"Site two to base." The staticy voice split the office silence.
Scott went to the transceiver and picked up the microphone.
"Base."
"Scott, we got us a problem up here."
"What kind of problem?"
"Chet's got himself pinned between a couple of logs. He says he ain't hurt but he can't get out and we can't get the trucks back in that far to winch him out."
"The chains won't reach?"
"Nope. We tried but came up about fifteen feet short. Could you bring us up a couple of S-hooks and some chain? I think if we could hook these chains together we could snag some of those logs and move them far enough to get Chet out."
"Don't you have three?"
"Yep, and their being used to keep the other logs from coming down on Chet."
"Alright. I'll be right up."
"Thanks boss."
Scott raced across the yard to the barn, grabbed a box of hooks and a roll of chain, got them in the back of the four by four and took off for Site two. It took him almost twenty minutes to reach the site and he spotted the Lyndon Logging trucks on the west side of the jam. He parked the truck, grabbed the box of hooks and chain then went over to the foreman as he caught sight of the man whose leg was wedged between the logs.
"Hang in there Chet," he called to the man who had worked with them since they bought the company five years ago.
The man waved and grinned.
"You sure he isn't injured?" Scott asked Doug Burnett.
"He says he ain't," the foreman replied as he pulled four hooks out of the box. "Says he just can't pull his foot out. He says it's caught on something."
"Well let's see if we can't pull that jam up enough to find out what it's caught on."
The foreman nodded then took off for the truck that sat on the upper side of the jam. After rigging the chains together, he signaled an all ready and the truck started up then moved up the slope slowly.
"WHOA!" came the sharp cry and the truck jerked to a halt.
Scott raced up the hill toward the foreman who was surveying the logs.
He shook his head. "Ain't gonna work. If we try to move those logs that whole mess is going to come down on top of Chet."
Scott Lyndon nodded then surveyed the bed of logs. "Too bad we don't have a wedge big enough to slam in there."
"That'd do the trick but we don't."
"You ok Chet?" Scott called to the man in the middle of the logs."
"Yep," he nodded and looked down at his leg that disappeared into the logs above the knee.
"How'd he get stuck in there anyway?"
"He was crossing over to the other side and the logs shifted. His leg slipped down in and that's the result."
"Well hell," Scott frowned then leaned against the truck behind him and crossed his arms. He studied the jam with a thoughtful frown. "Did he try pulling his foot out of his boot?"
"That's the first thing we thought of. He can't get down in there far enough to get to the boot."
"Looks like the only thing we can do is pull those upper logs off one at a time," Scott said and looked at the number of logs that he estimated were close to two hundred.
Doug Burnett swiveled his head and looked at his boss. "You ever play pick-up sticks?"
"When I was a kid."
"That's what we'd be facing. One matchstick at a time and if we take the wrong one Chet loses."
Scott Lyndon scowled and examined the situation again. "Do you see another option?"
"I see three options. One, play pick-up sticks. That could put Chet in danger if we pick the wrong log and it would take us hours to get enough moved to get him out of there. Two, find a wedge large enough to slam in there and pull Chet out, if we can get his foot unstuck. Or, three...”
Doug Burnett’s sentence was cut short by a fierce growling sound. Both men spun to see a black bear standing about twenty yards up the hillside. "Oh shit. That's all we needed. You didn't bring your rifle did ya'?"
Scott's gaze was on the bear. "No.” Even though most black bears looked alike there was something familiar about this particular bear. Could it be the little girl's protector? His question was answered a moment later when he saw a flash of white in the underbrush. "You guys stay here," he instructed. "Don't move and don't say a word," he told the pair then began a slow steady trek up the hill toward the bear. He closed the distance by almost half before he stopped. When the bear growled again there was less fierceness in it. Scott had to take a chance that it was the same bear and that it remembered him and he held out an open hand. The bear looked at him then emitted a low throaty growl, even softer this time. There was a rustle in the underbrush and the little girl appeared. He lowered his hand and smiled. "Hello." To his surprise, she gave him a faint smile but much larger than the previous ones he had seen. He saw her gaze bounce to Chet then back and she took a step forward before holding out her hand then pointing to Chet. "Show me," she said in the tiniest of voices. She could talk! Under normal circumstances Scott would have thought she was offering her help. He spared a moment to look at Chet, whose eyes were the size of silver dollars and his mouth was hanging open. "He's stuck like your friend was," he told her. "We need to get him out but it will take time."
The little girl took another step forward and held out her hand again. "Show me," she repeated.
