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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/30974-8.txt b/30974-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fb22144 --- /dev/null +++ b/30974-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,6085 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Jimbo, by Algernon Blackwood + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Jimbo + A Fantasy + +Author: Algernon Blackwood + +Release Date: January 15, 2010 [EBook #30974] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIMBO *** + + + + +Produced by David Clarke, S.D., and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +JIMBO + + + + + MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited + + LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA · MADRAS + MELBOURNE + + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + + NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO + DALLAS · ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO + + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + OF CANADA, LIMITED + + TORONTO + + + + + JIMBO + + A FANTASY + + _By_ + + ALGERNON + BLACKWOOD + + MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED + ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON + + 1930 + + + COPYRIGHT + + _First Published_ 1909 + _The Caravan Library_ 1930 + + + PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. "RABBITS" 7 + + II. MISS LAKE COMES--AND GOES 24 + + III. THE SHOCK 40 + + IV. ON THE EDGE OF UNCONSCIOUSNESS 49 + + V. INTO THE EMPTY HOUSE 54 + + VI. HIS COMPANION IN PRISON 69 + + VII. THE SPELL OF THE EMPTY HOUSE 87 + + VIII. THE GALLERY OF ANCIENT MEMORIES 102 + + IX. THE MEANS OF ESCAPE 111 + + X. THE PLUNGE 131 + + XI. THE FIRST FLIGHT 142 + + XII. THE FOUR WINDS 153 + + XIII. PLEASURES OF FLIGHT 165 + + XIV. AN ADVENTURE 177 + + XV. THE CALL OF THE BODY 193 + + XVI. PREPARATION 204 + + XVII. OFF! 219 + + XVIII. HOME 232 + + + + +JIMBO + +CHAPTER I + +"RABBITS" + + +Jimbo's governess ought to have known better--but she didn't. If she +had, Jimbo would never have met with the adventures that subsequently +came to him. Thus, in a roundabout sort of way, the child ought to have +been thankful to the governess; and perhaps, in a roundabout sort of +way, he was. But that comes at the far end of the story, and is doubtful +at best; and in the meanwhile the child had gone through his suffering, +and the governess had in some measure expiated her fault; so that at +this stage it is only necessary to note that the whole business began +because the Empty House happened to be really an Empty House--not the +one Jimbo's family lived in, but another of which more will be known in +due course. + +Jimbo's father was a retired Colonel, who had married late in life, and +now lived all the year round in the country; and Jimbo was the youngest +child but one. The Colonel, lean in body as he was sincere in mind, an +excellent soldier but a poor diplomatist, loved dogs, horses, guns and +riding-whips. He also really understood them. His neighbours, had they +been asked, would have called him hard-headed, and so far as a +soft-hearted man may deserve the title, he probably was. He rode two +horses a day to hounds with the best of them, and the stiffer the +country the better he liked it. Besides his guns, dogs and horses, he +was also very fond of his children. It was his hobby that he understood +them far better than his wife did, or than any one else did, for that +matter. The proper evolution of their differing temperaments had no +difficulties for him. The delicate problems of child-nature, which defy +solution by nine parents out of ten, ceased to exist the moment he +spread out his muscular hand in a favourite omnipotent gesture and +uttered some extraordinarily foolish generality in that thunderous, +good-natured voice of his. The difficulty for himself vanished when he +ended up with the words, "Leave that to me, my dear; believe me, I know +best!" But for all else concerned, and especially for the child under +discussion, this was when the difficulty really began. + +Since, however, the Colonel, after this chapter, mounts his best hunter +and disappears over a high hedge into space so far as our story is +concerned, any further delineation of his wholesome but very ordinary +type is unnecessary. + +One winter's evening, not very long after Christmas, the Colonel made a +discovery. It alarmed him a little; for it suggested to his cocksure +mind that he did not understand _all_ his children as comprehensively as +he imagined. + +Between five o'clock tea and dinner--that magic hour when lessons were +over and the big house was full of shadows and mystery--there came a +timid knock at the study door. + +"Come in," growled the soldier in his deepest voice, and a little girl's +face, wreathed in tumbling brown hair, poked itself hesitatingly through +the opening. + +The Colonel did not like being disturbed at this hour, and everybody in +the house knew it; but the spell of Christmas holidays was still somehow +in the air, and the customary order was not yet fully re-established. +Moreover, when he saw who the intruder was, his growl modified itself +into a sort of common sternness that yet was not cleverly enough +simulated to deceive the really intuitive little person who now stood +inside the room. + +"Well, Nixie, child, what do you want now?" + +"Please, father, will you--we wondered if----" + +A chorus of whispers issued from the other side of the door: + +"Go on, silly!" + +"Out with it!" + +"You promised you would, Nixie." + +"... if you would come and play Rabbits with us?" came the words in a +desperate rush, with laughter not far behind. + +The big man with the fierce white moustaches glared over the top of his +glasses at the intruders as if amazed beyond belief at the audacity of +the request. + +"Rabbits!" he exclaimed, as though the mere word ought to have caused an +instant explosion. "Rabbits!" + +"Oh, _please_ do." + +"Rabbits at this time of night!" he repeated. "I never heard of such a +thing. Why, all good rabbits are asleep in their holes by now. And you +ought to be in yours too by rights, I'm sure." + +"We don't sleep in holes, father," said the owner of the brown hair, who +was acting as leader. + +"And there's still a nour before bedtime, _really_," added a voice in +the rear. + +The big man slowly put his glasses down and looked at his watch. He +looked very savage, but of course it was all pretence, and the children +knew it. "If he was _really_ cross he'd pretend to be nice," they +whispered to each other, with merciless perception. + +"Well--" he began. But he who hesitates, with children, is lost. The +door flung open wide, and the troop poured into the room in a medley of +long black legs, flying hair and outstretched hands. They surrounded the +table, swarmed upon his big knees, shut his stupid old book, tried on +his glasses, kissed him, and fell to discussing the game breathlessly +all at once, as though it had already begun. + +This, of course, ended the battle, and the big man had to play the part +of the Monster Rabbit in a wonderful game of his own invention. But +when, at length, it was all over, and they were gathered panting round +the fire of blazing logs in the hall, the Monster Rabbit--the only one +with any breath at his command--looked up and spoke. + +"Where's Jimbo?" he asked. + +"Upstairs." + +"Why didn't he come and play too?" + +"He didn't want to." + +"Why? What's he doing?" + +Several answers were forthcoming. + +"Nothing in p'tickler." + +"Talking to the furniture when I last saw him." + +"Just thinking, as usual, or staring in the fire." + +None of the answers seemed to satisfy the Monster Rabbit, for when he +kissed them a little later and said good-night, he gave orders, with a +graver face, for Jimbo to be sent down to the study before he went to +bed. Moreover, he called him "James," which was a sure sign of parental +displeasure. + +"James, why didn't you come and play with your brothers and sisters just +now?" asked the Colonel, as a dreamy-eyed boy of about eight, with a mop +of dark hair and a wistful expression, came slowly forward into the +room. + +"I was in the middle of making pictures." + +"Where--what--making pictures?" + +"In the fire." + +"James," said the Colonel in a serious tone, "don't you know that you +are getting too old now for that sort of thing? If you dream so much, +you'll fall asleep altogether some fine day, and never wake up again. +Just think what that means!" + +The child smiled faintly and moved up confidingly between his father's +knees, staring into his eyes without the least sign of fear. But he said +nothing in reply. His thoughts were far away, and it seemed as if the +effort to bring them back into the study and to a consideration of his +father's words was almost beyond his power. + +"You must run about more," pursued the soldier, rubbing his big hands +together briskly, "and join your brothers and sisters in their games. +Lie about in the summer and dream a bit if you like, but now it's +winter, you must be more active, and make your blood circulate +healthily,--er--and all that sort of thing." + +The words were kindly spoken, but the voice and manner rather +deliberate. Jimbo began to look a little troubled, as his father watched +him. + +"Come now, little man," he said more gently, "what's the matter, eh?" +He drew the boy close to him. "Tell me all about it, and what it is +you're always thinking about so much." + +Jimbo brought back his mind with a tremendous effort, and said, "I don't +like the winter. It's so dark and full of horrid things. It's all ice +and shadows, so--so I go away and think of what I like, and other +places----" + +"Nonsense!" interrupted his father briskly; "winter's a capital time for +boys. What in the world d'ye mean, I wonder?" + +He lifted the child on to his knee and stroked his hair, as though he +were patting the flank of a horse. Jimbo took no notice of the +interruption or of the caress, but went on saying what he had to say, +though with eyes a little more clouded. + +"Winter's like going into a long black tunnel, you see. It's downhill to +Christmas, of course, and then uphill all the way to the summer +holidays. But the uphill part's so slow that----" + +"Tut, tut!" laughed the Colonel in spite of himself; "you mustn't have +such thoughts. Those are a baby's notions. They're silly, silly, silly." + +"Do you _really_ think so, father?" continued the boy, as if politeness +demanded some recognition of his father's remarks, but otherwise anxious +only to say what was in his mind. "You wouldn't think them silly if you +really knew. But, of course, there's no one to tell you in the stable, +so you _can't_ know. You've never seen the funny big people rushing past +you and laughing through their long hair when the wind blows so loud. +_I_ know several of them almost to speak to, but you hear only wind. And +the other things with tiny legs that skate up and down the slippery +moonbeams, without ever tumbling off--they aren't silly a bit, only they +don't like dogs and noise. And I've seen the furniture"--he pronounced +it furchinur--"dancing about in the day-nursery when it thought it was +alone, and I've heard it talking at night. I know the big cupboard's +voice quite well. It's just like a drum, only rougher...." + +The Colonel shook his head and frowned severely, staring hard at his +son. But though their eyes met, the boy hardly saw him. Far away at the +other end of the dark Tunnel of the Months he saw the white summer +sunshine lying over gardens full of nodding flowers. Butterflies were +flitting across meadows yellow with buttercups, and he saw the +fascinating rings upon the lawn where the Fairy People held their dances +in the moonlight; he heard the wind call to him as it ran on along by +the hedgerows, and saw the gentle pressure of its swift feet upon the +standing hay; streams were murmuring under shady trees; birds were +singing; and there were echoes of sweeter music still that he could not +understand, but loved all the more perhaps on that account.... + +"Yes," announced the Colonel later that evening to his wife, spreading +his hands out as he spoke. "Yes, my dear, I _have_ made a discovery, and +an alarming one. You know, I'm rarely at fault where the children are +concerned--and I've noted all the symptoms with unusual care. James, my +dear, is an imaginative boy." + +He paused to note the effect of his words, but seeing none, continued: + +"I regret to be obliged to say it, but it's a fact beyond dispute. His +head is simply full of things, and he talked to me this evening about +tunnels and slippery moonlight till I very nearly lost my temper +altogether. Now, the boy will never make a man unless we take him in +hand properly at once. We must get him a governess, or something, +without delay. Just fancy, if he grew up into a poet or one of +these--these----" + +In his distress the soldier could only think of horse-terms, which did +not seem quite the right language. He stuck altogether, and kept +repeating the favourite gesture with his open hand, staring at his wife +over his glasses as he did so. + +But the mother never argued. + +"He's very young still," she observed quietly, "and, as you have always +said, he's not a bit like other boys, remember." + +"Exactly what I say. Now that your eyes are opened to the actual state +of affairs, I'm satisfied." + +"We'll get a sensible nursery-governess at once," added the mother. + +"A practical one?" + +"Yes, dear." + +"Hard-headed?" + +"Yes." + +"And well educated?" + +"Yes." + +"And--er--firm with children. She'll do for the lot, then." + +"If possible." + +"And a young woman who doesn't go in for poetry, and dreaming, and all +that kind of flummery." + +"Of course, dear." + +"Capital. I felt sure you would agree with me," he went on. "It'd be no +end of a pity if Jimbo grew up an ass. At present he hardly knows the +difference between a roadster and a racer. He's going into the army, +too," he added by way of climax, "and you know, my dear, the army would +never stand _that_!" + +"Never," said the mother quietly, and the conversation came to an end. + +Meanwhile, the subject of these remarks was lying wide awake upstairs in +the bed with the yellow iron railing round it. His elder brother was +asleep in the opposite corner of the room, snoring peacefully. He could +just see the brass knobs of the bedstead as the dying firelight quivered +and shone on them. The walls and ceiling were draped in shadows that +altered their shapes from time to time as the coals dropped softly into +the grate. Gradually the fire sank, and the room darkened. A feeling of +delight and awe stole into his heart. + +Jimbo loved these early hours of the night before sleep came. He felt no +fear of the dark; its mystery thrilled his soul; but he liked the +summer dark, with its soft, warm silences better than the chill winter +shadows. Presently the firelight sprang up into a brief flame and then +died away altogether with an odd little gulp. He knew the sound well; he +often watched the fire out, and now, as he lay in bed waiting for he +knew not what, the moonlight filtered in through the baize curtains and +gradually gave to the room a wholly new character. + +Jimbo sat up in bed and listened. The house was very still. He slipped +into his red dressing-gown and crept noiselessly over to the window. For +a moment he paused by his brother's bed to make sure that he really was +asleep; then, evidently satisfied, he drew aside a corner of the curtain +and peered out. + +"Oh!" he said, drawing in his breath with delight, and again "oh!" + +It was difficult to understand why the sea of white moonlight that +covered the lawn should fill him with such joy, and at the same time +bring a lump into his throat. It made him feel as if he were swelling +out into something very much greater than the actual limits of his +little person. And the sensation was one of mingled pain and delight, +too intense for him to feel for very long. The unhappiness passed +gradually away, he always noticed, and the happiness merged after a +while into a sort of dreamy ecstasy in which he neither thought nor +wished much, but was conscious only of one single unmanageable yearning. + +The huge cedars on the lawn reared themselves up like giants in silver +cloaks, and the horse-chestnut--the Umbrella Tree, as the children +called it--loomed with motionless branches that were frosted and +shining. Beyond it, in a blue mist of moonlight and distance, lay the +kitchen-garden; he could just make out the line of the high wall where +the fruit-trees grew. Immediately below him the gravel of the carriage +drive sparkled with frost. + +The bars of the windows were cold to his hands, yet he stood there for a +long time with his nose flattened against the pane and his bare feet on +the cane chair. He felt both happy and sad; his heart longed dreadfully +for something he had not got, something that seemed out of his reach +because he could not name it. No one seemed to believe all the things he +_knew_ in quite the same way as he did. His brothers and sisters played +up to a certain point, and then put the things aside as if they had only +been assumed for the time and were not real. To him they were always +real. His father's words, too, that evening had sorely puzzled him when +he came to think over them afterwards: "They're a baby's notions.... +They're silly, silly, silly." Were these things real or were they not? +And, as he pondered, yearning dumbly, as only these little souls can +yearn, the wistfulness in his heart went out to meet the moonlight in +the air. Together they wove a spell that seemed to summon before him a +fairy of the night, who whispered an answer into his heart: "We are real +so long as you believe in us. It is your imagination that makes us real +and gives us life. Please, never, never stop believing." + +Jimbo was not quite sure that he understood the message, but he liked it +all the same, and felt comforted. So long as they believed in one +another, the rest did not matter very much after all. And when at last, +shivering with cold, he crept back to bed, it was only to find through +the Gates of Sleep a more direct way to the things he had been thinking +about, and to wander for the rest of the night, unwatched and free, +through the wonders of an Enchanted Land. + +Jimbo, as his father had said, was an imaginative child. Most children +are--more or less; and he was "more," at least, "more" than his brothers +and sisters. The Colonel thought he had made a penetrating discovery, +but his wife had known it always. His head, indeed, was "full of +things,"--things that, unless trained into a channel where they could be +controlled and properly schooled, would certainly interfere with his +success in a practical world, and be a source of mingled pain and joy to +him all through life. To have trained these forces, ever bursting out +towards creation, in his little soul,--to have explained, interpreted, +and dealt fairly by them, would perhaps have been the best and wisest +way; to have suppressed them altogether, cleaned them out by the process +of substitution, this might have succeeded too in less measure; but to +turn them into a veritable rout of horror by the common method of +"frightening the nonsense out of the boy," this was surely the very +worst way of dealing with such a case, and the most cruel. Yet, this was +the method adopted by the Colonel in the robust good-nature of his +heart, and the utter ignorance of his soul. + +So it came about that three months later, when May was melting into +June, Miss Ethel Lake arrived upon the scene as a result of the +Colonel's blundering good intentions. She brought with her a kind +disposition, a supreme ignorance of unordinary children, a large store +of self-confidence--and a corded yellow tin box. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +MISS LAKE COMES--AND GOES + + +The conversation took place suddenly one afternoon, and no one knew +anything about it except the two who took part in it: the Colonel asked +the governess to try and knock the nonsense out of Jimbo's head, and the +governess promised eagerly to do her very best. It was her first +"place"; and by "nonsense" they both understood imagination. True +enough, Jimbo's mother had given her rather different instructions as to +the treatment of the boy, but she mistook the soldier's bluster for +authority, and deemed it best to obey him. This was her first mistake. + +In reality she was not devoid of imaginative insight; it was simply that +her anxiety to prove a success permitted her better judgment to be +overborne by the Colonel's boisterous manner. + +The wisdom of the mother was greater than that of her husband. For the +safe development of that tender and imaginative little boy of hers, she +had been at great pains to engage a girl--a clergyman's daughter--who +possessed sufficient sympathy with the poetic and dreamy nature to be of +real help to him; for true help, she knew, can only come from true +understanding. And Miss Lake was a good girl. She was entirely +well-meaning--which is the beginning of well-doing, and her principal +weakness lay in her judgment, which led her to obey the Colonel too +literally. + +"She seems most sensible," he declared to his wife. + +"Yes, dear." + +"And practical." + +"I think so." + +"And firm and--er--wise with children." + +"I hope so." + +"Just the sort for young Jimbo," added the Colonel with decision. + +"I trust so; she's a little young, perhaps." + +"Possibly, but one can't get everything," said her husband, in his +horse-and-dog voice. "A year with her should clean out that fanciful +brain of his, and prepare him for school with other boys. He'll be all +right once he gets to school. My dear," he added, spreading out his +right hand, fingers extended, "you've made a most wise selection. I +congratulate you. I'm delighted." + +"I'm so glad." + +"Capital, I repeat, capital. You're a clever little woman. I knew you'd +find the right party, once I showed you how the land lay." + + * * * * * + +The Empty House, that stood in its neglected garden not far from the +Park gates, was built on a point of land that entered wedgewise into the +Colonel's estate. Though something of an eyesore, therefore, he could do +nothing with it. + +To the children it had always been an object of peculiar, though not +unwholesome, mystery. None of them cared to pass it on a stormy day--the +wind made such odd noises in its empty corridors and rooms--and they +refused point-blank to go within hailing distance of it after dark. But +in Jimbo's imagination it was especially haunted, and if he had ceased +to reveal to the others what he _knew_ went on under its roof, it was +only because they were unable to follow him, and were inclined to greet +his extravagant recitals with "Now, Jimbo, you know _perfectly_ well +you're only making up." + +The House had been empty for many years; but, to the children, it had +been empty since the beginning of the world, since what they called the +"_very_ beginning." They believed--well, each child believed according +to his own mind and powers, but there was at least one belief they all +held in common: for it was generally accepted as an article of faith +that the Indians, encamped among the shrubberies on the back lawn, +secretly buried their dead behind the crumbling walls of its weedy +garden--the "dead" provided by the children's battles, be it understood. +Wakeful ears in the night-nursery had heard strange sounds coming from +that direction when the windows were open on hot summer nights; and the +gardener, supreme authority on all that happened in the night (since +they believed that he sat up to watch the vegetables and fruit-trees +ripen, and never went to bed at all), was evidently of the same +persuasion. + +When appealed to for an explanation of the mournful wind-voices, he knew +what was expected of him, and rose manfully to the occasion. + +"It's either them Redskins aburyin' wot you killed of 'em yesterday," +he declared, pointing towards the Empty House with a bit of broken +flower-pot, "or else it's the ones you killed last week, and who was +always astealin' of my strorbriz." He looked very wise as he said this, +and his wand of office--a dirty trowel--which he held in his hand, gave +him tremendous dignity. + +"That's just what _we_ thought, and of course if you say so too, that +settles it," said Nixie. + +"It's more'n likely, missie, leastways from wot you describes, which it +is a hempty house all the same, though I can't say as I've heard no +sounds, not very distinct that is, myself." + +The gardener may have been anxious to hedge a bit, for fear of a +scolding from headquarters, but his cryptic remarks pleased the children +greatly, because it showed, they thought, that they knew more than the +gardener did. + +Thus the Empty House remained an object of somewhat dreadful delight, +lending a touch of wonderland to that part of the lane where it stood, +and forming the background for many an enchanting story over the nursery +fire in winter-time. It appealed vividly to their imaginations, +especially to Jimbo's. Its dark windows, without blinds, were sometimes +full of faces that retreated the moment they were looked at. That +tangled ivy did not grow over the roof so thickly for nothing; and those +high elms on the western side had not been planted years ago in a +semicircle without a reason. Thus, at least, the children argued, not +knowing exactly what they meant, nor caring much, so long as they proved +to their own satisfaction that the place was properly haunted, and +therefore worthy of their attention. + +It was natural they should lead Miss Lake in that direction on one of +their first walks together, and it was natural, too, that she should at +once discover from their manner that the place was of some importance to +them. + +"What a queer-looking old house," she remarked, when they turned the +corner of the lane and it came into view. "Almost a ruin, isn't it?" + +The children exchanged glances. A "ruin" did not seem the right sort of +word at all; and, besides, was a little disrespectful. Also, they were +not sure whether the new governess ought to be told everything so soon. +She had not really won their confidence yet. After a slight pause--and +a children's pause is the most eloquent imaginable--Nixie, being the +eldest, said in a stiff little voice: "It's the Empty House, Miss Lake. +_We_ know it very well indeed." + +"It looks empty," observed Miss Lake briskly. + +"But it's not a ruin, of course," added the child, with the cold dignity +of chosen spokesman. + +"Oh!" said the governess, quite missing the point. She was talking +lightly on the surface of things, wholly ignorant of the depths beneath +her feet, intuition with her having always been sternly repressed. + +"It's a gamekeeper's cottage, or something like that, I suppose," she +said. + +"Oh, no; it isn't a bit." + +"Doesn't it belong to your father, then?" + +"No. It's somebody else's, you see." + +"Then you can't have it pulled down?" + +"Rather not! Of course not!" exclaimed several indignant voices at once. + +Miss Lake perceived for the first time that it held more than ordinary +importance in their mind. + +"Tell me about it," she said. "What is its history, and who used to live +in it?" + +There came another pause. The children looked into each others' faces. +They gazed at the blue sky overhead; then they stared at the dusty road +at their feet. But no one volunteered an answer. Miss Lake, they felt, +was approaching the subject in an offensive manner. + +"Why are you all so mysterious about it?" she went on. "It's only a +tumble-down old place, and must be very draughty to live in, even for a +gamekeeper." + +Silence. + +"Come, children, don't you hear me? I'm asking you a question." + +A couple of startled birds flew out of the ivy with a great whirring of +wings. This was followed by a faint sound of rumbling, that seemed to +come from the interior of the house. Outside all was still, and the hot +sunshine lay over everything. The sound was repeated. The children +looked at each other with large, expectant eyes. Something in the house +was moving--was coming nearer. + +"Have you _all_ lost your tongues?" asked the governess impatiently. + +"But you see," Nixie said at length, "somebody _does_ live in it now." + +"And who is he?" + +"I didn't say it was a _man_." + +"Whoever it is--tell me about the person," persisted Miss Lake. + +"There's really nothing to tell," replied the child, without looking up. + +"Oh, but there must be something," declared the logical young governess, +"or you wouldn't object so much to its being pulled down." + +Nixie looked puzzled, but Jimbo came to the rescue at once. + +"But _you_ wouldn't understand if we did tell you," he said, in a slow, +respectful voice. His tone held a touch of that indescribable scorn +heard sometimes in a child's tone--the utter contempt for the stupid +grown-up creature. Miss Lake noticed, and felt annoyed. She recognised +that she was not getting on well with the children, and it piqued her. +She remembered the Colonel's words about "knocking the nonsense out" of +James' head, and she saw that her first opportunity, in fact her first +real test, was at hand. + +"And why, pray, should I not understand?" she asked, with some +sharpness. "Is the mystery so _very_ great?" + +For some reason the duty of spokesman now devolved unmistakably upon +Jimbo; and very seriously too, he accepted the task, standing with his +feet firmly planted in the road and his hands in his trousers' pockets. + +"You see, Miss Lake," he began gravely, "we know such a lot of Things in +there, that they might not like us to tell you about them. They don't +know you yet. If they did it might be different. But--but--you see, it +isn't." + +This was rather crushing to the aspiring educator, and the Colonel's +instructions gained additional point in the light of the boy's +explanation. + +"Fiddlesticks!" she laughed, "there's probably nothing at all in there, +except rats and cobwebs. 'Things,' indeed!" + +"I knew you wouldn't understand," said Jimbo coolly, with no sign of +being offended. "How could you?" He glanced at his sisters, gaining so +much support from their enigmatical faces that he added, for their +especial benefit, "How could she?" + +"The gard'ner said so too," chimed in a younger sister, with a vague +notion that their precious Empty House was being robbed of its glory. + +"Yes; but, James, dear, I do understand perfectly," continued Miss Lake +more gently, and wisely ignoring the reference to the authority of the +kitchen-garden. "Only, you see, I cannot really encourage you in such +nonsense----" + +"It isn't nonsense," interrupted Jimbo, with heat. + +"But, believe me, children, it _is_ nonsense. How do you know that +there's anything inside? You've never been there!" + +"You can know perfectly well what's inside a thing without having gone +there," replied Jimbo with scorn. "At least, _we_ can." + +Miss Lake changed her tack a little--fatally, as it appeared afterwards. + +"I know at any rate," she said with decision, "that there's nothing good +in there. Whatever there may be is bad, thoroughly bad, and not fit for +you to play with." + +The other children moved away, but Jimbo stood his ground. They were all +angry, disappointed, sore hurt and offended. But Jimbo suddenly began to +feel something else besides anger and vexation. It was a new point of +view to him that the Empty House might contain bad things as well as +good, or perhaps, only bad things. His imagination seized upon the point +at once and set to work vigorously to develop it. This was his way with +all such things, and he could not prevent it. + +"Bad Things?" he repeated, looking up at the governess. "You mean Things +that could hurt?" + +"Yes, of course," she said, noting the effect of her words and thinking +how pleased the Colonel would be later, when he heard it. "Things that +might run out and catch you some day when you're passing here alone, and +take you back a prisoner. Then you'd be a prisoner in the Empty House +all your life. Think of that!" + +Miss Lake mistook the boy's silence as proof that she was taking the +right line. She enlarged upon this view of the matter, now she was so +successfully launched, and described the _Inmate of the House_ with such +wealth of detail that she felt sure her listener would never have +anything to do with the place again, and that she had "knocked out" this +particular bit of "nonsense" for ever and a day. + +But to Jimbo it was a new and horrible idea that the Empty House, +haunted hitherto only by rather jolly and wonderful Red Indians, +contained a Monster who might take him prisoner, and the thought made +him feel afraid. The mischief had, of course, been done, and the terror +in his eyes was unmistakable, when the foolish governess saw her +mistake. Retreat was impossible: the boy was shaking with fear; and not +all Miss Lake's genuine sympathy, or Nixie's explanations and soothings, +were able to relieve his mind of its new burden. + +Hitherto Jimbo's imagination had loved to dwell upon the pleasant side +of things invisible; but now he had been severely frightened, and his +imagination took a new turn. Not only the Empty House, but all his inner +world, to which it was in some sense the key, underwent a distressing +change. His sense of horror had been vividly aroused. + +The governess would willingly have corrected her mistake, but was, of +course, powerless to do so. Bitterly she regretted her tactlessness and +folly. But she could do nothing, and to add to her distress, she saw +that Jimbo shrank from her in a way that could not long escape the +watchful eye of the mother. But, if the boy shed tears of fear that +night in his bed, it must in justice be told that she, for her part, +cried bitterly in her own room, not that she had endangered her "place," +but that she had done a cruel injury to a child, and that she was +helpless to undo it. For she loved children, though she was quite +unsuited to take care of them. Her just reward, however, came swiftly +upon her. + +A few nights later, when Jimbo and Nixie were allowed to come down to +dessert, the wind was heard to make a queer moaning sound in the ivy +branches that hung over the dining-room windows. Jimbo heard it too. He +held his breath for a minute; then he looked round the table in a +frightened way, and the next minute gave a scream and burst into tears. +He ran round and buried his face in his father's arms. + +After the tears came the truth. It was a bad thing for Miss Ethel Lake, +this little sighing of the wind and the ivy leaves, for the Djin of +terror she had thoughtlessly evoked swept into the room and introduced +himself to the parents without her leave. + +"What new nonsense is this now?" growled the soldier, leaving his +walnuts and lifting the boy on to his knee. "He shouldn't come down till +he's a little older, and knows how to behave." + +"What's the matter, darling child?" asked the mother, drying his eyes +tenderly. + +"I heard the bad Things crying in the Empty House." + +"The Empty House is a mile away from here!" snorted the Colonel. + +"Then it's come nearer," declared the frightened boy. + +"Who told you there were bad things in the Empty House?" asked the +mother. + +"Yes, who told you, indeed, I should like to know!" demanded the +Colonel. + +And then it all came out. The Colonel's wife was very quiet, but very +determined. Miss Lake went back to the clerical family whence she had +come, and the children knew her no more. + +"I'm glad," said Nixie, expressing the verdict of the nursery. "I +thought she was awfully stupid." + +"She wasn't a real lake at all," declared another, "she was only a sort +of puddle." + +Jimbo, however, said little, and the Colonel likewise held his peace. + +But the governess, whether she was a lake or only a puddle, left her +mark behind her. The Empty House was no longer harmless. It had a new +lease of life. It was tenanted by some one who could never have friendly +relations with children. The weeds in the old garden took on fantastic +shapes; figures hid behind the doors and crept about the passages; the +rooks in the high elms became birds of ill-omen; the ivy bristled upon +the walls, and the trivial explanations of the gardener were no longer +satisfactory. + +Even in bright sunshine a Shadow lay crouching upon the broken roof. At +any moment it might leap into life, and with immense striding legs chase +the children down to the very Park gates. + +There was no need to enforce the decree that the Empty House was a +forbidden land. The children of their own accord declared it out of +bounds, and avoided it as carefully as if all the wild animals from the +Zoo were roaming its gardens, hungry and unchained. