Yeti Unleashed Page 24

  Bernie,

  Good to hear from you. Yes I do have some information you might find useful.

  Your Dr. Olson does indeed have a past. Years ago he falsified some data that appeared in a journal article he wrote. His departmental chairman, a Dr. Julius Kesler, wrote a letter to the journal explaining the falsified data, citing a mix up in transcribing the final paper for publication. The man’s apology saved Dr. Olson’s reputation and career.

  I have enclosed the article and Dr. Kesler’s letter in the attached file. Hope this helps.

  Best regards,

  Boyd

  Wickingham settled back in his chair and smiled. How interesting. And to think, no one knew of this now that Dr. Kesler was dead, with the possible exception of Pauling and Dixie. But there was no need to involve the president or Harry for that matter. No, this called for more stealth. Going directly to Harry and confronting him might spell Wickingham’s own termination but Dixie might be another matter. Wouldn’t she do most anything to save her husband’s career? Especially if he could produce some evidence that would prove that Harry acted with knowledge of the falsified data and that it was not the inadvertent mix-up as claimed by Kesler. She could pressure Harry for the space he wanted. And Harry need never know anything.

  He knew blackmail or extortion didn’t become him but he was desperate. He would have to give the matter his full and serious consideration.

  Chapter 27

  Calder climbed out of his sleeping bag, craving a hot cup of coffee. But the prospects were dismal, considering they were out in the middle of nowhere with limited supplies. It was close to dawn and, once he was up and around, Hardin stirred and got up, yawning.

  Hardin ambled to the jeep and pounded on the window. “Hey, Williams,” he called loudly. “Time to rise and shine.”

  The jeep door opened and the big fellow tumbled out, looking worse for wear and rubbing his eyes.

  “I take it no snakes during the night?” Hardin said, laughing.

  “Screw you, Deputy,” Williams answered with a surly tone. His eyes shot sparks at Hardin.

  Jessup joined the men and noticed the chopper still parked on the hard-packed desert clay. Its sleek fuselage glistened with dew.

  “I’ll wake the pilots,” he said. “We can get them into the air before the sun’s up.”

  Once everyone was awake, they formed a semicircle around Calder. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his rumpled pants and paced. The air was crisp with a few clouds hanging low.

  “Sorry there’s no coffee, folks, but that’s the breaks.” He heard the pilots utter a quiet grumble, ignored it, and continued. “We haven’t had any luck in finding these animals. We are low on food supplies and water. We can always send the chopper back for those items and stay out here for another few days. But the longer we go without any signs, the less chance we have of finding them. So, here is my suggestion. We continue with the search today, using the helicopter flying in a wide circle. This afternoon they can break away and fly to Elko for food and water--enough for another couple of days. If we’ve had no luck by then, we’ll call off the search and return home. Any objections?”

  Jessup looked at the chopper and back at Calder. “No, that seems reasonable, Buck. It’s going to be rough going from here I take it. No horses.”

  “We’ll go as far as we can. If we find them and can’t get to them, we’ll have to use the chopper. Is that possible, Malcomb?”

  “Sure. It can hold another couple of passengers so we ought to be able to get to wherever they turn up.”

  “If they turn up,” Hardin interjected.

  “Right,” Jessup said.

  The pilots went to their aircraft and began the warmup procedures and soon had the rotors turning. The whine of its turbine made talking difficult. Hardin, Jessup, and Williams, climbed into the jeep with Calder at the wheel and, as the chopper lifted off into the growing light, they headed northwest.

  The sheriff worried they were on a fool’s errand, rattling around the desolate countryside, hoping to find animals who were either already dead or nowhere in the vicinity. What if they had gone east in the opposite direction than they originally suspected? They could be hundreds of miles from where the team was presently searching. He thought about Helen and the boys and wondered what they were doing. She was fixing them breakfast, most likely, and getting them ready for school. He missed her easy smile each morning. Maybe when this was over, they could take a short vacation together--him, Helen and the boys. Do some fishing. But no camping for a while. He’d had his fill of camping.

