Inordinate Intrigue – Part 2     

Last time……..  

A young boy squirmed with excitement as his father told a story of his own father’s discovery in the Australian outback. A story that was sure to alter the shape of this boy’s future forever….. 

If you haven’t read part one of this epic trilogy you’ll want to do some catchup – click the button below to read part one or read on to find out what happens next!

Part 2.  

Morning temperatures gave way to the deserts searing sun. Five mounted soldiers galloped across the lightly scrubbed terrain, a solitary emu in their sights.  Directly ahead, the shimmer of the heat preceded a tall outcrop of oversized boulders placed perfectly atop each other as if by a prehistoric giant. The five galloped onward, the emu veered, and four soldiers continued to the right of the out crop. Nimmo, as his friends called him, steered left hoping to cut the ole male off as he rounded the rear of the out crop.  

He galloped on as the formation widened. Determined to complete his day’s mission he galloped through an opening between two massive boulders. Immediately he pulled his horse to a trot and then a walk as he struggled to comprehend what he was seeing. The temperature had dropped dramatically as the gap in the rocks opened into a huge cavern. A light mist filled the air as water poured from a waterfall and disappeared along a winding stream and then just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished back beneath the earth’s surface. Blooming bottlebrush trees glistened crimson and robins darted from one to the next. Nimmo could not believe his eyes, an oasis like none he had seen. He dismounted his horse and let the reins dangle.  

“Don’t go too far”, he whispered as the horse’s head immediately dipped to munch on the fresh dew-covered grass.   

Across the stream to his left something sparkled in the sun. It was slightly blinding if Nimmo was honest. He walked closer to investigate. Turns out he was not the first human to stumble across this paradise. In the depths of a pool of crystal-clear water lay a small silver pan. He twisted where he stood, squinting into every corner of the cavern but he could not see any sign of life.   

He turned back to the pan and on closer inspection saw to one side a tiny mound of what he thought may be…. Gold!  

Nimmo decided to investigate every nook of his newfound paradise. His mind drifted from the eradication of a male emu to the thought of a new kind of fortune. Beneath the mist of the falls, he discovered something most men never lay eyes on within a single lifetime. Not one bag of gold but six. Each weighed what he estimated to be a hefty eight maybe nine pounds.   

Nimmos face lit up with the possibilities of his newly found wealth. Well not exactly his, but right at this moment it looked as though there was nobody else in the vicinity to say otherwise.   

He whistled to his stallion and the beast’s head appeared from behind a broadleaf Baobab tree.  

“What are you up to boy”, Nimmo motioned. What’s behind that tree that’s so interesting?   

The man took the half dozen steps required to reveal the horses secret and there laying against the trunk was a human skull with what looked like a screw driver protruding from its eye socket.  

Nimmo’s heart began to beat through his chest. Now was as good a time as any to activate a solid plan. “Come on horse”, he said, “Let’s get out of here.   

He loaded the gold into his saddle bags and headed to the entrance of the cavern.   

Four soldiers on horseback spread across the entrance.   

“So, we see you have discovered our small piece of paradise Nimmo”, said one of his fellow emu hunters. “I also see your saddlebags are now rather full.”   

“This leaves us in a slightly sticky situation Nim. You know we can’t let you take that gold now don’t you. In fact, now you have discovered the cove we can’t let you leave at all….” 

Is this the end for Binoni Nimmo? Don’t miss next month’s enthralling conclusion right here in Taipan’s Swage Press.