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Days passed, but hardly drearily. The whole time, Elsa was frantically on edge, Kalimac remained poised to pounce of Adelard, Alora had no idea what was going on, and the Chubbs didn’t seem to comfortable with the situation either. Crispin’s arrest had stirred a great deal of unrest among the Halfling caravan. The hobbits didn’t seem able to give each other straight looks or engage in conversation as they all theorized about what had actually happened, all except Fredigar and Adelard, who seemed to be very sure of what had occurred that night not long ago. Kalimac had almost stirred to the breaking point when he was called upon Marcho to rendezvous with both him and Harold Chubb, to his great surprise. Still stewing and seething over what to do, Kalimac met with them during the next uneasy rest period.
Marcho’s plan took him by surprise, but he definitely wasn’t against it. The scheme seemed to be the only way to convince that buffoon, Headstrong that Crispin was not the guilty party. As Marcho concluded his plan, both Kalimac and Harold gave understanding nods while Marcho turned to Kalimac and posed a simple enough question. “Kal,” he said smoothly, “do you have anything of value that we could make a fuss over to get some attention and then set out after dark?”
“Well, Marcho, I’ve a great many things of value,” Kalimac almost boasted, but quickly simmered down, considering the dire aspect of the situation. He thought for a moment, stammering slightly under his breath and he contemplated both the proposal of his half-brother and an adequate answer to the question queried to him. He scratched his chin pensively and kneaded his weary, sagging brow for a long moment as he summoned up some thoughts about the many valuables he carried in his wagon.
“Ummm…I do believe any thief would want…a purse of gold…” he murmured on, his words jumbled but still understandable, “I’m not sure if you’d rather I came up with a trinket of some kind, but if I were a thief, I would most certainly salivate over a pouch stuffed with gold coins. If it is a trinket you prefer, I have all manner of valuable things, but a purse of gold would do just as well, in my opinion.
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