The President’s Plaque: Part 13

Trunk-to-Trunk

Mike and I follow Dad’s long strides with quick-paced scurries. We cut across a whole bunch of grass, and I see a tree. It looks pretty ancient. Sitting there, leaning against the tree, is Mr. President, reading a book.
We duck behind a fat tree’s trunk, with Mike crouched down at the roots of the tree, Dad peeping out from the left side of the tree, and me leaned over the right side.
Dad is on the lookout for those two men. He hasn’t told us who he thinks they are, or what he thinks they’re going to do. I’m still bewildered, and so is Mike.
Suddenly, Dad whispers, “There!” Apparently he’s spotted the two men. I peek out the left side, under him, and I see them, too. One is a fat, short man, and the other one is a tall, lanky man. I can guess that Rob, the shallow-voiced man, is the tall one, and the fat one is the deep-voiced man. They’re classic people for robbing — or whatever they’re doing here today.
They’re creeping from tree trunk to tree trunk, and both of them seem to be holding something black. It’s hard to tell from this distance. Dad tells us to stay here and begins creeping from tree trunk to tree trunk, also. The two men are getting closer to the president; so is Dad, but from the other direction, and faster.
Pretty soon Dad is only one tree away from the president, while the two men are four trees away. Dad walks up behind the president, still remaining hidden, and says something to him. Mike asks me, “What’s he saying?” I reply, “I can’t hear him, either.”
The president shows no sign of hearing anything Dad is saying; he remains motionless, still reading his book. Dad creeps back to us, still using the trunk-to-trunk method.
He explains, “Those two men are terrorists carrying guns.”