General Fiction posted August 4, 2023 Chapters:  ...16 17 -18- 19... 


Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted
Fireworks at the fair
A chapter in the book Saving Mr. Calvin

Saving Mr. Calvin - Chapter 16

by Jim Wile


The author has placed a warning on this post for violence.



Background
A story about the origin and the future of the game of golf
See Author Notes for the list of characters and unfamiliar terms.

Recap of the past few chapters:  As they improve in the game, and each one develops his or her own special skill, they decide they would like some competition but need to spread the game to achieve it. They decide to demonstrate it at the Amsterdam Fair, and Kilian and Arie ride to her uncle’s farm near Amsterdam to see if they could create some holes on his property for the demonstration. Oom (Uncle) Gerrit welcomes them, and they show him the game, giving him and Arie’s papa a chance to try it themselves. Oom Gerrit is very agreeable to her request to create holes on his land and to provide transportation for the fairgoers.

In preparation for the fair, they make many clubs and balls to sell, and Lotte draws pictures of the swing. They lay out the three demonstration holes, and it’s time for the fair. They put on a very successful demonstration of many shots at the fairgrounds. Now it is time for a demonstration of the game itself out at Oom Gerrit’s farm. This demonstration likewise goes well, although Arie is accosted by rude remarks of a sexual nature from two young men.
 
 
Chapter 16
 
 
The other two demonstrations went as well as the first and were even better attended. Word must have been getting out about this new game. We sold all of the equipment we had brought, with the exception of our personal kolfs and a few balls, as well as all of Lotte’s pictures. She had continued to draw but could not keep up with the pace at which they were being sold. She pocketed quite a few coins for her work.

To everyone, we announced that we would hold a competition at next year’s fair and that they should bring a team of four if they wished to compete. This news was well received by many.

When we arrived back at the fair after the last demonstration, we met up with the Papin family and decided to have a meal together. Oom Gerrit generously paid for all of the food and drink we shared. We sat at a large table beneath a tent with a hundred other people. The mood was festive, as we celebrated the success of the demonstrations. Except for the youngest boys, we consumed much beer, although their parents placed a limit on the amount Arie and Lotte could have.

We sat for a long time, enjoying the mood. Mealtime was winding down, and there was no need to vacate the table for other patrons as it was no longer crowded in the dining area. Already, we began making plans for next year’s fair and vowed to make lots of kolfs and balls for sale, as this had proved to be very profitable.

The beer continued to flow, which required occasional trips to the huts set up for relief during the fair. At one point, Arie and Lotte left together. While they were gone, a roving juggler performed his act inside the tent, and we watched in awe at his ability. We gave him five of our kolf balls to juggle, and he had no problem keeping them in the air. Arie’s little brothers were especially intrigued by this.

A few minutes later, when the juggler had left and Lard was in the middle of telling a joke, Lotte came running up by herself, shouting, “Papa, Arie’s in trouble! She’s being carried off by two men!”

All of the men and boys at the table were up in an instant. “Take us to where you saw her last, Lotte,” I gasped.

She turned back around and said, “This way!” as she headed out of the tent with all of us following. We ran for a minute when I heard in a faint, strangled voice, “Papa, Help, Pa—“ and we turned and headed in the direction of the sound. Near the very back of the fairgrounds, we heard a muffled scream and much commotion as we rounded a corner between two tents, and there at the back of the narrow alley near a fence was Arie, struggling with the two blackguards who had given her such grief earlier in the day.

She was down on the ground with her tunic pulled up to her waist and appeared to be gagged with a cloth. I could hear her squealing while one of the young men held her down with a knife to her neck. The other was next to them and in the act of removing his breeches.

I came flying down the alley and hurled myself at the fellow holding Arie down. He was so surprised by this sudden attack that he just had time to raise his knife from Arie’s throat and point it toward me, but with my hand out in front of my body, I was able to bat his arm out of the way as I crashed into him and began pummeling him in the face. He tried slashing me with the knife still in his hand and succeeded with a minor stick to my side, but Lard, who was right behind me, grabbed his hand and wrenched it loose, then joined me in pummeling him into unconsciousness.

 Meanwhile, Rube had gone for the other one, and it took only one massive blow from his large fist to similarly knock him unconscious. I did not actually see this, as I was busy with my man, but I was told this later by Dhr Papin, who was right behind him.

