The next morning, we woke on the cruise ship to lots of activity outside on the deck. People were running around, loading equipment and supplies, while passengers were walking up the gangplank being welcomed aboard.
Sue and I walked down to the galley, where the crews mess was, to see if we could get some coffee. Luckily, just as one of the cooks was trying to get us out of the area, the captain came in saying that we were welcome anywhere on the ship. If we wanted coffee, they should get us a cup, and for the cooks to rustle us up some breakfast. He told us that we would probably enjoy eating with the passengers later, but for us to come down here anytime for some coffee.
We did eat, then went back up on deck to join with the other passengers so we could hear the announcements and schedules. There was a lifeboat drill where all the passengers went to designated stations with their life jackets on. Considering that there were two hundred passengers, the drill went pretty smoothly. The next step was a film in the big lounge. Passengers were offered bar drinks that could be charged to their cabins, and could also get extra snacks if they wanted. I could see that there were additional ways that the ship made money.
We saw a movie about the trip, where we would go, what we would see, and the places of interest we would want to be on deck for. They assured us that we would have plenty of notice before passing by these locations.
Our departure was so smooth that when the movie was over and we went back on deck, we were out to sea with the coast far distant. Sue was busy with the camera, continuously taking pictures of the ship and the various islands we passed. Her only limitation would be her supply of CDs.
The trip was memorable. We stopped at a couple of small ports, then went to see the glaciers. Everything was magnificent. When you look out and view the snow covered mountains, you realize how little of this great Earth you have seen. On the ninth day, we arrived at the port nearest Anchorage. We ended up on a train that took us into Anchorage where I called the number for the pilot who was going to ferry us around Alaska.
He gave us directions to get to our hotel and said he could come by this evening to discuss what we would need for clothing and gear. Sue said she was really excited, as she had never been camping before. I told her that there were parts of camping out that were not fun, but she just said that she was ready. I told her I was worried that both of us may not be able to keep up with our mutual injuries. She just said, "Let's try anyway."
That evening, John Stevens came into the dining room just as we sat down. He seemed to know us and walked straight to us. After introducing himself, we all sat together, waiting to be served. John said we had been highly recommended by his friend back in the islands. We talked about what we wanted to see and what we could expect. He said he had requested and received permission to land at the oil camp where I had worked, but there were no facilities for us to stay there. We could go into town, sixty miles away or we could camp out. He recommended that we fly into town and get a hotel room, as he could also fuel up there.
He went over what clothes and equipment we would need. He recommended that we go to a second hand shop he knew for equipment, a tent, and sleeping bags. He then gave us the name of an outfitter that was fair, and that we should get two sets of clothes for cold weather backpacking and camping. John said he was excited, as he loved to camp and had not been out yet this year.
Next he recommended that we purchase a used rifle, as it was something that we could sell before we left. We discussed various types, but we both agreed on the universal 308 as the easiest to make a deal on.
He told us to gather everything tomorrow and that he would meet us for supper tomorrow night, same time, same place.
The next day found us at a big barn where they had bins of various camping gear. They had snowshoes, dog sleds, small portable huts, and of course, sleeping bags and tents. I told the owner that we were going camping and I wanted to buy only what he would welcome back. He laughed then replied in a Frenchie, broken English accent, "I never had nobody ask that question. They always axe me what's best, not what I'll take back. Tell you what, let me get out the stuff that will do best for ya and what I be happy to get back."
He got out a big ground cloth, a small tent, two down sleeping bags that looked almost new, and a stack of backpacking cooking gear. Next, he got a case of assorted trail meals that only required water to make. "This'll do ya. You say you're only going out for four to five days? Well, this will cover you for at least ten days. Ya need to be prepared up in the Yukon. Now, let me show you what kind of boots I got back here in my private stuff. He had Sue fitted in minutes, then found me a good pair of boots. He pulled several pair of socks off a rack for both of us and said, "Put nylon socks on next to your skin then put the wool socks on over them. That way your feet will stay dry and warm, and won't blister. Make sure you change socks every day."
He motioned me over to a side of the room, "You gonna get a rifle?"
"Yes sir, I was going to look for a 308. Probably a Winchester, or perhaps one of those Browning pumps."
"You know guns, huh? Well, I got one of those Browning pumps in 308 but it's kinda 'spensive."
"If I don't want to take it back to the lower forty-eight, would you buy it back?"
"Course."
"Then I'll take it. Do you have heavy caliber handguns? Something like a forty-five or better yet, would be forty-four magnum with a reasonable length barrel."
"Can you shoot a forty-four?"
"Yes sir."
He opened a drawer and took out a Colt forty-four magnum with a six inch barrel and box of shells, turned, and motioned for me and Sue to follow him. We went down a hall to an area that was a range that looked to be twenty-five yards. He clipped a target onto some clips then wheeled it on a wire about half way down range. He pointed to the pistol and the box of shells and said, "Show me."
I stood in front of the little table, picked up the pistol and checked the chamber then thumbed the action a couple of times to get the feel. I sighted the pistol down range with one hand, then two hands, before laying it back on the table. I opened the box of shells then picked up the pistol and flipped over the chamber and loaded the five rounds that it held.
First using two hands, I brought the pistol up slowly cocking the hammer on the way up. When I was on target, I squeezed the trigger and hit the paper target in the center. Then to continue I pulled the hammer and fired twice more, then just pulled the trigger for the last two rounds. The paper target was in small pieces by then.
"Well, you seem to know how to shoot that thing, now how about some distance." He wheeled the small target in then put a larger cardboard target in the clips and wheeled it to the far end of the range.
This time I had to dump the empty brass before I could reload. I filled the chamber again and seated it, but this time when I raised the pistol, I used only one hand. Again, I cocked the hammer as I brought the pistol up on target, and squeezed the trigger. I hit the target center then squeezed off the last four rounds hitting the target near dead center each round.
