sure,” Finn muttered. “Just swing back and forth and hope to land far enough inside to do that.” Then he followed through on the thought. “How will I reach the cable again when it’s time to come back?”
“Pull a little extra in with you. The weight of the harness should hold it in place, but if you’re worried, you can put a rock on top.”
That sounded reasonable. He didn’t want too much slack however. Then he’d have to dive off the cliff and bounce when he came to the end of the cable. Trusting it to hold him was hard enough, even though he was slight of build. Tall and wiry, one might say.
But Shannon could be in there.
He had to try.
Finn lowered himself just enough to reach the bottom of the cave entrance, scrunched his knees, and pushed off the edge. His feet landed on the rough floor, but the cable dragged him back outside before he could stand.
“Oh, I have a bad feelin’ about this,” he called up. The guys ignored him and looked like they were having a heated discussion with each other. He could just make out what they were saying.
Apparently one of them wanted to take any artifacts they found to the Royal British Museum and the other thought they should stay in Ireland. Hmmm… Finn was a loyal countryman and didn’t want any more treasures leaving his homeland. Therefore, he needed to keep whatever he found a secret. Unless he found Shannon, in which case he’d be unable to contain his joy.
He had to try again. This time he let out a little more cable. Just enough to send his bum over the threshold. Hopefully he could stand up quickly and have the slack he needed to prevent being dragged outside again.
He pushed off the cliff and swung inside. This time he stuck the landing. He took a couple more steps inside and let out a little more cable before he dared remove the harness.
Now he just needed something to weight down the equipment so it wouldn’t leave him stranded even if a strong wind tried to take it.
He took his flashlight again and shone it farther into the cave. Something glinted. He couldn’t quite make it out, but it appeared to be gold on top and black on the bottom. Best of all, it looked heavy enough to tether himself to. He inched forward.
Mother Mary! It’s a feckin’ pot of gold coins! There was no way he could tell the Englishmen about this and expect them to leave it all in Ireland.
Suddenly a short man dressed like Lucky rushed up to the black iron cauldron. It was almost as large as he was. He grasped the edges.
Appearing angry, the little man said, “You’ll not be takin’ me gold, so just forget it.”
“Who are you?” Finn asked innocently.
“Me name is unimportant. Just go.”
“I can’t. I’m lookin’ for me girl. She disappeared a while ago. If I have to turn over every rock in Ireland to find her, I will.”
“You’ll not find her in here.”
“How do you know that?” Finn shone the flashlight farther into the tunnel. “This place looks like it could be quite large.”
“It may be large, but I know every bit of it. There are no lasses here.”
“Ha. Her sister is missin’ too, and you said ‘lasses.’ You know somethin’. I caught you in a lie.”
At that moment the little man tried to run but couldn’t. His feet were stuck firmly in place. He pushed against the cauldron, straining so hard his face turned red. “Shite! Why did you have to say you caught me?”
Could it be? Finn almost laughed. He’d caught a leprechaun, and according to legend, that pot of gold was now his.
But there was something he wanted more than gold. He prowled around the cauldron in case the little bugger managed to pull free. He’d catch him and sit on him to find out what he knew.
“So,” Finn said confidently, “I’ve caught a leprechaun.”
“No, you haven’t. No, you haven’t,” the little man said as he struggled against the force holding his feet.
“And looky there. I’ve caught you in two more lies.”
The leprechaun
“Pull a little extra in with you. The weight of the harness should hold it in place, but if you’re worried, you can put a rock on top.”
That sounded reasonable. He didn’t want too much slack however. Then he’d have to dive off the cliff and bounce when he came to the end of the cable. Trusting it to hold him was hard enough, even though he was slight of build. Tall and wiry, one might say.
But Shannon could be in there.
He had to try.
Finn lowered himself just enough to reach the bottom of the cave entrance, scrunched his knees, and pushed off the edge. His feet landed on the rough floor, but the cable dragged him back outside before he could stand.
“Oh, I have a bad feelin’ about this,” he called up. The guys ignored him and looked like they were having a heated discussion with each other. He could just make out what they were saying.
Apparently one of them wanted to take any artifacts they found to the Royal British Museum and the other thought they should stay in Ireland. Hmmm… Finn was a loyal countryman and didn’t want any more treasures leaving his homeland. Therefore, he needed to keep whatever he found a secret. Unless he found Shannon, in which case he’d be unable to contain his joy.
He had to try again. This time he let out a little more cable. Just enough to send his bum over the threshold. Hopefully he could stand up quickly and have the slack he needed to prevent being dragged outside again.
He pushed off the cliff and swung inside. This time he stuck the landing. He took a couple more steps inside and let out a little more cable before he dared remove the harness.
Now he just needed something to weight down the equipment so it wouldn’t leave him stranded even if a strong wind tried to take it.
He took his flashlight again and shone it farther into the cave. Something glinted. He couldn’t quite make it out, but it appeared to be gold on top and black on the bottom. Best of all, it looked heavy enough to tether himself to. He inched forward.
Mother Mary! It’s a feckin’ pot of gold coins! There was no way he could tell the Englishmen about this and expect them to leave it all in Ireland.
Suddenly a short man dressed like Lucky rushed up to the black iron cauldron. It was almost as large as he was. He grasped the edges.
Appearing angry, the little man said, “You’ll not be takin’ me gold, so just forget it.”
“Who are you?” Finn asked innocently.
“Me name is unimportant. Just go.”
“I can’t. I’m lookin’ for me girl. She disappeared a while ago. If I have to turn over every rock in Ireland to find her, I will.”
“You’ll not find her in here.”
“How do you know that?” Finn shone the flashlight farther into the tunnel. “This place looks like it could be quite large.”
“It may be large, but I know every bit of it. There are no lasses here.”
“Ha. Her sister is missin’ too, and you said ‘lasses.’ You know somethin’. I caught you in a lie.”
At that moment the little man tried to run but couldn’t. His feet were stuck firmly in place. He pushed against the cauldron, straining so hard his face turned red. “Shite! Why did you have to say you caught me?”
Could it be? Finn almost laughed. He’d caught a leprechaun, and according to legend, that pot of gold was now his.
But there was something he wanted more than gold. He prowled around the cauldron in case the little bugger managed to pull free. He’d catch him and sit on him to find out what he knew.
“So,” Finn said confidently, “I’ve caught a leprechaun.”
“No, you haven’t. No, you haven’t,” the little man said as he struggled against the force holding his feet.
“And looky there. I’ve caught you in two more lies.”
The leprechaun
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