THE LAND FARMERS AND THE SAILOR BOYS
The Final Exchange
The sight of THAT flag flying triumphantly from the flagpole didn’t help the Scouts’ demeanour any but business was business.
“We’ve got them.”
“OK, you can see your guys. Hope you’ve remembered your Speedos, Vic.”
Scott noticed Vic getting needled and offered to strip down and take his place. Vic knew that not only would Sam not allow it but he didn’t trust Scott not to do something impetuous and ill-advised. He was soon standing in just a pair of white swimming briefs.
Little Steve unfastened the tarpaulin and George untied the ropes fastening the tubes into place. Zac and Scott removed the tube containing Big Steve from the cart and left it on the ground while they unloaded Joe. Vic made an attempt to get the Sea Scouts to allow two Scouts to bring the prisoners on board. This was refused so he reached inside the tube for the eye-bolt securing Joe’s arms, lifted the end of the tube and dragged it over in front of Jamie and Tom. That was quite a struggle, Vic not being the biggest of the Scouts, and it showed. The sea Scouts started taking bets (usual “stakes”) with one another to see who could get nearest to guessing the time Vic would take to drag Big Steve into place.
Sam was to keep time. Action Man lost to Alex (no surprise there then) and GP beat Evan, who started to protest. Sam said, “Rules is rules and you lost.” They shook hands, the TUGs club way, and all agreed to leave the forfeits until a more convenient time.
Vic went back for the Twins’ underwear and left it on the ground beside the tubes. Following an awkward silence, which the Sea Scouts were in no hurry to break, Vic asked if he could release the hostages.
“How do we know who’s in there?”
“Even for you, that’s pathetic. Who else is it going to be? Take a look if you don’t believe me.”
“I don’t need your permission to do that, LITTLE Brother.”
Whenever these two got together, it was like Punch & Judy. It’s a good job they lived in a large house. I wonder why they both joined different Troops?!
Eventually common sense prevailed and T-Boy said, “Just release Jamie, then we get our hands on Joe.” It was agreed and Vic released the rope connecting Jamie’s ankles to his wrists and untied his ankles so that Jamie could at least stand. Next came the halter and, with the release of the rope round his wrists, Jamie was free. Vic thought he’d leave him to sort out the tape around his head for himself which he did VERY carefully.
“OK, Sam, just shut it or you two ladies’ll be at handbags drawn for hours.” So saying T-Boy took over orchestrating the exchange. “OK, Jamie, you’re free. Now get of our land. Vic, show us Little Joe.” Joe hated that, even though he was too young to remember “Bonanza”.
Jamie left the premises, keeping a careful eye out for treachery, collected his clothes and dressed. His first remark as he passed the gate was that he hoped Sam liked prison food because he knew a very unpleasant gaol where he’d get his own wardrobe! He left any further threats so as not to delay Long Tom’s release.
Vic set to work loosening the wing-nut that held Joe’s arms stretched quite tightly and withdrew the eye-bolt. Having repeated the procedure at the other end of the tube, Joe was now fee to emerge, an event which he viewed with mixed feelings. With the words, “Sorry, Mate.” Vic grabbed Joe’s wrists and extracted him from the tube. Even though he was face down his bound hands went straight to preserving his modesty.
GP objected, “He’s not blindfolded. Do it now.” and threw a roll of black tape to Vic who knew that he had to make an efficient job of it.
“Happy now?”
“Don’t get arsey, or you might not get Tom back.”
“Shut up Sam, I’m dealing with this now. Get that tube off our property, Vic, then get yourself back here.”
“If you think we’re leaving you a perfectly good ball gag, T-Boy, you’ve really got another think coming.”
Not having expected the Twins to have been ball-gagged, GP was prepared; he threw two short sticks, about two centimetres thick, towards Vic. “OK, Vic, have these and tape one of them into his mouth. Make sure it’s tight.” Vic got the padlock key, which he’d lodged in his Speedos, and unlocked the gag that had been a torment to Joe for several hours.
“Can I give him a drink first?”
“Ask nicely, Short-arse.”
“Shut up, Sam. Let’s get on with this. What did you say, Farmer Boy?”
“Please, Sir, may I give Joe a drink before gagging him?”
