Wanted

Chapter 35

Neither Carl, nor Bert told anyone, that John's bed was empty and already made up that morning when they woke up. John often got up before them, tagging along first with their father milking the cows and then having breakfast with the men who were always first to get up. It wasn't unusual.

Just as often however John slept in with the boys. So the fact that he was missing went completely unnoticed until they all sat down for lunch, when the men had come back down from the mountain having cut down some trees for the log barn they were at this stage in the process of building. They had left early in the morning, well before the children were up to make good time of the day. The women and children thought the men had taken John with them, that was somewhat more unusual. Jeremiah preferred him staying with the other children, but occasionally Jeremiah was known to give in. Why the boy preferred the hard work alongside the men instead of being given lighter chores and time to play, no one really understood.

No one had the slightest idea what could have caused the boy to run away. Enquiries were made. Had there been an incident between the boy and the other children? Had anyone had a reason to give out to him lately? Granted, the women had been somewhat concerned about his demeanour but even they could not think of a single reason that gave the boy cause to leave.

Jeremiah got up from the table and found that the tin of food and most of John's personal belongings were still under his bed which reassured him at first. The boy must have just gone galivanting in the countryside a bit. Although without permission, which he would need to be corrected for, but it was nothing to be alarmed about. He had often done so up at the cabin. In fact, he'd been allowed to do so. He had never gone too far. Jeremiah imagined he would have to set him straight in terms of how far he was permitted to go and remind him that he was always expected to be home for the next mealtime, but because of the child's otherwise good behaviour as of late, he was happy to let him off with a mere warning. Jeremiah sat back down to finish his meal somewhat calmed, until Numees suddenly got it into her mind to check on their weapons. When she came back and reported that her bow and quiver of arrows, and also her knife had gone missing they all became gravely concerned. John had not run away, he would have never taken the weapons with the intention not to return them to Numees, but neither was this just a little excursion. He was going after something larger than a rabbit or a turkey.

"Is there a chance he knows about the cougar?" Jeremiah asked.

Enkoodabooaoo had arrived late the previous evening and reported to them that he had seen the carcass of a calf, or what little was left of it in the woods on his way down of the mountain. He was certain it was the work of a mountain lion, who had slain it probably a week or so ago. When he got down to the herd of cattle, he saw evidence of another fresh kill. It was getting dark so he continued on his way to Walls' ranch without investigating it any further.

They discussed at length what needed to be done and how. A cougar that was feeding on a herd of cattle was unusual but not unheard of. It would pick off one calf after the other. It could not be left but unless you had hounds that could sniff him out and chase him up a tree or corner him somehow, he'd be difficult to catch. A cougar was not easy to track. Even among the best hunters were many who had never gotten to even seen one. They were shy animals, that had the tendency to hide and stalk their prey. Amongst hunters it was said that it was a lot more likely the hunter was seen by the cat and followed around, than the other way around. Despite that, attacks were rare. Children were vulnerable to them and young livestock as well, but they rarely attacked a fully grown cow or adult man for that matter, unless they felt threatened.

There were two ways to catch them. One was to call them. Imitate a distress call from an injured calf or fawn or something similar. This was Matunaagd's preferred option. One had to be good at it though. Cougars weren't stupid animals and did not respond to a poor imitation.

The other option was to find their kill site or better still find their actual kill and sit on it, in the hope that they'd come back. Cougars often hide what they have killed, especially if it was something large like a calf or a deer. They'd come back and feed on it again and again, and if you were lucky, you could catch them in the act. It required patience and for the hunter to sit still for a long time. They had excellent eyes and ears, but their noses were less sensitive. This was Enkoodabooaoo's preferred way.

Jeremiah had no opinion on the matter. He never felt the need to hunt one down, nor had he ever come across one before, he told them. "Jeremiah might not have come across the cougar, but the cougar have come across Jeremiah plenty times," Matunaagd quipped good naturedly, and Jeremiah laughed with him.

According to Matunaagd it was a task for one at best two hunters but no more, the more hunters, the less likely the cat would show. They knew what he was getting at, so the plan was for him to go alone in the late afternoon. But John who was listening to all of it from upstairs on the landing had other plans.

Jeremiah looked around for the answer to his question. Everyone shook their head, and Carl was quietly pushing the pieces of meat around in his stew. No one had seen the boy this morning, so "No," no one even had had a chance to tell the boy about the cougar that had slain a calf and was to be hunted that evening, and Carl was still carefully trying to avoid eye contact with everyone, while they discussed the worrying matter at hand. But it did not go unnoticed. His father saw it.

"Carl?" was all the man had to say for the boy to get startled, "Is there something you would like to tell us?" the man asked with a quiet and calm, yet firm voice.

"No, sir," the boy tried to lie and vehemently shook his head looking up at his father while the table fell silent.

His biting his lip betrayed him though.

"Carl?" the man asked a second time stretching the sound of his son's name, in a low and dangerous voice. "Are you sure of this? You know how I feel about lying and withholding what is true is as good as lying, don't you agree?"

Carl again shook his head but then his lip started to quiver, and he no longer could hold it all in.

"He might have been sitting on the landing listening to you all last night," Carl said quietly with his head bowed as if he was addressing his bowl of stew, briefly glancing up at his father who was sitting next to him at the top of the table.

"Might have?" Jeremiah asked, getting out of his seat leaning forward towards Carl as if that allowed him to hear the boy better and made Carl look up at him in fear.

"Carl honey. This is serious. Your friend could be in danger. Tell the truth. What do you know?" Sally cooed from the other end of the table, and the first proper tears started to roll down the boy's cheeks falling into his stew, but it was not enough for Carl to spill the beans.

"Look into my eyes boy," Walls instructed his son sternly, but his son did not obey, so that Walls reached out and took Carl's chin into his large hand turning it so that the boy had no choice but to look up straight into his angry father's face. "Carl Walls, tell me, what it is you know? And do not beat around the bush no more, or you are in a world of trouble," Walls threatened which opened the flood gates behind his son's eyes completely.

"Joseph, stop it. You're scaring the boy," Sally tried to intervene.

"Scaring him?" Walls bellowed at his wife, "And what would be so wrong about that Sally. That's exactly what I am trying to do. Scaring him into telling the truth," Walls barked at his wife and then turned back to his terrified son, "now tell the truth, Carl or you and I will continue this conversation in the woodshed."

So Carl made a full confession. Carl had caught John sitting on the landing one night, a week or so ago. John had told him to go back to bed, but Carl refused and demanded he'd be allowed to stay and also listen to the adults. He told John, that if John wouldn't let him, he was going to tell. So John gave in, and together they had been listening to the adults talk every evening ever since. It had actually been rather boring, Carl admitted. But the previous night was different and afterwards John decided to sneak out before dawn, to go hunt the large cat himself.

Carl tried to stop him and threatened to wake his father or Jeremiah to tell on John, because he knew it was too dangerous and he didn't want his friend getting hurt, but then John made his own threat, Carl told them. If he told, John threatened, he would tell his father, that they had been spying on the adults for days.

He had no Pa that would switch him, was all John needed to say to Carl to keep him quiet and even got him to help him make his escape.