Part One:   Strange sounds in the snow.

As we look across a snowy winter landscape, we see miles of hills and evergreen trees, with nary a house or other building in sight.  The sky above is thick with grey clouds, but no snow is falling at the moment, while a bright glow shining through the clouds to the west shows us it is late afternoon.  Back on the ground, we see two men wearing snowshoes trudging along a trail in the valley between the hills.  On a closer look we discover that these two are our friends Phil Wellbright and Frankie Elliot.  Let’s join them as they take in the brisk, clean, northern air.

“What did I tell you Curly, isn’t this great?”

“Sure, it’s wonderful.  I didn’t know there were winter resorts like this in the Midwest.”

“Well, it’s no Sun Valley, but it’s a way for folks  around here to get out and enjoy the snow without having to travel half way across the country.  I figure we can hit the slopes first thing tomorrow.”

“That’ll be fine. There’s just one thing I don’t understand.”

“What’s that?”

“What I am doing here?”

“You’re snow-shoeing.”

“Frankie, you know  what I mean.  I want to know why it was so important for you to get me up here with you.”

“What’s the matter, don’t you like it here?”

“Sure, like I said, it’s wonderful.   But I was content back at my new home, living next door to  A-  to the Springingtons.  I wasn’t even settled in yet, and you come along and drag me up into the woods.”

“Well Curly, I got this offer kind of suddenly, and so I had to rush right up here.”

“Sure, you had to, but what about me?  I’m not working here.”

“You’re my best friend Curly, so I wanted you here to share my good fortune.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you, Frankie, but, well, to tell you the truth, I was just getting to know Alice, and , well, I just sort of miss her.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.  I know, it probably sounds kind of silly, I mean, we only met  a month ago or so.”

“It doesn’t sound silly Curly.”

“No?”

“No, not at all.”

“Thanks Frankie.  I’m glad you understand.”

“Nothing silly about a guy missing a nice girl like Alice.  Especially if that guy happens to be kind of sweet on her.”

“That’s me all right.  “

“Truth is, I miss Olivia.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, seeing her again was like having a light go on in my life.”

“Did you think you were going to miss her before you came up here?”

“Yes, I did.  That’s why I wanted you to come with me, so I wouldn’t get lonely.”

“Did you ever stop to think I might miss Alice?”

“As a matter of fact, that thought did cross my mind, but I figured we could both miss them together, that way it wouldn’t be so bad for either one of us.”

“Yeah, but Frankie, I didn’t have to leave.  You’re the one who got the job at the resort.  I could be spending time with Alice right now.”

“I’m sorry Curly.  I just didn’t want to leave Olivia behind and come up here all by myself.  If you ever have to leave Alice behind to go on a trip, I’ll do the same for you someday, I swear I will.”

“Okay Frankie.  I guess it’s a worthy cause to help my best pal get along with out his girl for a few days, even if it does mean I have to be away from the girl I–from the girl I’m sweet on in the meantime.”

“Thanks Curly.  You know, just talking about Olivia makes missing her seem less, you know, less of a burden.”

“You’re right Frankie.  Talking about Alice has kind of eased the pangs for me too.”

Both men sighed at  exactly the same time.

Frankie said dreamily “Women.”

“Ain’t they something?”

“The best thing since sliced bread.”

“Better.”

“Best thing since a shave and a haircut.”

“You mean with the steaming hot towel wrapped around your face?”

“Yeah, and that great smelling after shave that only the barbers seem to have.”

“Yeah, even better than that… with your cheeks feeling so soft and smooth–“

“Like a baby’s bottom after a warm bath.”

“Yeah.”  Phil absently raised a hand and stroked his cheek with the back of his fingers.  There was an audible scraping as his knuckles  rubbed across his whiskers. He dropped his hand suddenly and seemed to stir out of a dream.   ” I think I’ll shave when I get back to the room.”

“Yeah.  Come to think of it, the last time I saw a baby’s bottom was when I was babysitting for my sisters kid when he was just a little thing, and that wasn’t for any bath.”

“Well, what’d you expect?  A baby’s got to be changed.”

“Poor little fellow.  He had a terrible rash after that night.”

“What did you do to the kid?”

“That’s just it, I didn’t do anything.  Every time the kid cried I thought he was hungry so I just kept offering him more of that mush babies eat.  He’d just look at it and turn away and cry some more.  It was very confusing.”

