Adventures of Pudge

The Cave

Pudge and Phil, both 12 years old, had been involved in many escapades together, many of them getting them into some kind

of trouble. But none had put them in any peril until they made the decision to explore Barnaby’s Cave.

They had heard many stories about the cave, all of them stressing the danger of getting lost or getting trapped. In fact, several

years earlier two young adult males, with the macho attitude that affected many of their age, had almost lost their lives in the

cave. They had been rescued after an intensive search by police and volunteers that lasted almost a week. When found, they

were severely undernourished and in a state of shock. It had taken them many months to recover.

This story both Pudge and Phil had heard many times, both from their parents and from others who knew the story. None of

the stories phased Pudge; he was determined to explore the cave and he would talk Phil into going with him. He would rather

have asked his friend Dan, but Dan was on restrictions from the last fiasco Pudge had talked him into doing..

Phil was hard to convince. “My dad will never let me go.”

“Then we won’t tell our dads,” Pudge replied. “I know my dad thinks it’s too dangerous; but we’re smarter than those dummies

who almost died in there. We’ll take flashlights, with extra batteries, and plenty of food and water. We’ll mark our trail on our

way in and make sure to follow the same trail back.”

“And why, Pudge?” whined Phil. “If my dad finds out it won’t be just restrictions like Dan has, it will be much tougher than that.”

“To answer why is like asking why Columbus discovered America. He did it as a challenge. Or like why did the Pilgrims

leave England. Come on, Phil, you know you want to do it as much as I do. You can even brag about it to your girl, Shirley.”

Phil turned red and stammered, “She’s not my girl; we’re just friends.”

“Okay, then you won’t tell her. Maybe that’s just as well. She’ll probably blab to her mother and then we’ll be in trouble. Are

you with me, or do I have to go alone?”

“I’m with you, I guess; but we’d better go prepared. And I think we should tell someone, just in case.”

“I could call Dan and tell him, if he’s allowed to speak to me, that is.”

The next day they began their preparation. Phil brought two flashlights and extra batteries, and a small backpack. Pudge

brought two full water canteens and an extra full bottle. He also brought a small backpack and a flashlight. The backpack was

stuffed with candy bars and a can of stew. He had also remembered a can opener and 2 spoons, and a 50 foot length of

rope. And he always carried his Boy Scout knife.

All of this gear they hid in the loft of Phil’s barn. Then, they checked their bikes and Pudge found that he had a flat tire, one on

which the tube had been patched so many times it was beyond repair. He called his dad at the train station and asked him to

bring a new tube home that evening. “Phil and I are going on a bike ride tomorrow if it doesn’t rain,” he explained to his dad.

As it turned out, the next day and the day after, it rained. Pudge called Phil and suggested they postpone their trip until the

weather improved.

Phil said, “I’ve been thinking it over, and I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”

“Don’t get cold feet now,” Pudge replied. “We’re well prepared; it will be a piece of cake.”

That afternoon the sun came out. Pudge rode his bike, with a new tube in the tire, to Phil’s. “I want to check our stuff,” he told

Phil.

They went out to the barn and were dismayed to discover that mice had eaten most of the candy bars. “I forgot your barn is full

of mice,” Pudge complained to Phil.

“It is not full of mice,” Phil retorted.

“Well, it wasn’t your cat that ate the candy bars. What are we going to take for food?”

“There’s some hardtack in the pantry; I can get that,” Phil suggested.

“Hardtack, blah! But it’s better than nothing And we’ll also need some markers to mark our trail. Any ideas?”

Phil thought about it for a while. “How about pieces of colored ribbon taped on the walls each time we change direction?”

“Good idea,” said Pudge. “Can you get some?”

“Sure, my mother has plenty of ribbon,” Phil replied.

“Okay, go get the ribbon and tape, and hardtack, and we’ll stuff them into our packs. And, if it’s good weather tomorrow, I’ll

come by at 9 o’clock.”

“Okay,” Phil answered.

In the morning, promptly at 9, Pudge arrived at Phil’s house. They rechecked each item in their packs, mounted their bikes

and rode off. According to maps they had studied it was about 8 miles to Barnaby’s cave, most of it on back roads and the

last half mile on no road at all. They had guessed it would take them one hour, it actually was almost 2 hours before they

arrived at the cave. There was no place to hide their bikes so they chained them to a small tree about 100 yards from the

cave entrance.

* * *

The entrance area was not encouraging. A huge sign said, “NO TRESPASSING; DANGEROUS CAVE FORMATION.” The

entrance itself was about 2 feet by 3 feet and was located on the side of a steep hill about 20 feet from the bottom.

Pudge was determined; he was going ahead with or without Phil, and Phil was still holding back. Pudge checked his pack to

be sure he had everything he needed and began to climb the hill. After a short delay, Phil followed.

By the time they reached the entrance both boys were covered with sweat and with dust accumulated from the climb.

