A Mission - pt 15 Coale's Search

  Tuesday dawned bright and clear when a party of three men and a dog set out from the establishment of Tom Macabee.  The party was composed of, Clack Henderson, Coale Janterbel, David Benn (a retired soldier,) and Quintilly.  The three men were armed in the typical Pam Footsoldier style (a riffle and a brace of pistols.)  Clack also carried the sword of an officer of rank, which he was, Coale carried the long curving machete that was native to the jungle-men far down the Sharklett, and Dave was equipped with the long dirk used by ruffian and mountain peasant alike.  Quintilly was the only one with out weapons, but she had a thick jacket of leather covered with steel plates, and a tough leather collar and part-helmet studded with short nails; if there was a fight, she would take down any adversary.  The four hiked back up the river to Nelly's Bridge, and started along the road on the way that our captors and I had taken a week before.  Coale took the lead as an expert tracker in case there be any sighs that would lead to my discovery.  Clack was next, and David came last holding Quintily's leash.
  After going about three quarters of an hour, Clack and Coale simultaneously held up their hands for the party to stop.  Coale was gazing intently at the ground, and Clack was staring down the road at a point just before the road made a sharp turn.  Coale spoke up first:
  "Look what I have found everyone," he held up a strip of cloth about two inches long and said, "This was torn from Kay's shirt."  At this moment, Clack interrupted, and pointing down the road, he said excitedly,
  "Look at that spot down the road just before it turns!  I just saw two PAM soldiers go in there!"
  "PAM soldiers don't belong in Meltolot." Coale replied, "They must be affiliated with Phil and his men.  Let's follow them, and they might lead us to Kay.  In fact, they might also have Lan Leaffy, the missing spy, as well."  The four started at a quick gait down the road to the point described.  The path was scarcely visible, bushes and branches intruding into it.  Once onto the trail, Quintilly, with her nose to the ground, started pulling hard at the leash.  David started out in front of the rest, and they followed the dog up to the foot of the huge tree that served as a ladder to get to the path in the air.  The secret way was so well hidden, that after gazing up into the tree's great spreading branches for a full minute, Quintilly sitting patiently at the foot, Clack said to the dog:
  "Quint, you've been going after a squirrel, and the whole time we thought we were on the track of those PAMonians!"  She looked up at Clack with the resigned air of one who has done her duty, and cannot be blamed for the stupidity of her superiors.  Starting off again on the forest trail, the three men and their dog continued on their way towards something they would have never expected.

A Mission - pt 14 A possibility of escape

  I was sitting in my cell with Jared, playing Chess.  I had his queen in a death trap that would only cost me a Bishop, two Pawns, and a Knight, when there was a tapping on the Tree.  I knew that it was probably Lan Leaffy, and wondering what it could mean, I started to ask Jared why he thought Lan would be tapping.
  "What do y-" but he stopped me with a,
  "Shh, it is Morse Code, let me decipher it." That cut me short, and when the tapping stopped, I asked him what Morse Code was.
  "It is a way of communicating using short and long pulses that was invented before telephones came out." Once again, I was reminded of the vast technological barrier between PAM, and the Kingdom of Meltolot.
  "Well, anyway, what does he say?"
  "He says that he has a message for you.  I'll go and get it."
  "Thanks, but- are you going to tell your boss?"
  "Well, I wouldn't want to get into disfavor, but this time I will keep it a secret."
At that moment, the tapping resumed, but Jared crossed the room and with a few knocks and taps, apparently told Lan that he was coming.

  When Jared returned, he gave me a slip of paper, and after putting away the unfinished Chess game, he told me he that it was his turn on watch.  He left hurriedly and forgot to bar the door.
  I looked down at the piece of paper in my hand, and in old Meltolonian read the following:
          "Dear Mr. Newston and fellow Prisoner, I came to the knowledge that it
        was you who was  stored in cell 2 only this  morning by a sneering remark
        made by  that devil Creakle.   It  has also  come to  my knowledge ( by the 
        same source,) that the famous Coale Janterbel was was also captured, but
        escaped off Nelly's Bridge. On a different note, I have noticed that this tree
        is  hollow,  and if you could  get a hold  of a good saw, we could make our
        escape and get back to the City.  Maybe you could get Jared to help a bit." 
  This communication restored me to my courage, and realizing my cell door was not barred, I sneaked out to try to find the storerooms.

My inactivity

I know that I have been inactive lately, and haven't posted anything new for months, but don't call me a quitter.  I have just started College, and my time is filled with school.  I wish I could continue, but for the present, I am too busy to write here. sorry. :(

A Mission - pt 13 Coale.

