Adventures in the Great White North

or Bad Luck and Worse Superstition

Day One: I decided that it had been entirely too long since I had visited my brother Augustus in Ontario, Canada. Therefore, I boarded a flight to Toronto with the aim of rectifying the situation. After landing, I chartered a small ship (left) at Toronto's Harbourfront to take me north to Penetanguishene, on the shores of Georgian Bay where Augustus was staying.

Day Two: After docking in Penetanguishene, I had time to visit Canada's oldest naval base (right) and imagine times gone by before meeting Augustus. I then made my way to the cabin where Augustus was spending the summer. It was wonderful to see him and to see some of the artwork he had been working on. Tomorrow, we are planning to take out his plane, "The Cardinal", and fly it further north into the wilderness to engage in some camping and general outdoor recreation.
Day Three: Disaster strikes! After we had been in the air for some time, an unexpected storm arose. The winds began to tear at the plane's aluminum skin as the lightning illuminated the snarling clouds around us. The rain began to pelt the craft like a fusillade of liquid bullets. We heard the anguished squeal of rivets shearing loose and felt a sudden drop in altitude. The plane began to spin. Augustus focused all of his aviatory skills on keeping the craft under his control. Ultimately, Augustus, realizing that no force of will would keep the plane aloft, descended into the wilderness and performed an emergency landing. We survived with our polyfil intact, but the plane was beyond repair. After preparing some supplies, we set out to look for help.

Day Four: While we have not yet found help, both Augustus and I agree that the wilderness is breathtaking. In the late morning we came upon a moose quietly snacking on some foliage. The majestic size of the animal was amazing. While he appeared calm, we decided not to get too close and risk agitating him. Fortunately, we had come to the far north to camp and explore, and thus we had sufficient equipment with us to not only survive, but to enjoy the wonders around us.
Day Seven: It has been a couple of days since last I wrote. It was not until today that our situation improved. We have not seen another sentient being since before the crash, but this afternoon, while resting by a waterfall, we did find an old rowboat lying next to a nearby riverbank. We hypothesize that once we have repaired the vessel, we can use it to navigate south down the river. Hopefully, there is still a town or settlement located near this river where we may receive aid.

Day Eight: We finished the repairs to the boat and began our expedition south in search of civilization. After a day on the water, we spent a quiet night along the riverbank, lulled to sleep by the whispering water and the song of the crickets.
Day Ten: We spent yesterday and the better part of today on the river, until finally, we could travel no more. The river eventually led to a great divide which we could not portage around. Thus we were forced to leave our trusty vessel and continue on foot to the east.
It was not long before we stumbled upon an interesting sight. We discovered what appeared to be an old abandoned mine. Curiously, by the abundance of footprints, it looked as though someone had recently been in the mine. We decided that I would enter the mine and see if I could summon help while Augustus searched around the outside of the mine for the same. I had only traveled down the mine for a short distance when I felt a sharp blow to the back of my head and the veil of unconsciousness slipped over my eyes.
When I awoke, I found that I had been tightly bound and a ghostly apparition peered down at me. "You have discovered my secret, and now you must pay!" exclaimed the spirit. By the way my captor spoke and moved, I deduced that this was not a true ethereal creature, but a corporeal being in disguise! Certainly, in my travels I have seen enough of the outer realms to distinguish between the earthly and the spiritual. "Ha! You are no spirit, you charlatan, you rapscallion! Release me from this bondage, or else you will force my hand" I exclaimed. "You are in no position to give orders to me, my new friend" the spirit answered.
"I may not have fooled you, but my plan certainly hoodwinked those ignorant townsfolk. My plan has long been in the making, and I will not have it ruined by you! This mine belongs to a mining co-op whose members live in the town below. Two years ago, at the co-op's bidding, I came to this mine to perform its annual inspection. The miners grumbled to me that the inspection was useless because there was no gold left for them to extract. I spent the day performing various safety tests and I determined that the mine was indeed safe. I also determined that should the miners dig just a few meters more, they would discover another vein of gold. I saw my opportunity in the miners' ignorance. When I finished my tests, I certified to the miners that the mine was in danger of collapsing if any more material was removed and that I would close the mine effective immediately. I consoled them by reminding them that there was no gold left in the mine.
Shortly thereafter I donned this disguise to scare away anyone foolish enough to snoop around the mine. After a year of haunting activity, the locals were too frightened to venture here. Besides, since they believed that the mine was empty and dangerous, there was no reason for them to come anyway. Then I began digging until I tapped the vein that I had discovered. I have secretly been stealing their gold ever since!" the criminal explained to me. He then laughed at his own cleverness, and smirked in satisfaction. I knew that this fraud would not explain his plan to me and then let me go free.
I was not without my own surprises, however, and I began to cut free of the ropes while the crook prattled on.