Uncertain Justice

Chapter 27

Recovering in the warmth of the lightweight parka, he looked around. The log he sat on was an old one, partially buried in the ground. He was pleased to notice he'd selected the end that was under the cover of some still standing trees. He couldn't be easily seen from above or from any distance away.

It also appeared that he was near the bottom of the mountain slope; the ground was reasonably level. He couldn't see by the light of the stars well enough to be sure, but it seemed the steep slopes were behind him. The chuckling of water in a creek came from somewhere ahead in the darkness.

His head snapped around to look behind him. He turned awkwardly on the rough bark until he could see uphill. Over the mountain came an intensely bright light and soon the chopping sound of rotors moving through the air identified the source of the illumination. The helicopter's path zigzagged erratically, but it was steadily working its way closer to him. When a ridgeline momentarily blocked most of the aircraft noise, Miles caught the distant barking of a number of dogs. The chase had caught up to him.

Jumping up, Miles hurriedly began jam the jacket and fleece mid-weight liner into the top compartment in the backpack. He turned to scan the mountain at his back. The loud yells were close enough to hear but that might be because of the otherwise silent night. The dogs were getting perceptibly closer--and fast.

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Pepper was having a rough day. His lord and master had been displeased in today's training session because Pepper didn't immediately understand what he was supposed to do. He enjoyed a good game of fetch as much as any of the others in his pack, but his new master didn't play like his previous, young master had.

This one showed him things made of tree-stuff that were a little like flying animals, but these didn't smell right and wouldn't fly--not even when Pepper nudged them with his snout. Master threw them as far as he could and wanted Pepper to run fast and bring them back to him.

The dog saw no relationship between the birds he chased as a pup and these heavy lumps of tree-stuff. Pepper was badly confused. He didn't much like the new game.

Master clearly wasn't inclined to be reasonable either. When Pepper lay on his belly to bat the things with his paws and chew on the painted edges, Master yelled loudly and waved his upper paws at Pepper. Even when Pepper pulled his tail between his back legs and crawled to Master to show subservience, Master was still displeased. Even rolling over to expose his belly hadn't been enough. That had always pleased the little master.

Then there was the tiny, confining cave Master pushed him into. It was too small for the rawboned young hound and he was very uncomfortable. Finally, Pepper had been thoroughly frightened by the bouncing of the truck body as it drove over the rough road before being finally released.

Now Pepper had found the smell of a stranger and Master obviously wanted Pepper and his pack brothers to follow the scent. Pepper bounded along the trail, happy to have found a way to make Master love him again.

He was being held back though and he didn't understand why this was so. Turning around, he pulled back hard against the rope to hurry Master forward. Surprised when the collar slipped over his head, Pepper fell backward to abruptly sit on his haunches.

He bayed joyously and wheeled to race along the trace. The trail was obvious to a nose a thousand times more sensitive than a man's. He didn't hear Master yell for him to stop over the sound of the helicopter but it wouldn't have made any difference if he had. Pepper was on the hunt and he wasn't going to be denied this chance to atone for the rest of the day.

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Miles stood, trying to decide what to do next. He could hear one or two dogs on his trail that were getting nearer, but most of them were still back in a big group of men yelling and cursing as they fought their way across the slope toward him.

There might be enough time to get to the creek he had heard lower down. Could dogs track people through water? He didn't think so ... but it didn't matter. It was the only idea he had. He grabbed the pack, horsed the straps over his shoulders, and prepared to run for the stream as best he could. He turned back when a dog bayed hoarsely close behind him.

The lead group was only one hound ... but that one was barely two hundred yards away and running hard toward him. He saw glimpses of the shadowy creature as it ran through open spaces in the forest cover.

Miles stopped trying to get the straps adjusted. He undid the hip belt and stared around wildly. There was nothing else near enough to be a danger except the dog. His only choice was to deal with the animal first and then try to get away. The helicopter drifted closer.

He dropped the pack to the ground and frantically snatched the hunting knife out of its sheath on his left side. He yanked the lightweight jacket from the compartment where he'd just stowed it and wrapped it around his left arm. Having put on the only armor he had, Miles braced himself against the log.

More afraid than he'd ever been before in his life, he tried to breathe deep to saturate his lungs with as much oxygen as he could. He held the knife's sharp edge upward and wrapped shaking fingers tightly around the handle. He dreaded what he was about to try and feared he wouldn't be able to bring it off. Desperate and cornered, he waited.

The dog came back into view between two young spruce trees a mere fifty yards away. He paused for a moment, not seeing Miles standing in the shadows. He ran on, following a scent so fresh he didn't need his nose close to the ground. Seconds later, he caught sight of Miles.