It was nearly 10 p.m. by the time Grandpa and Mr. Pepys had organized the search party. After much pleading, I was allowed to go out with Grandpa on account of I was the last person who saw Stumpy before he’d disappeared. There was no moon, and the light from our lanterns was quickly absorbed by the inky blackness of the night.
There were 15 or 20 people from Broomfield assembled. Most were the parents of our school friends. But the de facto leader of the group was Hurk McHurk. He was older than Grandpa. And Hurk had about as many legends about his own exploits as the Broomsquach did. Some said that Hurk was raised by bears in the foothills above Boulder. Others said he was raised by bears in the foothills above Golden. Still others said that Hurk was raised by bears on the plains near Platteville, which is unlikely because there aren’t any bears over there.
We followed the Community Ditch out toward Superior, calling out Stumpy’s name almost every step. The men took turns wading through the ditch looking for any sign that Stumpy might have passed through the area.
Every ten minutes or so, Hurk would hold up his right hand, and the whole party would freeze. Sometimes Hurk would drop to his hands and knees and give the ground a big, healthy sniff. Other times he’d put his cheek to the dirt and ear to the ground. He’d close the eye furthest from the ground and gaze down the ditch path. After about 30 seconds he’d stand back up, brush the dirt from his pants, spit, and say “Hmmpphh!” Then we’d all start walking and shouting for Stumpy again.
Hurk was a man of few words, but many noises. This made it especially poignant when he sidled up to me and began asking me questions.
“Did ya see anything, um, strange before he disappeared?” Hurk asked.
“Just the beer bottle caps,” I replied. “But that’s not really very strange, I guess.”
“Did ya see what kind of beer is was?”
“They looked like Coors caps, Mr. McHurk”
“Did ya smell anything?” Hurk asked, turning to me and putting his face into mine.
“No. Not that I remember, sir.”
“Hmmpphh!” Hurk said. Then he spat again.
Around 3 a.m we got to the spot where Stumpy had disappeared. The bends in the Community Ditch were easily recognizable, even in the dark.
“I was standing here,” I said. “And Stumpy was over there.” I pointed to where Stumpy was standing before he found the bottle caps. “And then he went around the bend, there.”
I ran all the way around the bend and lost sight of the entire group. I reached the spot where Stumpy had found the bottle caps, and I looked back behind me at the bend. For a moment I felt like I was all alone in the dark. But then a few seconds later I saw the lanterns of the group file around the bend. They started walking toward me.
I turned to locate the grain bag full of bottle caps, but they weren’t in the circle of light cast by my lantern. Everywhere I looked there was just the ditch bank. No bottle caps anywhere.
“They were right here,” I cried incredulously. “Really! They were right here!”
I looked down at the undisturbed soil. There was no evidence that anything had been buried or removed from the area. But I knew this was exactly where Stumpy was kneeling when he plunged his hands deep into the pile of bottle caps. Soon a few members of the group spread out around me trying to find the bag.
“No!” I said. “They were right here, I tell you!”
“You’re sure this is the spot?” Hurk asked, even though he knew the answer.
“Absolutely, sir!” I cried back.
“Show me exactly where, boy!” Hurk commanded. “I want to know the precise location, down to the inch!”
I got down on my knees in the same position that Stumpy was in. I looked back to the bend where I had been standing when Stumpy had disappeared. I turned a little bit to the right and lined myself up. And that was it. I was kneeling exactly where Stumpy had been kneeling.
Hurk pulled me up by the collar and pushed me out of the way. Then he knelt down in that exact spot. He put his palms flat on the ground and then plunged his face directly into the dry, dusty soil. He gave a great big sniff through his nose, inhaling the dust from the soil. He moved to the left about four inches. When he lifted his head, you could see an outline of dust on his face. Then he plunged his face into the ground again and gave a second great inhalation.
At that he started digging in the soil with both hands like a dog. Once he’d gotten down about three to four inches, he reached into the hole with his thumb and index finger and tweezered something out of the soil.
He held it up to his eyes and yelled, “Light!”
Mr. Pepys put his lantern down next to Hurk’s face. Hurk was holding a cigarette butt, burned down to the filter. In small, green type around the end of the butt was a single word, “KOOL.”
“It’s him!” Hurk replied. And he flicked the cigarette butt into the ditch. To the east the sky was beginning to lighten for the sunrise.
# # #
Meanwhile, Grandma took a lantern out to the barn. She hung it on a high hook so it illuminated the main part of the barn floor. She then picked up a hoe and scratched a perfect circle about 10 feet in diameter into the dirt floor in the center of the barn.
Grandma knelt down, placed her palms flat on the earth, and took a great, big sniff. She moved to the left about 3 inches and did it again. Then she dug into the earth with both hands. About six inches down she located something hard and wooden. She dug around it and was quickly able to loosen it from the earth. It was a small box about six inches wide and shallow, like a cigar box. But this box didn’t have any markings on it. It did have hinges, though. Grandma blew the dirt away from the hinges and opened the box.
Inside the box was a corn husk doll in the shape of a man. It was dark brown. Grandma lifted the doll out of the box, held it to her heart with both hands, closed her eyes and bowed her head. After a minute, she returned the doll to the box. Before she closed the box she reached into her dress pocket and retrieved six Coors Banquet Beer bottle caps. Very precisely, and with great deliberation, she placed the bottle caps in a circle around the doll. Then she carefully placed the box back in the hole and covered it with dirt.
# # #
Just after sunrise on a small hill located about where the Lafayette Wal-Mart stands today, Stumpy awoke next to a tree. He stood up, brushed the dirt from his pants and took his bearings by looking at the mountains and then at the rising sun. He looked back at Long’s Peak to gauge where he was. Then he started trekking south toward home.
He certainly had a story to tell. But he had absolutely no idea what would happen if he told it.
To be continued...