T-Boy asked Budgie to release Luke and get him to fill a camel pack and bring it out. After not too long Joe was kneeling, still desperately trying to keep himself decent with his closely bound hands, and drawing deeply through the plastic tube. Joe knew the conventions and said, “Thank you, Sir.” to his unseen attendant.
Luke got up to return to his corner when Vic said, “No, stay there, there’s another one in a minute.”
“YOU don’t tell one of our men what to do on our own territory, even if he IS a slave. Back to your corner, Luke.” Luke did as T-Boy told him.
“Shit! Sorry, Steve. I’ll see what I can do about it.” Vic reassured his friend quietly. “Sorry, Joe, open up, this isn’t going to be too tasty.” He pushed one of the sticks into Joe’s mouth and warned him not to resist or GP would probably have one of his more “creative” ideas. Several layers of tape round the ends of the stick and behind his head later and it was firmly lodged between Joe’s teeth.
“Right, stand him up and tether his wrists with this. Luke, take this out then come back here and kneel down.” With that T-Boy gave him a rope to take out.
Vic tied the rope between Joe’s wrists and apologised again to the smaller Twin; whichever way he was going to have to take the rope next was going to distress the naked kid in one way or the other.
As the accepted “Master of the Ropes”, Action Man suggested that, as the plans they had made involved both the Twins, Joe only needed tying for security at the time. He gave Vic step-by-step instructions. “Under his crutch and up to his neck. Pull it tight.” Joe’s shoulders were forced forwards and his wrists drawn below the parts he was trying to keep covered. At this stage having only an, admittedly tight, bit gag in place, Joe’s squeal was somewhat loud. “Round his neck once then down his back and tie it off to his wrists.” That left Joe still scrunched up but with some scope for movement.
“Get him to sit down and cross his ankles. Then tie them really close to his body. Make sure you’ve got some rope left.” Joe felt his scope for movement ebbing away. “Nice one, Vic.” Vic shot Action-Man a contemptuous look. “Now tie the end of the rope out of the way. Round his neck ought to do. Try not to use a slip knot.” Vic completed the job and it made him feel like a real shit having to treat a mate like that.
It would obviously have been easier for the Sea Scouts to have secured their prisoners themselves but forcing Vic do it with his Brother Scouts watching really rubbed the Land Farmers’ noses in the Sea Scouts’ victory.
“Right, you bastards, you’ve got Joe where you want him, now give us Long Tom.” called Jamie, who was now fully dressed, from the gate.
“No deal, Mop ‘ead. We want to see them both trussed up here before you get Tom.”
Jamie shook his head despairingly making his longish “Beatle – style” brown hair demonstrate T-Boy’s epithet. “Right, get on with it. But don’t forget: this isn’t the end.”
“Lookin’ forward to it! Now shall we get on? OK, Vic, you know what to do. Get that stuff out of here and then get him out of there.” T-Boy indicated first the tube that had contained Joe and then the other tube.
Vic removed the empty tube and the drool covered ball gag and then returned to Big Steve’s tube, said, “Sorry, Mate.” again and started the same process as before.
Once Big Steve was out of the tube it was obvious that there was already a length of rope attached to his ankles. Action-Man started re-planning. “Wait on, Vic. Luke, take a pioneering stave out there.” Every trivial job he was given pleased Luke; anything but having to kneel doing nothing without being properly restrained. He wondered if Alex knew that, as far as he was concerned, that counted as torture. Or was he going to insist on further “proper” torture later? Luke wasn’t quite sure what to think.
While he waited, Steve wriggled on his belly, flexing his previously confined muscles. He wasn’t as determined to protect his decency as Joe. He knew it was too late for that but he knew that he would soon be closely confined again.
Vic started removing the mass of tape that was wrapped around Steve’s lower face.
“Leave that, Vic, there’s something else to do first.” Vic saw Luke arriving with the spar. “Right, sit him up and force his arms over his knees.” Acton Man had been doing some research. He thought it was time to deliver an historical lecture. “Gentlemen, what you are about to see is called, in South America, the “parrot perch”, as you know, but that really requires an even more extreme extension which I hope we will not have to apply to Big Steve here.” That last part didn’t sound particularly sincere. “In the American Civil War it was referred to as being “bucked and gagged” and people were kept like it for hours. I think I shall refer to it by the North American term. Here endeth the lesson.”
That part about being kept like it for hours didn’t sound that encouraging to Steve, especially when Vic forced his wrists down more or less to his ankles leaving his knees quite tightly bent. “OK Vic, now thread that spar between his elbows and his knees.” Afterwards Steve was completely unable to move his limbs.
