a life altering experience. He was in school when it
happened and it came from a most unlikely source. He was being
forced to watch a movie of a Shakespeare play and, like his
classmates, thought this was a waste of time. Then he saw the
setting for the first act of the play; Ellsinore. He saw that name
and the bottom dropped out of his world. Gone was the screen and
the classroom and the children. He was back on the Agamemnon, eight
years old and being chased by two men in the Ellsinore . His
reaction was almost like epilepsy; he stiffened up and started
shaking though he was not foaming at the mouth. For the first time
since he was half his present age he recognized the name of the
speedboat. It was the last piece of a puzzle that had been haunting
his dreams ever since it happened.
“Uncle Ginger, I remember. I saw it today in
school and I remember the name of the boat that was chasing us the
day they killed my father. I want to find that boat and I want to
kill the bastard who shot you.”
“Is that right? Suddenly you are the
avenging angel, eh? You think you can just find out where this boat
is and go there and shoot this man?”
“Yes, sir, that is exactly what I
think.”
“So you’re going to go in there without a
plan? Without backup? Without a driver’s license or a second
thought?”
“I know what he looks like and he won’t be
expecting me. I intend to find him and kill him and you won’t stop
me.”
“Look here, boy, I don’t intend to stop you.
I don’t intend to try to stop you. What I do intend to do is keep
you from throwing your whole life away on something because you
didn’t think it through. When you hunt foxes you go where the
rabbits are. You know the fox will be after the rabbits so that’s
where you look for him. That is not all there is to it though, is
it?”
“No. You need to watch the rabbit runs. The
fox doesn’t set up too close to the hole because he needs some
space to get the rabbit before it reaches its burrow.”
“Aye, that’s one aspect, but there is so
much more that you are so used to doing that you don’t even think
about it any more. You don’t walk on their trails, you don’t stand
upwind, you don’t walk through poison ivy, and you don’t walk
through nettles.”
“But there is no parallel to that in the
city.”
“You don’t know he is in the city. You don’t
alert another fox who will in turn alert your prey. You don’t wait
‘til you see the fox to load your gun. You don’t go shuffling
through piles of dead leaves. What I am saying is there is so much
more to hunting than pulling a trigger. That is compounded 10 times
when you hunt a thinking prey. Especially when you are hunting a
professional. How many cars have driven down the road since you got
home from school?”
“Two, three if you include Jerry Cuthbert’s
car.”
“That is what I mean. You remember things
like that. Now then, boy, was either of those cars a big
block?”
“No, sir. I can tell a big block. I might be
fooled by another V-8, but both those cars had whiney four
cylinders.”
“Good. You notice things like that. Now, do
think there is a chance that this man will not notice the rumble of
a high-compression 327? Do you think you can drive that Monaro
around a suburban neighborhood undetected?”
Terry was silent. He resented being spoken
to like a child even if he was one.
“Now, what is your source of reference to
know where this boat is?”
“I thought I could go to town hall…”
“No. Go to the library in the school and
talk to the librarian. She will be able to tell you when and where
the records are available, or she can find out. It’s probably
registered under a phony name anyway, but the library is always a
good place to start. Don’t tell anyone why you want to find the
information, make up a story. Tell them I want to buy the boat. I
saw it and just loved it and wanted to find the owner so I could
tender an offer to buy it. That way you
happened and it came from a most unlikely source. He was being
forced to watch a movie of a Shakespeare play and, like his
classmates, thought this was a waste of time. Then he saw the
setting for the first act of the play; Ellsinore. He saw that name
and the bottom dropped out of his world. Gone was the screen and
the classroom and the children. He was back on the Agamemnon, eight
years old and being chased by two men in the Ellsinore . His
reaction was almost like epilepsy; he stiffened up and started
shaking though he was not foaming at the mouth. For the first time
since he was half his present age he recognized the name of the
speedboat. It was the last piece of a puzzle that had been haunting
his dreams ever since it happened.
“Uncle Ginger, I remember. I saw it today in
school and I remember the name of the boat that was chasing us the
day they killed my father. I want to find that boat and I want to
kill the bastard who shot you.”
“Is that right? Suddenly you are the
avenging angel, eh? You think you can just find out where this boat
is and go there and shoot this man?”
“Yes, sir, that is exactly what I
think.”
“So you’re going to go in there without a
plan? Without backup? Without a driver’s license or a second
thought?”
“I know what he looks like and he won’t be
expecting me. I intend to find him and kill him and you won’t stop
me.”
“Look here, boy, I don’t intend to stop you.
I don’t intend to try to stop you. What I do intend to do is keep
you from throwing your whole life away on something because you
didn’t think it through. When you hunt foxes you go where the
rabbits are. You know the fox will be after the rabbits so that’s
where you look for him. That is not all there is to it though, is
it?”
“No. You need to watch the rabbit runs. The
fox doesn’t set up too close to the hole because he needs some
space to get the rabbit before it reaches its burrow.”
“Aye, that’s one aspect, but there is so
much more that you are so used to doing that you don’t even think
about it any more. You don’t walk on their trails, you don’t stand
upwind, you don’t walk through poison ivy, and you don’t walk
through nettles.”
“But there is no parallel to that in the
city.”
“You don’t know he is in the city. You don’t
alert another fox who will in turn alert your prey. You don’t wait
‘til you see the fox to load your gun. You don’t go shuffling
through piles of dead leaves. What I am saying is there is so much
more to hunting than pulling a trigger. That is compounded 10 times
when you hunt a thinking prey. Especially when you are hunting a
professional. How many cars have driven down the road since you got
home from school?”
“Two, three if you include Jerry Cuthbert’s
car.”
“That is what I mean. You remember things
like that. Now then, boy, was either of those cars a big
block?”
“No, sir. I can tell a big block. I might be
fooled by another V-8, but both those cars had whiney four
cylinders.”
“Good. You notice things like that. Now, do
think there is a chance that this man will not notice the rumble of
a high-compression 327? Do you think you can drive that Monaro
around a suburban neighborhood undetected?”
Terry was silent. He resented being spoken
to like a child even if he was one.
“Now, what is your source of reference to
know where this boat is?”
“I thought I could go to town hall…”
“No. Go to the library in the school and
talk to the librarian. She will be able to tell you when and where
the records are available, or she can find out. It’s probably
registered under a phony name anyway, but the library is always a
good place to start. Don’t tell anyone why you want to find the
information, make up a story. Tell them I want to buy the boat. I
saw it and just loved it and wanted to find the owner so I could
tender an offer to buy it. That way you
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