River Rocks: A West Virginia Adventure Novel

by Steve Kittner

  It occurred to Brad, once again, that even with a good wind, coming back the other way by himself and with the sail up was going to be really tough.

  The boys rode the current for a few more yards with Brad holding the tiller and Eddie sticking the pole to keep them centered while Josh did the spotting. The current then spit the boys out the other side of the shoals and into the placid waters that seemed more like a lake than a river. It was smooth and calm and as quickly as the rapids had begun, they had ended. They had done it!

  “Whoo hooo!!!” the three of them cheered. “Yeah!”

  “Nice job guys!” Josh gushed. “Wow!”

  The kids were all grins as they all took a break and just drifted for a moment.

  “That was a rush!” Brad said, his grin still big. “That was awesome!”

  “That was fun,” Eddie agreed. “I thought we were gonna drift left and I was like Oh… Man!” Eddie illustrated by tilting his open hands at an angle.

  “I looked back and Brad’s face was as white as a ghost when we were in the shallow part.” Josh laughed. They all laughed.

  “Alright. Tater Holler…next stop!” Brad exclaimed, still smiling.

  “It’s just right up there, around where those trees are hanging out over the water,” Josh said. He indicated an area that was about a half a mile away. Just a few more minutes.

  The boys continued to drift and the warm wind continued to blow in their faces as they made their way to the landing point where Josh and Eddie would disembark and begin their land journey to find Burl Otis.

  Brad steered the craft closer to the left side of the river, gradually making their way to the wide landing where the boys could step off. There was a dirt road that ran parallel with the river at this point and just up on the riverbank a few feet. As they neared the landing, they could see that there was a small stream that flowed out of Tater Holler. It ran under a small bridge that the dirt road ran across and then under a small train bridge and then emptied out into the Elk River, just above the landing. The landing area looked much like their very own sand and rock bar that the boys spent so much time on in the summer, but this one was much less shady.

  Brad eased the raft up to the landing while Eddie slowed them down with the pole and, with a slight nudge, the raft eased to a halt perfectly at their river destination. The mouth of Tater Holler!

  “Nice job…nice job,” Eddie said, putting the pole back into its storage position.

  Josh grabbed his backpack and tossed it over onto the bank. Eddie did the same and then turned to Brad and took a deep breath. Brad stuck out his hand to Eddie and Eddie grabbed it and gave it a firm shake. “Thanks, man. It’s an awesome raft,” he said.

  “Couldn’t have done it without ya.”

  Josh patted Brad on the back with his bare hand one time. “We’ll see you in two days, O.K?”

  “I’ll be here, buddy!” Brad smiled. “Twelve o’clock noon, right?”

  “Twelve noon,” Josh confirmed.

  The two shook hands and Josh and Eddie hopped off the raft.

  “Do you want us to help set the sail before we go?” Eddie offered.

  “No, I’m not headin’ back right away. I brought my pole. I think I’ll fish a while here in the tail waters of the shoals and then go meet up with Tiny.”

  “O.K… Don’t miss the wind, though. It’d be a long pole home.”

  “You guys be careful. I’ll see you in two days.”

  Josh and Eddie Picked up their packs and made their way up the riverbank to the dirt road that ran along the river. They stood on the road and looked up at the holler where they would be hiking. There was a path that led up into the holler that the boys could start out on but would probably have to deviate from it at some point in order to find Burl Otis. They looked back down at Brad who was getting his fishing gear ready when, from up in the holler came a high velocity projectile. CRACK…CRACK…KATOOOSH!!!

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  A large stone came crashing through the tree limbs, ultimately hitting the water about five feet from Brad’s raft. Brad jumped and yelled up at the boys in disbelief, “Hey!…Whatta ya doing?”

  They paused, looking back up into the holler.

  “We didn’t do it, Brad,” Josh said. “It came from up there!”

  “Who keeps throwing stuff at us?” Eddie exclaimed.

  “I don’t know. It came way across the tops of the trees up there. Whoever it is has a good arm.” Josh replied.

