[piosenniel]

Berilac

‘Brilliant! All of you!’ The words of praise tumbled from the grinning mouth of the Ranger. ‘I knew your keen eyes would catch things the grown-ups didn’t notice.’ Berilac gathered the children about him and showed them the finished drawing of the hedge with all its extra entrances and exits, pointing out each child’s names who had given the information. He told them that they all had had good ideas when they tried to hide their secret holes with leafy branches, because that would also be a good idea for how to fill up the holes.

Little Kali piped up with another idea, talking about the treasures he had found. ‘You know, it was kind of dangerous at first crawling into the hedge there. Those broken flasks left a lot of sharp pieces, and I nicked my hands and knees a few times before I got most of it cleaned out.’ He chewed on his lip as he worked through his thoughts. ‘Why don’t we gather up the old broken bottles and mugs and flasks we have in the rubbish heap outside the town and stuff those sharp pieces in there, too?’

Someone snickered at the idea of bringing garbage back into town, but Berilac said he thought that just might work. He looked appraisingly at Kali, wondering if his mother knew the young scamp had been frequenting the rubbish dump in probable search for more treasures.

‘I’ve a final treat for you all, for being such good hedge-scouts and willing helpers.’ He fished once again into his pack and brought out a leather sack tied securely at the top. ‘Hold out your hands,’ he said, his eyes twinkling as he placed several pieces of strawberry taffy, wrapped up in twists of thin paper, and a rather large jawbreaker in each pair. There was one jawbreaker left, and the children wondered who would get the extra one. But Berilac popped the round sweet into his own mouth and winked at them. ‘My favorite!’ he explained, securing the candy in his left cheek.

Kari’s house was the closest. As the group approached the short path from her gate to the front door, Berilac thought he saw the curtain twitch in the front window, and someone peer out for the briefest of moments. ‘Good!’ he thought to himself, someone is home to meet her. Berilac waved as a friendly greeting and the curtain fell back into place. Kari gave Lily a little hug, saying she would see her tomorrow; then, ran hurriedly to her house and in the door.

Lily was delivered safely to Poppy’s door, her hands sticky from taking the jawbreaker in and out of her mouth to see what color it had turned as she sucked on it. Then it was Fippi’s turn. Hi parents came out to meet him, and Fippi scampered toward them, waving a piece of taffy each for them in his hands. Words tumbled all over themselves as he tried to cram his day into sentences to tell them. He turned as Berilac and the others started down the road and waved at them.

Willowfain was the next to last, leaving them as they reached the Inn. She, too, waved her good-byes, saying she would see them all tomorrow. Andreth made a brief appearance at the door, and motioned the Ranger over. She had a puzzled look on her face as she scanned the remaining children. ‘Isn’t Edmund with you?’ she asked. ‘I thought he might have joined your group.’ Berilac shook his head ‘no’, saying they hadn’t seen her son. Kali began to fidget at the mention of Edmund, torn between what he’d seen and his natural inclination not to rat out another child.

It was Ella who pushed her younger brother forward. And Berilac who laid his hand on the young man’s shoulder, saying he needed to tell Miz Andreth what he knew – so she wouldn’t worry. Kali took a deep breath, knowing that what he saw was not going to make her worry any less.

‘I saw him talking to that Will fellow,’ he said in a barely audible voice, his toes scuffing hard in the dirt. ‘I think he went with him . . .’

Berilac offered to come back and help find Edmund, but Andreth, said she would take care of the matter and went back inside. ‘Oh, boy!’ muttered Kali, to his brother and sister. ‘She had the same look mima gets when one of us gets in trouble!’

Soon the four were back at Mausi’s house. And the children vied for her attention, wanting to share the news of the day. Berilac had withdrawn to the front room. He sat in one of the chairs by the little fireplace, his notebook open to the map he’d made. A week, he thought, could see this project done, the holes all filled, the hedge secured against intrusion.

He rubbed his forehead as he reread the notes about the broken knife that Kali had shown him. Had the bandits already come into town to do spying, he wondered. Or was the hole just a place they used as a vantage point and had come in no further. ‘That would be preferable,’ he thought to himself, ‘but not likely.’ Ella’s voice called him from his dark wonderings, saying that dinner would be ready soon, and mima had asked if he would help Mondy gather in a little more wood for the cooking fire.

‘With pleasure, m’Lady,’ he said, laughing a little as she blushed. ‘Show me the way!’

[ November 03, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]