The Stone of Madness

by Nick Baker

  She dispelled these thoughts and considered what she would do with the unexpected free time that had suddenly materialised. She briefly thought about going back to her room to continue her studies there, but quickly dismissed it. She knew her father was out and would not be back for some time.

  In a flash of inspiration, she decided to go and see the boys. Her sombre mood dissipated in an instant, giving way to the thrill of visiting her friends. She had not told her father about Aedh and Seoc, knowing full well that he would not approve. It was her secret, and now, having made up her mind, there was no time to lose. She shot from the classroom, making a quick detour to her bedroom to change into some warmer clothes, despite the watery sunshine that was cascading through the window.

  Lily felt a flutter in her stomach as she crept downstairs. She had no desire to be caught and could only imagine the inquisition that would follow if she were spotted on the way out. Fortunately, Albright was nowhere to be seen, and with Mrs Brimstork busy working her culinary magic in the kitchen, she would not be missed. She picked up a thick coat that was hanging in the hall and tiptoed into the kitchen, sneaking behind the cook’s back as she was pounding dough.

  She left by the back door and crossed the lawn. She pushed apart the undergrowth at the bottom of the garden to reveal an old bay tree that hid a rusty gate. She lifted the hinge and put her weight behind the metal bars. The gate groaned in protest before yielding under Lily’s force, sending her toppling unceremoniously through the gap onto an overgrown path that led down to an old railway embankment.

  She set off at great speed and did not hesitate at the verge, skidding down the icy path that was still swathed deeply in shadow. She crossed the rotting sleepers that were scattered haphazardly about the old track and scampered up the other side. The path was much clearer here and opened onto a grassy knoll, which she bounded up as fast as she could. She paused at the summit and surveyed the land that lay ahead. In the distance, she could just make out the canal lying beyond yet another copse. Her route looked impassable from where she was standing, but Lily knew better. As she set off, she recalled the first time she had made this trip some months earlier energised by feelings of excitement and wanderlust. She had utilised the singular skills her father had taught her to bypass a set of railings barring the way, and the divergent gap between the upright struts remained to this day, a testament to the alchemical abilities she had used to transform the rigid metal barrier into ductile rods that could be bent apart with ease.

  She squeezed through the gap with some difficulty because of her bulky coat then forged ahead through a dense thicket of beech trees sportingly hanging onto curly brown leaves. Eventually, the vegetation cleared to reveal an old canal basin. The place exuded neglect judging by the crumbling concrete overgrown with moss and algae surrounding the still, dank water, but her eyes were drawn to a brightly coloured green and white canal boat moored there. Despite the boat’s exuberant exterior, it was badly in need of maintenance. The paint was peeling in places, exposing longitudinal planks of the boat’s wooden hull that was crudely sealed with oakum tar-soaked rope. One item, however, did not need repair: a brightly painted wooden plate neatly engraved with bold letters highlighting the craft’s name. Na Cruacha Dubha. Lily smiled to herself. She inherently liked the odd combination of Gaelic words even if she still had no idea how to pronounce them.

  As she surveyed the scene, she recalled when she had first stumbled upon the clearing on a bright, sun-filled day, almost toppling over two boys seated on the towpath playing marbles. The surprise on their faces was merely a prelude to their hospitality, and they welcomed Lily into their game without a second thought. The boys’ pleasure at the easy pickings on offer playing against an outsider—and a girl at that—soon turned to disbelief as the first game took shape. After accepting the boys’ monetary challenge, Lily proceeded to strip their pockets of the few remaining coins they had ventured to wager with her. The loss was even harder for the boys to take, as this was a game of their invention with its own quirky rules, and a game at which they had always assumed they would be masters.

  The game began with each competitor choosing six marbles, strategically placed inside a sizeable circle drawn out on the towpath. Each player started with five standard, glass-coloured marbles, and one ‘fobber’, the boys’ term for a large, highly polished, stainless steel marble. Each player took turns in trying to displace an opponent’s marbles from the arena via a deft flick of the thumb, but absolutely no movement of the arm. Under certain conditions, various actions were allowed, such as ‘blocking’ or ‘fanning’, terms the boys used to describe specific foot manoeuvres to protect the marbles or distract an opponent. The key to winning was to knock the opponent’s fobber from the circle, but this was never as easy as it sounded. Wise manoeuvring of the fobber was essential to achieve victory while tactical and judicious positioning of the smaller marbles often dictated the result of the contest.