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE SHOCK + + +One immediate result of Miss Lake's indiscretion was that the children +preferred to play on the other side of the garden, the side farthest +from the Empty House. A spiked railing here divided them from a field in +which cows disported themselves, and as bulls also sometimes were +admitted to the cows, the field was strictly out of bounds. + +In this spiked railing, not far from the great shrubberies where the +Indians increased and multiplied, there was a swinging gate. The +children swung on it whenever they could. They called it Express Trains, +and the fact that it was forbidden only added to their pleasure. When +opened at its widest it would swing them with a rush through the air, +past the pillars with a click, out into the field, and then back again +into the garden. It was bad for the hinges, and it was also bad for the +garden, because it was frequently left open after these carnivals, and +the cows got in and trod the flowers down. The children were not afraid +of the cows, but they held the bull in great horror. And these trivial +things have been mentioned here because of the part they played in +Jimbo's subsequent adventures. + +It was only ten days or so after Miss Lake's sudden departure when Jimbo +managed one evening to elude the vigilance of his lawful guardians, and +wandered off unnoticed among the laburnums on the front lawn. From the +laburnums he passed successfully to the first laurel shrubbery, and +thence he executed a clever flank movement and entered the carriage +drive in the rear. The rest was easy, and he soon found himself at the +Lodge gate. + +For some moments he peered through the iron grating, and pondered on the +seductiveness of the dusty road and of the ditch beyond. To his surprise +he found, presently, that the gate was moving outwards; it was yielding +to his weight. One thing leads easily to another sometimes, and the open +gate led easily on to the seductive road. The result was that a minute +later Jimbo was chasing butterflies along the green lane, and throwing +stones into the water of the ditch. + +It was the evening of a hot summer's day, and the butterflies were +still out in force. Jimbo's delight was intense. The joy of finding +himself alone where he had no right to be put everything else out of his +head, and for some time he wandered on, oblivious of all but the +intoxicating sense of freedom and the difficulty of choosing between so +many butterflies and such a magnificently dirty ditch. + +At first he yielded to the seductions of the ditch. He caught a big, +sleepy beetle and put it on a violet leaf, and sent it sailing out to +sea; and when it landed on the farther shore he found a still bigger +leaf, and sent it forth on a voyage in another direction, with a cargo +of daisy petals, and a hairy caterpillar for a bo'sun's mate. But, just +as the vessel was getting under way, a butterfly of amazing brilliance +floated past insolently under his very nose. Leaving the beetle and the +caterpillar to navigate the currents as best they could, he at once gave +chase. Cap in hand, he flew after the butterfly down the lane, and a +dozen times when his cap was just upon it, it sailed away sideways +without the least effort and escaped him. + +Then, suddenly, the lane took a familiar turning; the ditch stopped +abruptly; the hedge on his right fell away altogether; the butterfly +danced out of sight into a field, and Jimbo found himself face to face +with the one thing in the whole world that could, at that time, fill him +with abject terror--the Empty House. + +He came to a full stop in the middle of the road and stared up at the +windows. He realised for the first time that he was alone, and that it +was possible for brilliant sunshine, even on a cloudless day, to become +somehow lustreless and dull. The walls showed a deep red in the sunset +light. The house was still as the grave. His feet were rooted to the +ground, and it seemed as if he could not move a single muscle; and as he +stood there, the blood ebbing quickly from his heart, the words of the +governess a few days before rushed back into his mind, and turned his +fear into a dreadful, all-possessing horror. In another minute the +battered door would slowly open and the horrible Inmate come out to +seize him. Already there was a sound of something moving within, and as +he gazed, fascinated with terror, a shuddering movement ran over the ivy +leaves hanging down from the roof. Then they parted in the middle, and +something--he could not in his agony see what--flew out with a whirring +sound into his face, and then vanished over his shoulder towards the +fields. + +Jimbo did not pause a single second to find out what it was, or to +reflect that any ordinary thrush would have made just the same sound. +The shock it gave to his heart immediately loosened the muscles of his +little legs, and he ran for his very life. But before he actually began +to run he gave one piercing scream for help, and the person he screamed +to was the very person who was unwittingly the cause of his distress. It +was as though he knew instinctively that the person who had created for +him the terror of the Empty House, with its horrible Inmate, was also +the person who could properly banish it, and undo the mischief before it +was too late. He shrieked for help to the governess, Miss Ethel Lake. + +Of course, there was no answer but the noise of the air whistling in his +ears as his feet flew over the road in a cloud of dust; there was no +friendly butcher's cart, no baker's boy, or farmer with his dog and gun; +the road was deserted. There was not even the beetle or the caterpillar; +he was beyond reach of help. + +Jimbo ran for his life, but unfortunately he ran in the wrong +direction. Instead of going the way he had come, where the Lodge gates +were ready to receive him not a quarter of a mile away, he fled in the +opposite direction. + +It so happened that the lane flanked the field where the cows lived; but +cows were nothing compared to a Creature from the Empty House, and even +bulls seemed friendly. The boy was over the five-barred gate in a +twinkling and half-way across the field before he heard a heavy, +thunderous sound behind him. Either the Thing had followed him into the +field, or it was the bull. As he raced, he managed to throw a glance +over his shoulder and saw a huge, dark mass bearing down upon him at +terrific speed. It must be the bull, he reflected--the bull grown to the +size of an elephant. And it appeared to him to have two immense black +wings that flapped at its sides and helped it forward, making a whirring +noise like the arms of a great windmill. + +This sight added to his speed, but he could not last very much longer. +Already his body ached all over, and the frantic effort to get breath +nearly choked him. + +There, before him, not so very far away now, was the swinging gate. If +only he could get there in time to scramble over into the garden, he +would be safe. It seemed almost impossible, and behind him, meanwhile, +the sound of the following creature came closer and closer; the ground +seemed to tremble; he could almost feel the breath on his neck. + +The swinging gate was only twenty yards off; now ten; now only five. Now +he had reached it--at last. He stretched out his hands to seize the top +bar, and in another moment he would have been safe in the garden and +within easy reach of the house. But, before he actually touched the iron +rail, a sharp, stinging pain shot across his back;--he drew one final +breath as he felt himself being lifted, lifted up into the air. The +horns had caught him just behind the shoulders! + +There seemed to be no pain after the first shock. He rose high into the +air, while the bushes and spiked railing he knew so well sank out of +sight beneath him, dwindling curiously in size. At first he thought his +head must bump against the sky, but suddenly he stopped rising, and the +green earth rushed up as if it would strike him in the face. This meant +he was sinking again. The gate and railing flew by underneath him, and +the next second he fell with a crash upon the soft grass of the +lawn--upon the other side. He had been tossed over the gate into the +garden, and the bull could no longer reach him. + +Before he became wholly unconscious, a composite picture, vivid in its +detail, engraved itself deeply, with exceeding swiftness, line by line, +upon the waxen tablets of his mind. In this picture the thrush that had +flown out of the ivy, the Empty House itself, and its horrible, pursuing +Inmate were all somehow curiously mingled together with the black wings +of the bull, and with his own sensation of rushing--flying +headlong--through space, as he rose and fell in a curve from the +creature's horns. + +And behind it he was conscious that the real author of it all was +somewhere in the shadowy background, looking on as though to watch the +result of her unfortunate mistake. Miss Lake, surely, was not very far +away. He associated her with the horror of the Empty House as inevitably +as taste and smell join together in the memory of a certain food; and +the very last thought in his mind, as he sank away into the blackness of +unconsciousness, was a sort of bitter surprise that the governess had +not turned up to save him before it was actually too late. + +Moreover, a certain sense of disappointment mingled with the terror of +the shock; for he was dimly aware that Miss Lake had not acted as +worthily as she might have done, and had not played the game as well as +might have been expected of her. And, somehow, it didn't all seem quite +fair. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +ON THE EDGE OF UNCONSCIOUSNESS + + +Jimbo had fallen on his head. Inside that head lay the mass of highly +sensitive matter called the brain, on which were recorded, of course, +the impressions of everything that had yet come to him in life. A severe +shock, such as he had just sustained, was bound to throw these +impressions into confusion and disorder, jumbling them up into new and +strange combinations, obliterating some, and exaggerating others. Jimbo +himself was helpless in the matter; he could exercise no control over +their antics until the doctors had once again reduced them to order; he +would have to wander, lost and lonely, through the comparative chaos of +disproportioned visions, generally known as the region of delirium, +until the doctor, assisted by mother nature, restored him once more to +normal consciousness. + +For a time everything was a blank, but presently he stirred uneasily in +the grass, and the pictures graven on the tablets of his mind began to +come back to him line by line. + +Yet, with certain changes: the bull, for instance, had so far vanished +into the background of his thoughts that it had practically disappeared +altogether, and he recalled nothing of it but the wings--the huge, +flapping wings. Of the creature to whom the wings belonged he had no +recollection beyond that it was very large, and that it was chasing him +from the Empty House. The pain in his shoulders had also gone; but what +remained with undiminished vividness were the sensations of flight +without escape, the breathless race up into the sky, and the swift, +tumbling drop again through the air on to the lawn. + +This impression of rushing through space--short though the actual +distance had been--was the dominating memory. All else was apparently +oblivion. He forgot where he came from, and he forgot what he had been +doing. The events leading up to the catastrophe, indeed everything +connected with his existence previously as "Master James," had entirely +vanished; and the slate of memory had been wiped so clean that he had +forgotten even his own name! + +Jimbo was lying, so to speak, on the edge of unconsciousness, and for a +time it seemed uncertain whether he would cross the line into the region +of delirium and dreams, or fall back again into his natural world. +Terror, assisted by the horns of the black bull, had tossed him into the +borderland. + +His last scream, however, had reached the ears of the ubiquitous +gardener, and help was near at hand. He heard voices that seemed to come +from beyond the stars, and was aware that shadowy forms were standing +over him and talking in whispers. But it was all very unreal; one minute +the voices sounded up in the sky, and the next in his very ears, while +the figures moved about, sometimes bending over him, sometimes +retreating and melting away like shadows on a shifting screen. + +Suddenly a blaze of light flashed upon him, and his eyes flew open; he +tumbled back for a moment into his normal world. He wasn't on the grass +at all, but was lying upon his own bed in the night nursery. His mother +was bending over him with a very white face, and a tall man dressed in +black stood beside her, holding some kind of shining instrument in his +fingers. A little behind them he saw Nixie, shading a lamp with her +hand. Then the white face came close over the pillow, and a voice full +of tenderness whispered, "My darling boy, don't you know me? It's +mother! No one will hurt you. Speak to me, if you can, dear." + +She stretched out her hands, and Jimbo knew her and made an effort to +answer. But it seemed to him as if his whole body had suddenly become a +solid mass of iron, and he could control no part of it; his lips and his +hands both refused to move. Before he could make a sign that he had +understood and was trying to reply, a fierce flame rushed between them +and blinded him, his eyes closed, and he dropped back again into utter +darkness. The walls flew asunder and the ceiling melted into air, while +the bed sank away beneath him, down, down, down into an abyss of +shadows. The lamp in Nixie's hands dwindled into a star, and his +mother's anxious face became a tiny patch of white in the distance, +blurred out of all semblance of a human countenance. For a time the man +in black seemed to hover over the bed as it sank, as though he were +trying to follow it down; but it, too, presently joined the general +enveloping blackness and lost its outline. The pain had blotted out +everything, and the return to consciousness had been only momentary. + +Not all the doctors in the world could have made things otherwise. Jimbo +was off on his travels at last--travels in which the chief incidents +were directly traceable to the causes and details of his accident: the +terror of the Empty House, the pursuit of its Inmate, the pain of the +bull's horns, and, above all, the flight through the air. + +For everything in his subsequent adventures found its inspiration in the +events described, and a singular parallel ran ever between the Jimbo +upon the bed in the night-nursery and the other emancipated Jimbo +wandering in the regions of unconsciousness and delirium. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +INTO THE EMPTY HOUSE + + +The darkness lasted a long time without a break, and when it lifted all +recollection of the bedroom scene had vanished. + +Jimbo found himself back again on the grass. The swinging gate was just +in front of him, but he did not recognise it; no suggestion of "Express +Trains" came back to him as his eyes rested without remembrance upon the +bars where he had so often swung, in defiance of orders, with his +brothers and sisters. Recollection of his home, family, and previous +life he had absolutely none; or at least, it was buried so deeply in his +inner consciousness that it amounted to the same thing, and he looked +out upon the garden, the gate, and the field beyond as upon an entirely +new piece of the world. + +The stars, he saw, were nearly all gone, and a very faint light was +beginning to spread from the woods beyond the field. The eastern +horizon was slowly brightening, and soon the night would be gone. Jimbo +was glad of this. He began to be conscious of little thrills of +expectation, for with the light surely help would also come. The light +always brought relief, and he already felt that strange excitement that +comes with the first signs of dawn. In the distance cocks were crowing, +horses began to stamp in the barns not far away, and a hundred little +stirrings of life ran over the surface of the earth as the light crept +slowly up the sky and dropped down again upon the world with its message +of coming day. + +Of course, help would come by the time the sun was really up, and it was +partly this certainty, and partly because he was a little too dazed to +realise the seriousness of the situation, that prevented his giving way +to a fit of fear and weeping. Yet a feeling of vague terror lay only a +little way below the surface, and when, a few moments later, he saw that +he was no longer alone, and that an odd-looking figure was creeping +towards him from the shrubberies, he sprang to his feet, prepared to run +unless it at once showed the most friendly intentions. + +This figure seemed to have come from nowhere. Apparently it had risen +out of the earth. It was too large to have been concealed by the low +shrubberies; yet he had not been aware of its approach, and it had +appeared without making any noise. Probably it was friendly, he felt, in +spite of its curious shape and the stealthy way it had come. At least, +he hoped so; and if he could only have told whether it was a man or an +animal he would easily have made up his mind. But the uncertain light, +and the way it crouched half-hidden behind the bushes, prevented this. +So he stood, poised ready to run, and yet waiting, hoping, indeed +expecting every minute a sign of friendliness and help. + +In this way the two faced each other silently for some time, until the +feeling of terror gradually stole deeper into the boy's heart and began +to rob him of full power over his muscles. He wondered if he would be +able to run when the time came, and whether he could run fast enough. +This was how it first showed itself, this suggestion of insidious fear. +Would he be able to keep up the start he had? Would it chase him? Would +it run like a man or like an animal, on four legs or on two? He wished +he could see more clearly what it was. He still stood his ground +pluckily, facing it and waiting, but the fear, once admitted to his +mind, was gaining strength, and he began to feel cold and shivery. Then +suddenly the tension came to an end. In two strides the figure came up +close to his side, and the same second Jimbo was lifted off his feet and +borne swiftly away across the field. + +He felt quite unable to offer the least resistance, and at the same time +he felt a sense of relief that something had happened at last. He was +still not sure that the figure was unkind; only its shape filled him +with a feeling that was certainly the beginning of real horror. It was +the shape of a man, he thought, but of a very large and ill-constructed +man; for it certainly had moved on two legs and had caught him up in a +pair of tremendously strong arms. But there was something else it had +besides arms, for a kind of soft cloak hung all round it and wrapped the +boy from head to foot, preventing him seeing his captor properly, and at +the same time filling his body with a kind of warm drowsiness that +mitigated his active fear and made him rather like the sensation of +being carried along so easily and so fast. + +But was he being carried? The pace they were going was amazing, and he +moved as easily as a sailing boat, and with the same swinging motion. +Could it be some animal like a horse after all? Jimbo tried to see more, +but found it impossible to free himself from the folds of the enveloping +substance, and meanwhile they were swinging forward at what seemed a +tremendous pace over fields and ditches, through hedges, and down long +lanes. + +The odours of earth, and dew-drenched grass, and opening flowers came to +him. He heard the birds singing, and felt the cool morning air sting his +cheeks as they raced along. There was no jolting or jarring, and the +figure seemed to cover the ground as lightly as though it hardly touched +the earth. It was certainly not a dream, he was sure of that; but the +longer they went on the drowsier he became, and the less he wondered +whether the figure was going to help him or to do something dreadful to +him. He was now thoroughly afraid, and yet, strange contradiction, he +didn't care a bit. Let the figure do what it liked; it was only a sort +of nightmare person after all, and might vanish as suddenly as it had +arrived. + +For a long time they raced forward at this great speed, and then with a +bump and a crash they stopped suddenly short, and Jimbo felt himself let +down upon the solid earth. He tried to free himself at once from the +folds of the clinging substance that enveloped him, but, before he could +do so and see what his captor was really like, he heard a door slam and +felt himself pushed along what seemed to be the hallways of a house. His +eyes were clear now and he could see, but the darkness had come down +again so thickly that all he could discover was that the figure was +urging him along the floor of a large empty hall, and that they were in +a dark and empty building. + +Jimbo tried hard to see his captor, but the figure, dim enough in the +uncertain light, always managed to hide its face and keep itself bunched +up in such a way that he could never see more than a great, dark mass of +a body, from which long legs and arms shot out like telescopes, draped +in a sort of clinging cloak. Now that the rapid motion through the air +had ceased, the boy's drowsiness passed a little, and he began to shiver +with fear and to feel that the tears could not be kept back much longer. + +Probably in another minute he would have started to run for his life, +when a new sound caught his ears and made him listen intently, while a +feeling of wonder and delight caught his heart, and made him momentarily +forget the figure pushing him forward from behind. + +Was it the wind he heard? Or was it the voices of children all singing +together very low? It was a gentle, sighing sound that rose and fell +with mournful modulations and seemed to come from the very centre of the +building; it held, too, a strange, far-away murmur, like the surge of a +faint breeze moving in the tree-tops. It might be the wind playing round +the walls of the building, or it might be children singing in hushed +voices. One minute he thought it was outside the house, and the next he +was certain it came from somewhere in the upper part of the building. He +glanced up, and fancied for one moment that he saw in the darkness a +crowd of little faces peering down at him over the banisters, and that +as they disappeared he heard the sound of many little feet moving, and +then a door hurriedly closing. But a push from the figure behind that +nearly sent him sprawling at the foot of the stairs, prevented his +hearing very clearly, and the light was far too dim to let him feel +sure of what he had seen. + +They passed quickly along deserted corridors and through winding +passages. No one seemed about. The interior of the house was chilly, and +the keen air nipped. After going up several flights of stairs they +stopped at last in front of a door, and before Jimbo had a moment to +turn and dash downstairs again past the figure, as he had meant to do, +he was pushed violently forward into a room. + +The door slammed after him, and he heard the heavy tread of the figure +as it went down the staircase again into the bottom of the house. Then +he saw that the room was full of light and of small moving beings. + +Curiosity and astonishment now for a moment took the place of fear, and +Jimbo, with a thumping heart and clenched fists, stood and stared at the +scene before him. He stiffened his little legs and leaned against the +wall for support, but he felt full of fight in case anything happened, +and with wide-open eyes he tried to take in the whole scene at once and +be ready for whatever might come. + +But there seemed no immediate cause for alarm, and when he realised that +the beings in the room were apparently children, and only children, his +rather mixed sensations of astonishment and fear gave place to an +emotion of overpowering shyness. He became exceedingly embarrassed, for +he was surrounded by children of all ages and sizes, staring at him just +as hard as he was staring at them. + +The children, he began to take in, were all dressed in black; they +looked frightened and unhappy; their bodies were thin and their faces +very white. There was something else about them he could not quite name, +but it inspired him with the same sense of horror that he had felt in +the arms of the Figure who had trapped him. For he now realised +definitely that he had been trapped; and he also began to realise for +the first time that, though he still had the body of a little boy, his +way of thinking and judging was sometimes more like that of a grown-up +person. The two alternated, and the result was an odd confusion; for +sometimes he felt like a child and thought like a man, while at others +he felt like a man and thought like a child. Something had gone wrong, +very much wrong; and, as he watched this group of silent children facing +him, he knew suddenly that what was just beginning to happen to him _had +happened to them long, long ago_. + +For they looked as if they had been a long, long time in the world, yet +their bodies had not kept pace with their minds. Something had happened +to stop the growth of the body, while allowing the mind to go on +developing. The bodies were not stunted or deformed; they were +well-formed, nice little children's bodies, but the minds within them +were grown-up, and the incongruity was distressing. All this he suddenly +realised in a flash, intuitively, just as though it had been most +elaborately explained to him; yet he could not have put the least part +of it into words or have explained what he saw and felt to another. + +He saw that they had the hands and figures of children, the heads of +children, the unlined faces and smooth foreheads of children, but their +gestures, and something in their movements, belonged to grown-up people, +and the expression of their eyes in meaning and intelligence was the +expression of old people and not of children. And the expression in the +eyes of every one of them he saw was the expression of terror and of +pain. The effect was so singular that he seemed face to face with an +entirely new order of creatures: a child's features with a man's eyes; a +child's figure with a woman's movements; full-grown souls cramped and +cribbed in absurdly inadequate bodies and little, puny frames; the old +trying uncouthly to express itself in the young. + +The grown-up, old portion of him had been uppermost as he stared and +received these impressions, but now suddenly it passed away, and he felt +as a little boy again. He glanced quickly down at his own little body in +the alpaca knickerbockers and sailor blouse, and then, with a sigh of +relief, looked up again at the strange group facing him. So far, at any +rate, he had not changed, and there was nothing yet to suggest that he +was becoming like them in appearance at least. + +With his back against the door he faced the roomful of children who +stood there motionless and staring; and as he looked, wild feelings +rushed over him and made him tremble. Who was he? Where had he come +from? Where in the world had he spent the other years of his life, the +forgotten years? There seemed to be no one to whom he could go for +comfort, no one to answer questions; and there was such a lot he wanted +to ask. He seemed to be so much older, and to know so much more than he +ought to have known, and yet to have forgotten so much that he ought +not to have forgotten. + +His loss of memory, however, was of course only partial. He had +forgotten his own identity, and all the people with whom he had so far +in life had to do; yet at the same time he was dimly conscious that he +had just left all these people, and that some day he would find them +again. It was only the surface-layers of memory that had vanished, and +these had not vanished for ever, but only sunk down a little below the +horizon. + +Then, presently, the children began to range themselves in rows between +him and the opposite wall, without once taking their horrible, +intelligent eyes off him as they moved. He watched them with growing +dread, but at last his curiosity became so strong that it overcame +everything else, and in a voice that he meant to be very brave, but that +sounded hardly above a whisper, he said: + +"Who are you? And what's been done to you?" + +The answer came at once in a whisper as low as his own, though he could +not distinguish who spoke: + +"Listen and you shall know. You, too, are now one of us." + +Immediately the children began a slow, impish sort of dance before him, +moving almost with silent feet over the boards, yet with a sedateness +and formality that had none of the unconscious grace of children. And, +as they danced, they sang, but in voices so low, that it was more like +the mournful sighing of wind among branches than human voices. It was +the sound he had already heard outside the building. + + "We are the children of the whispering night, + Who live eternally in dreadful fright + Of stories told us in the grey twilight + By--_nurserymaids_! + + We are the children of a winter's day; + Under our breath we chant this mournful lay; + We dance with phantoms and with shadows play, + And have no rest. + + We have no joy in any children's game, + For happiness to us is but a name, + Since Terror kissed us with his lips of flame + In wicked jest. + + We hear the little voices in the wind + Singing of freedom we may never find, + Victims of fate so cruelly unkind, + We are unblest. + + We hear the little footsteps in the rain + Running to help us, though they run in vain, + Tapping in hundreds on the window-pane + In vain behest. + + We are the children of the whispering night, + Who dwell unrescued in eternal fright + Of stories told us in the dim twilight + By--_nurserymaids_!" + +The plaintive song and the dance ceased together, and before Jimbo could +find any words to clothe even one of the thoughts that crowded through +his mind, he saw them moving towards a door he had not hitherto noticed +on the other side of the room. A moment later they had opened it and +passed out, sedate, mournful, unhurried; and the boy found that in some +way he could not understand the light had gone with them, and he was +standing with his back against the wall in almost total darkness. + +Once out of the room, no sound followed them, and he crossed over and +tried the handle of the door. It was locked. Then he went back and tried +the other door; that, too, was locked. He was shut in. There was no +longer any doubt as to the Figure's intentions; he was a prisoner, +trapped like an animal in a cage. + +The only thought in his mind just then was an intense desire for +freedom. Whatever happened he must escape. He crossed the floor to the +only window in the room; it was without blinds, and he looked out. But +instantly he recoiled with a fresh and overpowering sense of +helplessness, for it was three storeys from the ground, and down below +in the shadows he saw a paved courtyard that rendered jumping utterly +out of the question. + +He stood for a long time, fighting down the tears, and staring as if his +heart would break at the field and trees beyond. A high wall enclosed +the yard, but beyond that was freedom and open space. Feelings of +loneliness and helplessness, terror and dismay overwhelmed him. His eyes +burned and smarted, yet, strange to say, the tears now refused to come +and bring him relief. He could only stand there with his elbows on the +window-sill, and watch the outline of the trees and hedges grow clearer +and clearer as the light drew across the sky, and the moment of sunrise +came close. + +But when at last he turned back into the room, he saw that he was no +longer alone. Crouching against the opposite wall there was a hooded +figure steadily watching him. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +HIS COMPANION IN PRISON + + +Shocks of terror, as they increase in number, apparently lessen in +effect; the repeated calls made upon Jimbo's soul by the emotions of +fear and astonishment had numbed it; otherwise the knowledge that he was +locked in the room with this mysterious creature beyond all possibility +of escape must have frightened him, as the saying is, out of his skin. + +As it was, however, he kept his head in a wonderful manner, and simply +stared at the silent intruder as hard as ever he could stare. How in the +world it got in was the principal thought in his mind, and after that: +what in the world was it? + +The dawn must have come very swiftly, or else he had been staring longer +than he knew, for just then the sun topped the edge of the world and the +window-sill simultaneously, and sent a welcome ray of sunshine into the +dingy room. It turned the grey light to silver, and fell full upon the +huddled figure crouching against the opposite wall. Jimbo caught his +breath, and stared harder than ever. + +It was a human figure, the figure, apparently, of a man, sitting +crumpled up in a very uncomfortable sort of position on his haunches. It +sat perfectly still. A black cloak, with loose sleeves, and a cowl or +hood that completely concealed the face, covered it from head to foot. +The material of the cloak could not have been very thick, for inside the +hood he caught the gleam of eyes as they roamed about the room and +followed his movements. But for this glitter of the moving eyes it might +have been a figure carved in wood. Was it going to sit there for ever +watching him? At first he was afraid it was going to speak; then he was +afraid it wasn't. It might rise suddenly and come towards him; yet the +thought that it would not move at all was worse still. + +In this way the two faced each other for several minutes until, just as +the position was becoming simply unbearable, a low whisper ran round the +room: "At last! Oh! I've found him at last!" Jimbo was not quite sure of +the words, though it was certainly a human voice that had spoken; but, +the suspense once broken, the boy could not stand it any longer, and +with a rush of desperate courage he found his voice--a very husky +one--and moved a step forward. + +"Who are you, please, and how _did_ you get in?" he ventured with a +great effort. + +Then he fell back against the wall, amazed at his own daring, and waited +with tightly-clenched fists for an answer. But he had not to wait very +long, for almost immediately the figure rose awkwardly to its feet, and +came over to where he stood. Its manner of moving may best be described +as shuffling; and it stretched in front of it a long cloaked arm, on +which the sleeve hung, he thought, like clothes on a washing line. + +He breathed hard, and waited. Like many other people with strong wills +and sensitive nerves, Jimbo was both brave and a coward: he hoped +nothing horrid was going to happen, but he was quite ready if it should. +Yet, now that the actual moment had come, he had no particular fear, and +when he felt the touch of the hand on his shoulder, the words sprang +naturally to his lips with a little trembling laugh, more of wonder +perhaps than anything else. + +"You do look a horrid ... _brute_," he was going to say, but at the +last moment he changed it to "_thing_," for, with the true intuition of +a child, he recognised that the creature inside the cloak was a kind +creature and well disposed towards him. "But how did you get in?" he +added, looking up bravely into the black visage, "because the doors are +both locked on the outside, and I couldn't get out?" + +By way of reply the figure shuffled to one side, and, taking the hand +from his shoulder, pointed silently to a trap-door in the floor behind +him. As he looked, he saw it was being shut down stealthily by some one +beneath. + +"Hush!" whispered the figure, almost inaudibly. "He's watching!" + +"Who's watching?" he cried, curiosity taking the place of every other +emotion. "I want to see." He ran forward to the spot where the trap-door +now lay flush with the floor, but, before he had gone two steps, the +black arms shot out and caught him. He turned, struggling, and in the +scuffle that followed the cloak shrouding the figure became disarranged; +the hood dropped from the face, and he found himself looking straight +into the eyes, not of a man, but of a woman! + +"It's you!" he cried, "YOU--!" + +A shock ran right through his body from his head to his feet, like a +current of electricity, and he caught his breath as though he had been +struck. For one brief instant the sinister face of some one who had +terrified him in the past came back vividly to his mind, and he shrank +away in terror. But it was only for an instant, the twentieth part of an +instant. Immediately, before he could even remember the name, +recognition passed into darkness and his memory shut down with a snap. +He was staring into the face of an utter stranger, about whom he knew +nothing and had no feelings particularly one way or another. + +"I thought I knew you," he gasped, "but I've forgotten you again--and I +thought you were going to be a man, too." + +"Jimbo!" cried the other, and in her voice was such unmistakable +tenderness and yearning that the boy knew at once beyond doubt that she +was his friend, "Jimbo!" + +She knelt down on the floor beside him, so that her face was on a level +with his, and then opened both her arms to him. But though Jimbo was +glad to have found a friend who was going to help him, he felt no +particular desire to be embraced, and he stood obstinately where he was +with his back to the window. + +The morning sunshine fell upon her features and touched the thick coils +of her hair with glory. It was not, strictly speaking, a pretty face, +but the look of real human tenderness there was very welcome and +comforting, and in the kind brown eyes there shone a strange light that +was not merely the reflection of the sunlight. The boy felt his heart +warm to her as he looked, but her expression puzzled him, and he would +not accept the invitation of her arms. + +"Won't you come to me?" she said, her arms still outstretched. + +"I want to know who you are, and what I'm doing here," he said. "I feel +so funny--so old and so young--and all mixed up. I can't make out who I +am a bit. What's that funny name you call me?" + +"Jimbo is your name," she said softly. + +"Then what's _your_ name?" he asked quickly. + +"My name," she repeated slowly after a pause, "is not--as nice as yours. +Besides, you need not know my name--you might dislike it." + +"But I must have something to call you," he persisted. + +"But if I told you, and you disliked the name, you might dislike _me_ +too," she said, still