Hortons Bend Read Online Free PDF Page A

“You want a beer?” was about the most he could hope for on these nights. J.W. had been through this a couple of times and decided that his brother needed to be left alone when Ronnie was studying the past.
    Ronnie went through a ritual that he had followed for many years. He washed down the artifacts and used an old toothbrush to clean any dirt out. He was careful with those found in the area that had been burned. While he couldn’t afford to send charcoal samples off to a laboratory for evaluation, he kept the material separated and moisture free. Besides, there was no sense in notifying anybody. The big wheel archaeologists gossiped amongst themselves so he didn’t want to alert them to an area where he was hunting. After the artifacts had dried, he got out his journal and made notes within detailing the area they had searched. Earlier he had taken the time to pace out the area so as to have an approximate idea of its size in meters. Other notes were included such as distance from the river bank, color of the soil, size of the burned area, and counts of the artifacts themselves. Ronnie prided himself on his note taking. While he would never share this with others, he knew it was important to pay attention to detail. He began to look over the Savannah points and then compared them to those from the Stanley place. Sure enough his thoughts in the field had been correct as all the points had the similarity of the basal end. Small details to some people but important enough for him to remember.
    Ronnie was deep in thought when he realized it was getting late. He carefully put all of his notes to the side and cut out the table lamp. He walked out the front porch and snatched the cooler lid off to reach into the icy water for a beer. As he sat and rocked, he couldn’t help but think about Horton’s Bend. He knew the Horton family would never allow access to the fields in the bend. He didn’t like to trespass but he couldn’t get this site out of his mind. It would have to be on a full moon night. The weather would have to cooperate. Everything would have to be perfect including the river level since it was the only plausible access to the property. “Hmmm” he thought to himself “should I take J.W. or not?” He loved his brother and had always looked after him but this was a little more dangerous than trespassing. The Horton clan kept to themselves and didn’t abide by anyone on their land. Ronnie knew he could get away if need be but his brother was a little clumsy. He didn’t know the woods like him. Ronnie shook his head and bit his lip. Leaving J.W. out of this could also be trouble. He would have a hard time hiding what he might find…..J.W. was a little slow but he recognized lackluster artifacts from those that were outstanding. No. This was a matter of trust. He would just have to get an early start on making sure J.W. knew what they were in for. And after it was over they both agreed there would be no talking about that night to anyone.
    Monday morning brought about another typical week in the woods. The King brothers were working on a tract which had been sold off by the Patterson’s. They were a kindly old couple whose children had been long gone since going to colleges in Atlanta. Mrs. Patterson had brought the crew some lemonade at lunch time. The boys held off from drinking a beer after work in respect for the elderly couple. When they got into the truck, Ronnie looked at J.W. “Let’s go to the house. I got something I want to talk to you about.” J.W. looked a little concerned for a moment but trusted his brother so that it didn’t give him too much pause. When they arrived at Ronnie’s, they took their place on the porch with beers in hand. J.W. saw his brother rubbing his eyes. “Ron…you alright? You looked tired all day.” His brother looked at him in the most serious manner he had ever seen “I haven’t slept much this weekend, but there’s something I want us to do.” Ronnie laid