Читать книгу Never Cry Halibut. and Other Alaska Hunting and Fishing Tales онлайн

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Relieved to find the buck still hanging from a tree, the two friends packed the deer back to the beach. While paddling the raft out to the boat, they left my mom alone for a few minutes, and in those brief moments she vanished.

It’s not rare for people to disappear in Southeast Alaska, so naturally, my dad’s befuddlement slowly evolved into worry. Perhaps bears were as vicious as some claimed. Or maybe the local stories of shape-shifting fiends who lure people into the water or deep into the forest were true. Regardless, he’d lost his wife to the Alaskan wilds. Her family and friends would soon be sharpening their pitchforks and buying tickets north. The jungle of Admiralty Island might be a good place to hide out for a while.

The two friends began searching along the edge of the forest.

“Lynnette!” my dad yelled.

“I’m up here,” she called from high in a tree, hidden in a maze of boughs.

“What are you doing up there? Is there a bear nearby?”

“Nope, just finding comfort in a tree,” she said and began her way down.