"Damn, you can shoot."
"Actually, I have one of these and do get to shoot fairly often. Can I see if Sue can shoot it?"
"Be my guest."
I dumped the brass and laid the piece on the table. Sue came up and loaded the gun, with two hands she cocked the gun on the way up, and fired when she was on target. She hit the target, but way on the high side. She corrected and fired again this time a little low. Her third through fifth round was as good as mine, dead center.
"Little lady, you can shoot too. You guys want two of these for your trip?"
"One should be enough. We'll pay for the rounds we used and buy an extra box. Hopefully we won't see a bear that we would have to use this on."
"You be careful up in the bush. There are some people up there that think city folks are toys. If they come up on you, don't be afraid to shoot first and talk later. Now have good time."
We loaded up, complete with a couple pans to use for real panning for gold.
Back at the hotel, we spent the afternoon renewing our physical commitment to each other, knowing it might be a few days before we had the privacy or opportunity to play.
We had dinner with the guide as planned, describing everything we had purchased.
The next morning, we were up early packing. We packed what we were taking with us and what we were leaving with the hotel until we returned. John Stevens, our pilot and guide, said we shouldn't take all of our luggage with us and advised us to take only what we could backpack.
Sue and I agreed we should call home to see how they were doing. It was six-thirty here, so it would be nine-thirty at home, so we called the shop. Ruth cheerfully answered S&S Enterprises. When she heard my voice, she squealed with excitement, asking how our vacation was going. I told her we were in Alaska, about to take a trip out to the Yukon. She told me all was well at home and said she would send me to Tiny so he could fill me in.
Tiny sounded on top of the world. "We had our best week ever last week. It must have been because you were out of town, ha, ha. So far Steve, everything is running smooth. Your men are putting out product, and Phil's staff is bringing in the orders, a regular business. Across the street the plant is turning out merchandise at a record clip. So far everything is going smooth."
I asked if there was anything he needed my input on, but he said everything was under control. I told him Sue would call across the street when I hung up. Tiny assured me everything there and at home was in good shape. I told him I would call when we got back from the Yukon.
Sue called and spoke to Betty, then to all the other girls at once on a speakerphone. They told her all of the new products were online, plus they were coming up on being ahead of schedule for the previously contracted goods. Again they gave Sue encouraging news that everything was fine.
When we were finished with the calls, Sue and I agreed we would have to take vacations more regularly. We also agreed that we needed to begin sending our key staff on vacations so they would be refreshed as well.
We took a taxi out to the airport to meet John. When we asked directions to where he had his plane, the man working at the small aircraft counter pointed toward the end of the runway where there was a lake. He said he would have one of the flight line men drive us down.
An old guy in a pickup drove us to the lake where there were dozens of seaplanes tied up to docks. John had his plane tied up out at the end of one long dock, ready to go. As we approached the plane, Sue said, "That's a Cessna 185. That airplane is supposed to be one of the best seaplanes there is, plus it is known as a great bush plane."
"How do you know about airplanes?"
"I took flying lessons for a year and got my license, but then when I got hurt I didn't go back for another physical. One of these days I'm going to fly again."
I said, "I used to belong to a flying club in the service, but after I finished flying school I was only able to fly about thirty hours. I signed up for instrument school but never did get to finish. If you begin flying again, I'll take lessons and learn with you."
Before we loaded our packs, John wanted to check our gear. He looked over our cooking gear and ready to eat meals, along with some freeze dried meals saying he thought we were ready. He was happy to see we had a camping burner with a coffeepot, as he had failed to pack one.
John loaded our packs and stowed the rifle with his behind the rear seat. I told him that Sue might want to sit in the right seat with him so she could enjoy flying with him, as she used to fly. John said he would gladly let her help fly out to our destination.
After giving the plane a thorough pre-flight inspection, we strapped in and started the plane. This Cessna was only two years old. John said that the man that had sent us on our cruise, and up to him, had helped him buy the new plane after a drunk boater hit his old one. The little plane was powerful, reaching take-off speed on the water in a relatively short distance.
Three hours later we landed at a small lake that John said was a good refueling point. We stretched our legs, had lunch and refueled before taking off on the second leg of the journey. This time we flew for almost four hours before descending onto a lake joining a fairly large community.
We taxied up to a dock where a man pulled the plane around and tied it up next to dock. John gave the attendant instructions to refuel the plane and to do a hundred-hour inspection for him. We took our gear, then found his contact that had a four-door four-wheel drive pickup truck that was going to take us out to the trail where we were going to hike. The bed contained two huskies that seemed to be friendly when Sue immediately began petting them.
On the way, the driver told us that we needed to be alert as there had been a couple of grizzly attacks, and that there were some pretty mean thieves that were preying upon tourists around the area.
John told the man he thought we would be okay as he was prepared for both eventualities. The man cautioned us again saying some of the men out here in the bush were not nice guys and could be very ruthless. "Just watch out for yourselves."
When we arrived at the drop off point, the man gave us a leash and told us to hold on to the dog as she was going with us. He said having a dog was good luck out in the bush. He had Sue hold the dog, telling her the dog's name was Sadie. The man gave us some dog food to carry with us, but said Sadie would prefer red meat if we would get it for her.
We were planning to go up this trail about twenty miles. The last ten miles would be next to a fast flowing stream that we could try for some gold in a couple of places.
The first day we walked the first ten miles easily until we came upon the stream. There were some areas on the shore with numerous small rocks so John gave us a demonstration as to how to pan for gold. He scooped down into the water bringing up a half a pan full of tiny rocks and sand along with a lot of water. He swished the water round in the pan pouring sand out a little at a time. Since gold is heavier than the rock or sand, it stays in the pan while the chad, as he called it flowed out. It took him several pans of water to finally get down to a couple tiny flakes. John took out a little leather pouch and put the two small pieces into it. "See, there is gold in them there hills."