  After Lily had won the first game with consummate ease, the boys wrote it off as beginner’s luck, but they became more circumspect after the second match when she won again. It was only after the third game when the boys colluded to ensure her downfall that some parity was restored.

  Within that first hour, friendships were firmly established, cemented by the thrill of the game and the laughter that accompanied the ferocious intensity of the play. The trio hardly spoke while they battled, but after the final contest, the boys invited Lily back to the boat for some refreshment and to reflect on where the games had been won or lost. Once inside the snug cabin, introductions were finally made over a boiling kettle and the preparation of a strangely pungent tea from a collection of dried leaves and herbs the boys had gathered on their travels.

  Sitting in the small galley around a table flanked by wooden benches, Lily drank the brew in silence, reinvigorating her in a fashion that took her rather by surprise.

  Eventually, the older boy broke the silence, smiling coyly at Lily but steadfastly refusing to meet her gaze. ‘My name’s Aedh, and this is Seoc,’ he said in a soft, almost melodic, voice that suited his fresh, youthful face.

  Lily smiled back. She had not had the opportunity to study the boys while engrossed in the game, but now, as they drank their tea, she looked at them afresh. She guessed that Seoc was the same age as her, and Aedh maybe two or three years older. The boys looked alike, and Lily had no difficulty in concluding that they were brothers. Aedh was a head taller than Seoc, with rusty brown hair that fell in tangled knots to his shoulders. His soft, round hazel eyes complemented the colour of his hair, and the only blemish on his face was the freckles scattered haphazardly across the bridge of his nose. He spoke in a soft lilting accent hinting at Irish origins. Once in a while, Lily picked up the odd word or phrase spoken with a slightly different dialect, suggesting he had not lived in his native land for some time, yet Aedh’s general demeanour somehow reassured her that he was someone she could inherently trust.

  Seoc was sitting close to Aedh with a similarly contented expression on his face. His features were a little smaller and rounded than his brother, and his hair was a deeper red, but his eyes and the freckles across his nose were the same. He smiled at Lily, expectantly awaiting her reply.

  ‘I’m Lily,’ she said as she sipped the refreshing liquid and felt a glow of warmth wash over her. ‘I didn’t expect to find anyone here. I was out exploring when I found this place. I never knew there was a canal down here. Is anyone else with you?’ she blurted out.

  ‘No, it’s just me and Seoc,’ Aedh replied, looking up from his mug and gazing a little more confidently at Lily.

  Lily was relieved to see that the calm expressions on the boys’ faces had not changed despite her presumption.

  ‘We’ve been here for a few weeks now,’ Aedh continued.

  ‘It’s great for hunting,’ Seoc said, at last finding his voice, leaning forwards on the bench to get a better view of Lily. ‘We’ve caught a few rabbits,’ he added proudly.


  Lily smiled back at the boys. ‘I’m impressed. Do you live here, then?’

  ‘Sort of. We’re travellers,’ Aedh said. ‘We move around from place to place, making a living wherever we can,’ he added quickly in response to the puzzled expression that flashed across Lily’s face.

  ‘We don’t steal, though,’ Seoc said fixedly, determined that Lily would not get the wrong impression.

  ‘I’m sure you don’t,’ Lily replied. ‘I take it you’re not from around here then?’

  ‘What makes you say that?’ Aedh replied defensively.

  Lily responded with a reassuring smile. ‘I couldn’t help notice your boat’s name. It’s Gaelic, isn’t it?’

  ‘That’s right,’ Seoc said, beaming with pride. ‘I bet you don’t know what it means, though.’

