CHAPTER 29
It wasn’t a buck or a bear. Sets of booted footprints left deep tracks in the loam. Chaco squatted to inspect more closely.
“Can you tell anything from those footprints?” Russell asked.
“Yeah. The impressions are too big and too deep not to be from good-sized men. There are several sets. See?” He pointed at the prints and picked up an empty plastic water bottle nearby. “Four distinct sole patterns, and different sizes. From the way the pine needles are disturbed, looks like they were sitting, or maybe even reclining. They were here for a long time, maybe all afternoon.”
“You think they were spying on us?”
“Possibly.”
“How long do you say they were watching?”
“For a bit. Look, there’s toilet paper and feces. Food wrappers. They were probably attracted by…” Chaco had turned
