The Other Side of Lone Mountain

Chapter Eleven

Mandy woke up the next morning at three o’clock. She got up showered dressed; she then got her hiking gear together. Finally she went into the kitchen and pt on a pot of coffee. When it was done she poured herself a cup and sat down. She began to think about all that had transpired within the past few days. She thought of how Paul had entered into her life. She hadn’t had feelings like these since Kenny died. Could it be that she was really attracted to Paul? “Ridiculous! You don’t even know the man”, she scolded herself. But she still found herself looking forward to seeing him again.

At five o’clock sharp Paul was the first to arrive. “Good morning” he said when she
opened the door. “Something sure smells good!” he exclaimed as he entered the house.

They proceeded directly into the kitchen and Mandy offered him a cup of coffee. He took it and sat down at the table and watched as she continued preparing breakfast. A short time later the doorbell rang again. “That must be Lone Wolfe, you keep doing what you’re doing, I’ll get the door.” said Paul. He got up and went to the front door. He let Lone Wolfe in and both of them joined Mandy in the kitchen.

Mandy poured a cup of coffee for Lone Wolfe and refreshed Paul’s cup and then poured herself a fresh cup. Everything was on the table so she sat down. Paul and Lone Wolfe had already started filling their plates. “So what did Jeff say when you called?” asked Lone Wolfe.

“I decided to tell him the truth.” At that they both looked at her in surprise. “Settle down boys. I didn’t tell him exactly what I was doing. I just told him that I had something I was checking out and I would clue him in on it when there was more information. That seemed to satisfy him for the time being.
Paul was chomping at the bit to find out what Lone Wolfe had found out from his friend at the lab. “Were you able to get any information from your friend” he finally asked Lone Wolfe.

“Nothing that can really help us right now. His glasses had only one set of fingerprints, which means that he probably dropped them. Nothing unusual on the piece of material, it just looked like he just snagged it on the brush. The leaf with the stain, the stain turned out to be blood. We won’t know if it was Mark’s until we find him. Finally, the leaf with the dust particles, they’re definitely from leather boots, the kind ninety per cent of loggers wear. It’ll take time to check out whom they belong to and that will be hard to do without alerting them that something’s going on.

At exactly six o’clock they loaded up Paul’s Grand Cherokee with her hiking equipment and some emergency rescue equipment. Lone Wolfe was to follow Paul and Mandy in his Hummer. Just in case they found Mark and needed the extra space.

They arrived at the clearing approximately at seven-thirty. They pulled out their hiking equipment and some of the rescue equipment. “Just in case”, said Mandy, when Paul looked at her with concern. The three of them headed down the east trail with Lone Wolfe in the lead and Paul bringing up the rear with Mandy sandwiched between. The ridge started approximately three-quarters of a mile down the trail and continued for three and half miles. In certain spots there were sheer drops. Anyone falling in these spots would never survive. The sides of the ridge were very rough with sharp jagged rocks extending from its face. There was also vegetation that jutted out from its sides but didn’t offer a victim a limb to grab hold to. They continued along the ridge searching for any signs of a person or signs that someone had even been there. They were nearing the end of the ridge and were about to give up. They figured someone was playing a sick joke on them, when suddenly Lone Wolfe lifted his hand up motioning them to stop. Lone Wolfe bent down and checked the edge of the ridge. He spotted an area where a chunk of dirt had fallen away. He leaned over the edge and looked down. He spotted a ledge just below the ridge. He scoured the ledge until he spotted what looked like a person’s leg. He called the others, “I think I found Mark!!”

Paul ran ahead of Mandy and reached Lone Wolfe first. He looked over the edge and saw the ledge jutting out just below the lip of the ridge. At first he didn’t see anything then he saw what Lone Wolfe was pointing at.

Mandy leaned over to take a look but didn’t see anything at first either. Just as she was about to straighten up she caught a glimpse at what looked like a person’s leg. Mandy said, “I’m going down to take a closer look.”

Paul responded, “No, let me go, if it’s Mark I want to know if he’s alive.”

“All the more reason for me to go down. If he’s alive and is in need of immediate first aid I can give it to him. Furthermore, I’m going to need both you and Lone Wolfe up here to pull him up, whomever he is.” Reluctantly, Paul agreed.

Mandy got into her rigging and started her descent. She reached the ledge and asked for some slack on the rope. She stood on a small ledge that formed a little niche against the ridge. It was just large enough to afford someone shelter from the elements. It was approximately six feet long and four feet wide with jagged rocks sticking out from the face of the cliff. There lying against the wall of the ridge was a man. He looked like he was dead so Mandy checked for a pulse. She found one but it was very faint and weak. He was barely alive. She called up for the rescue gurney. Paul asked, “Is it Mark?”

“From the description you gave me, I think it is, but you’re going to have to identify him.” She finished securing him to the gurney and called up for them to pull him up. While Mandy was busy securing Mark, Lone Wolfe had radioed for the Air Rescue. Their time of arrival was about twenty minutes.

