Heh, I did wonder if the delay in posting today was because you were writing your part, or because you'd run out of time and other things were more pressing :)
The low-down Jimmy was pale and sweating and carrying two large pails that rattled and clanged against his legs and coming down the steep slope to the water rather faster than looked like a good idea. Ben and I leaned slightly back, interested to see how this would play out. As he approached he started to holler out to us, and then we saw the look of confusion on his face as he tried to slow down, but gravity ignored him. The holler turned into a wail as he realised that he couldn't stop without falling over, and there was a clatter, a clang, and then a loud splash. Ben started laughing while I twisted myself around on my branch, to see Jimmy sat in the shallows the creek, the pails on either side of him, shaking his head and spattering water all around him. He looked bedraggled even though he'd only been in there for a few seconds, and it took several seconds more before the cold water revived him enough for him to stand up and discover how wet he was. "Might as well fill those pails while you're in there, Jimmy!" yelled Ben, his words punctuated by gales of laughter. Jimmy looked up at us and kicked a pail. "That's a mighty slow way to fill a bucket," I called down, and he glared at us; anger mixing with slowly seeing the funny side. "Is that the approved way the locals do it?" Ben slid down the tree with a rustling sound, peeling off a few strips of bark. I swung myself over, hung by my arms, and dropped the last metre to the ground. "They do it faster and with fewer clothes," said Jimmy. It wasn't a bad comeback for him, and the idea of watching Josie do that in just her nether-garments made me shudder for a moment. "They've had more practice, see?" "You should definitely try the bit with fewer clothes," said Ben. "You're going to be wet all day." I looked up at the sky, where the sun was already only just above the mountain tips. "I'd say there's not that much of the day left," I said. "Let's get these pails filled up and back up the hill. Might not be a bad idea to think about how we're going to get the low-down on this chupacapra tomorrow."
The terraced steps let us walk back up the hill at a slow, tedious pace. They were a little too shallow to be comfortable, and too long to feel like you were really making progress, but the constant need to step up was also irritating. I was pretty certain that if I had to live here for any length of time, Ben and I would be putting some proper stone steps in and damn the natives and the wildlife if they didn't like it. Half-way up I stopped and looked around. Somehow Jimmy had managed to pass a pail each to me and Ben and was just squelching along without anything to carry, so I set my pail down for a moment, shaded my eyes against the sun, and gazed. "Those shadows," I said, pointing across the creek. Jimmy turned and looked; Ben carried on labouring up the terrace. "They're all wrong for the time of day." Ben now stopped and set his pail down and looked over. "Maybe," he said. "I'm not sure I agree with you; there's trees over there and we can't see the land clearly with the sun like this." "Could be caves though," I said. "It's a place to start." Ben considered this. "Ayup," he said at last. "You'd expect a chupacapra to live somewhere in shelter, right?" "And caves have a habit of running into other caves," I said. "Miners have been known to mine into caves they weren't aware of, sometimes," said Ben nonchalantly. "And caves they did know about," I said. "From time to time." Ben picked his pail back up with a grunt. "Let's get back then and see what we'll need to go caving then."
Greg - it got too late in the day for me to put anything together, so I put it off for a couple more days. Which only lead to me posting late because I didn't leave enough time to put something together...
Ooh, cave exploration. That always ends well, doesn't it?
3 comments:
Heh, I did wonder if the delay in posting today was because you were writing your part, or because you'd run out of time and other things were more pressing :)
The low-down
Jimmy was pale and sweating and carrying two large pails that rattled and clanged against his legs and coming down the steep slope to the water rather faster than looked like a good idea. Ben and I leaned slightly back, interested to see how this would play out. As he approached he started to holler out to us, and then we saw the look of confusion on his face as he tried to slow down, but gravity ignored him. The holler turned into a wail as he realised that he couldn't stop without falling over, and there was a clatter, a clang, and then a loud splash. Ben started laughing while I twisted myself around on my branch, to see Jimmy sat in the shallows the creek, the pails on either side of him, shaking his head and spattering water all around him. He looked bedraggled even though he'd only been in there for a few seconds, and it took several seconds more before the cold water revived him enough for him to stand up and discover how wet he was.
"Might as well fill those pails while you're in there, Jimmy!" yelled Ben, his words punctuated by gales of laughter. Jimmy looked up at us and kicked a pail.
"That's a mighty slow way to fill a bucket," I called down, and he glared at us; anger mixing with slowly seeing the funny side.
"Is that the approved way the locals do it?" Ben slid down the tree with a rustling sound, peeling off a few strips of bark. I swung myself over, hung by my arms, and dropped the last metre to the ground.
"They do it faster and with fewer clothes," said Jimmy. It wasn't a bad comeback for him, and the idea of watching Josie do that in just her nether-garments made me shudder for a moment. "They've had more practice, see?"
"You should definitely try the bit with fewer clothes," said Ben. "You're going to be wet all day."
I looked up at the sky, where the sun was already only just above the mountain tips. "I'd say there's not that much of the day left," I said. "Let's get these pails filled up and back up the hill. Might not be a bad idea to think about how we're going to get the low-down on this chupacapra tomorrow."
The terraced steps let us walk back up the hill at a slow, tedious pace. They were a little too shallow to be comfortable, and too long to feel like you were really making progress, but the constant need to step up was also irritating. I was pretty certain that if I had to live here for any length of time, Ben and I would be putting some proper stone steps in and damn the natives and the wildlife if they didn't like it.
Half-way up I stopped and looked around. Somehow Jimmy had managed to pass a pail each to me and Ben and was just squelching along without anything to carry, so I set my pail down for a moment, shaded my eyes against the sun, and gazed.
"Those shadows," I said, pointing across the creek. Jimmy turned and looked; Ben carried on labouring up the terrace. "They're all wrong for the time of day."
Ben now stopped and set his pail down and looked over. "Maybe," he said. "I'm not sure I agree with you; there's trees over there and we can't see the land clearly with the sun like this."
"Could be caves though," I said. "It's a place to start."
Ben considered this. "Ayup," he said at last. "You'd expect a chupacapra to live somewhere in shelter, right?"
"And caves have a habit of running into other caves," I said.
"Miners have been known to mine into caves they weren't aware of, sometimes," said Ben nonchalantly.
"And caves they did know about," I said. "From time to time."
Ben picked his pail back up with a grunt. "Let's get back then and see what we'll need to go caving then."
Greg - it got too late in the day for me to put anything together, so I put it off for a couple more days. Which only lead to me posting late because I didn't leave enough time to put something together...
Ooh, cave exploration. That always ends well, doesn't it?
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