hesitating. + +Jimbo saw the expression of sadness in her eyes, and it won his +confidence though he hardly knew why. He came up closer to her and put +his puzzled little face next to hers. + +"I like you very much already," he whispered, "and if your name is a +horrid one I'll change it for you at once. Please tell me what it is." + +She drew the boy to her and gave him a little hug, and he did not +resist. For a long time she did not answer. He felt vaguely that +something of dreadful importance hung about this revelation of her name. +He repeated his question, and at length she replied, speaking in a very +low voice, and with her eyes fixed intently upon his face. + +"My name," she said, "is Ethel Lake." + +"Ethel Lake," he repeated after her. The words sounded somehow familiar +to him; surely he had heard that name before. Were not the words +associated with something in his past that had been unpleasant? A +curious sinking sensation came over him as he heard them. + +His companion watched him intently while he repeated the words over to +himself several times, as if to make sure he had got them right. There +was a moment's hesitation as he slowly went over them once again. Then +he turned to her, laughing. + +"I like your name, Ethel Lake," he said. "It's a nice +name--Miss--Miss----" Again he hesitated, while a little warning tremor +ran through his mind, and he wondered for an instant why he said "Miss." +But it passed as suddenly as it had come, and he finished the +sentence--"Miss Lake, I shall call you." He stared into her eyes as he +said it. + +"Then you don't remember me at all?" she cried, with a sigh of intense +relief. "You've quite forgotten?" + +"I never saw you before, did I? How can I remember you? I don't remember +any of the things I've forgotten. Are you one of them?" + +For reply she caught him to her breast and kissed him. "You precious +little boy!" she said. "I'm so glad, oh, so glad!" + +"But do you remember _me_?" he asked, sorely puzzled. "Who am I? Haven't +I been born yet, or something funny like that?" + +"If you don't remember _me_," said the other, her face happy with smiles +that had evidently come only just in time to prevent tears, "there's +not much good telling you who _you_ are. But your name, if you really +want to know, is----" She hesitated a moment. + +"Be quick, Eth--Miss Lake, or you'll forget it again." + +She laughed rather bitterly. "Oh, I never forget. I can't!" she said. "I +wish I could. Your name is James Stone, and Jimbo is 'short' for James. +Now you know." + +She might just as well have said Bill Sykes for all the boy knew or +remembered. + +"What a silly name!" he laughed. "But it can't be my real name, or I +should know it. I never heard it before." After a moment he added, "Am I +an old man? I feel just like one. I suppose I'm grown up--grown up so +fast that I've forgotten what came before----" + +"You're not grown up, dear, at least, not exactly----" She glanced down +at his alpaca knickerbockers and brown stockings; and as he followed her +eyes and saw the dirty buttoned-boots there came into his mind some dim +memory of where he had last put them on, and of some one who had helped +him. But it all passed like a swift meteor across the dark night of his +forgetfulness and was lost in mist. + +"You mustn't judge by these silly clothes," he laughed. "I shall change +them as soon as I get--as soon as I can find----" He stopped short. No +words came. A feeling of utter loneliness and despair swept suddenly +over him, drenching him from head to foot. He felt lost and friendless, +naked, homeless, cold. He was ever on the brink of regaining a whole lot +of knowledge and experience that he had known once long ago, ever so +long ago, but it always kept just out of his reach. He glanced at Miss +Lake, feeling that she was his only possible comfort in a terrible +situation. She met his look and drew him tenderly towards her. + +"Now, listen to me," she said gently, "I've something to tell you--about +myself." + +He was all attention in a minute. + +"I am a discharged governess," she began, holding her breath when once +the words were out. + +"Discharged!" he repeated vaguely. "What's that? What for?" + +"For frightening a child. I told a little boy awful stories that weren't +true. They terrified him so much that I was sent away. That's why I'm +here now. It's my punishment. I am a prisoner here until I can find +him--and help him to escape----" + +"Oh, I say!" he exclaimed quickly, as though remembering something. But +it passed, and he looked up at her half-bored, half-politely. "Escape +from what?" he asked. + +"From here. This is the Empty House I told the stories about; _and you +are the little boy I frightened_. Now, at last, I've found you, and am +going to save you." She paused, watching him with eyes that never left +his face for an instant. + +Jimbo was delighted to hear he was going to be rescued, but he felt no +interest at all in her story of having frightened a little boy, who was +himself. He thought it was very nice of her to take so much trouble, and +he told her so, and when he went up and kissed her and thanked her, he +saw to his surprise that she was crying. For the life of him he could +not understand why a discharged governess whom he met, apparently, for +the first time in the Empty House, should weep over him and show him so +much affection. But he could think of nothing to say, so he just waited +till she had finished. + +"You see, if I can save you," she said between her sobs, "it will be all +right again, and I shall be forgiven, and shall be able to escape with +you. I want you to escape, so that you can get back to life again." + +"Oh, then I'm dead, am I?" + +"Not exactly dead," she said, drying her eyes with the corner of her +black hood. "You've had a funny accident, you know. If your body gets +all right, so that you can go back and live in it again, then you're not +dead. But if it's so badly injured that you can't work in it any more, +then you are dead, and will have to stay dead. You're still joined to +the body in a fashion, you see." + +He stared and listened, not understanding much. It all bored him. She +talked without explaining, he thought. An immense sponge had passed over +the slate of the past and wiped it clean beyond recall. He was utterly +perplexed. + +"How funny you are!" he said vaguely, thinking more of her tears than +her explanations. + +"Water won't stay in a cracked bottle," she went on, "and you can't stay +in a broken body. But they're trying to mend it now, and if we can +escape in time you can be an ordinary, happy little boy in the world +again." + +"Then are you dead, too?" he asked, "or nearly dead?" + +"I am out of my body, like you," she answered evasively, after a +moment's pause. + +He was still looking at her in a dazed sort of way, when she suddenly +sprang to her feet and let the hood drop back over her face. + +"Hush!" she whispered, "he's listening again." + +At the same moment a sound came from beneath the floor on the other side +of the room, and Jimbo saw the trap-door being slowly raised above the +level of the floor. + +"Your number is 102," said a voice that sounded like the rushing of a +river. + +Instantly the trap-door dropped again, and he heard heavy steps rumbling +away into the interior of the house. He looked at his companion and saw +her terrified face as she lifted her hood. + +"He always blunders along like that," she whispered, bending her head on +one side to listen. "He can't see properly in the daylight. He hates +sunshine, and usually only goes out after dark." She was white and +trembling. + +"Is that the person who brought me in here this morning at such a +frightful pace?" he asked, bewildered. + +She nodded. "He wanted to get in before it was light, so that you +couldn't see his face." + +"Is he such a fright?" asked the boy, beginning to share her evident +feeling of horror. + +"He _is_ Fright!" she said in an awed whisper. "But never talk about +him again unless you can't help it; he always knows when he's being +talked about, and he likes it, because it gives him more power." + +Jimbo only stared at her without comprehending. Then his mind jumped to +something else he wanted badly to have explained, and he asked her about +his number, and why he was called No. 102. + +"Oh, that's easier," she said, "102 is your number among the Frightened +Children; there are 101 of them, and you are the last arrival. Haven't +you seen them yet? It is also the temperature of your broken little body +lying on the bed in the night nursery at home," she added, though he +hardly caught her words, so low were they spoken. + +Jimbo then described how the children had sung and danced to him, and +went on to ask a hundred questions about them. But Miss Lake would give +him very little information, and said he would not have very much to do +with them. Most of them had been in the House for years and years--so +long that they could probably never escape at all. + +"They are all frightened children," she said. "Little ones scared out of +their wits by silly people who meant to amuse them with stories, or to +frighten them into being well behaved--nursery-maids, elder sisters, and +even governesses!" + +"And they can never escape?" + +"Not unless the people who frightened them come to their rescue and _run +the risk of being caught themselves_." + +As she spoke there rose from the depths of the house the sound of +muffled voices, children's voices singing faintly together; it rose and +fell exactly like the wind, and with as little tune; it was weird and +magical, but so utterly mournful that the boy felt the tears start to +his eyes. It drifted away, too, just as the wind does over the tops of +the trees, dying into the distance; and all became still again. + +"It's just like the wind," he said, "and I do love the wind. It makes me +feel so sad and so happy. Why is it?" + +The governess did not answer. + +"How old am I _really_?" he went on. "How can I be so old and so +ignorant? I've forgotten such an awful lot of knowledge." + +"The fact is--well, perhaps, you won't quite understand--but you're +really two ages at once. Sometimes you feel as old as your body, and +sometimes as old as your soul. You're still connected with your body; +so you get the sensations of both mixed up." + +"Then is the body younger than the soul?" + +"The soul--that is yourself," she answered, "is, oh, so old, awfully +old, as old as the stars, and older. But the body is no older than +itself--of course, how could it be?" + +"Of course," repeated the boy, who was not listening to a word she said. +"How could it be?" + +"But it doesn't matter how old you are or how young you feel, as long as +you don't hate me for having frightened you," she said after a pause. +"That's the chief thing." + +He was very, very puzzled. He could not help feeling it had been rather +unkind of her to frighten him so badly that he had literally been +frightened out of his skin; but he couldn't remember anything about it, +and she was taking so much trouble to save him now that he quite forgave +her. He nestled up against her, and said of course he liked her, and she +stroked his curly head and mumbled a lot of things to herself that he +couldn't understand a bit. + +But in spite of his new-found friend the feeling of over-mastering +loneliness would suddenly rush over him. She might be a protector, but +she was not a _real_ companion; and he knew that somewhere or other he +had left a lot of other _real_ companions whom he now missed dreadfully. +He longed more than he could say for freedom; he wanted to be able to +come and go as he pleased; to play about in a garden somewhere as of +old; to wander over soft green lawns among laburnums and sweet-smelling +lilac trees, and to be up to all his old tricks and mischief--though he +could not remember in detail what they were. + +In a word, he wanted to escape; his whole being yearned to escape and be +free again; yet here he was a wretched prisoner in a room like a +prison-cell, with a sort of monster for a keeper, and a troop of +horrible frightened children somewhere else in the house to keep him +company. And outside there was only a hard, narrow, paved courtyard with +a high wall round it. Oh, it was too terrible to think of, and his heart +sank down within him till he felt as if he could do nothing else but +cry. + +"I shall save you in time," whispered the governess, as though she read +his thoughts. "You must be patient, and do what I tell you, and I +promise to get you out. Only be brave, and don't ask too many questions. +We shall win in the end and escape." + +Suddenly he looked up, with quite a new expression in his face. "But I +say, Miss Cake, I'm frightfully hungry. I've had nothing to eat since--I +can't remember when, but ever so long ago." + +"You needn't call me Miss Cake, though," she laughed. + +"I suppose it's because I'm so hungry." + +"Then you'll call me Miss Lake when you're thirsty, perhaps," she said. +"But, anyhow, I'll see what I can get you. Only, you must eat as little +as possible. I want you to get very thin. What you feel is not really +hunger--it's only a memory of hunger, and you'll soon get used to it." + +He stared at her with a very distressful little face as she crossed the +room making this new announcement; and just as she disappeared through +the trap-door, only her head being visible, she added with great +emphasis, "The thinner you get the better; because the thinner you are +the lighter you are, and the lighter you are the easier it will be to +escape. Remember, the thinner the better--the lighter the better--and +don't ask a lot of questions about it." + +With that the trap-door closed over her, and Jimbo was left alone with +her last strange words ringing in his ears. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE SPELL OF THE EMPTY HOUSE + + +It was not long before Jimbo realised that the House, and everything +connected with it, spelt for him one message, and one only--a message of +fear. From the first day of his imprisonment the forces of his whole +being shaped themselves without further ado into one intense, single, +concentrated desire to _escape_. + +Freedom, escape into the world beyond that terrible high wall, was his +only object, and Miss Lake, the governess, as its symbol, was his only +hope. He asked a lot of questions and listened to a lot of answers, but +all he really cared about was how he was going to escape, and when. All +her other explanations were tedious, and he only half-listened to them. +His faith in her was absolute, his patience unbounded; she had come to +save him, and he knew that before long she would accomplish her end. He +felt a blind and perfect confidence. But, meanwhile, his fear of the +House, and his horror for the secret Being who meant to keep him +prisoner till at length he became one of the troop of Frightened +Children, increased by leaps and bounds. + +Presently the trap-door creaked again, and the governess reappeared; in +her hand was a small white jug and a soup plate. + +"Thin gruel and skim milk," she explained, pouring out a substance like +paste into the soup plate, and handing him a big wooden spoon. + +But Jimbo's hunger had somehow vanished. + +"It wasn't real hunger," she told him, "but only a sort of memory of +being hungry. They're trying to feed your broken body now in the +night-nursery, and so you feel a sort of ghostly hunger here even though +you're out of the body." + +"It's easily satisfied, at any rate," he said, looking at the paste in +the soup plate. + +"No one actually eats or drinks here----" + +"But I'm solid," he said, "am I not?" + +"People always think they're solid everywhere," she laughed. "It's only +a question of degree; solidity _here_ means a different thing to +solidity _there_." + +"I can get thinner though, can't I?" he asked, thinking of her remark +about escape being easier the lighter he grew. + +She assured him there would be no difficulty about that, and after +replying evasively to a lot more questions, she gathered up the dishes +and once more disappeared through the trap-door. + +Jimbo watched her going down the ladder into the black gulf below, and +wondered greatly where she went to and what she did down there; but on +these points the governess had refused to satisfy his curiosity, and +every time she appeared or disappeared the atmosphere of mystery came +and went with her. + +As he stared, wondering, a sound suddenly made itself heard behind him, +and on turning quickly round he saw to his great surprise that the door +into the passage was open. This was more than he could resist, and in +another minute, with mingled feelings of dread and delight, he was out +in the passage. + +When he was first brought to the house, two hours before, it had been +too dark to see properly, but now the sun was high in the heavens, and +the light still increasing. He crept cautiously to the head of the +stairs and peered over into the well of the house. It was still too +dark to make things out clearly; but, as he looked, he thought something +moved among the shadows below, and for a moment his heart stood still +with fear. A large grey face seemed to be staring up at him out of the +gloom. He clutched the banisters and felt as if he hardly had strength +enough in his legs to get back to the room he had just left; but almost +immediately the terror passed, for he saw that the face resolved itself +into the mingling of light and shadow, and the features, after all, were +of his own creation. He went on slowly and stealthily down the +staircase. + +It was certainly an empty house. There were no carpets; the passages +were cold and draughty; the paper curled from the damp walls, leaving +ugly discoloured patches about; cobwebs hung in many places from the +ceiling, the windows were more or less broken, and all were coated so +thickly with dirt that the rain had traced little furrows from top to +bottom. Shadows hung about everywhere, and Jimbo thought every minute he +saw moving figures; but the figures always resolved themselves into +nothing when he looked closely. + +He began to wonder how far it was safe to go, and why the governess had +arranged for the door to be opened--for he felt sure it was she who had +done this, and that it was all right for him to come out. Fright, she +had said, was never about in the daylight. But, at the same time, +something warned him to be ready at a moment's notice to turn and dash +up the stairs again to the room where he was at least comparatively +safe. + +So he moved along very quietly and very cautiously. He passed many rooms +with the doors open--all empty and silent; some of them had tables and +chairs, but no sign of occupation; the grates were black and empty, the +walls blank, the windows unshuttered. Everywhere was only silence and +shadows; there was no sign of the frightened children, or of where they +lived; no trace of another staircase leading to the region where the +governess went when she disappeared down the ladder through the +trap-door--only hushed, listening, cold silence, and shadows that seemed +for ever shifting from place to place as he moved past them. This +illusion of people peering at him from corners, and behind doors just +ajar, was very strong; yet whenever he turned his head to face them, lo, +they were gone, and the shadows rushed in to fill their places. + +The spell of the Empty House was weaving itself slowly and surely about +his heart. + +Yet he went on pluckily, full of a dreadful curiosity, continuing his +search, and at length, after passing through another gloomy passage, he +was in the act of crossing the threshold of an open door leading out +into the courtyard, when he stopped short and clutched the door-posts +with both hands. + +Some one had laughed! + +He turned, trying to look in every direction at once, but there was no +sign of any living being. Yet the sound was close beside him; he could +still hear it ringing in his ears--a mocking sort of laugh, in a harsh, +guttural voice. The blood froze in his veins, and he hardly knew which +way to turn, when another voice sounded, and his terror disappeared as +if by magic. + +It was Miss Lake's voice calling to him over the banisters at the top of +the house, and its tone was so cheerful that all his courage came back +in a twinkling. + +"Go out into the yard," she called, "and play in the sunshine. But don't +stay too long." + +Jimbo answered "All right" in a rather feeble little voice, and went on +down the passage and out into the yard. + +The June sunshine lay hot and still over the paved court, and he looked +up into the blue sky overhead. As he looked at the high wall that closed +it in on three sides, he realised more than ever that he was caught in a +monstrous trap from which there could be no ordinary means of escape. He +could never climb over such a wall even with a ladder. He walked out a +little way and noticed the rank weeds growing in patches in the corners; +decay and neglect left everywhere their dismal signs; the yard, in spite +of the sunlight, seemed as gloomy and cheerless as the house itself. + +In one corner stood several little white upright stones, each about +three feet high; there seemed to be some writing on them, and he was in +the act of going nearer to inspect, when a window opened and he heard +some one calling to him in a loud, excited whisper: + +"Hst! Come in, Jimbo, at once. Quick! Run for your life!" + +He glanced up, quaking with fear, and saw the governess leaning out of +the open window. At another window, a little beyond her, he thought a +number of white little faces pressed against the glass, but he had no +time to look more closely, for something in Miss Lake's voice made him +turn and run into the house and up the stairs as though Fright himself +were close at his heels. He flew up the three flights, and found the +governess coming out on the top landing to meet him. She caught him in +her arms and dashed back into the room, as if there was not a moment to +be lost, slamming the door behind her. + +"How in the world did you get out?" she gasped, breathless as himself +almost, and pale with alarm. "Another second and He'd have had you----!" + +"I found the door open----" + +"He opened it on purpose," she whispered, looking quickly round the +room. "He meant you to go out." + +"But you called to me to play in the yard," he said. "I heard you. So of +course I thought it was safe." + +"No," she declared, "I never called to you. That wasn't my voice. That +was one of his tricks. I only this minute found the door open and you +gone. Oh, Jimbo, that was a narrow escape; you must never go out of this +room till--till I tell you. And never believe any of these voices you +hear--you'll hear lots of them, saying all sorts of things--but unless +you _see_ me, don't believe it's my voice." + +Jimbo promised. He was very frightened; but she would not tell him any +more, saying it would only make it more difficult to escape if he knew +too much in advance. He told her about the laugh, and the gravestones, +and the faces at the other window, but she would not tell him what he +wanted to know, and at last he gave up asking. A very deep impression +had been made on his mind, however, and he began to realise, more than +he had hitherto done, the horror of his prison and the power of his +dreadful keeper. + +But when he began to look about him again, he noticed that there was a +new thing in the room. The governess had left him, and was bending over +it. She was doing something very busily indeed. He asked her what it +was. + +"I'm making your bed," she said. + +It was, indeed, a bed, and he felt as he looked at it that there was +something very familiar and friendly about the yellow framework and the +little brass knobs. + +"I brought it up just now," she explained. "But it's not for sleeping +in. It's only for you to lie down on, and also partly to deceive Him." + +"Why not for sleeping?" + +"There's no sleeping at all here," she went on calmly. + +"Why not?" + +"You can't sleep out of your body," she laughed. + +"Why not?" he asked again. + +"Your body goes to sleep, but _you_ don't," she explained. + +"Oh, I see." His head was whirling. "And my body--my real body----" + +"Is lying asleep--unconscious they call it--in the night-nursery at +home. It's sound asleep. That's why you're here. It can't wake up till +you go back to it, and you can't go back to it till you escape--even if +it's ready for you before then. The bed is only for you to rest on, for +you can _rest_ though you can't _sleep_." + +Jimbo stared blankly at the governess for some minutes. He was debating +something in his mind, something very important, and just then it was +his Older Self, and not the child, that was uppermost. Apparently it was +soon decided, for he walked sedately up to her and said very gravely, +with her serious eyes fixed on his face, "Miss Lake, are you _really_ +Miss Lake?" + +"Of course I am." + +"You're not a trick of His, like the voices, I mean?" + +"No, Jimbo, I am really Miss Lake, the discharged governess who +frightened you." There was profound anxiety in every word. + +Jimbo waited a minute, still looking steadily into her eyes. Then he put +out his hand cautiously and touched her. He rose a little on tiptoe to +be on a level with her face, taking a fold of her cloak in each hand. +The soul-knowledge was in his eyes just then, not the mere curiosity of +the child. + +"And are you--_dead_?" he asked, sinking his voice to a whisper. + +For a moment the woman's eyes wavered. She turned white and tried to +move away; but the boy seized her hand and peered more closely into her +face. + +"I mean, if we escape and I get back into my body," he whispered, "will +you get back into yours too?" + +The governess made no reply, and shifted uneasily on her feet. But the +boy would not let her go. + +"Please answer," he urged, still in a whisper. + +"Jimbo, what funny questions you ask!" she said at last, in a husky +voice, but trying to smile. + +"But I want to know," he said. "I must know. I believe you are giving up +everything just to save me--_everything_; and I don't want to be saved +unless you come too. Tell me!" + +The colour came back to her cheeks a little, and her eyes grew moist. +Again she tried to slip past him, but he prevented her. + +"You must tell me," he urged; "I would rather stay here with you than +escape back into my body and leave you behind." + +Jimbo knew it was his Older Self speaking--the freed spirit rather than +the broken body--but he felt the strain was very great; he could not +keep it up much longer; any minute he might slip back into the child +again, and lose interest, and be unequal to the task he now saw so +clearly before him. + +"Quick!" he cried in a louder voice. "Tell me! You are giving up +everything to save me, aren't you? And if I escape you will be left +alone----quick, answer me! Oh, be quick, I'm slipping back----" + +Already he felt his thoughts becoming confused again, as the spirit +merged back into the child; in another minute the boy would usurp the +older self. + +"You see," began the governess at length, speaking very gently and +sadly, "I am bound to make amends whatever happens. I must atone----" + +But already he found it hard to follow. + +"Atone," he asked, "what does '_atone_' mean?" He moved back a step, and +glanced about the room. The moment of concentration had passed without +bearing fruit; his thoughts began to wander again like a child's. +"Anyhow, we shall escape together when the chance comes, shan't we?" he +said. + +"Yes, darling, we shall," she said in a broken voice. "And if you do +what I tell you, it will come very soon, I hope." She drew him towards +her and kissed him, and though he didn't respond very heartily, he felt +he liked it, and was sure that she was good, and meant to do the best +possible for him. + +Jimbo asked nothing more for some time; he turned to the bed where he +found a mattress and a blanket, but no sheets, and sat down on the edge +and waited. The governess was standing by the window looking out; her +back was turned to him. He heard an occasional deep sigh come from her, +but he was too busy now with his own sensations to trouble much about +her. Looking past her he saw the sea of green leaves dancing lazily in +the sunshine. Something seemed to beckon him from beyond the high wall, +and he longed to go out and play in the shade of the elms and hawthorns; +for the horror of the Empty House was closing in upon him steadily but +surely, and he longed for escape into a bright, unhaunted atmosphere, +more than anything else in the whole world. + +His thoughts ran on and on in this vein, till presently he noticed that +the governess was moving about the room. She crossed over and tried +first one door and then the other; both were fastened. Next she lifted +the trap-door and peered down into the black hole below. That, too, +apparently was satisfactory. Then she came over to the bedside on +tiptoe. + +"Jimbo, I've got something very important to ask you," she began. + +"All right," he said, full of curiosity. + +"You must answer me very exactly. Everything depends on it." + +"I will." + +She took another long look round the room, and then, in a still lower +whisper, bent over him, and asked: + +"Have you any pain?" + +"Where?" he asked, remembering to be exact. + +"Anywhere." + +He thought a moment. + +"None, thank you." + +"None at all--anywhere?" she insisted. + +"None at all--anywhere," he said with decision. + +She seemed disappointed. + +"Never mind; it's a little soon yet, perhaps," she said. "We must have +patience. It will come in time." + +"But I don't want any pain," he said, rather ruefully. + +"You can't escape till it comes." + +"I don't understand a bit what you mean." He began to feel alarmed at +the notion of escape and pain going together. + +"You'll understand later, though," she said soothingly, "and it won't +hurt _very_ much. The sooner the pain comes, the sooner we can try to +escape. Nowhere can there be escape without it." + +And with that she left him, disappearing without another word into the +hole below the trap, and leaving him, disconsolate yet excited, alone in +the room. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE GALLERY OF ANCIENT MEMORIES + + +With every one, of course, the measurement of time depends largely upon +the state of the emotions, but in Jimbo's case it was curiously +exaggerated. This may have been because he had no standard of memory by +which to test the succession of minutes; but, whatever it was, the hours +passed very quickly, and the evening shadows were already darkening the +room when at length he got up from the mattress and went over to the +window. + +Outside the high elms were growing dim; soon the stars would be out in +the sky. The afternoon had passed away like magic, and the governess +still left him alone; he could not quite understand why she went away +for such long periods. + +The darkness came down very swiftly, and it was night almost before he +knew it. Yet he felt no drowsiness, no desire to yawn and get under +sheets and blankets; sleep was evidently out of the question, and the +hours slipped away so rapidly that it made little difference whether he +sat up all night or whether he slept. + +It was his first night in the Empty House, and he wondered how many more +he would spend there before escape came. He stood at the window, peering +out into the growing darkness and thinking long, long thoughts. Below +him yawned the black gulf of the yard, and the outline of the enclosing +wall was only just visible, but beyond the elms rose far into the sky, +and he could hear the wind singing softly in their branches. The sound +was very sweet; it suggested freedom, and the flight of birds, and all +that was wild and unrestrained. The wind could never really be a +prisoner; its voice sang of open spaces and unbounded distances, of +flying clouds and mountains, of mighty woods and dancing waves; above +all, of wings--free, swift, and unconquerable wings. + +But this rushing song of wind among the leaves made him feel too sad to +listen long, and he lay down upon the bed again, still thinking, +thinking. + +The house was utterly still. Not a thing stirred within its walls. He +felt lonely, and began to long for the companionship of the governess; +he would have called aloud for her to come only he was afraid to break +the appalling silence. He wondered where she was all this time and how +she spent the long, dark hours of the sleepless nights. Were all these +things really true that she told him? Was he actually out of his body, +and was his name really Jimbo? His thoughts kept groping backwards, ever +seeking the other companions he had lost; but, like a piece of stretched +elastic too short to reach its object, they always came back with a snap +just when he seemed on the point of finding them. He wanted these +companions very badly indeed, but the struggling of his memory was +painful, and he could not keep the effort up for very long at one time. + +The effort once relaxed, however, his thoughts wandered freely where +they would; and there rose before his mind's eye dim suggestions of +memories far more distant--ghostly scenes and faces that passed before +him in endless succession, but always faded away before he could +properly seize and name them. + +This memory, so stubborn as regards quite recent events, began to play +strange tricks with him. It carried him away into a Past so remote that +he could not connect it with himself at all, and it was like dreaming of +scenes and events that had happened to some one else; yet, all the time, +he knew quite well those things had happened to him, and to none else. +It was the memory of the soul asserting itself now that the clamour of +the body was low. It was an underground river coming to the surface, for +odd minutes, here and there, showing its waters to the stars just long +enough to catch their ghostly reflections before it rolled away +underground again. + +Yet, swift and transitory as they were, these glimpses brought in their +train sensations that were too powerful ever to have troubled his +child-mind in its present body. They stirred in him the strong emotions, +the ecstasies, the terrors, the yearnings of a much more distant past; +whispering to him, could he but have understood, of an infinitely deeper +layer of memories and experiences which, now released from the burden of +the immediate years, strove to awaken into life again. The soul in that +little body covered with alpaca knickerbockers and a sailor blouse +seemed suddenly to have access to a storehouse of knowledge that must +have taken centuries, rather than a few short years, to acquire. + +It was all very queer. The feeling of tremendous age grew mysteriously +over him. He realised that he had been wandering for ages. He had been +to the stars and also to the deeps; he had roamed over strange mountains +far away from cities or inhabited places of the earth, and had lived by +streams whose waves were silvered by moonlight dropping softly through +whispering palm branches.... + +Some of these ghostly memories brought him sensations of keenest +happiness--icy, silver, radiant; others swept through his heart like a +cold wave, leaving behind a feeling of unutterable woe, and a sense of +loneliness that almost made him cry aloud. And there came Voices +too--Voices that had slept so long in the inner kingdoms of silence that +they failed to rouse in him the very slightest emotion of +recognition.... + +Worn out at length with the surging of these strange hosts through him, +he got up and went to the open window again. The night was very dark and +warm, but the stars had disappeared, and there was the hush and the +faint odour of coming rain in the air. He smelt leaves and the earth and +the moist things of the ground, the wonderful perfume of the life of the +soil. + +The wind had dropped; all was silent as the grave; the leaves of the +elm trees were motionless; no bird or insect raised its voice; +everything slept; he alone was watchful, awake. Leaning over the +window-sill, his thoughts searched for the governess, and he wondered +anew where she was spending the dark hours. She, too, he felt sure, was +wakeful somewhere, watching with him, plotting their escape together, +and always mindful of his safety.... + +His reverie was suddenly interrupted by the flight of an immense +night-bird dropping through the air just above his head. He sprang back +into the room with a startled cry, as it rushed past in the darkness +with a great swishing of wings. The size of the creature filled him with +awe; it was so close that the wind it made lifted the hair on his +forehead, and he could almost feel the feathers brush his cheeks. He +strained his eyes to try and follow it, but the shadows were too deep +and he could see nothing; only in the distance, growing every moment +fainter, he could hear the noise of big wings threshing the air. He +waited a little, wondering if another bird would follow it, or if it +would presently return to its perch on the roof; and then his thoughts +passed on to uncertain memories of other big birds--hawks, owls, +eagles--that he had seen somewhere in places now beyond the reach of +distinct recollections.... + +Soon the light began to dawn in the east, and he made out the shape of +the elm trees and the dreadful prison wall; and with the first real +touch of morning light he heard a familiar creaking sound in the room +behind him, and saw the black hood of the governess rising through the +trap-door in the floor. + +"But you've left me alone all night!" he said at once reproachfully, as +she kissed him. + +"On purpose," she answered. "He'd get suspicious if I stayed too much +with you. It's different in the daytime, when he can't see properly." + +"Where's he been all night, then?" asked the boy. + +"Last night he was out most of the time--hunting----" + +"Hunting!" he repeated, with excitement. "Hunting what?" + +"Children--frightened children," she replied, lowering her voice. +"That's how he found you." + +It was a horrible thought--Fright hunting for victims to bring to his +dreadful prison--and Jimbo shivered as he heard it. + +"And how did you get on all this time?" she asked, hurriedly changing +the subject. + +"I've been remembering, that is half-remembering, an awful lot of +things, and feeling, oh, so old. I never want to remember anything +again," he said wearily. + +"You'll forget quick enough when you get back into your body, and have +only the body-memories," she said, with a sigh that he did not +understand. "But, now tell me," she added, in a more serious voice, +"have you had any pain yet?" + +He shook his head. She stepped up beside him. + +"None _there_?" she asked, touching him lightly just behind the shoulder +blades. + +Jimbo jumped as if he had been shot, and uttered a piercing yell. + +"That hurts!" he screamed. + +"I'm so glad," cried the governess. "That's the pains coming at last." +Her face was beaming. + +"Coming!" he echoed, "I think they've _come_. But if they hurt as much +as that, I think I'd rather not escape," he added ruefully. + +"The pain won't last more than a minute," she said calmly. "You must be +brave and stand it. There's no escape without pain--from anything." + +"If there's no other way," he said pluckily, "I'll try,--but----" + +"You see," she went on, rather absently, "at this very moment the doctor +is probing the wounds in your back where the horns went in----" + +But he was not listening. Her explanations always made him want either +to cry or to laugh. This time he laughed, and the governess joined him, +while they sat on the edge of the bed together talking of many things. +He did not understand all her explanations, but it comforted him to hear +them. So long as somebody understood, no matter who, he felt it was all +right. + +In this way several days and nights passed quickly away. The pains were +apparently no nearer, but as Miss Lake showed no particular anxiety +about their non-arrival, he waited patiently too, dreading the moment, +yet also looking forward to it exceedingly. + +During the day the governess spent most of the time in the room with +him; but at night, when he was alone, the darkness became enchanted, the +room haunted, and he passed into the long, long Gallery of Ancient +Memories. