Chapter 15 - Leaving the Christmas Cave

The night passed slowly and Gammelnok did not sleep a lot. The old wood carver was glad of the company and told Gammelnok of his childhood in the Spanish province of Andalusia just outside the port of Algeciras near the Rock of Gibraltar where he learned his woodcarving skills.

Gammelnok in turn told of his time with the Sami people and how he had helped Santa get his Christmas project off the ground.

The delivery waggon arrived early morning, full of oak timber wood logs. Unloading and storing the wood took a while and it would soon be time for the cave to open to the public.

When the work was done, Gammelnok climbed on board the waggon and hid in a corner covered by some old rags.

The horse and waggon headed for the trade exit making good time.

They were checked out by the security guard and passed through the gates. 

Then, there was a tremendous trumpet blast and all hell broke loose. The guards came running after the waggon, held on to the horse and demanded to search the waggon. The driver, in broken DoubleDutch protested that he had done nothing wrong.

Jumping into the waggon, the lead guard searched the empty space, finding nothing. A sudden gust of wind blew into the waggon and lifted the rags covering Gammelnok.

That was enough. Gammelnok was detained, searched and the wood carving of himself was discovered.

He was promptly charged with shoplifting, not having paid for the carving.

Gammelnok protested loudly, fighting for his freedom and holding onto his Haversack for dear life. To no avail! He was carried away by the uniformed guards and hauled off to the local castle prison.