The Castaway Hotel - 7 - 11. Chapter 11 - Our Vacation Draws To A Close

“Man, those guys were creepy,” Cole blurted out, as we looked for a place to pitch our tents.

“Yes, I know,” I agreed. “I didn’t like their looks either.”

“Do you think they were escaped criminals or something like that?” Sammy wanted to know.

“Why would you think that?” I asked, hopping I could find a flaw in his reasoning. I wanted to use it to reassure him there was nothing to worry about.

“Well, before we came on vacation,” Sammy answered, “we were talking to Frankie about what kind of job he was hoping to get, and once he told us, we started talking about jails and stuff. That’s when he let us know about jailhouse tattoos and both of those guys had some.”

“Really? How could you tell? I didn’t notice anything like that,” I admitted, while contemplating how one of my younger sons had picked up on something both Jake and I had missed. I was impressed.

“I saw them too,” Danny added, “and they’re not hard to spot. There were the ones between their knuckles, but I couldn’t tell what the letters spelled out. The first guy also had one on his shoulder.”

“Wow, you guys were really observant,” I expressed, sincerely impressed.

“Frankie told us some of the stories he’d heard from one of his professors about the types of things that go on in jails and prisons,” Danny continued, “and he mentioned how guys give each other those tattoos. Sometimes it’s just for something to do, but Frankie also said it was used to identify them as part of a gang. That way, guys in the gang would know they were in the same group and not bother each other, while everyone else would also know they were in a gang too and not start anything, unless they wanted to fight the whole gang.”

“Frankie told you all that?” I asked, totally flabbergasted.

“Yes, he did,” Danny confirmed, “and my guess is, those two have been locked up at least once in their lives and it probably wasn’t for a short time either.” I looked over at Jake at that point, trying to gauge his reaction.

“They’re probably right,” Jake confirmed. “Not long ago, I watched a show about convicts on one of the educational channels and it confirmed most of what they’ve said. The show not only mentioned that guys with those types of tattoos were generally the ones who were part of gangs, but it also stated they had most likely been locked up multiple times or had served a very long sentence. It also supports our suspicions they were probably dangerous. I’m glad we didn’t take any chances.”

“That’s very interesting and I wasn’t about to take any chances,” I responded. “That’s why I urged everyone to keep moving on. I just had a feeling it would be best to put some distance between us before we stopped for the night. Now, let’s hurry or it will be totally dark before we get everything organized.

“Once we get the camp set up,” I continued, “we’ll pull the canoes farther away from the water and put them behind some bushes, so they’re out of sight. If they’re not easy to spot, we’ll be harder to find, if that pair is looking for us. We’ll also keep the fire small, just big enough to cook with, and then we’ll put it out, just as soon as our meal is ready.” I didn’t want to panic the boys, but I wanted them to understand why I was taking these precautions.

At this point, I had them split into groups, with some of them setting up the tents and the others gathering wood for a fire, while Jake and I got things ready to fix our meal. It was getting very hard to see, but we all did the best we could. It was a good thing the moon was fairly bright or we’d have found in impossible to continue what we were doing.

As soon as the first load of wood was delivered, Jake started the fire and we were soon whipping up something to eat. As I was keeping an eye on things, Kevin came over to speak with me.

“Dad, do you think we should tell somebody about those guys?” he asked, so no one else would hear. It was obvious he wanted to confront me, without his brothers knowing.

“I really think someone should know they’re out here,” he continued. “Heck, the cops might even be looking for them.”

“It’s possible they’re escaped convicts or murderers,” Graham added, as he slipped up silently behind us. Neither Kevin nor I had heard him approach, so we both jumped slightly when he spoke.

“Well, I don’t think they’re that bad,” I replied, in an effort to ease their overactive imaginations. However, I didn’t even believe what I said myself. “I do think it would be wise to either tell someone at the ranger station or have the outfitters contact the authorities about them when we get back though.” Both boys looked happy that I had agreed to do this.

“Pat, do me a favor,” I yelled out, since he was close by. “Get our map out and mark off the lake they were on. Put an ‘x’ somewhere near where they were camped, so the authorities will know where to start looking for them. If you can’t see well enough to do it tonight, then don’t forget to do it first thing in the morning. Okay?”

“Sure, Dad,” he responded, before jumping up and racing off to do as I’d asked.

Once Pat took off, I began looking around for the others and noticed Dion and Trey down by the lake. I walked toward them, to see what they were doing.

“Hey, what are you two up to?” I hollered out, which caused them to jump and then start walking toward me.

“We just wanted to make sure those guys weren’t following us, is all,” Trey explained, while looking a little concerned.

“Well, did you see them? Were they coming here?” Andrew wanted to know, as he came up to join us.

“No, we didn’t see anyone on the lake,” Dion replied, and I think we all breathed a sigh of relief hearing him say this.

“Okay, guys, is everyone set up for the night?” I asked, which yanked them back to the present. Once they all assured me they were, I continued. “Good! Let’s eat.”

