Wanted: Sharpshooter
Page 5
CHAPTER 5
It rent the night air, drowning out and suspending the usual night sounds, a scream that ran along our spines and stood our hair on end. The horses stopped their restless movements, frozen in place.
None of us spoke for a long moment. Then Carlos spit out a single word. "Puma."
Max asked, "Cougar?"
"Puma. Cougar. Same thing. A nasty cat."
The afternoon rushed back. The horses shying from a field they usually went through comfortably. "Was it a cougar in the field earlier today?"
"Must have been." Carlos' voice was gritty. "Pumas eat horses. When they went past, it saw a food source. It followed you home and now it's out there. Watching. Waiting."
"How close is it?" I looked nervously over the stable grounds, fully visible in the bright fingers of moonlight, except we'd forgotten all about watching the moon.
"Just past the fence. At the edge of the trees. As close as possible to see without being seen."
Moments ago the night had been beautiful. Now it was frightening. My body tensed as I tried to see into the trees, to find a body lurking in the darkness.
"Do you have a rifle?" Max was miles ahead of us both, calm and quiet and all business. Max Abrams had been in the military. He might be a green employee but he was also a man who knew guns and killing. Authority and experience were clear in his voice. "I'll take care of this."
"It'd be gone by the time you got a rifle and got it loaded." Carlos, too, knew about guns and he also knew about pumas.
Max looked over the stable, sizing up the situation. The two men looked towards each other, then away, then back. They nodded, coming to silent agreement about what to do. "We shut the stable doors. That'll keep it out tonight. Nothing will get in with the doors and windows locked. But it won't leave until it gets a meal or goes in search of other prey."
Then he asked, “Are cougars common around here?”
I shook my head. "I don't think so. I've heard people talk about seeing them but this is the first one I know of this close. Ever."
"So it's out of its territory."
Carlos joined in. "I know they are in the forest. People have seen tracks. But no one has ever actually seen a cougar and I've never heard of one coming this close to a building. Never."
"Doesn't mean a thing. Cats are secretive and they are predators." Max was grim. "Where'd you learn about cougars?"
“There are pumas in New Mexico where I grew up. Killed a couple of my dad's cows. I was a kid, I thought I'd chase it away. I ended up climbing a big boulder and yelling for help."
"Can cougars climb rocks?"
"My dad came real quick and shot it. Made a rug of the pelt. Big rug. Huge rug."
Max wanted to get the cougar. "If you'll get me that rifle you mentioned, I'll stay up and keep watch."
I looked around. The world had changed with that scream. The yard was still peaceful, a night scene touched with silver as it often was. It was hard to believe something in the nearby forest wanted to kill the horses. But something did. There was a dangerous predator out there, two men with intimate knowledge of them couldn't be wrong, and the stable and the horses were my responsibility. “I’ll stay up too.”
"No need." Max shrugged as if it was nothing. "I'm used to long watches. It's no big deal."
"I'm the manager. I'm staying." I used my best boss voice but I suspected that if the cougar was sighted it would be easy for our roles to reverse because the lone scream of that cougar had turned Maxwell Abrams instantly into a take-charge kind of guy. As for me? I wasn't sure. I'm an excellent manager but I'm not good with guns and that was clearly what would be needed if the cougar attacked.
Carlos was nodding acceptance of Max's plan. He'd spent many nights in the barn and was full of advice. “Straw is itchy but you can sleep on it if you get tired enough. The sleeping quarters upstairs are a tad more comfortable. In the morning, we'll get you settled into a real nice room.”
Max wasn't listening. He was thinking ahead. Planning. “Okay, in the morning, but only after I check the woods when it gets light to see if it's still around.”
“You know how to track animals?"
“Something I learned in the Rangers. We weren't looking for animals, exactly, but the principle is the same.”
“You were in the Rangers?”
“If I'm lucky, I'll be able to tell where that Cougar is and what his intentions are.”
Then it came again.
Another scream.