James adjusted his backpack with a grunt. The straps were beginning to bite into his shoulder, and he could have done with a rest. Fat chance, he thought with a smile. Anyway, it was a beautiful August day, the sun was shining and there was a light breeze at his back. Why complain? He came to a slight incline and puffed a bit as he walked up it. He was doing OK, though, he thought, for someone who didn't usually walk much. The badminton probably helped. Finally, he reached the top of the hill and caught sight of a slender figure in shorts and T-shirt, running towards him.
"Jay! Give us a Mars Bar. I'm starving." Andy was grinning from ear to ear. He was having the time of his life out there, away from civilisation, and was as happy as James had ever seen him.
"I thought you had some chocolate in your backpack?"
"Finished it all." He took it off and plonked it down in mock disgust.
Rolling his eyes, James took his pack off, and sat down on the grass by the side of the path. Opening it, he fished around for the familiar shape and pulled two of them out. He was hungry, too. "Here."
"Thanks." Andy sat down beside him and shifted around to lean back against James' shoulder. They ate their Mars Bars in companionable silence, after which Andy put the wrappers in his backpack (no litter!) and stretched out on the grass, gazing up at the sky. "There are shapes in the clouds, you know, Jay. Animals, castles, dinosaurs...."
"What do you see now?"
"An owl. No, a hawk. I don't know, some bird."
James lay down next to him and looked up. "I think it's an elephant!" Andy giggled and punched him playfully on the arm.
"Come on, you, we've got a few miles to go yet today!" said James, and gave Andy's leg an affectionate squeeze. It was early Saturday afternoon, and they were in the middle of the Yorkshire Dales, a couple of miles outside Horton in Ribblesdale, about 90 miles from their starting point at Edale. They had been on the Pennine Way for almost a week.
Andy bounded ahead, as usual, and disappeared around a bend in the path. "Jay! Look at this!"
As James caught up, he saw the boy staring out over a huge limestone quarry. He walked up to him, and Andy held his hand as he stared out over it, and at the machines working within. For some reason, James found it hard to speak.
"People really work in places like this, Jay?"
He cleared his throat. "Someone has to, Andy. Not everyone is as lucky as you, or as clever. It's probably not too bad, and I bet the pay's good if you don't mind overtime." And if you can stand the dust, noise, and dirt, he thought.
Andy let go of James' hand. "Let's get on to the village. I'm hungry." Did he never stop eating?
They soon found it, a picturesque little place overlooked by one of the 'three peaks', Pen Y Ghent. This looked quite a climb, and James was in no hurry. "Let's find a pub or something and get a drink. I'm parched."
There were two pubs and they weren't feeling fussy. The closest one looked perfectly friendly and didn't mind kids, so Andy and James found a table by a window and dumped their packs on two of the seats, with great relief.
"Want a Coke?"
"What are you having?"
"A pint!"
"I'll have a pint too."
"I don't think so. Wait a minute - what about a shandy? They won't mind you having a weak one with two-thirds lemonade." Or not if they don't notice, he thought.
"Yeah. Great!"
James got the drinks and they both drank greedily. They had water with them, of course, but it wasn't the same as a long cool drink in a comfortable pub. Stretching his back, he thought for a minute. "Why don't we stay in the village tonight? You know, take a room? I could use a break from the tent." It was small but there was room for the two of them. Just.
"I don't mind the tent, it's fun. Still, a bed does sound good."
"I'll ask at the bar."
The rather large landlady was only too happy to direct them to a small hotel not far away. It had six guest rooms, four of which had twin beds and would be perfect for them. It also served an excellent evening meal, apparently, which sounded even better. They finished their drinks and went to look for it. It wasn't hard to find, and they found the door answered by a friendly but rather abrupt lady of about sixty-five.
"Hello! Can I help you?"
James smiled. "Hello, yes. We're looking for a room for tonight. We're walking the Pennine Way and feel like a break from camping!"