The conversation throughout the meal and most of the rest of the evening was about the two men we ran across earlier. The boys were convinced those guys were criminals and I wasn’t sure I was willing to disagree with their assessment. I knew I would feel better and rest easier once this night had passed and we had put a little more distance between them and us.

I was fairly confident they hadn’t followed us, because I had kept glancing over my shoulder as we made our way off the lake. I also made a couple more checks as we made our way over the following portage and then looked for them as we traveled along the lake we were currently on. Not only that, but Dion and Trey had also done their own checking after we came ashore and set up camp. I think we are fairly safe now, but I’d still feel better once we’d put more distance between us.

This particular night seemed to be the longest one we’d spent on this trip. I’d be willing to bet no one got very much sleep that evening, since we all tried to keep one eye and both ears open for any unusual movement or noises. We were probably blowing this incident way out of proportion, but no one wanted anyone sneaking up on us.

I continued my vigilance and occasionally got up and walked around, looking for signs of intruders. Although I didn’t understand how they would do this in the dark, I was still afraid they might be out there searching for us. At various times, I would walk down to the edge of the lake, to see if I could spot a large flashlight or lantern’s glow, but there was nothing to be seen. Possibly I was making more of this than I should, but those guys just looked sinister and I didn’t want to risk encountering them again, especially if they were coming after us.

By the time the sun came up the next morning, we were all relieved, but still very tired. Thinking out our situation, I thought we might be doing this backward. If that pair was looking for us, they’d find it easier to do so in the light, but at least we’d find it easier to spot them too.

After thinking about it for a few minutes, I suggested we could stay put a little longer and get some more rest, if the boys wanted to. After thinking about it briefly, they admitted they would feel safer if we moved on and just made camp a little earlier this evening. I understood why they preferred to do it this way, because the more distance we put between those two men and us, the better we’d all feel. Hurriedly, we went about our chores, got everything packed up and were ready to leave.

Before we did this, however, we downed a quick breakfast and then loaded up our canoes, so we could be on the move again. It didn’t surprise me at how quickly we made our way off that lake and onto the next, and then we proceeded directly down that lake to the one after it. The boys even opted to skip lunch and keep moving, because they were still so concerned, and once we were on the next lake, they conceded they were worn out and ready to make camp. I signaled them to turn their canoes toward the island we were approaching, and once there, we immediately began to set up camp.

It was only about three in the afternoon, but we pitched our tents anyway. As soon as they were set up, everyone decided to take a nap before dinner. Soon all you could hear was the gentle even breathing of all my worn out campers and Jake’s gentle snoring. Soon after that, I drifted off too and that’s all I remember until Jake shook me awake, some time later.

“Hey, come on. You can’t sleep forever,” he teased. “You must be hungry and the boys and I have whipped up some dinner. I thought you might want to fill your stomach and get up for a bit, before we turned in for the night.”

“Yes, that’s a good idea,” I agreed. “Thanks. I guess I didn’t get much sleep last night. There was just something about that pair that unsettled me. I don’t know if you realized it or not, but I got up and walked around the campsite most of the night, so they wouldn’t be able to sneak up on us.”

“I know,” he confirmed. “Most of the time I either heard or saw you leave, but sometimes I just woke up and discovered you weren’t there. A couple of times I heard noises and peeked out the tent flap to investigate, only to discover it was just you moving about.”

“I’m sorry if I alarmed or woke you,” I told him, “but I felt safer knowing one of us was on the lookout.”

“I would have been happy to share that duty with you,” Jake confessed, “if you’d asked.”

“I know, but I didn’t want us both to stay awake all night,” I explained, “and I knew I still wouldn’t be able to sleep, even with you out there.”

“Why? What were you so worried about?” he persisted.

“I’m not sure and I can’t put a finger on anything specific,” I admitted, “but somehow I got the impression those guys were either waiting to rob, torture or molest some unsuspecting campers. I saw the way they were looking at the boys and didn’t like it. They were doing more than just checking out who we were.”

“I was concerned too, but didn’t get that strong of an impression,” Jake responded. “I knew I didn’t trust them, but I wasn’t sure why, other than they acted strange and were too eager for us to stick around. I’m just glad nothing happened and tomorrow we’ll be moving even farther away from them. The boys have been looking up and down the lake ever since they got up, to see if there were any signs of canoes or other people, but they’ve seen nothing so far. I think our imaginations were just working overtime and we reacted too strongly to two good old boys.”

“I hope so,” I confirmed, “but I’ll feel better once we’ve told someone and we’re on our way home.”

“Maybe so,” Jake concurred, “but let’s eat and then we can spend some time with the boys, before we go to sleep. Tonight it will be my turn to walk guard duty,” he added, before snickering.

I merely looked at him and smiled. I knew he was trying to help share the load and I appreciated it.

“Tell you what,” I offered. “Tonight I’ll split the duty with you. There’s no reason either of us should lose a whole night’s sleep now, especially since they wouldn’t know exactly how far we’ve come.”

