“Don’t fight it,” ordered Charlie. ”We’ll get you out. Just give us a second, and we’ll get you both out safe and sound.”
“We need some rope,” said Bogdon.
Toby responded.
“We don’t have any rope. But, we’ve got more wild grape vine than we can say Grace over.”
Charlie took charge.
“Bogdon, Freddie and Shad. You guys gather up a bunch of grape vine. And, I mean a bunch. We need a couple of hundred feet cause we are going to have to weave it together to make some rope.”
“Jeep, you and Toby find a thick branch or a pole that is two or three feet long.”
“Now get busy. I’ll stay with Thor. I’m the next tallest, in case someone else needs to go into the pit.”
We took off in a hurry. Toby and I moved along the trail through to the center of the island. After only thirty yards we climbed a little mound where we could look down and across. From our observation point, we spotted what looked like an old fence post leaning into the sand. We dived through the scrub and found our target.
The post was hard and strong. It had survived the weather and rot of this harsh marine climate because it was cedar. Pine would have disintegrated long ago.
I grabbed the top and gave a quick yank. I was able pull the post upright and was getting ready to lift it out of the ground when I heard an odd rattling noise.
“Look out!” Toby shouted, and he yanked me from behind.
Together we flopped onto the sand. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a mottled triangular head striking out at my arm.
But it missed! Thanks to my best friend, Toby.
We hopped back on our feet just in time to see a four foot rattler disappearing into a pile of debris blown or washed up along the trunk of a small pin oak.
“Wow. That was close!” said Toby.
“No kidding,” I replied. “I didn’t even see that forked tongue devil!”
“He was shading under the edge of the post,” said Toby. ”I spotted him just as you pulled it straight. He was already curled and ready to strike. I just grabbed you. I didn’t think there was time for anything else.”
“Well, I am glad you did,” I said. “I swear I felt the breeze when he struck.”
“Well, that’s one Ranger rescued,” said Toby. “Let’s see if we can save another.”
Together we grabbed the post and ran it back to the mud pit.
When we got there, Bogdon was holding the ends of some grapevine, while Freddie was twenty feet away interweaving them. He was flipping green string like he was playing some weird game of double Dutch. But, on Bogdon's side the vines were intertwining. Within seconds they produced a woven cord that look pretty sturdy.
Shad came back with some more vine and Toby and I gave it a shot. He held, and I flipped. But all we ended up with was a pile of tangled mess. Luckily, Bogdon and Freddie soon had enough rope that ours was not necessary.
Charlie took two vine cords and attached them to either side of our fence post. Then, he took on end and Shad took the other, and they dragged the post on top of the mud until it was beside Thor.
“I can’t let go of this fellow,” said Thor.
“That’s okay,” said Charlie. “Just try and wiggle the post under you armpits. Then clamp down and hold on.”
Thor did what he was told and managed to wiggle the fence post in place. Then, Shad and Charlie moved around in front into the knee deep mud and began pulling gently.
At first we did not see any effect. But, slowly Thor's head came up. After that his shoulders appeared.
Shad and Charlie were groaning now and putting on more pressure.
“You need to get your body above the mud,” said Bogdon. “If we can pull you across the surface, it will be a lot easier.”
Thor was visibly moving toward the side of the pit now. And, he struggled to raise his lower body from the sludge. But, he managed to keep a firm grasp on the pony and the fence post.
He was about half way out, when the ‘rope’ suddenly popped loose on one side. Without hesitation, Freddie grabbed one end of the vine mess that Toby and I wove, and waded out in the gunk. Freddie was so light, he seemed to scurry across the surface. He was not sinking too deeply. So, he quickly remade the connection.
Toby and I grabbed the end of our grapevine rope. With a quick tug, Freddie popped right out.
With the cord reattached, Shad and Charlie heaved again and finished dragging Thor and the pony over to the shallows. As soon as Thor found his footing, he carried the horse over to solid ground.
Gently, Thor lowered the animal and began using his hands to scrape mud off of the little guy’s coat.
“Is he okay?” asked Freddie.
“He’s pretty weak,” Thor responded. “No telling how long he was in that muck and how much he struggled. But, yeah. I think he’s going to be okay. He’s just tired.”
The poor muddy horse rested his elongated head on the soft sand. He did not have the energy to lift it up. But, he was content to let Thor groom him while he regained his strength. And, after about five minutes, he began to shudder.
Then, with a supreme effort the little guy managed to pull himself up on spindly shaky legs. And, like a newborn, he took a few tentative steps.
“Neeeheee!”
The Brown pony spoke for the first time. This was followed by a second whiney from his white companion. As if in response, the muddy colt turned and walked over to Thor and rubbed up against our linebacker friend. Thor gently ran his hand down the length of the pony’s nose.
When I looked back over at the Brown and White, I swear I saw them nodding their heads at each other.
Finally, the Brown snorted and started walking the slow determined walk of banker pony. He moved over to the trail and began heading towards the ocean side of the island.
The White fell in behind him. And after another snort, the muddy colt joined in at the back to form a small herd.
They walked over a little rise and disappeared into the bush.
