…and telegraph wires from a story told….er, since the dawn of time! (Clearly, two tablets taken three times a day simply aren’t enough!) Into the Gap Kander gathered together his few meagre possessions from beside the still warm ashes of last night’s camp-fire and placed them in his saddle-bags. He slid his sword into its scabbard and hung it from his belt, pausing momentarily to stare thoughtfully at the gap between two very large and gnarly old Oak trees that marked the entrance to the laughingly named “Little Wood”.Mmm…The old warrior knew full well that even on horseback and without any “diversions”, it would be at least three days and two long nights before he’d emerge once again into open countryside….and then there were all the rumours thereabouts. Grossly exaggerated (probably) stories of certain so-called “Night Shadows” that were said to glide amongst the trees at night and stalk the unwary! There was talk too of travellers going missing in Little Wood (including a high percentage of young, virginal maidens by all accounts) who dared to wander abroad amongst the trees after sunset for goodness only knows what idiotic reasons!Kander reined in his imagination before it had chance to run amok through the undergrowth of his mind and then called “To me Tag!”. At the sound of his name, a rangy, flea-bitten old hound looking something like a half-starved wolf experiencing an improbably bad hair day pricked up its ears and immediately lolloped across to the old man’s side.With far more exertion than it used to take, Kander heaved his travel-weary bones onto the back of his horse and urged the animal forward with a softly spoken “G’won then Jen, into the gap we go”.Meanwhile, from a tree-line on a hilltop barely half a mile away, two others looked on as the three travelling companions entered the wood and disappeared from view. Pausing only to glance at each other, they stepped out into the open and followed after….(Excerpt taken from my “very” short novel, “The Rheumatic Warrior”)