The Crocodile Part 6 Copyright Robert Fullarton 2017

The Crocodile

Part 6

Copyright Robert Fullarton 2017

The flaming candle of the dawn burned through the threads of the iron coloured sky, what was real and unreal? In this fermenting of colour bursting forth from the sky, over every hamlet, farm, steeple and rooftop, over the cobbled canvass of Gustavia, the town crier called at dawn, to rouse the people to work, it was an old tradition, it was dead, it meant nothing in the cobwebbed hearts of the populace, he cried like an omen for the times, he cried while the people slept in their complacency as the age old signs of collapse were a possibility for the avalanche that would demolish Gustavian society! But it needed one final tumult for the facade to fall through!

The wart faced brewers, the coopers, the butchers unloading their cuts of pork, with brandished knives set up business on the market square, with fire wood burning, the revelry of the people danced around the fire, like a fermented madness, they rejoiced, knowing not what nor why they did so, and the mayor rubbed his hands together at the sound of such an occasion, for his sole benefit!

Meanwhile Blomquist feeling cheated and incensed with rage over the Mayor’s capture of his “prized pet crocodile” wondered to himself in a haze that afternoon at his postmaster’s office, whether the experiment had been terminated and cut short or whether he might dare ask the mayor for a sum in cash, for having “trained and tamed the beast and made him into a first class gentleman.” The bounty was tremendous, as the crocodile was bought and paid for from Milkmaster Hummel and had been bought in turn by the zoologist Jan Steiner. Blomquist sat in pensive mood, until he decided, resolutely that the time had come for a visit to be made to Jan Steiner, the quiet, almost reclusive Zoologist, whom few ever saw. Steiner lived out near the river at the edge of the forest, conducting research, his life was one of deep communication with animals, and one could say that he cared more for the animal kingdom than for the world of men. So he sought seclusion on the edge of the forest, to be in mind, soul and body separated from the nucleus of the people of Gustavia.

Jan Steiner was experimenting on the spawn of reptiles, when Blomquist found him completely immersed in his studies. From the eggs of his “exotic collection” came forth a host of freakish creatures, from where the teeth of a host of crocodiles burst forth from their eggs, like the offspring of hell, they possessed a menacing intelligence almost something beyond the comprehension of the common Gustavian. Oozing liquid irrupted out of the cracked eggs, like jelly as the remaining host came forth like reptilian “hoodlums” or vandals, these baby terrors burst forth out of the crates, and ran the gauntlet out of Steiner’s grasp. Steiner tried to clutch one, but every baby crocodile, simply bit his fingers, clutching each finger, with ten baby reptiles, until Steiner spun round, flapped his hands, and tossed the creatures into the confines of his laboratory.

“You little monsters!” Shouted Steiner in full fury, as the creatures scurried out of Steiner’s sight and made a run for the front door, where they squeezed out through the cracks in the wood. The reptilian jailbirds unbeknown to Steiner had made their way into the centre of the town, where the smell of roast pork and marinated chickens wafted out during the annual celebrations from Gustavia’s town square. The people celebrated in merriment by the statue “of the religion of human rights” bowing to the statue as they offered up portions of chicken.

“It is easier for the camel to pass through the needle than for man to tame the crocodile!” Contemplated Blomquist in retrospect who in sheer surprise and depression stood at the door of Steiner’s humble abode. The conclusion and the realisation had long been overdue and Steiner too knew that his tampering and experimentations were akin to something from the fantasies of a mad scientist. The social experiments were soon to prove to be a colossal failure!