"The Night Watch"

Dream #149

There is a soft tapping at my front door. The street lights are out, and the committee for the resistance wants to come in. They have a problem.

I listen in the dark to their request. It is necessary to lay a cable across the estuary. The night before, they had tried to fire a bolt from an antique crossbow, but it fell short of the opposite bank.

An idea takes seed in my mind, if the bolt had wings, it would fly further.

Better still, something like a paper dart, larger, made of wood, strong enough to withstand the shock of firing.

I ask them to bring me the crossbow while I disassemble an old drawer, and carefully remove the thin plywood base. I cut out the dart shape, taking care to keep the grain aligned.

One of the members reminds me that the air over the water is turbulent, and I realise that to keep the dart flying true, needs more than luck.

cate a tail fin, with a small rudder. In a box of old toys I find a tiny gyroscope. I spin it between my fingers, it is almost frictionless. All I need now, is a way to connect it to the rudder.

I really don't like it when people say to me "all you need is…" It is like a thumbnail sketch, anything can be made to work that way. However, in a box of old boat fittings, I know I have a small yacht's binnacle.

I take the gimbal out, mount the little  toy gyroscope on it, and screw it on top of the dart at the centre of gravity.

Using some thin sail thread, I attach the gimbal to the fin, one on each side.

Then I set the gyroscope spinning, lift up the dart, and tilt it side to side, testing to make sure that the rudder turns the right way.

All that remains, is to screw a strong hook to the underside, to engage the string of the crossbow, and attach the thread that is to pull the rope that will finally pull the cable across the river.

One of the committee returns with the crossbow. I check to make sure that the dart fits snugly, and we carry them to the riverbank.

I clear away all the remains of the drawer, breaking it up and leaving it in the firewood bin. Then I close up my workshop.

The dart is fired.

Success.

I awake, surprised, bemused, and pleased.

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Thank you very much for reading.