"I've only got one twin room available. Will that do?"
"Yes, that's perfect. Thanks!"
She looked at Andy. "This your son, is it?"
"No. His family are old friends of mine and I thought that some country air would do him good, so I offered to bring him with me on my walking expedition." This wasn't exactly true, of course, but it was close enough and somehow easier than saying that Andy himself was his friend.
She smiled. "Lucky lad!"
"Yeah, it's great," Andy said, feeling a bit left out of the conversation.
"Payment in advance, please. No reduction for the boy, I'm afraid, so that'll be £50 for two people. Will you be wanting dinner?"
"Yes, please."
"Dinner is £10 per person, so that'll be £70 in all, then."
James paid her in cash and she visibly relaxed as she stuffed it into a drawer.
"Thank you. I'll show you to your room."
They followed her up a narrow flight of stairs and onto a small landing leading to a hallway with seven doors off it. One was a bathroom, she explained, and the others double and twin bedrooms. Theirs was the first on the right and only just big enough for the furniture that had been stuffed into it, so they quickly dumped their bags on their respective beds before going back downstairs.
The landlady was waiting for them. "Why don't you go for a walk along the river? There's plenty of wildlife to see and wooded areas to explore, you know, for the lad."
James turned to Andy, who shrugged. "Thanks. We will. We saw a footpath on the way, not far from the pub. Is that the way?"
"Yes. Just follow it for a few hundred yards and you'll see the river."
Twenty minutes later they were strolling along beside the river when they came to one of the wooded areas they had been told about. A rough path led into it, rather uninvitingly, but Andy's face lit up at once. "Come on, Jay! Let's muck around in there for a bit."
"In there? What's so great in there?"
"Come on! There must be more to do in there than there is out here. The river is nice but it's boring." Without a backward glance he disappeared into the undergrowth, pushing branches out of the way as he went. James quickly followed him, and before long they found themselves surrounded by trees on all sides, the path winding deep into the woods in front of them. Andy scampered ahead, making James work hard to keep up. Eventually, after a good ten minutes of this, they came to a small clearing where the permanent semi-darkness of the woods gave way to bright sunlight. There was long grass and new growth.
Andy ran around, in and out of the trees and clearing, somehow excited just to be there. Eventually stopping to catch his breath, he saw a young tree not far in front of him. Curious, he walked over to it, looked closely, and ran his hands along some of the branches. Suddenly he snapped off a thin straight one about three feet long, stripped off the leaves, and started whipping it through the air. It was strong but very flexible.
"That's a switch."
"A what?" Andy didn't understand.
James smiled. "A switch. In America it used to be a common method of corporal punishment, and it's still used in the deep South by a few strict parents. Boys were sent out to cut a switch from a tree, and when they brought it back they were beaten with it. If they didn't get a good enough one, they were sent back out for another and given extra strokes."
"That's not very nice!"
"No. It must be awful to grow up with that sort of thing hanging over you all the time."
Andy looked thoughtfully at the switch. "I bet it hurts."
"It does."
He flexed it again and whipped it through the air a few more times. "Show me."
James had guessed this was coming. "Andy, we're on holiday. Do you really want a sore bottom? I'm not joking, you know. A proper switching will be very painful."
Andy smiled. "I like having a sore bum, you know that. It hurts at the time but makes me feel good, afterwards. You know what I mean." Without waiting for an answer to this he threw the switch at James' feet, dropped his shorts and underpants and bent over, holding on to the trunk of a nearby tree. "Ready, sir."
James picked up the switch and sighed. Andy's bottom was pointing right at him. He pushed Andy's baggy T-shirt up his back and out of the way, moved to the boy's left, raised the switch high over his shoulder, and brought it down fast.
Andy was surprised how much it stung. It was a sharp, burning pain. "OWWW".
