Fall 1966
Blind Man's Bluff
(mff/f)
Part I
The Challenge
During the last story, our new friend Louise (9) got involved for the first time in our tie-up games. David (10) tied his sisters, Nancy (8) and Cathy (7), for the first time. Andrew (10), David, Angela (10), and Donald (9) were able to win another victory, their fifth since the reshuffling, over us.
It was Saturday morning. We were busy doing chores, and it wasn’t until half past ten that we were all able to relax. Andrew then went over to David’s house while Angela, who came earlier and who helped with our chores, hung out with Betty. Frank (9) was also busy with chores, so he was unable to come over, but my cousin Donald (9), having nothing to do at his house, came over with his sister Maggie. My younger brothers, Barney (7), John (6), and Lawrence (5) were on the other part of the house, playing among themselves.
We older kids hang out in the living room, doing nothing in particular. Donald and I had a conversation on, if I remember correctly, the merits of some comic book superheroes while reading those comics, while Maggie, Angela, and Betty kept giggling and whispering to each other. Angela and Maggie wore dresses that reached to just below their knees, while Betty wore a shirt and a knee-length pleated skirt. All of us were wearing thick sweatshirts considering the cold Fall weather, while the girls wore tights under their dresses and skirts.
I didn’t care what they were talking about until Angela made a boast.
“Well, I’ve been hear almost everyday that I practically live here,” she said. “I know every nook and cranny there is.”
“Right,” Betty said unbelievingly. “I bet that if it was dark you’d be lost.”
“Is that so?” Angela said. “Wait until its dark. Switch off the lights. I can navigate this house whether it’s bright or night! I can go wherever I want.”
Maggie interjected. “Why wait until dark? Angie, why don’t we just blindfold you and let you roam this house blind?”
“Yeah! That’s a great idea!” Betty said, supporting the idea.
It suddenly became interesting. I stopped my comic book conversation with Donald and listened to the girls, though I still pretended to read the comic book.
“Hey Tom, could I borrow some handkerchiefs or anything that we can use to blindfold Angela?” my sister asked.
I nodded. “Just make sure you return them to its proper place after you’re with it,” I instructed.
Betty ran to my room. After a minute or two of waiting, my sister returned carrying a large handkerchief.
“Are you ready?” my sister asked Angela.
“Yes,” Angela said as Betty blindfolded her. “Very! Very very ready!!”
“Can you see?” asked Maggie, waving her hands before Angela to test the blindfold.
“No,” Angela answered.
Betty giggled, took some length of white rope from under the couch Donald and I were sitting on, gave it to me, pointed at Angela, then giggled.
I understood what my sister wanted to happen. I walked over to Angela. Betty and Maggie suddenly pulled Angela’s hands behind her.
She was surprised, and protested mildly, but didn’t resist as I began wounding rope around her hands. Her hands were crossed, so I tied it vertically then horizontally before frapping it in the center. I quickly knotted it off. It was tight and I considered it inescapable. I then quietly went back to my couch, picked up my comic book, but my eyes, along with that of Donald, were on Angela.
“Okay, okay, very funny. Untie me. How am I supposed to roam around with my hands tied behind my back?” Angela protested.
“If you believe you’re so great, you can do it,” Maggie said.
“Untie me, c’mon. You know tmmmpph!”
Betty covered Angela’s mouth with her hands. She giggled before saying, “Look, if you continue to complain, I’ll gag you! Now, will you accept being bound?”
Angela had no choice but to comply. She nodded.
Betty removed her hand and spun her around a couple of times to disorient her.
“Now march to my room, genius!” Betty commanded.
“Oh this would be so easy!” Angela said while experimentally tugging at her bonds.
“I think you better make sure she doesn’t hurt herself,” I said as Angela started to walk, slowly, cautiously, but confidently.
I stood up and began to walk besides her on her left, and so did Donald who went to her right, just to make sure she doesn’t fall or injure herself.
She was wearing black shoes, so she simply can’t feel the floor. She tapped the floor, then walked extremely slowly.
“That’s the wrong way,” Betty teased. “You’re going outside!”
“No, it’s not the wrong way. This is it. I know it. I can feel it,” said Angela as she felt her way along the first floor.
