THE STORM CLOUD
THE STORM CLOUD
I RAN THE BOAT UP INTO THE
BOAT TUNNEL OF THE DUCK BLIND. THE BOAT TUNNEL HAD A SHEET METAL ROOF
AND THAT WOULD KEEP THE RAIN OFF US. I SWIVELED AROUND IN MY BOAT SEAT
AND LOOKED AT JOHNNIE. JUST THEN HAIL STONES AS BIG AS GOLF BALLS
STARTED POUNDING THE SHEET METAL ROOF. THE WAVES WERE ROCKING THE BOAT
FROM ONE SIDE OF THE TUNNEL TO THE OTHER. BUT MAYBE I BETTER START AT
THE BEGINNING SO YOU WILL UNDER STAND WHAT IS GOING ON.
JOHNNIE AND I HAD GONE TO
TUCKER’S CAMP ON CADDO LAKE FOR THE MONTH OF MAY. WE WERE STAYING IN
THE CABIN ACROSS THE DRIVE FROM MRS. TUCKERS HOUSE. WE REFERRED TO THIS
CABIN AS OUR CABIN BECAUSE THAT IS ALL WAYS WHERE WE STAYED. WE HELPED
MRS. TUCKER AROUND THE CAMP FOR PART OF OUR RENT AND WE HAD BEEN FIXING
UP AND PAINTING THE INSIDE OF THIS CABIN.
WE HAD A BUNCH OF LIMB
LINES OUT AND HAD BEEN CATCHING LOTS OF CATFISH. WE HAD CAUGHT SEVERAL
FLATHEAD CATFISH OVER TWENTY POUNDS. WE WERE USING LIVE BREAM AS BAIT
ON OUR LIMB LINES. WE WOULD GO OUT IN THE AFTERNOON AND CATCH A BUNCH
OF BREAM AND BAIT OUR LINES AND THEN GO BACK AND RUN THEM THE NEXT
MORNING.
ON THIS AFTERNOON IT
LOOKED LIKE IT MIGHT RAIN. I TOLD JOHNNIE TO COME ON AND LET’S GO CATCH
SOME BREAM AND GET SOME LINES BAITED BEFORE IT STARTED RAINING. “YOU
KNOW HOW THOSE BIG FLATHEAD CATFISH LIKE TO MOVE AROUND AND FEED WHEN IT
IS RAINING.”
JOHNNIE ASKED, “ARE YOU
GOING TO BAIT ANY OF THE CHANNEL CAT LINES WITH WEENIES TODAY?”
“FROM THE LOOKS OF THESE
CLOUDS, I DON’T THINK WE WILL HAVE TIME THIS AFTERNOON. LET’S JUST BAIT
THE FLATHEAD LINES.”
SO WE GOT OUR STYROFOAM
CUPS OF RED WIGGLER WORMS AND WENT DOWN TO THE BOAT. OUR BREAM POLES
WERE ALREADY IN THE BOAT. I CRANKED UP THE MOTOR AND WE RAN OUT TO SOME
STUMPS, WHERE WE HAD BEEN CATCHING BREAM. I TIED THE BOAT TO ONE OF THE
STOMPS AND WE STARTED FISHING. IT WAS CLOUDY AND THE BREAM WERE SLOW TO
BITE.
WE HAD ONLY CAUGHT NINE
WHEN JOHNNIE SAID, “THAT CLOUD ON THE HORIZON IS AWFULLY BLACK AND IT
LOOKS LIKE IT IS COMING OUR WAY.”
“YOUR RIGHT, LET’S RUN
BAIT NINE LINES WITH THE BREAM WE HAVE AND GO IN BEFORE WE GET CAUGHT IN
THE RAIN.” I ANSWERED.
I UNTIED THE BOAT AND
CRANKED UP THE MOTOR AND RAN OVER TO JOHN’S HOLE, WHERE WE HAD SOME
LINES. I SHUT OFF THE MOTOR JUST AS WE GOT TO THE FIRST TREE AND
DROPPED THE TROLLING MOTOR. I TROLLED UP TO THE LIMB THAT HAD OUR LINE
TIED TO IT AND BAITED THAT LINE. THEN I TROLLED DOWN TO THE NEXT TREE
AND BAITED THAT LINE. THIS WENT ON UNTIL I HAD USED ALL NINE OF OUR
BREAM.
THEN I PULLED UP THE
TROLLING MOTOR AND CRANKED THE BIG MOTOR AND HEADED FOR THE BOAT RUN.