Sue and I tried several pans of gravel and sand but only came out with one piece of gold each. The entire time we were near the water, Sadie sat near us, seeming happy to be with us.
We decided to set up camp and stay there for the night as we had water and a flat place to pitch our tents. It didn't take long to get the big tent up and water boiling for coffee.
John said for us to sit and watch while he procured dinner. About fifteen yards from our camp site was some rougher water as it flowed down and over rocks and boulders. Steve pulled a collapsible net from his pack and went to stand on a boulder in the middle of the stream. Fish were jumping up the short level from the stream area we were on to the a little higher pool a foot or two above. With an ease that told of years of experience, Steve caught two large fish then hopped back to the shore and carried them to camp.
"Do you know how to clean salmon?" John asked me.
"You want them filleted, just gilled, or skinned?"
"Fillet them, and I'll go get a couple more so Sadie can eat with us," John answered while heading back to his ambush spot.
I took the fish down to the stream to fillet them, and had just finished the two when John brought two more large salmon. Within a few minutes big breaded salmon fillets were in the frying pan, while some freeze dried potatoes and green beans were expanding in some boiling water.
John explained that this was one of the benefits of staying next to a stream, as at this time of year, salmon were running up river to their spawning beds. He said that shortly we could almost hand catch the female salmon as they came off the beds as they would be too tired and listless to avoid being caught.
Before we got into the tent and our sleeping bags, we hoisted all our food and cooking gear high in the air in a bear bag so big furry critters couldn't help themselves to our food.
The cold weather, the hike, and the excitement of our first day had us asleep in minutes, with Sadie snuggled up to Sue and I.
I woke to Sadie licking my ear. She obviously wanted me to get up so I scooted out of the sleeping bag trying not to wake up Sue or to disturb John. John rolled over and said, "Thought you were going to sleep all day." I laughed and looked at my watch, it said five-thirty.
"Guess it is time to get moving. I'll get some coffee water going before I wake Sue." She had a big day yesterday, and as yet, I didn't know how being pregnant was going to affect her usual exuberance.
"I'm awake," Sue said. "Sadie was licking my ear before yours. I think she needs to go out."
As soon as I unzipped the tent, Sadie was out the opening like a shot. I put on fresh socks then my boots to start the day. Waking up in a tent when it is barely above freezing is a shock. When that cold morning air hits you, you need the bushes quick. I joined Sadie in relieving my morning needs.
I had coffee water boiling when John said he would give us a Northern treat this first morning. He started a frying pan with a piece of bacon then when it was done added shortening until it was at least a quarter inch deep. He rolled flour with egg and brown sugar into balls then dropped them into the grease. When it was time to eat them he had some packets of maple syrup to spread over the delicious balls of fried dough. John said there were many variations you could make using onions or pieces of meat. Sort of like a doughy omelet.
While we ate, we gave Sadie some of her dog food that we had soaked with hot water. She ate heartily, licking out the gold pan we used for her dish.
We cleaned up burying our scrap and the grease. Once we were packed again, John suggested we should carry our rifles loaded from this point on as the area had bears and could even have some of the roaming thieves we had heard of.
Before I put on my backpack, I got out my shoulder rig, loaded the forty-four and holstered it. As I was doing this Steve asked, "Can you shoot that thing?"
Sue spoke up, "That's what the guy at the gun store asked. Steve is as good with that thing as most are with a rifle."
I had to tone it down a little. "I can't hit much at a hundred yards, but if I'm within forty to fifty, I can usually hit what I shoot at."
"I'll have to get a shoulder holster," John said. "I never thought of that. It keeps the pistol off your hip where it brushes on everything but is out of the way of your backpack. I tried to carry a pistol but it was too much trouble. Your idea is a good one, where did you learn to do it that way?"
"Most Special Forces people carry handguns in a shoulder rig. It's that last measure of defense and it needs to be easy to get at but not in the way when you're using your rifle."
John thought for a moment and asked, "Did you get hurt in the military? I noticed both of you limp a little."
"Yeah, I got hurt in Desert Storm. Sue was in am automobile accident. We do fine though, we don't even realize we're limping unless we're very tired."
"You did great yesterday. Let's go up to this next pool and pan a little then we'll go up stream another ten miles or so. I have a little cabin up there that will be our base camp for a couple of days."
We walked the quarter mile to the little pool that John talked about. It was fairly deep but you could see many fish swimming beneath the clear water. The bottom and shore was covered in sand and small rocks.
All three of us panned for about an hour. Sue found two small nuggets while John and I added a few flakes of gold to our pouches. While we were playing on the shore, Sadie had ranged out from us. We heard a commotion in the brush then Sadie came back, proudly displaying a large snowshoe rabbit.
John cleaned the rabbit quickly while I built a small fire so we could cook the rabbit a little for Sadie. The man who had lent her to us had said she liked to have her kills cooked a little, but would eat them raw if we didn't. She was a good companion so it didn't hurt to indulge her.
After Sadie had eaten and we had cleaned up and repacked, we walked the next ten miles, arriving at the cabin around one. John went through the cabin saying that usually there are signs of people having stayed there at one time or another, but none this time. He said the cabin was known by many trail people and was used as a stopover as there was fresh water from the stream, plus he had a privy. There were not many places around that had facilities, so his cabin was popular just for that.
Inside the cabin, he showed us that it was divided into three sections. There were two small rooms with cots and one large room with a big fireplace and what could be considered a kitchen area. The center of the room was taken up with a rough-hewn table and benches. The furniture was four large rocking chairs grouped around the fireplace.