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE MEANS OF ESCAPE + + +A week passed, and Jimbo began to wonder if the pains he so much +dreaded, yet so eagerly longed for, were ever coming at all. The +imprisonment was telling upon him, and he grew very thin, and +consequently very light. + +The nights, though he spent them alone, were easily borne, for he was +then intensely occupied, and the time passed swiftly; the moment it was +dark he stepped into the Gallery of Memories, and in a little while +passed into a new world of wonder and delight. But the daytime seemed +always long. He stood for hours by the window watching the trees and the +sky, and what he saw always set painful currents running through his +blood--unsatisfied longings, yearnings, and immense desires he never +could understand. + +The white clouds on their swift journeys took with them something from +his heart every time he looked upon them; they melted into air and blue +sky, and lo! that "something" came back to him charged with all the wild +freedom and magic of open spaces, distance, and rushing winds. + +But the change was close at hand. + +One night, as he was standing by the open window listening to the drip +of the rain, he felt a deadly weakness steal over him; the strength went +out of his legs. First he turned hot, and then he turned cold; clammy +perspiration broke out all over him, and it was all he could do to crawl +across the room and throw himself on to the bed. But no sooner was he +stretched out on the mattress than the feelings passed entirely, and +left behind them an intoxicating sense of strength and lightness. His +muscles became like steel springs; his bones were strong as iron and +light as cork; a wonderful vigour had suddenly come into him, and he +felt as if he had just stepped from a dungeon into fresh air. He was +ready to face anything in the world. + +But, before he had time to realise the full enjoyment of these new +sensations, a stinging, blinding pain shot suddenly through his right +shoulder as if a red-hot iron had pierced to the very bone. He screamed +out in agony; though, even while he screamed, the pain passed. Then the +same thing happened in his other shoulder. It shot through his back with +equal swiftness, and was gone, leaving him lying on the bed trembling +with pain. But the instant it was gone the delightful sensations of +strength and lightness returned, and he felt as if his whole body were +charged with some new and potent force. + +The pains had come at last! Jimbo had no notion how they could possibly +be connected with escape, but Miss Lake--his kind and faithful friend, +Miss Lake--had said that no escape was possible without them; and had +promised that they should be brief. And this was true, for the entire +episode had not taken a minute of time. + +"ESCAPE, ESCAPE!"--the words rushed through him like a flame of fire. +Out of this dreadful Empty House, into the open spaces; beyond the +prison wall; out where the wind and the rain could touch him; where he +could feel the grass beneath his feet, and could see the whole sky at +once, instead of this narrow strip through the window. His thoughts flew +to the stars and the clouds.... + +But a strange humming of voices interrupted his flight of imagination, +and he saw that the room was suddenly full of moving figures. They were +passing before him with silent footsteps, across the window from door to +door. How they had come in, or how they went out, he never knew; but his +heart stood still for an instant as he recognised the mournful figures +of the Frightened Children filing before him in a slow procession. They +were singing--though it sounded more like a chorus of whispering than +actual singing--and as they moved past with the measured steps of their +sorrowful dance, he caught the words of the song he had heard them sing +when he first came into the house:-- + + "We hear the little voices in the wind + Singing of freedom we may never find." + +Jimbo put his fingers into his ears, but still the sound came through. +He heard the words almost as if they were inside himself--his own +thoughts singing:-- + + "We hear the little footsteps in the rain + Running to help us, though they run in vain, + Tapping in hundreds on the window-pane." + +The horrible procession filed past and melted away near the door. They +were gone as mysteriously as they had come, and almost before he +realised it. + +He sprang from the bed and tried the doors; both were locked. How in +the world had the children got in and out? The whispering voices rose +again on the night air, and this time he was sure they came from +outside. He ran to the open window and thrust his head out cautiously. +Sure enough, the procession was moving slowly, still with the steps of +that impish dance across the courtyard stones. He could just make out +the slow waving arms, the thin bodies, and the white little faces as +they passed on silent feet through the darkness, and again a fragment of +the song rose to his ears as he watched, and filled him with an +overpowering sadness:-- + + "We have no joy in any children's game, + For happiness to us is but a name, + Since Terror kissed us with his lips of flame." + +Then he noticed that the group was growing smaller. Already the numbers +were less. Somewhere, over there in the dark corner of the yard, the +children disappeared, though it was too dark to see precisely how or +where. + +"We dance with phantoms, and with shadows play," rose to his ears. + +Suddenly he remembered the little white upright stones he had seen in +that corner of the yard, and understood. One by one they vanished just +behind those stones. + +Jimbo shivered, and drew his head in. He did not like those upright +stones; they made him uncomfortable and afraid. Now, however, the last +child had disappeared and the song had ceased. He realised what his fate +would be if the escape were not successful; he would become one of this +band of Frightened Children; dwelling somewhere behind the upright +stones; a terrified shadow, waiting in vain to be rescued, waiting +perhaps for ever and ever. The thought brought the tears to his eyes, +but he somehow managed to choke them down. He knew it was the young +portion of him only that felt afraid--the body; the older self could not +feel fear, and had nothing to do with tears. + +He lay down again upon the hard mattress and waited; and soon afterwards +the first crimson streaks of sunrise appeared behind the high elms, and +rooks began to caw and shake their wings in the upper branches. A little +later the governess came in. + +Before he could move out of the way--for he disliked being embraced--she +had her arms round his neck, and was covering him with kisses. He saw +tears in her eyes. + +"You darling Jimbo!" she cried, "they've come at last." + +"How do you know?" he asked, surprised at her knowledge and puzzled by +her display of emotion. + +"I heard you scream to begin with. Besides, I've been watching." + +"Watching?" + +"Yes, and listening too, every night, every single night. You've hardly +been a minute out of my sight," she added. + +"I think it's awfully good of you," he said doubtfully, "but----" + +A flood of questions followed--about the upright stones, the shadowy +children, where she spent the night "watching him," and a hundred other +things besides. But he got little satisfaction out of her. He never did +when it was Jimbo, the child, that asked; and he remained Jimbo, the +child, all that day. She only told him that all was going well. The +pains had come; he had grown nice and thin, and light; the children had +come into his room as a hint that he belonged to their band, and other +things had happened about which she would tell him later. The crisis was +close at hand. That was all he could get out of her. + +"It won't be long now," she said excitedly. "They'll come to-night, I +expect." + +"What will come to-night?" he asked, with querulous wonder. + +"Wait and see!" was all the answer he got. "Wait and see!" + +She told him to lie quietly on the bed and to have patience. + +With asking questions, and thinking, and wondering, the day passed very +quickly. With the lengthening shadows his excitement began to grow. +Presently Miss Lake took her departure and went off to her unknown and +mysterious abode; he watched her disappear through the floor with +mingled feelings, wondering what would have happened before he saw her +again. She gave him a long, last look as she sank away below the boards, +but it was a look that brought him fresh courage, and her eyes were +happy and smiling. + +Tingling already with expectancy he got into the bed and lay down, his +brain alive with one word--ESCAPE. + +From where he lay he saw the stars in the narrow strip of sky; he heard +the wind whispering in the branches; he even smelt the perfume of the +fields and hedges--grass, flowers, dew, and the sweet earth--the odours +of freedom. + +The governess had, for some reason she refused to explain, taken his +blouse away with her. For a long time he puzzled over this, seeking +reasons and finding none. But, while in the act of stroking his bare +arms, the pains of the night before suddenly returned to both shoulders +at once. Fire seemed to run down his back, splitting his bones apart, +and then passed even more quickly than before, leaving him with the same +wonderful sensations of lightness and strength. He felt inclined to +shout and run and jump, and it was only the memory of the governess's +earnest caution to "lie quietly" that prevented his new emotions passing +into acts. + +With very great effort he lay still all night long; and it was only when +the room at last began to get light again that he turned on his side, +preparatory to getting up. + +But there was something new--something different! He rested on his +elbow, waiting. Something had happened to him. Cautiously he sat on the +edge of the bed, and stretched out one foot and touched the floor. +Excitement ran through him like a wave. There was a great change, a +tremendous change; for as he stepped out gingerly on to the floor +_something followed him from the bed_. It clung to his back; it touched +both shoulders at once; it stroked his ribs, and tickled the skin of his +arms. + +Half frightened, he brought the other leg over, and stood boldly upright +on both feet. But the weight still clung to his back. He looked over his +shoulder. Yes! it was trailing after him from the bed; it was +fan-shaped, and brilliant in colour. He put out a hand and touched it; +it was soft and glossy; then he took it deliberately between his +fingers; it was smooth as velvet, and had numerous tiny ribs running +along it. + +Seizing it at last with all his courage, he pulled it forward in front +of him for a better view, only to discover that it would not come out +beyond a certain distance, and seemed to have got caught somehow between +his shoulders--just where the pains had been. A second pull, more +vigorous than the first, showed that it was not caught, but _fastened_ +to his skin; it divided itself, moreover, into two portions, one half +coming from each shoulder. + +"I do believe they're feathers!" he exclaimed, his eyes almost popping +out of his head. + +Then, with a sudden flash of comprehension, he saw it all, and +understood. They were, indeed, feathers; but they were something more +than feathers merely. _They were wings!_ + +Jimbo caught his breath and stared in silence. He felt dazed. Then bit +by bit the fragments of the weird mosaic fell into their proper places, +and he began to understand. Escape was to be by flight. It filled him +with such a whirlwind of delight and excitement that he could scarcely +keep from screaming aloud. + +Lost in wonder, he took a step forward, and watched with bulging eyes +how the wings followed him, their tips trailing along the floor. They +were a beautiful deep red, and hung down close and warm beside his body; +glossy, sleek, magical. And when, later, the sun burst into the room and +turned their colour into living flame, he could not resist the +temptation to kiss them. He seized them, and rubbed their soft surfaces +over his face. Such colours he had never seen before, and he wanted to +be sure that they really belonged to him and were intended for actual +use. + +Slowly, without using his hands, he raised them into the air. The effort +was a perfectly easy muscular effort from the shoulders that came +naturally, though he did not quite understand how he accomplished it. +The wings rose in a fine, graceful sweep, curving over his head till the +tips of the feathers met, touching the walls as they rose, and almost +reaching to the ceiling. + +He gave a howl of delight, for this sight was more than he could manage +without some outlet for his pent-up emotion; and at the same moment the +trap-door shot open, and the governess came into the room with such a +bang and a clatter that Jimbo knew at once her excitement was as great +as his own. In her hands she carried the blouse she had taken away the +night before. She held it out to him without a word. Her eyes were +shining like electric lamps. In less than a second he had slipped his +wings through the neatly-made slits, but before he could practise them +again, Miss Lake rushed over to him, her face radiant with happiness. + +"Jimbo! My darling Jimbo!" she cried--and then stopped short, apparently +unable to express her emotion. + +The next instant he was enveloped, wings and all, in a warm confusion of +kisses, congratulations and folds of hood. + +When they became disentangled again the governess went down on her +knees and made a careful examination; she pulled the wings out to their +full extent and found that they stretched about four feet and a half +from tip to tip. + +"They _are_ beauties!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, "and full grown +and strong. I'm not surprised they took so long coming." + +"Long!" he echoed, "I thought they came awfully quickly." + +"Not half so quickly as they'll go," she interrupted; adding, when she +saw his expression of dismay, "I mean, you'll fly like the wind with +them." + +Jimbo was simply breathless with excitement. He wanted to jump out of +the window and escape at once. The blue sky and the sunshine and the +white flying clouds sent him an irresistible invitation. He could not +wait a minute longer. + +"Quick," he cried, "I can't wait! They may go again. Show me how to use +them. Oh! do show me." + +"I'll show you everything in time," she answered. There was something in +her voice that made him pause in his excitement. He looked at her in +silence for some minutes. + +"But how are _you_ going to escape?" he asked at length. "You haven't +got"----he stopped short. + +The governess stepped back a few paces from him. She threw back the hood +from her face. Then she lifted the long black cloak that hung like a +cassock almost to her ankles and had always enveloped her hitherto. + +Jimbo stared. Falling from her shoulders, and folding over her hips, he +saw long red feathers clinging to her; and when he dashed forward to +touch them with his hands, he found they were just as sleek and smooth +and glossy as his own. + +"And you never told me all this time?" he gasped. + +"It was safer not," she said. "You'd have been stroking and feeling your +shoulders the whole time, and the wings might never have come at all." + +She spread out her wings as she spoke to their full extent; they were +nearly six feet across, and the deep crimson on the under side was so +exquisite, gleaming in the sunlight, that Jimbo ran in and nestled +beneath the feathers, tickling his cheeks with the fluffy surface and +running his fingers with childish delight along the slender red quills. + +"You precious child," she said, tenderly folding her wings round him +and kissing the top of his head. "Always remember that I really love +you; no matter what happens, remember that, and I'll save you." + +"And we shall escape together?" he asked, submitting for once to the +caresses with a good grace. + +"We shall escape from the Empty House together," she replied evasively. +"How far we can go after that depends--on you." + +"On me?" + +"If you love me enough--as I love you, Jimbo--we can never separate +again, because love ties us together for ever. Only," she added, "it +must be mutual." + +"I love you very much," he said, puzzled a little. "Of course I do." + +"If you've really forgiven me for being the cause of your coming here," +she said, "we can always be together, but----" + +"I don't remember, but I've forgiven you--that _other you_--long ago," +he said simply. "If you hadn't brought me here, I should never have met +you." + +"That's not real forgiveness--quite," she sighed, half to herself. + +But Jimbo could not follow this sort of conversation for long; he was +too anxious to try his wings for one thing. + +"Is it _very_ difficult to use them?" he asked. + +"Try," she said. + +He stood in the centre of the floor and raised them again and again. +They swept up easily, meeting over his head, and the air whistled +musically through them. Evidently, they had their proper muscles, for it +was no great effort, and when he folded them again by his side they fell +into natural curves over his arms as if they had been there all his +life. The sound of the feathers threshing the air filled him with +delight and made him think of the big night-bird that had flown past the +window during the night. He told the governess about it, and she burst +out laughing. + +"I was that big bird!" she said. + +"You!" + +"I perched on the roof every night to watch over you. I flew down that +time because I was afraid you were trying to climb out of the window." + +This was indeed a proof of devotion, and Jimbo felt that he could never +doubt her again; and when she went on to tell him about his wings and +how to use them he listened with his very best attention and tried hard +to learn and understand. + +"The great difficulty is that you can't practise properly," she +explained. "There's no room in here, and yet you can't get out till you +_fly_ out. It's the first swoop that decides all. You have to drop +straight out of this window, and if you use the wings properly they will +carry you in a single swoop over the wall and right up into the sky." + +"But if I miss----?" + +"You can't miss," she said with decision, "but, if you did, you would be +a prisoner here for ever. HE would catch you in the yard and tear your +wings off. It is just as well that you should know this at once." + +Jimbo shuddered as he heard her. + +"When can we try?" he asked anxiously. + +"Very soon now. The muscles must harden first, and that takes a little +time. You must practise flapping your wings until you can do it easily +four hundred times a minute. When you can do that it will be time for +the first start. You must keep your head steady and not get giddy; the +novelty of the motion--the ground rushing up into your face and the +whistling of the wind--are apt to confuse at first, but it soon passes, +and you must have confidence. I can only help you up to a certain +point; the rest depends on you." + +"And the first jump?" + +"You'll have to make that by yourself," she said; "but you'll do it all +right. You're very light, and won't go too near the ground. You see, +we're like bats, and cannot rise from the earth. We can only fly by +dropping from a height, and that's what makes the first plunge rather +trying. But you won't fall," she added, "and remember, I shall always be +within reach." + +"You're awfully kind to me," said Jimbo, feeling his little soul more +than ever invaded by the force of her unselfish care. "I promise you +I'll do my best." He climbed on to her knee and stared into her anxious +face. + +"Then you are beginning to love me a little, aren't you?" she asked +softly, putting her arms round him. + +"Yes," he said decidedly. "I love you very much already." + +Four hundred times a minute sounded a very great deal of wing-flapping; +but Jimbo practised eagerly, and though at first he could only manage +about twice a second, or one hundred and twenty times a minute, he found +this increased very soon to a great deal more, and before long he was +able to do the full four hundred, though only for a few minutes at a +time. + +He stuck to it pluckily, getting stronger every day. The governess +encouraged him as much as possible, but there was very little room for +her while he was at work, and he found the best way to practise was at +night when she was out of the way. She told him that a large bird moved +its wings about four times a second, two up-strokes and two +down-strokes; but a small bird like a partridge moved its wings so +rapidly it was impossible for the eye to distinguish or count the +strokes. A middle course of four hundred suited his own case best, and +he bent all his energies to acquire it. + +He also learned that the convex outside curve of wings allowed the wind +to escape over them, while the under side, being concave, held every +breath. Thus the upward stroke did not simply counterbalance the +downward and keep him stationary. Moreover, she showed him how the +feathers underlapped each other so that the downward stroke pressed them +closely together to hold the wind, whereas in the upward stroke they +opened and separated, letting the air slip easily through them, thus +offering less resistance to the atmosphere. + +By the end of a week Jimbo had practised so hard that he could keep +himself off the floor in mid-air for half an hour at a time, and even +then without feeling any great fatigue. His excitement became intense; +and, meanwhile, in his body on the nursery bed, though he did not know +it, the fever was reaching its crisis. He could think of nothing else +but the joys of flying, and what the first, awful plunge would be like, +and when Miss Lake came up to him one afternoon and whispered something +in his ear, he was so wildly happy that he hugged her for several +minutes without the slightest coaxing. + +"It's bright and clear," she explained, "and Fright will not come after +us, for he fears the light, and can only fly on dark and gloomy nights." + +"So we can start----?" he stammered joyfully. + +"To-night," she answered, "for our first practice-flight." + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE PLUNGE + + +To enter the world of wings is to enter a new state of existence. The +apparent loss of weight; the ability to attain full speed in a few +seconds, and to stop suddenly in a headlong rush without fear of +collapse; the power to steer instantly in any direction by merely +changing the angle of the body; the altered and enormous view of the +green world below--looking down upon forests, seas and clouds; the easy +voluptuous rhythm of rising and falling in long, swinging undulations; +and a hundred other things that simply defy description and can be +appreciated only by actual experience, these are some of the delights of +the new world of wings and flying. And the fearful joy of very high +speed, especially when the exhilaration of escape is added to it, means +a condition little short of real ecstasy. + +Yet Jimbo's first flight, the governess had been careful to tell him, +could not be the flight of final escape; for, even if the wings proved +equal to a prolonged effort, escape was impossible until there was +somewhere safe to escape to. So it was understood that the practice +flights might be long, or might be short; the important thing, +meanwhile, was to learn to fly as well as possible. For skilled flying +is very different to mere headlong rushing, and both courage and +perseverance are necessary to acquire it. + +With rare common sense Miss Lake had said very little about the +possibility of failure. Having warned him about the importance of not +falling, she had then stopped, and the power of suggestion had been +allowed to work only in the right direction of certain success. While +the boy knew that the first plunge from the window would be a moment +fraught with the highest danger, his mind only recognised the mere +off-chance of falling and being caught. He felt confidence in himself, +and by so much, therefore, were the chances of disaster lessened. + +For the rest of the afternoon Jimbo saw nothing of his faithful +companion; he spent the time practising and resting, and when weary of +everything else, he went to the window and indulged in thrilling +calculations about the exact height from the ground. A drop of three +storeys into a paved courtyard with a monster waiting to catch him, and +a high wall too close to allow a proper swing, was an alarming matter +from any point of view. Fortunately, his mind dwelt more on the delight +of prospective flight and freedom than on the chances of being caught. + +The yard lay hot and naked in the afternoon glare and the enclosing wall +had never looked more formidable; but from his lofty perch Jimbo could +see beyond into soft hayfields and smiling meadows, yellow with cowslips +and buttercups. Everything that flew he watched with absorbing interest: +swift blackbirds, whistling as they went, and crows, their wings purple +in the sunshine. The song of the larks, invisible in the sea of blue air +sent a thrill of happiness through him--he, too, might soon know +something of that glad music--and even the stately flight of the +butterflies, which occasionally ventured over into the yard, stirred +anticipations in him of joys to come. + +The day waned slowly. The butterflies vanished; the rooks sailed +homewards through the sunset; the wind dropped away, and the shadows of +the high elms lengthened gradually and fell across the window. + +The mysterious hour of the dusk, when the standard of reality changes +and other worlds come close and listen, began to work its subtle spell +upon his soul. Imperceptibly the shadows deepened as the veil of night +drew silently across the sky. A gentle breathing filled the air; trees +and fields were composing themselves to sleep; stars were peeping; wings +were being folded. + +But the boy's wings, trembling with life to the very tips of their long +feathers, these were not being folded. Charged with excitement, like +himself, they were gathering all their forces for the supreme effort of +their first journey out into the open spaces where they might touch the +secret sources of their own magical life. + +For a long, long time he waited; but at last the trap-door lifted and +Miss Lake appeared above the floor. The moment she stood in the room he +noticed that her wings came through two little slits in her gown and +folded down close to the body. They almost touched the ground. + +"Hush!" she whispered, holding up a warning finger. + +She came over on tiptoe and they began to talk in low whispers. + +"He's on the watch; we must speak very quietly. We couldn't have a +better night for it. The wind's in the south and the moon won't be up +till we're well on our way." + +Now that the actual moment was so near the boy felt something of fear +steal over him. The night seemed so vast and terrible all of a +sudden--like an immense black ocean with no friendly islands where they +could fold their wings and rest. + +"Don't waste your strength thinking," whispered the governess. "When the +time comes, act quickly, that's all!" + +She went over to the window and peered out cautiously, after a while +beckoning the child to join her. + +"He is there," she murmured in his ear. Jimbo could only make out an +indistinct shadowy object crouching under the wall, and he was not even +positive of that. + +"Does he know we're going?" he asked in an awed whisper. + +"He's there on the chance," she muttered, drawing back into the room. +"When there's a possibility of any one getting frightened he's bound to +be lurking about somewhere near. That's Fright all over. But he can't +hurt you," she added, "because you're not going to get frightened. +Besides, he can only fly when it's dark; and to-night we shall have the +moon." + +"I'm not afraid," declared the boy in spite of a rather fluttering +heart. + +"Are you ready?" was all she said. + +At last, then, the moment had come. It was actually beside him, waiting, +full of mystery and wonder, with alarm not far behind. The sun was +buried below the horizon of the world, and the dusk had deepened into +night. Stars were shining overhead; the leaves were motionless; not a +breath stirred; the earth was silent and waiting. + +"Yes, I'm ready," he whispered, almost inaudibly. + +"Then listen," she said, "and I'll tell you exactly what to do: Jump +upwards from the window ledge as high as you can, and the moment you +begin to drop, open your wings and strike with all your might. You'll +rise at once. The thing to remember is to _rise as quickly as possible_, +because the wall prevents a long, easy, sweeping rise; and, whatever +happens, you must clear that wall!" + +"I shan't touch the ground then?" asked a faint little voice. + +"Of course not! You'll get near it, but the moment you use your wings +you'll stop sinking, and rise up, up, up, ever so quickly." + +"And where to?" + +"To me. You'll see me waiting for you above the trees. Steering will +come naturally; it's quite easy." + +Jimbo was already shaking with excitement. He could not help it. And he +knew, in spite of all Miss Lake's care, that Fright was waiting in the +yard to catch him if he fell, or sank too near the ground. + +"I'll go first," added the governess, "and the moment you see that I've +cleared the wall you must jump after me. Only do not keep me waiting!" + +The girl stood for a minute in silence, arranging her wings. Her fingers +were trembling a little. Suddenly she drew the boy to her and kissed him +passionately. + +"Be brave!" she whispered, looking searchingly into his eyes, "and +strike hard--you can't possibly fail." + +In another minute she was climbing out of the window. For one second he +saw her standing on the narrow ledge with black space at her feet; the +next, without even a cry, she sprang out into the darkness, and was +gone. + +Jimbo caught his breath and ran up to see. She dropped like a stone, +turning over sideways in the air, and then at once her wings opened on +both sides and she righted. The darkness swallowed her up for a moment +so that he could not see clearly, and only heard the threshing of the +huge feathers; but it was easy to tell from the sound that she was +rising. + +Then suddenly a black form cleared the wall and rose swiftly in a +magnificent sweep into the sky, and he saw her outlined darkly against +the stars above the high elm tree. She was safe. Now it was his turn. + +"Act quickly! Don't think!" rang in his ears. If only he could do it all +as quickly as she had done it. But insidious fear had been working all +the time below the surface, and his refusal to recognise it could not +prevent it weakening his muscles and checking his power of decision. +Fortunately something of his Older Self came to the rescue. The emotions +of fear, excitement, and intense anticipation combined to call up the +powers of his deeper being: the boy trembled horribly, but the old, +experienced part of him sang with joy. + +Cautiously he began to climb out on to the window-sill; first one foot +and then the other hung over the edge. He sat there, staring down into +black space beneath. + +For a minute he hesitated; despair rushed over him in a wave; he could +never take that awful jump into emptiness and darkness. It was +impossible. Better be a prisoner for ever than risk so fearful a plunge. +He felt cold, weak, frightened, and made a half-movement back into the +room. The wings caught somehow between his legs and nearly flung him +headlong into the yard. + +"Jimbo! I'm waiting for you!" came at that moment in a faint cry from +the stars, and the sound gave him just the impetus he needed before it +was too late. He could not disappoint her--his faithful friend. Such a +thing was impossible. + +He stood upright on the ledge, his hands clutching the window-sash +behind, balancing as best he could. He clenched his fists, drew a deep, +long breath, and jumped upwards and forwards into the air. + +Up rushed the darkness with a shriek; the air whistled in his ears; he +dropped at fearful speed into nothingness. + +At first everything was forgotten--wings, instructions, warnings, and +all. He even forgot to open his wings at all, and in another second he +would have been dashed upon the hard paving-stones of the courtyard +where his great enemy lay waiting to seize him. + +But just in the nick of time he remembered, and the long hours of +practice bore fruit. Out flew the great red wings in a tremendous sweep +on both sides of him, and he began to strike with every atom of strength +he possessed. He had dropped to within six feet of the ground; but at +once the strokes began to tell, and oh, magical sensation! he felt +himself rising easily, lightly, swiftly. + +A very slight effort of those big wings would have been sufficient to +lift him out of danger, but in his terror and excitement he quite +miscalculated their power, and in a single moment he was far out of +reach of the dangerous yard and anything it contained. But the mad rush +of it all made his head swim; he felt dizzy and confused, and, instead +of clearing the wall, he landed on the top of it and clung to the +crumbling coping with hands and feet, panting and breathless. + +The dizziness was only momentary, however. In less than a minute he was +on his feet and in the act of taking his second leap into space. This +time it came more easily. He dropped, and the field swung up to meet +him. Soon the powerful strokes of his wings drove him at great speed +upwards, and he bounded ever higher towards the stars. + +Overhead, the governess hovered like an immense bird, and as he rose up +he caught the sound of her wings beating the air, while far beneath him, +he heard with a shudder a voice like the rushing of a great river. It +made him increase his pace, and in another minute he found himself among +the little whirlwinds that raced about from the beating of Miss Lake's +great wings. + +"Well done!" cried the delighted governess. "Safe at last! Now we can +fly to our heart's content!" + +Jimbo flew up alongside, and together they dashed forward into the +night. