Read Online Ms. Got Rocks by Jacqueline Colt - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jacqueline Colt
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toward the serenely floating dredge rig.
Callaghan was now into the swimming depth of the river, he turned and with a two dog escort swam to the dredge.
“Fang, Brutus, here,” she called the dogs, they ignored her and swam several more times around the man hanging on the pontoon of the dredge.
“Lovie, Phoebe, to me.”
Maybe he would not notice the dogs have changed names.
Lovie the big Boxer abandoned her circle and swam to the shallows and stood in front of Rocky. Phoebe the Lab and mutt was not finished with the intruder. She swam one complete circle around the dredge rig and then she turned to the riverbank to join her family.
The three of them watched as Callaghan, pushing his dredge in front of him, swam to the upriver side of the marker rock cairn. The trio continued watching as he set the anchors and tied off to a cottonwood tree that shaded the rock cairn. He was not moving off one inch more than he must.
With obvious disdain for Rocky and her claim, the claim jumper swam back to his dredge, flipped the motor back on and dove to the bottom.
“Lovie, Phoebe, guard,” she left the dogs on the riverbank.
“I need to get the Sheriff Deputies out here pronto.” she told them.
As usual for her, the cell phone was somewhere that she was not.
“I swear I’m going to pierce my nose and hang that damn thing from it,” she yelled as she ran along the river bank.
She ran as fast as she could with bare feet, back to the cabin and used the land line to call the substation.
Even if the claim jumper had moved off, she would still file a report, because claim jumping was serious business in the gold country of the West. It happened frequently when the price of gold went up. Unscrupulous miners move in onto un-worked claims. The claim jumpers dredge as much as they can without doing any reclamation or giving a care for the environment while they steal. Rocky wasn’t buying any excuse from this Callaghan character.
Knowing the dogs have her back, Rocky waited for the deputies on the porch. She cannot see Callaghan's dredge from this side of the cabin. She knew the dogs would somehow give her warning, should Callaghan decide to come to the cabin. The dredge motor was still chugging vigorously in the distance.
The evening light was lingering, when the deputy drove onto the meadow.
He was Deputy Justin Dixon; Rocky went to Auburn High School with him. He had not changed a bit. He was still cute, in a sweet boyish way. Not tall, blonde, but not platinum, eyes almost green, but also almost blue, thin but not buff, every thing about his appearance was medium. But a nice medium, like excellent vanilla ice cream.
Rocky gave him her data, and he walked down to the river’s edge.
Rocky called the dogs to the porch and they ignored the Deputy and ran to her side.
They waited on the porch steps. Rocky no longer heard the dredge motor. She used this wait to change from the roasting hot dive suit into jeans and peach colored cotton shirt and sandals.
“Ms. Clancy, uh Rocky, he has left for the night.” I advised him to move upriver and stay upriver,” Deputy Dixon told her as they sat on the front steps.
“He does own the claim and land upriver of you,” Dixon explained.“Do you want to file a complaint?” he asked her.
“You bet I do Justin,” she answered. “You know how long my family has owned this land and this claim.”
As they finished filling out the paperwork, Dev and Margie drove up onto the meadow.
“Hey Justin, how’s it going,” Dev said, joining them, on the porch steps.
“What did you do Rocky, run off a claim jumper?” Margie said in a joking way.
The Deputy’s face and Rocky’s face looked up at her at the same time.
Deputy Dixon asked, “How did you know that?”
“Know what? No, you’re joking; you had a claim jumper, here?” Margie was stunned, and Devlin was speechless for a change.
“Yeah, some guy named Callaghan, at the upriver cairn. He’s gone now. Justin ran
Callaghan was now into the swimming depth of the river, he turned and with a two dog escort swam to the dredge.
“Fang, Brutus, here,” she called the dogs, they ignored her and swam several more times around the man hanging on the pontoon of the dredge.
“Lovie, Phoebe, to me.”
Maybe he would not notice the dogs have changed names.
Lovie the big Boxer abandoned her circle and swam to the shallows and stood in front of Rocky. Phoebe the Lab and mutt was not finished with the intruder. She swam one complete circle around the dredge rig and then she turned to the riverbank to join her family.
The three of them watched as Callaghan, pushing his dredge in front of him, swam to the upriver side of the marker rock cairn. The trio continued watching as he set the anchors and tied off to a cottonwood tree that shaded the rock cairn. He was not moving off one inch more than he must.
With obvious disdain for Rocky and her claim, the claim jumper swam back to his dredge, flipped the motor back on and dove to the bottom.
“Lovie, Phoebe, guard,” she left the dogs on the riverbank.
“I need to get the Sheriff Deputies out here pronto.” she told them.
As usual for her, the cell phone was somewhere that she was not.
“I swear I’m going to pierce my nose and hang that damn thing from it,” she yelled as she ran along the river bank.
She ran as fast as she could with bare feet, back to the cabin and used the land line to call the substation.
Even if the claim jumper had moved off, she would still file a report, because claim jumping was serious business in the gold country of the West. It happened frequently when the price of gold went up. Unscrupulous miners move in onto un-worked claims. The claim jumpers dredge as much as they can without doing any reclamation or giving a care for the environment while they steal. Rocky wasn’t buying any excuse from this Callaghan character.
Knowing the dogs have her back, Rocky waited for the deputies on the porch. She cannot see Callaghan's dredge from this side of the cabin. She knew the dogs would somehow give her warning, should Callaghan decide to come to the cabin. The dredge motor was still chugging vigorously in the distance.
The evening light was lingering, when the deputy drove onto the meadow.
He was Deputy Justin Dixon; Rocky went to Auburn High School with him. He had not changed a bit. He was still cute, in a sweet boyish way. Not tall, blonde, but not platinum, eyes almost green, but also almost blue, thin but not buff, every thing about his appearance was medium. But a nice medium, like excellent vanilla ice cream.
Rocky gave him her data, and he walked down to the river’s edge.
Rocky called the dogs to the porch and they ignored the Deputy and ran to her side.
They waited on the porch steps. Rocky no longer heard the dredge motor. She used this wait to change from the roasting hot dive suit into jeans and peach colored cotton shirt and sandals.
“Ms. Clancy, uh Rocky, he has left for the night.” I advised him to move upriver and stay upriver,” Deputy Dixon told her as they sat on the front steps.
“He does own the claim and land upriver of you,” Dixon explained.“Do you want to file a complaint?” he asked her.
“You bet I do Justin,” she answered. “You know how long my family has owned this land and this claim.”
As they finished filling out the paperwork, Dev and Margie drove up onto the meadow.
“Hey Justin, how’s it going,” Dev said, joining them, on the porch steps.
“What did you do Rocky, run off a claim jumper?” Margie said in a joking way.
The Deputy’s face and Rocky’s face looked up at her at the same time.
Deputy Dixon asked, “How did you know that?”
“Know what? No, you’re joking; you had a claim jumper, here?” Margie was stunned, and Devlin was speechless for a change.
“Yeah, some guy named Callaghan, at the upriver cairn. He’s gone now. Justin ran
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