3
The Geyser Pranksters
It is a warm summer day in Yellowstone National Park at Old Faithful. As usual on a day like this, a large crowd has gathered on the boardwalk to watch Old Faithful's next eruption. Nobody notices the two men standing at one end of the benches lining the boardwalk.
Both men are fairly tall, about 6'1. But that is where the resemblance stops. One man has longish dark brown hair that is almost black; it's such a dark shade of brown. He's also skinny and has mischievously dancing brown eyes. The second man is more solidly built and has short light brown hair with a reddish tinge to it. His eyes are light blue and also playfully dancing as he fingers the black rectangular box he is holding. Both guys are smiling impishly as they wait for the right moment to spring the trap on the unsuspecting geyser watchers.
The light brown haired man turns to his companion and, in a low voice just loud enough to be heard by his dark haired colleague and a few members of the gathered crowd, queries, "Johnny, did you remember to set the timer on the plumbing system?"
A few of the onlookers glance curiously at the men.
"But Roy," the dark haired man protests anxiously, even as he is winking at Roy, "I thought that was your job, Pally."
A few more bystanders stare at the duo. The two guys barely avoid giggling.
"No way, Junior. My job was to bring the handy talkie so I could let Chris and Jen know to flip the switch to release the water if you forgot to set the timer," Roy remarks. Grinning, he lifts his rectangular box to his mouth and pulls out the antenna.
"Well at least one of us remembered his job," Johnny says, stifling another giggle.
In a slightly louder voice, Roy speaks into the microphone on the box, "Okay, Chris and Jen. Uncle Johnny forgot again to set the timer to release the water. You'll have to do it by hand." Roy pauses for effect, and more of the gathered geyser gazers direct their gazes away from Old Faithful to gape in confusion at the men.
"10-4, Dad. Just tell us when to do it," two voices respond from the speaker. The voices belong to a preteen girl and her brother.
Roy grins, showing a pair of nice dimples, and elbows Johnny. Johnny tries hard but does not quite succeed at hiding a lopsided grin of his own and a giggle. Both guys have a hard time keeping their pent up mirth in check, but they must do their best to avoid laughing, because to laugh now would give the game away.
"Okay, Chris, release the water now," Roy says into the black box.
"10-4, Dad, releasing water," Chris replies.
On the other end of the boardwalk, near Old Faithful Lodge, a boy and a girl are holding another black box with an antenna and leaning over a strange looking contraption with flashing lights, dials, and levers that don't actually do anything but look very fancy and high tech.
Chris, the boy, turns to his sister Jen and says, "Okay, Jen."
Jen pushes one of the buttons, flips a lever, and turns several knobs, then stands back.
Nothing happens. Jen can't contain a small giggle.
"Shh!" warns Chris.
Roy's voice comes once again over the handy talkie. "No conversion, hit it again, kids."
"10-4," Chris responds. He turns to Jen. "Adjust the pressure, sis," he instructs the girl.
Jen pushes more buttons, turns the dials again, and flips another lever. She crosses her fingers behind her back and moves away from the 'device'. Lights flash back and forth. A weak spurt of water splashes from Old Faithful's cone then dies down.
The members of the crowd all look crestfallen. "Oh!" they cry sadly.
"Hit it one more time," Roy directs over the handy talkie.
Again, Jen repeats the entire sequence, making a big show of the entire production. Meanwhile, her brother is trying to control his own laughter but not quite succeeding.
"Shh!" Jen warns Chris, who clamps his hand over his mouth.
This time, water splashes higher from Old Faithful's cone, gradually getting higher until the eruption reaches its peak.
"Ooh! Aw! Wow! Hooray! Oh, Yeah! All right!" and other cheers are heard from the delighted crowd.
The eruption gradually dies down until nothing is left except for the trickling water that is the runoff from the eruption.
Now that the eruption is over, the crowd is leaving. Roy speaks into the handy talkie again.
"Good job, kids. Don't forget to push the button to recycle the water for the next eruption. We can't afford to waste such a precious resource."
"All right, Dad," Chris answers. He turns to his sister and says loudly, "Push the button to recycle the water." His voice carries over the microphone.
Roy turns off the handy talkie, pushes down the antenna, and pockets the radio. Then he turns to Johnny and looks at him sternly.
"And you, John Roderick Gage, ought to be ashamed of yourself. You forgot again to set the timer so the kids had to go to all that work. Thank goodness, they saved the day. But I'm warning you, John Roderick Gage, one more screw up, and you're fired from the DeSoto Thermal Features Management Company!" Roy tells his partner icily.
"Yes, Roy. I won't let it happen again," Johnny says submissively, his normally happy go lucky features downcast.
"Good. See that you don't. I can't afford to have our good reputation sullied, or the Park Service will give the contract to another company. If that happened, I'd have to close the business down and find work as a paramedic again, and we know paramedics don't make nearly as much money as geyser operators."
"All right, Roy. You've made your point," Johnny remarks tiredly; he's heard it all before.
The two men walk towards the other end of the boardwalk. Jen and Chris are waiting near the lodge with the DeSoto Thermal Features Management Geyser Control Device. A nearby group of park visitors eyes the two men as they walk towards the kids.
"So that's how that thing works," one of the tourists comments in a slow deep voice, gesturing towards Old Faithful.
"Now, Billy Bob, you know it's a natural phenomenon. Those guys were just playing a joke," another one of the visitors rebuts.
"Aw, come on, Paw. I always knew it was one of those big syndicates controlling that thingy. Those guys just proved it," Billy Bob protests.
Roy and John, once they are out of earshot of the tourists, burst into the laughter they've been trying to stifle.
"That was brilliant, Junior. Sheer genius. We should all win Oscars for that performance," Roy gasps between paroxysms of laughter. He wipes tears from his eyes.
"Yeah, Pally. Best actors in a practical joke." Johnny is leaning up against a skinny Lodgepole Pine tree trying to catch his breath.
"A joke even Chester B. Kelly couldn't pull off," Roy agrees, referring to the Phantom of L.A. County Fire Department Station 51, where he and Johnny used to work.
The two guys finally are able to get control of their laughter as they walk down the boardwalk to where the kids are waiting with the Device.