Odd Socks

The first place all escapees from Bingham Prison headed was Larson Creek. And for a number of reasons: Larson ran into the Missouri which met the Mississippi and therefore acted as a highway to safety; it was easier for the officials to search the back road which headed in the opposite direction; and most inmates held the idea that since tracking dogs couldn't see prints at the bottom of the creek, they'd also be unable to smell, too. What the poorly informed hightailers didn't know was that the dogs Bingham used were Bloodhounds who picked up odors from surrounding shrubbery, not from footprints. Warden Beefdecker kept that secret.

Now, Wiley and Wilbur Travis were southern boys. And while they didn't know Bloodhounds firsthand, they certainly knew about them.

"It weren't no Shepherd caught me," explained an unsuccessful escapee to the new inmates. "I know Shepherds. Brother-in-law had one. Bit the end of his daughter's nose clean off one Easter Sunday. Oh, I know Shepherds, and weren't one of them what nabbed me. Twas some kinda hound with big floppy jowls and ears and his eyes looked like my cousin's when the moon's full. Don't know what kind of doggie twas, but sure weren't no Shepherd." That's all it took for the Travis brothers to put two and two together.

Now Wiley, he was the brighter of the two -- at least the most imaginative -- he set to thinking how best to head out once they cleared the twelve-foot barb wire fence. And knowing about Bloodhounds, he decides to take them into account while setting their plan.

So the first chance the moon's full, the two would head straight for Larson Creek. But with a downright sneaky plan. You see, they'd carve a small boat -- thirteen, fourteen inches long, and out of balsam, too -- then tuck in two socks, one belonging to each of the boys, into the curved groove, and set her adrift down the swift current of Larson. Figured the scent would leave a trail on the shrubs that'd mislead the dogs for sure. Then they'd add a most devious touch: they'd sprinkle black pepper along the path where they'd scidoodle. Then the boys would curve back to the

north, right where the Troopers usuallydidn'tlook. Not first, any way.

So here comes the full moon, and, sure enough, off goes the Escape Siren and out set the dogs toward the creek. The Travis boys' plan goes off without a hitch, because the officials did follow the creek south what with the socks sending off a scent fit to make a hound fall in love. Moreover, once those doggies took a whiff of the pepper, they certainly didnotfollow that route. So Wiley and Wilbur vacate in style, while the dogs are still yapping over that balsam boat floating innocently down the middle of Larson Creek and the Troopers watching with egg of their faces.

Now, the Travis boys had figured things out pretty good, except for one thing. Namely, that creeks and rivers don't go the shortest distance between two points. Word is that waterways don't know a thing about mathematics. Why, they'd just as soon head south for a spell to let you think that's where they're going, then zig and zag and head north just for fun. Maybe make a figure eight to add a flourish, then head ESE for lunch.

Well, the first part of this meandering is exactly what Larson Creek does the other side of Bingham Prison. She goes south a spell pretty straight, but then zigs east , now west, and swoops north just to be ornery. And wouldn't you know it but that last swoop goes right past the north-bound road where Wiley and Wilbur are galavanting like free birds? In fact, the two even have to ford the creek where the road and Larson meet.

Not only had the boys not taken that into account, but also that two full grown bodies give off far more odor than a pair of socks stuffed in the groove of a thirteen-inch balsam boat. So when the hounds inhale a snout full of the road-crossing body odor, naturally they follow it instead of the iddy-biddy socks. Within two hours the Travis boys are back in Cell 38 re-enjoying the shade and hospitality of the rural resort known as Bingham County Farm Prison.

Academic circles are familiar with the Professional Student, that individual who just can't keep away from campuses, classes, and degrees. He'll do anything short of enlisting to stay in the college setting. Wiley likened himself one of them. He explained it to Wilbur by telling him the story about the famous bank robber who was questioned by the Judge.

"Barney, this is the ninth time I've sentenced you to prison for bank robbery. I'm confused: since you always get caught, why do you keep robbing banks?"

"Oh," said Barney, "because that's where the money is."

Unfortunately, Wiley missed the point, so he kept considering himself a

professional student of escaping and kept getting caught. If a Judge ever askedhimwhy he always tried to escape, he'd have his answer ready: "Because there's a fence there." Wilbur was worse off cause he didn't even understand what his brother wastryingto say.

So here's ole Wiley and Wilbur sprawled in Cell 38 with nothing to do but chew 'baccy and chat. Had they been separated maybe they wouldn't have gotten into so much trouble, because by Wilbur nodding so much, Wiley took it as agreeing that this schemes were full of wisdom. Without the audience, the cockamamie plans may not have been tested. But chew and chat they did until Wiley stumbles across a plan sure to set them free forever. This time it had to do with a prairie chicken.

The boys, you see, had befriended one of the game birds that used to peck for food outside the prison fence. Now, the prairie chicken is not known to have a high IQ. Especially when it's been trained to eat seeds and crumbs thrown by inmates. Well, some say the Travis boys' combined IQ's barely exceeded the bird's, but any way you look at it, Wiley figured he had the edge.

So they get a foot or so of old tire tubing and make a sling shot. Then they train this prairie chicken they named Bo to chase seeds farther and farther from the fence. Before long, the boys can shoot a fat sunflower seed out half the length of a football field and ole Bo finds her.

Then the Travis boys go one step further -- oh, this was Wiley's most ingenious plan ever -- they toss a rank sock over the back of the bird until he gets used to it. Then they shoot seeds as far as their slingshot will throw them, clearoverLarson Creek. The boys figured that once a full-throated Bloodhound doggie took after Bo, he'd just keep on going.

Meanwhile, Wiley and Wilbur would climb the twelve-foot fence on theoppositeside of all the action. They'd follow the road while the Troopers searched over hill and dale, creek and river. The plan looked so good they set it into action: Wiley whips that sunflower seed far as she'll go and off zooms sock-backed Bo.

Well sir, all goes well with the decoy chase, until an official stops and says, "Something's amiss here. True, the Travis boys are hell-bent on escape, but they aren'tthissmart. We should have had them an hour ago." So they call for air support. Awful lot of money and manpower to gather in two petty thieves, but now it's a matter of saving face. Warden Beefdecker simply refuses to be outsmarted by the likes of Wiley and Wilbur.

And that's when the fatal flaw of the Travis Brothers presents itself: partial knowledge is dangerous. Cause unbeknownst to the escapees, ole Bo, like all his species, heads back to his own scratching ground once he's gulped the last sunflower seed. Which means that eventually, dogs and ground party end right back where they started. At the same time, the helicopters eyeball the wayward boys so off go the hounds again, this time after full body odor.

It was just a matter of time till Wiley and Wilbur were back in Cell 38 warming the edges of their bunks thinking what next. Because that Wiley Travis, hethoughtthe very reason he was at Bingham was toescape.

As for the Prairie Chicken, which the Troopers renamed Henry for Houdini, he's still pecking around that twelve foot fence waiting for handouts. As for the Warden, he happily burned the mixed pair of Travis socks so they wouldn't cause any more trouble. While Wiley, professional student of the art of escaping, he's keeping the Troopers on their toes till this day.