We stood in silence, captivated by our encounter. Finally, Freddie broke the spell.
“That was a first,” he stated.
“A first what?” asked Charlie. “We help animals all the time. We helped the monkey, just today. And we freed that turtle day before yesterday. I don’t see how this is any different.”
“You’re right,” Freddie agreed. “We have helped a lot of animals. But, this was the first time that the animals ever asked for our help.”
Freddie had a point. And, no one had a comeback. So we just brushed ourselves off and headed back down the path towards the sound.
Weeks later, after we returned home to Granite Falls, we would find an excellent website that told the story of the Wild Horses of Shackleford Banks. It listed all kinds of information about the ponies and their habitat. In addition, it also displayed lots of wonderful close up pictures of the small herd that wanders the island.
There were no close ups that we could use to identify the Brown banker pony. But, there were several excellent pictures of the pure white horse that waited for us on the beach that day and guided us to the trapped colt. It was the same white face, the same white coat, the same white mane and the same luxurious white tail.
We learned from the website, the white horse's name was Spirit. He was a shy and gentle orphaned colt that wandered Shackelford, always in the company of a brown friend. And, people came from all over to see the pure white horse with the ancient brown eyes.
We also learned that little Spirit died on Shackleford Banks during the winter of 1996, which was many years before we met him that day on the island.
*************
Picking our way back through the thorns and tangles of maritime brush, we returned to the sandy beach and the waters of the sound - to a more immediate surprise. Donnie and our 23 foot fiberglass runabout – were gone.
Oh, we could see the boat making
slow circles in the water a couple of hundred yards offshore. But, they were not where we left them.
We really weren't worried at first. We just figured that Donnie got board or something and had gone for a quick spin. So, we waved and yelled and finally got his attention. As we expected, Donnie and the boat turned around and made a B-line for our position. But, when Donnie sailed right by us and on up the channel, we realized something was going on.
“Donnie!” Freddie yelled.”Over here. Come Back!”
“Yeah. Quit goofing around,” ordered Shad. “You’re gonna make us late for dinner!”
Donnie put the boat into a tight turn and came back towards us. But, about twenty yards out, he threw the engines into reverse and came to a dead stop.
“Come on, Donnie,” Charlie shouted. “The joke’s over. Come pick us up.”
He put boat engines into a low idle and called out, “I’m sorry, boys. I can’t do that.”
“What do you mean ‘You can’t do it’?” asked Charlie.
“Well, that’s not really accurate. After all, I guess I can do it. What I should have said is I am not going to do it. At least, I’m not going to do it until you guys do something for me first.”
“What’s that?” asked Charlie.
Tell me about ‘your Whale’,” said Donnie.
Now we don't play Texas Hold’ em and that's probably because none of have what you would call a real poker face. We don't cover up shock and surprise very well. So, you can imagine that our jaws fell wide open when Donnie dropped his bombshell. At least I was too stunned to say anything. Unfortunately, Shad responded without thinking.
“How do you know about our whale?”
Charlie reached over and smacked the back of Shad’s head with an open palm.
“Oww. I mean, uh, what whale? We don’t have a whale. What would we have a whale for?”
“Well, in that case…” Donnie replied, “you don’t have a ride either.”
Errruuummmm.
Donnie hit the gas and took off back into the Sound.
Within a few seconds our boat and driver were skipping playfully across the waters of Core Banks: without us.
Roughly speaking, from here it was a six mile hike to the end of Shackleford Banks and a half mile swim to Cape Lookout at low tide. Donnie pretty much had us where he wanted us. Sooner or later, we had to tell him the real reason for our trip.
And, so we surrendered.
They say confession is good for the soul. Maybe it is. But, in this case it was also good for the soles – of our feet. We did not have to tromp the six sandy miles home.
Donnie gave us a boat ride back to Cape Lookout, and we came clean about Levi and our first attempt to save him. We also outlined our upcoming second try.
“I'm impressed,” Donnie said as we pulled up to the old Life Guard pier on the back of Cape Lookout.
“Of course, I went through each one of your footlockers that day of the Mud Run. I knew you had way to much gear for a simple trip to the beach.”
We glanced at each other with surprise and more than a little annoyance. (How dare he look through the stuff we were deliberately hiding from him!)
“I saw you had more night vision equipment than a Marine Recon team. Plus, the wet suits, the tracking equipment and that wild air cannon. Of course, when I examined you projectiles, I was relieved I did not find any explosive warheads. But it took me a while to puzzle out what they were designed to cut.”
“Let me get this straight,” said Freddie. “You were spying on us the whole time?”
“I wasn’t really spying on you guys. I was just trying to make sure you did not get into something that was over your heads. I want you to come home from this trip, safe and sound. And, preferably without a criminal record.”
“Besides, I had no idea what your objective was, until you made that comment about spotting ‘your whale’ from the top of the lighthouse.”
“Oh yeah,” Freddie said meekly. ”Well, I didn’t know I had an eavesdropper following me.”
Charlie stepped in.
“Regardless of how you found out. The big question is – what are you going to do about it?”
We held our breath waiting for the answer. I was mentally calculating how much money we had left in the club bank account in case a hefty bribe was necessary.
