Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 10:10:48 EDT From: Bwstories8@aol.com Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening - Book 7, chapter 9 - 10 The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening --Book 7 - by BW Copyright 2009 by billwstories Chapter 9 -- A Chance Encounter. **Author's Note:** Please read the disclaimer in Chapter 00 before you read this. As we got to know the family better, some of my straight boys started to become friendly with the daughter. At the same time, Andrew was thrilled to have someone closer to his own age to pal around with. The parents, Jake, and I spent a great deal of time together too, talking about our respective families and trips, while the kids went off and had some fun. Before they left, however, I warned my straight boys that nothing of a sexual nature was to happen and they reluctantly agreed. Otherwise, I told them they'd have to stay within sight of us. I guess the boys and their new friends used this time to investigate the island, but Andrew decided to use the time to investigate his new friend. He managed to get the boy to slip off with him, to an area away from the others, including us adults, and began to ask the boy various questions. At first they started off innocently, about what kind of things he liked, what grade he was in school and topics such as that. Over time, though, his focus changed and he began asking the boy if he had ever seen other boys or girls naked or if he'd ever fooled around. The boy admitted he had, in response to both questions, and then asked Andrew if he'd ever done anything. Andrew was quick to explain he had, but then swore the boy to secrecy before he told him about our family. The boy seemed to be amazed and surprised by all he heard, but it seemed to encourage him to loosen up a bit as well. Now, the boy asked Andrew if he wanted to do something with him, and when Andrew agreed, they found a secluded spot and quickly undressed. The boy had never seen an uncircumcised penis before, so Andrew had to explain to him about the differences. The boy was fascinated by it and asked Andrew if he could touch it, and Andrew quickly informed him he could do whatever he wanted with it. Without hesitation, and with great enthusiasm, the boy began to explore Andrew's penis and pulled the foreskin back and forth, constantly exposing the head and then sheathing it again. All of this attention began to get to Andrew, so it wasn't long before he was sporting wood. This was all the encouragement the other boy needed and he was soon masturbating Andrew and enjoying this act with his new friend. While Andrew was enjoying the stimulation, he was busy examining the other boy carefully. He noticed the boy was cut and quite a bit bigger than he was in that area, although the boy was a few months younger. The boy even had a budding ring of pubic hairs over his dick. Even though Andrew was intrigued with viewing the boy's assets, it only depressed him further about his own lack of physical maturity. When the boy finished bringing Andrew to his dry orgasm, Andrew asked if he wanted him to do the same for him or if he wanted to be sucked off instead. Seeing the boy had never experienced oral sex before, he was eager to try it, so Andrew began to lick around the head of his penis and the boy became extremely hard within seconds. Andrew continued to lick up and down his shaft and then ran his tongue over the surface of the boy's scrotum, before sucking on his testicles. The boy was moaning quite loudly, so Andrew stopped for a second to tell him to keep the noise down, and then he slipped his mouth over the helmet and began to nod up and down on his rod. The boy began to thrust his hips up and down, to match Andrew's movements, and it didn't take very long before he arched his back, shoved his penis as far into Andrew's mouth as it would go and released a few spurts of warm boy juice down Andrew's throat. Once his balls had been drained, he collapsed on the ground, silently savoring the moment. When he recovered, he thanked Andrew and told him how wonderful it had been, before they decided to get dressed and head back to camp. They didn't want anyone to see what they were up to and were afraid someone might come searching for them, because they had been missing for so long. As they walked back to where we were talking, I think I was the only one who noticed the never-fading grin the other boy was wearing and then realized I had forgotten to give Andrew the same warning I had given the others. I hoped this wouldn't create a problem, although I suspected the boy wasn't about to admit what had just happened to the rest of his family. The two were almost inseparable after that. Later in the afternoon, I did corner Andrew about what had happened and he explained the whole thing to me in detail. After he did, he went on to lament once more about the fact he wasn't showing any signs of reaching puberty and explained how much more mature his new friend was. Once again, we discussed the factors controlling the process and I told him he was probably just going to be a late- bloomer, but it did little to ease his concerns. I did what I could to alleviate his worries, but in the end I found that sending him off with his new friend was the best thing I could do to help him forget his problems. After dinner, both boys came up to us and asked if they could sleep in the same tent tonight. At