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE FIRST FLIGHT + + +There was not much talking at first. The stress of conflicting emotions +was so fierce that the words choked themselves in his throat, and the +desire for utterance found its only vent in hard breathing. + +The intoxication of rapid motion carried him away headlong in more +senses than one. At first he felt as if he never would be able to keep +up; then it seemed as if he never would get down again. For with wings +it is almost easier to rise than to fall, and a first flight is, before +anything else, a series of vivid and audacious surprises. + +For a long time Jimbo was so dizzy with excitement and the novelty of +the sensation that he forgot his deliverer altogether. + +And what a flight it was! Instead of the steady race of the carrier +pigeon, or of the rooks homeward bound at evening, it was the see-saw +motion of the wren's swinging journey across the lawn; only heavier, +faster, and with more terrific impetus. Up and down, each time with a +rise and fall of twenty feet, he careered, whistling through the summer +night; at the drop of each curve, so low that the scents of dewy grass +rose into his face; at the crest of it, so high that the trees and +hedges often became mere blots upon the dark surface of the earth. + +The fields rushed by beneath him; the white roads flashed past like +streaks of snow. Sometimes he shot across sheets of water and felt the +cooler air strike his cheeks; sometimes over sheltered meadows, where +the sunshine had slept all day and the air was still soft and warm; on +and on, as easily as rain dropping from the sky, or wind rushing +earthwards from between the clouds. Everything flew past him at an +astonishing rate--everything but the bright stars that gazed calmly down +overhead; and when he looked up and saw their steadfastness it helped to +keep within bounds the fine alarm of this first excursion into the great +vault of the sky. + +"Gently, child!" gasped Miss Lake behind him. "We shall never keep it up +at this rate." + +"Oh! but it's so wonderful," he cried, drawing in the air loudly +between his teeth, and shaking his wings rapidly like a hawk before it +drops. + +The pace slackened a little and the girl drew up alongside. For some +time they flew forward together in silence. + +They had been skirting the edge of a wood, when suddenly the trees fell +away and Jimbo gave a scream and rose fifty feet into the air with a +single bound. Straight in front of him loomed an immense, glaring disc +that seemed to swim suddenly up into the sky above the trees. It hung +there before his eyes and dazzled him. + +"It's only the moon," cried Miss Lake from below. + +Jimbo dropped through the air to her side again with a gasp. + +"I thought it was a big hole in the sky with fire rushing through," he +explained breathlessly. + +The boy stared, full of wonder and delight, at the huge flaming circle +that seemed to fill half the heavens in front of him. + +"Look out!" cried the governess, seizing his hand. + +Whish! whew! whirr! A large bird whipped past them like some winged imp +of darkness, vanishing among the trees far below. There would certainly +have been a collision but for the girl's energetic interference. + +"You must be on the look-out for these night-birds," she said. "They fly +so unexpectedly, and, of course, they don't see us properly. Telegraph +wires and church steeples are bad too, but then we shan't fly over +cities much. Keep a good height, it's safer." + +They altered their course a little, flying at a different angle, so that +the moon no longer dazzled them. Steering came quite easily by turning +the body, and Jimbo still led the way, the governess following heavily +and with a mighty business of wings and flapping. + +It was something to remember, the glory of that first journey through +the air. Sixty miles an hour, and scarcely an effort! Skimming the long +ridges of the hills and rushing through the pure air of mountain tops; +threading the star-beams; bathing themselves from head to foot in an +ocean of cool, clean wind; swimming on the waves of viewless +currents--currents warmed only by the magic of the stars, and kissed by +the burning lips of flying meteors. + +Far below them the moonlight touched the fields with silver and the +murmur of the world rose faintly to their ears, trembling, as it were, +with the inarticulate dreams of millions. Everywhere about them thrilled +and sang the unspeakable power of the night. The mystery of its great +heart seemed laid bare before them. + +It was like a wonder-journey in some Eastern fairy tale. Sometimes they +passed through zones of sweeter air, perfumed with the scents of hay and +wild flowers; at others, the fresh, damp odour of ploughed fields rose +up to them; or, again, they went spinning over leagues of forest where +the tree-tops stretched beneath them like the surface of a wide, green +sea, sleeping in the moonlight. And, when they crossed open water, the +stars shone reflected in their faces; and all the while the wings, +whirring and purring softly through the darkness, made pleasant music in +their ears. + +"I'm tired," declared Jimbo presently. + +"Then we'll go down and rest," said his breathless companion with +obvious relief. + +She showed him how to spread his wings, sloping them towards the ground +at an angle that enabled him to shoot rapidly downwards, at the same +time regulating his speed by the least upward tilt. It was a glorious +motion, without effort or difficulty, though the pace made it hard to +keep the eyes open, and breathing became almost impossible. They dropped +to within ten feet of the ground and then shot forward again. + +But, while the boy was watching his companion's movements, and paying +too little attention to his own, there rose suddenly before him out of +the ground a huge, bulky form of something--and crash--he flew headlong +into it. + +Fortunately it was only a haystack; but the speed at which he was going +lodged his head several inches under the thatch, whence he projected +horizontally into space, feet, arms, and wings gyrating furiously. The +governess, however, soon released him with much laughter, and they +dropped down into the fallen hay upon the ground with no worse result +than a shaking. + +"Oh, what a lark!" he cried, shaking the hay out of his feathers, and +rubbing his head rather ruefully. + +"Except that larks are hardly night-birds," she laughed, helping him. + +They settled with folded wings in the shadow of the haystack; and the +big moon, peeping over the edge at them, must have surely wondered to +see such a funny couple, in such a place, and at such an hour. + +"Mushrooms!" suddenly cried the governess, springing to her feet. "There +must be lots in this field. I'll go and pick some while you rest a bit." + +Off she went, trapesing over the field in the moonlight, her wings +folded behind her, her body bent a little forward as she searched, and +in ten minutes she came back with her hands full. That was undoubtedly +the time to enjoy mushrooms at their best, with the dew still on their +tight little jackets, and the sweet odour of the earth caught under +their umbrellas. + +Soon they were all eaten, and Jimbo was lying back on a pile of hay, his +shoulders against the wall of the stack, and his wings gathered round +him like a warm cloak of feathers. He felt cosy and dozy, full of +mushrooms inside and covered with hay and feathers outside. The +governess had once told him that a sort of open-air sleep sometimes came +after a long flight. It was, of course, not a real sleep, but a state in +which everything about oneself is forgotten; no dreams, no movement, no +falling asleep and waking up in the ordinary sense, but a condition of +deep repose in which recuperation is very great. + +Jimbo would have been greatly interested, no doubt, to know that his +real body on the bed had also just been receiving nourishment, and was +now passing into a quieter and less feverish condition. The parallel +always held true between himself and his body in the nursery, but he +could not know anything about this, and only supposed that it was this +open-air sleep that he felt gently stealing over him. + +It brought at first strange thoughts that carried him far away to other +woods and other fields. While Miss Lake sat beside him eating her +mushrooms, his mind was drawn off to some other little folk. But it was +always stopped just short of them. He never could quite see their faces. +Yet his thoughts continued their search, groping in the darkness; he +felt sure he ought to be sharing his adventures with these other little +persons, whoever they were; they ought to have been sitting beside him +at that very moment, eating mushrooms, combing their wings, comparing +the length of their feathers, and snuggling with him into the warm hay. + +But they obstinately hovered just outside his memory, and refused to +come in and surrender themselves. He could not remember who they were, +and his yearnings went unsatisfied up to the stars, as yearnings +generally do, while his thoughts returned weary from their search and he +yielded to the seductions of the soothing open-air sleep. + +The moon, meanwhile, rose higher and higher, drawing a silver veil over +the stars. Upon the field the dews of midnight fell silently. A faint +mist rose from the ground and covered the flowers in their dim seclusion +under the hedgerows. The hours slipped away swiftly. + +"Come on, Jimbo, boy!" cried the governess at length. "The moon's below +the hills, and we must be off!" + +The boy turned and stared sleepily at her from his nest in the hay. + +"We've got miles to go. Remember the speed we came at!" she explained, +getting up and arranging her wings. + +Jimbo got up slowly and shook himself. + +"I've been miles away," he said dreamily, "miles and miles. But I'm +ready to start at once." + +They looked about for a raised place to jump from. A ladder stood +against the other side of the haystack. The governess climbed up it and +Jimbo followed her drowsily. Hand in hand they sprang into the air from +the edge of the thatched roof, and their wings spread out like sails to +catch the wind. It smote their faces pleasantly as they plunged +downwards and forwards, and the exhilarating rush of cool air banished +from the boy's head the last vestige of the open-air sleep. + +"We must keep up a good pace," cried the governess, taking a stream and +the hedge beyond in a single sweep. "There's a light in the east +already." + +As she spoke a dog howled in a farmyard beneath them, and she shot +upwards as though lifted by a sudden gust of wind. + +"We're too low," she shouted from above. "That dog felt us near. Come up +higher. It's easier flying, and we've got a long way to go." + +Jimbo followed her up till they were several hundred feet above the +earth and the keen air stung their cheeks. Then she led him still +higher, till the meadows looked like the squares on a chess-board and +the trees were like little toy shrubs. Here they rushed along at a +tremendous speed, too fast to speak, their wings churning the air into +little whirlwinds and eddies as they passed, whizzing, whistling, +tearing through space. + +The fields, however, were still dim in the shadows that precede the +dawn, and the stars only just beginning to fade, when they saw the dark +outline of the Empty House below them, and began carefully to descend. +Soon they topped the high elms, startling the rooks into noisy cawing, +and then, skimming the wall, sailed stealthily on outspread wings across +the yard. + +Cautiously dropping down to the level of the window, they crawled over +the sill into the dark little room, and folded their wings. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE FOUR WINDS + + +The governess left the boy to his own reflections almost immediately. He +spent the hours thinking and resting; going over again in his mind every +incident of the great flight and wondering when the real, final escape +would come, and what it would be like. Thus, between the two states of +excitement he forgot for a while that he was still a prisoner, and the +spell of horror was lifted temporarily from his heart. + +The day passed quickly, and when Miss Lake appeared in the evening, she +announced that there could be no flying again that night, and that she +wished instead to give him important instruction for the future. There +were rules, and signs, and times which he must learn carefully. The time +might come when he would have to fly alone, and he must be prepared for +everything. + +"And the first thing I have to tell you," she said, exactly as though +it was a schoolroom, "is: _Never fly over the sea._ Our kind of wings +quickly absorb the finer particles of water and get clogged and heavy +over the sea. You finally cannot resist the drawing power of the water, +and you will be dragged down and drowned. So be very careful! When you +are flying high it is often difficult to know where the land ends and +the sea begins, especially on moonless nights. But you can always be +certain of one thing: if there are no sounds below you--hoofs, voices, +wheels, wind in trees--you are over the sea." + +"Yes," said the child, listening with great attention. "And what else?" + +"The next thing is: _Don't fly too high._ Though we fly like birds, +remember we are not birds, and we can fly where they can't. We can fly +in the ether----" + +"Where's that?" he interrupted, half afraid of the sound. + +She stooped and kissed him, laughing at his fear. + +"There is nothing to be frightened about," she explained. "The air gets +lighter and lighter as you go higher, till at last it stops altogether. +Then there's only ether left. Birds can't fly in ether because it's too +thin. We can, because----" + +"Is that why it was good for me to get lighter and thinner?" he +interrupted again in a puzzled voice. + +"Partly, yes." + +"And what happens in the ether, please?" It still frightened him a +little. + +"Nothing--except that if you fly too high you reach a point where the +earth ceases to hold you, and you dash off into space. Weight leaves you +then, and the wings move without effort. Faster and faster you rush +upwards, till you lose all control of your movements, and then----" + +Miss Lake hesitated a moment. + +"And then----?" asked the fascinated child. + +"You may never come down again," she said slowly. "You may be sucked +into anything that happens to come your way--a comet, or a shooting +star, or the moon." + +"I should like a shooting star best," observed the boy, deeply +interested. "The moon frightens me, I think. It looks so dreadfully +clean." + +"You won't like any of them when the time comes," she laughed. "No one +ever gets out again who once gets in. But you'll never be caught that +way after what I've told you," she added, with decision. + +"I shall never want to fly as high as that, I'm sure," said Jimbo. "And +now, please, what comes next?" + +The next thing, she went on to explain, was the _weather_, which, to all +flying creatures, was of the utmost importance. Before starting for a +flight he must always carefully consider the state of the sky, and the +direction in which he wished to go. For this purpose he must master the +meaning and character of the Four Winds and be able to recognise them in +a moment. + +"Once you know these," she said, "you cannot possibly go wrong. To make +it easier, I've put each Wind into a little simple rhyme, for you." + +"I'm listening," he said eagerly. + +"The North Wind is one of the worst and most dangerous, because it blows +so much faster than you think. It's taken you ten miles before you think +you've gone two. In starting with a North Wind, always fly _against_ it; +then it will bring you home easily. If you fly _with_ it, you may be +swept so far that the day will catch you before you can get home; and +then you're as good as lost. Even birds fly warily when this wind is +about. It has no lulls or resting-places in it; it blows steadily on and +on, and conquers everything it comes against--everything except the +mountains." + +"And its rhyme?" asked Jimbo, all ears. + + "It will show you the joy of the birds, my child, + You shall know their terrible bliss; + It will teach you to hide, when the night is wild, + From the storm's too passionate kiss. + For the Wind of the North + Is a volleying forth + That will lift you with springs + In the heart of your wings, + And may sweep you away + To the edge of the day. + So, beware of the Wind of the North, my child, + Fly not with the Wind of the North!" + +"I think I like him all the same," said Jimbo. "But I'll remember always +to fly against him." + +"The East Wind is worse still, for it hurts," continued the governess. +"It stings and cuts. It's like the breath of an ice-creature; it brings +hail and sleet and cold rain that beat down wings and blind the eyes. +Like the North Wind, too, it is dreadfully swift and full of little +whirlwinds, and may easily carry you into the light of day that would +prove your destruction. Avoid it always; no hiding-place is safe from +it. This is the rhyme: + + "It will teach you the secrets the eagles know + Of the tempests' and whirlwinds' birth; + And the magical weaving of rain and snow + As they fall from the sky to the earth. + But an Easterly wind + Is for ever unkind; + It will torture and twist you + And never assist you, + But will drive you with might + To the verge of the night. + So, beware of the Wind of the East, my child, + Fly not with the Wind of the East." + +"The West Wind is really a very nice and jolly wind in itself," she went +on, "but it's dangerous for a special reason: _it will carry you out to +sea_. The Empty House is only a few miles from the coast, and a strong +West Wind would take you there almost before you had time to get down to +earth again. And there's no use struggling against a really steady West +Wind, for it's simply tireless. Luckily, it rarely blows at night, but +goes down with the sun. Often, too, it blows hard to the coast, and then +drops suddenly, leaving you among the fogs and mists of the sea." + +"Rather a nice, exciting sort of wind though," remarked Jimbo, waiting +for the rhyme. + + "So, at last, you shall know from their lightest breath + To which heaven each wind belongs; + And shall master their meaning for life or death + By the shout of their splendid songs. + Yet the Wind of the West + Is a wind unblest; + It is lifted and kissed + By the spirits of mist; + It will clasp you and flee + To the wastes of the sea. + So, beware of the Wind of the West, my child, + Fly not with the Wind of the West!" + +"A jolly wind," observed Jimbo again. "But that doesn't leave much over +to fly with," he added sadly. "They all seem dangerous or cruel." + +"Yes," she laughed, "and so they are till you can master them--then +they're kind, only one that's really always safe and kind is the Wind of +the South. It's a sweet, gentle wind, beloved of all that flies, and you +can't possibly mistake it. You can tell it at once by the murmuring way +it stirs the grasses and the tops of the trees. Its taste is soft and +sweet in the mouth like wine, and there's always a faint perfume about +it like gardens in summer. It is the joy of this wind that makes all +flying things sing. With a South Wind you can go anywhere and no harm +can come to you." + +"Dear old South Wind," cried Jimbo, rubbing his hands with delight. "I +hope it will blow soon." + +"Its rhyme is very easy, too, though you will always be able to tell it +without that," she added. + + "For this is the favourite Wind of all, + Beloved of the stars and night; + In the rustle of leaves you shall hear it call + To the passionate joys of flight. + It will carry you forth in its wonderful hair + To the far-away courts of the sky, + And the breath of its lips is a murmuring prayer + For the safety of all who fly. + For the Wind of the South + Is like wine in the mouth, + With its whispering showers + And perfume of flowers, + When it falls like a sigh + From the heart of the sky." + +"Oh!" interrupted Jimbo, rubbing his hands, "that _is_ nice. That's _my_ +wind!" + + "It will bear you aloft + With a pressure so soft + That you hardly shall guess + Whose the gentle caress." + +"Hooray!" he cried again. + + "It's the kindest of weathers + For our red feathers, + And blows open the way + To the Gardens of Play. + So, fly out with the Wind of the South, my child, + With the wonderful Wind of the South." + +"Oh, I love the South Wind already," he shouted, clapping his hands +again. "I hope it will blow very, _very_ soon." + +"It may be rising even now," answered the governess, leading him to the +window. But, as they gazed at the summer landscape lying in the fading +light of the sunset, all was still and resting. The air was hushed, the +leaves motionless. There was no call just then to flight from among the +tree-tops, and he went back into the room disappointed. + +"But why can't we escape at once?" he asked again, after he had given +his promise to remember all she had told him, and to be extra careful if +he ever went out flying alone. + +"Jimbo, dear, I've told you before, it's because your body isn't ready +for you yet," she answered patiently. "There's hardly any circulation +in it, and if you forced your way back now the shock might stop your +heart beating altogether. Then you'd be really dead, and escape would be +impossible." + +The boy sat on the edge of the bed staring intently at her while she +spoke. Something clutched at his heart. He felt his Older Self, with its +greater knowledge, rising up out of the depths within him. The child +struggled with the old soul for possession. + +"Have _you_ got any circulation?" he asked abruptly at length. "I mean, +has _your_ heart stopped beating?" + +But the smile called up by his words froze on her lips. She crossed to +the window and stood with her back to the fading light, avoiding his +eyes. + +"My case, Jimbo, is a little different from yours," she said presently. +"The important thing is to make certain about your escape. Never mind +about me." + +"But escape without you is nothing," he said, the Older Self now wholly +in possession. "I simply wouldn't go. I'd rather stay here--with you." + +The governess made no reply, but she turned her back to the room and +leaned out of the window. Jimbo fancied he heard a sob. He felt a great +big heart swelling up within his little body, and he crossed over beside +her. For some minutes they stood there in silence, watching the stars +that were already shining faintly in the sky. + +"Whatever happens," he said, nestling against her, "I shan't go from +here without you. Remember that!" + +He was going to say a lot more, but somehow or other, when she stooped +over to kiss his head--he hardly came up to her shoulder--it all ran +suddenly out of his mind, and the little child dropped back into +possession again. The tide of his thoughts that seemed about to rise, +fast and furious, sank away completely, leaving his mind a clean-washed +slate without a single image; and presently, without any more words, the +governess left him and went through the trap-door into the silence and +mystery of the house below. + +Several hours later, about the middle of the night, there came over him +a most disagreeable sensation of nausea and dizziness. The ground rose +and fell beneath his feet, the walls swam about sideways, and the +ceiling slid off into the air. It only lasted a few minutes, however, +and Jimbo knew from what she had told him that it was the Flying +Sickness which always followed the first long flight. + +But, about the same time, another little body, lying in a night-nursery +bed, was being convulsed with a similar attack; and the sickness of the +little prisoner in the Empty House had its parallel, strangely enough, +in the half-tenanted body miles away in a different world. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +PLEASURES OF FLIGHT + + +Since the night when Jimbo had nearly fallen into the yard and risked +capture, Fright, the horrible owner of the house, had kept himself well +out of the way, and had allowed himself to be neither seen nor heard. + +But the boy was not foolish enough to fall into the other trap, and +imagine, therefore, that He did not know what was going on. Jimbo felt +quite sure that He was only waiting his chance; and the governess's +avoidance of the subject tended to confirm this supposition. + +"He's disappeared somewhere and taken the children with him," she +declared when he questioned her. "And now you know almost as much as I +do." + +"But not quite!" he laughed mischievously. + +"Enough, though," she replied. "We want all our energy for escape when +it comes. Don't bother about anything else for the moment." + +During the day, when he was alone, his thoughts and fancies often +terrified him; but at night, when he was rushing through the heavens, +the intense delight of flying drove all minor emotions out of his +consciousness, and he even forgot his one great desire--to escape. One +night, however, something happened that brought it back more keenly than +ever. + +He had been out flying alone, but had not gone far when he noticed that +an easterly wind had begun to rise and was blowing steadily behind him. +With the recent instructions fresh in his head, he thought it wiser to +turn homewards rather than fight his way back later against a really +strong wind from this quarter. Flying low along the surface of the +fields so as to avoid its full force, he suddenly rose up with a good +sweep and settled on the top of the wall enclosing the yard. + +The moonlight lay bright over everything. His approach had been very +quiet. He was just about to sail across to the window when something +caught his eye, and he hesitated a moment, and stared. + +Something was moving at the other end of the courtyard. + +It seemed to him that the moonlight suddenly grew pale and ghastly; the +night air turned chilly; shivers began to run up and down his back. + +He folded his wings and watched. + +At the end of the yard he saw several figures moving busily to and fro +in the shadow of the wall. They were very small; but close beside them +all the time stood a much larger figure which seemed to be directing +their movements. There was no need to look twice; it was impossible to +mistake these terrible little people and their hideous overseer. Horror +rushed over the boy, and a wild scream was out in the night before he +could possibly prevent it. At the same moment a cloud passed over the +face of the moon and the yard was shrouded in darkness. + +A minute later the cloud passed off; but while it was still too dark to +see clearly, Jimbo was conscious of a rushing, whispering sound in the +air, and something went past him at a tremendous pace into the sky. The +wind stirred his hair as it passed, and a moment later he heard voices +far away in the distance--up in the sky or within the house he could +not tell--singing mournfully the song he now knew so well:-- + + We dance with phantoms and with shadows play. + +But when he looked down at the yard he saw that it was deserted, and the +corner by the little upright stones lay in the clear moonlight, empty of +figures, large or small. + +Shivering with fright, he flew across to the window ledge, and almost +tumbled into the arms of the governess who was standing close inside. + +"What's the matter, child?" she asked in a voice that trembled a little. + +And, still shuddering, he told her how he thought he had seen the +children working by the gravestones. All her efforts to calm him at +first failed, but after a bit she drew his thoughts to pleasanter +things, and he was not so certain after all that he had not been +deceived by the cunning of the moonlight and the shadows. + +A long interval passed, and no further sign was given by the owner of +the house or his band of frightened children. Jimbo soon lost himself +again in the delights of flying and the joy of his increasing powers. + +Most of all he enjoyed the quiet, starlit nights before the moon was +up; for the moon dazzled the eyes in the rarefied air where they flew, +whereas the stars gave just enough light to steer by without making it +uncomfortable. + +Moreover, the moon often filled him with a kind of faint terror, as of +death; he could never gaze at her white face for long without feeling +that something entered his heart with those silver rays--something that +boded him no good. He never spoke of this to the governess; indeed, he +only recognised it himself when the moon was near the full; but it lay +always in the depths of his being, and he felt dimly that it would have +to be reckoned with before he could really escape for good. He took no +liberties when the moon was at the full. + +He loved to hover--for he had learned by this time that most difficult +of all flying feats; to hold the body vertical and whirr the wings +without rising or advancing--he loved to hover on windless nights over +ponds and rivers and see the stars reflected in their still pools. +Indeed, sometimes he hovered till he dropped, and only saved himself +from a wetting by sweeping up in a tremendous curve along the surface of +the water, and thus up into the branches of the trees where the +governess sat waiting for him. And then, after a little rest, they +would launch forth again and fly over fields and woods, sometimes even +as far as the hills that ran down the coast of the sea itself. + +They usually flew at a height of about a thousand feet, and the earth +passed beneath them like a great streaked shadow. But as soon as the +moon was up the whole country turned into a fairyland of wonder. Her +light touched the woods with a softened magic, and the fields and hedges +became frosted most delicately. Beneath a thin transparency of mist the +water shone with a silvery brilliance that always enabled them to +distinguish it from the land at any height; while the farms and country +houses were swathed in tender grey shadows through which the trees and +chimneys pierced in slender lines of black. It was wonderful to watch +the shadows everywhere spinning their blue veil of distance that lent +even to the commonest objects something of enchantment and mystery. + +Those were wonderful journeys they made together into the pathways of +the silent night, along the unknown courses, into that hushed centre +where they could almost hear the beatings of her great heart--like +winged thoughts searching the huge vault, till the boy ached with the +sensations of speed and distance, and the old yellow moon seemed to +stagger across the sky. + +Sometimes they rose very high into freezing air, so high that the earth +became a dull shadow specked with light. They saw the trains running in +all directions with thin threads of smoke shining in the glare of the +open fire-boxes. But they seemed very tiny trains indeed, and stirred in +him no recollections of the semi-annual visits to London town when he +went to the dentist, and lunched with the dreaded grandmother or the +stiff and fashionable aunts. + +And when they came down again from these perilous heights, the scents of +the earth rose to meet them, the perfume of woods and fields, and the +smells of the open country. + +There was, too, the delight, the curious delight of windy nights, when +the wind smote and buffeted them, knocking them suddenly sideways, +whistling through their feathers as if it wanted to tear them from their +sockets; rushing furiously up underneath their wings with repeated +blows; turning them round, and backwards and forwards, washing them from +head to foot in a tempestuous sea of rapid and unexpected motion. + +It was, of course, far easier to fly with a wind than without one. The +difficulty with a violent wind was to get down--not to keep up. The +gusts drove up against the under-surfaces of their wings and kept them +afloat, so that by merely spreading them like sails they could sweep and +circle without a single stroke. Jimbo soon learned to manoeuvre so that +he could turn the strength of a great wind to his own purposes, and +revel in its boisterous waves and currents like a strong swimmer in a +rough sea. + +And to listen to the wind as it swept backwards and forwards over the +surface of the earth below was another pleasure; for everything it +touched gave out a definite note. He soon got to know the long sad cry +from the willows, and the little whispering in the tops of the poplar +trees; the crisp, silvery rattle of the birches, and the deep roar from +oaks and beech woods. The sound of a forest was like the shouting of the +sea. + +But far more lovely, when they descended a little, and the wind was more +gentle, were the low pipings among the reeds and the little wayward +murmurs under the hedgerows. + +The pine trees, however, drew them most, with their weird voices, now +far away, now near, rising upwards with a wind of sighs. + +There was a grove of these trees that trooped down to the waters of a +little lake in the hills, and to this spot they often flew when the wind +was low and the music likely, therefore, to be to their taste. For, even +when there was no perceptible wind, these trees seemed always full of +mysterious, mournful whisperings; their branches held soft music that +never quite died away, even when all other trees were silent and +motionless. + +Besides these special expeditions, they flew everywhere and anywhere. +They visited the birds in their nests in lofty trees, and exchanged the +time of night with wise-eyed owls staring out upon them from the ivy. +They hovered up the face of great cliffs, and passed the hawks asleep on +perilous ledges; skimmed over lonely marshes, frightening the +water-birds paddling in and out among the reeds. They followed the +windings of streams, singing among the meadows, and flew along the wet +sands as they watched the moon rise out of the sea. + +These flights were unadulterated pleasure, and Jimbo thought he could +never have enough of them. + +He soon began to notice, too, that the trees emanated something that +affected his own condition. When he sat in their branches this was very +noticeable. Currents of force passed from them into himself. And even +when he flew over their crests he was aware that some woods exhaled +vigorous, life-giving forces, while others tired and depleted him. +Nothing was visible actually, but fine waves seemed to beat up against +his eyes and thoughts, making him stronger or weaker, happy or +melancholy, full of hope and courage, or listless and indifferent. + +These emanations of the trees--this giving-forth of their own personal +forces--were, of course, very varied in strength and character. Oaks and +pines were the best combination, he found, before the stress of a long +flight, the former giving him steadiness, and the latter steely +endurance and the power to steer in sinuous, swift curves, without +taking thought or trouble. + +Other trees gave other powers. All gave something. It was impossible to +sit among their branches without absorbing some of the subtle and +exhilarating tree-life. He soon learned how to gather it all into +himself, and turn it to account in his own being. + +"Sit quietly," the governess said. "Let the forces creep in and stir +about. Do nothing yourself. Give them time to become part of yourself +and mix properly with your own currents. Effort on your part prevents +this, and you weaken them without gaining anything yourself." + +Jimbo made all sorts of experiments with trees and rocks and water and +fields, learning gradually the different qualities of force they gave +forth, and how to use them for himself. Nothing, he found, was really +dead. And sometimes he got himself into strange difficulties in the +beginning of his attempts to master and absorb these nature-forces. + +"Remember," the governess warned him more than once, when he was +inclined to play tricks, "they are in quite a different world to ours. +You cannot take liberties with them. Even a sympathetic soul like +yourself only touches the fringe of their world. You exchange +surface-messages with them, nothing more. Some trees have terrible +forces just below the surface. They could extinguish you +altogether--absorb you into themselves. Others are naturally hostile. +Some are mere tricksters. Others are shifty and treacherous, like the +hollies, that move about too much. The oak and the pine and the elm are +friendly, and you can always trust them absolutely. But there are +others----!" + +She held up a warning finger, and Jimbo's eyes nearly dropped out of his +head. + +"No," she added, in reply to his questions, "you can't learn all this at +once. Perhaps----" She hesitated a little. "Perhaps, if you don't +escape, we should have time for all manner of adventures among the trees +and other things--but then, we _are_ going to escape, so there's no good +wasting time over _that_!