If you had been standing outside the morning after Coale was found, looking in at the hall window of Mr. Macabee's house, you would have been able to see the door of Coale's room.  Presently, you would have seen two grave looking men enter the room where he was sitting.  A moment later you would have seen a middle aged woman come bustling out of the room carrying a tray, she would have been looking slightly perplexed and a little annoyed.  Wondering at this string of events, you would have gone around to the window of the room into which the two men had gone.  Peeking in through the window there, you would have seen them standing about a pace from the bed conversing with Coale.  The older and shorter looking one was doing most of the talking, while the taller but younger man remained for the most part silent, except now and then he spoke in ascent.  The conversation would have been quite inaudible as the window was closed and the gardener was busy mowing the lawns.  But from the overall tone of the conversation, you would have been able to tell that Coale was being accused of some crime, and from the attitude of Coale, it would have appeared that he was trying to acquit himself.

After a quarter of an hour, the scene would have suddenly changed.  You would have seen the younger accuser grasp the hand of Coale, and exchange warm tones of greetings.  You would then see an earnest conversation tacking place, and at the end of that, you would have seen the older and shorter man shake Coale's hand and express a deep apology for his treatment of Coale.

An explanation?  Sure thing!  First off, for your information; Coale is not a bad guy, he is a private investigator.  He has access to the information vaults of Meltolot, and, as a sort of memoir of his favorite cases he keeps a copy of an ID card from the person(s) most prominently involved, he stores these in his wallet.  But you might still have your doubts, didn't Coale use Sam Mintrent's name at the Lonely Motel?  My answer to this question is simple.  Coale Janterbel is a detective, and when detectives go undercover they use a different name.  Sam Mintrent is just Coale's undercover name, nobody else in Meltolot (that the Information Vaults knows about) is named Sam Mintrent.  Coale Janterbel had worked for Clack Henderson some years before.  Clack had been accused of smuggling arms and ammunitions across the Pamonian border and in the end, Coale had saved Clack from lifelong dishonor and a heavy fine.  Circumstances had caused the two to lose touch, and until that day in the house of Tom Mac', they had never seen each other again.  Time had changed both, and at first they were unrecognizable to each other.  It was not until Tom Macabee had mentioned C. Henderson's I.D. that Coale recognized Clack, but when he got Clack to remember him, the two easily explained matters to Tom.  Coale was immediately restored to his possessions and trust in the Macabee household.

A Mission - pt 12 A few minor discoveries

Just as I had finished sweeping my room, Creakley came in bearing a tray of food.  while he was setting it on the ground, Phil entered and stood regarding me with a look of curiosity and somewhat irritation.  He stood thus until Creakley left, then advancing a step nearer to me he spoke.
   "Mr. Newston, I suppose you are wondering why you were brought here."
   "Yes sir."
   "You may also be wondering what a group of Pamonions are doing in Meltolot."
   "Yes sir."
   "You might also want to know why we are holding Lan Leaffy here as well."  I had no idea that Lan was there, but I made no illusion to the fact, instead I said, "Yes sir."
   "Well," continued Phil, "I, er, we, have questions for you as well."
   "I am as a locked safe, a barred door, and a closed, closed... clam!"
   "Oh, well, you may keep your silence, we have other means of knowledge... That is if you want your friend to be melted in the great mixing pots of PAM!"  I at this point knew that Coale wouldn't let himself be captured again, but I decided to play along with Phil.
   "Have you got Coale? I had thought he escaped!"
   "It was just off the bridge, and into the hands of Pam for him, and if you don't tell me what I want, it'll be out of the prison and into the melting pot!"  I now feigned reluctant submission as I said, "Well, what exactly do you want to know?"
   "What was Leaffy's mission?"
   "I can't say."
   "Remember, Melting POT!!!"
   "Poor Coale, hopefully he has better luck in the after life."  I could see Phil's temper rising so I egged him on, "Go ask Lan, maybe he knows, it was his mission after all."  This remark was perhaps a little to much, for, instead of drawing more information from Phil, it threw him into a rage, and, picking up the bowl of watery soup that Creakley had brought, he threw it, contents and all at my head.  It was lucky Phil's aim wasn't very good, because I know I wouldn't have been able to doge it.  The bowl crashed against the exact middle of the tree, which emitted a remarkably strange sound.  I did not pay attention to it though, instead I looked Phil in the face, and told him that he was a remarkably good shot.  He turned and left, shaking his fist menacingly.