first his parents were a little reluctant, but eventually they gave in to his whining 'request.' I also had some concerns, but figured I'd pull Andrew aside and explain them to him later, but now we had to determine what the sleeping arrangements would be. Since the father had been sharing a tent with his son and the mother had been staying with the daughter, the father suggested he could sleep in the tent with his wife and daughter for one night. This would let the boys have the other tent by themselves. I'm not so sure he would have agreed to it if he'd suspected what might be going on in there, but everyone seemed satisfied with this arrangement. Later, I spoke to Andrew and asked what prompted them to share a tent. He told me the other boy had suggested he wanted them to be together, so he could try some more things later. Hearing this, I immediately worried this could create problems, so I talked to Andrew about it in more detail. I told him if they did anything, they would have to wait until everyone else was asleep and then keep the noise down, which Andrew agree to. I also informed him he would have to make sure the other boy knew he couldn't say or do anything later that might arouse suspicion or bring this to his parents' attention, and he said he would. After thinking about this some more, I felt if anything did crop up later, we would try to downplay it. Due to their age, I felt it could be brushed off as youthful experimentation, so I was a little less worried. As it began to grow dark, we built a nice campfire and the boys decided to tell our new companions some of the ghost stories I had told them on previous occasions. They were smart enough to select the non-sexual stories and the son and daughter seemed to enjoy these tales, although I could tell their parents weren't quite as comfortable with some of the gory content they entailed. No one stopped the boys from continuing, however, and after they had finished, we decided it was time to turn in. Andrew and the boy went to their tent and I guess they stripped down right away and fondled each other while they waited for the rest of us to fall asleep. Once they thought it was safe, Andrew showed the boy how to sixty-nine, because the boy had said he wanted to try to suck Andrew too. Now, they licked and slurped on each other, with the other boy wanting to try everything he could. However, he was soon distracted and quit working on Andrew, as his own climax approached. He was so consumed with the sensations coursing through his body that he could no longer think about what he had been doing to Andrew and merely concentrated on his own pleasure. Once again he began to make various guttural noises and Andrew quickly stopped to warn him to be quiet, but when the boy didn't hush, Andrew merely put his hand over the boy's mouth, to muffle his sounds. This continued until the boy eventually reached the point of no return and spewed his seed into Andrew's mouth again. After he came back to his senses, the boy apologized to Andrew about having stopped taking care of him and then insisted on finishing Andrew off too. Andrew readily accepted his offer, settled back and let the boy do what he wanted with him. A bit ineptly, but very enthusiastically, the boy began to try to do the things to Andrew that he remembered Andrew doing to him. After a few warnings about things he should do a little differently, the boy began to get into a groove and soon Andrew's body was stiffening and shaking, as his dry orgasm slammed home. Once Andrew had sufficient time to enjoy his afterglow, the boys snuggled together and went to sleep as new best friends. The next morning, I went to check on the boys before the others awoke, since I didn't want anyone else to discover them in any compromising situations. As I entered the tent, they were both lying on top of their sleeping bags, still naked. I woke them up and asked them to put their underwear back on, while assuring them they could then go back to sleep. Groggily, both boys looked at me and nodded and then rummaged around, looking for their own briefs. Once they located and slipped them on, they laid down again. Before I left, they even thanked me for not letting anyone else see them that way. Leaving them alone, I went to start the campfire and make some coffee. As I did, I thought about what had just happened. I was somewhat surprised the boy hadn't been upset about me seeing him naked, but he never flinched, tried to hide himself or said a word. Not only that, but he even thanked me for waking him before his parents came to check on him. I was certainly glad I got to them before anyone else did, but I was still a little baffled by his reaction. I guess maybe Andrew had told him more about me than I was aware of, so the boy felt more comfortable in my presence than I would have suspected. As I sat enjoying the second cup of my fresh brew, Jake came out to join me. After he had a chance to down a cup too, we woke up our fishermen and went out to see what we could catch before the others got up. By the time we came back in though, everyone was dressed and getting ready to move on. In fact, our temporary companions were nearly finished packing up their gear, as Jake helped Pat and Dustin clean the fish. Jake and I cooked up our catch, so everyone could have some with whatever else he decided to have for breakfast. Once we finished, Jake and I began to pack up too, but