The Boxcar Blues (22 page)

Barney looked out a window. The mountain
sloped sharply downward, but trees were supporting the aircraft and
keeping it from tumbling downhill. He said, “We’ll have to spend
the night in the plane. I’m going to the rear to collect blankets
and emergency water, then I’ll make a splint for your leg.”

The wife said, “I’ll find something for the
splint.”

“
Use whatever you need.
This plane ain’t much good for anything now.” Barney then thought
about which plane he was flying. He cursed under his breath when he
realized the plane he’d crashed was the Samantha Jean.

Catwalk and Julio flew to Albuquerque to
talk to weather forecasters. Information on the storm was sketchy,
but they learned that it had moved through the mountains on a
northerly track. Unfortunately, they had no way of correlating the
movement of the storm to Barney’s flight. If he departed before the
storm, he would have deviated north. Had he departed after the
storm, however, he might have flown south around the storm.

Catwalk looked at the chart and said, “I’m
betting he went north. Deviating south would have taken him toward
the higher peaks, and Barney always preached that mountains and
airplanes don’t mix well.”

Julio said, “I agree, but that still leaves
a whole chunk of country to search.”

Catwalk said, “Put on your cold weather gear
and fill two thermoses with coffee. We’ll fly the Jenny to Denver
tonight. In the morning we’ll back track his flight path.”

“
Got’cha.”

Barney carried the dead bodies outside and
covered them with a parachute. He looked around the plane to see if
there was a chance of it sliding down the mountain. He was relieved
to see that it was supported by several large trees. He then looked
at the surrounding terrain to determine if they could hike out. He
decided if they were going to leave the crash site they’d have to
go straight down the mountain, which would be difficult for him and
the woman; it would impossible to carry her husband out.

Back in the plane he helped the couple,
whose names he learned were Art and Helen Gates, get comfortable
for the night. Art’s leg was in a splint and Helen’s cuts had been
treated, so now all they had to do was stay warm. Barney went back
to the cockpit and made several more Mayday calls, but he suspected
there was no one within the range of his radios. He then joined the
couple in back and bundled up to wait out the night.

Art said, “Do you think anyone is looking
for us?”

“
I’m sure someone is, but
they probably don’t know where to look. We were pretty far off
course due to that storm. I might try to start a signal fire in the
morning. Smoke can be seen from a long way off and might get
someone’s attention.”

Helen said, “Do you know if we’re close to a
town?”

“
I don’t think so. I
plotted our position, but I doubt it’s correct because the storm
blew us around so much. Near as I can figure, we’re about twenty
miles from Kremmling.”

A silence fell over them as each person
considered their fate, and their chances of survival.

When Catwalk landed at Denver, he couldn’t
remember being so cold, but he was glad they made the flight. The
Rocky Mountain employees were waiting for them with fresh coffee
and a hot meal. He and Julio ate, then laid out their plans for the
morning. The Denver station manager asked him, “Are you going to
wait until you hear from search and rescue?”

Catwalk said, “No. We’re going to back track
his proposed route of flight and fly a grid pattern in the area
where the storm was the worst. Have you checked with the forest
service to see if any fires have been reported?”

“
We did. There are two
fires not far from Aspen that are believed to be from lightning
strikes. Forest rangers are enroute to check them out.”

“
Good. Julio, can you
think of anything else we can do?”

“
Just get some sleep, and
pray.”

Barney spent most of the night thinking
about his next course of action. His instincts told him to start
walking to see if he could find a town or ranch. Taking off
blindly, however, could be a mistake. He had no idea of which
direction to go and if he became lost, the chances of anyone
finding a single person would be worse than spotting an airplane
wreckage. Since they had food, water and shelter, he decided to
stay put.

At first light he went out to find a nearby
area where he could start a signal fire. He’d walked down the
mountain a quarter mile when he came to a clearing. He then used
his binoculars to search the landscape to see if he could spot any
activity, or smoke from a chimney. He saw nothing.