James beat Andy's bottom hard, much more quickly than he would have with a cane. There were only about three seconds between each stroke, and the fire in the boy's bottom grew with each one, making him howl in pain each time. After twelve whacks, James aimed at the boy's legs and whipped him there three times, the last one landing about four inches above the knees. Livid red welts appeared on the tender flesh and Andy yelled out at top of his voice, tears streaming down his face. Finally, James moved his aim back up and gave him another fifteen hard whacks, making thirty in all, concentrating on the lower half of the boy's bottom and making sure that the switch whipped right into him. Andy felt as though he was being cut open and he screamed, tears and snot dripping onto the grass.
The thrashing was over. The boy's bottom was covered in shallow weals, going purple where these crossed. Livid welts stood out on the outside of his right cheek where the switch had whipped round, and there were two small cuts where buds on the switch had bit into the skin.
James threw the switch into the woods and sat down on the grass, sweat pouring down his face. After a few seconds Andy gave a final loud sob and coughed a few times. Letting go of the tree, he slowly got up, reached behind himself, and gently touched his bottom. When he looked at his hands again there was a little blood on them. He grabbed his shorts and underpants and straightened up. He was still crying.
James stood and gave him a big hug. "Are you all right, Andy?"
Andy coughed again and sniffed before taking a deep breath and wiping his eyes. "Bloody hell, that hurt. You cut me!"
"I didn't cut you on purpose, silly. A switching is supposed to be like that. It's quite nasty, really. Doesn't bruise that much, though."
"OWW! It hurts! My bum's on fire!"
"Lie on your tummy for a bit, in the grass."
A few minutes later, Andy had stopped snuffling. They chatted about spanking, computers, badminton, and what they were going to do on the rest of their holiday, until they noticed it was slowly beginning to get dark. They got to their feet and Andy turned towards the path, back the way they had come. "Come on, Jay. Let's go back to the hotel. I'm starving!"
"Good idea." James turned to follow him and stopped suddenly. "You can see a welt on your legs when you walk, Andy. Below the bottom of your shorts."
Andy twisted his body to see. One was just about visible, and another probably would be if he bent over or did anything else that caused his shorts to ride up. "Don't worry, Jay. I'll be careful! If anyone says anything I can always say that I got them walking through bushes and stuff." James was worried, though. They were travelling as light as possible and neither of them had brought any long trousers, just two pairs of shorts each.
They reached their hotel forty minutes later. The landlady was in the kitchen and smiled when she saw them. "You're just in time for dinner. You can go straight to the dining room. The other guests are already there."
Andy and James found a table by the window and enjoyed an excellent roast beef dinner. Nothing fancy, just traditional English fare and plenty of it, and they both had second helpings of everything. The apple and blackcurrant crumble that followed was equally good, and they each ate a generous portion. They talked non-stop throughout, as friends do, and it wasn't until Andy scooped up the last of the custard in his bowl that he noticed that most of the other guests had left. Only an elderly couple remained. Both were looking at him. The man was frowning and looked as though he disapproved of boys, but the lady caught his eye and beamed at him.
"Hello! What's your name?"
"Andrew."
"Why don't you and your dad join us for coffee in the lounge?"
James turned around. "I'm not.... ow!" Andy had kicked him under the table, and winked as he turned back to glare at him. "Yes, er, all right."
They all stood up and filed through the narrow door into the little sitting room. The landlady saw this from the kitchen and followed them in. "Coffee, dears?" They all nodded. "Cocoa for the lad, I think, don't you?" Andy turned red. He liked coffee and fancied a cup, but said nothing.
After their drinks had been served, the landlady bid them goodnight and retired to her own side of the building, leaving them to look after themselves. The elderly couple were called Mary and Edward, and Mary was chatting amicably with James. Edward, however, was glaring at Andy.
"I hope you're behaving yourself, Andrew, and helping your father. Looking after boys like you is difficult enough as it is. I know, I used to be a headmaster at a preparatory school, until I retired."
