The Hollowed Tree

by R. K. Johnstone

  The Sergeant Major dropped the tail as if shot and came stiffly to attention. The armadillo carried a step or two further and stood, seething, neither turning his lowered head to the owl nor changing his position in any way other than by the cessation of forward motion.

  "Sergeant Major, have you briefed the armadillos?"

  "Aye Jedge! 'n in full!"

  "Then what is the meaning of this? Why do you sulk and fume?"

  Agamemnon, still seething with anger, spoke to the ground:

  "Are we to assume, then," he sneered, "that henceforth we should expect to serve as lowly beasts of burden, at the beck and call of this sparrow's every capricious whim, no matter how unreasonable or humiliating?"

  "Haarumph! You have been called to duty at my direction--haarumph! You armadillos commonly turn to--and most honorably I might add--to carry such personnel and baggage as an expeditionary force might require. Your assignment to such a role is due entirely to natural attributes, which suit you to it and--haarumph--far from being dishonorable, are held by all in the highest esteem. Your many decorations would attest to this fact. With such a well established reputation, your call to duty should come as no surprise. These protests ill become such brave and noble beasts--haarumph!"

  "What about the bear?"

  "Insubordinate armadillo! Haarumph! I'll quibble no further with you--least of all over perquisites of rank! The court will not tolerate it! Haarumph! You are under orders and will comply under penalty of law. Jupe will bear the Sergeant Major, a wounded veteran, proudly. His exclusion from this most important mission would jeopardize its success; his services are critical. If engaged in some action or other you may, circumstances permitting, disburden yourself of your charges and fight alone. Haarumph!"

  Agamemnon and Jupiter, for so these armadillos were named, absorbed this rebuke with a surly stoicism. They were perfectly aware of the necessity for them to perform these duties, but had no intention of permitting anyone to take them for granted. They were combatants; no one could fight more fiercely or effectively than they. They considered their services as carriers on the order of favors, rather than duties, and took every opportunity to drive the point home to all concerned. These finer points of pride notwithstanding, they knew the mission was of the highest importance and in all reality were, if anything, more eager than the others to embark. Having made his point, Agamemnon turned and with many muttered imprecations submitted to the Sergeant Major's preparations.

  Egbert, meanwhile, had come down from the tree and spread the chart out upon the ground before Boston and Percy.

  "Hawg City," Boston said grimly, shaking his head. "There's likely to be trouble, detour or no. Those warthogs are some of the orneriest bunch of animals in the jungle." He sighed with worry. "What about the southern route?"

  "Absolutely out of the question," Egbert said firmly, pointing to the chart. "Our destination is here in the central interior. The southern route would make our journey far too long."

  "I, for one, would welcome the opportunity for a visit to this Hawg City," Percy said, "to observe first hand the problems I hear of constantly."

  "There will be no time for visits to Hawg City," Egbert said peremptorily.

  "Hah! And who decided that?" Percy retorted with irritation.

  "Egbert's right," the bear said, "we don't have time for that on this business."

  The squirrel rolled up the chart and stowed it in one of the bundles now loaded on Agamemnon's plated back. The Sergeant Major was just giving a few final tugs to the straps, cinching up the bundles. On the porch Honorashious had said his farewells to Henrietta and was on his perch. Jupiter stood impassively in front of Agamemnon. The Sergeant Major took the rope which encircled Agamemnon's neck--intended only to keep him from wandering in a doze from the track--and tied it to Jupiter's tail. Then the sparrow mounted the armadillo and sat up proud and erect in impeccable military form.

