Beowulf is Back

Lewis followed Beowulf, and the little French chap he was dragging, down a flight of stairs and into a large underground room that seemed to be a prison or dungeon. A number of barred doors lined two walls of the room, which was bare of furniture apart from a key rack against one wall and a desk against the other; here a burly warder was sitting and drinking from a bottle.

  Had Lewis been able to understand French he would have understood Beowulf saying the following,

  ‘You, warder, look here! Your prisoner has escaped, got upstairs, nearly upset the party and you haven’t even noticed!’

  Erich looked and was horrified to see a man he assumed to be Louis in the grip of a stranger.

  ‘Let’s get him back in the cells before Bull finds out!’ said Beowulf. Erich was only too happy to comply; he didn’t want any trouble with Bull.

  Had Erich understood English he would have understood Beowulf saying to Lewis,

  ‘When he opens the cell door, hit him hard,’ and he would have understood Lewis replying,

  ‘Right you are! I guess he’s a bad one.’

  Louie-Louie, who did understand both things, was having trouble expressing himself, due to being dragged violently around by Beowulf, who had proved to be deceptively strong. Louie-Louie realised, however, that this might be a life or death situation and so he shouted,

  ‘Look out!’ as Erich turned and unlocked the cell. Erich, thanks to his considerable experience and training did not react to prisoners shouting, and so, as soon as the door began to swing open, he was felled by a stunning blow from Lewis.

  ‘Nice,’ said Beowulf. Once again Lewis thought about how good it was when everybody spoke English.

  ‘Good evening, Louis!’ said Beowulf, ‘We’re here to rescue you!’

  Louis, who was in the cell and had not been expecting imminent rescue, was both astonished and grateful. He was prepared to express this gratitude (and surprise), possibly at some length.

  ‘We’ve still got to get out,’ said Beowulf, implying that necessity might require the cutting short of well mannered thankfulness, ‘and then get away. There might be time for appreciation later. Could you help me drag your brother? Lewis, lock the jailer in the cell and then let’s go!’