Donowutt County: Redtail's Story

Chap's 21-25

"An old castle turned prison on an island in a swamp sort of asks for stories," Redtail said with a smile.

*** Chapter 22 ***

"There's lots of stories about Rainy Island Prison and the manor house," said George. "But I should tell you about the Three Maidens –the pub, not the girls. You can get just about any kind of sandwich you want. They bake all their own bread and buns and you get a choice of stuffed potato skins, potato wedges, hash browns or salad. The servings are pretty hefty. If you don't want a sandwich, they've got a wonderful potato and salad bar. They call it a pub, but they don't serve alcohol except on Fridays and during their Highland Games week. Otherwise, they've got a great selection of near beers and sparking juices along with the usual lineup of sodas."

After about a mile, the road ducked back in to some fairly thick trees. Redtail said, "Ooo, we're in the forest now!"

They got to the S-curve and there was the sign: Three Maidens Sandwich Shop and Pub 500 Feet. The sign was red with white-edged black letters in the perfect sort of font you'd imagine for a Highland-themed cozy pub. 500 feet farther was a wide red-bricked driveway with another sign. This sign was in a heavy stone frame. The red background had a high gloss polish and the white-edged black lettering had as flat a finish as could be. The sign was very clear to read, "Three Maidens Sandwich Shop and Pub". As they pulled into the drive, Redtail noticed what appeared at first to be a green border around the sign was an intricate tangle of gold-edged green vines and leaves, punctuated with tiny red berries. She craned her neck as they drove by.

"That is a MOST-beautiful sign!" Redtail said.

"Believe it or not," said George, "it got vandalized a few years ago. That was fun when they went to court. At first, the kids only felt bad because they got caught. But those three sweet little maidens and the judge were way meaner to the three young vandal boys than I was with Dave at the restaurant when he got caught nearly dumping. The three girls know they're pretty and they used it on those boys in court.

One of the boys was 15 years old and the other two were 16. One had just gotten his license and they were all spreading their wings of independence. All those little boy hormones trying to act what they thought was tough or manly." George paused and laughed. "Oh boy, I wish I'd've seen it! Those three girls didn't say a thing. They poured all they had into looking sad and hurt –those big eyes and long wavy red hair and they figured out how to look on the verge of crying.

Those boys didn't stand a chance as Judge Noyugo explained all the work the girls had put into that sign and how the boys ruined it with a few seconds of thoughtless meanness. Two boys were in tears and the other was fighting his so hard everyone thought he was going to pass out.

Anyway, they had to wash off the egg and re-paint or repair any staining or damage. They ended up having fun. Two started a sign-painting business and the third is pursuing a commercial art degree."

"That's sad and funny all at the same time," said Redtail.

"Yeah, the judge set it up with the girls beforehand. He knew the boys were sorry they got caught, but those boys were devastated when they realized they'd hurt the feelings of those poor sweet pretty girls. I'm glad we're here now, so I can quit. I'm almost starting to feel bad for 'em too." George added, "You'll probably get to meet the judge tomorrow at The Bumpy Log."

George parked, shut off the truck, and they exited. The lot was quite big for an off-the-beaten-path business. George opened one side of a big wooden double gate, which, with the four-foot-high stone wall, separated the parking lot from a step back in time and geography.

A couple chickens clucked peacefully as they cleared the path for George and Redtail. Sheep were bleating behind the stone pub building. One little lamb bounded out from around the corner as if to say "hi" to Redtail and George. It gave a little 'baa' and bounced back behind to the others.