Back at the plane, he told Helen, “I found a
clearing where I can start a fire. I’ll fix our morning C rations,
then drain some fuel and start a fire. While I was down there I
looked for signs of civilization. There’s nothing out there but
trees.”

“
Well, I’m confident
they’ll find us. Do you have anything for pain? He hasn’t said
anything, but I think Art’s in quite a bit of pain”

“
I’ll get some morphine
from my first aid kit.”

After the meager breakfast, Barney collected
enough fuel for a fire. He then walked back to the clearing. His
next step was to find some dry wood. He was carrying his second
load of wood back to the clearing when he heard what he thought was
a car engine in the distance. He dropped the wood, grabbed his
binoculars and hurried back to the area.

He stood at the edge of a drop off and
scanned the mountain side. He heard and saw nothing. He scanned
again hoping to see some sort of human activity, but again saw only
the mountainous landscape.

As Barney turned to leave the rain soaked
ground gave way under his feet. He turned to grab anything that
might stop his fall, but only clawed at the dirt, while he slid
downward. Gaining speed, Barney slid down the steep incline until
he came to a cliff. Unable to stop, he went over the cliff and
landed on his upper back thirty feet below.

The fall knocked the wind out of him, but
that wasn’t the worst of his problems. When he regained his breath,
Barney made a horrifying discovery—he could not move any part of
his body below his neck. He yelled for help, knowing it was futile.
He was too far from the airplane; no one would hear his desperate
call. He then wondered if he’d even get out of the Godforsaken
spot, or if this was where he’d die?

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

Catwalk and Julio took off half an hour
before sunrise to search the area east of Glenwood Springs. Cat
started by flying a north to south grid with twenty minute legs.
Each time they refueled he’d fly a grid farther east. By noon they
had logged five hours air time, but hadn’t seen a thing that
resembled the remains of the Boeing.

After an hour Helen began to worry about
Barney. She lived in Grand Junction and knew the hills were full of
bear and large cats. She also realized that attacks on humans were
not uncommon. Art had dozed off so Helen climbed out of the
wreckage to look for Barney. She remembered him telling her that he
had found a clearing a quarter mile down the mountain side. She
started down.

Barney yelled for help every few minutes. He
could see enough of the terrain around him to tell he was on a
shelf in the side of a mountain. No one was going to run across him
by accident. If he was going to be found, he needed to let someone
know where he was.

Helen found the clearing and his two cans of
fuel. She then saw the logs he’d carried over for the fire. She
yelled, “Barneyyy!”

He heard her and returned the cry, “Down
here, Helen.”

She heard his voice but couldn’t tell where
it was coming from. She walked toward it and heard, “Helen, I’ve
fallen down on a shelf and I can’t move. Can you hear me?”

“
Yes, Barney, I can hear
you.”

“
Don’t try to get to me,
because you might fall. Clear out an area and start the signal
fire. Once it gets going good, put some moss or wet logs on it to
make it smoke.”

“
O.K., Barney. Is there
any way I can get down to you?”

“
I don’t think so and this
ground is not stable. Get the fire going and we’ll have to hope
someone sees it.”

Helen went back to the clearing and built
the fire. She then returned to check on Art, who was still asleep.
She worried about Barney because he said he couldn’t move, which
meant he’d have to spend the night with no protection from the
elements, or the predatory animals.

Catwalk and Julio flew all afternoon, but
saw nothing. Every couple hours, they coordinated with Rocky
Mountain Rescue to insure that they didn’t duplicate their search
efforts. They were on their last grid before returning for fuel
when Julio yelled, “Cat, I see smoke. Three o’clock, halfway up
that hill in the distance.”

Catwalk banked right and searched for the
smoke. “Where is it, Julio? I don’t see it.”

“
Hold this heading; it’s
at twelve thirty.”

Catwalk spied the thin wisp of smoke and
said, “I’ve got it!. Mark it on a chart. It looks too small to be a
forest fire.”