Then, they looked inside. “It’s a black hole that seems to go straight down,” Phil complained.

“That’s why we have a rope,” Pudge replied.

“And where will we tie this end of the rope, Smarty Pants?”

Pudge looked around and had to agree with Pudge; there was no tree in sight except for the one where they had tied their

bikes, and the rope wasn’t that long. Then Pudge spied a large rock about 20 feet from the cave entrance.

“Can we tie around that rock over there?” he asked Phil.

“Or roll the rock on top of it,” Phil suggested.

Dragging one end of the rope with them, they went to investigate.

“I agree, that putting the end under the rock would give us more rope length for the cave,” Pudge said. “But can we move the

rock enough without it rolling all the way down the hill?”

After examining the rock from all angles they agreed that moving it would not be possible, but they could wrap the rope around

the rock at its base. This they did, then stood back a few feet and together pulled on the rope with all their weight. It didn’t

budge. Satisfied, they went back to the cave and discovered they still had 20 feet to play with.

“That should do it,” said Pudge. “Now let’s see what’s at the end of the rope.”

“How are we going to do that?”

“By rappelling down the rope.”

“By what?” asked Phil.

“Rappelling is what mountaineers do to go down a steep rock.” Pudge explained, rather impatiently.

“And how do they get back up the rock?”

“By walking, holding the rope in their hands. Let me show you.”

Pudge stepped to the cave entrance, grabbed the rope with both hands and took two steps down as he had seen in movies.

Then, he walked back up the two steps. “I forgot to bring gloves,” he told Phil when he was again at the top. “Be careful when

you come down to release one hand at a time and don’t let your hands slide down the rope or you’ll get blisters.”

Before continuing, Pudge said to Phil, “Once we get started we might lose track of time; so let’s decide now that we should be

out of here no later than 4. Is that okay with you, Phil?”

“Okay,” Phil looked at his watch and told Pudge it was a few minutes past 11:30.

“Wherever we are at 2 then, let’s head back.”

After they had reached this decision Pudge donned his pack and put his flashlight in his pants pocket, where he could retrieve

it quickly. “See you soon,” he said, and stepped over the edge again, rappelling down in short steps until he came to a ledge

with about six feet of rope remaining.

“A piece of cake,” he hollered up to Phil. “Come on down, slowly.”

In a few minutes Phil was with him on the ledge, which they discovered was about 6 feet by 10 feet and tapered down to what

looked like a passageway.

“Okay, Phil, let’s start with a ribbon right next to the rope. Use a lot of tape if you need to. And, let’s use only one flashlight at

a time so we won’t wear them out too soon.”

“You’re getting to be awfully bossy,” Phil complained.

“Well, someone has to make decisions.”

After the first ribbon was taped in place Pudge walked a few yards down the passage and shone his light on the ribbon. It

showed up well, prompting Pudge to tell Phil, “You picked the right color, Phil; yellow shows up good from a distance. Are all

your ribbons yellow?”

“Some are yellow and some are orange. I read somewhere that those are the two best colors to see at night.”

“That’s great, Phil. You made a good choice.”

* * *

They wandered further down the passage, perhaps a hundred yards before the passage made a wide turn to the right. Just in

case, Phil attached another ribbon.

By now, without the flashlight, it was pitch dark in the cave. They made the right turn and continued on for another hundred

yards before the passage divided into three chambers. Another ribbon was attached a few feet before the separation.

They decided to enter the left chamber first but had gone no further than 10 feet before they discovered a large, and probably

deep, pool of water. Retracing their steps they entered the middle chamber and discovered another pool. The right hand

chamber, at that point, had no water in it.

“Let’s keep our eyes open and watch for more water,” said Pudge.

They continued on into the chamber and found that it continued in almost a straight line for at least a half mile. At one point

something swished past their heads, startling them.

“Bats,” said Phil. “I don’t like them.”

“Me neither,” Pudge replied. “They give me goose bumps. When we get away from the bats, let’s eat lunch.”

When ten more minutes passed and no more bats were heard they sat at the edge of the passage and got some of the

hardtack and water out of the packs. At first they tried eating in the dark but soon found it too scary and turned one of the

flashlights on.

“That was weird, eating in the dark,” Phil commented.

“Yeah!”

When they finished their lunch Phil looked at his watch and told Pudge it was 1:15. At the same time they heard a rumbling

sound and water began to drip on them. When they looked up they were startled to see a large crack in the wall about ten feet

above their heads. Water was pouting out of the crack.

“Let’s get out of here,” Pudge shouted.

Phil didn’t need a second order; he began running and didn’t stop until he reached the entrance to the chamber they had been

in. Pudge was right behind him.

They rested a few minutes to catch their breath before resuming their journey in the main passage. This time, they walked

rapidly, saying little but wondering what had caused the crack, and where the water had come from.

