April 6th

Cloud and sun - 5C.
Having company for lunch today, a fellow that I knew way back when. Turns out that we have a family connection through marriage, this will be our first chance to discuss since the connection was discovered. I'm up a bit early as I have to go help lay some linoleum tiles at the club house this am. In spite of the cool weather, spring is still progressing, quite a bit of green showing on the shrubs and trees. The Japanese plums have started their spring ritual of "snowing" their pink petals.

Today's story is another little snippet from the past, here it is:

 THE MISSING REVOLVER

T

here was an instance back in the days when the point at Irvine’s Landing was called Piepers Point and the store and hotel were owned by the Pieper family.

  The group of boys that I chummed with ran in ages from about nine to thirteen years of age.  We were sort of two groups slightly divided by a division in our ages.  But those of us that were slightly older, two Billys, a Fred and myself were quite magnanimous most of the time and would include the younger ones, Sonny, Eddie, Petey and Bobby in many of our activities.  There was a second Bobby who was Fred’s younger brother, he sort of fell somewhere in the middle of these two boy groups.

  The line was drawn quite firmly with Eddie and the youngest Bobby.  Eddie because he was a tough little so and so and could pretty well keep up to the older ones and Bobby because his Mom said so.

  However the Pieper boy who was only about five or six was firmly and unequivocally excluded.  Looking back I think his parents were not upset about that.  However whenever he got a chance he would try and do something to impress us “big guys”.

  One day as one of the Billys and I were walking up the trail behind the store, it was right where boxes and other waste was burned, along came “the little kid”; he was holding s large revolver in his hand!  It was big enough that he could only dangle it at his side.  Now we both would have liked to have hefted that thing and maybe pretend shoot at a couple of things, but first of all that would mean that we would have to acknowledge our interest and second we didn’t believe him when he said that his Dad said he could play with it. We just kept going and left him there.

  I think it was a couple of days later I was taking the same short cut and as I passed the fire pit, I spotted something metallic on the edge of the pit.  It was the revolver!  The handle had been burned a bit but otherwise was in fine shape.  I picked it up shoved it into my pants under my shirt and kept going.

  While I walked to Billy’s house I wandered what I was going to do with it.  Somehow I was convinced that because of where I had found it, it was ‘finders keepers’. But I knew it couldn’t be seen around my house!

  I rounded up Billy and we headed out into the old orchard.  When we were out under the trees, I just pulled up my shirt and said, “Look what I found.”

  That day we did heft that thing and we imaginary shot everything in that orchard!  But after a while we sat down against a tree and talked about “what do we do with it now?”.  We decided that no one else was to know so we would have to find somewhere to keep it.  Billy said he would trade me for his Red Ryder BB gun if he could keep it; of course I would still be able to play with it whenever he did.  Well that was a pretty good deal except then I would have to answer to my parents on where I got a BB gun.  We finally decided that I would have full access to the BB gun whenever I wanted and we would store them at the back of his Mom’s chicken coop, which backed out onto the orchard.  We had a plan!  The days went by and at every opportunity we would head out into the orchard and play with the two weapons.

  One day, perhaps a couple of weeks after my discovery a BC Police car drove into town and stopped at the store.  That was neat, it was the first time I had ever seen one of these guys.  We were just hanging out on the dock (I think it was all of us older ones).  We watched the policeman and Mr. Pieper come out of the store and walk up to Mr. Pieper’s house.  We soon lost interest and each went his own way. 

  Perhaps an hour or so later, I don’t know what I was doing, but I was by myself, the policeman came along and called me over, gad he was big!  He towered over me and whether it was his size or the uniform or both, I started getting scared.  But he was quite nice, he asked me who I was and if I had many friends.

  Then all of a sudden he asked, “Do any of your friends or their parents own a pistol or have you seen one?”  Right out of the blue!  I’m sure my mouth fell open; I know my knees were like water; I probably had guilt all over my face.

  There was no hesitation, I blurted out how I had found the gun and that my friend and I had hidden it. I told him we just used it to play games with.  He listened to my babbling then just told me to take him to where it was.  It was at that point I hesitated.  If Billy’s folks saw me bringing a policeman and going around the coop, Billy (and I) would be in big trouble on the local front.  As best I could I explained my dilemma.  He asked where Billy’s place was and when I explained, he said, “How about we just walk up the road and I’ll wait while you go and get it?”

That’s what we did, I was lucky enough to catch Billy out in the yard, and I quickly filled him in in a whisper and made him come with me.  We got the gun, and took it out to the policeman.  He looked a little less stern and asked Billy to tell him his side of the story.  Of course our stories matched so he told us that he was glad we hadn’t tried to lie about anything.  He told Billy he could go.  Walking back down the road I asked if my parents had to know.  He took his time replying then said, “Well I have to tell Mr. Pieper what happened, you were the one that found the gun and he will have to know that.  I don’t have to tell your friend’s parents, but I think I should talk to yours.” 

  We went down to the store, the story was told to Mr. Pieper and knowing now that I was not going to jail, I actually voluntarily apologized to Mr. Pieper.  Then the policeman and I walked over to my house and I went and got my Mom.  He took her aside, told her what happened and then turning to include me said, “I don’t think any punishment is warranted. The boys were being boys, they didn’t steal the gun and it is now back with its owner.”

  He started to turn a way then turned back and reached down and shook my hand.

  I don’t know if my Mom ever told my Dad, to the best of my knowledge Billy’s folks never found out.

 As I relived this little story while I was typing I couldn’t help but wonder how different that episode would have been handled in today’s world.