Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 2814857" data-attributes="member: 8530">Prelude Part F, “Jay and his Dad go Fishing”, May 22nd, 1882: Jake says, "I am glad you feel that way, about the gift being keeping it from Eastman. As soon as you mentioned the ring I knew I could not give it to her, at least not now. I am not brave enough to just release it to the wild either." Jake glances about the lake again. "I suppose that is bad news for old Walter, I am going to take the ring and keep it safe. I must ask you to not tell another soul that I have it, at least until I release you from that request." Jake removes his hat and plays with it in his hands. He says, "I suppose I should agree to that. I obviously wouldn't have brought you into this unless I felt it was very important to you. So I will abide by your request." Jake says, "My feelings on the matter are complicated, but well intentioned. Giving Ruby the ring now without an offer of marriage would not be understood as a gift of freedom, but a rejection. It would not matter if the ring was still in Walter or not," Jake adds with a grin. "I am not rejecting her, nor do I really want to give her freedom, at least not from me. However neither of us is ready to be married now, even if that is meant to be. She would not agree with me on this point though, and when she questioned me about it I handled it poorly." Gonzales replies, "Ah, but the important thing right now is that I fully agree with you on this matter, as she's not here. And I do, I think that a marriage between the two of you would be disastrous to both of you, as well as to most people you know. Your relationship right now appears to be rather volatile, marriage would just exacerbate that." He looks back up at the old wizard. "Enough of that lest you start to believe I am a whiner. We have a fish to catch." Jake looks about the lake again. "If we have not found the old boy before dawn approaches, I can move the boat around while you seek him out." Gonzales says, "That's a good idea actually, move the boat every twenty minutes or so until we get a nibble." Jake nods in agreement and then looks down at his hat still being gently twisted by his hands. "All my other frustrations and disappointments aside, I will for the first time have a secret I am keeping from her. No matter how well intentioned the reason, it still feels wrong." The old elf replies, "Then don't do it then. Release Walter....but not into the wild. What if I told you there was a magically protected body of water where nobody else would happen upon him. Walter could stay there until you are ready for him." "I would say that was a bit too convenient and far fetched." Jake then looks off towards the machinery and adds, "Perhaps not any stranger than draining a lake to find a ring or that a fish ate that same ring." Turning back to Gonzalez Jake says, "That would allow me not to lie to her. I believe you understand just how important this is to me. I could not part with Walter and his contents unless I knew for absolutely certain that no other could get to it, intentionally or accidentally." "Neither convenient nor far-fetched Mr. Cooke. You are already aware that there is a magical location that my little birds and I can access from the El Parador, as that is where all of the books from that cave are stored and my bedroom is obviously a bit too small and sparse for magic lessons." "The alternate location is only accessible to my apprentices and me, you would not have to fear anybody else ever going there. And it is far more than just a library and workroom, it is an entire mansion. The great hall to the mansion is a vast forty-by-sixty room chamber that includes an elaborate fountain. Currently the fountain is along the back wall in the shape of a half-circle twelve feet in diameter from the statue that the water flows from in the center, however the fountain's size could be substantially enlarged to fill more of the room and filled with an assortment of fish, of which Old Walter could be but one. I could tell my apprentices that I just decided to redecorate and could change the appearance of the other rooms as well to substantiate the story." "Impressive." Jake replies. "I only knew that you had a safe place and that magic likely had something to do with it. I did not know any more than that, except for your desire to keep it undisclosed. I respected that and asked no questions about it. I am honored by your confidence and will not reveal this knowledge." Jake then laughs seemingly for no reason. Gonzalez says, "I know....this conversation was long overdue. Ruby wishes for us to get along with one another so for her sake I hope that we can. In so many ways you and I are almost complete opposites but we have in common that we both wish to be a key part of her life. They speak quietly for a few more minutes and then they are quiet as Gonzalez continues to concentrate. They continued to row around the lake without much success, several nibbles but none that Gonzales identified as being Old Walter. It was at around 1:00 A.M. local time that there was finally a strong