Saucer in the Dunes

Part 26 Letters

That night we lay in our sleeping bags on Ronnie's bedroom floor. I wasn't asleep and could tell my buddies weren't either. We were all too scared or too ashamed to talk. What had happened anyway? We scared the pants off those bullies, that's for sure, but why did the police come? I mean, sure, we shot off some firecrackers, a bunch, but we didn't tear anything up or even hurt anyone. I could hear both Ronnie and Jimmy stirring. It was late, too; Ronnie's mom had already come home and had gone to bed. I heard every move she made, every dish she washed, every footstep, every door that creaked open, then closed. I think we all did.

"Hey, fellas?" Ronnie whispered.

Jimmy and I both answered at the same time.

"I have been thinking about it. The Chief may be right. We shouldn't be doing things like we did tonight. I mean, shooting fireworks like we did in a cemetery. Now that we're here, it just don't seem right."

"We ought not to be smokin' either," Jimmy chimed in.

"No," we agreed.

"Do you think anyone saw us?" I asked into the darkness.

It was quiet for a moment.

"No," Ronnie began.

"Maybe they saw us but didn't know it was us. Our faces were covered."

Jimmy interrupted Ronnie's answer.

"Yeah, but no way they thought it was ghosts doing all the that stuff. I mean, we scared them, but ghosts don't light off firecrackers. It's only time before they figure out who it was and rat us all out."

"It's our word against theirs," I returned, still determined not to be grounded for eternity.

"And I know we won't talk."

"The Chief knows, though."

Ronnie continued.

"I don't know why he didn't turn us in. Those guys are all in a heap of shit too. You don't just get out of trouble when the police come. They get parents involved. I don't know what was going on and why Chief got that mini-bike."

Ronnie was thinking the same things we were. Why had the Chief hidden us? What was going on in the cemetery? Were our firecrackers the reason the police got called? Were we really going to get away with it? And yeah, where did JT and the rest get a mini-bike, and why did Chief take it?

In the morning, we woke to the smell of bacon cooking. Ronnie's mom had made bacon and biscuits, and boy, were we hungry! After eating, we dressed and gathered outside to make our plans for the day. I know what I had on my mind. I wanted to get home and write a letter to Dynamite Don. I had to tell him everything we had seen in as much detail as I could. Talking to him on the radio wouldn't work, not enough time and too risky getting caught by my parents. Ronnie and Jimmy both had the same idea. They wanted to visit the reservation.

Ronnie straddled Black Beauty and told us he wanted to go to the Reservation, apologize to the Chief, and tell him that we weren't with the others in the cemetery.

"I don't know what was happening ya'll, but I want to go talk to the Chief and set things straight, thank him for not telling our folks.

We nodded in agreement, but Jimmy was worried.

"Where'd that minibike come from, and why did the Chief take it?"

We all just looked at each other and shrugged.

I told them my plans to write a letter to Don, especially after last night. We agreed to meet back at Ronnie's after lunch and go to the reservation together to clear the air.