Eustian had been mending a broken fence line on the far edge of his acreage when he noticed a man on his side of the fence on the north face of the mountain. The man was wearing loose clothes and was covered in mud. On his back was a bulging backpack.
The stranger was walking with his head down and had not noticed Eustian at all. Eustian grabbed the 12-gauge shotgun he carried to ward off bears and quietly began to follow the trespasser. The man bent down, and producing a small mattock, started to dig in the dirt.
"Dang 'sang poacher," Eustian muttered.
At prices of upwards of $1,000 a pound, ginseng was a hot commodity. Eustian did not know the going rate for 'sang, but he knew it was illegal to be stealing it from his property without permission. And Eustian never gave anyone permission to stand on his property, much less remove valuable herbs from it.
Eustian crept up the slope behind the interloper as quiet as a mouse. He inched closer and closer. The man was too busy digging around in the dirt to notice the old man. The trespasser stopped his digging and unearthed a twisted dark tan root.
"Dad-blasted thief! Didn't knowed I was nowhere 'round, did ya?"
Eustian raised his shotgun and let out a whoop, just to put the 'fear 'a Gawd' in the poacher.
"What's your name, young feller. They need to get it on your tombstone."
Stop yer digging,'" Eustian said. "Stand up straight. I got ya dead in my sight. If ya run, I'm fillin' ya full 'a lead."
YOU ARE READING
Nobody Knows Your Secret
Mystery / ThrillerIt was a heck of a shot. It was the perfect murder. Someone killed Kyle Winthrop as he lay in his bed. His mother, Claire, doesn't care much - she's too strung out on prescription pain pills. But his Grandmother cares, and she begs her good friend...
