Guerrillas in the Glen
by
Gordon Stearns

Chapter 9
Hyde Makes War
page 3 of 5



"These humans are worse than The Dad," Figan muttered to Hyde. "These humans are really dangerous."
The slaughter went on and on throughout the morning. When the terrible machines began to sputter, the big humans stopped to fill them with dark fluid. While Figan concentrated on the destruction, Hyde appeared much more interested in the cigarette breaks.
During one of these, the tiny ape noticed that the luckless Cecil had left his pack of cigarettes on the stump of a large beech tree. With a demonic chuckle, Hyde quit the safety of his thicket. Darting like a hunting spider from bush to bush, Hyde swiftly reached the stump and seized the Cecil pack from its resting place. Breathlessly Hyde regained the shelter of the thicket with his prize.

"Figan," he chortled," first I get Cecil with my pike. Now I take his cigarettes. Soon Cecil die!"
"Why is Cecil going to die?" asked Figan, puzzled.
" You not remember, Figan? You say humans not live without their cigarettes. I take Cecil's cigarettes."
Figan laughed in spite of himself, but he did not spoil Hyde's triumph. " You're becoming quite the warrior, Hyde," Figan praised. His little friend beamed with pride.

"Lunch time!" bellowed Mel. Within moments, the roars of the horrid eel-tooths faded into silence, and the men carelessly abandoned them on the ground.
"Hey!" yelled Cecil. "Which one of you guys took my cigarettes?"
"Must have been that bee, Cecil," retorted Mel. The other workers kidded and shoved Cecil as they left the glen.

"I have an idea, Hyde," Figan said. "When an eel-tooth stops, its human has to pour liquid into it to start it again. Let's put dirt into these horrid machines and see what happens."
Frantically, the furry friends struggled to twist the caps off the chain saws before the worker humans returned. One by one, they opened the tanks. To each, they administered a healthy dose of dirt. As an added insult, Hyde crumpled the stolen cigarettes and flung them with disgust into Cecil's machine. Figan and Hyde completed their dirty work and concealed themselves in a tall spruce. Before long, they heard the tramp of the returning worker humans. Chain saws roared again, only to sputter hideously and conk out. Curses began to ring out as the big humans vainly labored over their saws. Finally one of the workers checked his gas tank and noticed dirt and a few small twigs floating on top of the fuel.
"Some dirt bag put dirt in my tank!" he shouted harshly.
The other worker humans checked their chain saws too.
"What the..." gasped Cecil. "Somebody dumped cigarettes into my machine." He looked closer. "My cigarettes!" he yelled.

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Guerrillas in the Glen Copyright 1997, 1998 Gordon Stearns
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