not before saying good-bye to our new friends. We had all enjoyed their company and the boys were sad to see them go. Some were reacting because they hated to see the daughter leave, but I could tell Andrew and their son were having the most difficulty parting company. The boys stood side-by-side and gave each other a couple of hugs before the family left. I think there were tears in both of their eyes, as the family got in their canoes and paddled away. I made sure Andrew had some time to deal with this, by making sure I kept the others busy getting everything ready for us to shove off again. I walked up to him, before the others got in the canoes, to ask how he was holding up. Although he still seemed to be a bit weepy, he said he was fine, so I didn't push him on this issue. Before I left him, however, he told me he had his new friend's email address, postal address, telephone number and several other important stats, and he hoped maybe the boy could come stay with us sometime next year. I told him we'd see how things went, but I couldn't make any promises until I talked to his parents, but it seemed to suffice. At least I hadn't told him 'no' and I believe that was his biggest fear up to this point. Now that this situation had been handled, we all got in the canoes and moved on. We had one more day to continue in the same direction we'd been traveling, before we started to loop back and make our trek toward our starting point. We wouldn't travel over any of the same lakes until the final one, which would take us back to the outfitters. Our time out here in this beautiful wilderness was nearly half over and in another week we'd be heading home, so we could all get ready to begin another school year. Fortunately, the second week of our camping trip began with a beautiful sunny morning, instead of the violent storm we endured two days before. We paddled our canoes to the far end of the lake we were on and then tackled a portage of over 200 yards. Actually, the boys did very well navigating it, although Jake and I found this passage considerably tougher. You see, the portage started out going straight up a hill, which had roughly a thirty-degree angle of ascent, and I would have sworn that hill went on for at least one hundred and fifty yards of the portage. By the time we reached the top of the grade, not only were we breathing hard, but our arms and legs were aching from the exertion -- the legs from walking up the hill and the arms from carrying the canoe over our heads as we went. The boys actually seemed a little concerned about us when we stopped to take a brief break at the top. They even offered to carry our canoe and packs for the remainder of the portage, which I thought was very sweet. After thanking them for their concern and explaining we'd be fine, I could see they didn't agree with me, but didn't push the issue further. However, we could also tell they were watching us more closely now, to see if they could detect any signs of distress in either of us. We continued on, until we reached the next lake and placed our canoes in the water. Then, we set off again, but this time at a more leisurely pace. About halfway across the lake, our pace seemed to quicken, but I'm not sure how or why this happened. Possibly it was due to the fact that some of the boys got impatient and wanted to hurry so they could do something more fun or their adrenaline flow had motivated them to move faster. Either way, we soon reached the other end of the lake and were pulling our canoes out of the water once more. The boys decided this would be a good time to take a lunch break, although I think it had more to do with their wanting to give Jake and I time to rest up, before we took on another portage. We kept the meal quick and simple, in an attempt to make up for lost time, since we'd had to stay put on the island for so long during the storm. As soon as we finished, we grabbed our gear and continued our overland journey. This portage was fairly short, only about seventy-five yards, but again much of it was uphill. Once again, the boys offered to carry Jake's and my load, but we declined their offer. We explained we didn't belong out here if we couldn't carry our share, so although we appreciated their offer, we would do it ourselves. They weren't happy with our response, but realized it would be fruitless to argue the point further. The next lake was quite long, so it took us a while to get from one end to the other. After tackling the next portage and traveling the length of the next lake, I realized I was starting to wear down. Therefore, when we finally reached the shore at the end of this lake, I decided we'd make camp. We wasted no time in finding a suitable spot, unpacked our gear and set up our tents. Once we finished, the boys thought it would be a great time for a swim. In fact, we all agreed and felt it would be a good time to bathe as well, since we were all hot and sweaty from the exertion. We broke out the bars of ivory soap, stripped and raced toward the lake. Of course I had scanned the area first, to make certain I couldn't see any others about, but I don't think I could have held the boys back anyway, as they were intent on this idea. Once we were all in the lake, I urged them to clean up first, before they began their horseplay, so they passed the soap around, quite enthusiastically. Jake and I figured we'd be immune to being included in the action this