Weedy clapped as the ax struck the weakened wood and sank in satisfyingly...well, too satisfyingly! It stuck, and even with both boys tugging, it didn't want to want to let go so the boys could claim their prize.
"Back up a minute," Weedy requested, and when Wyatt was a safe distance back, he stepped forward and kicked the handle...which didn't budge, so he ended up landing flat on his ass!
"Well, dang-rabbit! If that don't beat all to Nogales and back on a swag-back mule!" The boy had been around Miss Addy Chappel a bit too much! "Lemme try again."
Scrambling to his feet, he brushed dust from his britches, then took another shot, actually knocking the a loose this time. "Got it!" And as the ax clattered to the ground, he noticed the hole that it left.
"Lookit! You can see in there!" Well, it wasn't much of an opening, and it was dark inside. "Is that what I think it is?" He looked at Wyatt excitedly. "C'mon, let's hit it again!"
Storyteller / Shared NPC
Wyatt had to laugh when Weedy fell, not so much for the pratfall but the words that came out of the boy's mouth, he hadn't heard such and it was amusing. But Weedy was undaunted he got right back up and was raring to give it another whack.
"Do it!" Wyatt encouraged.
"Got it!" And as the ax clattered to the ground, they noticed the hole that it left.
"Nice shot!" Wyatt praised him.
"Lookit! You can see in there!" Well, it wasn't much of an opening, and it was dark inside. "Is that what I think it is?"
Wyatt got on his knees for a better look, "Not sure, some kinda object and then some cloth or clothing in there too. I think, it's too dark."
Weedy looked at Wyatt excitedly. "C'mon, let's hit it again!"
Wyatt was back on his feet, "Yeah! If you can just break it up a bit more I can reach in there and pull whatever that there thing is out of there. I don't think we are gonna care about that cloth." Clothing was women's stuff, boring.
"It might be a pirate flag!" Weedy had a good imagination! "Stand back." He grabbed the axe again and gave the the bottom of the box couple more good whacks, sending splinters flying, then he set the axe in the dirt and knelt beside Wyatt, peering in.
"So, what is it? Are we rich?" He grinned. "Do we get to buy our own sailing ship and...well, sail?" Of course, he wasn't serious, and didn't expect there to be anything of value in the chest, but he still could hope a little, right? And if there was real treasure, he didn't suspect that it would be pirate treasure, not up here in the mountains.
But it was still fun in the mean time!
Storyteller / Shared NPC
"Nope, not a flag. It's more like a cloth or blanket or something but wrapped around ...well something else. We are about to find out," Wyatt declared with enthusiasm then reached inside the splintered box. It was quite damp inside, he should have expected that. And the cloth was wet. But he was able to grasp the covered object and carefully extracted it from it's longtime prison.
"So, what is it? Are we rich?" Weedy grinned. "Do we get to buy our own sailing ship and...well, sail?"
His friend was sure impatient! If Clara was here she would no doubt say "Calm down and show some patience." Wyatt heard that line a lot of times.
Whatever it was under the balled up cloth, it was certainly solid and actually kind of heavy for it's size. It was the size of a..............cannonball maybe? Or a skull? Or maybe a HUGE nugget of solid gold. Nah, they couldn't get that lucky.
Hastily he peeled off the cloth, it was so badly discolored that he could barely tell what it's original color even had been. No matter, it was unimportant. As the last of it was removed he was left with a .........................
"What is this thing?" he had never seen anything like it, even in books. Granted he never spent a lot of time looking at books, that was Clara's bad habit.
"Oh, wow!" Weedy reached gingerly to touch the thing, then shrugged. "Dunno...is it supposed to mean something? Is it gold? Hey, maybe it's cursed, and that's why it got thrown in the river?"
The boy's eyes widened -- not that he believed in that hooey, but he was happy to follow his fanciful imagination. "Maybe that means we broke the curse by saving it? Or maybe we're cursed now?"
He looked around as if he expected they might be struck by lightening, or trampled by a herd of buffalo? That would be awesome!
"Who can we ask?" Not Clara, certainly. She was smart, yes, but too literal minded, and besides, they needed someone who had been somewhere besides Montana.
"Maybe Miz Jemima? She's pretty smart, or...I know! What about that newspaper man, McFinneys?" That wasn't right, but it didn't matter as long as they knew where to find him. "Do you think we could go to town?"
Man, it would be torture to have to wait, not knowing what it was they had, wouldn't it?