“What finally tipped you off?”

“I was holding a spoonful of mush in front of his mouth,  and  balancing him on my knee, and somehow, something just didn’t feel right.”

“Stop right there.  I get the picture.”

“Poor little guy.  I got the feeling as I looked into his eye that he wanted to reach out and punch me in the nose for leaving him in so much discomfort for so long.”

“I bet your nephew and you are great pals now.”

“What Johnny?  Sure he and I are like that.  He doesn’t hold a grudge against Ol’ Uncle Frankie.  Funny thing though, whenever I walk into a room he stands up, real sudden like.”

“Cut it out Frankie, you’re just foolin’ with me.  I have to admit though that changing babies diapers, well, that’s probably the only thing that kind of, you know, makes me a little scared of marriage and fatherhood.”

“Marriage and fatherhood?  Curly, you have got it bad.”

“Yeah, Frankie.  I’ve got it bad, and that’s good.”

“Does Alice know?”

“No.  I don’t want to frighten her.  We’ve known each other such a short time.”

“This is  kind of sudden news for me.   I hope I haven’t made any unseemly remarks, but if I do, you  know, based on our past association,  just let me know, would you?  I wish you all the best, Curly.”

“Thanks Frankie.  Don’t make it sound like I’ve jumped off a cliff and left you behind or something.  What about that light that’s gone on in your life?”

“What, Olivia?  She’s a wonderful girl, Curly.  I’m lucky just to have met up with her again, but I think she would never really take a guy like me seriously.”

“What do you think, she’s just playing you?  Just having fun?”

“I don’t think that Curly.   It just seems too good to be true.  All I know is when I’m with Olivia, it’s the best feeling I’ve ever known.  I guess I’m just afraid to think about the future because this all seems like a dream and I’m going to wake up at any moment.”

“Now it’s my turn to ask you if you’ve told Olivia how you feel.”

“What, and scare her off?”

“A fine couple of Romeo’s we are, too timid to press our suits.”

“What’s that?’

“Just something I read or heard somewhere.  It means we’re afraid to tell the girls we’re in love with that we’re in love with them.”

” What do we do?”

“I guess we just have to be patient and see how things work out, and in the meantime, do our best to keep the girls interested till we can tell them our feelings without, you know, without it being too much of a shock.”

“I suppose that’s a good plan.”

“Hey Frankie, speaking of plans, how much further till we get back?”

“According to the trail map, we should be coming to a turn off any time.”

“Which way?”

“To the left takes us down to the lodge. “

“What about that turn off we passed a little while ago?”

“I didn’t notice it.  I guess I must have had my mind on something else.”

“Uh -huh,  fine time to be daydreaming.  What do we do, turn back?”

“The trail is curving to the left anyway.  Let’s follow it around this bend and see where that leads us.”

“Lead on, Meriwether.”  They walked in silence for a few moments till Phil said, “Sure is quiet out here.”

“Yeah, not a house, or a building anywhere in sight .”

“Look at the trail, Frankie .  Looks like nobody has been out this way in quite some time.”

“Yeah,  ours are the only tracks.  Of course we did get a fresh snow last night.  That would have covered any tracks from yesterday.

“That’s right.  Probably there were a lot of tracks here before that snowfall last night.”

“Yeah, after all this is the main trail.  Probably lot’s of people walk this way all the time.”

“Of course.  You’re sure this is the main trail, aren’t you Frankie?”

“Sure I’m sure.  At least, I was sure.  Anyway, It’s not like we’re actually lost.”

“No, not actually.”

“I mean, even if we don’t know where we are right now, we know the lodge is just over that way.”

“Probably just a mile or so away, don’t you think?”

“Sure a mile or so, maybe. “

“Sure is quiet though.”

A sudden sound stopped the boys in their tracks.  It was a loud sound, unfamiliar and somewhat like a deep musical note blown on some fantastic kind of horn.

Phil looked at Frankie, “What was that?”

“I don’t know.  Sounded like the mating call of a moose.”

“Do you have moose around here?”

“No.  I was just kidding.  There are no moose around here.  At least I don’t think there are.  Anyway, what if it was?  Aren’t mooses vegetarians?”

“Yeah, that’s right, they are.  So what do you think it was?”

“I don’t know.”

“There it goes again.  Say, what’s bigger than a moose?  That sure is a loud sound.”

