|
Well rested and with full bellies the next morning they started off in the direction of civilization. Tim carrying his heavy pack and Walt's lighter one. They had traveled less than half a mile from the cabin when Tim looked back. "Hold it, Walt. The cabin is on fire." Sure enough smoke rose from the burning building and injected its black color into a clear blue sky. Tim removed the packs from his shoulders and let them drop to the ground and together the two of them returned to the flaming building wondering how the fire had started. It burned furiously being fanned by a slight breeze. It had taken Walt months to erect his home and it took the flames moments to flatten it to the ground. When the fire had consummated its destructive errand they neared the residue and Walt walked on the ground where his cabin floor had been short hours before. He had taken half a dozen steps when Tim yelled at him. "Look at the footprints behind you." Walt turned and looked down. Each footstep had removed ashes from the ground and he was leaving golden footprints. Tim broke a limb from a tree and tossed it to Walt. "Brush away the ashes." Each sweep of the branch cleaned a small area and Walt realized he was standing on the lake of gold he had seen in his dream. "Look at this, Tim. It's the lake I saw Wataka sitting on. All this time I've been sitting on gold and the cabin had to burn down so I could find it. I'll cover the area where the gold is showing and get back to town as soon as possible to register out claims. Are you ready to continue our trip?" "I'm ready anytime you are, Pops." Tim said putting extra emphasis on pops. The jaunt to Fort Yukon was a joyous one for both males and the companionship between them rocketed to an unbelievable plane. Their travel time was extended because at first Walt had to stop and rest repeatedly but his body was gaining strength hourly. By journey's end he could walk from sunrise to sunset with only occasional pain. His neck jolted him like a thunderbolt when he lifted his arm to a certain position above horizontal so he avoided that position like the plague. By destination's end they were both fatigued and the first thing in their agenda was a good meal followed by a hot shower. They recorded their names on the hotel register and pampered their fatigued bodies. They retired early and in glorious dreams returned to a mountain cave hidden away from the world but for them only a thought or dream away. Completely recuperated and rejuvenated the duo awoke the next morning ready to do battle with the world. They exchanged the nuggets Tim had carried out for greenbacks and deposited most of it in the bank, in both names, and registered their claims, in both names. Side by side they leisurely ambled around town feeling fortunate to be back in civilization and realized for the first time they were wealthy enough to purchase the entire town and hardly make a dent in their bank account. Together they took in all the sights, shopped for new clothes, and made preparations to recover the bodies Tim had buried. In the afternoon they took in a movie. After enjoying a meal that consisted mainly of beef and fresh vegetables Walt was hit with the urge to play poker. From the day Buck's Bar had flung open the doors for business there was a perpetual card game going on in the back room. It had legally been shut down at least fifty times and the players threatened with time in jail but when a new sheriff was voted into office he elected to ignore the game. He had the mental aptitude to comprehend that most of the gamblers had voted him into office and he wasn't about to cuff the hands that were providing his livelihood. He checked in once in a blue moon, or when summoned, to ascertain that everything was on the up and up but mostly he ignored the players. Tim decided to play too if there was an open seat but he really didn't have the savvy real gamblers possess. Walt had side holed eight hundred dollars when they deposited the money, four hundred for him and four hundred for Tim. They could both sustain the loss of a million dollars without adding another wrinkle or worried thought but neither of them was a fool. Walt had been witness too many times to miners who labored in frigid, hand freezing, pneumonia producing, weather all year only to lose their hard begotten gains to some card slick in an hour. He handed four hundred dollars to the teenager and hastily tried to rationalize the game for the eager novice. "This is all we spend. No matter what happens we won't lose more than four hundred dollars apiece. We're playing for fun and that's all, though I must say it's more fun to win than lose. I usually stop when I'm five hundred dollars ahead and I suggest you do the same thing. Never, and I repeat, never draw to an inside straight no matter how far ahead you are. That's the fastest way in the world to go broke. If you play seven card stud and don't have something decent by the forth card toss the hand in. If you have a lock on the table bet everything the pot will allow. You've got a good head on your shoulders and you'll learn fast." With words of wisdom still ringing in his ears Tim felt confident as he strolled into the card room. Most of the gamblers seated around the table knew Walt by name or reputation and welcomed him into the game. When Tim was introduced to the gathering he was offered a seat which one of the regulars had just left for if he wasn't home at a certain time his wife would feed his supper to the pigs they raised and he'd suffer hunger pains until she prepared another meal or he could sneak some food from the kitchen. Lady luck smiles on some people but on Tim she opened up with a long loud guffaw. In an hour and a half he had added five hundred dollars to the stack of bills sitting in front of him; some of it Walts. He took his partner?s advice and abandoned his seat at the table. Walt's mental dexterity was no match for his student's luck. Tim noticed the wall Walt was facing held letters from miners who had struck it rich and moved on, the last letter written by others who didn't make it, and paper headlines of births and deaths. There was also a poem Tim figured someone had parted with for a meal or a drink. He read the poem. In a well known town in Alaska about a hundred or so years ago. A man came rushing into a bar his clothes wet and white with snow. Standing in the middle of the room he yelled out loud and clear, "I recommend you leave this place for mean Harold will soon be here." Just the mention of Harold's name filled every man's heart with fright. They knew the most fun for Harold was a bone breaking bloody fight. In seconds the room was empty except for the man behind the bar. He stood there shaking in his boots