As I carefully folded back the neatly cut turf, it was as if I had opened up a portal to the Bronze Age...
I do not know exactly what happened that night. One person on their own might have imagined it, but when two people simultaneously witness the same event there has to be something to it...
It was the last thing that I expected to see in the Shropshire countryside. It was futile to try and run, as I was no match for the power and agility of the animal that stood before me...
Buckingham's eyes fixed upon the old man like a hawk after its prey: "May a curse be upon thee for thy treachery," he snarled....
Poor old Mrs Brown's house took a direct hit. I laughed as her wooden leg came flying over the rooftops, clattering as it bounced off the rusty corrugated roof of our toilet at the bottom of the garden...
A rather large. well-endowed lady appeared in the doorway. Why I suddenly thought about Zeppelins I can't imagine...
John had not believed me when I told him that a Mr Crapper had invented the flush toilet, so it came as no surprise that he would not believe the origin of Zippo lighters...
The Beast of Buildwas - final page
As I packed away my flask, I thought I saw a paw print by the waters edge. Upon closer examination this was confirmed. Walking along the bank, I noticed several more. They were as big as a man's hand. At last I had found what I was looking for.
The fields I was now in, which I could not obtain access to that night because of the Hawthorne barrier and floodwater, were sown with crops that were just breaking through the surface, which allowed me to easily follow the tracks. These eventually led to the Hawthorne barrier and to the field beyond, where the encounter had taken place and where we had found the carcass. It certainly demonstrated that the fence and Hawthorne had not presented an obstacle to the animal as it retreated.
Over the next five hours, I traced all the tracks, photographed them and made casts with the stone power that John had given me. From the number of different tracks that I found, it became obvious that the animal had frequently used the fields to travel the area.
Feeling well pleased with my day's work, I sat down to enjoy a nice cup of tea and a cheese sandwich. Big game hunting makes you hungry.
The next day, I contacted my local newspaper, the Shropshire Star, who printed my story under the heading: Big Cat in Sheep Killing Theory. I also reported the sighting to the police, as I felt that I had an obligation to help protect the public.
Since the encounter took place, there have been several sightings of the animal, the most notable of which were the sightings reported by a Mr David Keenan of Jackfield, near Ironbridge, Shropshire and a patrolling policeman from the West Mercia Constabulary. Both sightings were made near to the ruins of Buildwas Abbey, two fields away from where my encounter took place.
However much the doubters may ridicule such sightings, I know from first hand experience that big cats are on the loose in the countryside. In the wooded hills of Shropshire there lurks such an animal, and I will never forget my 'close encounter' with the Beast of Buildwas.
...End
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