The Hunted (10 page)

In her job, Ms. Lopez was used to phone calls at unusual hours, both day and night. After Olivia briefly explained the situation, she handed the phone to Miguel. “Here. Talk to her,” she told him.

Miguel clapped a hand over his mouth as his eyes grew wide with apprehension. Olivia said gently, “There's nothing to be afraid of. This nice lady wants to talk to you, Miguel.”

But Miguel refused to take the phone. “Hold on,” Olivia said to Ms. Lopez. Then, “Miguel, do you know what this is?” She held up the cell phone.

He nodded.
“Teléfono.”

“That's right. Have you ever talked on one?”

Miguel shook his head. My gosh, Jack thought, he's never made a phone call. How many kids like Miguel don't even know how to use a phone? Where he lives there's no electricity and no running water, so why would there be a telephone? He's clueless, and scared.

“See this? You listen with this part,” Jack instructed, holding the earpiece to his own ear. “Then you talk in this part, like my mother was doing.”

“Go ahead, Ms. Lopez,” Olivia called out. “Miguel is ready.”

Lifting the cell phone in a shaking hand, as if it might be a grenade ready to explode against his ear, Miguel sat rigid, staring dead ahead. Then he straightened, and a grin crept over his lips.
“Sí,”
he kept saying, until finally he let loose a barrage of Spanish that went on and on until, reluctantly, he handed the phone back to Olivia.

After the call was over, Olivia told everyone, “She's going to do everything she can. Since we're certified foster parents, she'll fix it so that we can keep Miguel for the next couple of days while she goes through all the red tape with Immigration.”

“Yay!” Jack and Ashley both yelled, and Ashley hugged Miguel, who didn't seem to mind the hug.

“Marshmallows, anyone?” Steven asked, but just then the cell phone rang. “Oh, good grief! Can't get away from it,” he moaned, grabbing the phone to flick it open.

He listened. And listened, speaking only a few words like, “What? Yes. Definitely. At headquarters tomorrow? We'll be there. Oh yeah, I have to get my Jeep fixed. Window smashed out. You'll let us use a park vehicle? Great!”

“Well,” he said, leaning back as he shoved down the antenna and closed the phone. “Have I got news for all of you!”

“What, Dad?” they asked. “Tell us.”

“Mmmmmm,” Steven teased, “maybe I'll save it till after the marshmallows.”

“Dad!” Ashley and Jack ran around the table to wrestle with their father, Ashley messing his hair while Jack knuckled him in the ribs, shouting, “Come on—tell us!”

“OK,” Steven said. “I shouldn't be goofing around. This is not a happy story.”

That got them silent in a hurry. “Why?” Jack asked, but Steven had already turned to Olivia, saying, “I think we've solved the mystery of the vanishing cubs.”

He went on to tell them that the delivery van had been traced to a game ranch on an island off the coast of Seattle, where hunters paid tens of thousands of dollars to shoot exotic animals. “Not just grizzlies,” Steven said, “but mountain lions, wolves, bison, wild boars—animals that are protected or endangered.” It had been happening for several years, he said: Young animals were stolen or bought illegally, then taken to the island ranch, where they got fed regularly so that they never learned to fend for themselves in the wild. Almost tame, they'd be turned out when they became adults to become the quarry of rich, inexperienced hunters who could track them down without much effort, then shoot them for big-game trophies to hang on a wall.

“That's awful!” Jack exclaimed.

“For sure! But thanks to you,” Steven said, “the owners will be arrested. I hope they get jail time. First thing tomorrow, we have to go to park headquarters, because Kate Kendall, the woman in charge of the bear DNA project, wants you kids to tell her everything you saw happening to the bears today. She's leaving tomorrow for Seattle to go to the game ranch. With her DNA samples, she might be able to tell how many of the bears there came from Glacier.”

“They'll be returned here, won't they?” Jack asked.

Olivia paused before she answered slowly, “It's going to be a problem. If the bears were fed regularly by the people at that ranch, they won't be able to adjust to the wild.”

Ashley drew in her breath. “A fed bear is a dead bear. Oh Mom—Couldn't they go to zoos?”

“Maybe. Some of them.” Steven nodded, but Jack saw the look in his father's eyes. He was just trying to comfort Ashley.

“It's heartbreaking,” Olivia agreed. “But you three kids ought to feel really good. Today you saved two little grizzly cubs from going to that awful hunting ranch. You saved their lives.”

“And Miguel saved ours,” Ashley said.

C
olor seemed to radiate from Going-to-the-Sun Road, and as the five of them wound toward the summit, Jack felt as though he couldn't take in the beauty fast enough. Wildflowers splashed the slopes in a shower of jewels, pink clusters called shooting stars, then fireweed that blazed like candles next to blossoms the color of topaz, all scattered against a carpet of velvety green. There were 1,200 species of flowering plants in Glacier, Jack had been told, and he believed it. It was as if a giant box of crayons had been spilled out, one against another in endless patterns of browns and emeralds, purples and scarlets—every color under the sun.

“Dad, stop for a picture, OK?” Jack pleaded.