I removed the gag from Arie’s mouth and helped her up from the ground. She buried her face in my chest as I wrapped my arms around her.

Sobbing pitifully, she tried to speak. “Kilian, I… I… couldn’t—"

“Shhh,” I said as I embraced her more tightly and rubbed her back. “You can tell us about it later.”

She continued to sob, and choke a little, and we stood there for some time while I kept comforting her as best I could with whispered, soothing words. After a couple of minutes, when she’d gained some degree of composure, we headed out of the alley and back to the tent where we had been dining. We left the two thugs lying unconscious behind.
 
As we entered the tent, her ma came rushing up and took her in her arms and asked her if she was alright. She shed a few more tears, but nothing like the wrenching sobs from before.

Arie turned then and looked for her sister. When she found her, she hugged and kissed her saying, “Thank you dear sister for helping the others find me.”

Lotte smiled and returned her kiss.

Then Arie told us all about what had happened. Apparently, the two men had come up behind them as they were returning and grabbed them both from behind. Somehow Lotte was able to escape from her attacker and ran off, while Arie’s captor said, “Let that one go, and help me with this one. She’s a wildcat.”

He had clamped a hand over her mouth, which was a mistake, because Arie bit down hard and began yelling, “Help!” until he pulled a knife and threatened her. Although struggling mightily, they managed to lead her down an alley between two tents at the back of the fair. She fought with all she had, but was no match for the two burly men who kept threatening to stick her with the knife.

“You’re a feisty little one, aren’t you?” said the one holding the knife. “Now quit your yelling lest I carve up that pretty face with this knife.”

It was right about then that we came running down the alley to her rescue.

“I was so scared, and I didn’t know how to stop it, and then all of a sudden, you were there,” she said, looking at me, and we embraced.

“I’ll always protect you, Arie. I love you, you know?”

“You do? Well, I love you too.” She raised her chin up then, and I kissed her gently on the mouth. She buried her face in my chest again, and I could feel the pent-up tension flowing out of her as we just hugged. I looked up to see Dhr and Mevr Papin, looking at each other while smiling and nodding.

We stayed like this for a while, then Arie stood and went over and hugged both Rube and Lard, thanking them for their part in the rescue. She sat back down at the table between them this time and put her arms around each when she said, “I think I need some more beer!”

Dhr Papin said, “I think we could all use one!” and we laughed, helping to further relieve the tension that had been built up in all of us around Arie’s harrowing tale. As we enjoyed another round of beer, we heard a loud bang outside the tent, which startled us and prompted me to rush to the entry to see what it was. The sky was lit with many bright colors. It was the beginning of a fireworks display, and we hurried outside to watch. A fitting ending, indeed, to a very eventful day at the fair.
 

Write A Review



Dutch words


kolf: a club in ancient Dutch. It is also used as the name of the game that uses it.
kolven: the verb form of the word, i.e., clubbing or golfing
Dhr: Mr. (Abbreviation for Meneer)
Mevr: Mrs. (Abbreviation for Mevrouw)
Oom: Uncle
Tante: Aunt
schatje: sweetie
vriend: boyfriend
nicht: niece
eikels: jerks



CHARACTERS - 2032 California

Kevin Parsons: The narrator of the story. He is a 28-year-old mechanical engineer living in Santa Barbara, CA.

Paul Putnam: A good friend of Kevin who is an electrical engineer.

Ernie (Dumbo) Dumbrowski: Another good friend of Kevin who is a computer genius.

Art Calvin: An old, retired golf course architect whom the boys meet one day while golfing.


CHARACTERS - 1247 Holland

Kilian Pauls: A 14-year-old shepherd boy in 1247 Holland.

Arie Papin: A 13-year-old farmgirl in 1247 Holland.

Lars (Lard) Jansen: A fellow shepherd boy and friend of Kilian.

Ruben (Rube) Meijer: Another shepherd boy and friend of Kilian.

Fredrik Papin (Dhr Papin): Arie's father

Mevr Papin: Arie's mother

Lotte Papin: Arie's younger sister

Oom Gerrit: Arie's uncle (Fredrik's brother)
Pays one point and 2 member cents.


Save to Bookcase Promote This Share or Bookmark
Print It Print It View Reviews

You need to login or register to write reviews. It's quick! We only ask four questions to new members.


© Copyright 2024. Jim Wile All rights reserved.
Jim Wile has granted FanStory.com, its affiliates and its syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.