Chasing the Bear

Chapter 15

Luke Haden was kind of a legend among the kids, a big shambling unshaven bear of a man with lousy teeth. The town boogeyman. We were all scared of him. He had a bad reputation as a brawler, although he had always stayed clear of my father and my uncles. I never knew what he did for a living. Stole things, mostly, I think. Poached game sometimes. Odd jobs now and then.

My father said he was "a man who sucked up and bullied down." Which was probably true. But I was a kid and he scared the hell out of me.

But I needed to do what I needed to do. So when Pearl finished her muskrat, we started to ease through the woods to see what we could see. I could feel the fear in my stomach and hear it in my breathing. I smelled wood smoke and put my hand on Pearl to make sure she stayed with me.

We went toward the smoke.

In a small clearing I could see a fire. Jeannie was sitting on the ground near it, looking at nothing; some sort of lean-to shelter, made of scraps, was set up near the fire. Where was her father? I inched a little closer.

I smelled something. Something grabbed my arm. I made a little yelping noise that I hoped Jeannie didn't hear.

"What are you doing sneaking round here, boy?" Luke Haden said.

He loomed over me.

"I'm not doing nothing," I said.

The smell was booze. Not just on Luke's breath. His whole self smelled of it.

He gave me a heavy shake.

"You better say more than that, boy," he said. "Or you are in a world of trouble."

"Honest, mister," I said.

Luke slapped me across the face and everything hazed for a minute.

Beside me Pearl made a noise I'd never heard. It wasn't the hysterical barking/growling sound she'd made with the bear. This was a low growl that seemed to come out of her very center and get stronger as she growled.

"Wha's that?" Luke said, and let go of my arm and took a step back.

The minute he let go, I headed for the woods. Pearl came with me. Behind us I could hear Luke crashing into the woods. But he was fat and drunk. My haze had cleared, and Pearl and I could run like hell. In a minute or so, he gave up.

Pearl and I went to where we'd left the boat. I wanted to get in it and get off the river and run. But I couldn't. I looked at the boat. Pearl sat and waited.

"I can't run off," I said to her.