smallhobbit

“You mean his stick?”

“I’d have described it more as a branch, but yes.”

“I have no idea.  But he’s been very insistent about bringing it with him.  I’ve already been told by two people that I shouldn’t let him.  The first time it was an elderly gentleman, ex-military type, who politely suggested it wasn’t really a good idea.  He put the stick down, looked up at the man, and then picked the stick up again.  The second time a woman upbraided me and told me I should remove it from him.  He raised his eyebrows and swung round, hitting the woman in the shins as he did so.”

The werewolf dropped the stick, grinned, and wagged his tail.

“Fair enough.  The hut’s not far away.  It would be good to get in and find what we’re looking for before anyone returns.”

“Lead on!”

They set off, with the werewolf bringing up the rear, once more carrying the stick.

When they reached the hut, Ros said, “Damn, they’ve added that padlock since yesterday.  It’s not going to be as easy to get in as I’d thought.”

The werewolf pointedly dropped his stick on Adam’s feet.

Adam picked it up and said, “I think this will be the perfect lever.”

He inserted one end under the metal plate where the padlock had been fixed and applied steady pressure, ignoring the werewolf, who was bouncing around excitedly.  Slowly the plate came free of the wood of the door frame, and they were able to open the door. 

All three of them entered the small hut, but Ros said, “There’s no space for all of us.  Go and sit outside and stand guard.”

The werewolf didn’t move and gave a small yip.

“She means ‘Go and sit outside and keep guard,’” Adam explained.  “Sorry, he does tend to be very literal.”

Ros shook her head.

It didn’t take long for them to find what they were after.  They left the hut and Adam carefully pushed the door into the frame.

“They’re going to notice the padlock’s broken,” Ros said, “but there’s nothing we can do about that.”

“It doesn’t make much difference,” Adam replied.  “They’ll see we’ve taken their equipment as soon as they get inside anyway.”

They began to walk back to their cars.  After a minute, Adam stopped and said, “Don’t you want your stick?”

The werewolf’s expression said very clearly that he didn’t because there was no longer any need for it.