nibble on the line that resulted in a "It's him" whispered from the old elf. Jake nods and holds the oars still, keeping quiet. "What do you need me to do?" Gonzales says, "Get ready to grab him and drop him into the big bucket in the middle of the boat." Gonzales begins to cast a spell. Jake carefully places the oars into the locks and then positions himself near where the wizard indicates. He prepares to grab the fish as instructed. A fish quickly breaks the surface of the water, lying on its side and appearing to be dead. It is clearly not Old Walter, as it is only seven inches long. The water then breaks as another ten more fish of varying sizes and type, also looking dead, float up, again no oversized bass. A loud splash then appears three feet out with a twenty-six inch long fish with light greenish to brownish sides with a dark lateral line. Jake uses an oar to push the boat towards the largest fish. He quickly leans over and before the boat can bump it, cradles the fish in an attempt to keep it sleeping and rests it in the largest metal bucket. "Do we really know that the ring is in this fish?" Jake asks and his hand strays towards the dagger in his boot. Manuel says "It was as of a few minutes ago" Once Old Walter has landed in the bucket with a loud “thump”. Gonzales then cancels the spell, and all of the fish floating outside the boat come to life again and quickly disappear from view while Walter starts to wiggle and flop inside of the bucket. Gonzales takes the other bucket and begins to scoop up water from outside the boat, which he pours into the middle bucket, continuing this until there is enough for Walter to swim upright. “Why don’t you start rowing to shore now,” he suggests to Jake. Jake watches as the old elf fills the bucket. "No, I believe you that there is a ring in the fish, but can we know that THE ring is in the fish." He briefly touches his dagger but then puts to the oars and starts the craft towards shore. Gonzales says, "There's no way to tell exactly but if it isn't then it should have been found on the other side of lake where she tossed it in. Eastman has gone so far as to hire Alexander Graham Bell to help him find it. Last year after President Garfield was shot Bell invented a metal detecting devise to try to locate where the bullet was. He's been using a larger version of that device to look for the ring. And I also checked that area at night using my own ring. No, I'm pretty confident Old Walter here is the answer." Torn over what to do, Jake rows them to shore quietly and then follows Gonzalez guidance in getting the large fish on its way back to Promise City. The boat is tied back up to the dock. Jake and Gonzales both have to work together to lift the bucket with the fish out, the fish alone weighing over 20 pounds and the water surrounding it at least three times that. Gonzales says "Help me carry him into the woods. I have some devices that will help us carry this more easily but didn't want to activate them out here in the open." They get around twenty feet, halfway towards the woods, when Jake catches some movement in the trees. "Psst, someone is coming." They continue walking and Jake shifts his weight so his duster covers his Colt. "Dad, I still cannot believe you were able to catch this old grandpa fish. The boys back in Buffalo will be so jealous. Once again you will show them who the master fisherman really is." Jake hears the quick sound of metal sliding against metal and he and Gonzales are momentarily blinded as light from a lantern shines out from the woods and upon them. As their sight is regained four men emerge from the woods, one holding the lantern. All are wearing regular clothing. Two of the others are holding shotguns in their hands but not pointing them directly at Manuel and Jake. The other has a gun on his belt with his hand near it and a badge on his shirt. "I think you boys are trespassing on private property," the lawman states. "Holy lord, that is bright! Trespassing?" Jake flashes a worried look towards Gonzalez and then back to the lawman. "We didn't mean no harm, sir. My father-in-law here just has a knack for knowing where the big fish are, we just... I mean... Oh, lordy I am sorry." Jake looks hopefully at the lawman, "You aren't gonna fine us are you? We'll just move along fast an' cause no trouble. That is if you'll let us sir." The men with the rifles approach, one of them looking inside the bucket "Hey, they've got Walter!" The one with the lantern shines it into the bucket "Damn! It's gotta be him all right!" Jake beams proudly, "Ain't no old grandpa fish that is a match for my Dad here." Jake squirms a bit with the bucket. "Begging your pardon sir," he looks hopefully at the lawman, "would you like to look too? Before we go? This is getting heavy." The Sheriff says, "Only place you're taking this fish is over to my wagon, then we'll all go and pay Malachi Haynes a visit. And don't even try telling me he isn't in on this with you, that was his boat you were in and his fishing equipment you're using." Jake nods obediently. "We didn't mean no harm..." he repeats like a