The kitchen area had a large wood stove. On the wall was what looked like a cupboard. When you opened the door, the cupboard was deep and went to the outside. The outside area was covered with wrought iron bars and heavy mesh wire with screen wire on the inside of that. Steve explained that it was the refrigerator. The only problem was during the winter, it became a freezer. He said when the weather was really warm and the temperature got up to the sixties, you just put the stuff that you wanted cooled into a mesh bag and put it in the stream. He said it was almost always around forty degrees in the water.
John then showed us his bathtub and shower contraption. In one corner of the big room he had an old tub with a canvas water bag over it. He said you just filled it with warm water and when you wanted spray, you pulled the handle and that let water rain down on you. He said it was easy to fill the bag mostly full of cold water, then heat a bucket in the fireplace and warm up the water in the bag.
The first thing was to cut some firewood. John had what looked like half a cord cut but said we would go through a lot of wood quickly. He led me out to the woods where, with a two-man saw, we cut up a downed tree and dragged chunks of it back to the cabin to split. We spent the rest of the day cutting and splitting wood, plus making kindling for the stove. He said we could cut some more, but we had enough for several days.
Before supper, he took us to his special panning place. John explained that every winter, more rock and sand washed down from within the mountain where a big spring came from. The stream also washed down to this point as well so there was new rock and sand every year and that it almost always had lots of small nuggets plus lots and lots of gold flakes.
Sue instantly found another fairly good-sized nugget. John and I each found small ones plus all three of us found several flakes. John said that tomorrow we would get a shovel out and use his screens to filter through the gravel. He said he usually got enough from this spot to carry him through the next winter.
Sadie enjoyed her time around the cabin exploring all round and coming back with another rabbit. This time after cleaning the rabbit, we cooked it in the fireplace while we were preparing some MREs for us. John suggested we hunt a deer so we would have some fresh meat for all of us for a couple of days. He said he didn't want a moose as we would waste too much meat, but there were plenty of deer in the area.
That night, Sue and I blew up our portable air mattress and spread our sleeping bags out so we could zip them together. We both washed up real good before bed then enjoyed some matrimonial coupling while Sadie looked on.
John had suggested that we leave the little room doors open so Sadie could roam the cabin as she wanted, but I think that as soon as Sue and I settled down she was curled up at our feet.
I woke up hearing a low growl in Sadie's throat. It took me a minute to understand that Sadie was standing in the room at the door with her fur up around her neck.
I slid out of the bag and hurriedly dressed, including my shoulder rig. As I walked out to the big room with my rifle in hand, I saw John at the front window looking out. He turned to me and said, "We have a large grizzly poking around out there. Sadie woke me up before she got you up. You think Sue would want to see a grizzly?"
"I'll get her. She wouldn't want to miss this."
Sue was up and dressed in a minute then stood at the window with us as the grizzly roamed around in the yard. He came up to door and pushed on it but it had a huge log across it holding it shut. He looked in the window and snorted but mostly just walked back and forth in the yard. At one time he went to the treasured privy and pushed and banged on it then lost interest and wandered off into the woods.
"That's why the privy is built like a bunker. The damn bears love to knock over outhouses. You have to build them with several layers of logs so they can't be pushed over or torn down."
John looked at his watch and said, "It's five so why don't we make breakfast then get started on finding some gold. This afternoon we'll climb up this little mountain so you can see out over the stream and the far valley."
Powdered eggs and some bacon, along with some biscuits and gravy, are a perfect breakfast. John said we were going to have to get some more fish as they made a great breakfast.
When some time had passed, John said we could go out to the outhouse now and Sadie could run a while. He said dogs were smart enough to not chase a bear unless they were threatening their people.
We were very successful all morning. By the time we broke for some coffee and lunch, we had a small mound of nuggets that we heaped together on the table. John said, "Another day like this and I won't even have to fly tourist around for another year. You guys are good luck charms for me. All three of us are going to have some big bucks when we get back."
It took us over two hours to climb the little mountain. There was a game trail that went up the side, but it was steep and narrow. You had to be careful because if you slipped off the trail, you would slide hundreds of feet down the side before you could stop yourself.
We didn't go all the way to the top but to a flat open area about hundred feet from the top. Steve said this was one of his favorite camping places but it got cold and windy at night. Since the day was clear and cold, you could see probably thirty to fifty miles out over a long valley between two groups of low mountains. We were told we were at about three thousand feet above sea level where we stood and over a thousand feet above the cabin. You could see the trail of the stream as it meandered through the heavily forested valley below. Far away, you could see smoke coming up. Steve said there was a couple of families that lived about fifteen miles that way and would possibly come over while we were there on their four wheel buggies.
We spent most of an hour looking at the beautiful sights. I asked John why there wasn't snow where we were and he said they had a warm snap that had cleared the snow off the lower mountains and most of the valley, but it was still early enough that we could see some snow before we left.
Walking back down the narrow game trail was as hard as walking up as you were constantly trying to keep from sliding down the steep trail. When we arrived back at the cabin, Steve said that he was going to get us a small deer and that we should keep Sadie inside until he got back. John had a 30.06 with a breakaway scope that he took off before he left the cabin. I guess he figured on a shot of less that a hundred yards considering he was going to use open sights.
It couldn't have been fifteen minutes until we heard the crack of the rifle. Twenty minutes later, John came dragging a small deer to the cabin clearing. We dug a deep hole under a tree where we hoisted the deer up and stripped it of its hide. John said we were not going to save the hide or head, but we would salvage the brains, heart, and liver for Sadie. With buckets of fresh water from the clear stream, we washed the carcass and began butchering it into steaks and roasts. Inside the house, we cleared the table then put a big plastic cover over it so we could finish trimming the bones. When we were finished, we had pans and bags of meat for the refrigerator. I took all of the uneatable scraps and bones to the pit beneath the tree then filled it in, firmly tamping down the dirt. We probably should have done this farther from the cabin but the hole was deep enough that a wolf would probably give up before it dug halfway down.
