Port Hope Simpson wild bay

historical fiction based on year as vso volunteer in Port Hope Simpson, Labrador, Newfoundland, Canada 1969-70 and coming back out to The Town of Port Hope Simpson's Coming Home Celebrations in July 2002; also based on holiday travels; Richard ap Meurig's sense of purpose, peace, quietness,returning to awe-inspiring wilderness of The Labrador, spiritual retreat & renewal...http://porthopesimpson.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, July 20, 2004

42. he had been spotted.




Richard moved with speed and agility, carefully placing each step to avoid unnecessary sound. The undergrowth became less dense and he was soon about one mile away from the cabin. He settled down to wait for nightfall. He kept his mouth moist and himself awake by chewing on the strips of young hawthorn wood he kept in his bag. They always tasted like bread and cheese to him.
When everything had stilled for the night at about 0430 hours, Richard moved out towards the hermit’s cabin.
He couldn’t possibly have realised that Luke had actually smelt Richard about three hours earlier. A sudden change in wind direction had brought his scent to him. There's another man on my land and I want to know who he is and why he is here thought Luke. He saw Richard through a break in the trees with his rifle leaning up beside him and he smiled to himself. So, he's come to get me? Well, we’ll soon see about that. He stalked Richard right up to the clearing of his cabin without giving him the faintest idea he was there.
Richard crouched low, running and carrying his rifle in his left hand he aimed to reach a point below the front window of the cabin.
But he never made it.
As he passed Luke’s hiding place all he felt was a massive bang against the back of his head and his lights went out. Luke had knocked him unconscious with a long pole, about three inches in diameter that Richard never saw coming. When Richard woke up he was tied and tightly-bound to the solitary chair inside the only room.
He now started to realise why they called Luke, “The Supreme Woodsman.”
Luke was sitting on a floor about two metres away whittling at a piece of wood and whistling as he worked. He had sensed something in