"Would you say they were diamond-shaped, dark in color, with tails?" Rick asked carefully.
Harris stopped with a match halfway to his pipe. "I would. For sure. When'd you see one?"
"Last night. Right here."
"Mmmmm." Harris got the pipe going well and threw the match into the water. "I've never seen one close. Hoped to. That's why I crab this creek. Would you say it was big enough to catch a man?"
Rick shook his head. "I didn't get a very long look, but I'd say definitely not. Unless it had some kind of powerful motor I couldn't see or hear."
Harris puffed silently.
"Any theories?" Scotty asked.
"Not one. I'm barren as the flats in winter."
Rick finished his coffee and put the mug down on the cabin top. "Would Link have gone away of his own accord?"
"I wouldn't think so." Harris accepted more coffee from Scotty. "But let's keep one foot anchored. Who knows what's in a man's mind? Any man? Sometimes there's a deep channel full of black water, and nothin' to make you suspect it. Maybe Link did walk off. It would be the easiest explanation—if you hadn't seen somethin' last night. I was about to give up. Now I'm not so sure. What you saw came from somewhere, and it was goin' somewhere. If we could find out whence and whither, so to speak, we might have an idea of what happened to Link."