Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
The Investigators, Inc. The Icelandic Mystery. Chapter 10. Tunnels.
“Well, it should not be much longer Steve,” said Sigurbjorn, “how are you doing?” “I’m in a lot of pain and getting very stiff,” I told her, “and I am getting very cold. That is why they took my shirt, to make things as hard as possible for me and hopefully give me hypothermia.” “We must do something about that,” she answered, “though I am not sure what at the moment. But it is only a little further and we can stand up.” “That will be nice anyway,” I said slowly.
I was also trying not to show that I was shivering now. If we do not get out of here soon I will not make it. Sigurbjorn was right, it was only another 10 minutes and we were in a larger tunnel again so we could stand up. However, by this time it was hard to get myself standing but I had to try so Sigurbjorn would not worry about me.
“I know you are having a lot of trouble Steve,” she said, “so do not pretend. We have to get these cuffs off of us somehow. I wonder if it is still daylight enough. Come, let us try to walk a little down this tunnel.” I put all my strength into it and we made fairly good time to another “room” down this tunnel…and it had light in it! “There is a small hole that goes to the surface, right up there,” said Sigurbjorn, “it is nice to have a little light again.”
She was right, it was nice to be out of that darkness. That hole looked very tiny but the light it provided lit up that whole big room very nicely. “There it is,” she said, and we walked over to one of the walls. There was a very sharp rock protruding from the wall so we tried using it to cut these heavy rubber handcuffs off our wrists. Unfortunately it slipped a couple of times cutting both of us.
It did take a while but it worked and we were free again. “Oh my,” said Sigurbjorn, “the whole side of your arm is bleeding from being scraped as we crawled through that tunnel.” She was right. I was so cold that I did not even notice it. Then I really started shivering uncontrollably. “No, this is no time to go into shock,” she said and she began rubbing me to try and generate heat in my body.
She also ripped a sleeve off her shirt and got some water nearby to clean my wounds. She tried hard to get me to stop shivering and finally I settled down. “Perhaps we can call for help,” I suggested. “Unfortunately they would not hear anything, we are a long ways from where your team is likely standing,” she said. “I do not think I will be able to walk much more,” I said, “you might have to go on without me, you will be able to go faster. How much farther is it anyway?”
“Well, walking in the dark is slow, and there is a bad section where we could fall into another hole,” she began, “but if all goes well, even by myself, it would take another day to get out of here.” That is not really what I wanted to hear. That means if I go with her it would take at least twice that long, perhaps longer, since I will get weaker as time goes by. She looked at me.
“Yes, I know what you are thinking,” she said, “but I do not want to leave you here alone. It would be too dangerous, you would get hypothermia for sure.” “Yes, you do have a point,” I admitted, “but if I go with you, then you might have to carry me.” “Then I will carry you,” she said smiling, “we will rest a bit longer, then we will start walking again.”
She definitely will make a good addition to our team. Soon we were on our way again and it was not long before we were at the place she had mentioned. We had brought the handcuffs with us, even though they were cut we both held on to one end loop. She said if I fell then she could hold onto me and pull me back up again.
Somehow I doubted that, but it did give a certain sense of safety anyway. It seemed like such a long time crossing that spot but we finally made it and I collapsed onto the tunnel floor. “Yes, we can rest a bit here,” she said, “but not for long.” “C, can you describe w, where the other e, end of the t, tunnel is located,” I said shivering again. “Sure, but that does not help us,” she said rubbing me again. “Yes, I, I can send a message, in c, code,” I said, “press here, I, I will t, tell you how.”
To Be Continued.
©2022 Steve McLeod.
Coffee For Friday. #4
Good morning and Happy Friday everyone! Time for coffee and a look at our morning here at Steve’s Country. It is a beautiful summer morning here. The now full size leaves are thick on all the trees and are literally glowing in the morning sunlight. As the trees reach skyward their bright green is surrounded by the vibrant blue of the sky. That tiny house wren is out there singing away so cheerily.
The neighborhood robin was singing much earlier, around 4am, which sounded so nice indeed. But I do miss the larger chorus of birds that would normally fill our summer morning here. There just is not as many birds around this year for some reason. I think a lot of our birds died when they returned from the south back in April and then it turned so cold and snowy afterwards.
And it lasted too long for birds to survive. But that would only account for some of the loss. Later birds such as warblers and vireos would not have been affected by that since they return later. But there is not that many around this year. However, when my friend and I were out last week visiting some lakes there was a lot of warblers in two of the three locations.
That third location was like around here, very little bird activity. Kind of interesting really. That does not normally happen. I put out the usual handful of sunflower seeds this morning and it was not even 2 minutes and Jasmine was on the feeder eating them. There was lots of nice peanuts out, but she goes for the sunflower seeds instead. Sigh.
Seems the chickadees have given up coming now anyway. I see one red-breasted nuthatch now and then, so he has not given up completely, yet. The grackles have babies now, they are out here breaking up the peanuts into smaller pieces, filling their beaks and heading back to the nest to feed the babies. I guess it is easier than looking for insects. Yesterday turned out quite nice later in the afternoon so I was out looking for pics of insects.
Unfortunately it was quite windy so getting those photos was a challenge since flowers and leaves were constantly moving. But I did get some pics though identifying some of these insects is going to be a challenge. But that is part of the fun. I hope it stays sunny today so I can try for more insect pics and perhaps I will try for a walk to the river. Thank you all so much for joining us today! Have a fabulous Friday and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
©2022 Steve McLeod.
Steve`s Country 