemed less interested in finding lost kids.
Stopping to catch their breath once again, they could still hear the faint sound of the truck but it was obvious they were in a bigger hurry to get somewhere. As he and his sister panted and gasped for more air, Nick checked his watch again. Almost five o’clock in the morning! The sky to the east was beginning to show a very faint glow as the moon dropped behind the tops of trees to the west. At least now, Nick had a better idea of the direction they were headed, but that still didn’t help a whole lot because he still didn’t know which way to go to get back to Aunt Clara’s cabin.
“Are we safe yet?” Mandy finally asked.
“I’m not sure, but if those men were only interested in hunting deer and are done for the night maybe we are.” Nick was hopeful, then added, “I’m sure they are far gone by now.” Trudging along, they could no longer hear the truck or the barking dog but still felt uneasy. They might come back anyway.
Nick began to wonder if maybe the two men weren’t supposed to be killing deer in the middle of the night. Those poor deer. Little did they know, when they woke up yesterday morning, they’d be dead by tonight! Those men were mean! And he didn’t like their dogs, either! Nick suddenly stopped.
“What is it?” Mandy asked. “Did you hear something?”
“No, but I’ve been wondering why they only had one dog with them instead of both dogs.”
“I don’t know. Maybe the other dog was guarding their cabin.”
“That sounds reasonable,” Nick agreed. He pulled off the daypack and pulled out a water bottle offering it to Mandy. It had a couple of swallows left. She took a sip then gave it back to Nick. “We need to keep moving,” he finally said.
Following the narrow road, they stayed in the shadows. It wouldn’t be long before the rising sun would create new shadows and eventually brighten everything else up.
The road wound around and meandered through the forest. They had no idea how far they had walked, but up ahead they could see what looked like another road up ahead.
Approaching cautiously, they listened for any unusual sounds. An owl hooted off in the distance, but that was about it. No howls from wolves. No barking dogs. No guns shooting, thank goodness! Not even the sound of an engine. But they did think they could smell something in the air.
Once they reached the other road, Nick stopped, then slowly turned around and sniffed. “It’s smoke of some kind,” he said quietly looking up for some signs of smoke drifting in the morning air.
“Do you think we should go that way?” Mandy pointed looking up at her brother.
“No,” he responded slowly. “No, I don’t think so. I’ll bet that’s the way those men went. It probably goes to their cabin. Let’s keep going this way. Come on!”
They continued further along as the sky continued to brighten with dawn. It was hard to believe they had been up all night in the forest! The smell of the smoke was definitely growing stronger now. Nick decided it must be wood smoke, probably from a stove or fireplace somewhere nearby, maybe even Aunt Clara’s, he thought excitedly.
“I sure hope that smoke is coming from Aunt Clara’s,” Mandy said reading Nick’s thoughts.
“Me too,” Nick said with a tired smile. They began to walk a little faster, in spite of fatigue and hunger, hoping they really were close to Aunt Clara’s home and safety.
With the coming of dawn, neither felt as fearful. In fact, they didn’t seem as concerned about being seen or heard as they had been. Just the thought of finding their Aunt’s cabin and being safe again was all that mattered now. The sun reached the tops of the nearby mountain peaks to the east casting spectacular rays of colors of white, gold, fiery peach and orange. The morning air was cool and fresh. Everything seemed to say, ‘Good morning.’ Breathing in deeply, Nick was finally able to relax with happier and more peaceful thoughts.
Moments later, however, the sound of an engine from behind immediately wiped away any comforting thoughts. Nick and Mandy began to run down the road as fast as they could, as the sound of the engine grew louder. Daring to look behind, Nick saw the same old beat up truck coming toward them. Both men were inside and one leaned out his window calling out “Hey! You kids!”
Not wanting to stop, Nick and Mandy kept running, finally darting into the trees. Immediately they heard the bark of a dog. Looking back, both kids realized the truck had stopped and both men were out of their truck along with their dog that bounded on ahead of the men directly toward Nick and Mandy. Grabbing Mandy’s hand, Nick led her further into the forest hoping to get away, but the barking of the dog grew steadily closer.
Nick turned to look at their pursuers but caught his toe on a tree root tumbling to the ground. Mandy tripped over him and fell down too. By now, the dog was upon them, still barking wildly. Now terrified, both children clung to each other waiting for the men to catch up.
Danger in the Woods - Nick and Mandy James Series Page 5
