---------------------
Quest for Towel
---------------------
They were on Delta Canis Majoris when they discovered it. It was in the window of one of those small private-owned shops for all the universe to see and when the universe - or at least the personal universe of Ford Prefect - laid eyes on it, it stopped so quickly that Arthur Dent had bumped into Ford from behind.
"Ford?" Arthur inquisited, waving his hand in front of Ford Prefect's stunned expression, "I say, Ford, what is the matter?"
Ford shook his head slowly and resisted the urge to press his nose to the glass. "Do you see it?" he asked in awe, "It's marvelous... simply..."
Arthur gazed through the window and raised an eyebrow or two, "Simply... a towel."
The towel hanging in the window was large, black and had a picture of a strange round green thing sticking it's tongue out at them.
"It's beautiful..." said Ford, "It's marvelous... it's---"
"A towel."
"The most wonderful towel that I've ever seen!" Ford harumphed at Arthur's lack of enthusiasm. "I'm going to buy it."
Arthur Dent wondered how exactly his friend was supposed to afford to buy the towel, and was truely astounded when Ford presented his alcohol fund and disappeared into the store.
'This towel,' thought Arthur in surprise, 'Must be really very special to him...'
Ford exited the shop, towel pressed up against the bottom of his face. His cerleun eyes dreamily sparkling.
"Smell this!" he said. "Feel this!" Ford thrust the towel into Arthur's hands and the Englishman did so. "Like honey," Ford lamented, "Smells like honey, feels like the fur of a Mogoite fruit tree!"
It was softer than anything that Arthur had ever felt before and it did, indeed smell like honey.
"Isn't it just so---"
Ford was interrupted by a loud humming noise. But not just any loud humming noise, but a loud humming noise that came from the area just above and behind them. The loud humming noise of a hovering-scooter-type-thing with an annoying looking man sitting upon it.
"Hello Ix!" the man screeched. He snapped the towel out of Arthur's hands and sped off.
"Hey wait!" Ford yelled. Enraged, he grabbed Arthur by the wrist and the two following the stolen towel, "Give that back!"
They ended up at the docking area and Ford cursed a word in Betelguese that I dare not repeat here while the strange man zipped into a ship and the hatch was closed.
Immeadiately, Ford pulled out his electronic thumb and grasped Arthur's hand.
---------------------
"What is Ix?" Arthur asked Ford as the two stood, terribly disheveled, to their feet in what appeared to be the storage bay of the man's ship.
"What they called me at school back home on Betleguese," Ford muttered, distastfully spitting the words out like a moldy Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. "Think nothing of it."
"Who was that man?"
"His name," said Ford with a resolute sigh, "is Glod Scroggleputt. In my school, he was the type of fellow who used to go around stealing people's lunch money and putting people - particularily me - into garbage cans. He was a teaser."
Arthur opened his mouth to reply to that bit of history, but Ford gave him a just-shut-up-I'm-not-talking-anymore look.
It also could have been a plea for a Pan Galagtic Gargle Blaster, Arthur wasn't sure.
Knowing Ford, it was probably both.
Arthur blinked, but then shrugged and followed Ford quietly out into the hallway.
Almost immeadiately, they were met by the wrong end of a pertubingly shiney, gold-colored Kill-O-Zap gun.
---------------------
Quest for Towel
---------------------
They were on Delta Canis Majoris when they discovered it. It was in the window of one of those small private-owned shops for all the universe to see and when the universe - or at least the personal universe of Ford Prefect - laid eyes on it, it stopped so quickly that Arthur Dent had bumped into Ford from behind.
"Ford?" Arthur inquisited, waving his hand in front of Ford Prefect's stunned expression, "I say, Ford, what is the matter?"
Ford shook his head slowly and resisted the urge to press his nose to the glass. "Do you see it?" he asked in awe, "It's marvelous... simply..."
Arthur gazed through the window and raised an eyebrow or two, "Simply... a towel."
The towel hanging in the window was large, black and had a picture of a strange round green thing sticking it's tongue out at them.
"It's beautiful..." said Ford, "It's marvelous... it's---"
"A towel."
"The most wonderful towel that I've ever seen!" Ford harumphed at Arthur's lack of enthusiasm. "I'm going to buy it."
Arthur Dent wondered how exactly his friend was supposed to afford to buy the towel, and was truely astounded when Ford presented his alcohol fund and disappeared into the store.
'This towel,' thought Arthur in surprise, 'Must be really very special to him...'
Ford exited the shop, towel pressed up against the bottom of his face. His cerleun eyes dreamily sparkling.
"Smell this!" he said. "Feel this!" Ford thrust the towel into Arthur's hands and the Englishman did so. "Like honey," Ford lamented, "Smells like honey, feels like the fur of a Mogoite fruit tree!"
It was softer than anything that Arthur had ever felt before and it did, indeed smell like honey.
"Isn't it just so---"
Ford was interrupted by a loud humming noise. But not just any loud humming noise, but a loud humming noise that came from the area just above and behind them. The loud humming noise of a hovering-scooter-type-thing with an annoying looking man sitting upon it.
"Hello Ix!" the man screeched. He snapped the towel out of Arthur's hands and sped off.
"Hey wait!" Ford yelled. Enraged, he grabbed Arthur by the wrist and the two following the stolen towel, "Give that back!"
They ended up at the docking area and Ford cursed a word in Betelguese that I dare not repeat here while the strange man zipped into a ship and the hatch was closed.
Immeadiately, Ford pulled out his electronic thumb and grasped Arthur's hand.
---------------------
"What is Ix?" Arthur asked Ford as the two stood, terribly disheveled, to their feet in what appeared to be the storage bay of the man's ship.
"What they called me at school back home on Betleguese," Ford muttered, distastfully spitting the words out like a moldy Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. "Think nothing of it."
"Who was that man?"
"His name," said Ford with a resolute sigh, "is Glod Scroggleputt. In my school, he was the type of fellow who used to go around stealing people's lunch money and putting people - particularily me - into garbage cans. He was a teaser."
Arthur opened his mouth to reply to that bit of history, but Ford gave him a just-shut-up-I'm-not-talking-anymore look.
It also could have been a plea for a Pan Galagtic Gargle Blaster, Arthur wasn't sure.
Knowing Ford, it was probably both.
Arthur blinked, but then shrugged and followed Ford quietly out into the hallway.
Almost immeadiately, they were met by the wrong end of a pertubingly shiney, gold-colored Kill-O-Zap gun.
---------------------