time, since the boys thought we'd had a rough enough time conquering the portages, but we were wrong. Of course it was Ricky and some of his cohorts who began the commotion, as a couple of them leapt on Jake's and my back, so they could dunk us. When this happened, some of the other boys tried to retaliate on our behalf and this led to an all out battle. It was a madhouse as the boys tried to dunk or save us from the others, but it was all being done in fun. I was glad all of the boys happened to be strong swimmers, so I didn't have to worry about them while this was going on. I didn't have time to watch what was happening to anyone else, because as soon as I shed one body off my back, another would take his place. I would either buck the person off or flip him over my shoulder, but it would only be a temporary reprieve. I noticed a few of the boys were taking it easy and not attacking me, but it was mostly the older ones giving me a break. They were most likely concerned I'd overexert myself, but the younger ones kept coming like an advancing army. By the time this free-for-all ended, we were exhausted and ready for a respite. The fantastic part was that no one got angry or tried to hurt anyone else. To the boys, it was just a way to release some energy and a means to bond with the rest of the family. If you became a focal point during these episodes, you could pretty well conclude the attacker loved the person he attacked enough to feel comfortable doing such things with him. It was just like with the teasing and practical jokes the boys were so fond of. Everyone seemed to only target those whom they felt closest too, because they knew they wouldn't take it the wrong way. If they did the same thing to someone they were upset with or didn't get along with, it would most likely have turned into a battle, with each boy trying to get the upper hand over the other. This way, it generally stayed fun and was an enjoyable, although sometimes annoying, experience when it happened. Seeing everyone was nearly exhausted, we crawled out of the lake. I suspect we looked like something from an early Darwinian sketch showing the primitive life forms crawling out of the primordial ooze. We were all naked, tired and merely dragging ourselves back to shore, so it would have been a shocking sight for anyone who had chanced upon us at that moment. Fortunately, that didn't happen as we moved back to our gear. Some of us threw on our clothes, while the rest preferred to remain as they were. Jake and I began to get things ready for dinner, while the boys gathered up stones to ring the campfire and wood to burn. Before long, we had a fire going and dinner was being prepared. The boys were quite relaxed this evening, although I could see Andrew was still missing his newest friend, but everything went smoothly. After dinner we made an even bigger fire, but it was basically for aesthetic purposes. We didn't need the light, since the moon was quite bright, and we didn't need the heat, because it was a fairly warm evening, but it did produce a nice effect. Primarily, it was used as a backdrop for us to sit around and tell stories, but we also made sure it was totally out before we went to sleep. That night I could hear some grunting and moaning coming from the various tents, as the boys used the time to relieve some more of their sexual tension, but I knew there was nothing to be concerned about. Even Jake and I got to spend a little quality time together, although I found Andrew cuddled up against me halfway through the night. I guess he either missed his new friend or felt uncomfortable with the more developed boys now, but I wasn't sure which it was this time. I would talk to him in the morning and see if there was anything more I might be able to do to help reassure him. I hoped this was only because he was lonely or needed a fatherly touch, because his preoccupation with his delayed puberty was rapidly approaching the point of becoming an unhealthy obsession for him. The Castaway Hotel: Grand Reopening --Book 7 - by BW Copyright 2009 by billwstories Chapter 10 -- A Close Call? The next morning, I wasn't feeling very well when I woke Jake to go fishing, so I bowed out from joining them. I wasn't sure if it was because I was worried about Andrew and didn't sleep well after I discovered him next to me or whether I might actually be coming down with something. Whatever it was, I thought it best to rest up, so it would hopefully pass before it was time for us to move on. Jake understood and agreed to take the fishermen out alone, but he would let them go out together in one canoe, to give them a chance to gain a little confidence on their own. This meant Jake would be alone in our canoe, but he didn't seem to feel that would be a problem. Having gained his reassurance, I stayed where I was and cuddled up next to Andrew. It was about a half hour later when I heard a commotion outside, so I got up and went out to see what was going on. The second I moved through the tent flap, I noticed a canoe floating upside down near the opposite shore and saw someone splashing around in the water next to it. Focusing on the individual in the lake, I soon discovered it was Jake and realized he had somehow managed to capsize his canoe. The other canoe was rapidly moving toward him, as the boys went to his rescue. They apparently had been fishing quite a ways from him, so it took them a while to get there. Once