Andy had expected something like this. The man had to be either a headmaster or an army officer or something like that, he thought. He put on his most schoolboyish face.
"Yes, sir, I'm trying to be good. My father knows how to deal with me if I'm not, though."
James was taking a sip of his coffee and coughed violently as it went down the wrong way. Edward noticed this but didn't associate it with what Andy was saying.
"It fact, sir, I was punished this morning for stealing two Mars Bars out of his rucksack and spoiling my lunch!"
"Stealing? I should hope you were severely punished. What did your father do?"
"He thrashed me, sir." Andy stood, hitched up the right leg of his shorts, and turned round. Edward grunted in satisfaction. "I got it on the bare bottom too, sir, of course."
"Quite right, too. Did it make you cry?"
"Oh, yes sir."
Edward smiled. "Good. I hope you learned your lesson!"
"I did sir. I've promised to behave myself for the rest of our holiday."
Edward was delighted. "I'm glad to hear it! Boys who misbehave deserve to be beaten. It's what I used to do when I was a headmaster!" He turned to James, who was staring straight ahead in absolute disbelief, hardly able to breathe. "Well done, man. Good show. There's too much mollycoddling these days. You've got to be firm with boys, you know."
James shook himself. "Er.... yes. Absolutely." He turned to Andy, who was looking suitably shamefaced. "Come on, Andrew. Bed time."
"Yes, father."
Andy and James said goodnight and climbed the narrow stairs to their room. Once inside, Andy threw himself on his bed, buried his head in the pillow to muffle the sound, and shrieked with laughter. James sat beside him and shook his head. After a good minute, Andy sat up, a silly grin on his face. "That's the most fun I've had in ages, Jay! Did you see his face?"
"I don't know what I'm going to do with you, Andy. You almost made me choke! We'll have to get up early and have breakfast before them in the morning. I'm not sure I can stand any more of that!"
"Yes, father!" and Andy dissolved into more howls of glee, picking up the pillow and stuffing the edge against his mouth to stifle the sound.
Eventually Andy's laughter had reduced to the occasional giggle. James squeezed his leg. "I'm going to read a bit of my book. Why don't you go and clean your teeth, then I'll do mine and we can get a good night's sleep. There's a steep hill ahead tomorrow and we'll need it. Not to mention getting up early to avoid Edward and his wife!
"OK." Andy poked about in his rucksack, found his toothbrush and toothpaste and disappeared to the bathroom. After five minutes he returned and James took his turn, taking extra care to scrub carefully around the troublesome molar that had been root filled a couple of years before. When he returned, he found Andy had turned off the ceiling light and was already in bed. James smiled at him, undressed quickly and got into his, picking up his book again. He had just read a couple of paragraphs when he heard an unmistakable rubbing sound, and glanced over to see Andy's hand moving up and down under the sheets. He looked at his book, trying desperately hard to read but unable to, as the rubbing got faster and faster. Soon afterwards the boy jerked his legs and moaned slightly, before slowing down and stopping a few seconds later.
James looked over at him. He was very red in the face. "You really should wait until I'm asleep, you know."
Andy giggled. "I know. I'm a very naughty boy. I suppose you'll just have to spank me!"
James rolled his eyes theatrically. "Not tonight, I'm not. Anyway, it's late. We need to get some sleep!" James put his book down, leaned over, and turned out the light. Both of them fell asleep quickly.
Next morning was bright and sunny with a fresh wind blowing from the south. James was pleased about this as it would be hot work walking up the hill today, and Andy would feel it too despite his seemingly boundless energy. He left the boy to sleep for a bit longer, and went to the bathroom where he showered, shaved, and cleaned his teeth. When he returned Andy had stuck his head under a pillow.
"Come on, lazybones, wakey wakey rise and shine!"
He rolled over in bed and slowly cracked open one eye. "What's the matter?"
"Time to get up! Come on!"
"Just ten more minutes."