That night, we roasted the chest of the deer in the fireplace with a low fire. John sprinkled spices on the meat as it turned and in about two hours, we had what could be described as barbecued deer ribs. They were delicious. Sadie had a bunch of good meat to eat, plus a leg bone we had saved and boiled for her.
That evening we heard the sound of four wheel vehicles out in the woods but they were a long way off.
All of us woke around five thirty, ready for another day in the wilderness. The first thing John did was get down a fishing pole and big net that was up in the rafters and we three headed to the stream. It took him only a couple of minutes to drag up a couple of salmon for breakfast. He had me fillet the fish while he caught a couple more. He said he was going to roast these over the fireplace like he was smoking them.
By having the wood burning stove going to cook breakfast and heat, John could use the fireplace as a smoker. He said we would have some great smoked salmon tonight.
While we ate, we could hear the motorized four wheelers get closer. They seemed to be moving pretty fast. John said it was probably the family on the other side of the valley, but wondered why they would have spent the night out. When we finished and cleaned up from breakfast, he said we might wait before going out to pan.
John motioned me outside and said, "You never know what the sound of a four wheeler will bring out here. Not to scare Sue, but you should get your rifle and put it where you can get at it. When these people get here, have Sue stay away from windows or the door so they don't see we have a woman with us. When we go back in, open both the windows so if something happens we don't break the glass."
I was shaking my head, "Damn, I wish I had bought another rifle for Sue or another pistol. She could protect herself if she needed to."
"Can she shoot?"
"She's a good shot with a pistol, but hasn't had too much experience with a rifle."
John thought for a minute then said, "Come inside, I have just the thing."
John went into the room he was sleeping in and came out with fabric bag. Inside was an old Colt .45 that looked to be in mint condition. I took the piece then spread out the cloth and broke the gun down inspecting all springs, barrel and firing mechanisms. When I put the piece back to together, using some gun oil John gave me, I handed the .45 to Sue and asked, "What do you think."
"It's heavier than my Glock, but it feels good. Am I going to need this?"
John said, "You hear those motors. It would be strange if the family from the other side of the valley stayed out overnight, so since we don't know who's coming, why not be prepared."
Sue dropped the clip and began putting rounds into it. When it was full she slid the clip in the butt, chambered a round, lowered the hammer then dropped the clip to put one last round in it. She looked up at a stunned John and said, "Ready."
"Guess that answers that," John said. "Now you stay away from sight so if these are not good guys they won't know there is a woman here. Women are pretty valuable and you would be a big prize for some men. Keep Sadie inside so there is just a little more protection for you."
Sue had Sadie lay at her feet and petted her. Sadie was a savvy dog and seemed to know what to do.
About that time four motorized four-wheelers came into the cabin clearing and stopped about thirty feet from the door. Two of the four-wheelers were pulling trailers. That would account for them not traveling very fast.
"Hello the cabin," yelled one of the men on a four-wheeler.
I watched them all through the open window and none were doing anything that would make you think that there was a problem. John opened the door and stood in the doorway with door half-open. His hand was resting on his rifle propped at the door. "What can I do for you men?"
"How about some hospitality, a cup of coffee would be good," another of the men said.
One man on the far left, out of sight of John but still in my view, got off his machine and was unzipping his coat while he was moving. When he pulled the side of his coat back I could see he had a pistol in a belt holster and was reaching for it. Without even thinking I raised the .308 pump and knocked the man off his feet. The other three men were diving off their machines and obviously scrambling to get weapons. John blasted the nearest guy while I could see a head sticking up over the side of another machine. I put a round through his head and immediately swung the gun while pumping another round into the chamber just as the last man raised up with a rifle. Steve and I fired at the same time sending the man backward a couple of feet.
I pushed John out the door while pulling my pistol heading to the first man. John started at the right end of the four and began checking there. When we were done checking the downed men, we realized Sue was standing on the small porch with the .45 in both hands, ready for whatever might happen with Sadie right at her knee.
Sue was first, "What was that all about?"
"Don't know but two of these four-wheelers look like ones that belong to the family across the valley," Steve said. "We're going to have to go see about them. Let's see if these guys have any identification and see what they have with them."
We checked through all their pockets but found only one man with any form of identification. He had a Canadian driver's license and a U.S. social security card, but little else to show who he was. We began going through their packs and then the trailers. One trailer had about six full five-gallon jerry cans of gas along with most of case of oil. There also were some tools and extra spark plugs along with some wire, connectors and small parts. They had a couple of extra tires and a few tubes with patch kits and a hand pump. They were well prepared four-wheelers. The other trailer had clothes, several boxes of ammo plus a surprise, a box of cash and a metal box full of gold nuggets. The box was big enough to weight probably forty pounds.
John said we were going to have to bury these guys or scavengers would come up to tear them apart. We went about a hundred yards from the cabin and within a clearing we dug a very big, very deep hole then dumped all four of them inside.
John looked over the four-wheelers then said that we should be fine going over to the families place and back without needing more fuel if we topped off before we left. Sue had never driven one so John gave her some lessons and had her drive all around the cabin plus up and down the trail by the stream.
I fixed us some lunch, plus made up a bag with some trail food. We packed our backpacks then took off. We didn't go very fast probably ten to fifteen miles an hour over a fairly good trail. We were feeling pretty good about the family, as we saw where the men had come onto the trail about half way out.
It took about an hour half to come up to the little farm. There were three houses and a pretty big barn. John stopped out in the middle of yard and told us all to get off and hold our hands high. He yelled, "Hello the house, this is John. I've come to see if you all are alright."
