"Let's do the entire floor at once!" she proposed.
That sounded good to me, so we collected everything into a large clump, and then worked together to push all the laundry out at once. It fell in a giant pile, billowing down the sides of the prison walls--
"Arrrgh!"
--and directly onto the head of a warden who had wandered over to figure out what a large pile of laundry was doing in front of the prison.
Once he had pulled everything off his head and arms, he pointed up at us. "Whoever did this, stay right where you are! I'm coming to get you!"
The total time I had been able to stay out of trouble: one hour.
Almost a record for me.
Go find a room to clean out," I said to Della. "Quickly. Go!"
Della shook her head. "The window was my idea."
"But it's my job, so either way I'll get the blame. You don't have to get it too."
Della nodded and hurried away. I decided the best chance I had of avoiding a second night in the cage was to be as straightforward as possible. At least, that strategy had always worked when I was in trouble with my parents.
As soon as the warden was in front of me on the stairs, I lowered my head.
"I didn't see you there, sir, I'm sorry."
"Laundry is to be carried down the stairs, not thrown out the windows where it can scatter all over the dirt."
No, we wouldn't want to get the dirt on the dirty laundry. But I only said, "Of course not, sir."
That stopped him for a minute. Obviously he hadn't expected me to agree with him so easily.
"Whose idea was this?"
I saw Della peek around the corner of the room she was in. Quickly, I said, "My idea, sir. I did it alone."
"I thought I heard giggling."
Now Della disappeared into her room. "It was only me laughing," I said. "There's no one else." To prove it, I tried giggling. It didn't sound at all like Della's higher-pitched laugh, and irritated the warden.
The warden shoved me against the wall nearest to the window. "Would you like it if I treated you the same way you just treated that laundry?"
I tried calculating in my mind how much we'd thrown out the window. Would it be enough to cushion me if necessary? No, probably not.
"I won't do it again ... sir." It annoyed me to lower my eyes and curb the edge in my voice, but fake humility was better than really being tossed out the window. "If you let me go, I'll get it all gathered up and delivered for washing."
He loosened his hold. "You will, and tomorrow you will be assigned different work, harder work. Clearly, you are not fit for laundry service. And as punishment, you will miss the evening meal tonight."
That was better news than it could have been. Besides, I had yet to get food from the tent, so another meal shouldn't make much difference.
"Yes, sir." Hopefully, no argument meant no further punishment.
I followed him down the stairs and immediately gathered up all the laundry I'd thrown out the window. Regardless of what he'd said, I still thought throwing it out the windows had been a fine idea. Walking the individual loads downstairs would've taken far more time and cost me valuable energy. It was like the treadmill I'd seen last night--extra work expended for no good reason.
After delivering the laundry to be washed, I decided to explore the Colony on my own and, with a little luck, bump into Weevil along the way. I didn't know what job I'd be assigned tomorrow, but if it was harder, then I figured I should enjoy today the best I could.
Northwest of the old prison were the garden and stables for a few dozen chickens and four miserable-looking cows. I didn't stay there long, mostly because I figured the workers there would ask for help. Nor did I go any farther north. Regardless of what I might find along the way, the caves were somewhere in that direction, and I didn't want to accidentally lead anyone there.
So I moved south, briefly looking around the fence at the treadmill where men were still exhausting themselves with the relentless climb. I wanted to stop and tell the nearby warden about my idea to have water move the treadmill instead. It would probably grind the wheat better because water didn't wear out like muscles, and would preserve the health of these men. But I didn't say anything. I was already in enough trouble.