Authors: Paul Day
Tags: #coming of age, #first love, #classic adventure, #adveneture mystery
Kipp The Kid
Copyright 2014 Paul G Day
Published by Paul G Day at Smashwords
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Prologue
: The Old Abandoned
Mines
I
nterlogue: The Adventure
Begins
Chapter Five: The
Out-Of-Towners
Chapter Six: The Sounds of
Night
Chapter Seven: Thrice The
Trouble
Chapter Eight: A Fool’s
Treasure
Chapter Nine: A Dark & Dangerous
Place
Chapter Ten: Of Dreams &
Angels
Praise for
By
Paul G Day
“Kipp The Kid by Paul G
Day is a suspenseful young adult novella featuring Kipp, a boy
living near the Moonta Mines in South Australia. Together with his
puppy love Jane Prescott and his dog Nip, they undertake a series
of adventures as play-acting gives way to the real and the
supernatural. In his own private world he calls Kipp’s Chamber,
Kipp and Jane and Nip encounter a trio of dastardly brothers with
bad intentions. Trent, Arnold and Jake Jansen are up to no good,
and a series of fatal encounters lead to supernatural interventions
that make the youngsters realize how their lives have truly been
blessed.
The author pays tribute to classic
teen adventure narratives with young romance challenged by personal
crises which serves to bring the lovers ever closer together. The
threat of the evil brothers is enhanced by the alcoholism of Jane’s
father, depriving her of the shelter and protection of her home.
Yet the departed family members are given a chance at redemption,
reaching beyond the grave in helping Jane and Kipp. Even when a
tragedy nearly pulls Jane and Kipp apart, Jane survives a
near-death experience and gives both Kipp and the audience hope for
a sequel to come.” (The Kindle Book Review)
“Author Paul Day, in his story
"Kipp The Kid" engages the readers' emotions and imagination and
transports them to a world where the real and surreal intermingle.
Paul Day's captivating story of young love. The geographical
setting, which is famous for its Cornish heritage, lends drama and
adventure to the story as do the well-developed and rich characters
of Kipp, Jane and others. Additionally, the seamlessly interwoven
themes of survival, family relationships, commitment and devotion
-- that are as contemporary as they are timeless -- add yet another
dimension to this enchanting tale.” (S Mazor)
I would like to thank my family,
especially my wife Jennifer for her love and commitment, as well as
my wonderful editor and friend, Janice Spina for her endless
encouragement and support in this endeavor.
Featured on the cover of this book
are Charles Wundersitz (Kipp) and Ella Simpson (Jane). Both young
actors also feature in the official book trailer on my YouTube
Channel (see last page of book)
Prologue
One beautiful spring day, an old man sat gently
rocking on his old rickety chair, while two children played at his
feet. He was humming a tune to himself, a song he once heard
someone very beautiful sing. She was long gone now, but the memory
of her was still alive in his distant heart.
The girl at his feet stopped what she was doing and
looked up into the aging eyes of the elderly man. Though his eyes
were pale with the passing years and he was squinting in the
sunlight, his wrinkles forming deep lines around the sockets, she
thought she saw a little tear form in the corner of one eye.
“Does it make you sad Papa…that song?”
At first he seemed not to have heard her. For a
little while she thought he wouldn’t answer. By this time the boy
was also looking up.
The old man stopped rocking for a moment and cast his
eyes down upon the two children. He saw the brightness in their
eyes. He saw the glow of their young faces. He wanted to tell them.
Oh, how he wanted to tell them. But so difficult to start. How do
you tell ones still so young, a story so troubling, so beautiful
and yet so utterly real, he thought to himself.
The two children waited patiently for an answer. The
old man started rocking again. “It’s a song a girl once sang to me
when I was still not much older than you two. She was the most
wondrous, beautiful, intelligent girl I ever met.”
“Who was she?”
She was my neighbor. Such a delightful lass. So
honest and lovely and truer a girl has never lived. The young girl
sitting beneath him on the porch looked suddenly disappointed and
shot the old man a crooked glance. He saw it just in time.
“She reminds me a little of you my dear.”
The girl smiled again and blushed pink at the cheeks.
The boy saw it and asked eagerly, “Did you love her?”
“Oh indeed. Indeed I did,” came the quick reply.
The old man was not yet convinced these two children
really wanted to hear his story. He decided he would wait until
they could stand it no more.
“This girl, did she have a name?” asked the lad.
“She did, she did indeed.”
“Well, what was it?” asked the girl as she moved
closer to his feet.