Finally both Mark and Mandy were on solid ground. “He seems to be suffering from a fractured leg. I don’t think it’s broken. However, he is hypothermic we need to keep him warm. Let’s pull some more blankets from the vehicles. He’s also suffering from extreme exposure to the elements, and may have frost bite. They continued to minister to Mark while waiting for the Air Rescue. “I hope we found him in time to save his life.” said Paul.

“I hope so too” responded Mandy. “I hope he’ll be able to tell us what happened to him.”

Lone Wolfe continued monitoring Mark’s vitals; they were very weak. Another day or so he would have been dead. Mandy explained the ledge to the two men. She explained that the indentation in the ridge had formed some sort of shelter that helped keep Mark alive.

Suddenly shots rang out. Lone Wolfe and Paul pulled Mark to safety as Mandy pulled out her revolver and ducked for cover. She looked around trying to find where the shots had come from. She couldn’t see anyone. She stood up and just then another shot rang out and she noticed it was coming from the trees on the other side of the road. She fired several shots towards the trees where the shots came from. She wanted to go after them but her main concern right now was getting Mark to safety and medical help.

She called out, “This is Deputy Mandy Blake. Come out with your hands up.” No response. They heard some one moving in the bushes. She called out again, “Come out with your hands up. We have an injured man here and we need to get him to the hospital.” Still no response. She figured whoever it was had left. So she returned her attention to Mark. He didn’t look too good.

Finally the Air Rescue arrived. The first thing they did was check Mark’s vitals and then started an I.V. Once they were satisfied he was stabilized; they loaded him into the Air Rescue. He was still unconscious. The closest hospital was in Concord, NH and the trio said they would go directly there.
About three hours later the trio arrived at the hospital. They inquired at the emergency admission desk about Mark. They were told that the doctor was still in with him and pointed to the cubicle where they had placed Mark. The Air Rescue crew had already left. The three walked over to the cubicle and parted the curtain. The doctor was applying a splint to Mark’s fractured leg. “Excuse me doctor”, announced Paul. The doctor looked up from what he was doing. I’m Mark’s business partner, how is he?”

“Let me finish this cast and I’ll be out to speak with you.”

“Thanks” said Paul and closed the curtain.

After what seemed an eternity, Dr. Fischer came out. “How is he?” they asked in unison.

“Why don’t we sit down”, said Dr. Fischer. They walked to a waiting area and sat down. Dr. Fischer began. “He has a fractured leg, but that’s the least of his problems. He probably sustained the fracture when he fell. The more serious problem is that he has suffered extreme exposure to the elements. He is suffering from hypothermia so we’re attempting to bring his body temperature back up to normal. He was also very dehydrated so we’re giving him fluids to replenish what his body has lost. He received severe frostbite of both hands and feet, however, we don’t believe he’ll lose any of his limbs. He’s a very luck man. How long was he out there?”

“Well he was missing for five days”, said Paul. “Today would have been six.”

“I’ll say it again; he’s a very lucky man.”

“Can we see him?” asked Paul.

“I don’t think he’s going to be able to talk to you because he’s still unconscious.

“I just want a minute with him, please Doctor Fischer.” asked Paul.
“Okay; just you and only for a minute.”
“Thanks.” Paul got up and went to the cubicle where his best friend lay unconscious. He parted the curtain and walked in. He stood there for a moment looking at his friend, feeling very helpless. He turned to leave when he heard a faint voice call his name. “Paul? Is that you?”
“Mark! You’re awake!”
“Yes, what took you so long, Buddy?”
“Well you could have left better clues you know”, replied Paul, jokingly.

Mark tried to laugh but it came out more like a cough. “I knew you would find me. That’s what kept me alive, knowing that you would never give up searching for me.”

“Well, I had an ulterior motive. I didn’t want to have to explain to Vickie and the kids that I had lost her husband and their father. They would have skinned me alive. I’m going to go now and let you rest. The doctor said I could stay for only a minute. Welcome back friend. I’ll see you tomorrow. Till then try to get some rest.”

“Wait! Have you called Vickie? I know she must be worried.”

“I told her I would call her when we got back down from the mountain. I never told her I had not found you so she wouldn’t worry. But I’ll call her now that you are okay. See you tomorrow.”

“Thanks, you’re a good friend Paul”

Paul joined Mandy and Lone Wolfe back at the waiting area where Mandy was
talking to the doctor. As he approached them he said, “Mark’s awake.”

Doctor Fischer excused himself and left to tend to Mark. “Did he say what happened?” asked Lone Wolfe.

“No, he’s still very weak and I was barely able to hear him. I told him I would return tomorrow and we would talk then. He should be stronger by then and we’ll be able to question him.” The three of them left the hospital. Lone Wolfe went on home and Mandy proceeded to her house.