"Alright," Scott said and turning, came back down the hill toward the foreman at a slow pace. "Go to the truck Doug," he told the man who was staring at the bear.
"You got it boss," the foreman said and made a beeline for the nearest logging truck.
When Scott got to the end of the jam he looked down to see the little girl beside him. He studied her blue eyes that were filled with question then pointed to Chet. "He's stuck."
The little girl seemed to survey the situation then looked back over her shoulder at the black bear who was still standing in the same place. She emitted a soft gurgling cry and the bear lumbered down the hill toward her.
"Nobody move," Scott called in a little louder tone, glancing from Chet to Doug.
When the bear reached the little girl's side she emitted a softer growl which the bear answered before it eased down and looked at the end of the logs closely. Another throaty growl from the bear and a response from the little girl came before she looked up at Scott. The faintest of smiles touched her lips and she nodded. “It’s ok,” she said in a soft, angelic voice before she got down on her hands and knees and disappeared between the logs.
Scott blinked. "Uhm," he said and looked at Chet. "She's coming your way Chet. Under the logs."
"What's she gonna do?" The man in the midst of the logs asked in disbelief.
"I'm not sure. But whatever it is be ready for it."
"Ok."
Scott tossed a glance at the bear to see him watching the spot and it seemed like eons before he asked, "Do you see her yet?"
"Nope."
It was almost a full minute later when Chet reported, "Here she is."
"What's she doing?"
I'm not sure but I can feel her touching my boot. I think she's trying to free my foot. She's pushing on it."
"Is it doing any good?"
"Nope."
Scott Lyndon felt totally helpless and extremely frightened for the little girl's safety. "What's she doing now?"
"Still pushing and pulling." Seconds later, "She stopped." Chet looked down into the darkness between the logs and could see a slight flutter of white. "She's untying my boot," he told the man at the end of the jam. Moments later Chet pulled his leg out of the crevice, minus his boot. He heard the softest of voices say a muffled,
"It's ok."
Chet blinked and saw the flutter of white just before he heard something that sounded like a chain rattling. "I think she's coming out," he announced as he rose to the top of one of the logs and walked carefully to the end where Scott was. He jumped down to the ground and looked at the bear before looking down at the end of
the logs.
Both men waited and, to Scott Lyndon, it was another long wait before he heard a chain rattle and the little girl appeared in the opening. The smile he was gaining when he saw that she was safe quickly changed to a frown as she got to her feet and pulled on the thick chain she had in her hand. When Scott saw a closed bear trap with a leather boot wedged into the arched steel jaws on the other end of the chain he laughed. He looked at the little girl to see a wide smile on her face and he knew she was thinking the same thing he was. When she offered the chain he took it and smiled. "Thank you," he said and handed the trap to Chet. When he looked back at the little girl she had stepped to the bear's side and he saw the bright smile that lighted her blue eyes and he mirrored the smile before she turned and moved up the hill and into the underbrush with the bear at her heels.
Scott turned to Chet Thomas to see the man's wide gaze locked on the hillside.
"I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.”
Doug Burnett joined the pair. "Me either." He looked at the boot that was still wedged in the bear trap. "Why'd you laugh when you saw the boot in that trap?"
"Do you remember the day you came out of the shed and the bear was in the middle of the yard?"
"Yep."
"That's the same bear." Scott relayed the story of the coyote and how he and Steve had rescued the coyote after the little girl had come to them and asked for help.
Both men chuckled. "So she paid you back the same way," the foreman said.
"That's why I had to laugh."
"I've seen that bear a few times before," Chet commented.
"Well if you see that bear then you know the little girl isn't far away. Just leave them alone. He's her protector. I don't think he'll hurt you as long as you stay away."
"Who is she?"
"We don't know. We discovered she was eating out of our garbage drums. I started setting food out for her. She comes into camp every night and eats the food I leave on a tray on one of the drums. I've checked the archives of every newspaper up and down the Sierras and Rockies for the last fifteen years but I can't find anything about a little girl being lost and never found." He shrugged. "All I can do is make sure she's eating something besides garbage."
"Why not just call the sheriff?” Chet suggested. “Seems he'd have more connections than you would."
"We thought of that. We also realized the sheriff would have to catch her and neither Steve or I thought she'd do very well in a cage."
"Yep," Doug agreed. "She's wild. It'd kill her to be in captivity."
Chet looked up at the spot where the girl and bear had disappeared. “That is one remarkable kid.”