they did, Jake merely grabbed on to the side of the canoe, but didn't try to climb in. He was afraid that if he did, he might tip them over too. Therefore, he kept a tight grip on the canoe and urged the boys to paddle toward the shore we were camped on. Once they got Jake safely to our campsite, they broke away and went back to retrieve our canoe. It was caught in the current caused by the stream draining from the other end, so the canoe was steadily moving away from them. We almost ended up losing it, but our quick thinking boys prevented that from happening. They managed to tow the canoe back to camp, and once they were safely with us again, I decide to find out exactly what had happened. "Damn, I lost my knife and a pair of sunglasses," Jake complained, as he came walking toward me. "Are you all right?" I asked, concerned. "What happened out there?" "I was fishing and enjoying the morning," Jake began, "when I noticed a snake in the canoe with me. It was slithering in my direction, so I tried to flip it out with the paddle. However, I only succeeded in flipping it on me instead and then I panicked, since I wasn't sure if it was poisonous or not. As I tried to get it off me, I accidentally let my body weight shift too far to one side, which rolled the canoe and forced me to take an unexpected swim." The boys were struggling to suppress their giggles at this point, but weren't totally successful in their attempts. You could still hear a few stifled chuckles and some other throaty noises coming from those trying to hold back their laughter, and this didn't go unnoticed. Hearing this, Jake began to turn red from embarrassment. I was trying to reassure him it could have happened to any of us, when he suddenly remembered something. He quickly stepped past me and moved toward the two who had saved him. "Did you get my fishing pole?" he asked. This might have also been his attempt to deflect attention away from what had happened, by asking about his gear. We all focused on Pat and Dustin, but they merely shrugged or shook their head in response. "Damn, that means I lost that too!" Jake moaned, obviously distraught. In fact, he appeared more upset about this than he had been about losing the other items or being part of this fiasco in the first place. "Why don't some of you boys go out and see if you might be able to find it," I suggested, although I didn't hold out much hope they would be able to recover it. My primary intent was to get as many of them away from the area as I could, to relieve some of Jake's discomfort. I felt he'd be more likely to relax and calm down if there wasn't a crowd around reminding him how embarrassing this had been. "Sending them back out isn't going to do any good," he groaned, looking at me. "Let's face it. It's lost and it's my fault." "Maybe they won't be successful, but it won't do any harm to try," I advised him. "Just give them a chance and we'll see if it turns up." "I'm telling you, it won't work out like you hope," he offered, discouragingly, "and if we're lucky, they won't lose anything else. I screwed up and that's what it cost for doing something so stupid." I continued to try to console him, but he made it obvious he just wanted to be left alone. Respecting his feelings, I moved away, but not completely. I only moved far enough to give him his own space and let him work things out for himself. When I saw he seemed to be in control of his emotions again and not taking it so badly, I moved off to see if the boys had found anything. A little while later they returned and I could tell by the looks on their faces they hadn't been successful. With nothing left to do, I decided to fix breakfast and then we'd discuss our next move. The boys were also feeling badly and were disappointed they had little to offer in the way of fish for breakfast. Hoping to redeem themselves, they decided to go out and try their luck for another half hour. I thought that would be fine, so I told them to go ahead, but I also advised them to be very careful. While they were out trying to be useful, I kept the others busy taking down camp and packing up, while I fixed something to fill their stomachs. Soon, Jake came out to assist me and it appeared he had come to terms with what had happened earlier. While we finished preparing the meal, our fisherman came back in, whooping and hollering. I suspected this meant they had managed to catch a few more fish to add to what they had caught earlier, but I quickly learned I was wrong. Although I could see one of them was carrying a few more fish for breakfast, the other had something else clutched in his hand. As they walked toward Jake, I could see he was holding Jake's fishing rod triumphantly before him. Jake didn't look up immediately and only turned when one of the boys spoke to him. When he did, Jake immediately spotted what they were carrying and beamed with relief. "How in the world did you find it?" he asked, surprised. "Well, it started when I decided to fish in the area where you had been earlier," Pat began. "Seeing it wasn't too far from shore, the water level was fairly shallow, so I was trolling for fish near the bottom. When my canoe started drifting with the current, I felt it wasn't a problem, so I just continued fishing. A short time later, I felt my line snag something, but wasn't sure what it was. I felt it might be a fish, or maybe some garbage other campers had thrown into the lake, but