Laughing Gnome Coda: On His Majesty's National Service (Lethbridge-Stewart Book 6) by John Peel

Author:John Peel [Peel, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Candy Jar Books
Published: 2019-12-09T00:00:00+00:00

possibilities

They attempted to give Hooper’s ankle support with some makeshift bandages, then moved on after a short rest. But Alistair saw that Hooper was trying to hide the pain he was feeling. Something clearly had to be done to get the poor chap off that ankle, but what? The trouble with that idea was that neither he nor Lieutenant Pemberton were very strong at that moment, so a stretcher was out of the question. They’d been fed starvation rations for – well, however long their captivity had been. Enough to keep them alive (barely), but not enough for them to build up any strength.

A travois, then, like those used by the tribes of America? Pulling one would be easier on them than carrying him, but it would leave an unmistakable trail behind them that even a blind badger could follow. That was out. So that left…

He looked at the stream – a raft? That had some potential, and it meant that the river would do most of the work. The downside to the idea, though, was that villages tended to be built alongside streams like this, and they might just float right back into the enemy’s hands. He decided that he’d discuss ideas with Pemberton at their next rest stop.

That wasn’t very long. They left Hooper bathing his foot in the stream, and moved far enough away so that he couldn’t hear their conversation. Alistair outlined his thoughts, and Pemberton agreed.

‘Yes, Grimnod, I was thinking much along the same lines.’

Alistair raised an eyebrow. ‘Sir? Grimnod?’

Pemberton smiled slightly. ‘You have a tendency to nod grimly a lot when you’re thinking.’

Alistair almost grimly nodded in response, but forced himself to resist the habit.

Well, I suppose I wanted a nickname, he decided.

Don’t worry, it won’t take, the voice told him.

Alistair chose to ignore the voice. He was out of the prison camp now. Time to get his mind back together.

‘The raft is probably the best idea,’ Pemberton was saying. ‘We can scavenge around for wood when it gets light, and see if we can find creepers or something to tie logs together. We’ll simply have to keep a very sharp lookout, that’s all.’

Alistair glanced back at Hooper. ‘I was just thinking about my school history, sir. Scott of the Antarctic. You don’t think Hooper might do an Oates on us, do you?’

‘Walk off for the sake of the party?’ Pemberton shrugged. ‘It’s a possibility, I suppose, so we’d better not turn our backs on him. What we really need, Grimnod, is food.’

‘There’s probably fruit and mushrooms around,’ Alistair said. ‘But I don’t know if any of the local stuff is poisonous or not.’

‘That’s the trouble, isn’t it?’ Pemberton glanced at the stream. ‘The water looks likely for fish, so with a bit of luck and work, we might catch one or two. Can’t risk a fire to cook it, though, but the Japanese positively relish eating their fish raw, and it doesn’t seem to do them much harm.’ He thought for a minute. ‘Tell you what, Stewart, it’ll be dawn in an hour or so.

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