“We pulled over five minutes ago and five minutes before that. Sorry, I've got to keep driving. Otherwise, we won't reach the lake until autumn.”

“But Dad, it's the perfect shot. Look, it couldn't be any better. Come on, I've got to get this one.”

“There'll be another perfect shot around the next bend. I'm afraid you'll have to let this one go by. Just try to keep it in your mind's eye.”

Above, soaring rock faces towered over their car like enormous giants; below, shimmering windswept waters winked in the morning light. There was so much to see that Jack was almost frustrated as he attempted to absorb it all, to remember it.

Miguel, too, watched wide-eyed, his face pressed flat into the glass while Jack gazed out of the driver's side. Ashley, jammed between them, could still see enough to say, “Wow.”

“Es bonita,”
Miguel said softly.

“Sí,”
Ashley agreed.
“Muy bonita.”

Miguel seemed to be enjoying the three days he'd spent with the Landons as they toured as much of Glacier as they could squeeze in. Their Jeep was being repaired in the nearby town of Hungry Horse, so the park had loaned them an Explorer to travel around in. The delay was fine with Jack; it gave them a chance to be explorers. They'd traveled down the Trail of the Cedars boardwalk, amazed at the tropical feel of it: Pillars of shaggy-barked cedars stood next to black cottonwood surrounded by green ferns and mosses. They'd seen waterfalls slicing glaciated peaks, and water so clear it seemed the fish swimming in it were flying in air. They'd seen mountain slopes thick with huckleberries. They'd watched in wonder as a moose forded a stream, its long legs strangely delicate, like a dancer prancing across a stage.

Still, all the Landons felt tension as they waited to see what would become of Miguel; the worry never quite left any of them. The only one who didn't seem concerned about his fate was Miguel himself. Content to enjoy each day, he drank in the images of Glacier, breaking into a wide smile whenever he spotted a wild animal.

If Jack hadn't questioned his mother earlier, he'd have thought everything was fine. But when Olivia reported her conversation with Ms. Lopez, Jack's heart sank.

“She said Miguel can stay with us until Social Services figures out the next step, but he very well might have to go back to Mexico. She told me when she tried to explain it to Miguel in Spanish, he didn't seem to understand. He kept telling her he had to reach Seattle. She asked us to keep a close eye on him, in case he tries to run away.”

But he didn't try to run, not once. Whatever Miguel expected his fate to be, for the present he seemed happy. Ashley thought it was because Miguel had never seen anything like the spectacular beauty of Glacier, but Jack guessed it was more. With the Landons, Miguel was fed. He had warm clothes and a bed. He belonged. He no longer faced the world alone.

Jack knew, though, that one phone call from Ms. Lopez could change everything. Square-jawed men from the Department of Immigration and Naturalization—well, maybe they wouldn't have square jaws, but that was the way Jack pictured them—could appear and take Miguel away, back to his life of poverty. How could he return to that harsh existence when now he knew how many good things were in the world? All Miguel wanted was to change his life, and the lives of his family in Mexico. He was braver than anyone Jack had ever met. He'd saved their lives. Would it cost the United States so much to give him a chance?

In the car, Jack felt Miguel's elbow in his ribs as the boy eagerly pointed to the side of the road. Up ahead, white animals scampered across a mountain slope like bits of clouds. Miguel's face lit up as he chattered a string of Spanish words before he stopped to slowly translate.

“Look—over there. See…uh….” He shook his head, unable to come up with the English word.

“Yeah, I see them!” Jack exclaimed. “Mountain goats! There's a whole bunch of them—they look like they're hanging straight up on the side of that mountain. How do they do that? Dad,
now
will you pull over so I can get a picture?” he begged.

“You bet. I'll grab my camera, too.”

The car had barely pulled into a parking spot when the cell phone rang, loud and penetrating. Every one of them froze. Only one person would be calling them: Ms. Lopez. The phone shrilled again. Olivia hesitated just a moment before answering it. “Hello?” she said. “Oh, hello. Yes, I can hear you fine, Ms. Lopez.”

Jack felt his stomach clench. For the first time since they'd begun their tour of Glacier, Miguel's face clouded. He looked from Olivia, to Steven, to Jack, and then to Ashley.

“Yes, we're all fine. Miguel's been a delight. And he's got quite the appetite—I've never seen anyone that small eat so much. No, no, don't worry about the bill. It was fun just to watch him enjoy himself.”

Jack saw Miguel's eyes slide to the door lock on the car. The button had been pushed to Open, which meant the door wasn't latched. As if he were clutching the neck of a violin, Miguel's fingers wrapped around the chrome door handle.

“Yes, our Jeep will be fixed by three o'clock today. In the meantime, we've seen most of the park. It's been incredible.”

Slowly, quietly, Miguel released the buckle of his seat belt with his left hand, so gently it didn't make a sound. He was going to run, Jack knew it. If the news was bad, Miguel would bolt out of the car and take off just as he had so many times before, disappearing into the undergrowth until he could find another way to Seattle. Maybe he'd hitch a ride with another family. Or maybe he'd climb into a van with bad people like Max and Terry. Then, once more, Miguel would become a shadow. Jack couldn't let him do it. But it didn't seem fair to keep him prisoner. He'd come so far….

