Chapter 7

They travelled for several hours, stopping only to rest the horses. Neither of them felt like talking though each was awash in their private thoughts and feelings. The uncertainty of revealing Julie to George and the circumstances of her parents' death had passed.

George would reveal the tragedy to the authorities and report three deaths. Since he was a legally constituted officer of the law his report would not be questioned, and more, would close the case of the missing family. The car might be recovered in time but it was just an artifact of a wilderness tragedy, and with time all traces of the grisly deaths would be erased. Julie would be truly and irrevocably dead and could now start her new life with Tom.

The sun was getting lower in the sky, signaling time to stop and make camp. By now each of them knew what tasks needed to be performed and they did them: horses to be cared for, a fire to be built, ground cloths to be positioned, food to be prepared. Each task was done in silence and quickly completed. Only when they were preparing their meal did they speak.

"I wonder if George will tell the authorities immediately," she asked.

"Probably," he said. "He's got a good radio link with the outside world and reports on a fairly regular basis. It stands to reason that he'll report it before we get back to the cabin."

"When I asked him to report three deaths I wasn't sure if he would do it. I really wanted him to but I wasn't sure if he believed me when I told him what I wanted."

"He'll do it, Julie. I've known him for several years and if nothing else, he's an honorable man. You made quite an impression on him today – and on me too. You've grown up a lot since I found you. It's hard to believe that you're the same girl that I found on the trail a few short months ago."

"It's hard for me to believe it too, Tom. You've been a big part of it, you know. You've taught me that there's a whole different world out here, a world that I never knew existed."

"It's always been here, Julie, hidden – to be sure – but also in plain sight. It's been my world for as long as I can remember. What really amazes – and concerns me – is that you want to be a part of it. You've never had any experience with the wilderness and yet you seem to have taken to it very easily. I wonder if it's real or a passing interest."

"I've thought about that, too. Right now I'd have to say that it's real, as real as anything that I've ever known. Looking back on my life down there, I'd have to say that it was ... boring. No, not boring, but something like a dream. In some ways it was kind of unreal, kind of like walking through it, kind of like standing on a sidewalk watching it all go by. I don't know if I'm describing it well. It's almost like I was outside of life watching it through a window. Right now I'm living life. Everything is real, alive ... now. That life down there is just a dream. Everything here is ... right."

"That's what I thought, too, Julie. I didn't have many real friends and the ones I did were not close. Their world was real to them but not to me. I was in their world but not a part of it. This is the only one that made sense to me. I just wanted to be here and be alone ... until you came. Women ... girls ... scared me. I didn't understand them and ... all these feelings that I had ... I didn't trust myself around girls. It was like I couldn't control myself, they were so strong. I felt like I was going to hurt them if I got close to them. I had to come up here as much for them as for me."