The Bearton Bear - Eddie's Daring Rescue

 CHAPTER 4 EDDIE'S DARING RESCUE

Long excerpt.

Eddie wandered up the road in a daze. He crossed the road and made his way through the narrow alley between the grocers and the bakers. The cliff top path led through the woods bordering this part of Bearton on Sea. The woods gave some protection from the strong winds that often blew ashore in the winter, jostling the trees and leaving them a little twisted and stunted. There was no such wind today, just the fresh breeze, yet Eddie felt a little jostled inside. The path led off to the West. The cliff at this point was high but sloped steeply to the beach.

Eddie was about to begin his descent when he heard cubs’ voices and the soulful sound of sobbing. It was coming through the trees from somewhere near the edge of the cliff. Worried, Eddie stepped through the trees and some undergrowth to investigate. Right on the edge of the cliff, a little boar-cub was sitting on the ground, rubbing his eyes and crying. Two she-cubs were hanging onto something over the edge of the cliff which Eddie realised was another bigger boar-cub.

“My goodness, what in Bearton are you doing? Get back from the edge before you fall,” said Eddie, taking charge of the situation. The two she-cubs quickly pulled the boar-cub back onto the cliff.

 “It’s risky. It’s about fifteen feet down and it’s very steep and giving way. I might try it,” said the second boar-cub without noticing Eddie.

“What is the matter,” said Eddie, stepping nearer “Come back from the edge now, please! It could give way at any moment!”

“Aaarnollld!” cried the littlest cub

“Good heavens! Is there someone over there?” Eddie advanced to the very edge. He could very well have gone straight over if his weight had caused the ground to crumble. There was no one in sight, but very near the edge was Arnold.

“No sir, be careful! It’s only Percy’s teddy.”

Percy let out a heart-rending wail and began sobbing with renewed vigour.

“Oh sir, he’s lost his bear over the edge.”

“Thank goodness. Don’t worry young fella,” said Eddie, turning to the sobbing youngster, “We’ll get your bear back for you somehow.”

Eddie still had a bear of his own that his mum had given him, and he was very fond of it, even as an adult. He would be sad if anything happened to it, so he could imagine why little Percy was so distraught.

Safely Back from the edge, Eddie went to Percy to comfort him. “Don’t you worry, Percy, we’ll get your bear back. He’s Arnold, is he?”

“Yes, Arnold.” A new cry of anguish arose with the utterance of his little companion’s name.

“Well, don’t worry, young chap, I’ll soon have Arnold back safely for you, I’m sure. How did he get down there, young Percy?”

“A big cub from school threw him,” said one of the she-cubs.

“Waaahhhh!” Came from Percy. Eddie couldn’t understand how such little lungs could make such an incredible racket, and he hoped they would attract other helpers soon.

“What a rotten little blighter! Oh, sorry, you mustn’t repeat that, please!”

“He is a rotten little blighter, sir!” the older boar-cub replied. “Well, big blighter but he’ll be sorry though, he didn’t realise who he was messing with. Percy’s brother is the best fighter in the school!”

“I’m glad to hear it,” said Eddie. “Now look, who of you is the fastest runner?”

“Me, sir,” said the older boar.

“Excellent, what’s your name, young boar?”

“Ben, sir.”

“Ok Ben, I want you to run as fast as you can to the bakers in the high street and get Vincent here or someone else who looks strong. When you’re back, I’ll fetch a rope and we’ll rescue the bear.”

“Yes sir, I’ll be right back sir,” and he was off running before he’d finished saying it.

“Now don’t you worry Percy. Arnold will be back safe and sound soon enough.”

“Wahhhhhh!”

“Let’s have a better look-see.”

Eddie crept up to the edge on all fours to spread his weight a little and looked over. “Now you must all stay well back, do you promise?”

“Yes, sir.”

The first twenty feet of the cliff top was a steep, sloping bank. Eddie couldn’t see any more of the cliff beyond but he knew it got steeper with lots of jutting rocks and ledges but nothing that would likely stop his descent if he went over. Beyond this it fell away completely on to a sheer drop for the last sixty feet or so. Eddie knew that there were rocks below too. His stomach turned a little as he thought of it.

