03 - The Battle of the Lemon Fair : Into the enemy camp
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By David
Saturday, June 10th 2006 - 10:23:38 AM
The Battle of the Lemon Fair
Part 3: Into the enemy camp.
Yes! Larry had come out alone.
Patrick and I each lifted an oar out of its lock and sent it floating away. Our sudden appearance startled Larry. He stood up and tried to step quickly into the canoe. As he set one foot in the canoe the reaction caused his other foot to push the skiff away. Patrick and I saw what was happening and pushed the skiff even farther from the canoe.
Larry wound up with one foot in each craft straddling an ever-widening gap of water. He waved his arms like a goose flapping its wings trying to keep his balance, but lost it and belly flopped into the water. He was no match for the two of us, and his wet clothes hampered his movements. A few minutes later he lay in the canoe with his hands tied behind his back. Patrick and I paddled for the far shore with our prisoner.
Our canoe scraped into a gravel shallows. I stepped out of it and looked at Greg, Mark and Jim watching us from the riverbank by the cove. Steve had taken a plunge and was swimming towards his drifting boat. I knew it would take him some time to retrieve the oars, row back for reinforcements and then cross over to our side in the slow and heavily laden skiff. We could secure Larry before they arrived.
We hauled Larry about a hundred feet into the woods where he would be hidden from the shore. Patrick held him against a tree while I tied his wrists securely to the trunk with the long bowline taken from the canoe. Then I tied his elbows close together against the tree so he would still be hopelessly bound even if he managed to free his wrists. I had plenty of rope left so I tied it tightly around his arms and chest, and around his waist. When I drew the loops snug, Larry groaned a little and I began to feel compassion for him. Then I thought of Mario, and I tugged the ropes even harder. I didn't waste any time binding his legs. He could dance as much as he wanted for all I cared, because he and his partner weren't going anywhere.
When we got back to the canoe, I saw the skiff in the middle of the river coming slowly towards us. Steve was rowing, still in his swimsuit. Jim sat in the stern and Greg in the bow, which trimmed the boat nicely, but the three together also weighed it down. That was good. Only Mark had been left to guard their prisoners, and Patrick and I could paddle the canoe faster than Steve could row his full boat. I looked at the far bank, and saw Mark standing by the shore watching us. That was even better, for I knew that Richard was probably untying André and Mario at that very moment.
We waited until the skiff had come to within thirty feet of us, laughing at the threats of our would-be attackers. With the odds three to two against us, Patrick and I would most likely have gone down if we chose to fight, so we launched the canoe and jumped in. Patrick took the stern paddle and with his powerful strokes added to mine in the bow we easily outdistanced them. As we pulled away I heard Larry shouting for help back in the woods.
I glanced back over my shoulder to see whether our enemies would chase us or try to find Larry and release him. They opted for a chase, which made sense, as we threatened to capture Mark and release their prisoners. When we were halfway across, I saw Mark turn and run back up the path to their camp. I figured he must have heard something. We beached the canoe, jumped out, and trotted up to see what had happened. We weren't cautious because the worst we could expect was to run into Mark, whom we could handle easily.
We got to the trees where Mario and André had been tied up, and found Richard waiting for us. Mark stood against one of the trees with his hands tied behind the trunk and his waist lashed tightly to it. His ankles were also bound. As a final precaution, Richard had thoroughly gagged Mark with a neckerchief jammed into his mouth and held in place by a second neckerchief that went between his lips and teeth and was tied firmly at the back of his neck.
"Where are Mario and André?" I asked.
"Getting their clothes, and you should too. The skiff will land in a few minutes, and we've got to be in battle dress."
I shouted to André and Mario to bring all our stuff down to the camp, which they did. As we quickly dressed, we learned how Richard had seen Mark go down to the water and used the opportunity to free Mario and André. Then Richard had stood where Mark could see him and snapped a dry stick. Mark turned and spotted him. Richard took off. Mark ran up to check the prisoners and got jumped by all three. He gave up without a fight.
In two minutes we were ready and lay in ambush for the three in the skiff. We didn't know what to expect. If they were prudent, they would be very cautious, and we knew that when they had come about thirty feet up the trail from their skiff, they could see that André and Mario were gone. A little further and they would see Mark tied to the tree.
So three of us hid where we could cut off any retreat back to the boat, and two of us would attack from the front. Patrick, André, and I were each assigned particular enemies to tackle while Richard and Mario would be free to go where needed. Winners leave as little to chance as possible.
The skiff landed, and the three boys proceeded with caution, ready to bolt. Greg went in front, and soon he motioned for his companions to stop.
"They're gone," he whispered. "I don't see anyone."
"Where's Mark?"
Greg shrugged and started forward again. "There he is! Tied to a tree. The others are gone."
When Mark saw Greg he tried to warn him with a muffled shout that was amazingly loud considering how he was gagged. Instead of fleeing, Greg ran to untie Mark. Jim and Steve followed and the three were doomed.
According to plan, I charged and homed in on Steve, pulling him to the ground and holding him with my arms locked around his arms and chest, and my legs wrapped around his in a scissors hold. He struggled, but I hung onto him like a dead weight, keeping him out of action for the time being. Patrick, being the largest, took out the largest of the enemy, Jim, in the same way.
