Duel Nature by John Conroe Page B

business is this wild
animal running loose in your resort!” Cleveland snarled.
    “We can’t have dogs threatening people,
Chris,” Garth said, apologetically.
    Tanya spoke up from her seat at the picnic
table. “Mr. Boklund, would you be so kind as to call the local
sheriff. We need to file a complaint about a threat with a deadly
weapon. What kind of gun was it Chris?” she asked.
    “Ruger SP 101, .357,” I answered. “The police
can check their records to see if he has it on his permit. Should
be a Michigan permit ‘cause his dealer plates are Michigan tags.
What’s the dealership name? Mirris Motors? I can look that up and
find out the town,” I said, pulling out my iPhone.
    “You weren’t even here when he saw it!”
Cleveland said to Tanya.
    “So you did pull a gun!” Garth said, now
angry.
    “I didn’t pull it…just showed him I had it
was all. No law against owning a gun to protect yourself from
dangerous animals,” he said, obviously including us with the
animals.
    “What’s going on?” Mitch’s voice said from
the beach. The two professors had just beached their canoe and were
watching our little drama unfold anxiously.
    “A disagreement Professor Chance,” Garth
replied.
    “Oh, you mean when Mr. Cleveland threatened
Chris with a gun?” Mitch answered.
    “What did you see, Mitch?” Garth asked.
    “Well, we had just paddled out on the water
after meeting Chris and Awasos. Didn’t get a chance to meet you,
ma’am,” Mitch said, directing the last at Tanya with a nod. “Then
Cleveland marched up like Billy the Kid and started yelling. He
lifted his shirt and had a gun under it.”
    “You’re making that up! There’s no way you
could see that from the pond!” Cleveland yelled.
    Mitch put his hand on the
binoculars and held them up. “Gordon was studying some
water-striders, so I was watching Awasos through the binoculars, so
yeah, I did s ee. By
the way, the dog never left Chris’s side and he never threatened
anyone.”
    “You people are
making me out to be
the bad guy! I’m just protecting my son and pregnant
wife.”
    “Your son was polite, kept his distance and
was never in any danger. Your wife called him back from the door of
your cabin,” I said.
    “Mr.Cleveland, I’ve heard enough. Lock your
gun in your cabin or your car. If I see you with it or hear of
anymore waving it around, you’ll be asked to leave. Mrs. Gordon,
did you still want me to call the sheriff?”
    Tanya pretended to think about it, while my
link told me she was more bemused by being called Mrs. Gordon. “No,
Mr. Boklund, I think we’ll be okay if the Clevelands just leave us
alone.”
    I happened to glance at the main lodge and
saw all three Boklund women lined up, watching the drama. I started
to look away, then did a double take. They were holding hands, but
it was their their expressions that caught my eye. Britta was
looking anxious, while her sister Erika looked intrigued and even
smiled when she saw me look their way. Quinby, on the other hand,
looked determined and deadly serious, like she was holding guns,
not hands. It was such an incongruent scene that it caught my
attention.
    Garth directed Cleveland back to his cabin
then turned to us. “It doesn’t sound like your pet did anything
wrong, but we’ve already had our share of problems with wolves and
dogs. So you’re gonna have to leash him.”
    “Really? Here in the middle of a national
forest?” I asked, angry.
    “Really, Mr. Gordon, I have a business to
run, one that depends on my guests staying safe,” he said, in a
level but firm tone.
    The logical part of my brain came to his
rescue, realizing that he was very much right. The back of the
Tahoe had a single length of chain, included for the purpose of
providing just this sort of camouflage. I dug it out.
    “That’s what you leash him with?” Gordon asked. All three men were
studying the length of super heavy duty tow chain with almost
identical incredulous