Free Twins of Prey by W.C. Hoffman Page B

everything from the bottom land at the base of the hill ledges to the river on both sides. The region being known for its dark hardwooded walnut and oak forests made it a magnet for the furniture and building industries. In order to turn the investment around as quickly as possible, the companies replaced the area with the much more quickly growing Northern White Pine that the rest of Michigan was famous for. The seedlings were planted in tight rows as far as the eye could see in an attempt to discourage branch growth. This provided tall, straight, knobless trunks. Within a few years the pines resembled the rows of a library. Perfect man made rows of tall trees with no branches and only green at the top.
    Only these trees were never harvested again. The lumber yards did come back but because of constant mechanical failures and equipment sabotage, they completely abandoned this section of the forest. Most of the workers being Native American held on to the overwhelming opinion that the land was cursed and Mother Nature was unhappy with how they had treated her. Removing the precious hardwoods and replacing them with pines grown in an unnatural way had so angered Mother Earth that she was the one causing all their problems and only money would be lost in this land.
    The twins knew that it was not Mother Earth that was the unhappy one. It was Uncle. Uncle had routinely shared with them his stories regaling the many months-long battle he had every night with the forestry crews. Never knowing a single man was the sole source of all their consternation, the lumber companies packed up and left to cut on the other side of Pine Run. Simply put, the companies no longer thought the pines were worth the trouble financially.
    Sprinting through the underbrush in a downhill pattern, snaking his way through the brambles and thorns that tore at his exposed arms Drake reached the edge of the library. The pines were a welcome sight as he entered them still at a runner’s pace. His crashing effort alerted a flock of crows nesting in the thick evergreen tops and they erupted into flight, each displaying their displeasure at being interrupted with a cackling “ caw-caw-caw ” that could be heard through the entire valley as it echoed amongst the hills.
    Smiling at the crows above him, Drake again felt Uncle’s presence among them. Crows were not something they actively hunted and ate, but they were very useful. Knowing the language of the socially ganged-up birds meant you had a multiple sets of eyes above you.
    “The long drawn out caaaaaaaawwww of a single crow is that of the sentry, the guard,” Uncle would say. “Caaaaaaaaw, caw-caw. Is the sentry letting his flock know that there is something coming, or underneath them but it does not present any danger. Look for deer or other wildlife moving in your area when you hear this.
    “ The hunt is over when any crow in the flock meets you with a quick and short Caw-Caw-Caw. This means danger and all the animals of the woods know it. All the animals will use the crows the same as you and I .”
    Working his way down one of the seemingly never-ending rows, Drake dropped to the side of his leg sliding like a baseball all-star into a depression in the ground that the three of them had dug many years before. Multiple escape blinds like this existed throughout their trails in order to hide quickly if necessary. At the base of the dugout, a thick blanket of pine needles and branches sat atop an old burlap potato sack. The cover was propped up by a three-foot stick impaled into the ground. Not only was the spot located next to the main trail through the pines, but with the cover down, it was completely invisible. Both boys could fit inside each blind and appear as nothing more than a natural bump in the terrain. Drake had made it to the pine slider.
    Planning to ambush the deputy as soon as they had unknowingly walked past him, he was extremely happy to not only be in the perfect spot, but that each