“So you've heard from the Immigration Service?” She shot Miguel a look, and then continued, “What did they say?”

“Uh huh. Uh huh. I can understand their problem. Yes, of course.”

Miguel's entire body stiffened as he leaned closer to the door. Jack tensed himself to grab him, wondering if he should….

“And the teacher in Seattle, Crecensia Álvarez, what did she say?” Olivia pressed.

Jack could see the whites all the way around Miguel's eyes as he took in a wavering breath.

“She did! Oh, Ms. Lopez, that's marvelous. Yes, of course, I'll let you tell him. He'll be so happy! Miguel, I believe this call is for you!”

When she handed the phone to Miguel, Jack saw the look on his mother's face; he raised his palm to give her, and then his sister, a high five.

“I knew they wouldn't send him back!” Ashley exclaimed. “I just knew it!”

“Well, you were the only one. It was nip and tuck with the people at Immigration, but they finally consented.” Olivia reached over and gave Steven a quick hug before exclaiming, “It's all set. Miguel's mother gave permission for him to live with his teacher, and the teacher agreed. He's going to Seattle, just like he wanted. That was a brilliant idea you kids had to get Miguel's story to the
Missoulian
newspaper.”

“And then the wire services picked it up,” Steven added, “so the story went out all over the country.”

“But,” Ashley interrupted, as Miguel chattered away in Spanish over the cell phone, “how's he going to get to Seattle? We can't just stick him on a bus, not after all he's done for Jack and me.”

Olivia grinned at her children. “You think we were just going to dump him? No way! Your father and I already decided that if things worked out—”

“Right,” Steven finished. “We're gonna drive him there, all the way to the front door of his new home. We figured we owe him that much.”

Miguel was still chatting happily in Spanish to Ms. Lopez—in his own language, that boy was quite a talker. Jack shook his head, hardly daring to believe the good news. Miguel was safe now. He would have the life he wanted, and the Landons were a part of getting him where he wanted to be.

Every single person in the car seemed to glow with a patina of happiness that a lens couldn't capture, but it was there, just the same.

A truly perfect picture.

G
lacier National Park has a special place in many visitors' hearts because it is home to grizzly bears. Certainly, a hike in the park would not be the same for me if it were not grizzly country. The presence of bears sharpens my senses and makes me pay attention to small things I might otherwise overlook. Of course, I always yell “hey bear” when I'm hiking to let the bears know I'm coming so I don't surprise one. To check if a bear has passed my way recently, I like to search for tracks in muddy sections of the trail. I'm always on the lookout for bear droppings because they tell me what the bears are eating. I've developed an eye for trees that bears like to rub their backs on. The bark is sometimes worn smooth and covered with hair from years of bear rubbing. In my studies, I use the hair to identify individual bears with DNA fingerprinting methods.

In
The Hunted
, Ashley is afraid to be in Glacier National Park after reading a book about two women who were killed by grizzly bears there in 1967. And who can blame her? There aren't too many things more frightening to imagine. But the bears involved in those attacks had lost their natural desire to avoid people because they had been fed human food. Over the past 30 years, we have learned a lot about how to retain the natural feeding behavior and shyness of bears by keeping our food and garbage away from them.

Unfortunately, many people believe all bears are blood-thirsty killers. Nothing could be further from the truth. As much as 90 percent of the diet of Glacier's bears consists of leaves, berries, and roots. Grizzlies spend a lot of time grazing on grass just like cows! Many of the animals they eat, such as ants and moths, are small. Bears do everything they can to steer clear of people. By using their keen ears and amazing sense of smell, they detect our presence and usually quietly slip away before we even know they're there. But you could encounter a bear at close range if it is windy or a rushing mountain stream drowns out your noise. When this happens, the bear is just as frightened as you are! In an instant, the grizzly must decide whether it is safe to run away or whether it must stay and defend itself. It almost always decides to leave.

As powerful and frightening as grizzly bears can be, their fate rests in our hands. Through habitat destruction and hunting, humans are capable of exterminating grizzlies. In fact, the population south of Canada almost became extinct earlier this century. Grizzlies survive here now only because we have decided to share some of our land with them. In a few national parks and wilderness areas grizzly bears continue to impart the aura of untamed nature that these places were created to preserve.

As an ecologist, I have been privileged to study the fascinating lives of grizzly bears and black bears in Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks since 1977. Each year is etched in my memory by my connection with these remarkable animals—1977: crawling into my first bear den to try it on for size (it was unoccupied at the time!); 1979: visiting a high mountain forest in April and finding six-foot-deep holes in the snow where bears had dug down to raid squirrel caches of pine nuts; 1983: watching from a ridge as a grizzly and black bears ate huckleberries on a slope turned crimson and gold with the arrival of fall; 1990: taking a spring bike ride up Going-to-the-Sun Road and spying a grizzly bear and her two cubs sliding on a distant snowfield. I hope all of you someday will have the opportunity to experience the magic of grizzly country.

Kate Kendall
Leader, Greater Glacier Bear DNA Project
Glacier National Park