André, Mario, and Richard piled onto Greg, who put up a good but hopeless fight. André and Richard held Greg against a tree while Mario tied his wrists behind it. He then tied Greg at the waist and ankles, using Mark's bonds as a model. When he was done with Greg, Mario went over to Mark and untied his gag. Mark spit out the wadded neckerchief and smiled at Mario. "Thanks," he said. "I owe you."
"Forget it," Mario answered. "I'd hate to have that done to me."
The three then came over to help me with Steve, and we tied him to a tree near Mark and Greg. I did the binding, and used a long piece of rope from my knapsack to tie his wrists behind the trunk. Then I used the rest to tie his elbows, chest and waist in the same way I had tied up Larry to his tree across the river. There was still quite a bit of rope left, so I wrapped it down around his legs, tying them at the knees and ankles. Steve was still in his bathing suit so the ropes pressed into his bare skin gripping him tightly, not enough to hurt, but enough to pretty much immobilize him against the trunk.
Finally we got to Jim and the five of us looked for something to tie him to. We had so many prisoners we had run out of good small trees. Then I spotted an overhanging branch on a maple. We bound Jim's wrists together in front of him with the palms facing each other. André tied them with a sheer lashing and cinched it snugly. I threw the rope over the branch, pulled on it to stretch Jim's arms above his head, and tied it off to the trunk of the maple. André used the loose end of the rope to tie Jim's ankles with another sheer lashing.
Patrick and I now had the honor of crossing the river to bring back the ringleader Larry, since we had captured him. We found him still tied to the tree. The ground beneath his feet was scraped bare from his struggles, and some of the ropes on his chest had dropped down around his stomach, but his wrists, elbows, and waist were still firmly tied.
"It's all over," I said. "Your crew has been captured. Were taking you in".
"Good," Larry said with a grin. "I was getting a little sick of being tied up like this."
"So was Mario," I said. I unwrapped his chest and waist, untied his elbows, and released his hands from the trunk, leaving them still tied together behind his back. Larry turned his back to me and held his bound wrists away from his body so I could untie him. Instead, I tugged on the rope to his wrists and said. "Lets go."
He came along, but asked, "Aren't you going to untie my hands?"
"I will when you need them."
He was silent for a few moments, and then asked, "When is that?"
"When we sign articles." Larry's head was so full of "Treasure Island" that I was sure he knew what I was talking about.
I took the stern paddle on the trip back, and Larry sat on the duckboards in the middle of the canoe facing forward and leaning his back against a thwart. He stretched his legs out in front of him, slightly spread, bent at the knees and crossed at the ankles. I could see his bound hands, and the way his fingers curved gently. He seemed perfectly relaxed and did not struggle or test his bonds once on the way across. I knew he was beat and I could get what I wanted.
We led him into his campsite and his captured crew greeted their fallen leader with mocking cheers and laughter, delighted to see him in the same predicament they were in.
"I'm sorry," I said to Larry, "but the fore, main, and mizzen masts are all taken, and Jim is hanging from the yardarm, so the only place for you is the deck."
"What?" he asked.
"On the ground!" I ordered, pushing him down by the shoulders. He knelt and then tumbled onto the grass, and I tied his ankles together just because I felt like it.
"Okay, Where's that notebook of yours?"
"In my pack. The rucksack at the end of the log there. Left side pocket." He pulled his bound hands around to his side and pointed.
I found the notebook and the stub of a pencil, and with the help of my buddies I drafted articles that guaranteed us free passage on the river and no tribute to be paid. We read the articles to Larry and asked if he was ready to sign. He hesitated, but his crew all shouted at him to accept.
"You know the rules," I said. "Crew's rights, foc'sle council, and all that. You're outvoted. Better sign while you're still captain."
He smiled. "Okay. You win. Untie my hands."
We untied each prisoner one by one and got his signature, starting with Larry. I tore the articles out of the notebook, folded them, and put them safely in my rucksack. Then we all sat around the fire and talked and argued about the war.
"It's too bad you didn't pay the tribute," Larry said. "I don't care about the hot dogs, but some toasted marshmallows would go pretty good right now."
"Maybe next time," I said.
"Next time? But we signed articles."
"I know. But don't you want a rematch sometime?"
"Yeah!" Everyone cheered at that. Even Mario.
"So, the articles still hold," I said, "and if we just want to paddle the river anytime, so be it. You can't attack us. But if you want a war, then you send us a formal declaration, and if we agree we'll set a day for it."
"A war by appointment." Larry smiled at the thought.
"Laugh if you want, but it's a lot more civilized than a sneak attack. And more fun if we're both prepared for it."
And so it was. We had more wars that summer and a couple of summers following until girls became dominant in our lives. (When I was growing up, you just did not wrestle a girl into submission and tie her to a tree.) Usually we followed a pirate scenario, but sometimes we were Indian tribes in the woods beyond the river, Abenaki against Mohawk. And once we fought the French and Indian wars again. It was good to mix things up.
But the River wars were best.
David
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David's stories
- 01 - The Battle of the Lemon Fair : Mario is taken hostage (m+/m)
- 02 - The Battle of the Lemon Fair : The best laid plans of mice and men (m+/mm)
- 03 - The Battle of the Lemon Fair : Into the enemy camp (m+/m+)
- 04 - The Last of the Mohawks : Captured (m+/m)
- 05 - The Last of the Mohawks : The wind changes (m+/mm, m/m)
- 06 - The Last of the Mohawks : Traitor (m+/mmm)
- 07 - Pestered by Mario (m/m)
Index of all stories in the "Archive for Everyone" section