* * *
The rain did little to inhibit Caleb in his duties. He cleared trails, marked up his plans, and most importantly searched for signs of illegal mining, all while ignoring the never-ending rainfall.
Despite his constant vigilance, he'd yet to find any sign of Masterson's miners. As the days passed, the rains continued, suiting Caleb's bleak mood perfectly. However, as the water levels rose, so did his anxiety. The rain in Oregon was generally like a gentle shower, so light that most natives didn't bother with umbrellas. But this week the rain had come down with unusual force, fat drops drenching the forests and turning the trails to mud.
Even the ATV was struggling by the end of the week, and as Caleb steered down an overgrown and abandoned logging road, he wondered if he'd be able to travel the trails at all by this time tomorrow. He slogged through the increasingly deep mud, heading toward the nearby Alsea River just a half-mile down the road.
He found the river before he expected to, however, and felt confused. It seemed the river had jumped its banks, but there was no way it could have flooded nearly a half mile, not yet, even with the heavy rains.
Caleb pulled up the hood on his rain poncho and stepped out of the vehicle, his boots squishing in the almost ankle-deep mud. He plodded along the water, attempting to determine the cause of the flooding. Across the wide expanse of rushing water stood steep rock walls, some climbing to over twenty feet.
He knew that these cliffs stretched for a mile along the opposite bank, and held an intricate cave system that had yet to be explored, according to antiquated survey maps. In fact, the caves were slotted to be surveyed by a geological team in the next fiscal year, when additional portions of the budget could be allocated to cover the costs.
The bank on which Caleb currently stood, if it could be called a bank, since it was really just a flooded portion of the forest, held some of the pine trees that covered most of the park. The area the water currently occupied contained mostly smaller pines, as it had been logged a few years prior and although replanted, had yet to reach full growth. Right now several of the shortest trees were completely covered by the rapid brown water.
The situation was beyond Caleb's expertise, so he decided to call a colleague for advice. Dialing his number, the wet ranger headed back to the ATV and the slight shelter of its small roof. It didn't take long for his friend, Jeb Fielder, to answer.
"Jeb, it's Caleb, out in the new parkland."
"Sure, how's it going out there? Wet enough for you?"
"Well, that's just what I called to talk to you about. It seems the Alsea has jumped her banks, but not in the typical fashion. A portion of land about three miles downstream from the southern split has flooded up the bank nearly a half mile. The flooding is confined to an area about a mile long, then the river seems to go back to its business. Strangest thing I've ever seen, so I figured I'd call an expert."
Jeb Fielder worked for the state Forestry Service in Portland as a research hydrologist, and he was the go-to guy for anything concerning floods. "Sounds like a man-made problem, Caleb. You messing around with anything? Moving some earth? Digging any kind of large holes near the river?"
"No." Caleb realized suddenly who the likely culprit was. How else do you mine for gold but to dig holes? "How much earth moving would we be talking about?"
"Well, it would have to be a pretty fair amount to make such a large impact. And someone would have to have hit an underground river flow and diverted it, either intentionally or unintentionally. That's the only reason I can think of for such an isolated overflow."
"So it couldn't be natural causes," Caleb asked, wanting to be sure before he formed his conclusion.
"Not likely. You'd be surprised how many floods are a result of man's mistakes."
"Thanks, Jeb. You're a genius." Caleb was about to hang up, but his friend stopped him before he could.
"One thing you'll want to be alert for," he said, his voice taking a serious tone, "is mudslides. Any new divergence of water can lead to soil displacement, and if such a large portion of new land had flooded, it's likely there will be some kind of slide activity, especially if the river land is higher than the forest around it. I'd haul ass out of there, Caleb, and wait for these rains to stop. Slides are dangerous, and it really doesn't take too much to set them off."
"Thanks for the advice."
"Don't mention it."
Caleb started the ATV, his face a mask of anger, but underneath a thin tendril of fear uncurled in his belly. As he drove, he noticed the increasing flow of water down the old road, turning everything to mud. The mud itself was also starting to move, and the flow almost outran his vehicle.
He pulled out his phone again, praying for an answer. If Fielder's prediction was correct, a slide could happen at any time. Mudslides were not as fun as they sounded. In fact, they were very dangerous. If enough earth moved fast, enough people could become trapped beneath it and die. And right now, one particular person's camp was directly in the path of the possible slide. He punched her number and held his breath as the phone started ringing.