Flotilla (40 page)

"Puget Sound?" he asked. "All the way up to Canada?" I nodded. "Wow..." he said, thinking hard. "Well, you guys won't make it tonight, that's for sure. You were supposed to get all the way up there on your own?"

"I guess so," I said.

He shook his head, thoughtfully. "It's dangerous, kid. That's a tough job for grown men with years of experience. You won't make it on your own." He looked at me. "I guess you guys have had it pretty rough if that's what he told you to do." I nodded and wiped a few tears back ... it was a relief to finally find someone who understood.

"Com'on," he said kindly. "Let us help you figure this out." We left the
Horner
tied up at the dock and piled into his old green pickup. After everything that happened I wasn't ready to completely trust him, though. I didn't bring the shotgun with me but I did slip a nasty-looking pocketknife into my jacket. It was one of my souvenirs from sorting through all of that junk with Mitch Cutter.

It was a dirty evening, foggy and cold. Eventually, it started raining again. The old guy was retired and lived with his wife in a home nearby. He had come to the docks to fish and distract himself from worrying about their family that they couldn't get in touch with. That sounded familiar. "Then I found you," he said.

We exited the parking lot of the beach and turned onto the highway. "Where is this place?" I asked.

"San Simeon State Beach," he explained. Pointing off that way, he said "up there is Hearst Castle. Not a bad place to leave your boat ... One of the richest men in the world has done the exact same thing."

Beyond exhaustion, I managed to stay awake long enough to arrive at his home and eat the bowl of soup his wife placed in front of me. Then we sank into beds in their guest bedroom ... just two more dirty, scared and tired children. Before I fell asleep, I wondered idly
how
we were going to get to Puget Sound and how we would find Dad. Our troubles weren't over yet.

These problems were so large that I wasn't even sure if there was a solution. Finally, bone-tired and burned out, I came up with an answer that would have to do...

I'll figure it out in the morning.

Our current position is: Docked @ 35deg38'27.17"N 121deg11'16.32"W