wonderful?”
I nodded. She was a tree hugger, all right.
I said, “All I know is what I’ve heard. I’m just telling you so you won’t be surprised if we trip over a fruit jar full of hundred-dollar bills.”
With that ugly shack behind us, I enjoyed our walk, especially while we were in the woods. No, I wasn’t catching Jane’s nature-freakitis. I liked it because it was at least ten degrees cooler under the trees. The morning had started off cool, but it had heated up already and my clothes already stuck to me, even that early in the morning. When we could see the road up ahead going out into the open again, I sure wasn’t looking forward to it.
I changed my mind when we came upon something very interesting. Way off to our left we could see the thick pines that marked the beginning of Anisidi Wildlife Refuge. Way to the right, the land was flat and dusty looking. Big rocks lay even with the ground, almost like a rough pavement. Not much grass grew between the road where we stood and some big boulders lined up about forty feet away. Lots of beer bottles and cans, probably fifty or more, had been set in a row on top of them.
“This must be the place,” I said.
“It is indeed. Cal has set up more targets for us, I see. Are you ready?” Jane said, while she loaded up the pistols. “Why don’t you take a shot?”
I took the gun Jane handed me and walked to a well-worn spot on the ground where it looked like Cal must have stood a lot when he was fooling around and practicing. Jane showed me how to stand, how to hold my arms out, and how to use the sight at the end of the barrel to aim.
“Hey!” I yelled out. “If it’s anybody out here, we’re fixing to shoot.” A little breeze moved in the bushes but nothing else. “Not that anybody is fool enough around here to trespass on Prewitt land.”
I tell you what, we had a ball shooting those guns. When my gun was empty, Jane took out a pistol and fired three times at the cans. She hit two of them. I didn’t hit a lick.
“Boy, you’re good!” I said. “How’d you do that?”
“Luck, most likely. I’m quite a bit out of practice,” she said. She smacked the top slide-y thing back like an expert and popped a metal cartridge of new bullets into the bottom of the gun handle like they do in movies. “The Colonel was a good teacher. He made sure I knew how to use every weapon he brought in the house, and as you could see, he brought in quite a few. I think he secretly hoped the Russians would invade so he could make use of them all.”
“Kind of like reliving the good old days of the war, huh?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
That didn’t surprise me a bit. Didn’t I say he was a hard-nosed old so-and-so?
We moved back quite a bit and Jane helped me again with holding and standing right when we switched to the rifle. It knocked me backward and hurt my shoulder to boot. I did like the sight better on it, though. My first two tries pinged off the boulders, but the third one hit a can and knocked it over. I whooped and hollered and jumped up and down like a kid.
We finished off the bullets she’d brought. I didn’t hit anything else. Jane knocked off what was left.
“Now that is what I call a good time!” I said. “I could definitely get into this. I’m going to take my can home with me as a souvenir. You know, for my table.”
We walked together toward the boulders. Jane pointed out that those flat rocks went on out gradually to the bluffs over the river.
“Look,” she said pointing way up to the sky. “Look at the wingspan. An eagle or a large hawk, do you think?” She fiddled around with a pair of binoculars she’d brought. “I’ve been looking forward to studying the local bird populations.”
Good grief, I thought, she’s a koo-koo birdwatcher, too. I reckon that goes hand in hand with tree hugging.
I squinted up at the sky. “That’s no eagle,” I said. “That’s just one of those ugly turkey buzzards. Nothing
I nodded. She was a tree hugger, all right.
I said, “All I know is what I’ve heard. I’m just telling you so you won’t be surprised if we trip over a fruit jar full of hundred-dollar bills.”
With that ugly shack behind us, I enjoyed our walk, especially while we were in the woods. No, I wasn’t catching Jane’s nature-freakitis. I liked it because it was at least ten degrees cooler under the trees. The morning had started off cool, but it had heated up already and my clothes already stuck to me, even that early in the morning. When we could see the road up ahead going out into the open again, I sure wasn’t looking forward to it.
I changed my mind when we came upon something very interesting. Way off to our left we could see the thick pines that marked the beginning of Anisidi Wildlife Refuge. Way to the right, the land was flat and dusty looking. Big rocks lay even with the ground, almost like a rough pavement. Not much grass grew between the road where we stood and some big boulders lined up about forty feet away. Lots of beer bottles and cans, probably fifty or more, had been set in a row on top of them.
“This must be the place,” I said.
“It is indeed. Cal has set up more targets for us, I see. Are you ready?” Jane said, while she loaded up the pistols. “Why don’t you take a shot?”
I took the gun Jane handed me and walked to a well-worn spot on the ground where it looked like Cal must have stood a lot when he was fooling around and practicing. Jane showed me how to stand, how to hold my arms out, and how to use the sight at the end of the barrel to aim.
“Hey!” I yelled out. “If it’s anybody out here, we’re fixing to shoot.” A little breeze moved in the bushes but nothing else. “Not that anybody is fool enough around here to trespass on Prewitt land.”
I tell you what, we had a ball shooting those guns. When my gun was empty, Jane took out a pistol and fired three times at the cans. She hit two of them. I didn’t hit a lick.
“Boy, you’re good!” I said. “How’d you do that?”
“Luck, most likely. I’m quite a bit out of practice,” she said. She smacked the top slide-y thing back like an expert and popped a metal cartridge of new bullets into the bottom of the gun handle like they do in movies. “The Colonel was a good teacher. He made sure I knew how to use every weapon he brought in the house, and as you could see, he brought in quite a few. I think he secretly hoped the Russians would invade so he could make use of them all.”
“Kind of like reliving the good old days of the war, huh?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
That didn’t surprise me a bit. Didn’t I say he was a hard-nosed old so-and-so?
We moved back quite a bit and Jane helped me again with holding and standing right when we switched to the rifle. It knocked me backward and hurt my shoulder to boot. I did like the sight better on it, though. My first two tries pinged off the boulders, but the third one hit a can and knocked it over. I whooped and hollered and jumped up and down like a kid.
We finished off the bullets she’d brought. I didn’t hit anything else. Jane knocked off what was left.
“Now that is what I call a good time!” I said. “I could definitely get into this. I’m going to take my can home with me as a souvenir. You know, for my table.”
We walked together toward the boulders. Jane pointed out that those flat rocks went on out gradually to the bluffs over the river.
“Look,” she said pointing way up to the sky. “Look at the wingspan. An eagle or a large hawk, do you think?” She fiddled around with a pair of binoculars she’d brought. “I’ve been looking forward to studying the local bird populations.”
Good grief, I thought, she’s a koo-koo birdwatcher, too. I reckon that goes hand in hand with tree hugging.
I squinted up at the sky. “That’s no eagle,” I said. “That’s just one of those ugly turkey buzzards. Nothing
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