  Now Boston rose and addressed the group severally with a nod to each: "Judge, Percy Theodilious, Egbert, Agamemnon, Jupiter... we are about to embark upon a mission whose outcome, though uncertain to a great degree, is of the utmost importance--namely, as we all know by now, to find the Hollowed Tree, and to get the lost boy. I would like to commend the group for all of their hard work and conscientious deliberations tonight," Boston nodded significantly at the Judge, "and would especially like to thank the Judge for volunteering to accompany us. Henrietta, your hospitality, as always, has far exceeded our worth, if not our expectations." Henrietta bestowed a smile of grace and gentility upon the bear, and Percy added a few regal words of his own. The bear continued: "We're all ready, we're all going to be called on to turn to and do some trying things, but we're confident that the final outcome will be success. So, without further ado, and not wanting to spend anymore time in talk and deliberation and arguing than we have already, let's give a cheer and get this operation underway." The bear paused for dramatic effect, looking at each of them in turn. Then, raising an arm into the air, he shouted in a great booming voice: "To find the Hollowed Tree, and the lost boy!"

  And even the surly armadillos joined in as the group gave out a great shout: "Hurrah!" they cried in unison.

  And with that, they set out to begin the search in earnest.

  15. Affairs of the Heart

  Thus, in the highest of spirits this disparate crew set out. In the east the sky had lightened, presaging the dawn. All of them had been up all night, yet so caught up were they in the enthusiasm and excitement of their undertaking that none experienced the least bit of weariness. They headed eastward, passing easily three abreast through the open spaces beneath the great hardwoods of Honorashious' estate, and discussing all manner of subjects of interest. Honorashious left them and flew on far ahead of the group before turning back in a great, slow circle, a pattern which he would maintain for the duration of their journey.

  They soon left Hardwood Haven and the River of Judgment behind them. At the estate's furthest boundary to the east, the hardwoods and the open grass cover beneath ended abruptly in a tangled wall of impenetrable jungle. The trees soared overhead to a continuous canopy through which light filtered, when at all, in needle-like shafts. A well worn but very narrow path pierced the thick undergrowth, necessitating the forming of a single file. Boston took the lead, as usual, followed by Percy; the Sergeant Major brought up the rear on Jupe with Agamemnon in tow. Egbert ascended into the trees as soon as they had entered the jungle and assumed again the role of scout. Although he fully recognized that with the owl's spectacular range and vision he far outshone him in this role, the squirrel determined to provide his assistance in any way that he could, contributing a second pair of eyes focused more narrowly in the vicinity of the group. Far from resenting his demotion, the squirrel felt only the greatest respect for the old owl and performed these diminished duties with no less enthusiasm than his old.

  The animals kept up a good pace throughout the morning. Still flush with the enthusiasm of their beginning, the conversation amongst them–carried on in somewhat louder than normal voices due to their single file formation–consisted of generally non-controversial subjects, humorous anecdotes, and good natured riposte. The Sergeant Major related a story of his youth, when, as a private, he fought with his regiment a pitched battle against a full division of mixed background for several days. There had been an uprising in the East, always an area difficult to govern, where a coalition had formed whose object was to break away from the jungle's monarch and dissolve the single governing body. The full complement of opposing forces included bears and lions in its ranks, and Percy and Boston listened with keen interest to this first hand account of an action with which they had been acquainted heretofore only through second hand stories and reading.

  Finishing this, the talk turned to love, a subject to which the Sergeant Major transitioned smoothly when he came to the aftermath of this action. On an extended period of liberty, granted in honor of the exceptional bravery he had exhibited in battle,
he met and wooed the beautiful daughter of the defeated post commander's adjutant, a gnarly old sparrow whose unsightly appearance belied any blood relation to so fair an offspring. The young private had proved as puissant in love as in battle, and the object of his affections had quickly succumbed. They made plans to marry. Before these could be carried to fruition, however, the regiment had moved out. A garrison was left behind to restore order in the region. A vindictive superior, jealous of the high esteem to which the young private had been vaulted by his recent actions, refused his request for assignment to the garrison. In the private's absence the betrothed had waited some time for his promised return, but finally, under severe and unremitting pressure from her father, she had married another. The Sergeant Major sighed heavily with the remembrance:

  "Near to broke my heart into two," he said sadly.