But, Donnie just played it cool. He moved up to the bow of our boat and double checked the docking line. And, without saying a word, he moved back to the stern and checked the line there. Then, he reached over to the pier, grabbed the weathered wooden ladder, and he swung himself up.
“Well…” He paused looking down at us from top of the wooden structure.
“As long as you dress warmly, brush your teeth and look both ways when you cross the street… I’m not going to try to stop you.”
A wave of relief hit us as we heard the project was still on. However, Donnie wasn’t finished.
“But, you’re going to have to promise me two things.”
“What’s that?” asked Toby, suspicion creeping into his voice.
“First and foremost, don’t kill yourselves. I don’t want to have to drive a van load of dead Rangers back to Granite Falls.”
“That’s doable,” Charlie responded. “What’s number two?”
“For Heaven’s sake, whatever else you do – don’t tell Pam!”
As a group, we accepted of Donnie's terms. Then, Donnie turned and walked up the pier towards the shore. And, one by one we climbed out of the boat, and followed.
*************
To Shad's great relief, we did make it home in time for dinner. And, Miss Mynah outdid herself creating a feast of homemade pizza, Greek salad and warm buttery breadsticks. Even though we had a late lunch, the savory smell of herbs, pepperoni and tomato sauce awakened our appetites. Before long we were attacking triangular slices of hand thrown crust topped with bubbling mozzarella.
There's always room for pizza! And, this was some of the best I've ever had.
Dinner that night was al fresco - which means ‘outside' for you unsophisticated mountain boys. We lounged on the weather worn picnic tables, enjoying our pizza, backstopped by an emerald ocean and a sailor's delight evening sky. The sun's rays spun burnt orange against purpled clouds that stretched out to the far horizon. A cool breeze blew in off the Atlantic. And, the distant roar of breaking surf was like natural Muzak – background music for island living.
We'd been at the beach for a week now – and in many ways the experience had changed us. The surf and sand and sun had gotten under our skin, and we were transformed.
We were still mountain boys, at home in the deep forests and towering peaks. But, like Peter Parker and Clark Kent – we developed alter egos. Our ‘real' identities were pushed aside, and we became barefoot sand combers with tanned skin and sun streaked hair. Our pace was slower and our cares were fewer. Life is good on a barrier island.
But, even as we enjoyed our beach days, we knew they were coming to an end. Our own tracking equipment, validated by the good people at On*Star, told us - Levi was almost here. The whale's long swim up the Carolina coast was concluding. He would pass our position tomorrow afternoon - tomorrow night at the latest.
So, even though we were enjoying our island holiday with loads of fun and food and friends, we realized it was almost over.
It was D-Day, minus one.
*************
After dinner, we thanked Ms. Mynah and divided to help clean up, wash up and put away. Following these simple chores, the entire crew made the sandy barefoot trip across to the ocean side of the Cape.
As the sun slipped below the horizon, we wandered down the shoreline, chasing scurrying ghost crabs back into their holes, watching hovering terns dive for their dinner and letting the chilly Atlantic foam up over our feet and ankles.
We had a brief splash war and threw a few handfuls of sand, but mostly we just walked along, conten
t to be on Cape Lookout for the most beautiful evening of the Summer. Eventually, our words were replaced by the cries of the wind and the sea and the occasional hungry gull.
As I walked down that beach, I considered how fortunate I was. It was not just that I got to spend time on this incredible tropical island. I got to be here with the greatest bunch of guys on the planet.
Bogdon Peabody, is not just the smartest kid in town, he is the most genuinely caring guy I know. Who else would have suggested we spend our Summer on a quest to save a poor unfortunate creature?
Shad could probably break me like a twig if he wanted. But, for all his bluster he is a gentle giant. I have never seen him pick on anyone. But, I have seen him stand up to bullies trying to steamroll smaller kids. Plus, Shad’s got the greatest sense of humor I’ve ever known. He’s always there with a story or a joke to brighten our mood. And, for all we kid about his appetite, he’d give you his very last candy bar if you were hungry.
Freddie Dunkleberger is the smallest Ranger, with the biggest heart. He does not complain even when he has to take two steps to our one. Unfortunately, Freddie lost his Dad at the Pentagon on 9/11. That would have made a lot of people bitter. But, Freddie is still quick with a smile, even though he carries a heavy burden.
Thor Munson is the best athlete at Granite Falls Middle and Charlie Sinclair is the most popular guy. But, they don’t act any different from the rest of us. Charlie has the courage to be smart – even when a lot of popular kids make fun of intelligence. And, Thor is the most loyal person I have ever known. Those two will never – ever - let a buddy down.
And, finally, Toby Trundle is my best friend in the whole world. He is brave, smart and thoughtful. Just today he saved me from that rattlesnake and I know in my heart that Toby would have taken the snakebite himself if it meant keeping me safe.
I know it because I'd have done the same thing for him.
Hiking the deserted shoreline with these guys, I realized I am the luckiest person I know. These were my foxhole buddies. If I ever found myself in a foxhole - or in a lifeboat, these were the guys I wanted to be in it with me. They were my friends for life.