LONGHOLME ISLAND
JONAH’S JOURNEY
Part 17
Jonah Brings Home A Trophy
Jonah waited. Could he trust Dave? Where could he go if he made a run for it? Would Stewart alter his features if he did? No, it should be alright. And it was: as soon as Dave’s feet hit the ground, he held out his arms. “Do your worst, Grockle Boy.” It was almost like a normal game except for the threat hanging over his head.
Jonah picked up the longer rope. “OK, turn round, arms behind you.” Dave took the opportunity to give Jonah a hint by crossing his wrists. “Higher.” Dave raised his wrists until his forearms were horizontal. Jonah found the middle of the rope, wrapped the bight three times round Dave’s wrists and tied off the rope leaving a loop for later use. He didn’t bother to cinch the loops. Dave’s wrists dropped and the ropes bit in slightly. Jonah threaded one free end of the rope up under Dave’s right armpit, across his chest and back over his left shoulder before pulling it through and simply hitching the end between Dave’s right forearm and his back so that it was unlikely to ‘accidentally’ slip off his shoulder. A symmetrical repeat left Jonah with two long free ends that he tied with a reef knot behind Dave’s neck – but not before he had hitched his wrists up a bit. As he had suspected, there was still plenty of rope left. Jonah then tied the hanging ropes into that handy loop that he had provided for later use. Dave’s wrist were thus pulled a little higher up his back but considerable rope still hung to the ground behind him.
Jonah examined his work and told Dave to, “Give us a twirl.” Dave gave him a look. He also turned round once. Jonah gave his work a quick shake and decided that there was a better use for the hanging rope than to bind Dave’s arms – yet! He asked Dave if he remembered someone having to lead him and his “little blonde mate” to where he had moored his canoe. Dave looked suspicious. “And what did you do to his ankles?” Dave had no answer to that; he saw a ‘cutlass’ coming into play and having to hobble back to site with his ankles rope-cuffed. Having seen the way this landlubber could work with rope, he wasn’t holding out much hope that it would be a cuff of a merciful length. It probably wouldn’t have been even if Jonah had more rope.
It suddenly dawned on Dave that he needed to get his captor to get him back to site as quickly as possible if he was to have the best chance of being taken in more quickly that Roy, especially as he could have no idea how long his capture would take. Having a stride-length of only about eighteen inches was not going to help with that, with or without the assistance of a cutlass. Once Jonah had replaced his blindfold, he was certainly stuffed but he was not going to beg. Indeed, begging was even more out of order as he obeyed the instruction to, “Open up.” Jonah had obviously tied a substantial knot in the fabric strip before tying it in place. It would take few minutes before anyone would not be able to pretend not to be able understand anything Dave said. If it wasn’t for the threat Dave and Roy were under, it would have been fair revenge in one of the Pirates’ normal games.
Jonah eschewed the adoption of such a nautical instrument of persuasion as a cutlass but he did have all that rope left. He tied blood bights in the ends of the ropes for grip and passed them between Dave’s legs. Dave clenched his knees but it was too late: he felt the ropes pulled up against his crown jewels.
“Now you ARE going to cooperate, aren’t you?” Dave nodded but I’m not quite sure what those words were that he said. Jonah slipped his hands into the loops and led his prisoner, not too brutally, the short distance over the hill to the gun emplacement. He was greeted by Stewart and Rob who told him to get Dave to kneel in front of them so that they could decide how long his capture had taken.
Dave knelt, Rob gave Jonah his time and Stewart gave him a drink. That’s when Jonah noticed Koff. “Oh hi, Koff, taking a rest?” Koff’s answer was incomprehensible. Roy, rather disappointingly, was still almost where he had been left except that his gag and his blindfold had been comprehensively taped over.
Interlude - Koff Takes a Rest
As soon as Jonah had departed on his hunt, Stewart and Rob didn’t have much to do, really, other than to taunt Koff and tighten Roy’s bindings whenever he seemed to be in danger of being able to make himself more comfortable. He didn’t seem to appreciate his big brother’s attention and told him so through his completely ineffective gag. Rob was feeling too lazy in the heat to silence Roy completely but thought he would settle for a few rounds of the packing tape that was left on the roll. That stuff certainly went a long way and there even seemed to be plenty left so Roy used some just to make sure that his brother would not be able to remove the blindfold that had already started slipping. He did loosen the hog-tie slightly, though.
Eventually Koff could stand having his arse creased so deeply no longer. His gag certainly stopped him from articulating the phrase, “Carpet-‘Ed” with any clarity but he gave it his best try. The rhythm was easy to recognise and Rob went into the normal safety routine.
“Safe word?” Koff tried again three times. “OK, mate, you done well there.”
“Just think,” clarified Stewart, “If those two diddleo’s hadn’t tried capturing the grockle, WE would never have thought of torturing you like that.” Koff didn’t find that very comforting – or very convincing.
Ultimately, a safe word is a safe word and Stewart supported Koff to make it easier for Rob to undo the final knots using Koff’s marlin spike. Once Koff had been released from the ropes, Stewart lowered him gently onto his side. That noise was probably Koff saying, “Thanks mate,” and meaning it.