It was then he knew he had their attention. So he
invited them both to sit on the small stools either side of him and
he poured a glass of lemonade for each of them. When he reached
into his pockets, the two children beamed with anticipation. He
pulled out two large lollipops, so bright with swirling patterns
that they would water the mouth of even the least hungry child.
“It’s a long story,” he started, “but one you do not
want to miss.” He paused, allowing the words to build the
anticipation further as the two children started sipping their
drinks and licking the sugary sweetness of the candy.
“Please Papa, please tell us.”
“Ok then, but you have to pay attention. Or you might
miss the best bits of this incredible and true adventure…”
chapter 1: Kipp & Nip
It’s not very unusual for a boy to have a friend, but
when your only friend in the whole world is a little scruffy brown
dog called Nip, well, let’s just say they were lucky to have each
other. Kipp was not scruffy like his dog Nip, but he did have a
mass of curly copper colored hair all over his head.
During school, Kipp always sat staring out the
window, watching the birds and listening to the sounds of machinery
way off in the mines. Not the old mines he often played in, mind
you, but the big, modern mines right on the edge of town.
Kipp could hardly wait to get home each day. He
always made sure he did his chores and rushed his homework, scoffed
down something to eat, gulped down a large glass of milk and within
an hour of being home he was off down to the old mines again.
There was only really one reason he even liked it at
school at all. A girl. Jane, with fiery red hair, just like his,
only hers was all flowing and beautiful. It was soft too like the
silk sheets his grandmother occasionally hung on the line to dry.
He’d get in so much trouble after coming home from a day in the
mines, because the silk was too irresistible and he couldn’t help
touch it, getting his grubby, copper-covered hand prints all over
them.
“Kipp!” his grandma would yell out and he would leg
it past the laundry and down to the shed where he would hide until
she gave up the chase or else forgot completely why she was after
him in the first place.
But it was the weekends and school holidays Kipp
looked forward to the most. If he could have, he would have spent
every single day, from dawn until dusk at the mines. If his gran
and grumps would let him. Yes, that’s what he called his grandpa
whenever his back was turned, grumps.
Grumps was very old and hard of hearing. He spent
most of the day on the front porch, rocking in his chair and
mumbling to himself. Every now and then Kipp’s gran would ask him
to fetch this or that for grumps. Kipp would roll his eyes and pull
a face, but he knew better than to argue. Besides, the sooner he
did what he was supposed to, the sooner he was allowed to take off.
And take off he did too, sometimes overnight, occasionally for a
day or two. But always on his own. Well, almost on his own. He
always took Nip wherever he went.
Chapter 2: a girl called jane
Kipp knew the mines like his own back yard. He knew
where all the really good shafts were. He knew where he could find
water. He knew how to get to the top of the old engine house and he
also knew where you could still find copper and other minerals and
gems.
It was the second day of the school holidays and Kipp
was at the mines at last. He couldn’t go on the first day, because
his grumps had dragged him along to the RSL to help set up for a
function. Of course, by help, Kipp knew it would be left up to him
to do all the work, while grumps sat half bent over, jabbering on
to his old mates about the good old days. So he suffered through an
entire day of moving tables and chairs, putting table cloths and
napkins out, shoving a seemingly endless supply of party pies and
pasties into the old ovens etc.
But on Sunday, as soon as they returned from the most
boring sermon at Mass ever, Kipp wasted no time in packing supplies
for an overnighter. Before his gran could think up any more jobs
for him to do, he snuck out his window to avoid her and jumped down
into the hay on the old Ute, rolled out onto the ground and then
ran as fast as he could, with Nip following hot on his heels. He
didn’t even stop to wave to Jane, next door, who was only partially
sticking her head out of her window as he sped on bye.
“Can’t stop. Gotta run,” he said puffing as he
whipped past her house, managing barely a glance up to her
window.
“Where are you off to so quickly?” she called out
after him as if she didn’t already know the answer.
One of these days, thought Kipp, she’s gonna follow
me I know it. Even though he liked Jane, she was not a boy and she
wouldn’t like the mines. So it was him and Nip all the way. That’s
the way he liked it. No complications, no hold ups, no unwanted or
uninvited stragglers. Certainly and this was a rule he made up his
mind about a long time ago, no girls. They were forbidden. It says
so in his own journal.
Wherever I go, whenever I go,
It’s always only me and Nip.
No stragglers and nobody else,
just me and Nip, beside my hip.
Within half an hour Kipp was already at the Engine
House. He peered inside and spooked a flock of pigeons who had kept
guard of the place while he couldn’t be there. When they realized
it was him, they quickly settled back down to their cooing and
pooing.