By noon he was starting to get a bit restless.  He had spent nearly an hour just brushing his pelt.  He had filled every waste basket in the cabin up with his excess fur.  James felt 10 pounds lighter and much cooler, but looked a bit "ruffled" around the edges, as his fur was uneven in a few spots.  He would have to see if there was a reputable barber in the vicinity.  James never liked to spend that much time on his coat, but had to every spring.  It seemed to him vain to spend so much time running that brush through his fur, but it was something that had to be done. 

Even though it was nowhere near dark, he was much too uneasy to sit and wait any longer.  He started to pack his waist pouch.  He had the kitchen send him some sandwiches, double wrapped in waterproof  bags.  James hoped not to get as hungry on this trip as the last one, but then, he didn’t think he would be out as long this time either.  He called the main desk and Sylvia answered the call. 

"Front Desk" she said. 

"This is Mr. VanAnkat.  I will need maid service this evening.  I will be out.  I regret the mess, but hope that you will keep in confidence what has filled up all my wastebaskets.  This is a "personal problem" I have that I would like to keep from becoming common knowledge." 

"We are nothing if not discreet in regards to our client’s needs and wishes" was Sylvia’s response.  "I will see to it myself." 

In the early afternoon he locked up the cabin and walked into the forest behind it.  He started off down one of the island’s other "wings", in the opposite direction he had gone previously.  He purposefully went as deep into the woods as he could.  Even though it was still as warm as it had been before, the heat was not bothering him as bad as it had when he first arrived.  "Must be due to the loss of fur, and my getting used to the weather" he mused as he padded through the forest, still occasionally stopping to leave his "mark" behind. 

Janet had also slept in late, but did not mean to.  She wanted to get an early start, but found it mid morning before she got up and had a quick bite to eat.  She was more tired from her journey the previous day than she wanted to admit.  By the time she got everything packed back up and started down the mountain following the tiger’s trail, it was nearly late morning.  As with James before her, she found it much easier going downhill than up.  Still, it was nearly mid-afternoon when she arrived at her starting point from the previous day, the wooded area and pond behind James’s cabin. 

She looked around the pond, and could once again see his large footprints all over the area.  "Well, this was a waste of time!" she thought to herself, "I could have just waited here for him!"  An idea hit her at that point.  She needed a shower anyway, so she went back to her room in the lodge and jumped in the shower.  "I will get cleaned up and go pound on his door - he’s probably resting in there anyway" she thought. 

It was nearly the dinner hour by the time she returned to his cabin.  She had dressed in a very colorful and sheer dress that left very little to the imagination.  Gently knocking on the door, she anxiously awaited him.  No answer.  She knocked again, more forcefully.  Still nothing.  Putting her ear to the door, she listened for a few minutes for any sounds.  Hearing none, she realized that he was not in.  She glanced down and noticed the fresh tracks in the sand leading away from the cabin in the opposite direction from before. 

"Shit!" she said aloud, "I missed him again!"  Janet slowly walked back to the lodge to get some dinner.  She would get some more supplies after this and start out after him once again.  Not wanting her family to see her and question what she was up to, she just ate a tray of food in her room.  After changing clothes and re-supplying her pack, she left again, following the fresh tracks behind his cabin into the forest.  "It is almost like he wants to be found," she thought, "judging by the obvious trail he leaves behind". 

After dinner Sylvia once again went to clean the tiger’s cabin.  "I wonder what he was talking about on the phone?" she thought.  Her question was answered when she went to empty the kitchen wastebasket and found it full of his shed fur, as were all the other receptacles in the cabin.  This puzzled her, until she remembered that it was winter where VanAnkat had come from, and of course, some people that lived in the far north developed a thicker winter layer of fur, which was "shed" in the spring.  "Poor man must be shedding all at once", she thought.  "His body must have been fooled into thinking that it was suddenly summer and is trying to get rid of it all at once." 

It took Sylvia longer than usual to clean up all the mess from James’s fur, especially in trying to vacuum it up from the rugs and cleaning it out of the shower.  She stopped for a short break when she got to the bedroom.  She immediately noted all the frames set out on the dresser that were not there the last time that she had been in the room.  The one that really caught her eye was the one with all the medals in it.  There was a large medal with the symbol from the flag of The Old Country on it that was much larger than all the rest, and on a fancy multicolored neck ribbon.  She stared at these frames for some time, pondering them,  and the tiger that was renting out the cabin, before finally getting back to work. 

As she came back into the kitchen to wipe off the table she found a note on it.  It simply said in a rather fancy handwritten script "for your extra effort".  Under the paper was a 10-note.  "He is a big-tipper" Sylvia thought as she put the note and the money into her pocket.  Finally finishing up, she made her way back to the lodge, still reflecting over what she had seen. 