BY THIS TIME THAT BLACK CLOUD WAS ON TOP OF US AND I COULD SEE THAT WE
WERE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT BACK TO CAMP BEFORE IT STARTED RAINING. I
PULLED THE THROTTLE BACK INTO NEUTRAL AND REACHED INTO THE ROD BOX FOR
OUR PONCHOS.
JUST THEN THE WIND WALL
HIT US AND AS I STOOD UP TO PULL MY PONCHO DOWN OVER ME, THE WIND ALMOST
BLEW ME OUT OF THE BOAT. I FINALLY GOT MY HEAD POKED OUT OF THE HOLE IN
THE MIDDLE OF THE PONCHO AND PULLED UP THE HOOD OVER MY HEAD. I PULLED
THE DRAW STRING REAL TIGHT AND TIED IT, SO ALL THAT WAS SHOWING WERE MY
EYES. I LOOKED BACK AT JOHNNIE AND SAW THAT SHE WAS IN HER PONCHO AND
HAD TIED HER HOOD SO ALL THAT WAS SHOWING WAS HER FACE.
I SAT DOWN AND PUT THE
MOTOR BACK IN GEAR AND STARTED FOR THE BOAT ROAD AGAIN. WHEN I LOOKED
UP I COULD SEE THE RAIN COMING, SO I TURNED AND MADE A RUN FOR A NEAR BY
DUCK BLIND. I RAN THE BOAT UP INTO THE BOAT TUNNEL ON THE BLIND JUST AS
IT STARTED RAINING. I TIED THE BOAT TO THE LADDER LEADING UP INTO THE
BLIND AND SWIVELED MY SEAT AROUND TO LOOK AT JOHNNIE. I PULLED MY HOOD
DOWN AND GRINNED AT HER. THE CORNERS OF HER MOUTH TURNED UP A LITTLE,
BUT I COULDN’T TELL IF IT WAS A GRIN OR A GRIMACE.
THE RAIN WAS POUNDING SO
HARD ON THE SHEET METAL ROOF OF THE BOAT TUNNEL WE COULDN’T HEAR EACH
OTHER TALK. JUST THEN HAIL STONES AS BIG AS GOLF BALLS STARTED POUNDING
THE SHEET METAL ROOF. THE WAVES WERE ROCKING THE BOAT FROM ONE SIDE OF
THE TUNNEL TO THE OTHER. THE LIGHTNING AND THUNDER WERE CONSTANT. THEN
THE HAIL PASSED ON OVER US AND IT WAS ONLY RAIN NOW.
THE THUNDER SOUNDED LIKE
CANNONS IT WAS SO LOUD AND THE LIGHTNING LIGHTED UP THE SKY LIKE FLASH
BULBS. ALL AT ONCE THERE WAS A SHARP CRACK THAT WAS LOUDER THEN THE
REST AND A BRILLIANT FLASH RIGHT OUTSIDE OF THE TUNNEL.
EVENTUALLY THE STORM CLOUD
PASSED ON OVER AND IT WAS QUITE AGAIN. THE RAIN HAD STOPPED AND THE SUN
CAME OUT. I UNTIED THE BOAT AND PUSHED US OUT OF THE DUCK BLIND
TUNNEL. NOT TWENTY YARDS AWAY WAS A CYPRESS TREE THAT HAD BEEN HIT BY
LIGHTNING. THE TOP TWO/THIRDS OF THE TREE HAD BEEN BLOWN OFF AND LAY IN
THE WATER NEXT TO THE STUMP. THE STUMP WAS STILL SMOKING.
“THAT MUST HAVE BEEN THAT
LOUD CRACK AND BRILLIANT FLASH WE HEARD AND SAW.” I TOLD JOHNNIE.
“I’M GLAD IT WAS THAT TREE
AND NOT THE DUCK BLIND THE LIGHTNING HIT.” SHE ANSWERED.
WE TOOK OFF OUR PONCHOS
AND I PUT THEM BACK IN THE ROD BOX FOR THE NEXT TIME WE WOULD NEED
THEM. THEN I CRANKED THE MOTOR AND WENT BACK TO CAMP.
WHEN WE GOT THERE WE FOUND
THAT IT HAD JUST SPRINKLED A LITTLE THERE. THE STORM CLOUD HAD MISSED
IT.
SOUNDS . . . RAIN AND THUNDER |
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