“
Yeah, but there sure as
hell ain’t no where around there to land.”

“
We’ll have to land down
below the hill and hike up to the fire.”

“
First, we have to
refuel.”

Catwalk looked at the fuel gauge. He
muttered, “Damn it. By the time we get back, it’ll be dark.” There
was no denying that fuel was their first consideration. He yelled
to Julio, “I’m going to make a low pass over the fire. If it’s a
signal fire and they see us, they’ll know help is on the way.”

Catwalk maneuvered the Jenny to make his
pass as close to the fire as he could. Helen didn’t see him because
she was in the Boeing with Art. Barney, however, heard the Jenny
when it was several miles away. As the sound grew louder, he craned
his neck toward it. When he saw the familiar Jenny, he yelled, “God
almighty damn! We’re down here; you’ve found us!”

He then looked at the skies. Twilight was
just setting and the Jenny couldn’t land anywhere close. That meant
the rescuers would have to land elsewhere, then climb up to them
and that could take hours. He wondered, would they try tonight, or
would he spend the night here, unable to move and exposed to the
elements and the creatures. He heard Helen’s voice. “Barney, can
you hear me?”

“
I can hear you, Helen.
Did you see the airplane?”

“
No, I was in the plane
with Art. I came out to put another log on the fire.”

“
One of my planes flew
over so someone knows where we are, but I don’t think they’ll get
to us tonight. They should be here in the morning.”

“
I brought some blankets.
I’m going to try to climb down to you so I can cover you
up.”

Barney thought, a couple blankets would help
him make it through the night, but he was worried about her trying
to get to him. He yelled, “Don’t try it, Helen. I don’t want you to
fall. You have to keep the fire going.”

Helen knew he was right, but hated the
thought of him spending the night down there with no protection.
Finally, she decided she had to get to him. She said, “Barney, I’m
coming down there while there’s still some daylight.”

Barney didn’t answer, but said a prayer for
the three of them.

Catwalk landed at Glenwood Springs and saw a
disturbing sight. The fuel office and terminal shack were both
dark. Because very few aircraft flew at night, it wasn’t unusual
for employees at smaller airports to lock up and go home at sunset.
He’d mistakenly thought with a search in progress they’d stay
open.

He and Julio climbed out and looked for the
refueling attendant, but saw no one. Catwalk said, “I don’t believe
this. Everyone just locked up and left. I’m going to find a way to
get the lock off that fuel barrel.”

“
Are you planning on going
back out there tonight, Cat?”

Catwalk thought about the situation. Because
the moon was bright enough he could find the mountain with no
problem. He wouldn’t be able to see the smoke, but he might be able
to find the fire, and thereby find the wreckage.

“
Yes. Time might be
critical if someone needs medical attention.”

“
How are you going to find
a place to land in the dark?”

Catwalk found an iron bar and began prying
on the fuel pump lock. He hadn’t thought about finding a place to
land, but the moonlight should be bright enough to spot a suitable
field.

“
We’ve got enough
moonlight. We can find a field.”

Julio clearly had second thoughts about
going back in the dark. “Cat, I want to find them too, but if we go
stumbling around in the dark, in the end somebody will be looking
for us.”

Catwalk had pried the lock off, so he
started pumping gas into the Jenny. He said, “O.K., you’re right,
Julio. Here’s what we’ll do. Let’s fly out there tonight, land as
close to the mountain as we can and sleep in the plane. Then we’ll
be close enough, so at first light we can hike up the hill.”

“
All right. I’m game for
that.”

Helen carefully made her way down the
hillside. Because of the rough terrain, she had to descend past
Barney’s position and then climb back up to him. She found him
lying on his back.

To Barney, she looked like an angel. He
said, “Thanks for coming down here. I figured it might get kind of
cool tonight.”

“
Can you move at
all?”

“
Just my head. I must have
broke my back, or something.”