By dusk James was on a medium sized, slightly wooded hill near the end of the "arm" of land that jutted out into the sea.  He had a fairly good view from this vantage point.  Buck’s rump was a little further away from this point of land than it was from the lagoon by the resort.  He could still see the island fairly well though, and made out the small figure on a canoe working its way back to the small island. 

"Must be Rale going back for the night after dinner" he thought to himself.  He carefully observed as the boy tied up his craft to a small inlet on the island, and made his way into the interior.  He saw a larger figure greet the boy, and assumed it to be Rock.  By now night was rapidly descending, and as he watched he noticed a small dancing glow of light emanate from within the forest that could only be the boy’s campfire. 

"Wonderful!" he thought, "Now I know where they will be staying for the night."  It was nearly dark now, and the moon was just beginning its ascent into the heavens.  James slowly strode out from the cover of the forest towards the beach.  He looked all around to make sure no one was observing, and walked into the water, being very careful to make as little sound as possible. 

The water was as smooth as glass this evening, barely a ripple on the surface.  It was cooler than the ponds inland, but still felt great to him after his long walk from the cabin.  Within a few yards from shore the floor of the bay dropped off rapidly, and James was forced to begin swimming in earnest.  He took his time, going at a leisurely pace, and trying to make as little noise as possible.  Stealth was of utmost import to his plans for the evening. 

It took nearly half an hour to swim across the channel at that slow pace, but it was far safer than going at full throttle and running out of energy halfway across.  "A tiger has to know his limitations" he thought to himself as he saw the island growing closer and closer in the moonlit night.  Finally, his feet began to scrape along the bottom as it rose up towards the island. 

He had swam around to the far end of Buck’s Rump Island, the end opposite the resort and facing the open bay.  Here he slowly emerged from the inky depths of the water, pausing at the shore to carefully check for signs of people.  He saw, heard, and smelled none, so he quickly shook his massive frame, trying to get as much water off himself as possible.  He was surprisingly not too tired from his swim, but thought that a small rest would be in order. 

He walked back and forth slowly along the shore of the island where he had come out.  He was looking for an easy way inland.  From what he could ascertain, there wasn’t one.  There was a large flat topped mountain (or large hill) in front of him that rose quickly from this side of the island.  Not quite a cliff, but getting close in areas.  From what he saw before coming over, it was a rather gradual descent from the lagoon side, so getting back down was no problem.  As he wanted to be unobserved, he had to ascend from this side.  After about 10 minutes, he finally decided on a way to go. 

Janet thought that she had him now.  James’s trail led down one of the "wings" of the island that eventually narrowed and dead ended out into the bay.  He was probably going to be staying the night at the end of the "wing", at the nice beach there, so it was here that she thought she would finally find him.  She was about halfway to the end of the island as night fell.  She thought about stopping, but was quite familiar with this area from her childhood, and felt as though she could navigate it safely, even in the dark.  There was a nearly full moon rising anyway, and that would help. 

A smell caught her nose as she walked on.  Looking about, she saw the telltale scratches on a tree.  Walking over to it she knelt down towards the base.  The scent was nearly overpowering.  She ran her fingers over the base of the tree.  It was still wet!  He had to be close!  This revelation acted like a shot of adrenaline, as Janet began to pick up the pace, nearly running through the thick underbrush towards her goal.  She did wonder though how she was going to get that awful smell off of her fingers. 

She burst through the lush forest onto the beach at the end of the spit of land about an hour later.  She was somewhat amazed to find no one there.  She quickly looked at the sand of the beach in the bright moonlight for any evidence of his presence.  There were no tracks, no smells, no clawed trees.  The area looked pristine, as if man had never been here for all of time.  "He must have turned off to one of the side beaches" she thought. 

Janet carefully began to backtrack, trying to be as silent as possible.  She was good at that, years of practice on sneaking up on her siblings was going to pay off.  She remembered a "marked" tree about 100 yards back or so, so he had to be between that and where she was now.  She had been carefully observing the area, and before she knew it, she came upon the tree, but still no signs of the elusive tiger, other than the trees.  "He must be along the shore somewhere!" she thought to herself. 

From that tree she walked towards the beach, which was only a few hundred yards away.  She found nothing, no signs.  She walked through the sands of the beach towards the end she had first come out onto, carefully observing for any telltale clue of the man’s presence or passing.  Before long, she was back where she had started.  Frustration was setting in quickly.  She continued back towards the lagoon side of the "wing" of land.  The beach was narrower here, only about 4-8 feet from the forest edge. 

Finally, she saw something.  There, in the sand, where his large pawprints.  She carefully made her way back into the forest.  Within five minutes she was back at the tree, and still no sign of him.  "What is going on?", she mused.  She carefully tracked back towards the beach.  She reached the edge of the forest and looked for his tracks.  Finding them, she followed the tracks carefully.  Only one single file set of them, and they led right into the water.  She looked into the lagoon thinking he might be out there swimming, but saw nothing. 