as he chewed on an old cigar. Hearing a noise he looked outside and for a minute he had to stare, He saw a huge mountain of a man riding up on a wild polar bear. He whipped the bear with a rattler and as he got down from its back, he hit the bear square on the nose and killed it with a single whack. He bit the rattlesnake's head off and spit it there on the ground. He tore the door from the bar-room as he made a grunting sound. He rambled into the empty room, bellied up to the bar for a drink. His scar marked face so gruesome the bar tender could hardly think. With open hand he slapped the bar and left an imprint in the wood. "Give me a drink," the big man roared, "make it strong and make it good." Take the lye used for making soap and poison used to keep rats away. Mix them quickly so I can drink I hear mean Harold is on the way." Walt Tim got a chuckle from the poem and seeing the name of the author looked in the direction of his friend. Walt smiled and shook his head in the affirmative. Tim sat at a table facing the gamblers, ordered a tall cool soft drink which he was sitting back enjoying, when a tall, slender, bedraggled miner entered the room. He strode over to the gamblers and requested permission to sit in and when everyone was agreeable he sat down, took out his wad, and joined in the play. As soon as the new player?s hands touched the cards Walt felt a warmth emit from the necklace he was wearing. It was a momentary thing that disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared and being the second time it had happened Walt had a slight idea if its importance. When the deal rotated to the stranger Tim perchance happened to look in his direction and from his advantage point he could see the dealer remove a card from the bottom of the deck. He won the hand with a full house....jacks over threes. Tim remain seated until the next person was dealing and sauntered over to Walt. He stood behind Walt for awhile appearing as nonchalant as possible and then bent over and whispered in Walt's ear. "Watch the new guy he's bottom dealing." Tim walked away and everything was normal until it was the stranger's turn to deal again, but this time pre-warned of foul play, Walt watched as the crooked dealer palmed a card. With lightening quick speed Walt reached over and grabbed him by the wrist and inverted his hand. He was covertly holding the six of hearts. With his left hand Walt turned over the four cards directly in front of the would be thief to reveal the jack of spades, six of clubs, six of diamonds and six of spades. Conscious of the fact he had been caught red handed he bounced to his feet and pulled an old twenty two pistol from his jacket pocket. Tim, observant of the movement, quickly stepped in front of Walt as the gun exploded. Tim turned to Walt, closed his eyes, and slid to the floor as blood poured from his head. The hate inside a body the size of Walt's inflated enough to satisfy the bulk of a whale. He glared at the stranger for a millisecond and moved toward him. The gunman fired again and Walt felt the bullet burn into his chest stopping his forward movement momentarily. As soon as his feet again obeyed messages received from his brain he continued on the way to his enemy. Walt heard two more clicks of the hammer but didn?t feel anything for the madness within overpowered all other feelings and emotions. Walt extended his arms toward the madman standing in front of him and circled his hands around his throat forcing him back toward the bar. The cheat was having difficulty breathing because his air passage was closed by Walt's vise-like grip and the assailant felt nothing; his hate all consuming. Two feet from the bar, with his adrenaline peaked, Walt forced his foe backward with such speed and strength he heard a snap as loud and sharp as a slap. As the cheater's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the floor Walt said, "You've killed the only person in this world I care about." Those words and thoughts filled his mind as blackness shrouded him and his body began to whirl round and round and he descended into a bottomless pit. When Walt's eyes opened to allowed light to penetrate into his skull his left arm felt like someone was trying to separate it from the rest of his body and his chest was aflame with a dull burning. His mind was totally saturated with thoughts of Tim. Why had this happened and why now? He was so young, so full of life, and so rich. And the one person in the world Walt loved, like a father loves a son. It was the same as losing Billy all over again. All the money in the world couldn't replace him so Walt decided everything he owned would be used to assist orphans. His wealth would be a foundation honoring Tim and available to every worthy child. As all these unwanted thoughts ran amok in his mind he heard a voice in the doorway. "Hey, old folks, are going to spend the rest of your life in bed?" Walt's heart stopped the rhythmical thump, thump, thump and skipped several blood delivering beats. I thought you were dead," Walt said his eyes moist, "I saw where the bullet hit your head....I saw the blood....and I saw you fall." "The bullet just nicked me. I was hardly hurt at all. In fact, I was back on my feet before you broke that guys back. I bled a lot but most head wounds do. You should have known if something hits me in my big old hard head it isn't going to do much harm. Do me a big favor will you, Partner? Remind me never to play poker with you again. You get mean when you lose." Tim walked to the bed and put his arms around Walt. "Thank God you're alright. When the doctor took the bullet out of your chest he also operated on your neck and took out the shell I put there to hold your artery together. It looks like Wataka is still watching over you. The twenty two pistol and the shells the cheat had were so old the powder had lost most of its potency and the second and third shells didn?t even fire. Do me another favor. No more getting hurt. You're too wealthy to be laying around in bed all the time. You and I have loads of money to spend so you better hurry up and get well. I hired a helicopter and flew back to our claims as soon as I found out you were going to be alright. They're even richer than we imagined. I know you're a nice guy and wouldn't say no so I paid the hospital bill for the guy that shot us. He was a miner down on his luck. He sold everything he owned to get his poker stake and thought he was a real card shark, but that's all over now. You know of course from now on you're my dad. I know I'll make mistakes and you'll have to correct me but that's what dads do." Tim looked over at Walt and he was fast asleep but by the smile on his face Tim knew he had heard enough. |
  |  | ||||||||
