This, That, and the Other

Since his retirement a year ago, Henry was in the habit of taking a brisk walk early each morning along the moor. The thick mist was another average autumn morning for the area.

Continuing along the path on his daily hike, Henry caught some movement around the ruins of the old church from the corner of his eye. That old stone building had been condemned and no one was supposed to be on the property.

Henry decided to walk toward the building to investigate. When he got to the building, he looked inside and saw a man sitting on a log smoking a pipe. “Excuse me, sir,” Henry said to the man. “By whose permission are you here?”

The man looked up at Henry. He took a deep puff on his pipe before answering. “Good sir,” the man said. “I am a simple peddler just trying to make a meager living from selling of my wares. I found this oasis from the elements in which you have found me. I thought this empty building to be a convenient place to provide me with shelter for a few days.”

“From what is it that you are seeking shelter?” Henry asked.

“That is a fair question, good sir,” the peddler said. “To be honest with you, I ran into some, shall we say, issues at a town I just visited,” the peddler admitted. “I needed to leave quickly and I stumbled upon this place.”

“Were your actions illegal?” Henry asked. “Are you hiding from the law?”

“Not technicality illegal, but perhaps questionable,” he responded. “But if you allow me to stay here just until the morning, I will give you this beautifully crafted pewter mug to repay you for your kindness.” The peddler reached into his sack and pulled out a large pewter stein, stood up, and handed it to Henry.

Henry examined the stein and realized it had significant value. “Fine,” he said to the peddler. “But oasis or not, if you are still here when I go for my walk tomorrow morning, I shall report you to the authorities.”

“Bless you, good sir,” the peddler said, bowing down to Henry. “I appreciate your kindness.”

And with that, Henry left the old abandoned church and the peddler behind. He headed directly to town constable to report what he had seen.

Written for Sue Vincent’s Thursday Photo Prompt. And for the following one-word prompts: Daily Addictions (average), Scotts Daily Prompt (permission), Word of the Day Challenge (peddler), Ragtag Daily Prompt (oasis), and Your Daily Word Prompt (convenient).