  ***

  Dr. Gerald Siscom sat in the saddle and bounced along at the rear of the column headed by Drayton. His experience with riding was limited to his teenage years, although he had treated many horses, during and after vet school. To him, horses were unpredictable and not one of the smarter of the barnyard animals. His horse, a large gray gelding, seemed to want to brush him out of the saddle because the darned beast ambled close to any tree or shrub, forcing him to grab the reins and turn the animal’s head. His rear objected already and it wasn’t noon.

  He housed his tranquilizer gun in the scabbard and stored the darts in the pouch he carried. Although he’d spent the past three years at the Primate Research Facility, he had never met Harry or his wife until the Yeti arrived. Since that time, he came to like the man’s easy demeanor, his relaxed way of handling problems. Once, Radner warned him to be wary of the man, but Harry’s manner reassured Siscom that he knew what he was doing. And in Siscom’s experience, staff meetings were always pleasant and efficient.

  Siscom’s role in the Yeti research was to sedate the animals, run the basic lab studies, and see to their overall health and wellbeing. Once the male, Bentu he was called, caught an upper respiratory infection and ran a high fever. The scientists and Radner were worried until Siscom had given him an IV and antibiotics that aided the animal’s recovery. Other than that one illness, his job was routine. He maintained a notebook on each animal, listing their vital signs, what was done to them medically, with dates and times. Sort of a clinical chart.

  The maintenance of the Animal Care Unit was his responsibility, and he prided himself in the job he did. Under his watchful eye, the technicians kept it immaculately clean and the cages were hosed out and disinfected daily. He checked the air filtration system of the airlocks going to and from the unit regularly so no contamination from the outside was possible. Once, he had to fire a technician found circumventing the policies and who brought his lunch into the unit, something strictly forbidden.

  When the alarm sounded with the Yeti’s escape, Siscom was in his office down the hall from the unit. By the time he donned his coveralls and made it through the air lock, they were gone and Jimmy lay on the floor in a huge pool of blood. Both cage doors were open, a fact that Siscom couldn’t reconcile. And Millie was gone.

  He hurried through the exit air lock into the main building complex where sheer pandemonium greeted him. People ran in all directions, screaming loudly, their eyes wide with fright. The Yeti managed to get out of the Animal Care Unit, scurry through the main building, scaring everyone there, as well as those outside. By the time he bolted through the front door, they were nowhere to be seen.

  He understood Millie’s theory regarding the Yeti’s intelligence and how they both might have escaped. He tended to agree with her. Working with the Yeti as he had, he also had a chance to observe them display a certain level of high intelligence. They seemed particularly adept at solving puzzles so, to Siscom, deducing how to work the lock on a cage wasn’t difficult to believe.

  He shifted his weight in the saddle trying to ease the aching in his back and rear. Finding these Yeti, he thought, might prove more difficult than originally planned.

  ***

  No amount of familiarity with horses enabled Dixie to appreciate their finer qualities. Despite her two trips to Mongolia and spending countless hours in the saddle, she despised the beasts. She and her husband a
greed on that point. Her legs, along with her back, hurt and the constant squeaking of the saddle started to grate on her nerves. She looked over her shoulder and noticed that Millie seemed all in. Dixie reined up and fell back alongside her. “Need a rest?” she said to Millie. “I could sure use one.”

  Millie nodded, but didn’t say anything.

  Drayton called a halt so Dixie and Millie slid to the ground, stretched their legs, then sat on a nearby rock. Harry plopped down next to Dixie while Siscom went around and adjusted the cinch on everyone’s saddle. Drayton paced ahead, following the tracks as Dixie drank deep from her water bottle.

  According to Drayton’s map, they were at the base of Paiute Mountain and its peak stuck impressively into the thin air. It was a rugged mountain, and the map showed several small lakes halfway up its southern slope.