  Seoc emitted a great whoop of delight when Lily shook her head. ‘Na Cruacha Dubha is a range of mountains in the south-west of Ireland,’ he informed her, grinning mischievously. ‘Some people call them MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, but we prefer the Gaelic name, don’t we, Aedh? It literally means the Black Stacks. Aedh and I were born in the shadows of Carrauntoohil, the tallest mountain in all of Ireland.’

  Lily smiled again at the boys. ‘It sounds wonderful.’

  ‘Aye, it is that,’ Seoc said. ‘We’ll go back there one day, won’t we, Aedh?’

  ‘I’m sure we will, little brother, I’m sure we will,’ Aedh replied wistfully.

  ‘Never stay in the same place for long, that’s us. I suppose we’ll be here for a while, but when we’ve got enough money to buy some more diesel, we’ll move on,’ Aedh continued.

  Lily made no comment. She felt jealous that these two boys enjoyed far more freedom than she had ever been granted by her father.

  As Lily regarded the boat, the memory of that first meeting gradually receded. Since then, she had slipped away to see the boys whenever she could. She had enjoyed many hours in their company, and whether they went out exploring or just sat around chatting, it never seemed to matter.

  Whenever Lily set off to visit the boys, she was always worried that they might have just left without any prior warning. This afternoon was no different, and when she burst into the clearing, she felt a surge of excitement to see the boat still moored there. There was no one to be seen, but the telltale plume of smoke drifting from the boat’s chimney suggested the boys were around.

  She approached the wooden-hulled narrowboat from the towpath, knowing that the boys would not be wasting good fuel to keep the cabin warm unless they were inside. She clambered over the side and knocked on the stern door.

  Almost immediately, the muffled sound of movement came from inside, and moments later, the double doors opened to reveal Seoc’s beaming face. ‘Quick, come in, I’ve got something to show you,’ he said, almost as if he had been expecting her.

  Lily stooped to follow Seoc inside. Aedh was seated at the cramped galley table crouched over a long piece of cane with a reel attached at one end. He appeared to be threading some line through a row of evenly-spaced metal eyelets that were attached to the pole.

  ‘It’s a fishing rod!’ Lily shrieked in amazement, recognising the centre-pin reel that she had gifted the boys a few weeks earlier. She had found it in the garden shed in an old wooden box full of knick-knacks and implements, and was convinced that they would find it useful.

  Aedh barely looked up at the sound of Lily’s arrival. ‘Hello, Lily,’ he called out happily, staring intently at the fishing line gripped tightly between a thumb and forefinger. Suddenly, before he realised what was happening, Seoc had grabbed the rod and proffered it to Lily.

  ‘Watch out! You nearly took my eye out,’ Lily yelled, laughing.

  ‘Oops. Sorry,’ Seoc said, grinning back at her. ‘Look. We managed to make the rod from the trunk of an ash that came down in the storm last week. We’ve been searching for the right piece of wood ever since you gave us the reel.’

  ‘It’s fantastic,’ Lily said, studying the rod and marvelling at the ingenuity and skill that had gone into its construction. Quite how they had managed to split and plane a raw piece of wood into a fishing rod, she had no idea. The boys had used strong twine to attach regularly spaced, decreasingly sized metal loops to the rod, and had finished it off with several coats of varnish to give it a dazzling sheen.

  ‘All we need now is a float and hook and some weights. Then we’re ready,’ said Seoc, brandishing a float in Lily’s direction, which the boys had fashioned from a piece of cork that they had streamlined into a tapered bobbin painted with bright red and yellow stripes to ensure maximum visibility when in the water.

  Lily watched as Seoc pinched several small metal weights onto the line below the float before tying a delicate home-made fishing hook to the end of the line.

  ‘We call this a Grinner knot,’ said Seoc, beaming broadly while deftly securing the knot. ‘It’s a type of blood knot. It’ll have to be a hefty old fish that manages to throw the hook!’

  ‘You’ll never catch anything today. It’s far too cold,’ said Lily sceptically.

  ‘Just you wait and see,’ replied Aedh. ‘You’ve never seen us fish. Supper will be in the pan before you know it.’

  Seoc picked up a small tin that was perched on top of the table, together with an old, rusty landing net, while Aedh followed with the rest of the tackle.

