Read Online The Deadly River by Jeff Noonan - Free Book Online

How’s it going?” He had a big grin on his face as he said it.
    “Okay, sir. How are you this morning?”
    “Good. But please, I’m Kurt, not sir,”
    Kurt smiled. “Anyway, Lee, how would you like to make a few bucks while you’re waiting around here?”
    “Gosh. Thanks, but I’m really not looking for work, Mr. Kochran.”
    Kurt looked at him quizzically. “Kurt. No ‘misters’ okay?”
    “Okay, Kurt.” It came out hard for Lee. He had been taught to never call his elders by their first names.
    “Lee, you just surprised me. If you aren’t looking for work, what are you doing out this way? You’re too young to be a tourist and you certainly aren’t a bum. So what’s the story?”
    “It’s a long story, Mr. - uh, Kurt. Let’s just say that I’m doing an errand for my parents. Okay?”
    “Sure. No problem. Dammit though, I was really hoping to get you to help me.”
    “What do you need help with?”
    “I’m going to raft down the Clark Fork from its headwaters to where it flows into Idaho. I plan to test the water quality every mile or so anddocument the levels of contamination that I run into. But it’s gonna be a two-person job. Just keeping trucks at either end to drop off the raft and then pick it up again at the other end will require two pickups and two people. Besides, operating the raft and taking water samples at the same time will keep two people busy.”
    “Darn. That does sound like fun. Worthwhile, too. But I’m really sorry. I just can’t do it this summer. I’ve promised my time to something else.”
    Ray, who had been listening to this exchange, interrupted, “Kurt, I know a nice kid who would love to work with you on this. Young Benny Stanton is working odd jobs for me right now. I keep him going ‘cause he needs the money, but I’m running out of work for him. He could do the job, but he doesn’t have a car or any transportation.”
    “That would work fine for me. I know him. He’s a good kid. I’ve got two forest service pickups that they loaned me to do the job and I got a couple of war surplus life rafts for the floating part.”
    “Benny is next door, cleaning out my garage right now. Want to talk to him?”
    “Yeah. Let’s do that.”
    Ray and Kurt excused themselves and walked next door. Lee turned back to his meal. The offer had interested him and he’d almost said “Yes” to it. He knew that, if they’d pressed him, he probably would’ve caved in and spent the summer riding a raft. He was happy that Ray had found someone to do the job.
    After a few minutes, the two men came back into the café and joined Lee. A tall young man, about Lee’s age, accompanied them. Ray did the introductions. “Lee, I’d like you to meet Ben Stanton. Around here, we call him Bebop, ‘cause he’s always playing bad music on his guitar.”
    Ben grinned at this and held out his hand to Lee. “It ain’t all bad music. Once in a while I get it right.”
    Kurt turned to Lee then. “Lee, I know you don’t want to get involved long-term. But could I get you to help us for a day or so while we’re getting our things together? I’d like to start working the river on Monday and we have a lot to do to get ready before then.”
    “Absolutely. No problem. When and where?”
    “Can you spare a few hours today? I’d like to get the gear together, load the trucks and get ready to start on the river after the weekend. It will probably take most of the day.”
    “Sure. I can be ready after I eat. Glad to have something to do.”
    The four men chatted quietly while Lee finished eating and Kurt drank his coffee. When they were done, Kurt, Lee, and Ben got into Kurt’s car and drove a couple of miles west to the Forest Service’s ranger station. It turned out that the area’s senior ranger, a harried-looking man named Mainwaring, was helping Kurt on the project and had loaned him a small conference room and storage space for the duration of the project.
    The ranger had also