  “From the map,” Drayton said, pointing, “there are two lakes up there. The tracks lead that way, up the mountainside, so the Yeti could be up there seeking water.”

  “And the cooler temperatures at the higher elevation,” Harry added, rising and standing beside Drayton. “Let’s eat something while we’re here.”

  “I know this mountain has a year-round glacier near its summit,” Drayton said. “Glaciers have long played a role in the geologic history of Nevada. In the past, glaciers were active in several areas of the state, leaving behind geologic evidence such as glacial deposits, mountain cirques, and glacial striations. Here in northern Nevada, evidence from glaciers during previous geological times is found all over these mountains. I remember reading that one of John Muir’s assistants came to this area and conducted experiments on the glaciers.”

  Millie broke out the trail mix and jerky and they sat in a semicircle and ate in silence. Dixie studied the landscape and marveled at the vastness of the desert plain. “We going to head for those lakes?” she said. “It looks like quite a ways to me. And all uphill.”

  “The footprints go that direction,” Harry said. “I vote to continue on.”

  Drayton frowned, nodded his head toward the horses. “We came to hunt these Yeti down and take them back,” he said. “Mount up.”

  There was no trail to follow, just the occasional footprint in the sand soil, so onward they plodded, single file, gradually ascending Paiute Mountain. It was rough going, the horses stumbling as rocks slid out from under their hooves and careened downward. They inched their way parallel to the fall line and upward, using a zigzag pattern forming switchbacks. It was a longer route to the lakes, which was the way the footprints were leading, but much safer. The colorful sky pilot plant along with alpine daisies and dwarf sunflowers pushed their eager heads through cracks and crevasses between the rocks and under boulders. At this altitude, the air was fragrant and sweet so Dixie took the time to breathe deep the mountain’s perfume.

  Arriving at a narrow ledge, Drayton stopped to reconnoiter what lay ahead. The side of the ledge dropped several hundred feet straight down into a grove of Joshua trees.

  Remaining in his saddle, he retrieved the binoculars from a saddlebag and scanned the mountain. Dixie watched him, wondering what the man was thinking.

  “See anything?” Harry said.

  “Nothing,” Drayton said. “We’ll keep going. Watch the side of the ledge.”

  Suddenly a woman’s scream pierced the desert stillness. Dixie jerked her head around to find Millie missing from the back if her horse. She realized that Millie had fallen from her saddle.

  “Harry!” she called. “Millie has fallen! Do you see her?”

  Harry and Drayton reined their horses to where Dixie pointed. It was over the side of the ledge.

  Dixie jumped off her horse, scrambled to the ledge’s rocky edge, and peered down the side of the gorge. She saw Millie lying on a pile of rocks. She didn’t move.

  “Harry!” Dixie called again. “Over here!”

  In an instant, Harry was at her side, along with Drayton. Siscom remained on his horse.

  “I’m going down,” Harry said. “Get me a rope.”

  Siscom tossed Harry the rope attached to his saddle and Dixie watched as he tied on end around his waist.

  “I’ll belay you,” Drayton said. “When you reach her, dollar what her condition is.”

  “Will do,” Harry said as he scrambled over the edge.

  “Be careful, honey,” Dixie called after him.

  She watched her husband descend a step at a time down the craggy side of the mountain. It was slow and looked like an arduous task, but Harry finally made it to where Millie lay, still unmoving.

  Harry quickly felt for a pulse and nodded, gave a thumb’s up sign. Dixie watched him check her over for injuries then shake his head. He looked up.

  “She appears to be all right, no injuries that I can detect. But her face is flushed and she is extremely hot to touch.”

  “Heatstroke,” Siscom ventured. “We need to get her out of the sun and cooled down. The sooner the better.”

