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.M.That’s closing time, and we don’t want any of you out here after dark.It’s eleven o’clock now.We’ve taken our time getting out here, but plan on it taking you at least an hour to get back from this point.You’re free to wander.Keep in hollerin’ distance of each other.Anyone who wants to head back now can come with us.”Fancy and Dwayne headed back with three of the canoes in their wake.Most of the others headed off toward the south, in the direction of the sandhill cranes.Rachel turned north.“Where are you going?” called Cecilia.“Everyone else is going—”“Shhhhh.” Rachel exaggerated her whisper.“I know where they’re going.” Rachel told them what she had witnessed, the loading of what looked like a gun case into the canoe, and their disappearance to the north.“I saw them, too,” confirmed Lark.“They were headed northeast,” said Rachel.“Are you sure that’s north?” asked Cecilia.“It think that’s west.”Dorothy adjusted her sun visor.“The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.Trust me, Cec, Rae’s right.That’s north.”“What do you think they were doing with a gun?” asked Cecilia.Dorothy looked at her sister askance.“Hiding the weapon that killed Becker and Knapp.”Rachel shook her head.“Why bring it this far into the swamp, or risk someone seeing them with it? No, I think they’re hunting.”Cecilia turned around and stared at Rachel.“Hunting for what?”“What do they both want dead?”The others stared at Rachel, and then one by one understanding bloomed on their faces.“Oh my.”Rachel nodded.“I think they’re planning on shooting the ivory-billed woodpecker.With both Becker and Knapp dead and the film destroyed, if the bird was gone, life reverts back to normal.The land trade will go through.Everyone gets their money.” Rachel remembered the two of them talking with Fancy and wondered if she was in on it.“But everyone heard them talking about the bird,” said Dorothy.“Someone would check it out.”“Maybe.But if no one finds anything.” Rachel paused to let her words sink in.“The deal might be delayed, but it wouldn’t be dead.”With that, Lark started paddling faster.Rachel worked to keep the canoe headed in the right direction, and Dorothy and Cecilia fell in behind, working hard to keep pace.After better than an hour of steady paddling, Dorothy yelled, “Can we stop and rest for a minute?”Rachel gladly shipped her oar.She wanted a chance to look at the map of the swamp she had bought.The laminated map opened up to about the size of an eight-by-eleven sheet of paper.Judging from where they started and where they were now, she placed them halfway between the Mizell Prairie and the Christie Prairie.Lark leaned to look over her shoulder.“How much farther do we have to go?”“We should be able to turn east somewhere in here.” Rachel pointed to the map, and held her hand up to shield her face from the sun, looking for an opening along the edge at the prairie.“Swamper’s Island isn’t on this map.”“What?” exclaimed Dorothy.“You mean to tell me we have been pushing through the floating peat and lilies, and we don’t even know where we’re headed?” She took a swig off her water bottle.“It’s already getting close to twelve-thirty.”Based on Dwayne’s instructions that meant, at a stiff clip, they were two hours from camp.That gave them two and a half hours to play with.“We need to head east.” Rachel pointed to the map.“I say we paddle another hour.Then, if we don’t find any sign of them, we turn back.”“What are we going to do if we find them?” asked Lark.That part of her plan was hazy.“Stop them from shooting the bird.”“How?” asked Lark, pulling her braids through a hole in the back of her cap and wiggling her fanny on the wide seat.The canoe rocked gently side to side.“By letting them shoot us?”“Let’s find them first,” said Dorothy, sounding more like her old self than Rachel had heard her all week.“Then we’ll think of something.Right, Rae?”Rachel smiled, hoping she exuded more confidence than she felt.“Right.”“Oh my, here we go again,” said Cecilia.They paddled a short distance farther, and then Lark discovered a path to the east.The peat bogs closed in tighter, and Rachel had a more difficult time shoving the clumps out of the way.“We’re never going to get turned around in here,” said Lark.