The Green Beans, Volume 4: Shipwrecked on Smuttynose Island
Page 19
After they were able to regain their breath, Neil and Jack got to their feet and inched toward the edge of the waterfall. They could see that there was a significant drop, and had they landed below, it didn’t look as if the experience would have been too comfortable.
“I can’t believe that jerk was going to let us go flying down there!” Jack said in amazement.
“I know. What a doorknob,” Neil agreed. Then he pointed to the distance. “Speaking of which… look over there!”
Jack looked where Neil was pointing, and there he saw the keeper, hobbling along on his peg leg, brandishing his burlap sack. He was a long distance off, and his position was at a significantly lower elevation than that of the Beans. The keeper had emerged from a trail in the woods, and he was now approaching the shore of the island.
The location was instantly recognizable to Neil and Jack, for it was there they had witnessed the remarkable presence of Pan Gu. It was the part of Smuttynose Island that formed the rocky cove, the place where the emerald dragon had last been seen, before their ship had been wrecked.
Within that cove, nestled among the many rocky outcroppings, there was a huge cavern. It loomed large, with a gargantuan opening that looked like the yawn of a prehistoric beast. The Beans wondered if perhaps that cavern served as a lair for Pan Gu.
“Check it out,” Jack murmured.
The group watched as the keeper hobbled ahead, making his way into the cavern. Seawater flowed into the entrance, but there was also a strip of dry land, and it was upon this area that the keeper walked. Before long, he disappeared within the darkness of the cavern.
“The trail we were on must have continued on the other side of the bridge, going straight to that cove. It must be the keeper’s hideout,” Neil theorized.
“Hmm… do you think that’s the place Pan Gu is hiding, too?” Jack wondered.
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough. Unfortunately, there’s no path down there, from where we are now. Looks like we’ve got some hard hiking ahead of us,” Neil said, stretching out his back and legs in order to loosen up the muscles he had banged up today.
After a brief moment of preparation, the Beans began the next leg of their journey. Engaging in some extremely difficult hiking, the unique quartet of Neil, Jack, Nibbler, and Murphy set out for their goal: the cavern in the cove, the place where the keeper had last been seen.
To reach it, they were forced to plod through dense wilderness, pushing their way through the crowding embrace of vines and branches and brambles. Furthermore, there were steep rock inclines that required navigation, the contents of which shifted beneath their hands and feet as they scrambled over their surfaces.
The easy way to reach the cove was clearly on the other side of the bridge - the bridge that had been destroyed by the keeper. On that side of the river, the path through the woods continued, just as Neil had speculated.
The keeper had been able to reach his hideout with ease, even hobbled with his peg leg as he was. What the Beans were left with, on their side of the river, was a dense, hostile wilderness that resisted their every step.
Neil and Jack found themselves panting from their exertions. The bright sun beat down from above, warming them, quickly drying out the sogginess they had accrued from their trip down the river. As they struggled through the wilderness, they were amazed by how long it was taking them to cover a distance that was so relatively small in size.
The keeper’s cave could not have been more than a half of a mile from the waterfall, yet the Beans were forced to move forward at an agonizingly slow pace. When one stepped off the path at Smuttynose Island, they discovered, the terrain could become incredibly difficult to traverse. At times, it almost felt as if the island might be in league with the keeper, conspiring to keep his pursuers from reaching him.
Nibbler was able to proceed with greater ease than the boys, for his low profile and impressive agility allowed him to navigate the woods without too much trouble. He slinked low to the ground when necessary, and bounded happily ahead when he could. Regardless of whether he was moving quickly or slowly, however, his wagging tail remained a constant, as did the sniffing of his snout.
There were only a couple of spots where Nibbler required help. When the group encountered particularly steep sections consisting of rock, Neil and Jack would work together to pass the Labradoodle over the obstacle, hefting his furry weight between the two of them. As always, the Beans made for an outstanding team that would do whatever was necessary for all of them to succeed.
Of the four of them, Murphy experienced the least amount of difficulty. He had remarkable agility, and he darted this way and that, sprinting through the densest pieces of vegetation as if they were no more than thin air. When vertical surfaces presented a challenge to the others, Murphy climbed them without issue, utilizing the unfailing grip of his claws.
He raced far in the lead of the group, scouting the way ahead. Then he would pause, waiting for the others. Turning toward them, he waved his squirrelly paws about, squeaking indecipherable noises of encouragement.
“We’re going as fast as we can, Murphy!” Neil assured his tiny friend. He was squeezing his way through densely packed foliage, pushing branches away from his face. “We can’t squeeze through these tight spaces as easily as you can. Do you see anything up ahead?”
Murphy squeaked in response, but the exact meaning of his articulations remained a mystery to all those present, seeing how as none of them were fluent in the language of squirrels.
“Don’t worry,” Jack said, offering further words of encouragement to the group. “We’ll reach the cave soon enough. And when we do, we’ll be the ones with the element of surprise. That crazy keeper will never be expecting to see us again. He thought he got rid of us for good, but he’ll be sorely disappointed to learn that we can’t be dispatched of so easily!”
“Woof!” Nibbler added in agreement.
“You know, I thought this guy was just a tad dastardly when we first met him. But I’m coming to think that he just might be a first-rate scoundrel,” Neil opined.
“A goon! A lout! A rapscallion!” Jack added.
“I can’t believe he destroyed that bridge and tried to send us over the waterfall. And let’s not forget about the theft of poor Noodles’ head!”
“How could we forget?” asked Jack. “This guy is right up there with the likes of Jasper, as far as nefarious evildoings are concerned.”
The land was brutal, and the going was tough. But the four of them pressed on without complaint, urging each other on. They were determined to reach the keeper and reclaim Noodles’ noggin, and this strange quartet of adventurers was perseverant to the utmost. They would not be stopped, no matter the obstacles and obstructions.
Each of them was possessed of a strong will, and in the company of each other, they only grew stronger, bolstered by their fantastic friendship. Knowing they had one another to rely upon was like drawing from a powerful elixir, filling them with confidence and optimism.
As they proceeded through the rough terrain, Neil and Jack had long ago lost track of time. They only knew that every step through this hostile wilderness was a struggle, and every foot of distance gained was a small triumph.
Finally, after time untold, they pushed through a particularly dense section of brambles and strange shrubberies. They emerged into a clearing that existed at the top of a short cliff, overlooking the ocean and the rocky beach upon which its waves collided.
The four of them looked down at the semi-circular shape of the cove, and they could clearly see the cavern that the keeper must have been using as a hideout.
“Whew,” Neil exclaimed, wiping a hand across his forehead. “By the beard of Archimedes, I’m sure glad that’s over with.”
They estimated they had traveled only a half mile or so from the waterfall, but it was undoubtedly the hardest half mile they had ever faced. In that regard, it had been a distance of deception - in reality it was short, yet it felt like miles on end when th
ey had been forced to traverse it. It had been a difficult distance to conquer, but the determination of the Beans had paid off.
They were scratched, scuffed, and bruised from their efforts, but they had at last reached the place where they had seen the keeper disappear from afar, as he had ducked into the cavern by the cove. From where they currently stood, it would be a short, relatively easy walk to the cave’s entrance.
They were ready - ready to face the keeper and get what they had come for.
“Okay,” Jack said, his voice firm with resolve. “Let’s go save Noodles from this lunatic.”
Chapter Twenty
The Cavern in the Cove