The Sleeping Army Awakes

Part 70 Dangling

Spencer was still dangling from the helicopter, though he had finally been able to disconnect the swinging, carp shaped, submarine and he was now being winched to the relative safety and comfort of the helicopter itself. He looked down and could clearly see the two undersized teenagers climbing out of the craft and looking around furtively in case anyone was just about to tell them off for being stupid. They seemed shocked and dazed when the helicopter lifted off back into the sky and set off in the direction of the town.

"Well done Spencer!" Boris said. "But I'm not sure that I'll be able to find the others in this mist."

Eliška surveyed the blighted hillside from her vantage point in the helicopter and looked sad. "The Sleeping Army won't like this you know!" she said, "they'll take revenges."

"You speak about the hillside as if it were alive!" Spencer retorted as he was being winched back aboard.

Eliška gave Spencer a hug to welcome the hero that had saved her half cousins.

"You're absolutely covered in mud!" She observed, as if someone like Spencer wouldn't have noticed. "At least I hope is mud it smells terrible."

"Perhaps we should go and rescue your aunt before I change." Spencer said.

"Oh she's safe enough for now." Eliška laughed. In her mind she could see that the prefabricated wooden building was gently bobbing down the valley. "Look they're down there!"

"Hold on everyone!" Boris shouted and veered the Sikorsky sharply around towards them.

Safe, as Eliška had said, for now, on the roof, her Aunt Sacha had chosen a novel way to kill time with the construction workers.

"Oh dear! I think that we ought to rescue your men from my Auntie while they are still dressed."Eliška remarked.

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked, half in anticipation and in half trepidation.

"Auntie likes to play card games." Eliška said carefully. 

They were playing a card game using a pack of cards, which was missing three of the lower order cards but had extra aces to make a full pack. As Boris steered the Sikorsky nearer it became clear that the men were losing heavily because they seemed to have no shirts or trousers.

"I hear that card games and games of chance can be most diverting and enjoyable!" Spencer said diplomatically, he was already alert to the fact that she was concealing a game that was less innocent than happy families.

"It's just particular type of diverting and enjoyable games she likes!" Eliška said preparing the way gently, "In her youth she was known as Dobré časy Sacha." Dobré časy meant good times

"As in good time was had by all?" Spencer asked.

"Sort of. How did you guess?" Eliška asked. "She never refused gentleman in need of comfort or diversion."

"Oh it was just a shot in the dark!" Spencer said diplomatically, although the answer did have a depressing inevitability to it. "but what actual game are they playing?"

"Oh actual game is just card game!" Eliška said evasively and giggled. "With gambling!"

Spencer raised an eyebrow in query. "What sought of gambling? He asked.

"Strip poker!" Eliška giggled.

"Strip poker?" Spencer asked, aghast at the imagery that was entering his mind. "But she's old enough to be their grandmother!"

"My Aunt Sacha has always been woman of great warmth." Eliška said simply. "And my uncle was man of great patience and tolerance."

"He would definitely have needed to have been." Spencer said, suspecting that there was even more to this story than a little drunkenness, warmth and strip poker.

"My aunt loved all men equally because she was Mík." Eliška continued pouring on the agony. "And she enjoyed comforting people not just with diversion."

Spencer sighed. "That's precisely what I was afraid that you were about to say. Eliška please stop explaining. I am blushing already," Spencer pleaded. "I do not think it is a good idea for me to hear more."

"I'm just trying to prepare you." Eliška defended.

"Do you mean that there is worse to come?" Spencer asked, fearing what the answer could be, but he even more suspicious of exactly why she wanted to prepare him for anything other than the state of the people that they were going to rescue.

"Not really worse... just bit more quantity!" Eliška giggled. Though Spencer was attempting to block his thoughts, Eliška caught a stray unguarded vestige of a thought that was beginning to horrify Spencer. 

"She had herbs to cure things!" Eliška explained. "Like the ones I showed you today! As I said  she comforted people!"

He had suddenly realised that Auntie Sacha would be the nearest equivalent to a mother-in-law he could have if Eliška and he became a couple.

"Hang on minute...I miss something maybe.. I'm not same like Auntie." She asserted. "as in well maybe tiny bit... but economic conditions are different for me than they were for her and there are no miners about her to entertain."

Spencer wondered that if there had been miners left locally then perhaps Eliška would have been forced into the comfort and entertainment industry. He decided that there was more to this last statement than the mere sum of its constituent words. He decided to ask no more questions, as it appeared to be that Auntie Sacha had been less than a vestal virgin of virtue in her former vocation.

"I think that Uncle was quite relieved that she had found herself outlet where she could demonstrate her skills to their fullest extent." Eliška added. "he was often too tired to do anything from his work down mine."

"Indeed!" Spencer ventured. "And dare I ask what was that?"

"As nurse of course!"Eliška replied.

"Indeed?" Spencer asked.

Eliška felt that she shouldn't say more because Spencer seemed to be becoming increasingly uncomfortable with all the talk about her Aunt's chosen vocations. She couldn't understand why Spencer felt that curing miners with a few herbs could be so embarrassing. He must be misunderstanding something and it was frustrating her that he kept on blocking her. Telepathy was much more direct. There was no chance of misunderstanding.

"OK sooner you go and rescue them Spencer!" Eliška said, "then more likely it is that they will have some clothes on!"

"True!" Spencer admitted, "What happens when they run out of clothes?"

"Then things become really interesting!" Eliška teased, "Oh look that's them again. They are currently drifting towards the river."

"I hope that I won't end up like your uncle." Spencer thought dismally.

Vladimir appeared from the rear of the Sikorsky looking flustered. "So Sacha is floating below us down lake and no-one is doing anything about it,"

"This time I swing on wire and rescue Sacha!" Vladimir stated heroically. The wooden building was currently floating gently down towards the waterfall and the river.

"They're OK for moment!" Boris said. "I'm going to move in bit closer."

Spencer wondered whether it was really wise for Vladimir to attempt this so soon after drinking what was left of a large jar of Auntie Sacha's most powerful cider after Sir Percy had finished with  but Vladimir was determined and so it seemed as though it was the only option.

"It has been rather an odd day!" Spencer commented philosophically.

"It's been a truly wonderful day!" Eliška commented dreamily, "A simply wonderful day!"