Vic thought that the Sea Scouts would consider that to be suffering enough. He should have known better. “Now use the loose rope to draw his wrists as close to his ankles as possible. Just a couple of times round then tie it off.” With another, “Sorry, Steve” Vic did as he was told.
“Right, now you can get your gag.” Vic started to untangle the tape from Steve’s long hair. The more he removed, the louder the “Nngggh-ing” grew. The Sea Scouts were quite enjoying this bit.
Eventually Steve’s unwanted hairdo was complete leaving him with just the monstrous ball-gag in place. Vic unlocked it and Steve waggled his jaw and breathed deeply. In spite of the involuntary loudly vocalised sigh, he knew better than to say anything.
Vic braced himself: “Please, Sir, May I give Steve a drink before gagging him.”
T-Boy answered. “Come here, get on your knees and ask Sam.”
Could he do it? Sam would make him beg. Sam would make sure GP videoed him. He was only wearing white Speedos. Nooooo! Then he looked at Steve; in spite of his being blindfolded, Steve’s eyes were obviously begging. He was still breathing deeply and his head was drooping. Even if Vic said the right words, he couldn’t then threaten his brother with future retribution. He couldn’t do it, could he?
“Well, if not, you’d better get on with it.”
Little Steve offered to strip down to enter the premises and beg. He’d recently undergone the experience himself. “No, not you. Only Vic.” Jamie was changing his mind about showing T-Boy mercy once he had the upper hand.
Vic picked up the second stick and put his hand on Big Steve’s forehead lifting his face towards his own. Just before he pushed the stick into Steve’s mouth, the deeply pained sigh of, ”Water . . . please!” could not be ignored.
Vic put down the stick. Sam gave GP the camera. All the Sea Scouts started smirking. Vic approached Sam and knelt down with his hands on his head, elbows back. Vic wasn’t happy.
“Please, Sam, can Steve have a drink?”
“That’s not very humble, try again. Don’t forget to be as humble as possible; you might not get another chance.” Sam pushed his right foot towards his brother.
“Please, . . . Master, may I give Steve a drink?” Vic knew he’d have to humiliate himself completely but, having been videoed already, he didn’t have much more to lose. He kissed Sam’s right foot and then, once his brother had offered his left foot, he kissed that too and waited for permission to kneel upright.
“OK, since you asked so nicely. Luke, give it to him.”
Vic had no choice but not to retaliate verbally in case Sam changed his mind. He was left prostrate until after Luke had finished and returned to kneel by T-Boy. This time Steve remembered his manners.
“Now go and gag him, and make sure it’s tight or I’ll get GP to reinforce it. Get up.” Vic took his hands from his head, climbed to his feet and headed back to the unfortunate Big Steve. He took T-Boy’s threat seriously and pulled the stick really tightly into Steve’s mouth as he taped it into place.
“Right, now let’s have Long Tom.” Jamie’s voice from the gate was getting more than a little irate.
“That wasn’t very polite, Jamie.”
“Alright, please Sir, you have your culprits, we’ve done everything you’ve asked. Please will you release Tom?”
“OK. Get on with it Vic. Just free his ankles and get him of our property. You can finish untying him once he’s the other side of the gate. And take your rubbish with you because you’re not coming back on board.”
Vic detached Tom’s ankles from his wrists and freed them leaving him with his arms still lodged into the small of his back and still blindfolded and heavily gagged. Having Helped Tom to his feet Vic collected the rest of the Scouts’ property and, taking Tom by the arm, started leading him towards the gate.
“Oh, and if you want the Twins to be given their boxers, don’t forget to return our ropes and gag. Just drop them over the gate. Don’t worry about the tape. Luke’ll tidy that up when you’ve gone.” Sam was in charge again because T-Boy had things to do.
Tom, as you know, wasn’t above voicing his distress and there was plenty of distress as he unstuck the tape from his hair. Once untied and free of the tape, Tom dressed and wished his erstwhile hosts everything they wouldn’t wish themselves. The Scouts gathered up their gear and departed. OK, the Twins were a write-off for the next couple of days but that didn’t stop the Scouts, especially Long Tom, plotting their inevitable revenge attempt.
There’s nothing more entertaining than pursuing a good feud!
TBC