either way I gave my rod a yank and began to reel it in. "Whatever was on the other end seemed heavier than the fish I'd been catching," he continued, "so I was anxious to see what I had hooked. As I pulled my line out of the water, I discovered my hook had somehow gone through one of the eyelets on your fishing pole. I don't know how I was lucky enough to get the hook through one of those small rings that guide the fishing line, but I wasn't about to argue with my good fortune. I've heard people say they'd rather be lucky than good and so will I. After I realized what I had, I just took up the rest of my line and your pole came with it." "I don't care how you did it, but I do want to thank you," Jake gushed. "That's the rod and reel my dad gave me when I graduated high school and the reason I was so upset when I thought I'd lost it. I can't tell you how much it means to me and how grateful I am to have it back." The fishermen were beaming after Jake said this. They were pleased they had been able to help Jake recover his cherished possession, but no one more than Pat. He had just hooked the biggest prize of all. Jake actually had tears streaming down his cheeks, from the relief he felt at having his prized memento recovered. I think we all know how devastating it can be to lose something with so much sentimental value, but it is often even more emotional when you discover you hadn't really lost it at all. Well, that's what Jake was experiencing at the moment. He was so happy he began to hug everyone near him and the boys happily hugged him back. Once this little celebration ended, Jake cleaned the fish and then I cooked them over the campfire. Soon, we were all partaking of a more enjoyable breakfast than it otherwise might have been. When we finished, we grabbed our gear, picked up the canoes and made our way across the portage to the next lake. This portage was medium length, but it was flatter than most of the others had been recently. We made our way over it quite easily, got back in our canoes and began paddling across this new lake. Along the way, one of the boys saw a couple of moose drinking along the far shoreline and managed to silently draw everyone's attention to them. They were quite impressive creatures, but I'm glad they weren't any closer than they were. They looked as if they could be formidable adversaries, if they were angered or provoked, and we certainly didn't need such a tussle. We continued on, looking for more signs of wildlife as we went, but mostly we were just enjoying the magnificent scenery. We found it incredible that we seemed to be completely alone in the midst of this beauty, considering how crowded many of the other places we'd visited were. It was no wonder the early pioneers were so eager to explore this pristine wilderness and make the land their own, no matter how great the hardships. The rest of the day passed quickly, as we moved from one small lake to another, and the only break we took was for lunch. As it grew later in the day and the sun began to make its descent toward the horizon, I decided it might be wise to make camp a little earlier and give the boys some time to skinny-dip and bathe. As I signaled the others we were going to halt our progress, I also directed them to head in to a spot about halfway down the lake, so we could set up camp. As we got closer to the area, I noticed another canoe pulled out of the water and then spotted a tent, partially hidden by some trees. I was about to signal the boys to keep going, when I saw a guy near the tent waving at us. I waved back, letting him know I'd seen him, but now he was motioning us to come ashore and join him. I didn't want to be rude, so we paddled a little closer, but once I saw him better, I was cautious about my next move. "Howdy, fellas," the man shouted out as we drew closer. He had walked down to the water's edge to greet us. "There's plenty a space for y'all to set your camp up here," he added. I looked the guy over more carefully now, and although I hate to make snap decisions about a person, I did not have a good feeling about him. He looked rough and crude, plus I didn't like the way he was eyeing some of my boys. However, before I had a chance to speak, a second guy came out of the tent. I suppose he did so to see whom his friend was talking to. This guy appeared even more threatening than the first and looked downright mean, so now I was certain we didn't want to stop here. "Sorry, we weren't planning to set up camp yet," I told him. "It's just that some of the boys needed to relieve themselves, so we were coming ashore for that purpose. I don't want to mess up the area near you, so we'll just move farther down the lake." "Don't be silly," he countered. "My buddy and I have been pissing and crapping in these here woods for a few weeks now. You can't do any more harm than we have." "That may be true, but there's only two of you and adding this much more might leave an aroma you wouldn't want," I countered, hoping this would be enough to convince them. "Besides, the additional smell might also attract other creatures to this area, and that might not be good for you either." "Hell, y'all don't worry about no damn critters," he boasted. "We'll take care of anything that gets too close to us." I knew before he got the words out of his mouth that it was probably true, but I didn't like the look, sound or feel of this pair. "Just the same, we'll give