James walked over to Andy's bed and pulled the duvet cover off in one swift motion. Andy groaned, rolled over, and sat up, rubbing his eyes. He yawned. "Okay, okay. Where's my backpack?"
"Right where you dropped it." James picked it up off the floor and handed it to him. Andy dug around inside and pulled out a fresh T-shirt and his blue fleece shorts, which reached almost to his knees and were long enough to cover the marks of yesterday's switching. He looked at James and they smiled at each other.
"Splash some water on your face and clean your teeth, then we'll have breakfast."
Fifteen minutes later they were tucking in to a full English breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans, and mushrooms. James had two helpings of black pudding as well. "Ugh!" Andy had said when James told him what it was, and promptly plonked his slice onto James' plate. They both had toast and coffee, Andy making sure that the landlady didn't force another hot chocolate on him.
James gazed around him. "I wonder where Edward and Mary are?"
Andy looked up sharply. "Who cares?"
"Oh come on. I'm sure he's a nice man really."
"Hmm."
When the landlady came to clean away their plates she explained that the retired headmaster and his wife had got up early, as they usually did, and had already left for their morning walk. Andy and James were both relieved at this, and decided to resume their journey right away. After finishing their breakfast they ran up the stairs, hurriedly stuffed their things into their backpacks, said goodbye to the landlady, and set out for the slopes of Pen Y Ghent.
They were only a few minutes outside the village when they caught sight of Edward and Mary sitting in the shade of an old tree by the side of the path. Branches stuck out everywhere at odd angles, and they had hung their jackets from one of them. They were obviously enjoying the peace of the countryside in their own way and did not look best pleased at seeing anyone else, even in passing.
James smiled at them. "Hello! Fancy seeing you here!"
Edward glowered, but Mary tried to look cheerful. "We're just enjoying the fresh air. Hardly anyone comes up here this early, it's a chance for some peace and quiet."
Andy suddenly frowned, took off his backpack, and started frantically digging around in it. "Sod it. I've left my other shorts back at the hotel!"
Edward looked shocked. The language, he thought.
"Are you sure, Andy?"
"Certain. They'll be on the far side of my bed, under the window."
"Where you threw them, I suppose?"
"Er.... yes. Sorry."
"Never mind. I'll go back for them, it's not far. You can stay here with Edward and Mary and look after our backpacks." He removed his and put it on the ground next to Andy's. He turned to Edward. "Don't mind, do you? I won't be long."
"Not at all, young man. You just leave him to me."
"Oh. Er, OK, thanks." James squeezed Andy's shoulder and hurried back towards the village.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself this time, young man?"
Andy was startled. James had just disappeared around a turn in the path. "Sorry?"
"I should think you were. You seem determined to ruin your father's holiday. I think it's disgraceful!"
"I'm not ruining his holiday. I only left my shorts behind by mistake and he's gone back for them."
"You're careless, slovenly and sloppy. Most boys are at your age."
"I'm not. I just made a mistake. We were both in a hurry this morning."
"Don't answer back!"
Edward was getting very annoyed. His wife turned to him to say something but he angrily shushed her and stood up.
"You need to be taught a lesson!"
He moved over to where Andy was standing, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, marched him over to the tree and bent him over a large, thick branch that was sticking out of the far side at just below waist height. Andy was too shocked to protest, the breath slightly knocked out of him by the force of the man's action.
Edward altered his grip slightly and pressed down on Andy's back just below the neck, holding him firmly down over the branch. Reaching over, he grabbed the waistband of Andy's fleece shorts and yanked them halfway down his legs, followed by his underwear. Then with his right hand he undid his thick leather belt, drew it out through the loops of his trousers, doubled it up, raised it over his shoulder, and brought it down onto Andy's bare bottom with all his strength.
Andy bucked, throwing his head back, and howled. "OWWWW!"