  Percy was contemptuous:

  "A perfectly ridiculous parading of one's affections," he said. "And nothing was gained. Permit yourself to fixate, lay bare your heart to the vagaries of fortune, and expect only disaster. No. Woo several, all meeting the highest standards of grace and beauty, and then let them come. Make your selection. If not one, then the other will do as well–perhaps better in the long run. The first one you lay your eyes on is a notoriously poor choice, based as it often is on as little as a certain blemish or mole, a line of the neck, a cast of the eye, all perceived as unique and irreplaceable. You foolishly think it your destiny to bind yourself to this one, and in so doing, seal your fate to despair. No, reality is otherwise my good Sergeant. There are many combinations of eye and form and feather that would do as well or better."

  The shadow of a bear grin played faintly about Boston's black lips, as he shook his head incredulously, saying: "Tell that to a young bear cub just rousing out in the spring. You may as well tell him to leave this bee tree alone because there's another one across the river and through the woods where the bees don't sting you so bad! 'Course, if everybody had the benefits of your position and power, they wouldn't have time to–as you call it–fixate on any single one; there would be so many of them so thick and hot and heavy trying to get close to all that power and wealth and prestige, you couldn't hardly get a good look at any of them. For us that have to depend on our good looks and character and wit and intelligence, it's different."

  "Hardly," Percy said with a frown.

  "Be that as it may–and I admit that there is some little truth in what you say–still, I know that no other one could replace my Matilda," Boston said reverently, and the bear had many most pleasant and sweet thoughts as he considered his own wife and cubs with whom he would reunite at the end of this business.

  Egbert, who had come down from the trees the better to hear and was now sitting on top of the bundles on Agamemnon's back, spoke up:

  "I see what Lion means," he said in his pedantic tone of voice. "What I don't see is how you can pick just one?"

  "What?" Percy said with incredulous skepticism. "You just do it. You just pick one!"

  "But there are seemingly infinite considerations when selecting a mate," Egbert persisted argumentatively. "If one attempts a thorough and objective review of all of the qualities and various aspects of the intended, and what these portend for a life spent in company with them, all of one's likes and the many trivial detractions, which one can well imagine will only loom the greater with time–the final outcome of such a review is inevitably unfavorable, and so, any decision to marry, most impossible!"

  "Then you consider it too carefully," the lion retorted. "I said to pick and choose, not to dissect it! You sound as if it were a cadaver to look into and discern all of its working parts. We are speaking here of love, not science."

  "You'll never find anybody that way, Egbert," agreed the bear. "But, anyway, and more importantly, you're too ugly to get married!"

  The whole group laughed at the expense of poor Egbert, who quite failed to see any humor in what he considered a most intelligent and thought provoking thesis. He had reviewed a wide array of potential mates, sniffed the offended squirrel, all most anxious to wed him, but had found none of sufficient grace and beauty and intellect to match his own. The conceit of this indignant retort, however, only made the others laugh the harder. They laughed so hard, in fact, that Agamemnon begged him to please get off his back before he forced the armadillo to collapse helplessly on the ground. Egbert hopped from the armadillo's back into the jungle and ascended to his former position in the canopy overhead, glad to leave the others to their mirth.

  16. A Military Code

  They continued in much this same vein throughout the morning, passing through mostly familiar scenes of the jungle. Of all of the group Honorashious alone did not participate in any of the conversation, keeping to his slowly circling position at altitude. Soon after the sun had passed its zenith the old owl finally came down, landing in a large tree beside the path.

  "Haarumph! I have the Razorbacks in view," he said. "Approximately a two-day's march."

  "Hawg City by afternoon tomorrow, then," Boston said grimly.

  "Sergeant Major!"

  "Aye Jedge!"

  "Lunch!"

  "Aye Jedge!" the Sergeant Major said and slid from Jupe's back.

  Beside the trail the brush and undergrowth opened up into a grassy area under the tree in which Honorashious was perched and they moved over to this area and sank to the ground to await the Sergeant Major's preparations. Since no one was aware of what provisions the Sergeant Major had brought along, they fully expected that they would have to fend for themselves. Accordingly, everyone was most pleasantly surprised when he broke out something for each of them: for Egbert a store of acorns; Percy a small but tasty rat fillet; and Boston a large, dripping honeycomb. The Armadillos and, of course, the owl were similarly provided for, and they all sat down and ate, for the most part in silence.