As she pondered the situation, Janet wondered what that damnable tiger had done.  Was he playing games with her?  Did he double back in the water to hide his tracks?  She doubted that, he was marking his trail far too well.  There was no reason why he would do that.  Then she saw it - the small orange light coming from the island across the lagoon.  He must have swam over to Buck’s Rump!  He could be at that very fire right now.  Either that or it was her brothers over there. 

Either way, it was far too late, and she was far too tired to safely swim over, especially from this point.  The distance was much closer from the area by the lodge.  Her mind was made up - she was going back to the larger beach and set up camp for the night.  In the morning, she would go back to the lodge, get a canoe, and paddle over to the island to continue her search.  Hopefully, she would be able to corner her quarry there in the daylight of tomorrow. 

James slowly made his way up the mountain.  This was a much trickier climb than before.  Very steep, and very overgrown with vines and shrubs.  For every step up, there were two back.  Just as he was beginning to wonder whether it was worth it, he arrived at the top.  Panting somewhat, he looked around him.  There was a relatively clear and flat area, similar to the other summit he had previously been to.  What surprised him though, was the evidence of use.  What he saw was a well worn trail that led back from where he was, back down into the forest.  It ended near him, in an area of matted down grass, with a fire ring that had been used very frequently. 

He cautiously put his hand into the ashes of the fire ring.  Ice cold.  It had not been used anytime recently he surmised.  He inhaled deeply, trying to catch any residual scents.  He bent down, and placed his nose near the area of worn grasses and inhaled again.  "Rale - I can detect a slight scent of him, very old", he thought to himself, "and another scent - just as old, but stronger in its makeup, definitely canine.  Must be his brother Rock." 

There were no trees nearby, so James let loose with a blast of urine onto the grassy area and all over the fire pit.  Walking over to the edge he had climbed up from minutes before, he sat down, and looked skywards.  "Another gorgeous night!" he softly said.  Opening up his pack, he removed the sandwiches, and had a late dinner under the stars. 

After resting and eating, he felt renewed, and ready for the next part of his journey.  By now it was well after midnight, and he was sure that the boys would be fast asleep, down by there campfire.  Just in case though, he was going to have to be very stealthy.  Everything depended on it.  They must not hear or see him.  James carefully made his way down the well used trail, stopping more frequently than usual to "mark" it.  In the bright moonlight it was relatively easy to follow.  Somehow, he knew it would lead him right to the boys camp. 

Within an hours time he was close enough to vaguely make out the glowing embers of the fire.  Freezing in his tracks, James paused and listened carefully.  He heard nothing unusual.  Smelling the air, nothing seemed out of place.  He advanced very slowly, a few feet at a time.  He would stop, look, listen, and smell each time.  Then he "marked", and continued on.  Within ten minutes he had the boys in sight. 

They lay out in the open, next to the campfire, curled up against one another for warmth.  The path opened up into a very small clearing that they were in, and then started again as it made its way down to the small inlet were the canoe was.  As silently as he possibly could, James advanced on them.  One foot after another, staring at the forms, listening closely to the rhythm of their breathing, watching their chests rise and fall with each breath they took.  As this was the first time he had actually seen Rock, he was somewhat surprised by his rough hewn large "wolfen" features and age.  He almost looked to old to be one of Sylvia’s children. 

When he was about two feet from their sleeping forms James stopped.  He was near their feet.  He stood as still as he could and just watched them for almost five minutes.  When he was satisfied that they were deeply asleep, he reached down, and grabbing hold of his penis, he let loose with a well aimed blast of urine.  He quickly worked it around so that the spray gently fell upon the ground and the lower part of both the sleeping forms.  He made sure that they were sprayed well, even their tails, but not enough so as to wake them.  He stopped as quickly as he started and froze in place again, monitoring his victims.  Detecting no change in them, he slowly retreated down the path, "marking it" as well as he went. 

James had planned on swimming back to the lodge, and then returning to his cabin.  As he stepped into the water though, he saw the canoe tied up to a tree nearby.  Another idea came to him.  Walking over to the canoe, he quickly untied it, and as quietly as he could, he got in and shoved off.  It had been ages since he had been in one, but it came back to him quickly.  In less than 15 minutes he was back to the docks in front of the resort. 

As he tied up the canoe to the dock, he noticed Kari’s plane tethered to the dock on the opposite side.   "The good Captain must have a flight leaving tomorrow" he mused.  After securing the canoe, he slowly walked back to his cabin.  The sun would be rising very soon, and he was extremely tired from the nights activities.  But it was a good tired.  He felt he had accomplished a goal, but as he opened his cabin door, he wondered if there would be some repercussions from his "night moves". 

"Let the chips fall were they may" he said aloud as he closed the door and went into the bathroom.  After a quick shower he nearly fell into his bed.  It had all started to catch up with him - the swimming, climbing, hiking, and paddling.  It had indeed been a long day and night.