Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Saturday Stories. #2 Part 2.
Hello everyone! It is a bit on the chilly side this morning with a temperature of -13F (-25C) and with the wind it feels like -31F (-35C). This is our coldest day of the winter so far, though it will be even colder tonight and tomorrow. Good weather for staying indoors and drinking coffee, tea, hot chocolate and maybe do some reading, or whatever.
I need to do some dusting again today. Fun stuff. Anyway, last week I began a story of Krissy and I going on a hike and we climbed up a rather steep cliff which was quite high. It was fun getting up to the top, though we had not quite arrived at the top when I stopped the story, you can read the first part “here“. This story took place quite a few years ago.
Part of the river path, it is steeper than it shows in the photo.
Well, we shall now continue our little summer adventure. I wanted to try a short day hike and climb this cliff, but Krissy, a friend of mine at the time, did not like the idea of me doing that alone, so she came along. We did not have cell phones at that time, so if I got hurt, there was no way to call for help. She got permission from her parents to come with me since she was supposed to be working that day.
Anyway, we had just finished jumping across a 6 foot long gap in our path going up the cliff and I had nearly fallen. So we stopped to rest before continuing. This part of the ledge path was quite wide which was nice. ”That is beautiful,” she said, looking out over the landscape. From up here we could see for miles.
“Very true,” I said. ”You’re looking the wrong way,” she said to me. Then she turned my head. ”Over that way,” she said smiling. ”I was looking that way already,” I said. That is when she started tickling me. I am very, very ticklish. She was too, so it was not long and we were laughing loudly and rolling around.
Another part of the river path, it also gets quite steep just to the right of that big tree.
Good thing that ledge was nice and wide right there. ”I give up!” she exclaimed. ”Ha, I win then!” I replied. ”This time,” she said, “but I will get you next time.” We continued upward and our ledge became quite narrow as we approached the top, only about a foot wide (30cm). I went first along there and Krissy held onto me.
I just hoped that narrow ledge was strong enough. There were a lot of cracks in that rock, so a chunk could break off at any time. Not a nice thought. Then Krissy slipped, but fortunately she was holding onto my belt and I quickly grabbed her arm and she was able to get back onto the ledge. However, she did cut her leg on a sharp piece of the rock, but I could not do anything about it right then.
She was not bleeding badly, it was only a minor cut, but it would need to be cleaned up. I always used carry a first aid kit with me. It was not long and we were soon at the top of this cliff, so we stopped there for lunch and I was able to get that cut cleaned up for her. ”This is why I said to wear jeans,” I told her, “they help to prevent such things.”
This little bumble bee likes to bee nice to me. Hehe.
“It is too hot for jeans,” she protested, “shorts are better.” “Perhaps, but jeans are safer,” I reminded her. ”It isn’t a bad cut anyway,” she said. She would not let me put a large bandage on her leg either. I even offered to pull it off when I got her back home. She just put her finger on my nose and said “NO”. It was a nice place for our lunch though, looking out across that landscape.
We could see several lakes from up there and mile upon mile of forest. It really was a beautiful sight. Krissy had packed us a great lunch, so we ate and then relaxed for a while before heading back down. I was able to locate a much easier way down, at least until we were near the bottom, then it became more difficult, which is why I never saw this way looking up.
We had to jump down about 5 feet at one point, which was not bad. Krissy had no trouble landing on me, laughing loud and long as she described the look on my face when she jumped. She did not give me any warning, that is why. Oh well, it was a great day and she made a delicious steak dinner for us when we got back home. Well, that is all for our story today, next Saturday I will have something different for you to enjoy. Have a great weekend everyone and God bless!
Steve and Muffin. ©2024 Steve McLeod.
The Investigators, Inc. The Mysterious Hidden Cabin. Chapter 12. Lauren Wins.
I was a very worried about how things were going out at the cabin, but I was even more worried now because of how we treated Chantelle, making it look like she was guilty before we had enough proof. So I decided to call her myself, even though I had told Rock to deal with it. ”Hi Chantelle,” I said, “how do you feel?”
“Hey Steve, okay I guess,” she said, “but I am worried about what the others will think about me now.” ”If anyone gives you a hard time, call me and tell me about it,” I said, “do not just go to Rock. This was my responsibility and I acted too hastily. Please accept my apology, I was wrong.” ”You do not need to apologize to me Steve,” she said, “you were following protocol.”
“Hmm, okay, perhaps when you get home,” I said. ”What?” she asked. ”Just please look after the girls the best you can,” I said, “I know it is not easy and you are doing a great job. Please look after my Sky too.” ”Of course I will Steve,” she said. We talked a bit more then hung up. Little did everyone know that would be the last time they would hear from me.
Rock knew he could trust Aari and Dawn for sure, so they would take turns watching through the night, along with the cats. Everything depended on them watching. The cats understood this too and were extra diligent in watching that night. But the day went on, still snowing, though not as much now, but the wind was blowing strong and the temperature was really dropping.
It was a good thing they had a lot of firewood and Rock had made a good path to the woodpile, plus he and the guys hauled a lot of wood inside during the day. Plus they broke up some of the wood from the part of the house that had collapsed which gave them more wood to use.
Everyone was trying to figure out where the not so friendly ‘ghost’ was living, he must be in the house somewhere, unless he was living in that small cabin, wherever it was. But, why did they not see any footprints around in the snow? Storm came in right around lunch time covered in snow and shivering from the cold.
He was a tropical cat, not a cold weather cat. He also had something in his mouth. ”That is part of a drone,” said Miles. Meowr.=That what me shoot at before. Me not just pretend or shoot at nothing. ”Sorry Storm,” said Rock, “I should not have doubted you.”
“That is why we could not shoot that ghost before,” said Clarence, “probably this drone, or one like it, just projecting an image for us. Then it dropped some explosives on our snowmobile.” ”Good going Storm,” said Dawn, “you showed them.” Storm sat up nice and tall, still shivering.
“Hey, come here you,” said Chantelle, “it is not good for you to be cold like that, sit by the heater for a while and I will get you some food.” He certainly enjoyed that heat, and food, he was hungry after all that digging through the snow. After lunch the girls finally remembered about that secret door in the large fireplace on the side of the house that collapsed.
The guys went over to take a look. It was still there and just inside the door was a hole in the floor with a ladder going down to a room below. John, Miles, Clarence and Alfred went down to take a look. The girls wanted at least 2 of the guys to stay behind, so Rock and Aari did so. At the bottom of the ladder was a large wood door with a sign on it that said “The Cabin”.
No wonder they had not been able to find that cabin, it was right underneath them, not out back somewhere. The door appeared to be locked on the inside, so Rock went down and smashed the door right off it’s hinges and they all went charging in. There was no one present so Rock came back upstairs. It did look like someone had been, or still was, living in there.
They did find more drones of various sizes, plus explosives, which they brought back up with them. They also found a large steel door with a combination lock on it, possibly a safe. John and Miles tried to open it, but without success. ”Maybe I should try,” said Clarence, “I was good with these things at one time.”
“How come you did not say something sooner?” asked John. ”You never asked me.” he said. Just then they heard Rock calling so they went upstairs quickly. ”Just got a call from Mr. B,” he said, “Steve, Aasta, Kat, Muffin, Snow and Rusty are gone.” Aari was sitting on a chair with his head in his hands. ”Lauren has got them for sure,” he said…
To Be Continued.
©2024 Steve McLeod.