Before they could see the ribbon near the entrance to the cave they heard another rumble and the walls in front of them began

to collapse inward. In no time at all large piles of debris blocked their path.

“Oh no!” cried Phil. “We were almost there and this had to happen.”

Without saying a word Pudge removed his pack and began climbing the wall created by the fallen rocks. He was able to

reach the top and, using his flashlight, see that there was no opening at the top.

“Now is the time we need gloves,” he yelled to Phil. “We need to remove rocks from the top and make a hole we can squeeze

through. Put our packs in a safe place and come up here with me; two can work better than one. Besides, if you stay there I

might hit you with the rocks I throw down.”

Phil put both packs further back in the passage and climbed up next to Pudge. “This might take a while,” Pudge said. As

soon as we remove one rock three others seem to take its place. And we’re going to get blisters.”

Pudge was right. As soon as one rock was removed from the top of the pile several others took its place. They worked

strenuously at their task for what seemed like hours before Phil exclaimed, “I can see through to the other side.”

“Great,” Pudge replied. “What time is it?”

Phil looked at his watch and exclaimed, “It stopped.at 3 o’clock; I guess I forgot to wind it, or maybe I broke it tossing rocks.”

“Would you guess it’s 4 o’clock, or later?” Pudge asked.

“I think later,” Phil replied.

Pudge attacked the rock with renewed vigor. “Let’s see if we can make the hole large enough for us to crawl through.”

They both began throwing rocks at a faster pace, until Pudge shone his flashlight through and could see the ribbon at the

entrance.

“Okay, get the packs, Phil.”

Phil hauled both packs to the top of the pile and pushed them through the hole. As he did more rocks fell, filling the hole

again.

“It won’t be as hard to open the hole this time,” Pudge encouraged Phil. “The rocks are loose and we can move them easier.”

At this point Pudge’s flashlight quit. They still had Phil’s flashlight, although it was growing weak. All the extra batteries were

in the packs, out of reach.

Pudge said, “You hold the flashlight and I’ll dig until there’s room for you to slip through. Then you can put new batteries in the

flashlights and work from the other side until it’s big enough for me to squeeze through.”

As soon as he finished saying this Phil’s flashlight quit. “I guess we do things by feel now,” Pudge groaned.

“Too bad there aren’t any girls around,” Phil joked.

“Wash your mouth out with soap,” Pudge joked back. “Now, let’s work; but don’t hit me with any rocks.”

They went back to work with even more vigor, their hands now starting to develop large blisters. For what seemed like an

hour they threw rock after rock behind them until Phil exclaimed, “I can see a dim light, it must be the cave entrance.”

“Feel ahead of you . Is there a hole big enough for you to get through?”

“Not yet,” Phil replied, “but almost.” They worked even harder, removing rocks faster than new ones dropped into place, until

finally Phil squeezed through. Finding the backpacks and the spare flashlights and batteries took a few minutes, but when

Phil shone the light at Pudge, Pudge yelled, “Hip, hip, hooray.”

Making the hole large enough for Pudge was easy. Phil worked from the other side and together they finished in a few

minutes. Now, however, no light could be seen at the cave entrance.

“I think it’s dark outside,” Pudge said, “which means it’s probably after 8.”

“It can’t be that late,” Phil replied.

“Turn your flashlight off and wait a few minutes, and you’ll see, or rarher you won’t see.”

Phil did this and, in an ominous tone, said, “My dad is going to kill me.”

“Nah, he’ll be too happy to see you.”

Rappelling up the rope was easier for Phil than Pudge had anticipated. He made it to the top in four steps Before Pudge

went up the backpacks were hauled up. It was very dark, a few stars were visible but the moon had not yet risen. It was going

to be difficult finding their way home, and Pudge knew he, as well as Phil, would be disciplined severely. Probably not a

whipping; Pudge hoped he had outgrown that stage of discipline. But he knew there would be something.

It took the two almost an hour to find the last road they ridden on; then, riding their bikes in the dark, even on roads, was

difficult. Once Phil hit a pothole that almost knocked him off his bike; A short time later, Pudge wandered too close to the

edge and ended up in the ditch.

When they finally arrived home, each one separately, their parents were anxiously waiting for them. It was 10:30. Pudge’s

dad said, “I’m sure you’ll have a good story to tell us but it will have to wait until morning. Right now, take a bath and go to

bed.”

In the morning Pudge was awakened early by his dad. “I’ve talked to Phil’s father and got the whole story from him. Together

we’ve come up with a disciplinary action that we hope serves as a lesson but also will do someone some good.

“Phil’s dad has a wall that needs to be rebuilt, and we’ve given the job to the two of you. You can work on it at your own pace,

until the job is done, and done well. Until then, no games, no swimming, no movies. That’s all I have to say.”

It took Pudge and Phil three weeks of hard labor, working 4 to 5 hours a day, to complete the wall. They both swore they

would toe the line in the future.

END OF THE ADVENTURES OF PUDGE