  “Well, maybe they weren’t throwing at us. Maybe someone was just trying to hit the river. That’s all. We do that sometimes.”

  “Yeah. Well let’s go.” Josh wasn’t convinced.

  Josh was not going to waste any time on it. They had a long hike ahead of them and Josh and Eddie both wanted to get back to the business of treasure hunting. They had taken a couple of days off to help Brad with his raft and were itching to learn more about the night of the train robbery and what happened to that portion of the Southern Jewel.

  Early that morning, Josh had called Giselle’s cell phone and left her a message, updating her on everything that had been happening with Brad and his raft, and promised to call her when they got back from their camping trip in two days.

  Josh and Eddie had a longstanding agreement never to bring cell phones camping with them, but Josh had decided to waive that rule a bit in case Burl Otis turned out to be the monster that everyone said he was. He would leave it turned off, though, and only turn it on in an emergency situation. Other rules still stood firm, however. No iPods, no GPS, and no laptops or MP3s.

  The two friends waved to Brad and stepped over to the beginning of the rustic trail to begin their journey up into the mouth of Tater Holler. Tater Holler was very typical of other hollers in West Virginia. It was simply two large hills that came down to meet in a “V” at the bottom, and usually had a small creek or stream flowing down the middle where the mountain rain showers would run off and flow down to the river.

  The path would lead them parallel with the stream straight up into the depths of the holler and, hopefully, to the original Tater Holler Homestead of Burl Otis. They really didn’t know what to expect of Mr. Otis, but by all indications, what people had told them and the research that they had done themselves, he was going to be a mean, rough man who didn’t really want to be bothered by the outside world, much less by a couple of kids prying into his past.

  The two boys hiked their way up into the woods, Eddie keeping an eye out for a “stone thrower” as they walked.

  The path was well worn at first, and the forest smelled great as they wandered deeper into the pines and oaks and hickory trees that stood tall and strong. Squirrels scurried up trees as they heard the footsteps of the two boys invading their habitat.

  The stream flowed nicely with fresh, clean water for the boys to refill their canteens. The moist banks just above the small stream were covered with fern and rhododendron which helped provide wonderfully fresh air, and Josh caught himself thinking of how his mom loved both of these beautiful plants.

  Their path took them about twenty yards up the hill from where the stream flowed and when that side of the holler got too steep or rocky, the path would change directions and run down across the stream and up the other side for a while. They had to be careful stepping on the slippery sandstone rocks as they forded the small streams. One twisted ankle would be the end of their adventure and, even worse, the other guy would have to help the injured off of the hill. They knew this and took all their usual precautions such as cutting themselves a five-foot walking stick, about an inch and a half thick, for balance and assistance in negotiating the steep banks. A comfortable walking stick is a real good friend in the woods. The boys hiked on.

  About an hour into their climb they dropped down to the stream to refill the water supply and take a short break. Eddie peeled off his backpack and set it on the ground. Josh did the same and, as they kneeled down to top off the canteens, they heard a heavy rustle in the leave
s about a hundred yards up the hill from where they were.

  “Deer?” Eddie asked.

  By then, Josh was face down in the water, sucking in a big mouthful straight out of the stream.

  “Probably,” he said, coming up for air long enough to acknowledge his friend. He then scooped a big handful and washed off his sweaty face and hair. Eddie did the same.

  “Didn’t sound like he was running, though.”

  Josh chuckled a little. “He knew he could outrun us.”

  Eddie grinned and nodded his head.

  “Why don’t we break off from the path here and head straight up to the ridge and walk the ridgeline for a while? We could probably see more from up there and figure out which direction we need to go in,” Eddie suggested.

  Josh snarled his top lip, looking up at the steep hill that they would have to climb.

  “I mean, the path is almost gone anyway and it’s starting to get pretty brushy. Whatta’ ya’ think?” Eddie added.

  “Alright,” Josh said, not very enthusiastically “we’re giving up our water supply, ya know.”

  “I have sixty ounces in three bottles and you have about the same, right? Plus the canteens?” Eddie asked.

