If you're curious, we're getting towards 30,000 words in this tale of Ben and Red. I'm slightly astonished that they've spent so long doing so little....
Network "If it's a network of caves then there's plenty of places for a chupacapra to live," said Jimmy. I sighed and glared at him. "Even if there is one, I'm pretty sure the locals don't care if we catch it or not," I said. "They haven't come up to us to ask us about it the whole time we've been here, you know? They've eavesdropped on us, and spied on us, and oohed over the balloon, but no-one outside of Josie has shown any interest in our hunting." Jimmy sat still, staring into space for a moment. "You're right," he said slowly. "That's true. So... what do they want from us?" "I know what we want from them," said Ben. "Gold." We spent the night in the cave, which was a little bit on the chilly side if you weren't near the fire, and then at first light got up and started down the mountainside again. At the foot there was a long rock shore that eventually sloped down to the edge of a large blue lake that reflected the sky above and made everything around us seem tiny and insignificant. We took the opportunity to swim a bit and get clean(-ish), and while Jimmy was sculling around on his back and staring at the clouds, Ben and I dived to the lake bottom a few times and winnowed through the lake bed with our hands. "Gold," said Ben, setting down a sprinkle of fine gold crumbs on the beach. "Could be fool's gold still," I said, but I'd found something very similar. Nothing large enough to be worth carrying around, but under different circumstances I could see Ben and myself sitting by the river for a couple of months and panning the gold out. "Could be, but given everything we've got going on around here, it ain't." "We're on the track then," said Jimmy, pulling his shirt on. It stuck to his shoulders and chest in places, and he tugged at the fabric, trying to straighten it out. "Yep. Let's get over to the other side of the lake and see if we can follow the stream, or if we still need to go boating." There wasn't exactly a path around the lake, but the burros had no trouble with the stony ground and as we got a quarter-way round the lake the ground softened, grass started growing and the trees came down much closer to the edge. It meant that we could walk in the shade instead of under the beating rays of the sun, and that made the day suddenly much more pleasant. There were rabbits bouncing around as well, clearly not particularly familiar with humans, which meant that it was quite easy to catch them; Ben and I got a brace each and Jimmy, whose aim was nowhere near as accurate with a rock, grimaced when he realised he'd be cooking them. It was after noon by the time we reached the outflow we'd seen from the top, and here the signs of activity were much more obvious: there was a tiny little jetty that we'd missed seeing, and back under the trees there was a wooden lean-to, built with the same skill and enthusiasm that had built Elizabethtown and it's collection of hovels and shacks. Firewood was stacked outside the lean-to and there was a chicken-run at the back with six scrawny chickens running around, clucking contentedly. "This sees use," said Ben, frowning. He opened the gate to the run, causing the chickens to run away, and checked under the bushes. "We got eggs, so no-one's been here today, but this looks lived in to me." "Ayup," I said, agreeing. "Keep the eggs though Ben, we can make use of them." Ben's hands were already dipping into his pockets. "Well ahead of you, Red," he said with a grin. "I guess we can't hang around here exactly but camping where we can can keep an eye on it might not be a stupid thing to do."
Greg - well done! And, well, they seem like they're getting close to doing something now at least :P
The lean-to is an interesting discovery, and the fact that there are chickens there lends further intrigue. I expect the lads will be discovering the 'who's of this 'what' rather soon...
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If you're curious, we're getting towards 30,000 words in this tale of Ben and Red. I'm slightly astonished that they've spent so long doing so little....
Network
"If it's a network of caves then there's plenty of places for a chupacapra to live," said Jimmy. I sighed and glared at him.
"Even if there is one, I'm pretty sure the locals don't care if we catch it or not," I said. "They haven't come up to us to ask us about it the whole time we've been here, you know? They've eavesdropped on us, and spied on us, and oohed over the balloon, but no-one outside of Josie has shown any interest in our hunting."
Jimmy sat still, staring into space for a moment. "You're right," he said slowly. "That's true. So... what do they want from us?"
"I know what we want from them," said Ben. "Gold."
We spent the night in the cave, which was a little bit on the chilly side if you weren't near the fire, and then at first light got up and started down the mountainside again. At the foot there was a long rock shore that eventually sloped down to the edge of a large blue lake that reflected the sky above and made everything around us seem tiny and insignificant. We took the opportunity to swim a bit and get clean(-ish), and while Jimmy was sculling around on his back and staring at the clouds, Ben and I dived to the lake bottom a few times and winnowed through the lake bed with our hands.
"Gold," said Ben, setting down a sprinkle of fine gold crumbs on the beach.
"Could be fool's gold still," I said, but I'd found something very similar. Nothing large enough to be worth carrying around, but under different circumstances I could see Ben and myself sitting by the river for a couple of months and panning the gold out.
"Could be, but given everything we've got going on around here, it ain't."
"We're on the track then," said Jimmy, pulling his shirt on. It stuck to his shoulders and chest in places, and he tugged at the fabric, trying to straighten it out.
"Yep. Let's get over to the other side of the lake and see if we can follow the stream, or if we still need to go boating."
There wasn't exactly a path around the lake, but the burros had no trouble with the stony ground and as we got a quarter-way round the lake the ground softened, grass started growing and the trees came down much closer to the edge. It meant that we could walk in the shade instead of under the beating rays of the sun, and that made the day suddenly much more pleasant. There were rabbits bouncing around as well, clearly not particularly familiar with humans, which meant that it was quite easy to catch them; Ben and I got a brace each and Jimmy, whose aim was nowhere near as accurate with a rock, grimaced when he realised he'd be cooking them.
It was after noon by the time we reached the outflow we'd seen from the top, and here the signs of activity were much more obvious: there was a tiny little jetty that we'd missed seeing, and back under the trees there was a wooden lean-to, built with the same skill and enthusiasm that had built Elizabethtown and it's collection of hovels and shacks. Firewood was stacked outside the lean-to and there was a chicken-run at the back with six scrawny chickens running around, clucking contentedly.
"This sees use," said Ben, frowning. He opened the gate to the run, causing the chickens to run away, and checked under the bushes. "We got eggs, so no-one's been here today, but this looks lived in to me."
"Ayup," I said, agreeing. "Keep the eggs though Ben, we can make use of them." Ben's hands were already dipping into his pockets.
"Well ahead of you, Red," he said with a grin. "I guess we can't hang around here exactly but camping where we can can keep an eye on it might not be a stupid thing to do."
Greg - well done! And, well, they seem like they're getting close to doing something now at least :P
The lean-to is an interesting discovery, and the fact that there are chickens there lends further intrigue. I expect the lads will be discovering the 'who's of this 'what' rather soon...
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