Ham sat for a moment longer. He looked up at Hal and Martin, and saw that both of them were grinning slightly. With some embarrassment, Ham stood up and dusted himself off, particularly the seat of his pants.
“Well,” Ham pronounced, “let’s be on our way then. I see that you have a travel pack, too, Martin. So unless there’s something you need here and now, let’s be off!”
Martin smirked a bit, winked slyly at Hal, and gestured for Ham to lead the way. Hal fell back to walk alongside Martin, both of them trailing Ham. “Just knew, hmm?”
“Yes, young Hal, I just knew. Just as I know that you aren’t nearly as dense and slow as you’d have everyone think.”
Hal cocked his head to the left, considered Martin for a moment, cocked his head to the right, considered Martin a bit more, then bringing his head center and forward-facing again, he said “mmmm.”
For the first hour or so, Ham walked in the lead, not speaking to either Hal or Martin. They could see that his shoulders and neck were stiff, and that he made an effort not to turn his head and look at them. They could see the strain this was causing in the tight wiry muscles along his neck, and each, separately, wondered when he would let it go.
As they climbed a short hill, Ham slowed down a bit until Hal and Martin caught up with him. He looked at Hal on his left, then turned and looked at Martin on his right. He sighed, then smiled slightly, and kept walking over the crest of the hill.