mantra. "We didn't hurt nobody, can't we figure this out so's no one gets in trouble?" He looks to the sheriff and back to his father-in-law. The Sheriff takes the gun from one of the men who moves over to help Jake lug the bucket to the waiting wagon out by the road. The Sheriff helps Gonzales with the rods and fishing equipment. The other man just stays near, still holding his shotgun. “Think Silver Jake Cook, what is the angle for these guys“ is what runs through the gambler‘s mind. After struggling with the heavy bucket, Jake begins a friendly chat with the men as they get in the wagon. "How long have you fellers been having this here drought? A shame having such a pretty lake so short of water. Over in Buffalo it ain't been like this, plenty of water. Funny how the weather can be so different not so very far away." "Shut up boy," the Sheriff states. The group arrives back at the General Store. The building is dark. The Sheriff raps on the door continuously until a lantern is lit up on the second floor. Malachi Haynes opens up a second floor window and yells, “What do you want down there? We’re closed.” “Not anymore Mal, open up and let us in,” the Sheriff replies. Two minutes later they are let inside, Haynes wearing a flannel bathrobe over threadbare pajamas. The Sheriff has his two assistants bring in the bucket with Old Walter. “So Mal, I caught these boys out in your boat with your fishing equipment, seems like they managed to finally catch that ornery old bass. It strikes me that you’re in collusion with these boys.” Haynes stands up straight and says, “And damned proud of it too. Come on Cal, it isn’t right that Old Walter should die cause the lake runs dry, he deserves better than that.” The Sheriff says, “I’ll agree with you on that point, but these boys were trespassing on private property, and you knew it.” Haynes says, “Fine, arrest us then.” Jake's eyes bulge as he feigns surprise and worry over Mal's declaration. He looks back and forth between the storeowner and the lawman but says nothing. The Sheriff says, "Come on Mal, you know I'm not going to arrest anybody. I'm just miffed that you chose this underhanded way to weasel out of our bet." Haynes replies, "Cal, I wasn't trying to pull anything, this was a humanitarian effort to save Old Walter. How could I involve you in something illegal? That would have been a conflict of interest." "Uh huh," the Sheriff nods. He looks back at the other men and says, "Mal and I have had this bet ever since we were in school about Old Walter here...now's the time to settle it once and for all." Since the Sheriff's concern seems to be with the storeowner, Jake lets him continue. The Sheriff goes over to the bucket and reaches in, grabbing the fish. He lifts it up, the twenty-plus pound creature reacting frantically to being out of the water. The Sheriff flips the fish over and points to spot on the bottom. He says, "See, told you Cal. That there is an egg sack. Old Walter's a she, just like I always told you. Male wide mouth bass don't grow any bigger than fifteen, maybe sixteen inches. This fish wasn't any exception." Haynes exclaims, "Fine Cal, but you win, no need to gloat about it." The Sheriff replies, "Pay up." An angry Haynes goes over to the cash register, opens it up, and takes out a dollar, which he then places in the Sheriff's hands. "How about if we put old she-Walter in that little old body of water west of here we call Erie?" Jake inquires hesitantly but winks at Gonzalez. "Dad here can still get his bragging rights by showing it off, the legend goes on and maybe those little eggs will grow big like their momma?" He looks to the sheriff and finishes, "If we hurry we can get her there still kickin'." The Sheriff says "That's mighty sporting of you." Gonzales says, "Just trying to be fair. Old Walterette here was probably scared out of her wits at loosing her own lake so didn't give me the fight she would have given the rest of you. Everyone should have the same opportunity. Haynes says, "How about you put her in Round Lake instead? That's only a few miles away, so I'd still be able to maintain my bait business." "Round Lake it is," the Sheriff declares. He then tells his two men "Haul that bucket with her back out of my buckboard." Jake looks to Gonzalez and catches his attention. The gambler Silver Jake Cook almost imperceptibly shakes his head no, so that only the old wizard can see and while he does so the innocent country boy expression Jake had been wearing was replaced by something more serious and cold. The moment was quickly over and Jake assumed the son-in-law Jay personna again, "What a shame that the folks back west will not get to see you with this big fish after all your hard work, dad." Jake steps aside with Gonzalez and whispers, "This would be a fine time for a switch scam, but I am afraid I do not have an extra twenty pound bass with me and I have never done a sleight of hands trick with a large slimey fish. If Walter died suddenly, there would be no point in putting her in a new lake. There are always more aggressive ways. Got any tricks up your sleeve? I am fairly