Purrsha huddled miserably under a big stone. Thutmose had left hours ago, and Purrsha, even though stone-hearted [sic], could'nt [sic] help worrying about him. And she could'nt [sic] help worrying about Vrog, who was outside and all sopping wet. Would'nt [sic] he get pneumonia? Or whatever it was that vultures got? Probably not. He was a Rocky Mountain Vulture. He should be able to endure any kind of weather. [Note--I don't think Vrog's kind is supposed to be from the Rocky Mountains. In fact I thought his kind were just called mountain vultures, until reading this.]
Purrsha peered out just as a gigantic bolt of lightning flashed and the thunder roared. She pulled her head back in quickly and looked out a minute later. Was that a person that she had seen on the distant horizon? It could'nt [sic] be. No, just a tree. But it moved--or did it? She couldn't be sure.
Water trickled off the rock and got Purrsha's fur wet. She crawled in further and found the ground hollowed out in a sort of tunnel. She tried to climb in but got stuck at the end.
[Illustration: Purrsha attempting to crawl out of a hole in the rock. Only her front half is out, her hands pressed against the stone; her eyes are shut and she's gritting her teeth from the effort.]
The stuck part did'nt [sic] last long. Soon Purrsha slid down into a cavern. It was'nt [sic] one bit wet because the walls were made of stone. The ground was smooth except for some steps and layers in several parts that led deeper into the ground.
Purrsha started through some sand for the steps, but she heard Thutmose calling up above. Should she tell him? Or should she just leave him out? Then she made up her mind.
She left him out.
Purrsha shrugged and continued walking down the steps, leaving a trail of stones behind. After a while she disappeared into the darkness. [Note--here's another lack of scene transition, back to the inn.]
The kangaroo, who had disclosed that his name was Argyle, though most, in fun, called him Gargoyle (he really did'nt [sic] care what they called him), was sitting by the window, staring out absently at the pouring rain. The large booms of thunder, which shook the Egyptians, did'nt [sic] seem to faze the Australians.
Akhenaton, meanwhile, was staring at Gargoyle. He and Benji were sitting at a table in the center of the room. Several other tables were in the room. Imhoptep was playing a slow tune on the piano. [Note--in my early writing I consistently misspelled Imhotep's name as "Imhoptep," based on a misreading. As this was done intentionally, I won't use "sic"s for this mistake.]
"Wonder what's wrong with him," Akhenaton said.
"Probably does'nt [sic] like the rain," Benji muttered. "When will it ever stop!"
"It'll always do that when you go on vacation," Akhenaton said. "Take it from me. I know."
"Now when Benji likes someone, he does'nt [sic] deck them when they call him somethin' he does'nt [sic] want to be called," Straitjacket explained to Darlene. "Understand?"
"No," Darlene replied.
"Here, let me explain," Straitjacket said. "See, when I call Benji 'Benjamin' he tries to kill me. But when you called him that, he just said 'S'cuse [sic] me' and left."
"Why does'nt [sic] he deck King Kuts?" Darlene asked.
"King Kuts never calls him Benjamin."
"Why not?"
"Only someone with a lot of guts calls him that. He used to be a bully."
"Benji?" Darlene laughed. "No way!"
"Yes way," Straitjacket said. "Used to be the terror of the neighborhood. His motto was, 'I'll get you for this!' He's got a big family, too. Real nice group. When Benji was around eight, he was real nice. But when he became fourteen, he started gettin' farther and farther away. Y'know what I've heard?" Straitjacket leaned closer and whispered in Darlene's ear, "I've heard that a member of his family died or somethin'. A prisoner of war. You know, those POW MIA's. Joined the Marines and disappeared. Think his name was Chester." [Note--Chester Taylor was to be the main character of an unwritten story entitled POWs--which, bizarrely enough, was to be a comedy. For some unascertained reason a group of my characters head to Vietnam, locate this seemingly crazy former POW still living in the jungles and believing the war is going on, and bring him back home where I guess some bad government/military guys want to kill him or something, and lots of wackiness ensues. Just your typical fish-out-of-water story. It sounds woefully horrid when I try to explain it--I mean, seriously, prisoner-of-war comedy?? I think only Hogan's Heroes could pull that off. In any case, this is a good example of how awry some of my storylines would get--from ancient Egypt to the Vietnam War!]
"No!" Darlene whispered back.
Straitjacket nodded. "But of course, what I've heard could only be rumors."
LaTa came over and sat down by them.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Nothin' much," Straitjacket said.
"I left my heart in San Francisco," Imhoptep drawled.
Gargoyle threw his glass at him. Imhoptep dodged it but kept playing the piano.
"We were just talking about how Benji likes Darlene," Straitjacket said.
LaTa grinned. "Hey Darlene, he does like you."
"Really?"
"A lot."
"Any requests?" Imhoptep asked.
"Yeah. I request shutting up!" Gargoyle hissed. [Note--Gargoyle seemed so friendly when he first showed up...]
"Hmmph," Imhoptep said, turning back to the piano. "No respect."
Nefertiti and Zoser were talking with Bo.
"They don't like to talk, but if you keep telling them, they finally do," Bo said, pointing at the cockatoo.
"I used to have one but it never talked," Nefertiti said.
"I had a myra [sic] bird once," Zoser said, "and all it ever said was, 'Cat--twelve o'clock high!'" [Note--in the margin with an arrow pointing to "myra" I at some later point wrote, "ha ha ha!" I of course meant mynah.]
The three of them laughed.
The door burst open. Everyone turned their heads towards the newcomer. He was an evil-looking dingo. Perched on his shoulder was a sneering Tasmanian devil. It opened it's [sic] mouth, revealing row after row of sharp, gleaming, white teeth.
"What the heck is that?" Straitjacket asked.
"That's Itz D. Pest," Darlene whispered. [Note--hey, Subtlety called! It wants to know why you never use it!] "He's the meanest person alive."
"No, I meant that--that thing," Straitjacket grimaced, indicating the devil.
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