Coming straight after rule-breakers this sounds like you've got maskless thieves roaming Penticton's government buildings... ;-)
Entry "Why are you all looking at me?" I asked, though there was a touch of rhetoric in my question. I knew what Ben was going to say. "You're the thinker," said Jimmy, and it sounded so much like Ben's words that I had to listen to them again in my head to check that it was Jimmy's voice that had said it. "You're good at planning around things that the rest of us haven't noticed." "He's blowing smoke up your ass, Red," said Ben. "Think he might be sweet on you." "He's just sweet on the gold in my hands," I snorted. Ben chuckled, and Jimmy blushed. "Have we got anything in the way of a torch?" I said. "We're not going to see anything in that there cave without light." "We're going in?" "One of us," I said. "It’s our entry-point, after all. We need to have a look around and see what's behind there, otherwise it's all unknown. Can't plan for what you don't know about, no matter how hard you think." We had matches -- we always have matches for Ben's cigars because he gets mighty grumpy when he's got a cigar and can't smoke it -- but finding something that would burn well enough for us to take a look around a cave wasn't that easy. Jimmy scouted out a branch as long as my fore-arm and not quite as thick and Ben ripped up some kind of vine from out of the bushes, and I picked up a bushel-full of dried leaves from beneath the trees, and we tied the leaves to the branch as best we could with the vine, and then tried burning it. The leaves burned away in seconds, the vine fell off and the branch didn't even smoulder. Jimmy looked at the mess. "Maybe we should build a campfire," he said. "Get the wood burning properly, then take it in there." Ben nodded, but I shook my head. "If we put a campfire here then we tell everyone someone's been here," I said. "We'll have to set up a distance away." I looked up; the sun was starting to slide behind the mountain. "I reckon we should just head on back and see if we can get some cooking oil and old rags from Josie. Tie them to a branch and that'll make us a decent torch." "I'm getting pretty starvacious," said Ben, patting his stomach. "That works for me. Not like a city of gold is going to get up and walk off by itself, it is now?" Jimmy looked like he was going to protest for a moment, but then he shrugged and seemed to relax. "Yeah," he said. He took a few steps down the slope, so he was lower than both Ben and me. "We sure we can find this place again tomorrow without spending half the day hunting for it?" Ben pulled his knife out from his belt. "I can mark a couple of trees," he said. "One or two up here, maybe a few more towards the river so it's not obvious." "Great," said Jimmy. "Then the last two back to the river carry the water!" He sprang off down the slope, ran maybe five metres, tripped on a tree root and tumbled another twenty. "And you can just carry your teeth!" yelled Ben after him.
2 comments:
Coming straight after rule-breakers this sounds like you've got maskless thieves roaming Penticton's government buildings... ;-)
Entry
"Why are you all looking at me?" I asked, though there was a touch of rhetoric in my question. I knew what Ben was going to say.
"You're the thinker," said Jimmy, and it sounded so much like Ben's words that I had to listen to them again in my head to check that it was Jimmy's voice that had said it. "You're good at planning around things that the rest of us haven't noticed."
"He's blowing smoke up your ass, Red," said Ben. "Think he might be sweet on you."
"He's just sweet on the gold in my hands," I snorted. Ben chuckled, and Jimmy blushed. "Have we got anything in the way of a torch?" I said. "We're not going to see anything in that there cave without light."
"We're going in?"
"One of us," I said. "It’s our entry-point, after all. We need to have a look around and see what's behind there, otherwise it's all unknown. Can't plan for what you don't know about, no matter how hard you think."
We had matches -- we always have matches for Ben's cigars because he gets mighty grumpy when he's got a cigar and can't smoke it -- but finding something that would burn well enough for us to take a look around a cave wasn't that easy. Jimmy scouted out a branch as long as my fore-arm and not quite as thick and Ben ripped up some kind of vine from out of the bushes, and I picked up a bushel-full of dried leaves from beneath the trees, and we tied the leaves to the branch as best we could with the vine, and then tried burning it. The leaves burned away in seconds, the vine fell off and the branch didn't even smoulder.
Jimmy looked at the mess. "Maybe we should build a campfire," he said. "Get the wood burning properly, then take it in there."
Ben nodded, but I shook my head. "If we put a campfire here then we tell everyone someone's been here," I said. "We'll have to set up a distance away." I looked up; the sun was starting to slide behind the mountain. "I reckon we should just head on back and see if we can get some cooking oil and old rags from Josie. Tie them to a branch and that'll make us a decent torch."
"I'm getting pretty starvacious," said Ben, patting his stomach. "That works for me. Not like a city of gold is going to get up and walk off by itself, it is now?"
Jimmy looked like he was going to protest for a moment, but then he shrugged and seemed to relax. "Yeah," he said. He took a few steps down the slope, so he was lower than both Ben and me. "We sure we can find this place again tomorrow without spending half the day hunting for it?"
Ben pulled his knife out from his belt. "I can mark a couple of trees," he said. "One or two up here, maybe a few more towards the river so it's not obvious."
"Great," said Jimmy. "Then the last two back to the river carry the water!"
He sprang off down the slope, ran maybe five metres, tripped on a tree root and tumbled another twenty.
"And you can just carry your teeth!" yelled Ben after him.
Greg - just trying to provide helpful prompts for your story :)
I appreciated the failed attempt at a makeshift torch. And Jimmy... well, he's not short on enthusiasm, is he?
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