Nature had infused the woods this day, with a mind boggling display of plumage. The forest was clamoring with the screech of blue jays, chattering sparrows, and trilling robins. Catbirds meowed along the creek and orioles sat in rows along split rail fences. Huge obsidian crows caw cawing to, or at each other. Cowbirds hopped along in front of and behind the riders, flashing their iridescent blue-black wings in sporadic pseudo-flights every few feet along the road. Wild canaries in flashing flocks of brilliant lemon yellow dipped and flowed into sight across the meadows under a lovely pale blue sky. The beautiful, soft, haunting coo coo coos of the doves, or rain crows, as the people here called them, came from deep within the trees. They came from under the trees, out of the brush and weeds, by the side of the road, in the late evening twilight, as quickly and unexpectedly as copperheads, their movements masked by the increased darkness of the overhanging trees and the sound of the rushing water in the creek. Armed with pistols and knives, one grabbed the reins of the frightened saddle horse as the two other men fastened hold of the rider. Like famed author Louis LAmour, Lucas presents rough and tumble protagonists, often in a historical context, who overcome mounting odds. Lucas characters also present an alternative to modern day role models.