Edward beat Andy as hard as he could. Again and again his belt crashed onto the boy's bottom, biting into the welts from the previous day's switching and making him scream in pain at each whack, tears streaming from his eyes, face contorted in agony. Edward did not stop, and Andy's bottom turned purple and deep red as welt was piled on welt. He started to cough as his throat became raw with screaming, until suddenly he moaned loudly and just lay over the branch, crying softly as the minutes passed and the beating went on and on.
James had retrieved Andy's shorts and was rather pleased at himself for making such good time. He was singing softly as he walked up the path, enjoying the morning air and southerly breeze, until he was suddenly brought up short by a familiar sound. A cold sweat started on his forehead and he broke into a run.
He turned the corner and froze for a split second as the full horror of what was happening met his eyes. Edward was completely oblivious to anything but beating Andy, who was strangely silent and hanging limply over the branch as the belt bit into his bottom and upper thighs. Dropping the boy's shorts, James sprinted towards the tree as fast as he could.
Edward had raised the belt again and was just about to swing it down when James crashed into him, knocking him to the ground. With a great roar of anger, he grabbed him by the front of his jacket, yanked him up, slammed his back into the tree trunk and held his forearm against his throat.
"You BASTARD! What are you doing to my boy?"
Edward was unable to speak. James relaxed his hold slightly.
"He was careless and sloppy. He needed to be punished."
"What? He's on holiday, you arsehole! Oh no, Andy!!"
James threw Edward back down towards his wife. He went over to Andy, gently lifted him off the branch, and helped him to lie on his side on the grass. The boy said nothing, just yelped as a little grass brushed against his bottom. He was sobbing uncontrollably, a wild look in his eyes.
James turned back towards Edward, who was cowering against his wife. "I ought to do that to you, you unspeakable BASTARD! I know how, you know. Oh, yes. I could make you scream and howl and cry like that. I should do it to you, too, you bitch," he said, looking at Mary, "for not stopping him. My boy is only twelve. How COULD YOU?!!!"
"But.... but.... you punished him yesterday! That was quite a switching you gave him. I thought you would approve."
"What? That wasn't punishment, it was.... Never mind. What I do with my boy is my business, not yours. You have no right to touch him." He pointed towards Andy "And NOBODY has the right to do THAT to ANYONE! That isn't punishment, it's assault."
Edward and Mary both looked terrified as James towered over them, the force of his rage palpable in the air. There was silence for a long moment.
"Oh go away. Both of you. Get out of my sight. If I ever see either of you again we'll all regret it. Leave. NOW!"
They staggered to their feet and hurried back in the direction of the village.
James rushed over to Andy, sat down beside him, and stroked his face. He said nothing, just sat there with his friend, and waited for the sobbing to subside a little. Eventually, Andy started to quiet down a bit, and James quickly walked over to his backpack and retrieved his water bottle and a clean cloth. Moistening it, he very gently wiped Andy's bottom and legs to soothe them. Andy moaned and James started to cry.
"You called me your boy. Don't cry, Jay."
James sniffed and looked at him. "What?"
Andy was smiling faintly. "You called me your boy. Thanks for the rescue. You were great!"
James wiped his eyes. He leaned down and stroked Andy's hair. "Are you all right? I don't think it's as bad as it looks, but your bottom is a real mess."
"Help me up."
James stood, leaned over, put his hands under Andy's shoulders and helped him to his feet. He was a bit wobbly. His shorts and underpants had fallen off and were lying about ten feet away. James threw the underwear in the general direction of his backpack, and helped Andy to gently ease the loose fleece shorts over his swollen bottom.
"Try to walk." Andy tried hard, and was able to limp, but not much more. "It'll take a day or so for you to be able to walk properly, I think. We'd better find a place to camp and stay there until you're okay. Er...."
"What, Jay?"
"Do you want me to carry you?"
Andy laughed. "I'm not a baby, Jay. I'll manage. Slowly. Let's pitch our tent at the first clearing we come across. One thing, though."
"What?"
"I'm starving. Give us a Mars Bar!"