Chapter 1: Mystery Guests

"Hello the camp" Jim Wheaton yelled toward the shore.

When no answer was forthcoming, Jim quietly guided his canoe toward the lakeshore. As he drew closer, he noiticed that the shelter was partially concealed from peple walking by on the ground by the thick brush that grew along the lake. The lean-to style shelter was low to the ground and covered with a green plastic tarp, branches, and leaves. It was obvious that whoever was camping here did not want to be found. Jim silently nudged the nose of his canoe onto the grassy shore. He stepped from his canoe carefully, watching warily for any kind of response to his hail. Tying his canoe to the nearest branch, he stepped silently toward the camp. No answer to his hail was heard or seen.

As Jim approached the camp, he studied how the camp had been constructed. A small fire pit of had been dug about 12 inches wide and 4 inches deep into the ground. Rocks had been placed around the pit to protect the surrounding grass. The dirt and grass removed to create the pit had been laid to one side, waiting to be replaced once the campers left the site. Two y-shaped branches were stuck in the earth on either side of the fire pit, providing clear evidence of a spit. A large blackened pot full of water sat on a flat rock beside the pit. There was no fire in the pit and even the coals looked cold. Clearly, whoever had been here had been gone for serveral hours.

Jim knelt down and looked into the opening of the lean-to. Inside, there was a bed of pine boughs covered with an old piece of canvas and a tattered sleeping bag. No other signs of occupation could be seen within the shelter, but Jim noticed two sets of sneaker prints around the camp. He guessed that one sneaker print was made by a woman and the other by a small child.

Jim heard the crack of a small branch as he began standing up. Searching for the source of the noise, he realized that it must have come from the dense thicket of diamond willow about ten feet away. "Hello, is anyone here?" Jim called towards the thicket. No answer was heard. He guessed it must have been a small animal that had made the noise.

Jim wondered why a woman and a small child would be way out here, at least 40 miles from any paved road and at least 50 miles from any town. Jim knew there were a lot of small subsistence farms in the area, but the closest was 18 miles away as the crow flies. These campers had definitely found an out-of-the-way place to set up.

Realizing that he could do nothing about the lack of response to his hail, Jim decided stay and wait for the campers to return. He went back to his canoe and retrieve his knapsack. Then, walking back to camp, he grabbed a log of deadwood from the shore to server as his bench for the afternoon. He started a small fire in the pit with the tree moss and kindling that was lying beside the pit. Once he had a flame, he started adding larger pieces of wood to create a cooking fire. There was still a slight chill in the air, even though it was early afternoon late in the Spring.