you a break," I told him. "There's plenty of open space out here, so we don't have to do our business so close to other campers." I thought that would end the conversation, but he took a step out into the water, as if he were about to latch on to one of the canoes and drag it ashore. Instinctively, we pushed our canoes farther away and began to move on. "Well, why don't yuh just set up your camp here then," he suggested, when he realized we were about to leave. "Butch and I would love the company. We haven't seen anyone in quite a spell." I was determined there was no way we were going to do this, but felt I had to find a graceful way out. I was afraid if they feared we were suspicious of them, they might try to force us to stay, possibly by grabbing one of the boys. I may have been letting my imagination run wild, but there was something about this duo that made me uneasy, so I wanted to put as much distance between them and us as we could. "That's a very generous offer," I replied, hoping to placate them, "but we're already behind schedule, due to that storm a few days ago. We have to make up some time, so we don't get back late. If it weren't for that, we'd have taken you up on your generous offer. Thanks anyway, but we have to get moving. This was only going to be a rest stop for us, but we can do that at the far end of the lake instead." "Hell, man, by the time y'all get much farther, the sun will be down and you'll have to set up camp in the dark," he reasoned, trying to get me to change my mind. "Come on and just pitch your stuff here for the night." "Thanks anyway, but we really need to keep moving," I reiterated, as I signaled the boys to push on. "We desperately need to make up some time, but thanks anyway." The boys needed no more encouragement and started following me down the lake. As we paddled along, I glanced back every now and then, as if I were making sure everyone was keeping up, but it was mainly to see what those guys were up to. Whenever I looked back, I could see one of them still standing along the lake watching us, so I waved once, to keep him thinking we were friendly and not a threat. However, my primary goal was to make sure we weren't being followed. As we continued on, I kept hearing the song "Dueling Banjoes' playing in my head. It was the theme from the movie 'Deliverance' and reminded me that bad people can hang out in all kinds of places. Since I suspected that pair might be quite similar to the villains in the film, I wanted to get as far away from them as quickly as I could. When we were a few hundred yards away from the end of the lake, Jake paddled his canoe up beside mine. He had been pulling up the rear, to make sure no one got separated from the rest of us, but as he drew closer, he began to speak. "Damn, what was with those guys?" he wanted to know. "They were more than a little scary looking and acting." He appeared to be as freaked out as I had been and this assured me my suspicions weren't unfounded. "I'm not sure, but I just didn't feel comfortable being near them," I admitted. "I thought it best if we keep moving, so we could put some distance between us." "Oh, I agree totally," Jake confirmed, while nodding his head. "Looking at them made my skin crawl. I think there may be some inbreeding problems there." I knew he was trying to make a joke and play the situation down, but it wasn't working. "Yes, there was just something about them that unnerved me and sent shivers up my spine, so I wasn't about to stop and have the boys anywhere near them," I added. "Let's get over this next portage and then we'll make our way at least halfway down the next lake before we set up camp for the night." "We're going to have to hurry then or it will be dark before we get there," Jake replied, while looking at the sky. "The sun's going to start fading fast and once it gets behind those trees, we won't be able to see much at all." "I know, so let's pick up our pace," I suggested. We quickly let the boys know we had to paddle harder, as we made our way toward the end of the lake. They responded eagerly, so we reached shore in short order. I looked back again, to ensure we weren't being followed, and then we navigated the portage as quickly as we could. Even though you can only go so fast lugging all that gear over rough terrain, I think we did it in record time. Before I could no longer see the lake we had just left, I checked it once again and discovered no signs that anyone was behind us. As we came out on the other side, it was already getting hard to see, so I debated about making camp where we were. However, it didn't take me long to determine it would be best to put even more distance between my family and the two guys that had spooked me so badly, and felt it best to move on. Besides, if they were coming after us, this would be one of the first places they'd look. With that in mind, I urged everyone to hop back in the canoes and we began our journey down the lake. We kept going until I spotted what looked like it might be a suitable campsite, although it is often hard to tell until you actually get there. After signaling the others to follow me, I guided them toward the spot I had picked out. It wasn't long before we were pulling the canoes safely inland and unloading our gear. E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com - but please put the story title in the subject line, so it doesn't get deleted as junk mail.