The Argo Goes West

12, Giant boar hunting in Calydon, part 9

"You're crazy. You're dumping your job as chef at Delmonico's and picking a chef for a railroad dining car."

"Mon chéri, it's not just a train. It's the Argo, a battle train that will save the United States of America."

Hercule soothed his pouting lover. His point is valid. It's insane to quit being the sous-chef at a French restaurant that is one of the best in New York and a favorite of celebrities in the political and business world. Hercule knew that too. "I told you before, my dream. I want to be a hero. No, I have to be. Because that's my destiny."

Hercule Giraud is French. Hercule is the French name for Hercules in Greek mythology, named by his grandfather who was born in the year of the Battle of Waterloo.

The men of the Girauds have been soldiers for generations. Since childhood, Hercule has been told to become a soldier too. Hercule, be strong. Be stronger than anyone else. But Hercule was weaker than the others. He was always the last in a race, and he was always the target in a snowball fight.It would have been nice if he was smart even if he wasn't good at sports, but his grades weren't good. There was no way he would pass the military academy. Families were disappointed, and Hercule felt ashamed.

Cooking saved Hercule. The dressing he made for his aunt was so delicious that it quickly became popular in the neighborhood. It was the first time that he was praised by others. Hoping to get more compliments, he got into cooking. After graduating from lycée, he got a job at a restaurant without hesitation. He honed his skills as an apprentice and was soon entrusted with running a store.

Then Delmonico's, a famous New York restaurant, invited him to work at their house. They were looking for a replacement for Charles Ranhofer. Hercule decided to cross the Atlantic. His cuisine quickly became popular among the ladies and gentlemen of New York.

Among his patrons was Vice President Theodore Roosevelt Roosevelt asked him to become the head chef of the Argo.

Hercule took this labour as a penance. The trip to New York is also a penance, and the Argo chef is also a penance. Just as Hercules performed many labors and became a hero, Hercule must also face these labors.

He found work on the Argo fascinating. Everywhere the train stops, he obtains local ingredients and develops novel recipes that no one has ever devised.

His lover knew that Hercule was indecisive, but uncompromising when it came to cooking. His lover gave up persuasion.

"But I have one condition."

"Okay. Say anything."

"Take me with you."

Hercule's smile instantly froze. Now it was Hercule's turn to persuade. "I can't do that, mon chéri. I don't know what's waiting for us. I don't want to put you in danger."

"Neither do I let you go anywhere dangerous. If you still want to go, I will too."

"Non! Non!"

"Why non? No way, you're not going to have a lover other than me, are you?"

"I won't do that. Only you, Claude. You are my only one."

Orpheus found gigantic boar tracks.

The footprints continued up the mountain. On the rocks, Bonnie nearly lost track, but Orpheus didn't get lost.

Bonnie noticed that the tracks were getting further and further away from the river.

"Didn't Sir Granger say that wild boars live near water?"

Orpheus answered calmly. "There are waterfronts even on top of mountains."

Bonnie was skeptical, but after a while Orpheus was proved right. Because they heard the sound of water coming from the other side of the bush.

They pushed their way through the bushes, pricked by thorns on their clothes. Then they saw a waterfall about 60 feet high. Near the basin of the waterfall, a wild boar monster was sleeping with loud breathing.

"Here's its nest," Bonnie gulped.

Bonnie held up her Winchester 1873.

"Please don't shoot."

"why?"

"Are you going to wake it up here and guide it to the location of the trap?"

Bonnie looked at Orpheus with a dumbfounded face and said. "Yes. Is there a problem?"

"If you do that here, you'll be running down the rocky slope we just climbed. That's very dangerous."

"Give me some ideas."

"We will follow him after it wakes up and moves. There is nothing on this mountain that can feed on its except water, so it will definitely come down from the mountain. Then, in the most suitable place, we will instigate that."

"Where?"

"It's the place I will instruct."

Orpheus' black eyes saw no hesitation. He was confident. Bonnie trusts this young Maasai hunter. "Okay. Let's do what you say."

They decided to spend the night around a bonfire.

"Does it wake up at night?"

"No. Boars are diurnal animals. If you're worried, I'll keep watch."

"Okay. Let's go to sleep. But I wonder if I can sleep. I'm nervous and my heart is pounding."

"I will sing lullaby."

Orpheus sang purely in an angelic voice.

When you get tired of flying

Night has come to birdland

Are you worried about cats? but

Good night, little birds, in my hands

While you sleep

I will protect you

Bonnie immediately fell into a drowsiness. Before falling asleep, she thought Sir Granger must have been sleeping soundly to Orpheus' lullaby during the hunt.