If I went over there, it’d be curtains for sure. Out of nowhere he had a crazy thought of falling and his little house landing on top of him and burying him; even though it was a quarter of a mile away.

Various tree roots were sticking out of the sandy surface of the slope. Arnold, a rather grubby and dishevelled looking teddy bear, was about fifteen feet down the slope. Eddie realised that if Arnold went over, being lighter than himself, he would probably get caught on the lower slope and be beyond the reach of all but a very skilled climber; beyond Eddie’s reach for sure.

On the upper slope though where Arnold lay awaiting his fate, the roots looked sound and like they would give good holds if needed. Eddie was planning the safe way down with a rope and some help from his friend Vincent from the baker’s on the high street when suddenly a small gust of wind blew onto the cliff for a moment and Arnold slipped another foot or so nearer the edge. Without further delay and very stupidly as he later reflected, Eddie launched himself over the edge shouting, “I’ll be right back. Stay away from the edge you cubs!”

Eddie moved quickly. He knew that moving quickly may not be the safest way to proceed, but if his courage gave out before he got the job done, he would be in real trouble. The only way to get this done was in solid denial of just how foolish a venture it was.

As he charged down the slope, things got even scarier: The sand began to give way and slide down. Eddie imagined it going over the edge rather than actually looking to see it doing so, and in his imagination, he was soon following it over tumbling, then falling through the sheer drop with Arnold spinning through the air beside him.

Eddie caught hold of a root to stop himself from sliding. Snap! It was rotten. It slowed him slightly, but it came away in his paws. He clawed at the sand and more of it went down the slope.

Arnold was slipping nearer the edge too now, though miraculously everything stopped moving for a moment and Eddie shimmied down a little further, scooped Arnold up in his paw and placed the bear’s grubby ear between his teeth. He imagined he could taste something equally grubby and cub-like, but at least he had the bear.

He began gently trying to claw his way back up the bank and made a little progress

Are you alright, sir? Ben’s coming back, I think!

“Oood! Shtay way hrom ee ejjjj!” Eddie stifled at them.

He was gaining ground when a little land slide began again and he began slipping slowly at first but with rapidly increasing speed. Eddie descended into a blind panic. He forgot about the softly, softly approach and flailed wildly about. This made the landslide worse. Eddie realised this and froze.

Talk about putting your foot in it, he thought. Both feet, in fact. A daring feet! he jested, somehow finding a kind of hysterical humour in the moment. That went in a flash as the ground gave way completely, and Eddie felt himself falling rather than sliding. His jaws opened in shock for a moment and he almost lost Arnold, but he snapped them shut again and bit into the flavoursome fabric more deeply.

He furiously scrabbled for roots and anything that would give him purchase. His mind skipped ahead of reality for a fleeting second and he was falling through the air with Arnold in between his teeth with nothing to stop his crash landing on the rocks below. Back in reality, he scrabbled and panicked for all he was worth to avoid the fantasy becoming fact and somehow got ahead of the landslide.

He gained further ground and kept scrabbling and clawing until he was finally near the top, his energy flagging and about to give out on him. His head peered over the edge just as Vincent the Baker arrived with Ben. Vincent threw himself on the ground and locked arms with Eddie, and pulled him the last foot or so back onto terra firma. There was a sickening “slumph” sound from behind Eddie.

He knew that the entire slope had gone over. Sure enough, there was an enormous “Whump” as tons of sand and rocks landed on the beach one hundred feet below. Eddie’s eyes were wide with fear, and it shocked Vincent to see how frightened he looked.

Percy let out a wail and cried, “Stop it. Stop him, he’s eating my bear!”

Eddie gave Percy the bear, and Percy looked at Eddie in awe. All Eddie’s fur was standing on end.

Vincent, who had dared to take a peek over the cliff, came back and said, “You were so lucky Eddie, the whole lot’s gone. It’s just a sheer drop to the beach now.”

Eddie fainted and keeled over sideways, landing on the soft loam of the woodland floor.