Hortons Bend

fell into a deep exhausted sleep. Her dream was initially fitful but it soon progressed into a sense of calm. Ronnie appeared towards the end of the dream. The next morning Mrs. King awoke with was an epiphany though she didn’t call it that. Jeanie knew that God had spoken to her. She knew that Ronnie was not here but the dream was a sign and it could not be ignored.

    Chapter Eight
    The john boat slipped into the river in a quiet and effortless manner. Darwin had gotten in first while Brody steadied the craft for her. Soon they were slowly paddling up river with a minimum of effort. No one spoke as they paddled but instead they listened to the sounds of the approaching dark. An occasional great blue heron glided effortlessly above them traveling to some unknown destination. The river was up just a bit and the current became a little stronger once they had managed to round two of the bends. When their paddling became strained and the boat began to drift against the downward flow, Darwin looked back at Brody. He immediately read her mind and put his paddle away to crank the trolling motor. It started up without pause but he kept the pace of their travel slow as to not cause the motor to whine and attract attention. The sunlight was now providing only enough light to produce shadows and they both knew that the additional lights they had brought along would soon be necessary. While Darwin remained focused on putting this foolish trip behind her, Brody fixated on doubts that would not go away. “I’m breaking every rule, every pledge on preservation that I’ve made in all my years in archaeology. I’ve lied to my wife and myself…for what?” he thought to himself. He had always been driven but now where was this destination taking him? He found himself almost muttering out loud “To discover a site….another site that’s going to tell us something we already know…that the Spanish were here? We know that already…” but he stopped himself and realized how dark it had become.
    Brody reached into a ruck sack and handed Darwin a light weight head lamp for her to put on. She did so but before cutting it on she turned and asked in a whisper “Are we getting close?” Brody nodded and whispered in response “Probably about 5 minutes or so.” It was pitch black now and both concentrated on watching out for any deadfall in the river. They were too close to hit any snags now. Especially since they had spotted several water snakes who had left the rock outcroppings and eased into the cool water as they motored by them. Darwin became impatient and couldn’t wait for Brody to signal their arrival to the landing he had chosen. She had become increasingly concerned when she noticed the steepness of the banks after they could only navigate by the LED lights. She started to turn around to ask Brody if they were close when he killed the small electric motor and reached for his paddle. The small boat was coming to the river bank quite quickly and she was very relieved to see that their landing site looked to be somewhat manageable. They had discussed the landing and her responsibilities before they had put in. At least there was some footing before the river bank rose and she immediately noticed some vines which she could hold onto to steady herself. When the boat hit the sandy river shore, Darwin carefully stepped across the gunnel to pull the boat closer to terra firma. Gingerly she tested one of the vines with a tug unwilling to give it full confidence but it was enough to assist her from stumbling so that Brody could make his way out of the boat.
    Once they got their footing and tied the boat off, the trespassers climbed a steep bank which was overgrown with river cane and green briars. At the crest of the embankment they peered into an open field and tried to make out lights from the Horton farm. A light mist had begun to form across the floodplain but it didn’t stop the two from stepping into the soybean field. They looked at each other and began to search the soil for artifacts. Brody stepped close to Darwin and whispered “remember to watch the farm from time to time….if you see any lights then we gotta get out of here.” She nodded but returned to searching the ground. From time to time each would stoop down but inevitably it would turn out to be either a flat stone or a wild onion bulb which had deceived them. A coyote howled in the distance causing them both to pause and look at each other. They had been