After selecting his target for further investigation, LEGO-Sheriff Triibeard rappelled off one of the higher branches of the rose to reconnoiter the area. I would venture to guess that most of you have never seen the Sheriff without his hat except after the cranial surgery back in May of 2014. His hair, like mine, has subsequently grown back in its natural sandy-blonde color, although his is a little redder than mine.

image

I cautioned him that I always wear a helmet when rappelling, and he explained that his hair was made out of the same high-impact plastic as a LEGO safety helmet, so what's the difference? He made a good point.

Following the aerial recon, he set up an exploration grid and methodically began walking back and forth under the rose bush with his high-precision ground-penetrating RADAR.

image

Plotting the results on a gridded chart, an obvious target appeared. Pacing it off on the grid, he set up the backhoe and began to dig.

image

As the afternoon turned into evening, the hole got deeper and wider with no evidence of a target. Before twilight completely gave way to the darkness of night, lights were brought in to illuminate the excavation site so the Sheriff could continue his work. Finally -- "ka-THUNK!" -- the bucket of the backhoe struck a solid wooden object. As more dirt was carefully removed, the golden logo of ORCHiDAN glowed brightly in the glare of the floodlights.

image

The Sheriff climbed down into the hole to examine the find and determined that it was a large (to him anyway) wooden crate. What could it contain, he wondered.

image

Clearing away enough dirt to get lifting cables safely secured around the crate, he used the backhoe to lift it up and set it on the side of the excavation.

image

The crate was made of hand-carved oak and ornamented with golden decorations just like the ORCHiDAN logo on the top. The massive brass hinges showed little sign of corrosion, indicating that the crate had not been buried for an extended period of time -- perhaps only several days or a few weeks.

image

What will be discovered when the crate is opened?


Triibeard's Thirty-NINE years of being bearded    (The recent journey from a short- to a long-beard)
Introducing LEGO-Sheriff Triibeard     (The origin story for our polymeric polychromatic hero)
Sheriff Triibeard and The Case of the Missing Beard Balm   (In search of that scoundrel RiffRaff)
Sheriff Triibeard and the Hermit Hoarder    (Consequences of acquisitiveness)

In a world of shorn faces, it is our privilege to offer those around us the exquisite opportunity to know a gentleman with a beard.
Last Edited By: Triibeard Jun 15 15 12:47 AM. Edited 12 times.