Rodney gave a low whistle and pulled the nearest towards him. He rolled the smooth latex between his thumb and forefinger and tested the seams. Holding the units together, he marvelled at how the colours worked. Then he turned one over and over, hunting for its zipper.
'You von't find him. I haf hidden him mit much cleferness.'
Rodney rose to the challenge, but Wolfgang's prophecy held true.
'Bloody ingenious; I think they're fabulous. Why don't we have a beer and try them out on the grass?'
'Vell... perheps a small portion. Ya, O.K.'
Rodney beamed, happy to abandon his struggle with the mower. He nodded to the beanbags.
'Like to do the honours?'
Wolfgang gathered up the four-coloured beanbag and with patent pleasure, hurled it from the terrace. It described a slow, graceful arc through the azure sky and fell deep in the lush lawn.
The moment it hit the ground, the beanbag disappeared.
The three friends blinked. The grass was fifteen centimetres high at most - nowhere near tall enough to conceal a beanbag at ground level, let alone from their elevation.
'Fok me! Vere did ze fokker go?'
'Buggered if I know,' replied Rodney. 'Chuck one of the others out.'
Wolfgang nodded and threw the olive and russet beanbag after its sibling. It landed close to where the four-coloured unit should have been, but remained clearly visible.'
'That's where the other one went,' marvelled Susie. 'So where is it?'
'I don't know, but I'm goingk to find out.' Wolfgang prepared to jump down beside Rodney, then seized the last beanbag and sent it after the others. In utter amazement, he watched it vanish on landing, along with the other bi-coloured bag it hit.'

To be continued...