“Deal,” Jake concurred, “but let’s not say anything to the boys. I think it would be best if we didn’t remind them about our concerns and gave them time to calm down a bit.”

“Agreed,” I replied.

We crawled out of our tent and made our way over to where the boys were watching the food. They had been greedily eyeing all the various items, since they were more than a little hungry and anxious to fill their empty stomachs. While we ate, some of the boys mentioned they saw or heard me walking around the previous night, and I confessed it was mostly to make me feel better, even though I also wanted to protect them.

“It doesn’t matter why you did it,” Pat added, “but it did help us sleep a little easier too, once we discovered you were protecting us. We all talked about it while you were asleep and realized we’d all looked out to see who was moving about. Thanks, Dad. It’s nice to know you were so concerned.”

I just smiled and ate my meal, before we talked about what was left of our trip. I quickly explained how much father we had to travel and they reminded me we had to tell someone about those guys before we left. I confirmed I meant to keep my promise, so we all sat around and relaxed, until we went to our tents.

That night Jake and I split the duty of staying awake and watching for interlopers. We took two-hour shifts, walked the perimeter and looked across the water to see if we could see any signs of others. We never did, which was a tremendous relief, so by morning, we were all ready and eager to be on our way again.

The rest of our camping trip passed quickly and uneventfully, and it wasn’t long until we were on the final leg of our outing. On the last day, before reaching the outfitters, we spotted a ranger and flagged him down. As soon as he came over, we gave him the information about the duo we had run into a few days before. He looked at our map and noted the location, and then got on his walkie-talkie and called it in.

“Booth to base,” he began.

“Base here. Go ahead, Booth,” came the reply.

“I have some campers here who are reporting some suspicious characters they ran across a couple of days ago,” he continued, before giving the location we had marked on the map.

“Copy, Booth,” we heard the dispatcher respond. “I’ll send a couple of the others to check them out. We haven’t had any other reports about anything of this nature, but we will investigate.”

“Copy,” Booth responded, before handing us back our map. However, just hearing this exchange helped to relieve our anxiety even more.

Once his conversation ended, he took down my personal information, so he could notify me later about what they discovered. Then, he thanked me for bringing this to his attention.

“You know, although this might turn out to be nothing,” he acknowledged, “a lot of the other campers might have just gone home and said nothing about it. They would have figured it wasn’t their problem and never said a thing. None of us would ever know if those men posed a threat or not, so it nice to know someone is concerned enough to bring this to our attention. We’ll check it out and let you know what we discover, but thanks again for doing something about it.”

After saying good-bye to the ranger, we were on our way again. That afternoon, we finished the final leg of our trip and reached the outfitters. After giving them back the gear they had loaned us, they checked to make certain the canoes, backpacks and tents were undamaged before we left. Once they were convinced everything was fine, I got credit for the security deposit I had made when we first arrived. After this had been taken care of, the boys went to the gift shop to purchase a few souvenirs. They wanted something to help them remember this part of our vacation.

“Hey, Pop,” Brandon began, as he approached me. “I can’t find what I’m looking for. Would you mind helping me?” He looked quite upset about not being able to find the item he was searching for.

“Well, tell me what you want and I’ll help you look for it,” I urged, hoping that would make him feel better. “If neither of us can find it, then I’ll ask one of the employees to help too.”

“Well, I thought I’d remember this trip best if I could find a key chain, small plaque or picture with a banjo on it,” he explained, before he burst out laughing. Suddenly, I realized I’d been had.

“Oh, you think that’s funny do you?” I asked, without expecting a reply. “You wouldn’t have found it so amusing if they had come after us, would you?”

“No, I wouldn’t,” he confessed, “but I couldn’t stop thinking about that stupid movie. You know, the one where those guys kill a bunch of people on the river. I just keep hearing that stupid song with the two banjoes playing.” He giggled again, but I could tell it was more of a nervous laugh than a humorous one.

“You may not know this,” I responded, “but I thought of the same thing after we ran in to them. I kept hearing the same song you did and had similar suspicions, so I won’t torture you for pulling this joke on me.”

“It’s not totally a joke,” he confirmed. “I do think something like that would help me remember this trip, if we could find it.”

After thinking about it, I agreed and went to seek help. Believe it or not, the shop did have a key chain with a banjo superimposed over crossed canoe paddles, but it wasn’t on display. It was something they had offered after the movie came out, but now they kept it in a drawer behind the counter. I then learned they had removed it from display because they had received too many complaints about what it represented.

Once Brandon made his purchase, I herded everyone on to the bus. The driver had returned about an hour before we showed up and was waiting for us. As we boarded, he asked how our trip had been and the boys enthusiastically recounted what we had done, including telling him about the storm and the family that shared an island with us for a couple of days.

They also filled him in about the two guys who had scared them, well all of us, so badly and the driver merely nodded and took it all in, before he drove off. We would soon be spending our final night in a motel, because tomorrow our vacation would officially end and we’d be flying home.