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +AN ADVENTURE + + +But Miss Lake did not always accompany him on these excursions into the +night; sometimes he took long flights by himself, and she rather +encouraged him in this, saying it would give him confidence in case he +ever lost her and was obliged to find his way about alone. + +"But I couldn't get really lost," he said once to her. "I know the winds +perfectly now and the country round for miles, and I never go out in +fog----" + +"But these are only practice flights," she replied. "The flight of +escape is a very different matter. I want you to learn all you possibly +can so as to be prepared for anything." + +Jimbo felt vaguely uncomfortable when she talked like this. + +"But you'll be with me in the Escape Flight--the final one of all," he +said; "and nothing ever goes wrong when you're with me." + +"I should like to be always with you," she answered tenderly, "but it's +well to be prepared for anything, just the same." + +And more than this the boy could never get out of her. + +On one of these lonely flights, however, he made the unpleasant +discovery that he was being followed. + +At first he only imagined there was somebody after him because of the +curious vibrations of the very rarefied air in which he flew. Every time +his flight slackened and the noise of his own wings grew less, there +reached him from some other corner of the sky a sound like the +vibrations of large wings beating the air. It seemed behind, and +generally below him, but the swishing of his own feathers made it +difficult to hear with distinctness, or to be certain of the direction. + +Evidently it was a long way off; but now and again, when he took a spurt +and then sailed silently for several minutes on outstretched wings, the +beating of distant, following feathers seemed unmistakably clear, and he +raced on again at full speed more than terrified. Other times, however, +when he tried to listen, there was no trace of this other flyer, and +then his fear would disappear, and he would persuade himself that it had +been imagination. So much on these flights he knew to be +imagination--the sentences, voices, and laughter, for instance, that +filled the air and sounded so real, yet were actually caused by the wind +rushing past his ears, the rhythm of the wing-beats, and the tips of the +feathers occasionally rubbing against the sides of his body. + +But at last one night the suspicion that he was followed became a +certainty. + +He was flying far up in the sky, passing over some big city, when the +sound rose to his ears, and he paused, sailing on stretched wings, to +listen. Looking down into the immense space below, he saw, plainly +outlined against the luminous patch above the city, the form of a large +flying creature moving by with rapid strokes. The pulsations of its +great wings made the air tremble so that he both heard and felt them. It +may have been that the vapours of the city distorted the thing, just as +the earth's atmosphere magnifies the rising or setting of the moon; but, +even so, it was easy to see that it was something a good deal larger +than himself, and with a much more powerful flight. + +Fortunately, it did not seem this time to be actually on his trail, for +it swept by at a great pace, and was soon lost in the darkness far +ahead. Perhaps it was only searching for him, and his great height had +proved his safety. But in any case he was exceedingly terrified, and at +once turned round, pointed his head for the earth, and shot downwards in +the direction of the Empty House as fast as ever he could. + +But when he spoke to the governess she made light of it, and told him +there was nothing to be afraid of. It might have been a flock of +hurrying night-birds, she said, or an owl distorted by the city's light, +or even his own reflection magnified in water. Anyhow, she felt sure it +was not chasing him, and he need pay no attention to it. + +Jimbo felt reassured, but not quite satisfied. He knew a flying monster +when he saw one; and it was only when he had been for many more flights +alone, without its reappearance, that his confidence was fully restored, +and he began to forget about it. + +Certainly these lonely flights were very much to his taste. His Older +Self, with its dim hauntings of a great memory somewhere behind him, +took possession then, and he was able to commune with nature in a way +that the presence of the governess made impossible. With her his Older +Self rarely showed itself above the surface for long; he was always the +child. But, when alone, Nature became alive; he drew force from the +trees and flowers, and felt that they all shared a common life together. +Had he been imprisoned by some wizard of old in a tree-form, knowing of +the sunset and the dawn only by the sweet messages that rustled in his +branches, the wind could hardly have spoken to him with a more intimate +meaning; or the life of the fields, eternally patient, have touched him +more nearly with their joys and sorrows. It seemed almost as if, from +his leafy cell, he had gazed before this into the shining pools with +which the summer rains jewelled the meadows, sending his soul in a +stream of unsatisfied yearning up to the stars. It all came back dimly +when he heard the wind among the leaves, and carried him off to the +woods and fields of an existence far antedating this one---- + +And on gentle nights, when the wind itself was half asleep and dreaming, +the pine trees drew him most of all, for theirs was the song he loved +above all others. He would fly round and round the little grove by the +mountain lake, listening for hours together to their sighing voices. But +the governess was never told of this, whatever she may have guessed; for +it seemed to him a joy too deep for words, the pains and sweetness being +mingled too mysteriously for him ever to express in awkward sentences. +Moreover, it all passed away and was forgotten the moment the child took +possession and usurped the older memory. + +One night, when the moon was high and the air was cool and fragrant +after the heat of the day, Jimbo felt a strong desire to get off by +himself for a long flight. He was full of energy, and the space-craving +cried to be satisfied. For several days he had been content with slow, +stupid expeditions with the governess. + +"I'm off alone to-night," he cried, balancing on the window ledge, "but +I'll be back before dawn. Good-bye!" + +She kissed him, as she always did now, and with her good-bye ringing in +his ears, he dropped from the window and rose rapidly over the elms and +away from earth. + +This night, for some reason, the stars and the moon seemed to draw him, +and with tireless wings he mounted up, up, up, to a height he had never +reached before. The intoxication of the strong night air rose into his +brain and he dashed forward ever faster, with a mad delight, into the +endless space before him. + +Mile upon mile lay behind him as he rushed onwards, always pointing a +little on the upward slope, drunk with speed. The earth faded away to a +dark expanse of shadow beneath him, and he no longer was conscious of +the deep murmur that usually flowed steadily upwards from its surface. +He had often before risen out of reach of the earth noises, but never so +far that this dull reverberating sound, combined of all the voices of +the world merged together, failed to make itself heard. To-night, +however, he heard nothing. The stars above his head changed from yellow +to diamond white, and the cold air stung his cheeks and brought the +water to his eyes. + +But at length the governess's warning, as he explored these forbidden +regions, came back to him, and in a series of gigantic bounds that took +his breath away completely, he dropped nearer to the earth again and +kept on at a much lower level. + +The hours passed and the position of the moon began to alter +noticeably. Some of the constellations that were overhead when he +started were now dipping below the horizon. Never before had he ventured +so far from home, and he began to realise that he had been flying much +longer than he knew or intended. The speed had been terrific. + +The change came imperceptibly. With the discovery that his wings were +not moving quite so easily as before, he became suddenly aware that this +had really been the case for some little time. He was flying with +greater effort, and for a long time this effort had been increasing +gradually before he actually recognised the fact. + +Although no longer pointing towards the earth he seemed to be sinking. +It became increasingly difficult to fly upwards. His wings did not seem +to fail or weaken, nor was he conscious of feeling tired; but something +was ever persuading him to fly lower, almost as if a million tiny +threads were coaxing him downwards, drawing him gradually nearer to the +world again. Whatever it was, the earth had come much closer to him in +the last hour, and its familiar voices were pleasant to hear after the +boundless heights he had just left. + +But for some reason his speed grew insensibly less and less. His wings +moved apparently as fast as before, but it was harder to keep up. In +spite of himself he kept sinking. The sensation was quite new, and he +could not understand it. It almost seemed as though he were being +_pulled_ downwards. + +Jimbo began to feel uneasy. He had not lost his bearings, but he was a +very long way from home, and quite beyond reach of the help he was so +accustomed to. With a great effort he mounted several hundred feet into +the air, and tried hard to stay there. For a short time he succeeded, +but he soon felt himself sinking gradually downwards again. The force +drawing him was a constant force without rise or fall; and with a deadly +feeling of fear the boy began to realise that he would soon have to +yield to it altogether. His heart beat faster and his thoughts turned to +the friend who was then far away, but who alone could save him. + +She, at least, could have explained it and told him what best to do. But +the governess was beyond his reach. This problem he must face alone. + +Something, however, had to be done quickly, and Jimbo, acting more as +the man than as the boy, turned and flew hurriedly forward in another +direction. He hoped this might somehow counteract the force that still +drew him downwards; and for a time it apparently did so, and he flew +level. But the strain increased every minute, and he looked down with +something of a shudder as he realised that before very long he would be +obliged to yield to this deadly force--and drop! + +It was then for the first time he noticed a change had come over the +surface of the earth below. Instead of the patchwork of field and wood +and road, he saw a vast cloud stretching out, white and smooth in the +moonlight. The world was hidden beneath a snowy fog, dense and +impenetrable. It was no longer even possible to tell in what direction +he was flying, for there was nothing to steer by. This was a new and +unexpected complication, and the boy could not understand how the change +had come about so quickly; the last time he had glanced down for +indications to steer by, everything had been clear and easily visible. + +It was very beautiful, this carpet of white mist with the silver moon +shining upon it, but it thrilled him now with an unpleasant sense of +dread. And, still more unpleasant, was a new sound which suddenly broke +in upon the stillness and turned his blood into ice. He was certain that +he heard wings behind him. He was being followed, and this meant that it +was impossible to turn and fly back. + +There was nothing now to do but fly forwards and hope to distance the +huge wings; but if he was being followed by the powerful flyer he had +seen a few nights before, the boy knew that he stood little chance of +success, and he only did it because it seemed the one thing possible. + +The cloud was dense and chill as he entered it; its moisture clung to +his wings and made them heavy; his muscles seemed to stiffen, and motion +became more and more difficult. The wings behind him meanwhile came +closer. + +He was flying along the surface of the mist now, his body and wings +hidden, and his head just above the level. He could see along its white, +even top. If he sank a few more inches it would be impossible to see at +all, or even to judge where he was going. Soon it rose level with his +lips, and at the same time he noticed a new smell in the air, faint at +first, but growing every moment stronger. It was a fresh, sweet odour, +yet it somehow added to his alarm, and stirred in him new centres of +uneasiness. He tried vainly to increase his speed and distance the wings +which continued to gain so steadily upon him from behind. + +The cloud, apparently, was not everywhere of the same density, for here +and there he saw the tops of green hills below him as he flew. But he +could not understand why each green hill seemed to have a little lake on +its summit--a little lake in which the reflected moon stared straight up +into his face. Nor could he quite make out what the sounds were which +rose to his ears through the muffling of the cloud--sounds of tumultuous +rushing, hissing, and tumbling. They were continuous, these sounds, and +once or twice he thought he heard with them a deep, thunderous roar that +almost made his heart stop beating as he listened. + +Was he, perhaps, over a range of high mountains, and was this the sound +of the tumbling torrents? + +Then, suddenly, it came to him with a shock that the ordinary sounds of +the earth had wholly ceased. + +Jimbo felt his head beginning to whirl. He grew weaker every minute; +less able to offer resistance to the remorseless forces that were +sucking him down. Now the mist had closed over his head, and he could no +longer see the moonlight. He turned again, shaking with terror, and +drove forward headlong through the clinging vapour. A sensation of +choking rose in his throat; he was tired out, ready to drop with +exhaustion. The wings of the following creature were now so close that +he thought every minute he would be seized from behind and plunged into +the abyss to his death. + +It was just then that he made the awful discovery that the world below +him was not stationary: the _green hills were moving_. They were +sweeping past with a rushing, thundering sound in regular procession; +and their huge sides were streaked with white. The reflection of the +moon leaped up into his face as each hill rolled hissing and gurgling +by, and he knew at last with a shock of unutterable horror that it was +THE SEA! + +He was flying over the sea, and the waters were drawing him down. The +immense, green waves that rolled along through the sea fog, carrying the +moon's face on their crests, foaming and gurgling as they went, were +already leaping up to seize him by the feet and drag him into their +depths. + +He dropped several feet deeper into the mist, and towards the sea, +terror-stricken and blinded. Then, turning frantically, not knowing what +else to do, he struck out, with his last strength, for the upper surface +and the moonlight. But as he did so, turning his face towards the sky he +saw a dark form hovering just above him, covering his retreat with huge +outstretched wings. It was too late; he was hemmed in on all sides. + +At that moment a huge, rolling wave, bigger than all the rest, swept +past and wet him to the knees. His heart failed him. The next wave would +cover him. Already it was rushing towards him with foaming crest. He was +in its shadow; he heard its thunder. Darkness rushed over him--he saw +the vast sides streaked with grey and white--when suddenly, the owner of +the wings plucked him in the back, mid-way between the shoulders, and +lifted him bodily out of the fog, so that the wave swept by without even +wetting his feet. + +The next minute he saw a dim, white sheet of silvery mist at his feet, +and found himself far above it in the sweet, clean moonlight; and when +he turned, almost dead with terror, to look upon his captor, he found +himself looking straight into the eyes of--the governess. + +The sense of relief was so great that Jimbo simply closed his wings, and +hung, a dead weight, in the air. + +"Use your wings!" cried the governess sharply; and, still holding him, +while he began to flap feebly, she turned and flew in the direction of +the land. + +"You!" he gasped at last. "It was you following me!" + +"Of course it was me! I never let you out of my sight. I've always +followed you--every time you've been out alone." + +Jimbo was still conscious of the drawing power of the sea, but he felt +that his companion was too strong for it. After fifteen minutes of +fierce flight he heard the sounds of earth again, and knew that they +were safe. + +Then the governess loosened her hold, and they flew along side by side +in the direction of home. + +"I won't scold you, Jimbo," she said presently, "for you've suffered +enough already." She was the first to break the silence, and her voice +trembled a little. "But remember, the sea draws you down, just as +surely as the moon draws you up. Nothing would please Him better than to +see you destroyed by one or the other." + +Jimbo said nothing. But, when once they were safe inside the room again, +he went up and cried his eyes out on her arm, while she folded him in to +her heart as if he were the only thing in the whole world she had to +love. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE CALL OF THE BODY + + +One night, towards the end of the practice flights, a strange thing +happened, which showed that the time for the final flight of escape was +drawing near. + +They had been out for several hours flying through a rainstorm, the +thousand little drops of which stung their faces like tiny gun-shot. +About two in the morning the wind shifted and drove the clouds away as +by magic; the stars came out, at first like the eyes of children still +dim with crying, but later with a clear brilliance that filled Jimbo and +the governess with keen pleasure. The air was washed and perfumed; the +night luminous, alive, singing. All its tenderness and passion entered +their hearts and filled them with the wonder of its glory. + +"Come down, Jimbo," said the governess, "and we'll lie in the trees and +smell the air after the rain." + +"Yes," added the boy, whose Older Self had been whispering mysterious +things to him, "and watch the stars and hear them singing." + +He led the way to some beech trees that lined a secluded lane, and +settled himself comfortably in the top branches of the largest, while +the governess soon found a resting-place beside him. It was a deserted +spot, far from human habitation. Here and there through the foliage they +could see little pools of rain-water reflecting the sky. The group of +trees swung in the wind, dreaming great woodland dreams, and overhead +the stars looked like a thousand orchards in the sky, filling the air +with the radiance of their blossoms. + +"How brilliant they are to-night," said the governess, after watching +the boy attentively for some minutes as they lay side by side in the +great forked branch. "I never saw the constellations so clear." + +"But they have so little shape," he answered dreamily; "if we wore +lights when we flew about we should make much better constellations than +they do." + +"The Big and Little Child instead of the Big and Little Bear," she +laughed, still watching him. + +"I'm slipping away----" he began, and then stopped suddenly. He saw the +expression of his companion's eyes, which were looking him through and +through with the most poignant love and yearning mingled in their gaze, +and something clutched at his heart that he could not understand. + +"----not slipping out of the tree," he went on vaguely, "but slipping +into some new place or condition. I don't understand it. Am I--going off +somewhere--where you can't follow? I thought suddenly--I was losing +you." + +The governess smiled at him sadly and said nothing. She stroked his +wings and then raised them to her lips and kissed them. Jimbo watched +her, and folded his other wing across into her hands; he felt unhappy, +and his heart began to swell within him; but he didn't know what to say, +and the Older Self began slowly to fade away again. + +"But the stars," he went on, "have they got things they send out +too--forces, I mean, like the trees? Do they send out something that +makes us feel sad, or happy, or strong, or weak?" + +She did not answer for some time; she lay watching his face and fondling +his smooth red wings; and, presently, when she did begin to explain, +Jimbo found that the child in him was then paramount again, and he +could not quite follow what she said. + +He tried to answer properly and seem interested, but her words were very +long and hard to understand, and after a time he thought she was talking +to herself more than to him, and he gave up all serious effort to +follow. Then he became aware that her voice had changed. The words +seemed to drop down upon him from a great height. He imagined she was +standing on one of those far stars he had been asking about, and was +shouting at him through an immense tube of sky and darkness. The words +pricked his ears like needle-points, only he no longer heard them as +words, but as tiny explosions of sound, meaningless and distant. Swift +flashes of light began to dance before his eyes, and suddenly from +underneath the tree, a wind rose up and rushed, laughing, across his +face. Darkness in a mass dropped over his eyes, and he sank backwards +somewhere into another corner of space altogether. + +The governess, meanwhile, lay quite still, watching the limp form in the +branches beside her and still holding the tips of his red wings. +Presently tears stole into her eyes, and began to run down her cheeks. +One deep sigh after another escaped from her lips; but the little boy, +or the old soul, who was the cause of all her emotion, apparently was +far away and knew nothing of it. For a long time she lay in silence, and +then leaned a little nearer to him, so as to see his full face. The eyes +were wide open and staring, but they were looking at nothing she could +see, for the consciousness cannot be in two places at the same time, and +Jimbo just then was off on a little journey of his own, a journey that +was but preliminary to the great final one of all. + +"Jimbo," whispered the girl between her tears and sighs, "Jimbo! Where +have you gone to? Tell me, are they getting ready for you at last, and +am I to lose you after all? Is this the only way I can save you--by +losing you?" + +There was no answer, no sign of movement; and the governess hid her face +in her hands and cried quietly to herself, while her tears dropped down +through the branches of the tree and fell into the rain-pools beneath. + +For Jimbo's state of oblivion in the tree was in reality a momentary +return to consciousness in his body on the bed, and the repaired +mechanism of the brain and muscles had summoned him back on a sort of +trial visit. He remembered nothing of it afterwards, any more than one +remembers the experiences of deep sleep; but the fact was that, with the +descent of the darkness upon him in the branches, he had opened his eyes +once again on the scene in the night-nursery bedroom where his body lay. + +He saw figures standing round the bed and about the room; his mother +with the same white face as before, was still bending over the bed +asking him if he knew her; a tall man in a long black coat moved +noiselessly to and fro; and he saw a shaded lamp on a table a little to +the right of the bed. Nothing seemed to have changed very much, though +there had probably been time enough since he last opened his eyes for +the black-coated doctor to have gone and come again for a second visit. +He held an instrument in his hands that shone brightly in the lamplight. +Jimbo saw this plainly and wondered what it was. He felt as if he were +just waking out of a nice, deep sleep--dreamless and undisturbed. The +Empty House, the Governess, Fright and the Children had all vanished +from his memory, and he knew no more about wings and feathers than he +did about the science of meteorology. + +But the bedroom scene was a mere glimpse after all; his eyes were +already beginning to close again. First they shut out the figure of the +doctor; then the bed-curtains; and then the nurse moved her arm, making +the whole scene quiver for an instant, like some huge jelly-shape, +before it dipped into profound darkness and disappeared altogether. His +mother's voice ran off into a thin trickle of sound, miles and miles +away, and the light from the lamp followed him with its glare for less +than half a second. All had vanished. + +"Jimbo, dear, where have you been? Can you remember anything?" asked the +soft voice beside him, as he looked first at the stars overhead, and +then from the tracery of branches and leaves beneath him to the great +sea of tree-tops and open country all round. + +But he could tell her nothing; he seemed dreamy and absent-minded, lying +and staring at her as if he hardly knew who she was or what she was +saying. His mind was still hovering near the border-line of the two +states of consciousness, like the region between sleeping and waking, +where both worlds seem unreal and wholly wonderful. + +He could not answer her questions, but he evidently caught some reflex +of her emotions, for he leaned towards her across the branches, and +said he was happy and never wanted to leave her. Then he crawled to the +end of the big bough and sprang out into the air with a shout of +delight. He was the child again--the flying child, wild with the +excitement of tearing through the night air at fifty miles an hour. + +The governess soon followed him and they flew home together, taking a +long turn by the sea and past the great chalk cliffs, where the sea sang +loud beneath them. + +These lapses became with time more frequent, as well as of longer +duration; and with them the boy noticed that the longing to escape +became once again intense. He wanted _to get home_, wherever home was; +he experienced a sort of nostalgia for the body, though he could not +remember where that body lay. But when he asked the governess what this +feeling meant, she only mystified him by her answers, saying that every +one, in the body or out of it, felt a deep longing for their final +_home_, though they might not have the least idea where it lay, or even +to be able to recognise, much less to label, their longing. + +His normal feelings, too, were slowly returning to him. The Older Self +became more and more submerged. As he approached the state of ordinary, +superficial consciousness, the characteristics of that state reflected +themselves more and more in his thoughts and feelings. His memory still +remained a complete blank; but he somehow felt that the things, places, +and people he wanted to remember, had moved much nearer to him than +before. Every day brought them more within his reach. + +"All these forgotten things will come back to me soon, I know," he said +one day to the governess, "and then I'll tell you all about them." + +"Perhaps you'll remember me too then," she answered, a shadow passing +across her face. + +Jimbo clapped his hands with delight. + +"Oh," he cried, "I should like to remember you, because that would make +you a sort of two-people governess, and I should love you twice as +much." + +But with the gradual return to former conditions the feelings of age and +experience grew dim and indefinite, his knowledge lessened, becoming +obscure and confused, showing itself only in vague impressions and +impulses, until at last it became quite the exception for the +child-consciousness to be broken through by flashes of intuition and +inspiration from the more deeply hidden memories. + +For one thing, the deep horror of the Empty House and its owner now +returned to him with full force. Fear settled down again over the room, +and lurked in the shadows over the yard. A vivid dread seized him of the +_other door_ in the room--the door through which the Frightened Children +had disappeared, but which had never opened since. It gradually became +for him a personality in the room, a staring, silent, listening thing, +always watching, always waiting. One day it would open and he would be +caught! In a dozen ways like this the horror of the house entered his +heart and made him long for escape with all the force of his being. + +But the governess, too, seemed changing; she was becoming more vague and +more mysterious. Her face was always sad now, and her eyes wistful; her +manner became restless and uneasy, and in many little ways the child +could not fail to notice that her mind was intent upon other things. He +begged her to name the day for the final flight, but she always seemed +to have some good excuse for putting it off. + +"I feel frightened when you don't tell me what's going on," he said to +her. + +"It's the preparations for the last flight," she answered, "the flight +of escape. He'll try to prevent us going together so that you should get +lost. But it's better you shouldn't know too much," she added. "Trust me +and have patience." + +"Oh, that's what you're so afraid of," he said, "_separation_!" He was +very proud indeed of the long word, and said it over several times to +himself. + +And the governess, looking out of the window at the fading sunlight, +repeated to herself more than to him the word he was so proud of. + +"Yes, that's what I'm so afraid of--separation; but if it means your +salvation----" and her sentence remained unfinished as her eyes wandered +far above the tops of the trees into the shadows of the sky. + +And Jimbo, drawn by the sadness of her voice, turned towards the window +and noticed to his utter amazement that he could _see right through +her_. He could see the branches of the trees _beyond_ her body. + +But the next instant she turned and was no longer transparent, and +before the boy could say a word, she crossed the floor and disappeared +from the room. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +PREPARATION + + +Now that he was preparing to leave it, Jimbo began to realise more fully +how things in this world of delirium--so the governess sometimes called +it--were all terribly out of order and confused. So long as he was +wholly in it and of it, everything had seemed all right; but, as he +approached his normal condition again, the disorder became more and more +apparent. + +And the next few hours brought it home with startling clearness, and +increased to fever heat the desire for final escape. + +It was not so much a nonsense-world--it was too alarming for that--as a +world of nightmare, wherein everything was distorted. Events in it were +all out of proportion; effects no longer sprang from adequate causes; +things happened in a dislocated sort of way, and there was no sequence +in the order of their happening. Tiny occurrences filled him with +disproportionate, inconceivable horror; and great events, on the other +hand, passed him scathless. The spirit of disorder--monstrous, uncouth, +terrifying--reigned supreme; and Jimbo's whole desire, though +inarticulate, was to escape back into order and harmony again. + +In contrast to all this dreadful uncertainty, the conduct of the +governess stood out alone as the one thing he could count upon: she was +sure and unfailing; he felt absolute confidence in her plans for his +safety, and when he thought of her his mind was at rest. Come what +might, she would always be there in time to help. The adventure over the +sea had proved that; but, childlike, he thought chiefly of his own +safety, and had ceased to care very much whether she escaped with him or +not. It was the older Jimbo that preferred captivity to escape without +her, whereas every minute now he was sinking deeper into the normal +child state in which the intuitive flashes from the buried soul became +more and more rare. + +Meanwhile, there was preparation going on, secret and mysterious. He +could feel it. Some one else besides the governess was making plans, and +the boy began to dread the moment of escape almost as much as he +desired it. The alternative appalled him--to live for ever in the horror +of this house, bounded by the narrow yard, watched by Fright listening +ever at his elbow, and visited by the horrible Frightened Children. Even +the governess herself began to inspire him with something akin to fear, +as her personality grew more and more mysterious. He thought of her as +she stood by the window, with the branches of the tree visible through +her body, and the thought filled him with a dreadful and haunting +distress. + +But this was only when she was absent; the moment she came into the +room, and he looked into her kind eyes, the old feeling of security +returned, and he felt safe and happy. + +Once, during the day, she came up to see him, and this time with final +instructions. Jimbo listened with rapt attention. + +"To-night, or to-morrow night we start," she said in a quiet voice. "You +must wait till you hear me calling----" + +"But sha'n't we start together?" he interrupted. + +"Not exactly," she replied. "I'm doing everything possible to put him +off the scent, but it's not easy, for once Fright knows you he's always +on the watch. Even if he can't prevent your escape, he'll try to send +you home to your body with such a shock that you'll be only 'half there' +for the rest of your life." + +Jimbo did not quite understand what she meant by this, and returned at +once to the main point. + +"Then the moment you call I'm to start?" + +"Yes. I shall be outside somewhere. It depends on the wind and weather a +little, but probably I shall be hovering above the trees. You must dash +out of the window and join me the moment you hear me call. Clear the +wall without sinking into the yard, and mind he doesn't tear your wings +off as you fly by." + +"What will happen, though, if I don't find you?" he asked. + +"You might get lost. If he succeeds in getting me out of the way first, +you're sure to get lost----" + +"But I've had long flights without getting lost," he objected. + +"Nothing to this one," she replied. "It will be tremendous. You see, +Jimbo, it's not only distance; it's change of condition as well." + +"I don't mind what it is so long as we escape together," he said, +puzzled by her words. + +He kept his eyes fixed on her face. It seemed to him she was changing +even as he looked at her. A sort of veil lifted from her features. He +fancied he could see the shape of the door through her body. + +"Oh, please, Miss Lake----" he began in a frightened voice, taking a +step towards her. "What is the matter? You look so different!" + +"Nothing, dearest boy, is the matter," she replied faintly. "I feel sad +at the thought of your--of our going, that's all. But that's nothing," +she added more briskly, "and remember, I've told you exactly what to do; +so you can't make any mistake. Now good-bye for the present." + +There was a smile on her face that he had never seen there before, and +an expression of tenderness and love that he could not fail to +understand. But even as he looked she seemed to fade away into a +delicate, thin shadow as she moved slowly towards the trap-door. Jimbo +stretched out his arms to touch her, for the moment of dread had passed, +and he wanted to kiss her. + +"No!" she cried sharply. "Don't touch me, child; don't touch me!" + +But he was already close beside her, and in another second would have +had his arms round her, when his foot stumbled over something, and he +fell forward into her with his full weight. Instead of saving himself +against her body, however, he fell _clean through her_! Nothing stopped +him; there was no resistance; he met nothing more solid than air, and +fell full length upon the floor. Before he could recover from his +surprise and pick himself up, something touched him on the lips, and he +heard a voice that was faint as a whisper saying, "Good-bye, darling +child, and bless you." The next moment he was on his feet again and the +room was empty. The governess had gone through the trap-door, and he was +alone. + +It was all very strange and confusing, and he could not understand what +was happening to her. He never for a moment realised that the change was +in himself, and that as the tie between himself and his body became +closer, the things of this other world he had been living in for so long +must fade gradually away into shadows and emptiness. + +But Jimbo was a brave boy; there was nothing of the coward in him, +though his sensitive temperament made him sometimes hesitate where an +ordinary child with less imagination would have acted promptly. The +desire to cry he thrust down and repressed, fighting his depression by +the thought that within a few hours the voice might sound that should +call him to the excitement of the last flight--and freedom. + +The rest of the daylight slipped away very quickly, and the room was +full of shadows almost before he knew it. Then came the darkness. +Outside, the wind rose and fell fitfully, booming in the chimney with +hollow music, and sighing round the walls of the house. A few stars +peeped between the branches of the elms, but masses of cloud hid most of +the sky, and the air felt heavy with coming rain. + +He lay down on the bed and waited. At the least sound he started, +thinking it might be the call from the governess. But the few sounds he +did hear always resolved themselves into the moaning of the wind, and no +voice came. With his eyes on the open window, trying to pierce the gloom +and find the stars, he lay motionless for hours, while the night wore on +and the shadows deepened. + +And during those long hours of darkness and silence he was conscious +that a change was going on within him. Name it he could not, but +somehow it made him feel that living people like himself were standing +near, trying to speak, beckoning, anxious to bring him back into their +own particular world. The darkness was so great that he could see only +the square outline of the open window, but he felt sure that any sudden +flash of light would have revealed a group of persons round his bed with +arms outstretched, trying to reach him. The emotion they roused in him +was not fear, for he felt sure they were kind, and eager only to help +him; and the more he realised their presence, the less he thought about +the governess who had been doing so much to make his escape possible. + +Then, too, voices began to sound somewhere in the air, but he could not +tell whether they were actually in the room, or outside in the night, or +only within himself--in his own head:--strange, faint voices, +whispering, laughing, shouting, crying; fragments of stories, rhymes, +riddles, odd names of people and places jostled one another with varying +degrees of clearness, now loud, now soft, till he wondered what it all +meant, and longed for the light to come. + +But besides all this, something else, too, was abroad that +night--something he could not name or even think about without shaking +with terror down at the very roots of his being. And when he thought of +this, his heart called loudly for the governess, and the people hidden +in the shadows of the room seemed quite useless and unable to help. + +Thus he hovered between the two worlds and the two memories, phantoms +and realities shifting and changing places every few minutes. + +A little light would have saved him much suffering. If only the moon +were up! Moonlight would have made all the difference. Even a moon half +hidden and misty would have put the shadows farther away from him. + +"Dear old misty moon!" he cried half aloud to himself upon the bed, "why +aren't you here to-night? My last night!" + +Misty Moon, Misty Moon! The words kept ringing in his head. Misty Moon, +Misty Moon! They swam round in his blood in an odd, tumultuous rhythm. +Every time the current of blood passed through his brain in the course +of its circulation it brought the words with it, altered a little, and +singing