***
The air was humid—thick and heavy. A brown-pleated boot crushed the forest floor as Mortimer took another wary step forward. His dark beady eyes looked right and then left. The forest was rugged with seemingly impenetrable layers of flora and fauna.
He could hardly see a thing.
To compensate he moved carefully and with great precision, a small spoon that he had commandeered from his custard dish glistened in the low lighting. Grasping the spoon in his left hand now he aimed it in front of him for protection.
Leather-bound binoculars hung about his neck and his trusty captain’s hat was perched atop his mop of unruly hair. It served to shelter his head from any sort of aerial onslaught. He looked up now, the rest of his body frozen in place, and he watched carefully for signs of mo
