Rocky Mountain Justice (The Legend of Camel's Hump) by Jeff Noonan Page B

about this?” Red might be young, but he was sharp. “No one,” Jerry admitted. “We don’t know who to tell. We don’t want our folks to get in trouble like Aunt Hilda and the pastor. Obviously we can’t go to the law about it.” Red thought about it for a bit, then asked “Why me?” Dawn answered him. “Because you can keep quiet and I need someone to help me that is good at moving around in the woods.”
    Red stopped walking and turned to look at them. “If I do this,” he said, “I want to be armed. I’ve got a.22 rifle I can bring. Also, I want your agreement that as soon as we know what we’re dealing with, we’ll tell some adults – or maybe even the FBI if we can figure out how to contact them.” Jerry thought about this for a minute. They had never considered the FBI – to them that was a big city organization that was back east, fighting the Mafia or something. Trust Red and his imagination to come up with that. He mentally dismissed that idea, but seriously considered the fact that Red wanted to carry a gun. All of them had been raised with guns, so that was no problem. But his concern was elsewhere. “Red, carrying your.22 isn’t a problem. But let’s be clear about one thing. Your job is to get the hell out of there if there’s a problem. You can get through the woods faster than anyone I know and that’s why we’re sending you with Dawn. It’s your job to warn us so that we can all fight if we have to. Got it?” Red grinned and readily agreed. He was secretly very proud that the big guys had trusted him.
    Then Jerry turned to Dawn and said, “Dawn, are you planning to carry a gun?” He knew that she was as good with a gun as any of them. She answered slowly, “I could, I guess. I have that old.38 pistol that Dad asks me to carry in the woods for fear of bears. But I don’t like the idea of having to use it on a human being.” At this, Jerry exploded, “Damn it, Dawn! This is serious! You aren’t going out there on a picnic! If these guys see you, they might even try to kill you! If you are gonna do this, you’d better be ready to defend yourself!”
    Dawn was shocked. Jerry had never said a cross word to her before. But she understood his concern, so her reply was an easy one. “OK Jerry, OK. Don’t get so excited. I’ll shoot those buttheads if I have to, I guess.”
    By now, Ray had a quizzical, half-smiling, look on his face. “You’re going to use your little.38 caliber pistol if you run into a bear? Your Dad thinks you can shoot at a bear with that popgun? Sounds like a sure way to get killed to me, doesn’t it, Red?” Red replied, “Oh my God! I wouldn’t shoot a gopher with that thing. It would probably just chase after me and shove the little bullet where the sun can’t shine.” By now Jerry was laughing. “Well, it would probably do as much good as that popgun of yours, Red.”
    Then Jerry turned serious. “Please carry your guns, Guys. You need to have something that discourages them from chasing you. But don’t shoot at them unless you have absolutely no choice. We don’t need a killing on our conscience, not even theirs.” With that the plan was settled. Starting that afternoon, Dawn and Red would start a program of daily surveillance on the sheep ranch, reporting back to Jerry and Ray each evening.
    They all squeezed into Jerry’s coupe and went for a drive toward Camel’s Hump. Jerry parked where he and Ray had been a few days earlier and the four moved quietly through the woods until they were on the knoll above Ike’s place. Jerry showed them how to take cover behind the bushes and then they left, walking back to the car. There had been no sign of life at the sheep ranch this early in the morning.
    When they got back to town, Jerry dropped Dawn and Ray off and helped Red finish his paper route. Then he went to the construction site to get organized for the day ahead.
    Jerry had a hard afternoon that day. His mind just wasn’t on the project.