Doors to all three of the houses opened and people streamed out. It looked like three separate families with one considerably older than the other two. "John, I'm glad to see you. Where did you find our motors? We had some ruffians come through here a couple of weeks ago, but we held them off from the house. They ended up stealing two of our motors and some gas but gave up on getting inside. The bastards broke some windows though."
John explained what happened this morning and said he had recognized the four-wheel vehicles as theirs. He said we were going to have to get back to where they could report what had happened.
The oldest man said, "Let me try to get the Ranger station on the radio. He'll tell you what to do. I reported that we had been set upon by those men, but they have not called me back yet."
The older man was introduced as Ben. The family had us all come inside, including Sadie, while Ben used the radio to contact the Ranger station. John had to get on the microphone for a little to explain what had happened and what we had done with the bodies. He gave the Ranger the name on the one piece of identification he had. There was a long pause and the Ranger came back with, "That guy is wanted for a bunch of killings over in the territory (Northwest Territory). We think that group may be responsible for robbery and killings over in Wilmuth last week. We'll meet you at your cabin tomorrow, John. We'll come up with a cart to haul the bodies back so we can identify them. We'll be riding the red, white and blue four wheelers so you'll know us."
The family insisted we eat with them then, they had two of the younger men ride double and John rode another young man double and we rode back to our cabin. The boys looked through the stuff in the wagons but said none of it looked like their stuff. John made them take one of the wagons along with the gas and cans after we topped off the two remaining four-wheelers.
"Well, what do you think? Have enough excitement in the Alaskan wilderness for you yet?" John asked as we were having a cup of coffee at the table. "There's more gold here than we could find in a month of good panning. I'm ready to head back, and after we settle up all this stuff, we could go somewhere else if you want."
Sue looked at me then at John, "I guess we can't get away from crazy people, even up here in Alaska. We took this vacation to get away from the nut cases, but here we are, right back where we were, only colder."
"You know we could go to Hawaii if you wanted. There are flights from Anchorage to Hawaii every day." I offered in an attempt to lighten up the mood.
"That's a good idea, honey. Let's call Mom and Uncle Ben and have them meet us. Oh yeah, call Abe and Phil and tell them to meet us too. Have Tiny take it out of the company and we'll all have a week in Hawaii before we have to go back to work."
It was at that point that John asked, "What do you two do?"
Two hours later, our eyes were drooping and we said goodnight. I'm sure John had a hard time believing the story of what we did for a living.
I woke up near six with Sadie dancing around wanting to go out. I wasn't being a good woodsman as I didn't look outside but just opened the door. Sadie blasted past me which made me think she had to go bad but there was an instant racket growling and chewing noises along with curses from someone.
I grabbed my rifle by the door and swung it open to find a guy trying to get away from Sadie. There was a rifle at his feet but Sadie wasn't going to let him get at it. After leveling my rifle at him I hollered at Sadie, "Down." Sadie let the man go but sat right on the rifle in front of him.
"What were you doing out here?" I asked as the man who was holding his chewed hand.
"None of your fucking business, get that damn dog away from me."
John spoke up from behind me, "I think you need some manners. Steve asked you what you were up to."
The man looked down at Sadie and his rifle then back up at us pointing two rifles at him. He just shook his head then began backing up.
"Stay where you are. Don't move again or I will shoot you where you stand. Raise your arms away from your body. Steve go in and get some of that nylon rope in the left storage box by the fireplace."
When I came through the door, Sue was standing holding the .45 at the side of the door. I got the rope then went out. I made a couple of loops then tied his hands behind him then wrapped enough rope around his hands and arms that Houdini couldn't get out of it.
John began searching the guy by first unzipping his parka, only to find a pistol in a holster, then a another pistol in the back of his waistband. He found a large hunting knife in a sheath, plus an automatic knife in his pocket. Along with the weapons, we found three wallets with three separate identities. None of the photo IDs looked like the guy tied up.
John said, "This is probably a friend to the others. Let's just shoot him and save Alaska the money to prosecute him."
"Where are the others?" The man asked becoming animated. "You better let me go, those guys will kill you for sure for tying me up."
"On the other hand, John, I don't feel like digging those guys up until the Ranger gets here," I said off handedly.
"What do you mean dig them up?" Our captive was getting the idea.
John smiled at him then said, "They were about as friendly as you are. We had to bury them so the scavengers wouldn't tear up the evidence."
The man just sank down on the ground and sat. John immediately started pulling off the guys boots, looking inside for more weapons then patted his legs down to make sure there wasn't anything else hidden. We put the guy's boots back on him but didn't lace them up.
Sue fixed us breakfast and we even shared some oatmeal with the idiot sitting on the ground. Sadie was still sitting staring at the guy. She wouldn't even leave for breakfast. Sue went out and took her by the collar and took her over to the tree line where she immediately squatted. You could almost hear Sadie sigh with relief. When she was done she went right back to the guy and sat staring again.
About nine o'clock, six large four-wheelers painted red, white, and blue came roaring up the trail. Three of them were pulling carts. Once we made sure they were all Rangers we told them about the guy tied up then walked four of them back to the burial site of the other four.
The two Rangers left in the cabin yard put handcuffs and ankle cuffs on the captive. They searched him by stripping him down but didn't find anything additional on him. John and I gave the Rangers all of the guy's guns and knives, plus the three wallets. They commented that this solved three recent murders and they wouldn't be surprised if he and his friends were responsible for the mini crime wave that had happened up here in the Yukon lately. The four other Rangers had dug up the four and put them in body bags and put them in the carts. They chained up the captive and put him in the third cart.
One of the Rangers that had been digging said, "Why didn't you just shoot this guy when you saw him? Your dog knew he wasn't any good. It would have saved us a lot of trouble. Maybe he'll fall out of the cart on the way back."