good at diversions if needed." Gonzales whispers back, "Yes, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I can make the fish considerably smaller and invisible. As long as they let us be the ones to put Walter in the Lake we should be okay, but I'm definitely going to need your slight of hand work then." Jake nods again to Gonzalez and heads out to the wagon. On the way he exclaims, "Darn it all," and limps a couple of times. He pulls off his boot and stocking, removes and tosses an imaginary stone, "that'll feel better." He pulls his boot back on without the stocking, hiding it from view and putting it in his pocket. He helps the his father-in-law onto the wagon and climbs aboard. On the way Jake leans in towards the lawman says quietly to him, "Would it be alright if dad and I let the old girl loose? I think it would mean a lot to him, especially since he isn't gonna get to show it to his rival fishermen back home. I mean, you know how friendly rivalries can be, don'tcha?" "Yeah, sure," the Sheriff exclaims. It takes nearly an hour to reach the other lake, not that it was a long distance, but the road was poor and the Sheriff took his time. During the journey the other men with the Sheriff keep watching and admiring the large firsh. They finally pull up to the lake and the Sheriff has his two men haul the bucket over to the water. "Just leave it there, I said these boys could let her go. They've earned it." Gonzales and Jake head over to the water. Manuel says, "First a prayer for Old Walter, to bless her in her new home." With Jake and Manuel standing so as to mostly block the bucket interior Manuel grabs the fish with one hand and casts a spell. The twenty-six inch animal then begins to shrink in size, until she is only seven inches long. Manuel then casts a second spell and she becomes invisible. "Okay Son, let's dump her out," Manuel states. Jake sneaks the stocking out of his pocket and over his hand. “Damn“, he thinks, “He could have waited until I had her to make her invisible”. Jake bumps the bucket and splashes some water on his pants and says, "Easy girl, don't be jumpin' out afore we get to the lake." He moves his hand around looking for her and uses the stocking to keep her from slipping away. Once he has her, he drops her in his pocket as naturally looking as possible and leaves the stocking over the fish. He then lifts the bucket with Gonzalez and make the biggest splash they can. "Woah, look at that fish go," he pretends to strain to see old Walter dart off into the shadows. He turns to Gonzalez, keeping his wet pocket facing away from the others, "Maybe we can come back in a few years and see how those eggs of hers have done. Imagine a lake full of big fish like that!" The Sheriff has his men go grab the bucket. He asks, "Give you boys a lift somewhere?" Manuel says, "Thank you sir, but we'll decline. Our campsite isn't that far from where we are now, we'll just walk from here." "Oh, Sheriff," Jake says, "Can we have the small bucket? I'll buy it from Mr. Malachi. I accidentally put a hole in ours last night." He does not look at Gonzalez and adds, "Dad gave me what for over that..." Jake scrounges a dollar from his wallet and offers it to the lawman. The lawman says, "That is probably too much. Four bits should cover it, but I'm afraid I don't have any change." "Serves me right for being such a clod with our bucket," Jake replies and gives him the coin. "You and your friend have a beer on me, it is worth it to put the bucket discussion behind me." Jake makes a quick look out of the corner of his eye to Gonzalez and pretends to wince a bit. He then takes the bucket and waves good-bye as he walks with it towards the lake. "Good thinking with the bucket," Gonzales states as Jake fills in with lake water, which he puts a grateful Walter into. Gonzales then removes a metal disk from his pocket, which is apparently magnetic as it sticks to the bucket. He states a command word in French and the bucket begins to levitate in the air. He tells Jake, "That should make it easier to carry. We have a few miles hiking back to where I left my magical brazier. I say we skip the road and go overland, that should cut the distance in half." "Thanks. Lead on." After they walk a while Jake chuckles and says, "Big Abbey, from back in Chicago, would be suitably impressed with that off-the-cuff scam we just did. Not that you are looking for work or anything...." Jake chuckles again and continues to follow the old wizard. "Yes indeed," Gonzales replies, "Your simple-little-old-me routine worked like a charm Mr. Brothers." Jake says, "Heh, thanks. The most dangerous threat is the one you do not see, eh? Well, nobody got hurt, they kept their legend, the lawman has his dollar plus bragging rights, and we can head home." Jake and Gonzales eventually reach the spot in the woods where the magical brazier had been stowed. The quickly find enough tinder and kindling to get a small fire going inside it. Manuel tosses in the powder and he and Jake grab each others hands. The older wood elf states the incantation. The two then vanish.</blockquote>

Verification