  Now that they had stopped moving Boston suddenly felt descend upon him all of the weariness and fatigue of the previous day's trek to Hardwood Haven followed by the all night deliberations under the porch. Having finished with his repast, the bear leaned back against a convenient tree, relaxed. Except for the brief nap he and Percy had caught that morning while the others were getting ready, it had been nearly two days since he'd slept. A narrow shaft of sunlight pierced the canopy and shone directly on his head and belly, imparting a pleasant warmth to his thick fur coat. The bear's jaw fell and his tongue lolled out of his mouth as he dropped off into a doze. The others were in comparable states of drowsiness.

  Everyone was well on his way to joining the bear when the owl took note: "Haarumph!" he grunted with displeasure. "This most certainly--haarumph--most certainly will not do! Haarumph! Sergeant Major!"

  "Aye," responded the sparrow weakly. Like the others he had just been settling into a comfortable nap.

  "Haarumph! Muster the unit. Load the armadillo! Haarumph! We must get underway--haarumph–immediately!"

  "Aye Jedge!" the Sergeant Major said with a forced briskness as he rose from the ground. The sparrow delivered an energetic kick into the ribs of the dozing Egbert, squawking irritably: "Get up ye lazy blubber bones!," and then stalked about among the others flapping his wings and raising a great deal of noise: "Aaawwk! Get up! Aaawwk! Get off'n yer backsides! Move 'em out!" As the others began to sit up and shake off their drowsiness as best they could the sparrow hurriedly gathered up the bundles and scattered remains of provisions, wrapped them, and loaded them on the armadillo's back. Before cinching up the load he paused, grasping the strap and with one claw planted firmly against the bewildered, blinking Agamemnon's flank. "We need'n the weapons yet?" he asked, looking at Honorashious.

  "Haarumph–no need for arms yet. We shall arm prior to entering the savannah! Haarumph!" the owl said.

  The sparrow nodded and cinched up the pack so tightly that the armadillo's eyes bugged out of his head. The armadillo snarled viciously and bucked, threatening at the same time to clip the bird's wings.

  "Clip 'em ye da
ng'd dunder headed, plate-backed varmint! I ain't got but one! Clip it! Go ahead! Clip my onliest good 'un!" The Sergeant Major was wide awake and alert now and in no mood to humor the cranky armadillos. He loosened the strap slightly, however, before hopping onto Jupe's back.

  The bear and the lion and the squirrel had all resumed their positions by now, and were about to set off, when Honorashious, swelling his chest with a deep breath, spoke up: "Haarumph! In light of what has just occurred–haarumph–haarumph–it is evident–haarumph–indeed, it stands out in no less ugly relief than would a cankerous sore on the nose–haarumph!–that this unit is seriously deficient–I say, most seriously deficient! Haarumph! It is with the greatest urgency, therefore, and in the interest of inculcating each and every individual in the unit with that sense of the great importance and–haarumph–necessity to our survival–haarumph–of maintaining a continuous, high state of military readiness, which is critical to our success–haarumph!–and although said unit is not, technically, subject to any Code of Military Justice–haarumph–that the court advises of its intention to exercise, on occasion–haarumph–haarumph–a similar binding authority, including the imposition of such fines and punishments as are appropriate for violations of said code, in the interest of instilling that discipline required of said unit such as herein has been formed to facilitate, expedite, and ensure the achieving of the objective of our current undertaking! Haarumph!"

  "Judge," Boston spoke up solemnly. "Just a minute now. I see your point, and I would ask your pardon for any inconvenience. Howsomever, I can only ask you to take into account that some of us have been up for going on two days now, and if we drop into a little doze after our trek to Hardwood Haven yesterday and then up all night engaging in deliberations, well, we're sorry, but it shouldn't come as any surprise."