We made a lunch out of the deer meat we had and fed everyone deer, freeze dried vegetables, and coffee. We even snacked on the smoked salmon John made the day before.
The head Ranger had been on his radio and had checked the serial numbers on the two four-wheelers still at the cabin. He said they were both stolen and would appreciate it if we would ride them back to town and leave them with the Ranger there. John suggested we could ride them back to the lake airport and leave them there so we wouldn't have to call the guy out to drive us back. The Ranger said that would be fine as there was a Ranger stationed there as well. He would let them know we would be coming.
They left us ten gallons of gas in two cans then took off for the twenty-five mile trek back to their base. We three wondered if the silent captive would reach jail.
Since it was still early, Sue wanted to pan for gold one last time before we left. We found a couple of dozen more fair sized nuggets plus a small handful of gold flakes.
Back in the cabin John said, "I thought we might ride the four-wheelers all the way to the plane so we could load up the gold there before flying back. No sense in advertising that we have that much gold on us. The assayer's office at the place where we will refuel is a good one and it will be a good place to convert what we have to cash. I'm for splitting everything we have three ways, does that sound fair to you?"
"More than fair John, this is your land and your gold so you should get more of what we found," I said.
"Naw," John began, "the bulk of the gold we have is the stuff we took off the bad guys. We all had a part of getting that. The rest is a bonus. I'll be fixed for a couple of years and you two can use it for your vacation. It's settled, we'll split it three ways."
That night we cleaned up the cabin and stowed everything, making it ready for visitors or for John's next visit. We left the bulk of the extra food we had at the cabin, taking only some emergency rations.
The next morning we were on the road by a chilly seven o'clock. John rode the single four-wheeler while Sue and I took the machine with the trailer. Sadie alternately ran beside us or jumped into the trailer to sit and watch the forest go by.
We made the whole trip back to the airport in a little over two hours. There we loaded our backpacks and the gold into the plane then turned the four-wheelers over to the resident Ranger who was expecting us.
We called the man who had lent us Sadie and waited till he came out to pick her up. We thanked him profusely for the dog, saying we wished we could take her with us. John had the perfect thank you. He gave Sue a handful of nuggets and nodded to the guy.
Sue said to the man, "Thank you for letting us keep Sadie with us. She probably saved our lives." With that she let the nuggets dribble into the man's hand. His eyes were huge at the sight.
All he could do was "Uh, uh, ah." We left him staring at his hand.
John and Sue pre-flighted the plane then John asked Sue if she wanted to take off. Sue was excited, as she had never taken off on water. John had her sit in the left seat saying he could watch from the right perfectly fine.
Sue did great taking off and flew us to our refueling point. There John talked her into landing on water, another first for Sue. The lake there was perfectly calm with the sun shining off the water. It was difficult to tell exactly how far off the water you were. John said the lake was plenty big enough so just keep flying and dropping down till you finally touch the water, then you can cut the power and drift.
Sue did fine. She was very excited to have landed by herself.
We took an airport pickup taxi to the assayer's office with all of the gold. It took them over an hour to inspect, weigh, and type the gold. When we were done, they said we would have to take a check as they didn't have that much cash in house. Sue told them just one check. It was for two hundred and seventy thousand dollars. John said he had thought it might be more but he never was good at judging weight and price.
On the second leg of the trip, John had her do the flying plus checked her out on her instrument ability. She flipped switches and dialed dials, making contact with air traffic controllers, making a flight plan, then getting permission to land at the busy water airport where we eventually landed. Sue taxied right up the tiedown docks drifting up to it where John stepped out of the plane right onto the dock. He pulled some bumpers out then tied the plane up. An attendant came out with a cart for our luggage. John gave the attendant a list of things to do to the plane and said he probably wouldn't be using it for a month, so they could tie it up out of the way.
We hauled our gear back up to John's truck and piled it in the back. He asked where we wanted to go. I asked him if he would take us to the merchant that we had bought all our gear from first.
The store owner said, "You didn't stay up there long."
When he heard of all the excitement he understood that we probably were ready to leave. We told him it had been a great time and we would probably do it again soon. We sold him back all of our gear, plus the guns. We gave him the leftover ammunition but then had him outfit John with a shoulder rig and a good Glock. John was excited to have a new toy and said he would be back at the merchant's place to learn to shoot it.
John wanted to go to the bank, but we said to just take us back to the hotel. When we pulled the few things out of the back of the truck, Sue told John, We didn't pay you for flying us all around and we didn't pay you for your guide services, so we want you to keep the whole check. Enjoy it. Perhaps you can give us a ride the next time we're up here."
John couldn't believe it. "You don't want this money? Any of it?"
"We're fine John, you deserve it," I said.
"Tell you what," John said, "you two meet me in the lobby tomorrow morning at eight. I'll have a surprise for you." Sue and I checked back in the hotel and had our stored luggage brought up to the room. We showered and washed our hair for what seemed like hours until we finally felt we were clean. We went to the hotel restaurant for supper then went back to the room where we loved each other till we fell asleep.
Sue and I woke at six, showered then went to the restaurant for breakfast. At eight we met John in the lobby.
"First we need to walk just down the street. Sue has an appointment there," John began.
"What kind of appointment John?" Sue asked.
"You'll see," he said.
We entered a doctor's office and the receptionist handed Sue a clipboard with a few sheets of questionnaire on it. As Sue was reading it over she had got a big smile on her face and began filling it out.
John was looking over her shoulder and suddenly asked, "You're pregnant?"
"A little over a month," Sue answered.
"If I'd known that I would have never taken you up there. That's too dangerous for someone that's going to have a baby."