like a voice. + +Like a voice! Suddenly he made the discovery that it actually _was_ a +voice--and not his own. It was no longer the blood singing in his +veins, it was some one singing outside the window. The sound began +faintly and far away, up above the trees; then it came gradually nearer, +only to die away again almost to a whisper. + +If it was not the voice of the governess, he could only say it was a +very good imitation of it. + +The words forming out of the empty air rose and fell with the wind, and, +taking his thoughts, flung them in a stream through the dark sky towards +the hidden, misty moon: + + "O misty moon, + Dear, misty moon, + The nights are long without thee; + The shadows creep + Across my sleep, + And fold their wings about me!" + +And another silvery voice, that might have been the voice of a star, +took it up faintly, evidently from a much greater distance: + + "O misty moon, + Sweet, misty moon, + The stars are dim behind thee; + And, lo, thy beams + Spin through my dreams + And weave a veil to blind me!" + +The sound of this beautiful voice so delighted Jimbo that he sprang +from his bed and rushed to the window, hoping that he might be able to +hear it more clearly. But, before he got half-way across the room, he +stopped short, trembling with terror. Underneath his very feet, in the +depths of the house, he heard the awful voice he dreaded more than +anything else. It roared out the lines with a sound like the rushing of +a great river: + + "O misty moon, + Pale misty moon, + Thy songs are nightly driven, + Eternally, + From sky to sky, + O'er the old, grey Hills of Heaven!" + +And after the verse Jimbo heard a great peal of laughter that seemed to +shake the walls of the house, and rooted his feet to the floor. It +rolled away with thundering echoes into the very bowels of the earth. He +just managed to crawl back to his mattress and lie down, when another +voice took up the song, but this time in accents so tender, that the +child felt something within him melt into tears of joy, and he was on +the verge of recognising, for the first time since his accident, the +voice of his mother: + + "O misty moon, + Shy, misty moon, + Whence comes the blush that trembles + In sweet disgrace + O'er half thy face + When Night her stars assembles?" + +But his memory, of course, failed him just as he seemed about to grasp +it, and he was left wondering why the sound of that one voice had +brought him a moment of radiant happiness in the midst of so much horror +and pain. Meanwhile the answering voices went on, each time different, +and in new directions. + +But the next verse somehow brought back to him all the terror he had +felt in his flight over the sea, when the sound of the hissing waters +had reached his ears through the carpet of fog: + + "O misty moon, + Persuasive moon, + Earth's tides are ever rising; + By the awful grace + Of thy weird white face + Leap the seas to thy enticing!" + +Then followed the voice that had started the horrid song. This time he +was sure it was not Miss Lake's voice, but only a very clever imitation +of it. Moreover, it again ended in a shriek of laughter that froze his +blood: + + "O misty moon, + Deceiving moon, + Thy silvery glance brings sadness; + Who flies to thee, + From land or sea, + Shall end--his--days--in--MADNESS!" + +Other voices began to laugh and sing, but Jimbo stopped his ears, for he +simply could not bear any more. He felt certain, too, that these strange +words to the moon had all been part of a trap--a device to draw him to +the window. He shuddered to think how nearly he had fallen into it, and +determined to lie on the bed and wait till he heard his companion +calling, and knew beyond all doubt that it was she. + +But the night passed away and the dawn came, and no voice had called him +forth to the last flight. + +Hitherto, in all his experiences, there had been only one absolute +certainty: the appearance of the governess with the morning light. But +this time sunrise came and the clouds cleared away, and the sweet smells +of field and air stole into the little room, yet without any sign of the +governess. The hours passed, and she did not come, till finally he +realised that she was not coming at all, and he would have to spend the +whole day alone. Something had happened to prevent her, or else it was +all part of her mysterious "plan." He did not know, and all he could do +was to wait, and wonder, and hope. + +All day long he lay and waited, and all day long he was alone. The +trap-door never once moved; the courtyard remained empty and deserted; +there was no sound on the landing or on the stairs; no wind stirred the +leaves outside, and the hot sun poured down out of a cloudless sky. He +stood by the open window for hours watching the motionless branches. +Everything seemed dead; not even a bird crossed his field of vision. The +loneliness, the awful silence, and above all, the dread of the +approaching night, were sometimes more than he seemed able to bear; and +he wanted to put his head out of the window and scream, or lie down on +the bed and cry his heart out. But he yielded to neither impulse; he +kept a brave heart, knowing that this would be his last night in prison, +and that in a few hours' time he would hear his name called out of the +sky, and would dash through the window to liberty and the last wild +flight. This thought gave him courage, and he kept all his energy for +the great effort. + +Gradually, once more, the sunlight faded, and the darkness began to +creep over the land. Never before had the shadows under the elms looked +so fantastic, nor the bushes in the field beyond assumed such sinister +shapes. The Empty House was being gradually invested; the enemy was +masquerading already under cover of these very shadows. + +Very soon, he felt, the attack would begin, and he must be ready to act. + +The night came down at last with a strange suddenness, and with it the +warning of the governess came back to him; he thought quakingly of the +stricken children who had been caught and deprived of their wings; and +then he pulled out his long red feathers and tried their strength, and +gained thus fresh confidence in their power to save him when the time +came. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +OFF! + + +With the full darkness a whole army of horrors crept nearer. He felt +sure of this, though he could actually see nothing. The house was +surrounded, the courtyard crowded. Outside, on the stairs, in the other +rooms, even on the roof itself, waited dreadful things ready to catch +him, to tear off his wings, to make him prisoner for ever and ever. + +The possibility that something had happened to the governess now became +a probability. Imperceptibly the change was wrought; he could not say +how or when exactly; but he now felt almost certain that the effort to +keep her out of the way had succeeded. If this were true, the boy's only +hope lay in his wings, and he pulled them out to their full length and +kissed them passionately, speaking to the strong red feathers as if they +were living little persons. + +"You must save me! You will save me, won't you?" he cried in his +anguish. And every time he did this and looked at them he gained fresh +hope and courage. + +The problem _where he was to fly to_ had not yet insisted on a solution, +though it lay always at the back of his mind; for the final flight of +escape without a guide had never been even a possibility before. + +Lying there alone in the darkness, waiting for the sound of the voice so +longed-for, he found his thoughts turning again to the moon, and the +strange words of the song that had puzzled him the night before. What in +the world did it all mean? Why all this about the moon? Why was it a +cruel moon, and why should it attract and persuade and entice him? He +felt sure, the more he thought of it, that this had all been a device to +draw him to the window--and perhaps even farther. + +The darkness began to terrify him; he dreaded more and more the waiting, +listening things that it concealed. Oh, when would the governess call to +him? When would he be able to dash through the open window and join her +in the sky? + +He thought of the sunlight that had flooded the yard all day--so bright +it seemed to have come from a sun fresh made and shining for the first +time. He thought of the exquisite flowers that grew in the fields just +beyond the high wall, and the night smells of the earth reached him +through the window, wafted in upon a wind heavy with secrets of woods +and fields. They all came from a Land of Magic that after to-night might +be for ever beyond his reach, and they went straight to his heart and +immediately turned something solid there into tears. But the tears did +not find their natural expression, and Jimbo lay there fighting with his +pain, keeping all his strength for the one great effort, and waiting for +the voice that at any minute now might sound above the tree-tops. + +But the hours passed and the voice did not come. + +How he loathed the room and everything in it. The ceiling stretched like +a white, staring countenance above him; the walls watched and listened; +and even the mantelpiece grew into the semblance of a creature with +drawn-up shoulders bending over him. The whole room, indeed, seemed to +his frightened soul to run into the shape of a monstrous person whose +arms were outstretched in all directions to prevent his escape. + +His hands never left his wings now. He stroked and fondled them, +arranging the feathers smoothly and speaking to them under his breath +just as though they were living things. To him they were indeed alive, +and he knew when the time came they would not fail him. The fierce +passion for the open spaces took possession of his soul, and his whole +being began to cry out for freedom, rushing wind, the stars, and a +pathless sky. + +Slowly the power of the great, open Night entered his heart, bringing +with it a courage that enabled him to keep the terrors of the House at a +distance. + +So far, the boy's strength had been equal to the task, but a moment was +approaching when the tension would be too great to bear, and the long +pent-up force would rush forth into an act. Jimbo realised this quite +clearly; though he could not exactly express it in words, he felt that +his real hope of escape lay in the success of that act. Meanwhile, with +more than a child's wisdom, he stored up every particle of strength he +had for the great moment when it should come. + +A light wind had risen soon after sunset, but as the night wore on it +began to fail, dropping away into little silences that grew each time +longer. In the heart of one of these spells of silence Jimbo presently +noticed a new sound--a sound that he recognised. + +Far away at first, but growing in distinctness with every dropping of +the wind, this new sound rose from the interior of the house below and +came gradually upon him. It was voices faintly singing, and the tread of +stealthy footsteps. + +Nearer and nearer came the sound, till at length they reached the door, +and there passed into the room a wave of fine, gentle sound that woke no +echo and scarcely seemed to stir the air into vibration at all. The door +had opened, and a number of voices were singing softly under their +breath. + +And after the sounds, creeping slowly like some timid animal, there came +into the room a small black figure just visible in the faint starlight. +It peered round the edge of the door, hesitated a moment, and then +advanced with an odd rhythmical sort of motion. And after the first +figure came a second, and after the second a third; and then several +entered together, till a whole group of them stood on the floor between +Jimbo and the open window. + +Then he recognised the Frightened Children and his heart sank. Even +they, he saw, were arrayed against him, and took it for granted that he +already belonged to them. + +Oh, why did not the governess come for him? Why was there no voice in +the sky? He glanced with longing towards the heavens, and as the +children moved past, he was almost certain that he saw the stars +_through_ their bodies too. + +Slowly they shuffled across the floor till they formed a semicircle +round the bed; and then they began a silent, impish dance that made the +flesh creep. Their thin forms were dressed in black gowns like shrouds, +and as they moved through the steps of the bizarre measure he saw that +their legs were little more than mere skin and bone. Their faces--what +he could see of them when he dared to open his eyes--were pale as ashes, +and their beady little eyes shone like the facets of cut stones, +flashing in all directions. And while they danced in and out amongst +each other, never breaking the semicircle round the bed, they sang a +low, mournful song that sounded like the wind whispering through a +leafless wood. + +And the words stirred in him that vague yet terrible fear known to all +children who have been frightened and made to feel afraid of the dark. +Evidently his sensations were being merged very rapidly now into those +of the little boy in the night-nursery bed. + + "There is Someone in the Nursery + Whom we never saw before; + --Why hangs the moon so red?-- + And he came not by the passage, + Or the window, or the door; + --Why hangs the moon so red?-- + And he stands there in the darkness, + In the centre of the floor. + --See, where the moon hangs red!-- + + Someone's hiding in the passage + Where the door begins to swing; + --Why drive the clouds so fast?-- + In the corner by the staircase + There's a dreadful waiting thing: + --Why drive the clouds so fast?-- + Past the curtain creeps a monster + With a black and fluttering wing; + --See, where the clouds drive fast!-- + + In the chilly dusk of evening; + In the hush before the dawn; + --Why drips the rain so cold?-- + In the twilight of the garden, + In the mist upon the lawn, + --Why drips the rain so cold?-- + Faces stare, and mouth upon us, + Faces white and weird and drawn; + --See, how the rain drips cold!-- + + Close beside us in the night-time, + Waiting for us in the gloom, + --O! Why sings the wind so shrill?-- + In the shadows by the cupboard, + In the corners of the room, + --O! Why sings the wind so shrill?-- + From the corridors and landings + Voices call us to our doom. + --O! how the wind sings shrill!"-- + +By this time the dreadful dancers had come much closer to him, shifting +stealthily nearer to the bed under cover of their dancing, and always +_between him and the window_. + +Suddenly their intention flashed upon him; they meant to prevent his +escape! + +With a tremendous effort he sprang from the bed. As he did so a dozen +pairs of thin, shadowy arms shot out towards him as though to seize his +wings; but with an agility born of fright he dodged them, and ran +swiftly into the corner by the mantelpiece. Standing with his back +against the wall he faced the children, and strove to call out for help +to the governess; but this time there was an entirely new difficulty in +the way, for he found to his utter dismay that his voice refused to make +itself heard. His mouth was dry and his tongue would hardly stir. + +Not a sound issued from his lips, but the children instantly moved +forwards and hemmed him in between them and the wall; and to reach the +window he would have to break through this semicircle of whispering, +shadowy forms. Above their heads he could see the stars shining, and any +moment he might hear Miss Lake's voice calling to him to come out. His +heart rose with passionate longing within him, and he gathered his wings +tightly about him ready for the final dash. It would take more than the +Frightened Children to hold him prisoner when once he heard that voice, +or even without it! + +Whether they were astonished at his boldness, or merely waiting their +opportunity later, he could not tell; but anyhow they kept their +distance for a time and made no further attempt to seize his feathers. +Whispering together under their breath, sometimes singing their +mournful, sighing songs, sometimes sinking their voices to a confused +murmur, they moved in and out amongst each other with soundless feet +like the shadows of branches swaying in the wind. + +Then, suddenly, they moved closer and stretched out their arms towards +him, their bodies swaying rhythmically together, while their combined +voices, raised just above a whisper, sang to him-- + + "Dare you fly out to-night, + When the Moon is so strong? + Though the stars are so bright, + There is death in their song; + You're a hostage to Fright, + And to us you belong! + + Dare you fly out alone + Through the shadows that wave, + When the course is unknown + And there's no one to save? + You are bone of our bone, + And for ever His slave!" + +And, following these words, came from somewhere in the air that voice +like the thunder of a river. Jimbo knew only too well to whom it +belonged as he listened to the rhyme of the West Wind-- + + "For the Wind of the West + Is a wind unblest, + And its dangerous breath + Will entice you to death! + Fly not with the Wind of the West, O child, + With the terrible Wind of the West!" + +But the boy knew perfectly well that these efforts to stop him were all +part of a trap. They were lying to him. It was not the Wind of the West +at all; _it was the South Wind_! That at least he knew by the odours +that were wafted in through the window. Again he tried to call to the +governess, but his tongue lay stiff in his mouth and no sound came. + +Meanwhile the children began to draw closer, hemming him in. They moved +almost imperceptibly, but he saw plainly that the circle was growing +smaller and smaller. His legs began to tremble, and he felt that soon he +would collapse and drop at their feet, for his strength was failing and +the power to act and move was slowly leaving him. + +The little shadowy figures were almost touching him, when suddenly a new +sound broke the stillness and set every nerve tingling in his body. + +Something was shuffling along the landing. He heard it outside, pushing +against the door. The handle turned with a rattle, and a moment later +the door slowly opened. + +For a second Jimbo's breath failed him, and he nearly fell in a heap +upon the floor. Round the edge of the door he saw a dim huge figure come +crawling into the room--creeping along the floor--and trailing behind it +a pair of immense black wings that stretched along the boards. For one +brief second he stared, horror-stricken, and wondering what it was. But +before the whole length of the creature was in, he knew. It was Fright +himself! _And he was making steadily for the window!_ + +The shock instantly galvanised the boy into a state of activity again. +He recovered the use of all his muscles and all his faculties. His +voice, released by terror, rang out in a wild shriek for help to the +governess, and he dashed forward across the room in a mad rush for the +window. Unless he could reach it before the other, he would be a +prisoner for the rest of his life. It was now or never. + +The instant he moved, the children came straight at him with hands +outstretched to stop him; but he passed through them as if they were +smoke, and with almost a single bound sprang upon the narrow +window-sill. To do this he had to clear the head and shoulders of the +creature on the floor, and though he accomplished it successfully, he +felt himself clutched from behind. For a second he balanced doubtfully +on the window ledge. He felt himself being pulled back into the room, +and he combined all his forces into one tremendous effort to rush +forward. + +There was a ripping, tearing sound as he sprang into the air with a yell +of mingled terror and exultation. His prompt action and the fierce +impetus had saved him. He was free. But in the awful hand that seized +him he had left behind the end feathers of his right wing. A few inches +more and it would have been not merely the feathers, but the entire wing +itself. + +He dropped to within three feet of the stones in the yard, and then, +borne aloft by the kind, rushing Wind of the South, he rose in a +tremendous sweep far over the tops of the high elms and out into the +heart of the night. + +Only there was no governess's voice to guide him; and behind him, a +little lower down, a black pursuing figure with huge wings flapped +heavily as it followed with laborious flight through the darkness. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +HOME + + +But it was the sound of something crashing heavily through the top +branches of the elms that made the boy realise he was actually being +followed; and all his efforts became concentrated into the desire to put +as much distance as possible between himself and the horror of the Empty +House. + +He heard the noise of big wings far beneath him, and his one idea was to +out-distance his pursuer and then come down again to earth and rest his +wings in the branches of a tree till he could devise some plan how to +find the governess. So at first he raced at full speed through the air, +taking no thought of direction. + +When he looked down, all he could see was that something vague and +shadowy, shaking out a pair of enormous wings between him and the earth, +move along with him. Its path was parallel with his own, but apparently +it made no effort to rise up to his higher level. It thundered along far +beneath him, and instinctively he raised his head and steered more and +more upwards and away from the world. + +The gap at the end of his right wing where the feathers had been torn +out seemed to make no difference in his power of flight or steering, and +he went tearing through the night at a pace he had never dared to try +before, and at a height he had never yet reached in any of the practice +flights. He soared higher even than he knew; and perhaps this was +fortunate, for the friction of the lower atmosphere might have heated +him to the point of igniting, and some watcher at one of earth's windows +might have suddenly seen a brilliant little meteor flash through the +night and vanish into dust. + +At first the joy of escape was the only idea his mind seemed able to +grasp; he revelled in a passionate sense of freedom, and all his +energies poured themselves into one concentrated effort to fly faster, +faster, faster. But after a time, when the pursuer had been apparently +outflown, and he realised that escape was an accomplished fact, he began +to search for the governess, calling to her, rising and falling, +darting in all directions, and then hovering on outstretched wings to +try and catch some sound of a friendly voice. + +But no answer came, either from the stars that crowded the vault above, +or from the dark surface of the world below; only silence answered his +cries, and his voice was swallowed up and lost in the immensity of space +almost the moment it left his lips. + +Presently he began to realise to what an appalling distance he had risen +above the world, and with anxious eyes he tried to pierce the gaping +emptiness beneath him and on all sides. But this vast sea of air had +nothing to reveal. The stars shone like pinholes of gold pricked in a +deep black curtain; and the moon, now rising slowly, spread a veil of +silver between him and the upper regions. There was not a cloud anywhere +and the winds were all asleep. He was alone in space. Yet, as the +swishing of his feathers slackened and the roar in his ears died away, +he heard in the short pause the ominous beating of great wings somewhere +in the depths beneath him, and knew that the great pursuer was still on +his track. + +The glare of the moon now made it impossible to distinguish anything +properly, and in these huge spaces, with nothing to guide the eye, it +was difficult to know exactly from what direction the sound came. He was +only sure of one thing--that it was far below him, and that for the +present it did not seem to come much nearer. The cry for help that kept +rising to his lips he suppressed, for it would only have served to guide +his pursuer; and, moreover, a cry--a little thin, despairing cry--was +instantly lost in these great heavens. It was less than a drop in an +ocean. + +On and on he flew, always pointing away from the earth, and trying hard +to think where he would find safety. Would this awful creature hunt him +all night long into the daylight, or would he be forced back into the +Empty House in sheer exhaustion? The thought gave him new impetus, and +with powerful strokes he dashed onwards and upwards through the +wilderness of space in which the only pathways were the little golden +tracks of the starbeams. The governess would turn up somewhere; he was +positive of that. She had never failed him yet. + +So, alone and breathless, he pursued his flight, and the higher he went +the more the tremendous vault opened up into inconceivable and untold +distances. His speed kept increasing; he thought he had never found +flying so easy before; and the thunder of the following wings that held +persistently on his track made it dangerous for him to slacken up for +more than a minute here and there. The earth became a dark blot beneath +him, while the moon, rising higher and higher, grew weirdly bright and +close. How black the sky was; how piercing the points of starlight; how +stimulating the strong, new odours of these lofty regions! He realised +with a thrill of genuine awe that he had flown over the very edge of the +world, and the moment the thought entered his mind it was flung back at +him by a voice that seemed close to his ear one moment, and the next was +miles away in the space overhead. Light thoughts, born of the stars and +the moon and of his great speed, danced before his mind in fanciful +array. Once he laughed aloud at them, but once only. The sound of his +voice in these echoless spaces made him afraid. + +The speed, too, affected his vision, for at one moment thin clouds +stretched across his face, and the next he was whirling through +perfectly clear air again with no vestige of a cloud in sight. The same +reason doubtless explained the sudden presence of sheets of light in +the air that reflected the moonlight like particles of glittering ice, +and then suddenly disappeared again. The terrific speed would explain a +good many things, but certainly it was curious how creatures formed out +of the hollow darkness, like foam before a steamer's bows, and moved +noiselessly away on either side to join the army of dim life that +crowded everywhere and watched his passage. For, in front and on both +sides, there gathered a vast assembly of silent forms more than shadows, +less than bodily shapes, that opened up a pathway as he rushed through +them, and then immediately closed up their ranks again when he had +passed. The air seemed packed with living creatures. Space was filled +with them. They surrounded him on all sides. Yet his passage through +them was like the passage of a hand through smoke; it was easy to make a +pathway, but the pathway left no traces behind it. More smoke rushed in +and filled the void. + +He could never see these things properly, face to face; they always kept +just out of the line of vision, like shadows that follow a lonely walker +in a wood and vanish the moment he turns to look at them over his +shoulder. But ever by his side, with a steady, effortless motion, he +knew they kept up with him--strange inhabitants of the airless heights, +immense and misty-winged, with veiled, flaming eyes and silent feathers. +He was not afraid of them; for they were neither friendly nor hostile; +they were simply the beings of another world, alien and unknown. + +But what puzzled him more was that the light and the darkness seemed +separate things, each distinctly visible. After each stroke of his wings +he _saw the darkness_ sift downwards past him through the air like dust. +It floated all round him in thinnest diaphanous texture--visible, not +because the moonlight made it so, but because in its inmost soul it was +itself luminous. It rose and fell in eddies, swirling wreaths, and +undulations; inwoven with starbeams, as with golden thread, it clothed +him about in circles of some magical primordial substance. + +Even the stars, looking down upon him from terrifying heights, seemed +now draped, now undraped, as if by the sweeping of enormous wings that +stirred these sheets of visible darkness into a vast system of +circulation through the heavens. Everything in these oceans of upper +space apparently made use of wings, or the idea of wings. Perhaps even +the great earth itself, rolling from star to star, was moved by the +power of gigantic, invisible wings!... + +Jimbo realised he had entered a forbidden region. He began to feel +afraid. + +But the only possible expression of his fear, and its only possible +relief, lay in his own wings--and he used them with redoubled energy. He +dashed forward so fast that his face begun to burn, and he kept turning +his head in every direction for a sign of the governess, or for some +indication of where he could _escape to_. In the pauses of the wild +flight he heard the thunder of the following wings below. They were +still on his trail, and it seemed that they were gaining on him. + +He took a new angle, realising that his only chance was to fly high; and +the new course took him perpendicularly away from the earth and straight +towards the moon. Later, when he had out-distanced the other creature, +he would drop down again to safer levels. + +Yet the hours passed and it never overtook him. A measured distance was +steadily kept up between them as though with calculated purpose. + +Curious distant voices shouted from time to time all manner of sentences +and rhymes in his ears, but he could neither understand nor remember +them. More and more the awful stillness of the vast regions that lie +between the world and the moon appalled him. + +Then, suddenly, a new sound reached him that at first he could not in +the least understand. It reached him, however, not through the ears, but +by a steady trembling of the whole surface of his body. It set him in +vibration all over, and for some time he had no idea what it meant. The +trembling ran deeper and deeper into his body, till at last a single, +powerful, regular vibration took complete possession of his whole being, +and he felt as though he was being wrapped round and absorbed by this +vast and gigantic sound. He had always thought that the voice of Fright, +like the roar of a river, was the loudest and deepest sound he had ever +heard. Even that set his soul a-trembling. But this new, tremendous, +rolling-ocean of a voice came not that way, and could not be compared to +it. The voice of the other was a mere tickling of the ear compared to +this awful crashing of seas and mountains and falling worlds. It must +break him to pieces, he felt. + +Suddenly he knew what it was,--and for a second his wings failed +him:--he had reached such a height that he could hear the roar of the +world as it thundered along its journey through space! That was the +meaning of this voice of majesty that set him all a-trembling. And +before long he would probably hear, too, the voices of the planets, and +the singing of the great moon. The governess had warned him about this. +At the first sound of these awful voices she told him to turn instantly +and drop back to the earth as fast as ever he could drop. + +Jimbo turned instinctively and began to fall. But, before he had dropped +half a mile, he met once again the ascending sound of the wings that had +followed him from the Empty House. + +It was no good flying straight into destruction. He summoned all his +courage and turned once more towards the stars. Anything was better than +being caught and held for ever by Fright, and with a wild cry for help +that fell dead in the empty spaces, he renewed his unending flight +towards the stars. + +But, meanwhile, the pursuer had distinctly gained. Appalled by the +mighty thunder of the stars' voices above, and by the prospect of +immediate capture if he turned back, Jimbo flew blindly on towards the +moon, regardless of consequences. And below him the Pursuer came closer +and closer. The strokes of its wings were no longer mere distant thuds +that he heard when he paused in his own flight to listen; they were the +audible swishing of feathers. It was near enough for that. + +Jimbo could never properly see what was following him. A shadow between +him and the earth was all he could distinguish, but in the centre of +that shadow there seemed to burn two glowing eyes. Two brilliant lights +flashed whenever he looked down, like the lamps of a revolving +lighthouse. But other things he saw, too, when he looked down, and once +the earth rose close to his face so that he could have touched it with +his hands. The same instant it dropped away again with a rush of +whirlwinds, and became a distant shadow miles and miles below him. But +before it went, he had time to see the Empty House standing within its +gloomy yard, and the horror of it gave him fresh impetus. + +Another time when the world raced up close to his eyes he saw a scene of +a different kind that stirred a passionately deep yearning within him--a +house overgrown with ivy and standing among trees and gardens, with +laburnums and lilacs flowering on smooth green lawns, and a clean +gravel drive leading down to a big pair of iron gates. Oh, it all seemed +so familiar! Perhaps in another minute the well-known figures would have +appeared and spoken to him. Already he heard their voices behind the +bushes. But, just before they appeared, the earth dropped back with a +roar of a thousand winds, and Jimbo saw instead the shadow of the +Pursuer mounting, mounting, mounting towards him. Up he shot again with +terror in his heart, and all trembling with the thunder of the great +star-voices above. He felt like a leaf in a hurricane, "lost, dizzy, +shelterless." + +Voices, too, now began to be heard more frequently. They dropped upon +him out of the reaches of this endless void; and with them sometimes +came forms that shot past him with amazing swiftness, racing into the +empty Beyond as though sucked into a vast vacuum. The very stars seemed +to move. He became part of some much larger movement in which he was +engulfed and merged. He could no longer think of himself as Jimbo. When +he uttered his own name he saw merely a mass of wind and colour through +which the great pulses of space and the planets beat tumultuously, +lapping him round with the currents of a terrific motion that seemed to +swallow up his own little personality entirely, while giving him +something infinitely greater.... + +But surely these small voices, shrill and trumpet-like, did not come +from the stars! these deep whispers that ran round the immense vault +overhead and sounded almost familiarly in his ears-- + +"Give it him the moment he wakes." + +"Bring the ice-bag ... quick!" + +"Put the hot bottle to his feet IMMEDIATELY!" + +The voices shrieked all round him, turning suddenly into soft whispers +that died away somewhere among his feathers. The soles of his feet began +to glow, and he felt a gigantic hand laid upon his throat and head. +Almost it seemed as if he were lying somewhere on his back, and people +were bending over him, shouting and whispering. + +"Why hangs the moon so red?" cried a voice that was instantly drowned in +a chorus of unintelligible whispering. + +"The black cow must be killed," whispered some one deep within the sky. + +"Why drips the rain so cold?" yelled one of the hideous children close +behind him. And a third called with a distant laughter from behind a +star-- + +"Why sings the wind so shrill?" + +"QUIET!" roared an appalling voice below, as if all the rivers of the +world had suddenly turned loose into the sky. "QUIET!" + +Instantly a star, that had been hovering for some time on the edge of a +fantastic dance, dropped down close in front of his face. It had a +glaring disc, with mouth and eyes. An icy hand seemed laid on his head, +and the star rushed back into its place in the sky, leaving a trail of +red flame behind it. A little voice seemed to go with it, growing +fainter and fainter in the distance-- + +"We dance with phantoms and with shadows play." + +But, regardless of everything, Jimbo flew onwards and upwards, terrified +and helpless though he was. His thoughts turned without ceasing to the +governess, and he felt sure that she would yet turn up in time to save +him from being caught by the Fright that pursued, or lost among the +fearful spaces that lay beyond the stars. + +For a long time, however, his wings had been growing more and more +tired, and the prospect of being destroyed from sheer exhaustion now +presented itself to the boy vaguely as a possible alternative--vaguely +only, because he was no longer able to think, properly speaking, and +things came to him more by way of dull feeling than anything else. + +It was all the more with something of a positive shock, therefore, that +he realised the change. For a change had come. He was now sudden by +conscious of an influx of new power--greater than anything he had ever +known before in any of his flights. His wings now suddenly worked as if +by magic. Never had the motion been so easy, and it became every minute +easier and easier. He simply flashed along without apparent effort. An +immense driving power had entered into him. He realised that he could +fly for ever without getting tired. His pace increased tenfold-- +increased alarmingly. The possibility of exhaustion vanished utterly. +Jimbo knew now that something was wrong. This new driving power was +something wholly outside himself. His wings were working far too easily. +Then, suddenly, he understood: _His wings were not working at all!