The Sleeping Army Awakes

Part 20 Submersive Subversives

The afternoon lessons really dragged on and on for Slepý Bobek and Bláznivý Marek. Both of them had gone to sleep very late the previous night, or to be more accurate, early in that morning. Then they had woken up again, full of excitement, after only few hours sleep, so that they could check Fish-sub before school. They had really enjoyed the history lesson about electricity generation, but they had still yawned sporadically all morning and after the midday meal, such as it was, they lost interest altogether and both fell asleep in the straw.

Jitka looked down at the two exhausted boys, and found it difficult to be angry with them. Awake they could be disruptive and boisterous; whereas asleep they looked angelic.

The techniques needed to mind-block telepathy, would certainly have been most useful in keeping Eliška and Auntie Sacha out of their minds and as a result out of their affairs... but she determined that perhaps they needed the sleep more.

When they awoke after an hour's sleep, Bláznivý Marek first signalled by a huge sneeze.

"Marku! You should put your hand in front of your mouth whenever you have to do that!" Jitka chided. "Otherwise everyone will get what ever you have!"

"Is only allergy!" Bláznivý Marek protested. "Is impossible to transfer allergy!"

Jitka recognised that there was nothing that she could do to engage their interest, so she declared that they would be ending school early that day in preparation for the arrival of Sir Percy the next day and that they would continue the lesson on Monday.

Slepý Bobek and Bláznivý Marek both whooped with joy and raced each other down towards the boat house. Both of them were so excited about finishing Fish-sub that they left without bothering to hug their friends goodbye, including Stepa and Greta, which was bad manners and a bad strategy if they had any romantic ambitions in thier direction.

As the boys left the school, they didn't even check to see whether the Skidges were patrolling, before the two of them ran helter skelter down the hill such was trer excitement. They had always been very careful previously, because the last thing that they needed, was to alert Old Kelp the gamekeeper to their activities and so far they had been lucky. 

Fate favours the cautious and not those who act in haste. They had only got halfway down the hill before the first pair appeared and they had to dive for cover because there was a hail of unannounced ceramic pellets from the Skidges.

"You bullock! It had to happen today!" Slepý Bobek cursed. "He touch Control W and he turn off announcements. He must be drunken strumpet. You bullock! That is it! I personally will deliver no more cider to that bastard! I hope he dies of thirst."

"Are you OK brother?" Bláznivý Marek asked, more concerned for his brother's safety than his own.

"Simply this time you bullock! And you?" Slepý Bobek asked.

"I feel no pain!" Bláznivý Marek admitted and sneezed loudly.

"I am glad my brother!" Slepý Bobek and he put a reassuring arm around his sibling.

"Why you do that?" Bláznivý Marek asked and sneezed.

"Simply because I want the pellets from next pair to go through me before they hit you." Slepý Bobek thought that he lied, although in reality he would have suffered much worse punishment to protect his stupid brother. For now it was just nice to know that he was still alive... Bláznivý Marek sneezed again.

They heard the Skidges moving off and then the second pair arrived and left almost immediately without any further shooting, unfortunately this was because they had acquired other targets and if the boys had known that the targets were Stepa and Greta, then they would have been running up the hill, to divert the Skidges.

"Bobicku!" Marek said softly.

"What you bullock?" Slepy Bobek asked.

"It is nice that you love me so " Bláznivý Marek said. "but you can take your arm off me now! They've gone!"