The Sleeping Army Awakes

Part 8 Another kind of Feast

Samuel remembered seeing camping stoves, along with pans of various sizes in one of the previous chambers. He seemed to remember that there were also small mess tins to eat out of. Before, in the absence of having anything to cook, utensils to heat the food in had seemed irrelevant, so Samuel had merely noted their location and moved along. But as his hands were full, he decided to make a separate trip for the pots and camp stoves.

As Samuel carried the open can back, he wished that he had left it closed. Ironically the same contents, which had been reluctant to move when he wanted to eat it, seemed more than happy to drip onto his bare feet as he tried to carry it back to the entrance. Perhaps the heat from his hand had been enough to melt the sauce. He placed the cans near the entrance and went back into the mine.

Finally, back at the entrance with everything that he needed, Samuel set up the stove to heat the contents of the first tin. He was reluctant to light the camping stove inside the mine until he could be assured that there was no flammable gas seeping from the rocks. The headgear and generator's construction proved to him that the manufacturer had gone to great lengths, to eliminate the risk of sparks. Samuel had heard too many stories of explosions in mines, to ignore the possibility of gases emanating from below. He knew that even sitting with a naked flame at the entrance was taking a chance, but it was still pouring with rain outside, which might quench any nascent ignition, and though he kept telling himself to be cautious it had taken some while to find everything that he had needed and it had been a while now since the peaches so that hunger had got the better of him.

The fuel for the stove was some sort of white solid material, which smelled like aviation fuel. It brought back memories of his basic training and he hoped that it would light more easily than the stove he had used on his naval survival week all those years ago. It had taken ages for him to get going. Samuel opened the plastic wrapped cardboard package and removed and separated the oily feeling cubes from each other and assembled them in a rough pyramid. The stove kit contained a fire starter and striker, and striking one against another gave off massive sparks.

It took several attempts with the fire starter to persuade the pile of cubes to light, but once the fire had been established then even the squalling gusts of wind could not extinguish them. Though it was after the summer solstice it was cold at night he was pleased at last to have a heat source to warm his hands by. Samuel waited for a few seconds for the fire to really get going and then stood the little metal grill stand on top of the burning pile. Samuel half filled a billy can with water from one of the clearer looking puddles into the pan and then placed the first can to heat in the hot water forming a sort of primitive bain marie to heat the goulash.

After the first can had been heating for about ten minutes, the reddish brown contents had simmered for long enough for him to be able to stir the mixture and the aroma of paprika and onions became irresistible.

"Don't become impatient!" Samuel told himself, knowing that if the contents were tainted then it could mean the end for him.

So he waited for several minutes until the whole contents had been thoroughly cooked and fished the can out using the bent back lid and a corner of the blanket. He replaced it by a second can and topped up the water. He placed the heated can in front of him on the ground and ate the goulash straight from it using a spoon wondering why he had bothered with the mess tins. The warm thick stew was slightly sweeter, spicier and saltier than Samuel's preference but nevertheless to Samuel it was like ambrosia, it was the first time that he had tasted hot food for weeks.

Samuel ate slowly but steadily, trying hard not to rush and give himself a stomach ache. By the time that he had finished the first can, the second can was nearly ready. He ate as much of the second can as he had space for and he finally had his fill for the first time in weeks. After he had gorged himself so much that he thought he would burst, he returned to the store chamber and took some cans of what he hoped would be meat for the wolves.