Mighty Maximilian: Samuel Clemens's Traveling Companion Book #4
Chapter 2 ABOARD THE BELLE maximilian dreamed for the first time since he had begun his trip The cool summer breeze danced its way through the grass The glen was filled with seasonal flowers and alive with bees and butterflies Maximilian loved this time in Tanner's Glen the most He cherished the days he was allowed to play the day away and not worry about chores He sat peacefully on the bank of Farmer Tanner's winding lazy creek From his seat on the creek bank Maximilian peered into a break in the line of trees in the fence row The trees cast a dark shadow over the entire glen Maximilian could sense something was there in the darkness He strained his eyes and tried to make out what awaited him in the
forest just out of his sight He looked deeper and began to see a form take shape He could almost make out what the shape was Maximilian reluctantly opened his eyes It didn't take him long to realize he was not at home in the glen but in the time machine He still had an empty fuel cell and no way to travel home For a moment Maximilian thought about closing his eyes once again He could try to make his way back into the dream he had just left Instead he decided to think more about his fuel problem The capsule's window was tinted glass So it was difficult for Maximilian to see whether it was day or night out He carefully opened the hatch and leaned out Maximilian's long wiry whiskers fluttered in an attempt to gather information about his new surroundings He pulled himself from the pod and patted the dust from his shirt The time machine had come to rest next to a large flotation device made from some strange material The ring was tied to a heavy rope
The round buoy was painted with the boat's name Mississippi Belle Maximilian began putting together the pieces to the puzzle He was on the deck of a moving boat He turned his face into the soft breeze The warm air felt refreshing after being in the time machine for so long Maximilian slowly made his way out from underneath a bench An impressive sight was not ten yards in front of him A massive paddle wheel churned its way slowly through the water It threw a cool crisp mist into the air as it turned Maximilian's eyes grew bigger He slowly backed himself underneath the bench again Something about the size and scale of the wheel scared Maximilian It was like a slow moving giant wading through the water Large wooden planks worked to power the Mississippi Belle through the currents The planks were whitewashed and fastened securely into place by large iron bolts Air released from the hydraulic compressors sounded like the breathing of a hibernating bear
Maximilian had become used to something very similar to this paddle wheel back home in Tanner's Glen Over the years Farmer Tanner had expanded his farm He had added an old pine waterwheel that helped grind grain to make flour Maximilian had spent days watching the waterwheel turn He had studied it very closely He began to see many similarities between Farmer Tanner's mill wheel and that of the riverboat After a few minutes of watching the paddle wheel Maximilian took in the rest of his surroundings The boat passed large low hanging trees draped in moss Even with the noise created by the paddle wheel Maximilian could hear music and talking Although the music was soft Maximilian recognized some of the songs He could not quite put his paw on exactly what songs they were though What kind of boat is this Maximilian wondered as he pondered his next move A scrap of paper suddenly fell into Maximilian's paws He took a moment to read