  Dixie returned her gaze back to Harry and Millie. Her husband had Millie sitting now and the girl sported a weak smile. Harry tied the rope around her waist, helped Millie to her feet.

  “She okay?” Drayton called.

  “Seems to be,” Harry shouted. “Just hot and a little dizzy. She feels she can climb so I’m going to help her on the way back up.”

  “Be careful, honey!” Dixie’s voice wavered, betraying her concern.

  Drayton kept taut pressure on the rope, gathering the slack as Millie climbed upward. Dixie could see Harry just below her, keeping a hand near her waist. Hand over hand Millie climbed. One slow step after another. Dixie was concerned about the redness in Millie’s face. I hope she’ll be all right.

  At the lip of the ledge, Millie reached out a hand and Drayton took it, pulling her onto level ground. Millie lay on her back, lungs heaving, eyes wide, darting about. Dixie grabbed a water bottle and held it to her lips. Millie drank greedily.

  “Careful,” Dixie said. “Not so fast. Rest a while.”

  Harry appeared and jolted over the edge. He knelt beside Millie, felt her cheek.

  “There’s some shade over here,” Siscom said. “Under a tall bush. Get her into the shade.”

  Drayton and Harry helped Millie over to the bush and allowed her to recline in the shade where the temperature was a good twenty degrees cooler. She continued to drink from the water bottle. Gradually, the red color left her face and she smiled.

  “I think I just got overheated and fainted,” Millie said.

  “You probably weren’t drinking enough water all along,” Siscom said. “Bruce, we should rest a while until Millie is rehydrated and feels better.”

  “I feel fine,” Millie said. “I’m sorry.”

  “No need to apologize,” Harry said.

  “We’ll do as Gerald suggests,” Drayton said. He went to gather the horses.

  After an hour of rest and water, Millie felt much better. She refused to go back to the facility, stating the Yeti were her responsibility.

  So they mounted up and Drayton continued on with the rest of the group plodding behind. Once they were beyond the ledge, he reversed course on a switchback, maintaining the path toward the lakes.

  The higher they trekked, the rougher was the going--steeper and rockier.

  Harry noticed that the air was thinner, the temperature a few degrees cooler. His horse seemed to be straining with each step. At a level area they stopped.

  “Let’s give the horses a breather,” Siscom said. “The going gets more vertical from here.”

  Everyone dismounted and stretched their legs while their mounts regained their wind.

  Drayton retrieved his binocs and scanned the hillside. Suddenly, he turned and shouted. “Up there!” He pointed to an area near the lakes. He still had the binocs trained in that direction as he spoke. “I see them! Two Yeti near the lakes! Harry, come here!”

  Dixie’s heart leaped into her throat as she watched Harry scramble up beside Drayton. He took the glasses
and trained them in the direction Drayton still pointed. She strained through the bright sunlight to see but the glare was too great to make out anything.

  “Yes,” Harry called out. “I see them. Gerald, up here.”

  Dixie couldn’t believe their good fortune in locating the Yeti.

  “Do they look all right?” she asked Harry, who continued to observe them through the binoculars. “I mean, are they moving?”

  “They appear in good health, Dixie. They are just sitting in the sun right now.”

  Siscom arrived at Harry’s side and took a look through the field glasses. He nodded. “They appear to be fine. Think we can load them on horses once I have them sedated?”

  Harry let out a low whistle. “I don’t know. We were planning on using the horse trailer but it’s quite a ways from here.”

  “It’s all we can hope for,” Drayton said. “Maybe we could fashion a travois and drag them to the trailer.”

  At that moment the drone of a helicopter pierced the quiet. Squinting against the glare, Dixie noticed a black dot getting larger with each passing second. The others looked skyward at the sound. The noise from the aircraft’s turbine boomed overhead.

  “The strike force!” Drayton yelled. “It’s the strike force chopper!”

  “They’ll kill the Yeti!” Millie cried. She stood to gain a better look at the helicopter screaming toward the mountain.