Bunty the Bounty Hunter by I. J. Parnham

Author:I. J. Parnham
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Culbin Press
Published: 2021-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

The first attempt by Kelvin’s men to play cricket was gathering pace, although that still didn’t involve much in the way of activity. Fergal and Randolph had moved closer to the practice game and settled down on a small mound.

Around a dozen men had wandered out of town and joined them. As someone had taken the precaution of bringing liquor to pass around to stave off the boredom, the level of joviality was building, at least among the watchers.

It became apparent that the book Kelvin was reading was a guide to the game when, after yet another consultation of the book, he directed two men to collect up the sticks that until now had been lying in a heap. They hammered three of the sticks into the ground in a line.

Then Kelvin counted out around twenty paces and directed the rest of the sticks to be placed there. He consulted the book again before ordering the two men who were holding planks to stand beside each of the two sets of sticks.

Then he threw the ball to another man and indicated that he should stand a few feet away from one set of sticks before urging the rest of the men to spread out. Another consultation of the book followed culminating in Kelvin waving an arm at the man with the ball.

This provoked a series of shrugs and gestures until he had made his intentions clear. Then the man with the ball faced the set of sticks that was farthest away from him. He hurled the ball at the man who was holding the plank, but the ball flew several feet over his head and went bouncing along until it came to a halt around fifty paces away.

Everyone turned to the distant ball while Kelvin opened up his book. He thumbed through several pages and then dispatched one of the men to collect the ball. When he returned, the ball was returned to the thrower and he repeated his previous attempt to hit the other man.

This time he clipped the top of the man’s hat, knocking it to the ground and generating a round of applause. As Kelvin started waving his arms and calling for everyone to calm down, the man who had lost his hat went storming toward the thrower while swinging back his plank.

The thrower turned to run away, so his opponent broke into a run and then delivered a swipe to his rump with the plank that knocked him over. When the man raised his plank to hit his opponent again, two men hurried in to drag him away and stop the developing altercation, but that only encouraged another two men to block them to let the fight continue.

Within moments sides had formed and a lively brawl broke out with much pushing and shoving. Randolph noted that the men who had gathered to watch the cricket were appraising the developing situation with rapt interest.

“This cricket is a strange game,” Fergal said. “As far as I can make out so far, two men take it in turns to try to hit the other man with either a ball or a plank.

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