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The Cage

By Madame vonHedwig on Friday, December 11th, 2009

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In which our hero is prepared for a romantic emergency.

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Not much farther along, the tunnel reached the extreme point of its width, and drew narrower again. It continued, however, to lead the travelers down. After another mile or so, they could no longer walk abreast, so Herr vonHedwig took the lead, lantern tucked into his belt.

“It’s a tight squeeze ahead, my dear,” he whispered behind him. “If this is a trap, it’s an excellent one. I think we’d better move by feel and sound, at this point, just in case.

He darkened the lantern, and they crept silently into the darkness. They moved forward guided by feel and sound, but it was the smell that stopped them.  A musky, hairy, animal stench stopped them in their tracks. They stood absolutely still, listening. When quite some time passed without any sound but their own breathing, Herr vonHedwig whispered the question on both their minds.

“What big hairy thing lives here and what does it eat?”

“I don’t think it’s home at the moment,” Madame whispered back. “Let’s chance the light and find out.”

The golden glow revealed a pile of wooden sticks immediately in front of them, and a pile of bloodstained rags. Beyond the refuse, the chamber widened into a twenty by forty foot room. Stalactites menaced them from the ceiling above, but the floor had been cleared of their opposites, and rubble from that demolition was shoved along the sides of the cavity.

A steel cage stood in the center of the space, and a workbench was visible beyond it. Madame hurried to it.

“Look! More Andreaea alpina, and more…6 other mosses. And some lichen. What on earth is he up to?”

“No disrespect for your flora, love, but I am more immediately concerned with the fauna. That pile of sticks by the door used to be a cage. Whatever smashed it might be coming back at any moment.”

“Perhaps it smashed Montesanto as well?”

“Then who brought in the steel replacement cage?”

“Of course,” she said. “So he’s lurking about as well.” She continued examining the workbench, unpacking several sample tins from her pack and filling them.

“The cage is enormous. Why is it so tall? What sort of mammal needs a 8 foot tall cage?”

“I think you’d better ask the children that,” she answered.

“Good lord! A yeti? That’s wonderful!”

“Not if Montesanto has his hands on one.” Madame repacked her rucksack. “I have what I need here. With luck I can analyze these samples and get an idea what he’s up to. If we can get back to the Schmetterling alive, that is.”

Herr vonHedwig consulted his fob watch. “It’s nearly nine – the sun’s setting now. I think we had better bunk in the cave tonight and make for the ship at dawn. Wherever Montesanto and his monster are, they will most likely stay there overnight. Unless yeti are nocturnal.” He considered. “No, the children saw them during the day. We’ll chance it in the cave.”

“Very well, but let’s sleep somewhere less whiffy.”

“I’d like to go back just this side of the volcanic tube. Most defensible position we’ve got.”

“Off we go then. Do you have any more water?”

“I have another bottle, and a thermos of tea,” Herr vonHedwig said. “And, I packed a bottle of champagne, in case of romantic emergency.”

“Lovely! Being trapped overnight in a yeti’s lair certainly qualifies.”

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This story began with On Grandmothers. The previous episode is The Cave and the next is Knee of the Yeti.

Tags: children, fabricator., fearless, gas, hedwig, Himalayas, lamp, light, Montesanto, Phineas, punk, steam, steampunk, stories, story, vonHedwig, ya, Yeti, young adult