Sue smiled and answered as she finished the form, "Not to worry. The little Stevie I have in here is just as tough as his old man."
Sue handed the completed forms back to the lady then was told to follow her back to an examination room.
Fifteen minutes later the doctor and Sue came out with him handing her a form saying, "You passed your flight physical fine. You might want to be careful around your due date, as flying at higher altitudes in unpressurized aircraft can induce labor.
We walked back to the hotel then John drove us back out to the airport. He herded us into an office with "FAA" on the door. There John filled out some forms then asked the clerk there if she had gotten the information he had asked her for yesterday. John gave her the form then received back a card about the size of a driver's license.
"Here you are, Sue," John said handing the card to Sue. "This is your renewed license complete with water endorsement. I see you already have an endorsement for a tail dragger and for multi-engine so you are fixed up. I'm an IP and make most of my income teaching. Guiding and bush flying is only about a third of my living. Now, I'm willing to call us even."
Sue was so excited she couldn't speak. With water coming to her eyes she grabbed John and gave him a hug then reached up and kissed his cheek. "This is the best vacation a girl could ever have."
John drove us back to the hotel and told us to be sure to call him and let him know about the baby.
Inside the hotel Sue wanted to eat then call home to tell everyone to get ready to go to Hawaii. We had a real light lunch then Sue began her calls. Beth said she would talk to Ben then wait for Sue to call back. I called Abe and asked if he and Alice could get away for a week. He could, but wanted to know what for. I told him that I would have a ticket for Alice and him to go to Hawaii in his hands by tomorrow morning. I asked him to send me to Phil.
Phil couldn't shut up long enough for me to ask him anything as he had been making big deals daily lately. I finally asked him to give me to Judy.
When I asked Judy if she could get Phil ready to go to Hawaii for a week, I heard her take a deep breath. "Are you serious Steve, you better be, I've wanted to go to Hawaii all my life. Phil keeps saying we're going but we're still not there yet."
"By tomorrow morning I'll have tickets in your hands. You two will be traveling with Abe and Alice. So go home early and get ready. I'll try to make your flight as soon as possible."
I called down to the desk and asked if they had a travel agent in house. They did, so Sue and I went downstairs to see them. When I described what I wanted, the agent became excited as it would be a good sale.
I told her I wanted the three couples to fly out of Tampa ASAP, first class, and for Sue and I to fly out tonight or tomorrow whichever they could do. She would have to have the tickets sent by courier to the Tampa people at the shop if it was yet today. We wanted to be at one of the best resorts there where we could travel around to the other islands as well. She would have to arrange the sightseeing for us. She told us to let her get to work and see how fast it could be done. It was one-thirty here so it would be four-thirty in Tampa.
We were in our room only a few minutes when the lady called. "You and Sue will be leaving at six this evening. Tickets have been sent to your office and should arrive any minute for them to leave in the morning. The tickets for Sue's mother are being delivered as well right now. If you will stop in the office, I'll give you the first of your itinerary and we can settle up."
Sue called her mom who said to hang on as there was someone at the door. Sue's mom came back on the phone and was flustered that she had to be ready by the morning. Sue told her to just bring some basics and they would go buy what they needed when she got there. I called the shop back and found out that Abe was leaving with tickets in hand, while Phil was sitting in his office too stunned to believe he was actually going to Hawaii. I talked to Tiny and told him to get ready as he and Ruth would be on the next group.
We showered and dressed in our better clean clothes, then hauled our luggage downstairs. The travel agent swiped my card and handed us a bunch of printed material, along with some brochures. The last thing she handed to us was our plane tickets. "I got you first class tickets, just like you asked me to get the other folks. Is that alright?"
I just smiled and said, "Perfect. Good job."
Sue and I walked out to the lobby and had the concierge get us a taxi to the airport. Once there we checked in then went to the airport restaurant where I had a beer for the first time in a several days.
When the plane loaded, Sue and I had great seats in the front of first class. We would pick up a couple of hours on the way, but it would still be near midnight when we landed.
The food on board was special, as was the service. I had a couple of martinis with dinner then settled back with a glass of wine, while we looked through our itinerary and the brochures, before we both snoozed for a while. We woke a little after eleven and had a cup of coffee during the descent. By the time the hostesses had picked up everything, we were landing in Honolulu.
When we exited the plane we were surprised to find a man holding up a sign for Steve Sharp. He asked for our luggage tags then turned to hand them to a young man beside him. We boarded one of those electric passenger carts that took us to an area where VIP limousines were parked.
The man opened the car's door and said it would be just a few minutes before our luggage would be there. Before I entered the car he leaned down and said, "I don't know who you are but you sure have the hotel staff in a tizzy. You would think the president of the company was coming."
I told him we were just average people out to have a fling, but thank you anyway for all the special treatment.
At the hotel the special treatment continued. A concierge greeted us and escorted us to the desk where I signed in. The lobby was huge and plush, probably the fanciest place I had ever seen. As soon as I had given them my credit card and completed our sign in, we were escorted to the elevator and went to the top floor where the elevator opened to a lavish suite. Sue and I both just stood there with our mouths open, the place was so awesome.
Before I could get cash from my pocket to tip the bell man he was gone. The concierge who had accompanied us said that all tips had been taken care of, our only worry was to enjoy our stay. The fancy dressed man showed us all the amenities of our suite, then asked if he could call room service for a snack before we "retired."
Sue and I both chuckled at his little speech. We thanked him and said we thought we might just go to bed, as it had been a long day. We had begun our day with the surprise of John taking Sue for her flight physical and now many hours later we were actually in a luxury resort in Hawaii. Looking out the window you could see the beach with ocean gently lapping at the water's edge. We promised each other we would enjoy the beach in the morning then took off our clothes and went to bed. We were so tired we were barely cuddled before falling asleep.