Welcome to RiverWyre
On the other side of the Time filling station was the Cleveland Wrecking Yard. I walked down there to have a look at the used trout stream. The Cleveland Wrecking Yard has a very long front window filled with signs and merchandise. There was a big sign that said:
USED TROUT STREAM FOR SALE.
MUST BE SEEN TO BE APPRECIATED.
I went inside and looked at some ship's lanterns that were for sale next to the door. Then a salesman came up to me and said in a pleasant voice, "Can I help you?"
"Yes," I said. "I'm curious about the trout stream you have for sale. Can you tell me something about it? How are you selling it?"
"We're selling it by the foot length. You can buy as little as you want or you can buy all we've got left. A man came in here this morning and bought 563 feet. He's going to give it to his niece for a birthday present," the salesman said.
"We're selling the waterfalls separately of course, and the trees and birds, flowers, grass and ferns we're also selling extra. The insects we're giving away free with a minimum purchase of ten feet of stream."
"How much are you selling the stream for?" I asked.
"Six dollars and fifty-cents a foot," he said. "That's for the first hundred feet. After that it's five dollars a foot."
"How much are the birds?" I asked.
"Thirty-five cents apiece," he said. "But of course they're used. We can't guarantee anything."
"How wide is the stream?" I asked. "You said you were selling it by the length, didn't you?"
"Yes," he said. "We're selling it by the length. Its width runs between five and eleven feet. You don't have to pay anything extra for width. It's not a big stream, but it's very pleasant."
"What kinds of animals do you have?" I asked.
"We only have three deer left," he said.
"Oh. . . What about flowers?"
"By the dozen," he said.
"Is the stream clear?" I asked.
"Sir," the salesman said, "I wouldn't want you to think that we would ever sell a murky trout stream here. We always make sure they're running crystal clear before we even think about moving them."
"Where did the stream come from?" I asked.
"Colorado," he said. "We moved it with loving care. We've never damaged a trout stream yet. We treat them all as if they were china."
"You're probably asked this all the time, but how's fishing in the stream?" I asked.
"Very good," he said. "Mostly German browns, but there are a few rainbows."
"What do the trout cost?" I asked,
"They come with the stream," he said. "Of course it's all luck. You never know how many you're going to get or how big they are. But the fishing's very good, you might say it's excellent. Both bait and dry fly," he said smiling.
"Where's the stream at?" I asked. "I'd like to take a look at it."
"It's around in back," he said. "You go straight through that door and then turn right until you're outside. It's stacked in lengths. You can't miss it. The waterfalls are upstairs in the used plumbing department."