“Stop worrying [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.M.That’s closing time, and we don’t want any of you out here after dark.It’s eleven o’clock now.We’ve taken our time getting out here, but plan on it taking you at least an hour to get back from this point.You’re free to wander.Keep in hollerin’ distance of each other.Anyone who wants to head back now can come with us.”Fancy and Dwayne headed back with three of the canoes in their wake.Most of the others headed off toward the south, in the direction of the sandhill cranes.Rachel turned north.“Where are you going?” called Cecilia.“Everyone else is going—”“Shhhhh.” Rachel exaggerated her whisper.“I know where they’re going.” Rachel told them what she had witnessed, the loading of what looked like a gun case into the canoe, and their disappearance to the north.“I saw them, too,” confirmed Lark.“They were headed northeast,” said Rachel.“Are you sure that’s north?” asked Cecilia.“It think that’s west.”Dorothy adjusted her sun visor.“The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.Trust me, Cec, Rae’s right.That’s north.”“What do you think they were doing with a gun?” asked Cecilia.Dorothy looked at her sister askance.“Hiding the weapon that killed Becker and Knapp.”Rachel shook her head.“Why bring it this far into the swamp, or risk someone seeing them with it? No, I think they’re hunting.”Cecilia turned around and stared at Rachel.“Hunting for what?”“What do they both want dead?”The others stared at Rachel, and then one by one understanding bloomed on their faces.“Oh my.”Rachel nodded.“I think they’re planning on shooting the ivory-billed woodpecker.With both Becker and Knapp dead and the film destroyed, if the bird was gone, life reverts back to normal.The land trade will go through.Everyone gets their money.” Rachel remembered the two of them talking with Fancy and wondered if she was in on it.“But everyone heard them talking about the bird,” said Dorothy.“Someone would check it out.”“Maybe.But if no one finds anything.” Rachel paused to let her words sink in.“The deal might be delayed, but it wouldn’t be dead.”With that, Lark started paddling faster.Rachel worked to keep the canoe headed in the right direction, and Dorothy and Cecilia fell in behind, working hard to keep pace.After better than an hour of steady paddling, Dorothy yelled, “Can we stop and rest for a minute?”Rachel gladly shipped her oar.She wanted a chance to look at the map of the swamp she had bought.The laminated map opened up to about the size of an eight-by-eleven sheet of paper.Judging from where they started and where they were now, she placed them halfway between the Mizell Prairie and the Christie Prairie.Lark leaned to look over her shoulder.“How much farther do we have to go?”“We should be able to turn east somewhere in here.” Rachel pointed to the map, and held her hand up to shield her face from the sun, looking for an opening along the edge at the prairie.“Swamper’s Island isn’t on this map.”“What?” exclaimed Dorothy.“You mean to tell me we have been pushing through the floating peat and lilies, and we don’t even know where we’re headed?” She took a swig off her water bottle.“It’s already getting close to twelve-thirty.”Based on Dwayne’s instructions that meant, at a stiff clip, they were two hours from camp.That gave them two and a half hours to play with.“We need to head east.” Rachel pointed to the map.“I say we paddle another hour.Then, if we don’t find any sign of them, we turn back.”“What are we going to do if we find them?” asked Lark.That part of her plan was hazy.“Stop them from shooting the bird.”“How?” asked Lark, pulling her braids through a hole in the back of her cap and wiggling her fanny on the wide seat.The canoe rocked gently side to side.“By letting them shoot us?”“Let’s find them first,” said Dorothy, sounding more like her old self than Rachel had heard her all week.“Then we’ll think of something.Right, Rae?”Rachel smiled, hoping she exuded more confidence than she felt.“Right.”“Oh my, here we go again,” said Cecilia.They paddled a short distance farther, and then Lark discovered a path to the east.The peat bogs closed in tighter, and Rachel had a more difficult time shoving the clumps out of the way.“We’re never going to get turned around in here,” said Lark.“Stop worrying [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]