Chapter 10

As they approached the cabin Ron and Brenda gasped. The cabin was nothing but an abandoned hunter's shelter that the men had put paper and cardboard over and some trash to cover holes that they didn't have enough paper or cardboard for. The two surplus army cots and the 55-gallon drum made into a wood stove took up over half of the cabin. The walls and roof of the cabin had many holes and the daylight streamed into the cabin through the holes. Apparently any cooking was done outside, as there wasn't a cook stove or grill. The cabin was in the woods so it could not be seen until you were close to it. From the smell coming from the back of the cabin it was obvious where the toilet facilities were.

Ron made the two men sit on the floor in a clear area of the floor and made them put their hands behind their back. He tied up the men one at a time and then tied them together. He put a rope around their necks and tied them together at the neck to further impede their movement. Brenda stayed outside of the cabin.

Ron started looking around the cabin. There were a few cans of baked beans and a can opener so rusty that Ron wondered how they avoided getting lockjaw. On a box in the corner Ron saw two pieces of paper. He picked them up and saw that the papers were wanted posters from the post office. He called Brenda into the cabin.

Brenda, it looks like we have a couple of celebrities here," Ron said, "These are the Bowers brothers. The smaller one is Artie Bower, wanted for grand theft auto, assault with a deadly weapon, arson and robbery. The other guy is Robby Bower wanted for rape and murder and robbery. A real nice pair. What were you two going to do, spend the winter in this cabin?"

"Sure," snarled Robby.

Ron just shook his head. He knew that they wouldn't make it through December in this part of the country. It was good that Ron captured them or they would have died a horrible death. Now what to do with them. Ron checked the weapons of the two men and found that they were surprisingly well cared for. He made sure that both weapons were fully loaded and placed them outside the door where the men couldn't reach them.

Ron called Brenda to the door. He stayed at the door where he could keep an eye on the pair and had Brenda stand just outside the door.

"I saw smoke when I was on top of the hill," he told her softly, "The smoke wasn't coming from this direction. I have to go up on top of this hill and find out where that cabin or hunting camp is. It might be our ticket out of here. You take one of the guns and keep those two covered until I get back. Do you think you can do it?"

Brenda nodded her head. She was terrified of the pair, but they seemed to be tied securely and she would have a gun. She like the pair even less now that she knew that they were wanted felons. She wondered how Ron figured he was going to get them back to civilization.

Ron instructed Brenda on how to use the rifle even after she assured him that she had been on the rifle team in college. Ron asked her again if she thought that she could handle the pair. She nodded her head yes. Ron walked over to her and took her in his arms and kissed her. Brenda held him to her and kissed him back. When Ron pulled away they both had a big smile on their face. Ron gave her another hug and started into the woods.

The hill was steep and Ron was struggling to make good time and get back to the cabin. He had to pause several times to catch his breath. The hill was wooded and the underbrush was thick. Ron heard a steam up ahead and the sound of the water was loud. An elk ran past him and Ron almost fired at the elk in surprise.

Brenda stood by the door and kept her eyes on the pair. Artie Bower kept twitching and moving around.

"God damn this floor is cold lady," he snarled, "Can't we get up? My hemorrhoids are hurtin'."

Brenda swung the gun around to Artie in a menacing way and stared at him. Arte kept twitching. Artie had small hands for a man and they were not much larger than his wrists. He kept wiggling until he had one hand free and reached into his back pocket and took out his penknife. He kept wiggling and opened the knife and started cutting his brother's ropes. He was almost through the bounds on his brother's hands when Brenda jumped.

Brenda almost jumped out of her skin. She heard a loud snap out side and the sound of someone walking. She cautiously opened the door and looked out. She could not see what was making the noise, but she heard something walking on the other side of the cabin. As she inched around the cabin she saw an elk walk into the woods and disappear. She leaned against the cabin wall and waited until her heart slowed to its normal beat.

Artie pulled his hands out in front of him and started to untie his feet. Robby Bower took the penknife that his brother had passed to him and cut the rawhide tying their necks together and cut his feet loose. He put his finger to his mouth to signal his brother to be quiet and stood by the door. Artie stayed on the floor and pretended to be still tied up.

Brenda picked up the rifle and started back into the cabin. She opened the door and took one step into the cabin and was knocked down. Dazed, she put up little fight as Robby and Artie ripped her shirt and jeans off and tied her, spread-eagled and naked, to the filthy cot. Artie started twisting her breast while holding his dirty hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming. After Robby was sure that Brenda could not get free he pushed Artie away from Brenda and stuck a rag in Brenda's mouth and tied a piece of rawhide around her head to keep the gag in place.

"Let's git the boyfriend and then we'll come back and have some fun with the little lady," Robby said. Artie gave Brenda's breast another twist.

Ron kept climbing to the top of the hill. He came to a cliff near the top. A swift moving stream was about 100 feet below the cliff. Ron stood on the cliff and started scanning the woods for smoke. His heart jumped when he saw the smoke rising in the air. The trail of smoke rising into the air was steady so Ron knew that it had to be a cabin or hunting camp. He was sure that it had to be a cabin as this was the wrong time of the year for a hunting camp.

Just then a bullet went through his shirtsleeve just barely missing his arm. Ron dropped to the ground trying to get whoever fired at him the impression that he had been shot. He scrambled to a large rock about 100 feet away and hid behind the rock. In his haste Ron had dropped his rifle but had been afraid to stop for it.

Artie Bower started yelling, "I got him. I got him."

Several minutes later Artie and Robby reached the cliff and started searching for Ron's body.

"I know I got him, ' Artie whined, "I saw the bullet drop him. Where is he?"

The brothers looked around and found Ron's rifle. They started looking over the cliff.

"He was probably knocked over the cliff into the stream," Robby said with a sneer, "Let's go back and have some fun with the lady."