  “Yeah.”

  They heard the slow rustle in the leaves and sticks up on the hill again and both boys’ heads pivoted to look. The sound was coming from up on the hilltop where the boys were planning to trek.

  “We’ll just follow that slow-moving deer,” Josh joked.

  Eddie grinned, but didn’t laugh. A deer would have been in the next county by now, but he said nothing to his friend as they picked up their backpacks and began their climb. Could be a fox or a raccoon.

  The assent was steep and slow as the boys gave it their all to climb up to the ridge which would give them a better perspective of the terrain around them, and the hike that still lay ahead of them. Their walking sticks really showed their worth, as they dug them into the side of the hill to push themselves up the steep grade. Josh and Eddie utilized the “grape vines” that grew up the sides of the trees and webbed the forest, grabbing onto them like ropes and pulling themselves up the hill.

  The boys stopped occasionally to catch their breath and give their legs a break, and then would trudge on. After about an hour they reached the ridgeline where they both plopped down for a much-deserved break.

  “Man!” Josh said, out of breath and throwing his backpack to the ground. “I’m pooped.”

  Eddie dropped his backpack down in the small clearing and lay down, using the backpack as his pillow. “That… was a climb,” he said.

  Josh looked around while catching his wind looking up and down the length of the hill they were atop. “Looks like a pretty well-worn path up here,” he said.

  “Yeah.” Eddie raised his eyebrows. “Deer must run this ridge like crazy.”

  Josh and Eddie took only a minute to re-energize and were up exploring their surroundings. They walked over to a muddy area that sat square in the middle of the path that ran along the ridgeline.

  “Yeah. Plenty of deer tracks,” Eddie confirmed his belief.

  Josh wandered a few feet further ahead of him. “Hey, that’s not all that’s running this ridge, unless the deer are wearing boots.” The mud was wet and the huge boot tracks were recent. Eddie walked over.

  A fresh trail of flat-bottomed shoes or boots, at least a size 12, ran the length of the muddy section of the path on the ridge. There was no tread at all on the soles, which seemed a bit odd.

  “That’s a big shoe,” Eddie observed. “Probably a hunter scouting deer already. Season opens in four months,” Eddie said, adding his deer-hunting knowledge he learned from his father.

  Josh wandered around some more.

  “But look here. Here are some old tracks of the same shoe. It’s gotta be. They’re going both directions. The same shoe!”

  “So, he scouts a lot.”

  “Hmm.”

  Over to the side of the ridge there was a clearing that the boys would have to knock down some small brush to get to. Josh pulled out a two-foot machete from his pack and stepped into the brush, hacking his way through it. He cleared a path big enough for him and Eddie to walk through and when they did, they were awestruck. The view was spectacular. They could see all the way down over the hill to the baby blue bridge that rattled with the traffic that rolled over it, probably a mile away.

  When they looked to the right they could see the mighty Elk River snake its way up the valley where they lived, all the way to the island that split the river upstream from their house. They had never had this perspective of the hometown that they grew up in and stood for many minutes gazing around and pointing out places and things that they were very familiar with. They could see across the main highway that ran up the valley and up into other hollers that forked off of the Elk River Valley. They could see Lenny’s hill, where they would sled in the wintertime, and Melton’s Holler, another place where they like to hike and camp.

  The two friends took it all in for little while and then noticed the sun was starting to get close to setting behind the far mountain. They needed to get to a campsite within the next couple of hours or else they would be looking for one in the dark.

  Josh pulled out his camera and took a few shots of the panorama and then the boys stepped back through the brush, Josh going first. Once they cleared the thicket, Josh Baker stood tall and stopped dead in his tracks as he drew a sharp, deep breath. Eddie stopped behind him as both boys froze in sheer terror.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The large cat stood over Eddie’s backpack, pawing and digging at it, trying to get to the fresh food inside. The two boys were paralyzed with fear as Josh found it hard to breathe and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Never in their lives had they been so scared. Mountain lions were indigenous to the hills of West Virginia but seldom were they actually seen. They are nocturnal, mostly, night hunters that prey on smaller, weaker game animals. The two friends had never heard the eerie scream of a mountain lion that friends and family talked about when telling their best and scariest mountain stories. They had never seen any tracks in the woods or along the streams or rivers, tracks left behind by a prowling, stealthy, hunting machine like a mountain lion. And yet here they were, twenty yards from the most frightening beast they had ever encountered in the woods.