***          ***          ***

Immediately after Phil had gone I went to inspect the tree more closely than I had done previously.  I picked up the largest piece of the shattered bowl and tapped at the spot it had marked with an impressive dent.  The sound reverberated through the the huge tree, "almost as if it is hollow" I thought.  Finding that the hollow sound occurred only in a place of about two feet in diameter, I sat down to think.  If the tree was really hollow, it might pose an option of escape, but without any sharp instrument to hack or saw my way through the thick bark to the hollow inside, the way would prove useless, also, as soon as my escape had been noticed, my perfect ignorance of the surrounding country would be an immense hindrance to my getting away.
My thoughts turned back to Lan Leaffy, he was the spy I was commissioned to find, so technically, could I escape, I could return to Calfmur and report to the King my find... But no, I must stay and see this business to its completion.  No one who ran from Pam would be a true citizen of Meltolot. At least Coale was on my side, if only I could get some communication to him as to my whereabouts.

A Mission - pt 11 Who is he?

Tom Macabee motioned Clack Henderson to follow him into his study where they sat at a massive mahogany desk in two luxurious easy chairs.  Tom had a serious look on his face, and Clack, one of curiosity.  After pushing aside various articles of clutter, including blueprints, scientific instruments, and a jumble of paper, Tom set about laying the contents of Coale's pockets out on the table.  First he took out the short pen, pack of miniature playing cards, pocket knife and handkerchief.  The pen was of ancient make, the refillable type, and it looked like it had been refilled countless times.  There was an engraving on the stalk with the hardly distinguishable initials T. J.  The playing cards were Pamonian but otherwise ordinary.  Both the knife and handkerchief looked old and had the initials L. J.  Then Tom handed the notebook to Clack, who leafed through it slowly.  The letters of which the text was composed were not at all ordinary, and neither Tom nor Clack could make any sense of them.  But then came the most interesting part, Tom produced the wallet.  He laid its content on the desk one item at a time first came two tens, a five, and three ones.  Then came seven assorted ID cards:  A SS card belonging to me, I don't know how he got it.  A driver's licence belonging to a certain Sam Mintrent.  The King's birth certificate ( Is that allowed? I don't know.)  A "Province Of PAM" ID card belonging to someone named Ethel Niami.  Two credit cards belonging to respectable citizens of Legovile.  A "Licensed to conduct business and trade with foreign nations" card bearing the name Clack Henderson!

Up to this point, the room had been silent, not a word being spoken, but at the sight of his name on an ID card possessed by someone else made Clack utter an exclamation and turn inquiring eyes upon Tom.  At this, Tom drew the last of the wallet's contents from it and tossed them to Clack.  They were a collection of neatly folded receipts, bearing the customer names of several of those on the ID cards, and Clack's was used at least five times.

Tom spoke the thought that was on both of their minds.  In a low whisper he said, "Our visitor is an Identity Thief."

A Mission - pt 10.5 A place of rest

Clack Henderson was a likable man in his late thirties, some say he was thirty five, some say thirty seven, and some, even forty, but he was of that type that preferred to let his exact age remain a mystery.  He was tall, athletic, always smiling, and his deep jovial laugh could always be heard issuing from the tight group of friends always about him.  When he was called, half of the group standing about the fire with him came along to see what Mr. Mac' was up to out in the forest in so dark a night.  Tom had meanwhile found Coale's wallet, pocket notebook, and a few other odds and ends, these he slipped into his pockets before the men came up.
When Clack and his following aproached, they were as surprised as Tom had been on finding a man of unknown origins, unconscious on the Macabee property.  Together though, they carried him to the house, and deposited him, dirt, and water, and all, to the consternation of the housekeeper, in the bed of an unoccupied room.
Dorthy Jane, the said housekeeper, was also the part time nurse of Doctor Lewis Topenople the one and only licensed physician in a hundred mile radius.  Of course most of those three hundred fourteen square miles were just forest or farm land, but still, that is a lot of ground to cover and it took nigh a week to make his rounds.  Dorthy would make one circuit with him and take two off, enabling her to spend two thirds of her time at home.

She took charge of Coale, and soon had him revived, his leg cleaned and bandaged, and started feeding him with warm broth and other nourishing supplements.  Coale was to weak to resist these kindnesses and though he normally would have complained saying that he could get along just as well without doctoring, he accepted the treatment, and over the course of the next week was able to sit for spells outside, or walk about the house for short periods of time.  Through all this however, it was obvious that Coale was anxious about me, for he always read the morning paper as soon as it arrived, and often asked Tom Mac' whether he had any news from town that might put light upon the subject of my capture..