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Drayton shuffled down to where Theodosia was kneeling, pushing away dry weeds, working at the hole, tugging the metal fence this way and that.
“That dinky hole?” he said. “There’s no way we could ever squeeze through there.”
“We have to try.”
“You try. Just know that if you get stuck I’ll have to grab your ankles and pull you out like a sack of flour.”
“I’m going to give it a shot.”
“Suit yourself.”
Theodosia crouched down on her hands and knees and stuck her head through the hole.
“I think this might work.”
After bending back more of the fence and figuring out a workable angle, Theodosia twisted one shoulder through the fence, then the other. From there it was a matter of twisting and turning and shimmying the rest of her body through.
Drayton peered at her through the wire. “Good grief, you did it. Then again, you are a rather small person.”
“It wasn’t so hard, Drayton, you try it.”
Drayton bent forward in an awkward stance and grasped the torn fence with his hands.
“You have to get lower,” Theodosia coached.
“I thought I was lower.”
“Go ahead and scrunch all the way down.”
Drayton dropped to his hands and knees. “Dirty down here. And grubby. It feels like I’m kneeling in an oil slick.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Here goes nothing.”
Drayton stuck his head through the hole in the fence, then followed that with one shoulder. He twisted slightly and got hopelessly stuck. He made a sound like a wounded crow as he backed out.
“Try approaching the hole from a slightly different angle,” Theodosia suggested. “And think positive.”
“I’m always positive,” Drayton grumped. He dropped his right shoulder, rammed it through, fought some more, then somehow managed to jam his left shoulder through.
“You’re halfway there,” Theodosia whispered.
“But it’s the wrong half.”
“Now just wiggle.”
“That sounds so ungainly. Couldn’t I just…”
RRRRIP!
Drayton froze. “Drat. My slacks. Ripped on a sharp edge I guess and…”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“I do worry about it.”
“But you’re almost there. Here, give me your hand and I’ll try to pull you through the rest of the way.”
