‘Jack, have you seen your brother Matt!?’

‘No, Ma, not since we came out after lunch, he went off with Marc!’

‘Oh fiddlesticks, where can that child be?’

A search party was organised, the task, to locate the two youngsters before conditions worsened. Snow is a truly wondrous thing, white, soft, its crystals formed in an intricate fashion, each flake individually shaped but, when your elders, i.e. adults stand only a little more than a metre high, as The Peeps do snow can present a few problems especially for children. The recent fall had  been particularly heavy and Matt and his pal’s whereabouts was causing great concern, it would be dark soon which would make the search even more difficult, even hazardous.

‘Don’t you think we ought to be heading back, it’s getting late and I said    I was only popping round to talk to you.’

‘Oo I suppose so. It’s a shame though. We’ve built this great cavern and    it won’t be here tomorrow.’ 

Even though he was agreeing with his pal, Matt wasn’t happy about leaving their magnificent, cavernous structure because snow didn’t have a long life span, as his snowmen showed. The two slowly made their way back along the tunnel they had built, deep in the snow until they got closer to the exit when Marc grabbed Matt’s arm. 

‘Listen, duh hear anything?’

‘Like what?’

‘Voices, I can hear voices.’

‘Voices? All I can hear is the crunching sound our movements make and the voice of a clown who hears voices. Come on, we’re nearly there.’

Just as they emerged from their snow kingdom they heard two distinct sounds. One was Matt’s father calling his name and the other was the chilling noise a collapsing tunnel makes. 

‘Ah well, said Matt, try again tomorrow.’

‘Not if I have anything to do with you won’t!’ 

Matt’s dad was not pleased. 

‘We have been searching high and low for you two, your Mother was worried sick. Now get in, as for you, young Marc, your parents are waiting for you at home, Uncle Jed will escort you there.’ 

It promised to be a long winter for the whole settlement as the snow continued to fall covering everything, giving the landscape the appearance of an odd lumpy white area with lights twinkling from within.

‘Do you remember that snow cave we built as kids, and the trouble we got into?’

‘Do I? I got grounded for a week!’

‘We all did. The snow came down that night and continued for weeks. None of us were going anywhere. Funny really and ironic. We get grounded for doing something wrong and everybody else gets grounded for no reason.’

The two young men were reminiscing about their childhood. They were lifelong friends, very close, sharing everything they could which was mainly getting into trouble.. They were adventurous, brave and loyal, true Peeps, a people renowned for these qualities.

‘I was thinking, Marc.’ Said Matt.

‘What about?’ 

‘About that recruitment drive for Wardens that’s being talked about.’

‘Y-e-s-?’

‘I was thinking about going along and seeing what it was all about. You get a uniform and everything, helmet too. What do you think, fancy coming along too?’

Well he’s certainly excelled himself this time, thought Marc. What a crazy idea. Who in their right minds would get themselves involved in such a lame brained thing? 

Max Temper, Head Warden of Windy Ho answered the knock on his door and upon opening it saw two scrawny young men standing there. 

‘Yes?’ He asked.

‘We’ve come to see about this ‘ere recruitment  thing you’re advertising.’

‘And you are?’

‘I’m Matt and this is my friend Marc.’

‘Hmm,’ Said a thoughtful and mildly amused Max, ‘you had better come in and we can talk a little bit about it.’ 

They were keen but really, their rather slight physique? But, that could be worked on, he thought as he ushered them into the station. He sat them down and, after making them a hot drink, began explaining all about what it meant to be a Warden, about their duties to the Settlement, in a word, they represented Law and Order. That is, protective law and order. Wardens were not bullies but guides. The two friends listened intently to what he was saying, asking questions at various points. All the time he was growing to like these youngsters, they were intelligent, sharp, interested and were growing keener by the minute until by the time all had been discussed, were ready to sign anything.

 ‘Well now,’ what I strongly suggest is you go home and give all of this some serious thought.’

‘Come in, Max, good to see you.’

‘Thank you kindly Gwen. I thought I’d pop by to tell you my news.’

‘Oh, news?’

‘Yes, dear lady, I shall be retiring at the end of this present term. I'm getting too old for this job, it’s time some young'uns had a go.’

‘Come and sit down and tell me all about it.’

Max Temper had been the longest serving Warden in Windy Ho and the only one for some time. He’d dreamed of retiring so he could take up his hobby of Woodcarving but he hadn’t had any luck in getting anyone to take his place. Everybody agreed that there must be a Warden in the Settlement but the minute he raised the subject at council meetings there was always another issue deemed more important that needed discussing so his retirement always got put back. What made it doubly difficult of course was the fact that nobody ever came forward to volunteer for the post. He couldn’t walk away and leave the Settlement without a Warden. Now, change was on the horizon. He saw a chance and he was going to grab it. He told her how he’d recently interviewed two young men who seemed right for the job and keen to sign up. He’d given them time to think things over and they had come back to him expressing their wish to become Wardens. Most importantly, he had a good feeling about these two and Madam Gwen always told him to trust his feelings. Therefore, she should be the first to hear the news.

‘Their names are Matt Xander and Marc Adler, you may have heard of them, as youngsters they were always into things but never law breaking.’ 

‘Oh, I’ve heard of them alright, they were quite resourceful as I remember,’

‘And that’s what we need in Wardens, resourcefulness, initiative, imagination and a taste for adventure. Oh, and trustworthiness of course.’

 ‘And, with names like Xander - Defender of the people, and Adler - Eagle, sounds like a good choice. When might these young men take up their duties?’

‘Ah, they have to do a probationary term first, under instruction from me. Marc, the youngest, won’t be able to fully qualify at the same time as his friend so he’ll have to be a prob’ a little longer but he is aware of this and is still keen.’

‘Well then, Max, you seem to have things nicely sewn up. The council is okay with this I trust?’

‘Erm, it will be once you have okayed it with them. They’ll listen to you and besides, it gets us all out of a sticky situation.’

‘M-a-x-?!’

‘W-e-l-l, you know it’s true.’ They shared a conspiratorial chuckle.