Heh, I don't think the boys are much good at lying low to be honest. They're too noisy....
Lying low Ben was awake and lacing up his boots, and Jimmy was still asleep when I returned. "Seems like Herr Markus is looking for us," I said. "Seems like you had breakfast without us." I glared at him. "Nothing's stopping you from getting breakfast. Did you hear what I said?" "Walk with me then, I can't get breakfast and talk to you here." Josie might have looked a little more surprised to see me come back with Ben, but I figured that most people stop looking surprised at what Ben's up to pretty fast. We sat, I had more coffee and he tackled the bacon and eggs while we discussed Herr Markus. There wasn't a lot to talk about, mostly speculating on who the woman might be. If Josie knew anything more, she was keeping it to herself. After a little while Jimmy joined us, looking like he'd barely slept at all, and sat in silence at the table drinking more coffee than could possibly be good for him. Eventually we strolled our way back to our hovel and Ben raised an expectant eyebrow at me. "Well, the way I see it is that we can't get anywhere along the river where we saw it without a boat, and a decent one at that. We're not going to build one ourselves unless one of us is a shipwright lying low?" I looked around for the sake of rhetoric. "Didn't think so. So we either hide out down at the wharf and try and sneak on to the boat when it next arrives, or we see if we can figure out where that river must be going and if there's another spot along it where we can either get on to the boat, or it's safer to paddle along on a raft." "Makes sense," said Ben. "We're ambushing a boat then." "No." I shook my head. "I reckon the boat'll be no more than a dinghy; there's no way of getting on board that without knowing everyone else. We either learn how to sail, underground, in the dark, with no room for mistakes and steal the boat, or we go looking overground." "We could take a sailor prisoner," said Ben. Jimmy looked startled. "We could," I said. "And then we have to keep an eye on them the whole time until we leave. Because if they get free, the whole town knows what we're up to."
"You're making it really hard to have a boat-trip," said Ben. "A cruise, or whatever they call it on the River A." "Riviera," I corrected. "We were there for a week last year, you should remember." "I remember the pig fair," said Ben. "And all the pigs getting loose on the beach. Didn't know they could run that fast." "The pigs?" asked Jimmy, who sounded disbelieving. "The sunbathers," said Ben. He winked. "So I reckon we're back on the donkeys," I said. "We're going to have to get across this mountain we've been climbing around and we have to go up it because I need to see the land and try and figure out where the river goes." Ben tapped a tooth with a fingernail, and shivers ran down my spine. He always does that when he's thinking hard about something, and that's when he's most dangerous. "The balloon," he said. "That would be faster and easier than donkeys, and you can see a lot more of the land that way." "Faster?" I remembered how long it had taken us to fill the bag up after we'd crash-landed the first time. "In the long run," said Ben. Jimmy started to laugh but stopped when no-one joined in. "Yeah, the balloon. We've got all the bits, we just need a new basket and a new gas cylinder." "That's--" "And there's mining here. We can get the gas." I stopped and thought about it some more. Getting the height advantage of the balloon was a good idea, and it was definitely going to be less strenuous than leading donkeys up and down a mountain. "Right," I said. "Good idea, Ben. Let's... Jimmy, you go figure out how we can repair or replace the basket. The old one was big enough for three to lie down in to give you an idea of size. Needs to be light and strong, looks like it was made of rope and canvas to me. Ben, let's you and I go and ask politely who might be able to help us out with refilling our gas cylinder, which I hope to the Devil's hooves is still attached to that mess. And then... someone gets to try and figure out where all the ropes go."
3 comments:
Heh, I don't think the boys are much good at lying low to be honest. They're too noisy....
Lying low
Ben was awake and lacing up his boots, and Jimmy was still asleep when I returned.
"Seems like Herr Markus is looking for us," I said.
"Seems like you had breakfast without us."
I glared at him. "Nothing's stopping you from getting breakfast. Did you hear what I said?"
"Walk with me then, I can't get breakfast and talk to you here."
Josie might have looked a little more surprised to see me come back with Ben, but I figured that most people stop looking surprised at what Ben's up to pretty fast. We sat, I had more coffee and he tackled the bacon and eggs while we discussed Herr Markus. There wasn't a lot to talk about, mostly speculating on who the woman might be. If Josie knew anything more, she was keeping it to herself. After a little while Jimmy joined us, looking like he'd barely slept at all, and sat in silence at the table drinking more coffee than could possibly be good for him. Eventually we strolled our way back to our hovel and Ben raised an expectant eyebrow at me.
"Well, the way I see it is that we can't get anywhere along the river where we saw it without a boat, and a decent one at that. We're not going to build one ourselves unless one of us is a shipwright lying low?" I looked around for the sake of rhetoric. "Didn't think so. So we either hide out down at the wharf and try and sneak on to the boat when it next arrives, or we see if we can figure out where that river must be going and if there's another spot along it where we can either get on to the boat, or it's safer to paddle along on a raft."
"Makes sense," said Ben. "We're ambushing a boat then."
"No." I shook my head. "I reckon the boat'll be no more than a dinghy; there's no way of getting on board that without knowing everyone else. We either learn how to sail, underground, in the dark, with no room for mistakes and steal the boat, or we go looking overground."
"We could take a sailor prisoner," said Ben. Jimmy looked startled.
"We could," I said. "And then we have to keep an eye on them the whole time until we leave. Because if they get free, the whole town knows what we're up to."
"You're making it really hard to have a boat-trip," said Ben. "A cruise, or whatever they call it on the River A."
"Riviera," I corrected. "We were there for a week last year, you should remember."
"I remember the pig fair," said Ben. "And all the pigs getting loose on the beach. Didn't know they could run that fast."
"The pigs?" asked Jimmy, who sounded disbelieving.
"The sunbathers," said Ben. He winked.
"So I reckon we're back on the donkeys," I said. "We're going to have to get across this mountain we've been climbing around and we have to go up it because I need to see the land and try and figure out where the river goes."
Ben tapped a tooth with a fingernail, and shivers ran down my spine. He always does that when he's thinking hard about something, and that's when he's most dangerous.
"The balloon," he said. "That would be faster and easier than donkeys, and you can see a lot more of the land that way."
"Faster?" I remembered how long it had taken us to fill the bag up after we'd crash-landed the first time.
"In the long run," said Ben. Jimmy started to laugh but stopped when no-one joined in. "Yeah, the balloon. We've got all the bits, we just need a new basket and a new gas cylinder."
"That's--"
"And there's mining here. We can get the gas."
I stopped and thought about it some more. Getting the height advantage of the balloon was a good idea, and it was definitely going to be less strenuous than leading donkeys up and down a mountain.
"Right," I said. "Good idea, Ben. Let's... Jimmy, you go figure out how we can repair or replace the basket. The old one was big enough for three to lie down in to give you an idea of size. Needs to be light and strong, looks like it was made of rope and canvas to me. Ben, let's you and I go and ask politely who might be able to help us out with refilling our gas cylinder, which I hope to the Devil's hooves is still attached to that mess. And then... someone gets to try and figure out where all the ropes go."
Greg - eh, there's a first for everything...
Oh boy, rebuilding the balloon for another trip through the air? This... is unlikely to end well.
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