The Sleeping Army Awakes

Part 2 Cylinder

The two boys had misjudged the last curve at the bottom of the hill on the descent to the old salt processing factory. The wagon had derailed and by the sound of it was now sinking slowly into the mud. Both boys had been thrown clear.

"You bullock!" Bláznivý Marek commented. He had landed upside down in a tumble of vegetation.

"That was fun!" Slepý Bobek said. "But where did my glasses and cylinder land?"

"Simply I don't know!" Bláznivý Marek replied, "hope we didn't damage valve."

"You should have thought about cylinder and my glasses when we took last corner you bullock. It was your turn to pull brake!" Slepý Bobek complained. 

"But shouldn't we go back to mine to scare that man away?"Bláznivý Marek asked.

"Did he look scared of us before you bullock?" Slepý Bobek asked exasperated by his brother's lack of comprehension. "And I was trying to look my scariest."

"No he didn't look scared." Bláznivý Marek admitted. "And you don't need to try and look scary. You are scary you bullock!"

"You are always at your scariest when you are planning something really stupid!" Slepý Bobek asked. "In fact you look scary right now. What are you planning you bullock?"

"Nothing that you need to know!" Bláznivý Marek said mysteriously.

"I think that we should finish Fish-sub first. Fish-sub must be completed by our birthday." Slepý Bobek said pragmatically. "Let old crazy man stay in mine to shelter from rain and let spooky shadows play tricks on him." There was yet another crackle of thunder and sky lit up momentarily. "Simply if he wasn't struck by lightning and is now lying burned like roast pig on middle of road."

"But simply if he isn't burned," Bláznivý Marek mused, trying to imagine what a horribly charred man would look like. "then we do something spectacular to get him out of our mine. You bullock."

"But if he is burned then this will be terrible sight!" Slepý  Bobek added, simultaneously shuddering at the thought, and relishing the prospect of how gruesome a charred corpse would be.

"I would like to see this sight!" Bláznivý Marek said matter-of-factly, "Simply  out of scientific curiosity of course. But simply don't worry brother. Wolves have been howling in hunger for days. They will simply eat him and crunch his bones." He let the enormity of this scenario sink in.

"This I would also like to see." Slepý Bobek said. "Simply out of scientific curiosity."

"I see that they have brought blasting gear in to clear area for building!" Bláznivý Marek said. He sneezed lustily and drew a stained and well used scrap of cloth from his pocket to wipe his nose.

"Cheers!" Slepý Bobek said automatically, using the Slavik equivalent of 'bless you'. But he was imagining the terrifying prospect of his brother planting dynamite or perhaps something even more potent and injuring yet another of their neighbours. "Simply you have bump on head you bullock!"

"No just bump on my shoulder you bullock!!" Bláznivý Marek corrected, rubbing the bruised area and totally missing the point. He sneezed again

"Simply we make plans tomorrow. Is too late tonight you bullock!" Slepý Bobek said. "We better get back before we are really in trouble or get horribly struck by lightning and eaten by wolves."

"Auntie Sacha would not allow them to eat her little nephews!" Bláznivý Marek asserted and punctuated the statement with yet another sneeze.

"Auntie Sacha is very drunk." Slepý Bobek said.