Koff had been safely in the shade of the tree from which he was hanging but he had been completely incapable of movement from his shoulders down for nearly two hours. Common sense (Yes, I know, don’t say it.) decreed that he should be released.
Stewart folded the marlin spike and extended the well-stropped blade on Koff’s knife. “OK, mate, don’t move.”
I think Koff’s remark was something along the lines of, “Oh, ha ha,” and Rob just made a despairing noise.
“Alright, genius, just let a man get to work.” Stewart undid the two mighty compression straps allowing Koff’s thighs to unfold from his abdomen but leaving his legs bent and firmly taped together. There was another of those muffled shrieks. For a big guy, Stewart could work quite delicately when necessary and this was just one of those times. Koff’s legs were soon free of the shiny, brown tape but the shocked reaction as he was able to straighten them once more was mercifully damped by the same stuff that still shrouded his lower face.
OK mate, you know you can’t escape but it’s time for a drink and for your hands to be untied.” Koff nodded when Rob mentioned the drink but pulled his hands away theatrically at the mention of them.
“Look here, Mr. Hard Man, you’re going to have to be prepared for the tickling contest so you’ll need to get some sun-block on and I’m damned if I’m going to do it for you.”
“Yes, and you need to loosen up a bit.”
“Come on, be reasonable.”
“Unless you want that well-padded bottom of yours to go back onto that metal grille.” It was obvious that his mates were serious; not only that but they were right as well. And even he really did not want to be sat on that thing again. Stewart untied Koff’s wrists but left him to struggle to strip the tape from his lower face. Koff took unsteadily to his feet and treated himself to a gradually more demanding workout. Rob handed him a Coke.
“When you’re ready, let us know.”
Koff jogged around the site and flexed his arms gratefully, not stopping as he enjoyed the cola. In the meantime, Rob turned his attention to Roy, who had made no real progress with his attempts to become less uncomfortable. He did, though, drag him for a short distance into the shade again due to the Sun’s having moved.
Before long, Koff knew he had to surrender to the inevitable, not that he was likely to mind that very much but, although he wouldn’t admit it, he was glad of the half-hour or so’s freedom of movement,
“Need the bog?”
“Nah, I’m OK.” Koff took to his knees in front of the folding chairs.
Rob gave him his orders: He was to stow all the used tape ready for it to be ported out and prepare the stations for the tickling contest. That was fair enough (if you are Koff!). On Rob’s instructions, he got a selection of hefty wooden stakes from the stores. He also got a hefty short-handled maul. On Rob’s instructions, Koff hammered three sets of four stakes deep into the ground. The workout was very welcome and, being Koff, the result wasn’t to be resented too much either. Each set of stakes formed a square and were pointed out at about 45 degrees from the centre and sunk at least two feet into the ground. Once the torture frames had been completed, Koff was sent into the stores for the appropriate ropes (and a few tent pegs just in case any of the victims needed tightening up a bit due to their exertions. Having laid out the ropes, Koff knelt down facing the chairs. He wasn’t going to make the mistake of sitting on any of the reserved furniture again, indeed, he wasn’t even going to want to sit down for quite some time.
“Oi, what do you think you’re doing?”
“I’ve done what you said.”
“Fair enough. I’ll bet you’re knackered now?”
Koff smelt a rat. He didn’t answer.
“Well, I think you’d better take a lie down.” Koff got the message, he wasn’t going to enjoy lying face up (or, more exactly, backside down) but he made his way towards one of the torture beds and started to lie down.
“Nah, you don’t deserve that – quite. Go and get your li-lo - - -.” For once in his life, Koff decided to take the cushy option, although he knew he would still end up being staked out. “- - - and don’t forget the sun-block before you lie down.” Koff placed the li-lo in the middle of one of the sets of stakes and slathered himself with sun-block. He might have been reckless with his own well-being, but he wasn’t that stupid. He even tied ropes round his ankles ready for his own restraint.
“OK, do you worst.” Koff lay on his li-lo and stretched his limbs towards the stakes. There were only the slightest of squeaks as his bum made contact with the air-bed.
Stewart and Rob took a leg each and started securing Koff with a well-practiced technique. He had doubled the ropes leaving his attendants with two strands each to play with. It was a simple job to tie the free ends round the stakes. There was obviously no point in trying to tighten things up yet. Doubled ropes were bound several times round Koff’s wrists and tied off before the free ends were taken either side of the vacant stakes, NOW it was time to tighten their mate up a bit. Once the initial knots had been tied round the stakes, the free ends were wound round the connecting strands, pulling the victim’s limbs tighter but not tight enough to be painful.
“OK, Koff?”
“Comfy?” Koff assured his gaolers that he was.
“Good, I’ll just leave these here for later.” Stewart left another of those fabric strips, a shortish rope and a short stick by Koff’s head.”
“You know, you two are so good to me.”
“OK, just for being sarky.” Stewart tied the inevitable bulky knot in the middle of the fabric and gagged Koff well enough to frustrate him if he wanted to say anything.
That’s how things stayed until Jonah returned with his first trophy quite soon afterwards.
TBC