  The cat was chewing on the canvas of Eddie’s pack, shaking it, perhaps trying to get to the bacon or jerky that was packed deep within. It shook it violently and then dropped it and then picked it up with its mouth and shook it and dropped it again.

  Eddie stood behind Josh and very easily reached forward and grabbed him lightly by the shirt. He gave two short tugs to indicate that they should step backward quietly and slowly. Josh was frozen in his tracks and his heart was beating a mile a minute. He couldn’t move. Eddie tugged two more times, keeping his eyes fixed on the big cat that was mauling his pack. Josh was frozen in fear and his eyes were as big as saucers.

  The mountain lion had his back to the boys and he now swayed slowly over to check out Josh’s pack. A warm breeze blew over Josh’s shoulder and he cringed with the bad luck of that happening. It was then that the cat stopped in his tracks and his nose went up in the air. He moved his head from side to side a bit and then locked in to one position and froze. The mountain lion had their scent.

  Josh and Eddie then knew that they were in grave danger and terror, once again traveled through their bodies like an electric shock. Eddie started to breathe very heavily, nearly hyper-ventilating.

  The animal lowered his head a little and the boys heard the deep, throaty growl of a predator who knows he has company. His movements were slow and calculated, eyes scanning the forest and weeds for the scent that he detected.

  Terrified, Eddie pulled back on Josh’s shirt as he took one step back into the thicket of brush and weeds.

  Snap!

  Eddie stepped on a small branch, breaking it in half and instantly the big cat’s hea
d spun around and his green eyes squinted and focused on a much easier meal than a tied up backpack. His eyes fixed on Josh and Eddie and never left them as his head lowered and he slowly turned his entire body to face his new meal. As he moved, the muscles in his legs and shoulders flexed and rippled. The mountain lion began a slow, steady and low crawl towards the two best friends. The cat was now in kill mode. His mouth opened and he stopped and crouched in order to pounce on the boys. The cat’s weight shifted to his back legs. At that second, Eddie grabbed Josh and, with all his might, yanked him straight backwards in a desperate effort to run from certain death.

  Simultaneously, as Josh and Eddie were flying backward, the big cat sprang and a huge plume of blue smoke blew out of the brush and weeds about thirty yards away, along with a very loud KA BOOM!!! It was the unmistakable sound of a black powder muzzleloader. It sounded like a cannon! The big cat fell hard to the ground from his midair pounce and landed only a little more than arm’s reach away from where the two boys had fallen back.

  Josh and Eddie lay stunned, hearts beating overtime, and eyes still as big as saucers as they stared at the vicious predator before them.

  A low throaty growl came from the mountain lion as he exhaled his last breath and closed his eyes. He now lay dead at their feet, when it was most apparent a few seconds earlier, that it was going to be the other way around.

  The loud sound of the fired muzzleloader echoed across the hills and the blue smoke puffed its way out into the clearing. Without moving a muscle, Josh and Eddie’s eyes now focused from the big cat before them, to the area across the clearing where the life-saving gun shot was fired.

  The formerly hot sun was now sitting about halfway behind a thick, distant cloud and the light had dimmed. From where they were sitting, the shadows were lying across the clearing in a way that kept them from seeing into the brush and trees, to the origin of the gunshot. They listened hard but heard nothing. Josh looked over at Eddie and motioned to get up. The two boys stood up, Josh watching the cat as they did. They slowly stepped out a few feet to get a better look into the weeds across the way. The mountain lion’s left front paw twitched one time and Eddie jumped to the left so fast he knocked Josh into a tree. Josh looked at him and gave him the down eyebrows.