The Journey to New Buckland (Part II)

It’s time fer another tale from the Book of Buckley partners! Last time we talked about ol’ Buck’s Journey to New Buckland and how he managed to outwit the Bo Diddley Brothers. Thankfully our hero managed to come outta that situation smellin’ like roses, but as it turns out, his grand adventure was just startin’. So other than the occasional mishap, most days were pretty uneventful with Buckley simply focusin’ on walkin’ to his intended destination and stayin’ clear of the summer sun beatin’ down on his bear head. He also made sure that he got enough rest and stayed hydrated so that his strength wouldn’t waver when he needed it most.

A couple of days after facin’ off against the Bo Diddley Brothers, Buckley found himself in a most peculiar spot. In fact, after walkin’ a little further, Buck realized he was headin’ into some kinda strange, windin’ canyon. As he continued on his path, Buck felt a chill creepin’ up his spine. Suddenly the sun disappeared behind some ominous-lookin’ clouds, and things started to get cold…real cold. Buck continued onward into the canyon, and the light from the sun disappeared almost completely as he moved ever deeper into this presumably uncharted part of the country.

It got so dark that it became almost impossible to see. Thankfully Buck had managed to purchase some supplies with some of the tokens he had earned from wranglin’ the Bo Diddley Brothers, so he took out a lantern from his knapsack and proceeded to light it. The area around Buckley was rocky and seemed utterly devoid of life. Owin’ to how cold it was, there was no way Buck could stay in the canyon unless he wanted to freeze to death. He knew he’d need to find a warmer area or a town where he could stay the night - heck, as far as Buck was concerned, anythin’ was better than this!

With the lantern in his paw, Buckley carried on through the windin’ canyon. As he walked, he coulda sworn he heard the sound of voices in the distance behind him. At other times it almost seemed like somethin’ or someone was walkin’ beside him, but when he shone his lantern towards where he thought the thing or person was, there was diddly squat - just more rocks, dirt and dancin’ shadows.

Buckley wasn’t the superstitious type, and he didn’t believe in all that hokum about ghosts and spirits, but the canyon was really givin’ him the creeps. He was cold and tired and needed to find a way out of his predicament as quickly as possible. The sounds of whispers floated around him as he traversed the dark canyon, and he could feel his eyes gettin’ real heavy. Buck shook his head wildly to snap himself outta his stupor and kept on marchin’. There was just no way he was gonna let fear or fatigue get to him.

Just as Buck was about to give up all hope, he spotted what looked like a light in the distance. Was it a way out of the canyon? Buckley picked up his pace, but as he did so, it seemed as though the voices he imagined were followin’ him were gettin’ louder and closer. What in tarnation was goin’ on?

Whether it was a trick of the mind, ghosts or just Buck’s fatigue, he was none to keen on findin’ out the answer. Buck began almost runnin’ as the voices continued to gain on him. The tiny dot of light in the distance was growin’ ever closer, but the voices were on the brink of encirclin’ him. This was just crazy - Buck just had to do somethin’, and he had to do it fast!

Buckley wasn’t sure what overcame him, but he decided to throw the lantern on the ground behind him. Since it was an oil lantern, it practically exploded into flame as he did so. The voices suddenly began shriekin’ and wailin’ as flames licked the canyone walls and Buckley ran with all his possessions towards what he hoped was the end of this terrible happenin’. Buck could hear the terrible cacophony behind him fadin’ as he drew ever closer to the canyon exit.

Suddenly all the screamin’ caused a mighty rumblin’, and the ground shook violently beneath Buck as an almighty landslide brought huge piles of rocks crashin’ into the canyon behind him. Buckley stumbled and struggled to hold onto his shovel and cactus as the thunderin’ avalanche gained pace. He had mere seconds to reach the end, or it would be his end fer sure!

As the crushing rocks almost touched Buck’s bear heels, he lunged forward and leapt out of the canyon. He dropped his shovel and cactus and rolled a little as the rocks sealed up the canyon behind him forever. Buckley lay on his back pantin’ like an old hoss what’d just run its last race. The landslide had kicked up a gigantic cloud of dust, and Buckley coughed and spluttered as he gulped in as much clean air as he could.

After a little while the dust settled and Buck’s breathin’ was back to normal. He got up and got all the dust outta his britches, fur, knapsack and hat. What exactly had happened back there? What were those voices? And how had he managed to survive that crazy landslide? Another split second and he’d have been a goner fer sure!

Buckley looked around him. Wherever he was, it wasn’t a desert no more. No sir, it was some kinda forest or somethin’. While the sun was out here and the air much warmer, Buck got a real weird feelin’ about where he was. But that, amigos, is a story for another time!

Moral of this here story is: you can’t always change yer circumstances, at least not without a little courage and effort. And if it really comes down to it, you may just need to sacrifice yer greatest asset so that you can live and fight another day. There ain’t no point in clingin’ to things you can replace or improve upon in the future. Do whatever you need to protect yerself and pick up the pieces once yer in a position to do so. Oh…and if you ever see a dark canyon in the country, maybe think twice before enterin’!