Strange Tales

Strange Tales by Anton Valdemart

The Inseparables

The two friends worked day and night in their workshop until the strange contraption was finally complete and roadworthy. Mike and Monty decided there would be an unveiling ceremony attended by family and friends. Both pulled the strings and the velvet cloth fell to the ground. “This is the Duocycle,” they announced in unison. Silence filled the workshop quickly broken when Little Simon piped up: “It’ll never work”. The villagers had seen all sorts from penny farthings to three-wheelers but nothing like this. The Duocycle was a sort of tandem but the two riders sat side by side, flanking the two wheels. Both riders had separate handlebars. Mike and Monty demonstrated the efficiency of their machine. After carefully mounting their saddles, they peddled out of the workshop and circled the stable yard several times. Soon they were the talk of the neighbourhood and quickly became known as The Inseparables. “Have you ever seen the like?” said the churchwarden. “Gallivanting hither and thither.” “They trundled up behind me in the lane the other day,” complained Mrs Mortis the undertaker. “I told them to get a bell or at least shout.” The Inseparables cut a dash wherever they went, wearing similar cycling suits. Maude and Maisie wanted to have a go on the Duocycle but were firmly refused because they did not have the right clothing. They were shocked when told: “Get some of those cycling bloomers”. The Inseparables tested their machine on all types of roads, from high streets to leafy byways. They even went off-road, plunging through mud or crunching along gravelly bridlepaths. The accident, as is usually the case, came totally out of the blue. It was a perfect sunny day and they had ventured into new territory, splashing through the pools on Waterloo beach. Heading inland, they approached the level crossing just as the barriers were coming down. Mike and Monty exchanged glances and nodded to each other. They expertly manoeuvred the Duocycle around the moving barriers but then - disaster. They hit the rails and were thrown into the path of the approaching train. Fortunately, the crossing keeper dragged The Inseparables to safety just as the Duocycle was crushed under the wheels of the locomotive. They caught the next train home - carrying their wrecked machine between them. Mike and Monty were not totally surprised to receive a summons from the magistrates for breaking level crossing regulations. “You are lucky to be alive and no-one else was hurt,” said the chairman from his lofty bench before conferring with his two colleagues. “We are going to make an example of you two - with an unusual punishment,” he told The Inseparables. Mike and Monty were allowed to return to their saddles but there was no more Duocycle. They were ordered to go to the cycle shop and buy unicycles. Each perched on his one-wheeled machine, they again received widespread attention - as The Separates.

read my next Strange Tale in The Link: coming Home at Last.