“I don’t know.  I think it’s coming from up ahead,  just around this bend.”

“Maybe it’s one of those wooly mammoth things.”

“You mean those things like hairy elephants?  Aren’t those extinct?”

“Yeah, that’s right.  I guess I’m just letting my imagination run away with me.  Besides the people at the resort would  have noticed a thing like a big hairy elephant roaming around in the woods.  I mean, what are the odds that you and I could  arrive last night and out of a clear blue, without even looking for it, be the first one’s to discover a giant animal like that, trumpeting and stomping around here in the woods?  The mere thought of such a thing is ridiculous.”

“You’re right Curly, that would be ridiculous; our first day here and we discover a mammoth roaming the woods.  Somebody else would have seen him first.  Anyway aren’t elephants vegetarians too?”

“Yeah, but did you ever see  one of those Tarzan movies and the way the elephants pick up the poachers or the ivory hunters or whoever they’re angry at with their trunks and just kind of toss them around like they were a child’s doll?”

“You don’t suppose it thinks we’re ivory hunters, do you Curly?”

“I don’t know.”

“I mean, we don’t look like a couple of poachers or ivory hunters, do we?”

“Not to me we don’t, but maybe the mammoth has never seen a Tarzan movie.  Frankie look!”

“A cabin!”

“Do you think that sound came from in there?”

As if in answer to Phil’s question, the sound repeated.

“I guess that answers that.”

“What do you suppose it could be?  That cabins too small for a mammoth.”

“I don’t know Frankie.  I guess we’d better go find out.”

“Might be some kind of wild animal that’s hurt in there, calling to its mate.”

“Or its pack.”

“Its pack?  You mean as in wolf pack?  Curly, I don’t think there are any wolves around here either.”

“Yeah, and you also thought mammoths were extinct, but we still haven’t figured out what could be making that noise.”

“Do you think maybe it’s a small mammoth?”

“You mean like a baby, calling for its mother?”

“That’s it Curly, like a baby calling to its mother.”

“If it is, then for our sake I hope the mother is nowhere nearby. “

“Gosh, you’re right!  I don’t see anything.  I think we’d hear her crashing through the trees if she were charging us.”

“We’re almost there Frankie.”

“What if it’s an injured wolf?  I’ve heard  wild animals that are injured and feel cornered can be the most dangerous.”

“We’ll soon find out.  Duck down below these windows.  We’re almost to the door.”

“Curly, I think I saw those trees move!  Wait… wait… I guess it was just the wind.”

“Keep your voice low Frankie.  Don’t want the wolf, or the mammoth–“

“Don’t forget the moose!”

All right.  The wolf, or the mammoth, or the moose, or whatever  is in there, to hear us.  My hand is on the door.  It doesn’t seem to be locked.  I’m going to gently push it open.  Stay to the side and give whatever frightening beast is in there plenty of room to charge out.”

“Right. “

“Ready? “

“I can’t look.  Tell me when  to run.”

“You’ve  got your eyes closed Frankie?  Okay.  Here goes.  The door is swinging open and I can see… I can see… Mr. Gordon!”

“Mr. Gordon?”

To be continued…

Click here to read Ski bums and Sagbutts: A Madcap Frolic in the Snow (Part 2fb).

If you would like to read the previous adventures of Phil and Frankie, start here Friends, Snowmen, Countrymen, Be of Good Cheer. A Tale of Christmas Time. (Part One.)

Be sure to visit www.listenviewreview.com

copyright 2017 R.K.Morris

“Its pack?  You mean as in wolf pack?  Curly, I don’t think there are any wolves around here either.”

“Yeah, and you also thought mammoths were extinct, but we still haven’t figured out what could be making that noise.”

“Do you think maybe it’s a small mammoth?”

“You mean like a baby, calling for its mother?”

“That’s it Curly, like a baby calling to its mother.”

“If it is, then for our sake I hope the mother is nowhere nearby. “

“Gosh, you’re right!  I don’t see anything.  I think we’d hear her crashing through the trees if she were charging us.”

“We’re almost there Frankie.”

“What if it’s an injured wolf?  I’ve heard  wild animals that are injured and feel cornered can be the most dangerous.”

“We’ll soon find out.  Duck down below these windows.  We’re almost to the door.”

“Curly, I think I saw those trees move!  Wait… wait… I guess it was