I kept silent, and gestured to Donald to say nothing as we followed her. We did silly things like leap in front of her, stuck out our tongue at her, did some crazy acting by waving our hands in front of her, but she was oblivious to all of it, as we did it silently. It was clear that the blindfold was effective.
“Tom tied my hands, didn’t he?” Angela said as she slowly walked.
“Why’d you think that? How do you know I wasn’t the one who tied you up?” Betty asked. “After all, you didn’t see the one who tied you up!”
“It was easy. Both you and Maggie,” declared Angela, “don’t know how tie somebody up. So it has to be Tom!”
“Well, why can’t we learn to knot, anyway?” Maggie said, a bit offended.
“Besides,” Angela continued, “I know both of you held my hands back while a third one tied it up.”
That silenced both Maggie and Betty.
“The fact you needed someone to tie me up while you held me was all I need to know that your tying skills still suck!” Angela said.
Both Betty and Maggie were a bit peeved at Angela’s belittling of their tying skills.
Angela managed to feel her way to the wall, then positioned herself so that she was leaning with her back on it, then began to walk sideways towards where the stairs were.
She managed to reach the bottom of the stairs, but she bumped several furniture. We made sure she broke nothing as we removed things that might prove dangerous to her.
“Ha, you should do this if I get to your room,” Angela said.
“You can’t tie us!” Maggie said. “We’re too young!”
“Yeah! You’re babies, that’s why you can’t be tied!” Angela teased. “At Nancy and Cathy have more guts than you two!”
“Tom, could you please fetch me some duct tape and handkerchiefs?” Betty told me loud enough for Angela to hear.
“Sure thing,” I said, but did not move, as we all looked at Angela’s reaction.
“Okay, okay, you win,” said the blindfolded redhead, clearly not relishing another opportunity to be mute—again.
When she was at the staircase, she sat on the bottom stair. We were puzzled by her decision, until she pushed her bottom up one stair, and pulled her feet to the stair where she was sitting on.
“I don’t like to fall while going up the stairs,” she said. “At least this method of going up is safer.”
“Just be careful,” Betty reminded her.
Donald and I continued our silent vigil of the adventures of our blind wanderer. I positioned myself so that I was always just one step above her, Donald was besides her at her right, while Betty and Maggie followed her from below.
She continued this movement. I can tell that she became tired doing this. In fact, when she reached the top stair, she asked if she can rest for a minute and that they talk a bit.
“Well, okay,” Maggie said.
Betty signalled silently to me to get the rope.
I nodded and silently went to my room, where I got from my bag of supplies long pieces of soft thick white rope.
When I returned, Betty and Maggie were chatting with Angela. And Angela just talked with them as if she wasn’t bound and blindfolded.
I tossed the rope to Donald, who was standing behind them, but was silent. His face showed that he was trying very hard not to laugh. He quickly went in front of the girls.
Maggie signalled her brother, and Donald quickly tied Angela’s feet together.
“Mrs. Grant of science class was so…What the?” Angela said as she felt her feet pushed together and long rope being wound around them. “What’s going on?”
Donald continued as he tied her knees just above her dresses’ hem after tying her ankles.
“Since you’re resting, and we’re here talking, then you don’t need to use your feet,” Betty exclaimed as she got another rope from me and wrapped the rope around her upper arms and the stair post besides her. I was the one who knotted it as she was not yet well versed in the art of tying inescapable knots.
“Aw! This is turning into a tie-up game,” Angela complained.
“This isn’t turning into a tie-up game,” Betty started.
“It already has,” Maggie finished.
“Well, I want to go and find your room, Betty!” Angela whined.
“No, I think you don’t have enough rest,” said my sister. “And don’t complain, please. You might find yourself unable to talk if you do.”
Angela calmed down upon hearing the implied threat. She fidgeted and tried to escape, but it was to no avail. So the three girls continued talking to each other as if there was nothing amiss. I went and sat on a chair on the hallway upstairs where I had a clear view of them. I pretended to read a comic book, but my eyes were on the bound Angela. Donald sat on the floor besides me where he also pretended to read a comic book. We talked in whispered tones so that the girls, or more specifically Angela, won’t hear us.