  ‘Come on, Lily. Keep up,’ Seoc called to her over his shoulder as they bustled out of the boat and onto the towpath. The boys marched ahead until they reached a spot that was so heavily overgrown, it was almost impossible to see the water.

  ‘Watch out. These brambles will give you a nasty old scratch if you’re not careful,’ Seoc warned as the boys carefully pushed their way through to the waterside.

  Seoc prised the lid from the metal container but managed not to spill the contents. ‘Nice and lively,’ he said, thrusting a mass of wriggling worms under Lily’s nose.

  ‘Yeuch!’ Lily screamed, recoiling in disgust.

  Seoc laughed. ‘We’ve been keeping them warm since I dug them up this morning. See those old stumps over there,’ he continued, pointing in the direction of the opposite bank where two pieces of wood were projecting from the water below an overhanging bush. ‘We’ve been tossing some worms over there all week. It’s an ideal spot to catch my favourite fish—Perca fluviatilis.’

  Lily furrowed her brow.

  ‘It’s the Latin name for perch.’

  ‘I know,’ replied Lily. ‘It’s just that I wasn’t expecting a Latin scholar.’

  ‘Da used to teach us things like that,’ he replied sombrely, looking affronted at Lily’s comment. ‘Knew tons of things about nature, he did.’

  ‘He must have done,’ Lily replied in an attempt to appease Seoc. ‘All right then, let’s see if you can catch some fish,’ she added, still sounding dubious.

  Aedh took up the rod first. Freeing some line from the old but perfectly serviceable reel, he cast the line out towards the wooden posts. Lily had to stifle a laugh when the float soared into the overhanging bush, and as Aedh tried to retrieve the line, the hook snagged on the intertwined branches. With a judicious tug, Aedh managed to free the tackle without breaking the line. With the second cast, the float flew to exactly the right spot. The boys settled down as quietly as they could, dangling their feet over the edge of the canal. As they stared intently across the water, Seoc selected a few smaller worms from the tin and expertly scattered them around the float. The boys sat back and waited, and despite a conspicuous lack of activity on the water’s surface, their concentration never wavered.

  Eventually, Lily began to get impatient, but each time she tried to speak or even gesture to the boys, they merely threw her disapproving glares.

  After almost twenty minutes of inactivity, the float took a slight deflection, sending a ripple across the still surface of the water. Nothing further happened, but Aedh was ready, his hand hovering expectantly a few inches above the rod.

  Then, without war
ning, the float plunged below the water’s surface. Almost immediately, Aedh struck hard, causing the rod tip to arch. ‘I’ve got one!’ he cried in excitement, fighting to keep the rod upright as the fish darted first this way and then that in an attempt to throw the hook.

  Seoc was stationed behind his brother, jumping up and down in excitement. ‘Quick, look out for those snags!’ he shouted, pointing desperately towards a mass of weeds near the opposite bank where the fish was heading.

  Aedh lifted the rod as high as he dared, his muscles straining manfully in an attempt to turn the fish without snapping the line.

  ‘Phew! I thought he was a goner,’ Seoc called out when the fish suddenly veered away from danger. Time and again the fish shot off in all directions, desperately fighting for freedom. The battle continued, but as the fish slowly tired, Lily marvelled at Aedh’s angling skills; fishing was an art he had evidently mastered through years of practice.

  Soon after, Aedh steered the fish into the landing net expectantly held by his brother at the water’s edge.

  Lifting the fish gently from the net, Aedh slipped the hook from its mouth and held it proudly up for Lily to see. ‘It is a perch!’ he said, beaming broadly at Lily.

  ‘It’s a good size, too,’ said Lily, looking in wonder at the striking vertical brown stripes on the fish’s green back.

  Seoc took his turn to hold the fish and demonstrate its impressive dorsal fin and sharp spines. ‘You have to watch out for these. They’ll give you a nasty cut if you’re not too careful!’

  Seoc returned the fish to Aedh, who turned his back on them, and with a well-placed blow to its head, he expertly dispatched the fish with a priest he had secreted in his pocket.