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Wynona looked at him sharply to verify that he was kidding, which of course he was. He didn’t believe in rain dances, and even if he did, he wasn’t much of a dancer.
“So, we’re just going to stand here till the sun comes up?” Craig said.
“I’m open to any ideas and suggestions,” Wynona said.
Apparently, Craig had none to give.
Tucker, who considered himself a problem solver, didn’t have any better ideas either. He adjusted his headlamp. “I’m going to walk the perimeter.” He left the three of them standing there to make a wide arc around their weird camp, going slowly, taking the time to look at the ground carefully as he went, as well as to scan the area for anything interesting or threatening. He was dressed for the occasion, but it was still too cold for comfort. Maybe he had to start getting used to the idea that he wasn’t bringing anybody into the area to hunt this fall. He was in good enough financial shape so it wouldn’t be too much of a hit, but it was still gravely disappointing. He really was looking forward to those hunts. He loved hunting more than any man should. He loved being out here in the wild. Well, normally, in the daylight wild, but this wasn’t so bad either. He heard them talking as his circle closed. Craig was giving Wynona a hard time. “Wynona,” Tucker said, as he approached. Craig jumped and whirled around like he’d been caught doing something naughty. “Do you have the power to fire Craig?” He shined his headlight in her direction but still couldn’t read her face. She didn’t answer him.
“Okay, fine, she can’t fire you. But Craig, unless you’re opening your mouth to give us ideas about how to find this stupid toad, don’t open it. I may not be able to fire you either, but I can make your life significantly less endurable for the next few nights.” Fear flickered across Craig’s face before he got it under control. He didn’t ask for Tucker to be more specific with his threat, which was a good thing because Tucker had no idea what he could do to the man, but he certainly had the will to try.
Chapter 14
Wynona looked at herwatch for the tenth time that hour.
Time had never moved so slowly.
They walked laps. They ate snacks. They took brief breaks sitting on cold rocks. She preferred to squat for her breaks so that her butt didn’t get too cold. Mostly they looked. They all looked with such intensity that they didn’t talk much. She looked with such intensity that her eyes were burning, and her head hurt. She was almost glad they hadn’t started this mission in July. She didn’t know if she could do this for months on end. At least the coming frost would give her a vacation. Of course, she hoped she would find the toads before then. She hoped she would find the toads tonight.
One of her circles intersected one of Tucker’s circles. “You’re right,” she said. “It would’ve been a lot smarter to have a lot more eyeballs.”
He stopped walking and looked at her. “I’m hardly the first person to think of that, but thanks for giving me the credit.”
She stared at him, wishing she could see his face better, but his headlamp made that difficult.
He restarted his lap, which made her sad. Talking to him was a welcome distraction.
She returned to the center of camp and turned her back to the work light to scan the area it lit.
It seemed the insects came in waves. She’d think, “Oh, good, there’s a whole bunch of them,” but then they’d disappear for a while. It was a good thing there wasn’t more wind, or they would probably disappear altogether.
After standing in the light for a good twenty minutes, she returned to her pack to finish off the soup in her thermos, which had grown cool despite the thermos’ hefty price tag. She still had hours to go. She would need to bring more soup tomorrow night, and maybe a more expensive thermos.
After a good stretch, she started for another lap. She was now certain that she knew every pebble within five hundred feet of that light. Every leaf, every twig. She wished they could pack up and move camp in the dark, but there wasn’t much moonlight, and of what there was, not much made it through the tree cover to the ground.
Suddenly, Martin cried out, “Toad!”