_ + +He was not being driven forward from behind; he was being drawn forward +from in front. + +He saw it all in a flash: Miss Lake's warning long ago about the danger +of flying too high; the last song of the Frightened Children, "Dare you +fly out alone through the shadows that wave, when the course is unknown +and there's no one to save?" the strange words sung to him about the +"relentless misty moon," and the object of the dreadful Pursuer in +steadily forcing him upwards and away from the earth. It all flashed +across his poor little dazed mind. He understood at last. + +He had soared too high and had entered the sphere of the moon's +attraction. + +"The moon is too strong, and there's death in the stars!" a voice +bellowed below him like the roar of a falling mountain, shaking the sky. + +The child flew screaming on. There was nothing else he could do. But +hardly had the roar died away when another voice was heard, a tender +voice, a whispering, sympathetic voice, though from what part of the sky +it came he could not tell-- + +"Arrange the pillows for his little head." + +But below him the wings of the Pursuer were mounting closer and closer. +He could almost feel the mighty wind from their feathers, and hear the +rush of the great body between them. It was impossible to slacken his +speed even had he wished; no strength on earth could have resisted that +terrible power drawing upwards towards the moon. Instinctively, however, +he realised that he would rather have gone forwards than backwards. He +never could have faced capture by that dreadful creature behind. All the +efforts of the past weeks to escape from Fright, the owner of the Empty +House, now acted upon him with a cumulative effect, and added to the +suction of the moon-life. He shot forward at a pace that increased with +every second. + +At the back of his mind, too, lay some kind of faint perception that the +governess would, after all, be there to help him. She had always turned +up before when he was in danger, and she would not fail him now. But +this was a mere ghost of a thought that brought little comfort, and +merely added its quota of force to the speed that whipped him on, ever +faster, into the huge white moon-world in front. + +For this, then, he had escaped from the horror of the Empty House! To be +sucked up into the moon, the "relentless, misty moon"--to be drawn into +its cruel, silver web, and destroyed. The Song to the Misty Moon +outside the window came back in snatches and added to his terror; only +it seemed now weeks ago since he had heard it. Something of its real +meaning, too, filtered down into his heart, and he trembled anew to +think that the moon could be a great, vast, moving Being, alive and with +a purpose.... + +But why, oh, why did they keep shouting these horrid snatches of the +song through the sky? Trapped! Trapped! The word haunted him through the +night: + + Thy songs are nightly driven, + From sky to sky, + Eternally, + O'er the old, grey hills of heaven! + +_Caught!_ Caught at last! The moon's prisoner, a captive in her airless +caves; alone on her dead white plains; searching for ever in vain for +the governess; wandering alone and terrified. + + By the awful grace + Of thy weird white face. + +The thought crazed him, and he struggled like a bird caught in a net. +But he might as well have struggled to push the worlds out of their +courses. The power against him was the power of the universe in which he +was nothing but a little, lost, whirling atom. It was all of no avail, +and the moon did not even smile at his feeble efforts. He was too light +to revolve round her, too impalpable to create his own orbit; he had not +even the consistency of a comet; he had reached the point of stagnation, +as it were--the dead level--the neutral zone where the attractions of +the earth and moon meet and counterbalance one another--where bodies +have no weight and existence no meaning. + +Now the moon was close upon him; he could see nothing else. There lay +the vast, shining sea of light in front of him. Behind, the roar of the +following creature grew fainter and fainter, as he outdistanced it in +the awful swiftness of the huge drop down upon the moon mountains. + +Already he was close enough to its surface to hear nothing of its great +singing but a deep, confused murmur. And, as the distance increased, he +realised that the change in his own condition increased. He felt as if +he were flying off into a million tiny particles--breaking up under the +effects of the deadly speed and the action of the new moon-forces. +Immense, invisible arms, half-silver and half-shadow, grew out of the +white disc and drew him downwards upon her surface. He was being merged +into the life of the moon. + +There was a pause. For a moment his wings stopped dead. Their vain +fluttering was all but over.... + +Hark! Was that a voice borne on the wings of some lost wind? Why should +his heart beat so tumultuously all at once? + +He turned and stared into the ocean of black air overhead till it turned +him dizzy. A violent trembling ran through his tired being from head to +foot. He had heard a voice--a voice that he knew and loved--a voice of +help and deliverance. It rang in shrill syllables up the empty spaces, +and it reached new centres of force within him that touched his last +store of courage and strength. + +"Jimbo, hold on!" it cried, like a faint, thin, pricking current of +sound almost unable to reach him through the seas of distance. "I'm +coming; hold on a little longer!" + +It was the governess. She was true to the end. Jimbo felt his heart +swell within him. She was mounting, mounting behind him with incredible +swiftness. The sound of his own name in these terrible regions recalled +to him some degree of concentration, and he strove hard to fight +against the drawing power that was seeking his destruction. + +He struggled frantically with his wings. But between him and the +governess there was still the power of Fright to be overcome--the very +Power she had long ago invoked. It was following him still, preventing +his turning back, and driving him ever forward to his death. + +Again the voice sounded in the night; and this time it was closer. He +could not quite distinguish the words. They buzzed oddly in his ears ... +other voices mingled with them ... the hideous children began to shriek +somewhere underneath him ... wings with eyes among their burning +feathers flashed past him. + +His own wings folded close over his little body, drooping like dead +things. His eyes closed, and he turned on his side. A huge face that was +one-half the governess and the other half the head gardener at home, +thrust itself close against his own, and blew upon his eyelids till he +opened them. Already he was falling, sinking, tumbling headlong through +a space that offered no resistance. + +"Jimbo!" shrieked a voice that instantly died away into a wail behind +him. + +He opened his eyes once more--for it was that loved voice again--but +the glare from the moon so dazzled him that he could only fancy he saw +the figure of the governess, not a hundred feet away, struggling and +floundering in the clutch of a black creature that beat the air with +enormous wings all round her. He saw her hair streaming out into the +night, and one wing seemed to hang broken and useless at her side. + +He was turning over and over, like a piece of wood in the waves of the +sea, and the governess, caught by Fright, the monster of her own +creation, drifted away from his consciousness as a dream melts away in +the light of the morning.... From the gleaming mountains and treeless +plains below Jimbo thought there rose a hollow roar like the mocking +laughter of an immense multitude of people, shaking with mirth. The Moon +had got him at last, and her laughter ran through the heavens like a +wave. Revolving upon his own little axis so swiftly that he neither saw +nor heard anything more, he dropped straight down upon the great +satellite. + +The light of the moon flamed up into his eyes and dazzled him. + +But what in the world was this? + +How could the moon dwindle so suddenly to the size of a mere lamp +flame? + +How could the whole expanse of the heavens shrink in an instant to the +limits of a little, cramped room? + +In a single second, before he had time to realise that he felt surprise, +the entire memory of his recent experiences vanished from his mind. The +past became an utter blank. Like a wreath of smoke everything melted +away as if it had never been at all. The functions of the brain resumed +their normal course. The delirium of the past few hours was over. + +Jimbo was lying at home on his bed in the night-nursery, and his mother +was bending over him. At the foot of the bed stood the doctor in black. +The nurse held a lamp, only half shaded by her hand, as she approached +the bedside. + +This lamp was the moon of his delirium--only he had quite forgotten now +that there had ever been any moon at all. + +The little thermometer, thrust into his teeth among the stars, was still +in his mouth. A hot-water bottle made his feet glow and burn. And from +the walls of the sick-room came as it were the echoes of +recently-uttered sentences: "Take his temperature! Give him the +medicine the moment he wakes! Put the hot bottle to his feet.... Fetch +the ice-bag.... Quick!" + +"Where am I, mother?" he asked in a whisper. + +"You're in bed, darling, and must keep quite quiet. You'll soon be all +right again. It was the old black cow that tossed you. The gardener +found you by the swinging gate and carried you in.... You've been +unconscious!" + +"How long have I been uncon----?" Jimbo could not manage the whole word. + +"About three hours, darling." + +Then he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, and when he woke long after +it was early morning, and there was no one in the room but the old +family nurse, who sat watching beside the bed. Something--some dim +memory--that had stirred his brain in sleep, immediately rushed to his +lips in the form of an inconsequent question. But before he could even +frame the sentence, the thought that prompted it had slipped back into +the deeper consciousness he had just left behind with the trance of deep +sleep. + +But the old nurse, watching every movement, waiting upon the child's +very breath, had caught the question, and she answered soothingly in a +whisper-- + +"Oh, Miss Lake died a few days after she left here," she said in a very +low voice. "But don't think about her any more, dearie! She'll never +frighten children again with her silly stories." + +"_DIED!_" + +Jimbo sat up in bed and stared into the shadows behind her, as though +his eyes saw something she could not see. But his voice seemed almost to +belong to some one else. + +"She was really dead all the time, then," he said below his breath. + +Then the child fell back without another word, and dropped off into the +sleep which was the first step to final recovery. + + +THE END + + +PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY + +WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES. + + + + +[Transcriber's Note: + + +The following corrections were made: + +p. 52: removed paragraph break after comma (whispered, "My darling boy,) + +p. 87: acccomplish to accomplish (she would accomplish) + +p. 96: removed paragraph break after comma (and said very gravely, with +her serious eyes fixed on his face, "Miss Lake,) + +p. 123: achoed to echoed ("Long!" he echoed,) + +p. 181: existance to existence (an existence far antedating) + +p. 197: conciousness to consciousness (the consciousness cannot) + +p. 204: so to no (no sequence in the order) + +Minor punctuation errors and missing spaces between words have been +corrected without note. An oe-ligature in the word manoeuvre has been +replaced with "oe" in the plain text versions. + +Inconsistencies in hyphenation have not been corrected.] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Jimbo, by Algernon Blackwood + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIMBO *** + +***** This file should be named 30974-8.txt or 30974-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/9/7/30974/ + +Produced by David Clarke, S.D., and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Jimbo + A Fantasy + +Author: Algernon Blackwood + +Release Date: January 15, 2010 [EBook #30974] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIMBO *** + + + + +Produced by David Clarke, S.D., and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<h1>JIMBO</h1> + +<div id="publisher"> +<p class="center"> +MACMILLAN AND CO., <span class="smcap">Limited</span><br /> +<span class="sm">LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA · MADRAS<br /> +MELBOURNE</span></p> + +<p class="center"> +THE MACMILLAN COMPANY<br /> +<span class="sm">NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO<br /> +DALLAS · ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO</span></p> + +<p class="center"> +THE MACMILLAN COMPANY<br /> +OF CANADA, LIMITED<br /> +<span class="sm">TORONTO</span> +</p> +</div> + +<div id="tp"> +<h1>JIMBO<br /> +<span class="subtitle">A FANTASY</span></h1> + +<p class="author center"> +<span class="sm"><i>By</i></span><br /> +<span class="lg">ALGERNON<br /> +BLACKWOOD</span></p> + +<p class="center med">MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED<br /> +ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON<br /> +1930 +</p> +</div> + +<div id="copyright"> +<p class="center sm">COPYRIGHT</p> + +<p class="pubinfo center"> +<i>First Published</i> <span class="pad-l1">1909</span><br /> +<i>The Caravan Library</i> <span class="pad-l2">1930</span></p> + +<p class="center sm">PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN</p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<table class="smcap" summary="Table of Contents"> +<tr><th align="left" class="toc" colspan="2">CHAPTER</th> <th class="toc">PAGE</th></tr> +<tr><td align="right">I.</td> <td>"Rabbits"</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">II.</td> <td>Miss Lake comes—and goes</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">III.</td> <td>The Shock</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_40">40</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">IV.</td> <td>On the Edge of Unconsciousness</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">V.</td> <td>Into the Empty House</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">VI.</td> <td>His Companion in Prison</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">VII.</td> <td>The Spell of the Empty House</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">VIII.</td> <td>The Gallery of Ancient Memories</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">IX.</td> <td>The Means of Escape</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">X.</td> <td>The Plunge</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_131">131</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">XI.</td> <td>The First Flight</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">XII.</td> <td>The Four Winds</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">XIII.</td> <td>Pleasures of Flight</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">XIV.</td> <td>An Adventure</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_177">177</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">XV.</td> <td>The Call of the Body</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">XVI.</td> <td>Preparation</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">XVII.</td> <td>Off!</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_219">219</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="right">XVIII.</td> <td>Home</td> <td align="right"><a href="#Page_232">232</a></td></tr> +</table> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7"><br />[7]</a></span></p> + +<p class="center">JIMBO</p> + +<h2>CHAPTER I<br /> +<span class="chapsub">"RABBITS"</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">Jimbo's</span> governess ought to have known +better—but she didn't. If she had, Jimbo +would never have met with the adventures +that subsequently came to him. Thus, in a +roundabout sort of way, the child ought to +have been thankful to the governess; and +perhaps, in a roundabout sort of way, he was. +But that comes at the far end of the story, +and is doubtful at best; and in the meanwhile +the child had gone through his suffering, and +the governess had in some measure expiated +her fault; so that at this stage it is only +necessary to note that the whole business +began because the Empty House happened to +be really an Empty House—not the one +Jimbo's family lived in, but another of which +more will be known in due course.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p><p>Jimbo's father was a retired Colonel, who +had married late in life, and now lived all the +year round in the country; and Jimbo was +the youngest child but one. The Colonel, lean +in body as he was sincere in mind, an excellent +soldier but a poor diplomatist, loved dogs, +horses, guns and riding-whips. He also really +understood them. His neighbours, had they +been asked, would have called him hard-headed, +and so far as a soft-hearted man +may deserve the title, he probably was. He +rode two horses a day to hounds with the +best of them, and the stiffer the country the +better he liked it. Besides his guns, dogs +and horses, he was also very fond of his +children. It was his hobby that he understood +them far better than his wife did, or +than any one else did, for that matter. The +proper evolution of their differing temperaments +had no difficulties for him. The delicate +problems of child-nature, which defy solution +by nine parents out of ten, ceased to exist the +moment he spread out his muscular hand in +a favourite omnipotent gesture and uttered +some extraordinarily foolish generality in that +thunderous, good-natured voice of his. The +difficulty for himself vanished when he ended +up with the words, "Leave that to me, my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> +dear; believe me, I know best!" But for +all else concerned, and especially for the child +under discussion, this was when the difficulty +really began.</p> + +<p>Since, however, the Colonel, after this +chapter, mounts his best hunter and disappears +over a high hedge into space so far +as our story is concerned, any further delineation +of his wholesome but very ordinary type +is unnecessary.</p> + +<p>One winter's evening, not very long after +Christmas, the Colonel made a discovery. It +alarmed him a little; for it suggested to his +cocksure mind that he did not understand +<em>all</em> his children as comprehensively as he +imagined.</p> + +<p>Between five o'clock tea and dinner—that +magic hour when lessons were over and the +big house was full of shadows and mystery—there +came a timid knock at the study door.</p> + +<p>"Come in," growled the soldier in his +deepest voice, and a little girl's face, wreathed +in tumbling brown hair, poked itself hesitatingly +through the opening.</p> + +<p>The Colonel did not like being disturbed at +this hour, and everybody in the house knew +it; but the spell of Christmas holidays was +still somehow in the air, and the customary<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> +order was not yet fully re-established. Moreover, +when he saw who the intruder was, his +growl modified itself into a sort of common +sternness that yet was not cleverly enough +simulated to deceive the really intuitive little +person who now stood inside the room.</p> + +<p>"Well, Nixie, child, what do you want +now?"</p> + +<p>"Please, father, will you—we wondered +if——"</p> + +<p>A chorus of whispers issued from the other +side of the door:</p> + +<p>"Go on, silly!"</p> + +<p>"Out with it!"</p> + +<p>"You promised you would, Nixie."</p> + +<p>"... if you would come and play Rabbits +with us?" came the words in a desperate +rush, with laughter not far behind.</p> + +<p>The big man with the fierce white moustaches +glared over the top of his glasses at +the intruders as if amazed beyond belief at +the audacity of the request.</p> + +<p>"Rabbits!" he exclaimed, as though the +mere word ought to have caused an instant +explosion. "Rabbits!"</p> + +<p>"Oh, <em>please</em> do."</p> + +<p>"Rabbits at this time of night!" he +repeated. "I never heard of such a thing. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> +Why, all good rabbits are asleep in their +holes by now. And you ought to be in yours +too by rights, I'm sure."</p> + +<p>"We don't sleep in holes, father," said the +owner of the brown hair, who was acting as +leader.</p> + +<p>"And there's still a nour before bedtime, +<em>really</em>," added a voice in the rear.</p> + +<p>The big man slowly put his glasses down and +looked at his watch. He looked very savage, +but of course it was all pretence, and the +children knew it. "If he was <em>really</em> cross he'd +pretend to be nice," they whispered to each +other, with merciless perception.</p> + +<p>"Well—" he began. But he who hesitates, +with children, is lost. The door flung +open wide, and the troop poured into the +room in a medley of long black legs, flying +hair and outstretched hands. They surrounded +the table, swarmed upon his big +knees, shut his stupid old book, tried on his +glasses, kissed him, and fell to discussing the +game breathlessly all at once, as though it +had already begun.</p> + +<p>This, of course, ended the battle, and the +big man had to play the part of the Monster +Rabbit in a wonderful game of his own invention. +But when, at length, it was all over,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> +and they were gathered panting round the fire +of blazing logs in the hall, the Monster Rabbit—the +only one with any breath at his command—looked +up and spoke.</p> + +<p>"Where's Jimbo?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Upstairs."</p> + +<p>"Why didn't he come and play too?"</p> + +<p>"He didn't want to."</p> + +<p>"Why? What's he doing?"</p> + +<p>Several answers were forthcoming.</p> + +<p>"Nothing in p'tickler."</p> + +<p>"Talking to the furniture when I last saw +him."</p> + +<p>"Just thinking, as usual, or staring in the +fire."</p> + +<p>None of the answers seemed to satisfy the +Monster Rabbit, for when he kissed them a +little later and said good-night, he gave orders, +with a graver face, for Jimbo to be sent down +to the study before he went to bed. Moreover, +he called him "James," which was a +sure sign of parental displeasure.</p> + +<p>"James, why didn't you come and play +with your brothers and sisters just now?" +asked the Colonel, as a dreamy-eyed boy of +about eight, with a mop of dark hair and a +wistful expression, came slowly forward into +the room.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p><p>"I was in the middle of making pictures."</p> + +<p>"Where—what—making pictures?"</p> + +<p>"In the fire."</p> + +<p>"James," said the Colonel in a serious +tone, "don't you know that you are getting +too old now for that sort of thing? If you +dream so much, you'll fall asleep altogether +some fine day, and never wake up again. +Just think what that means!"</p> + +<p>The child smiled faintly and moved up confidingly +between his father's knees, staring +into his eyes without the least sign of fear. +But he said nothing in reply. His thoughts +were far away, and it seemed as if the effort +to bring them back into the study and to a +consideration of his father's words was almost +beyond his power.</p> + +<p>"You must run about more," pursued the +soldier, rubbing his big hands together briskly, +"and join your brothers and sisters in their +games. Lie about in the summer and dream +a bit if you like, but now it's winter, you must +be more active, and make your blood circulate +healthily,—er—and all that sort of thing."</p> + +<p>The words were kindly spoken, but the +voice and manner rather deliberate. Jimbo +began to look a little troubled, as his father +watched him.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p><p>"Come now, little man," he said more +gently, "what's the matter, eh?" He +drew the boy close to him. "Tell me all +about it, and what it is you're always thinking +about so much."</p> + +<p>Jimbo brought back his mind with a tremendous +effort, and said, "I don't like the +winter. It's so dark and full of horrid things. +It's all ice and shadows, so—so I go away and +think of what I like, and other places——"</p> + +<p>"Nonsense!" interrupted his father briskly; +"winter's a capital time for boys. What in +the world d'ye mean, I wonder?"</p> + +<p>He lifted the child on to his knee and +stroked his hair, as though he were patting +the flank of a horse. Jimbo took no notice of +the interruption or of the caress, but went on +saying what he had to say, though with eyes +a little more clouded.</p> + +<p>"Winter's like going into a long black +tunnel, you see. It's downhill to Christmas, +of course, and then uphill all the way to the +summer holidays. But the uphill part's so +slow that——"</p> + +<p>"Tut, tut!" laughed the Colonel in spite +of himself; "you mustn't have such thoughts. +Those are a baby's notions. They're silly, +silly, silly."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p> +<p>"Do you <em>really</em> think so, father?" continued +the boy, as if politeness demanded +some recognition of his father's remarks, but +otherwise anxious only to say what was in +his mind. "You wouldn't think them silly +if you really knew. But, of course, there's +no one to tell you in the stable, so you <em>can't</em> +know. You've never seen the funny big +people rushing past you and laughing through +their long hair when the wind blows so loud. +<em>I</em> know several of them almost to speak to, +but you hear only wind. And the other +things with tiny legs that skate up and down +the slippery moonbeams, without ever tumbling +off—they aren't silly a bit, only they +don't like dogs and noise. And I've seen the +furniture"—he pronounced it furchinur—"dancing +about in the day-nursery when it +thought it was alone, and I've heard it talking +at night. I know the big cupboard's voice +quite well. It's just like a drum, only +rougher...."</p> + +<p>The Colonel shook his head and frowned +severely, staring hard at his son. But though +their eyes met, the boy hardly saw him. Far +away at the other end of the dark Tunnel of +the Months he saw the white summer sunshine +lying over gardens full of nodding<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> +flowers. Butterflies were flitting across +meadows yellow with buttercups, and he saw +the fascinating rings upon the lawn where the +Fairy People held their dances in the moonlight; +he heard the wind call to him as it +ran on along by the hedgerows, and saw the +gentle pressure of its swift feet upon the +standing hay; streams were murmuring under +shady trees; birds were singing; and there +were echoes of sweeter music still that he +could not understand, but loved all the more +perhaps on that account....</p> + +<p>"Yes," announced the Colonel later that +evening to his wife, spreading his hands out +as he spoke. "Yes, my dear, I <em>have</em> made a +discovery, and an alarming one. You know, +I'm rarely at fault where the children are +concerned—and I've noted all the symptoms +with unusual care. James, my dear, is an +imaginative boy."</p> + +<p>He paused to note the effect of his words, +but seeing none, continued:</p> + +<p>"I regret to be obliged to say it, but it's +a fact beyond dispute. His head is simply +full of things, and he talked to me this evening +about tunnels and slippery moonlight till I +very nearly lost my temper altogether. Now, +the boy will never make a man unless we take<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> +him in hand properly at once. We must get +him a governess, or something, without delay. +Just fancy, if he grew up into a poet or one +of these—these——"</p> + +<p>In his distress the soldier could only think +of horse-terms, which did not seem quite the +right language. He stuck altogether, and +kept repeating the favourite gesture with his +open hand, staring at his wife over his glasses +as he did so.</p> + +<p>But the mother never argued.</p> + +<p>"He's very young still," she observed +quietly, "and, as you have always said, he's +not a bit like other boys, remember."</p> + +<p>"Exactly what I say. Now that your eyes +are opened to the actual state of affairs, I'm +satisfied."</p> + +<p>"We'll get a sensible nursery-governess at +once," added the mother.</p> + +<p>"A practical one?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, dear."</p> + +<p>"Hard-headed?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"And well educated?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"And—er—firm with children. She'll do +for the lot, then."</p> + +<p>"If possible."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p><p>"And a young woman who doesn't go in +for poetry, and dreaming, and all that kind +of flummery."</p> + +<p>"Of course, dear."</p> + +<p>"Capital. I felt sure you would agree +with me," he went on. "It'd be no end of a +pity if Jimbo grew up an ass. At present he +hardly knows the difference between a roadster +and a racer. He's going into the army, too," +he added by way of climax, "and you know, +my dear, the army would never stand <em>that</em>!"</p> + +<p>"Never," said the mother quietly, and the +conversation came to an end.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, the subject of these remarks +was lying wide awake upstairs in the bed +with the yellow iron railing round it. His +elder brother was asleep in the opposite corner +of the room, snoring peacefully. He could +just see the brass knobs of the bedstead as +the dying firelight quivered and shone on them. +The walls and ceiling were draped in shadows +that altered their shapes from time to time as +the coals dropped softly into the grate. Gradually +the fire sank, and the room darkened. +A feeling of delight and awe stole into his +heart.</p> + +<p>Jimbo loved these early hours of the night +before sleep came. He felt no fear of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> +dark; its mystery thrilled his soul; but he +liked the summer dark, with its soft, warm +silences better than the chill winter shadows. +Presently the firelight sprang up into a brief +flame and then died away altogether with an +odd little gulp. He knew the sound well; +he often watched the fire out, and now, as he +lay in bed waiting for he knew not what, the +moonlight filtered in through the baize curtains +and gradually gave to the room a wholly new +character.</p> + +<p>Jimbo sat up in bed and listened. The +house was very still. He slipped into his red +dressing-gown and crept noiselessly over to +the window. For a moment he paused by +his brother's bed to make sure that he really +was asleep; then, evidently satisfied, he +drew aside a corner of the curtain and peered +out.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" he said, drawing in his breath with +delight, and again "oh!"</p> + +<p>It was difficult to understand why the sea +of white moonlight that covered the lawn +should fill him with such joy, and at the same +time bring a lump into his throat. It made +him feel as if he were swelling out into something +very much greater than the actual +limits of his little person. And the sensation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> +was one of mingled pain and delight, too +intense for him to feel for very long. The unhappiness +passed gradually away, he always +noticed, and the happiness merged after a +while into a sort of dreamy ecstasy in which +he neither thought nor wished much, but was +conscious only of one single unmanageable +yearning.</p> + +<p>The huge cedars on the lawn reared themselves +up like giants in silver cloaks, and the +horse-chestnut—the Umbrella Tree, as the +children called it—loomed with motionless +branches that were frosted and shining. +Beyond it, in a blue mist of moonlight and +distance, lay the kitchen-garden; he could +just make out the line of the high wall where +the fruit-trees grew. Immediately below him +the gravel of the carriage drive sparkled with +frost.</p> + +<p>The bars of the windows were cold to his +hands, yet he stood there for a long time with +his nose flattened against the pane and his +bare feet on the cane chair. He felt both +happy and sad; his heart longed dreadfully +for something he had not got, something that +seemed out of his reach because he could not +name it. No one seemed to believe all the +things he <em>knew</em> in quite the same way as he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> +did. His brothers and sisters played up to a +certain point, and then put the things aside +as if they had only been assumed for the time +and were not real. To him they were always +real. His father's words, too, that evening +had sorely puzzled him when he came to +think over them afterwards: "They're a +baby's notions.... They're silly, silly, silly." +Were these things real or were they not? +And, as he pondered, yearning dumbly, as only +these little souls can yearn, the wistfulness in +his heart went out to meet the moonlight in +the air. Together they wove a spell that +seemed to summon before him a fairy of the +night, who whispered an answer into his +heart: "We are real so long as you believe +in us. It is your imagination that makes us +real and gives us life. Please, never, never +stop believing."</p> + +<p>Jimbo was not quite sure that he understood +the message, but he liked it all the same, +and felt comforted. So long as they believed +in one another, the rest did not matter very +much after all. And when at last, shivering +with cold, he crept back to bed, it was only +to find through the Gates of Sleep a more +direct way to the things he had been thinking +about, and to wander for the rest of the night,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> +unwatched and free, through the wonders of +an Enchanted Land.</p> + +<p>Jimbo, as his father had said, was an +imaginative child. Most children are—more +or less; and he was "more," at least, "more" +than his brothers and sisters. The Colonel +thought he had made a penetrating discovery, +but his wife had known it always. His head, +indeed, was "full of things,"—things that, +unless trained into a channel where they +could be controlled and properly schooled, +would certainly interfere with his success in +a practical world, and be a source of mingled +pain and joy to him all through life. To have +trained these forces, ever bursting out towards +creation, in his little soul,—to have explained, +interpreted, and dealt fairly by them, would +perhaps have been the best and wisest way; +to have suppressed them altogether, cleaned +them out by the process of substitution, this +might have succeeded too in less measure; but +to turn them into a veritable rout of horror by +the common method of "frightening the nonsense +out of the boy," this was surely the very +worst way of dealing with such a case, and the +most cruel. Yet, this was the method adopted +by the Colonel in the robust good-nature of +his heart, and the utter ignorance of his soul.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> +So it came about that three months later, +when May was melting into June, Miss Ethel +Lake arrived upon the scene as a result of +the Colonel's blundering good intentions. She +brought with her a kind disposition, a supreme +ignorance of unordinary children, a large store +of self-confidence—and a corded yellow tin +box.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER II<br /> +<span class="chapsub">MISS LAKE COMES—AND GOES</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> conversation took place suddenly one +afternoon, and no one knew anything about +it except the two who took part in it: the +Colonel asked the governess to try and knock +the nonsense out of Jimbo's head, and the +governess promised eagerly to do her very +best. It was her first "place"; and by +"nonsense" they both understood imagination. +True enough, Jimbo's mother had +given her rather different instructions as to +the treatment of the boy, but she mistook +the soldier's bluster for authority, and deemed +it best to obey him. This was her first +mistake.</p> + +<p>In reality she was not devoid of imaginative +insight; it was simply that her anxiety +to prove a success permitted her better +judgment to be overborne by the Colonel's +boisterous manner.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p><p>The wisdom of the mother was greater than +that of her husband. For the safe development +of that tender and imaginative little boy +of hers, she had been at great pains to engage +a girl—a clergyman's daughter—who possessed +sufficient sympathy with the poetic +and dreamy nature to be of real help to him; +for true help, she knew, can only come from +true understanding. And Miss Lake was a +good girl. She was entirely well-meaning—which +is the beginning of well-doing, and her +principal weakness lay in her judgment, which +led her to obey the Colonel too literally.</p> + +<p>"She seems most sensible," he declared to +his wife.</p> + +<p>"Yes, dear."</p> + +<p>"And practical."</p> + +<p>"I think so."</p> + +<p>"And firm and—er—wise with children."</p> + +<p>"I hope so."</p> + +<p>"Just the sort for young Jimbo," added +the Colonel with decision.</p> + +<p>"I trust so; she's a little young, perhaps."</p> + +<p>"Possibly, but one can't get everything," +said her husband, in his horse-and-dog voice. +"A year with her should clean out that fanciful +brain of his, and prepare him for school +with other boys. He'll be all right once he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> +gets to school. My dear," he added, spreading +out his right hand, fingers extended, "you've +made a most wise selection. I congratulate +you. I'm delighted."</p> + +<p>"I'm so glad."</p> + +<p>"Capital, I repeat, capital. You're a clever +little woman. I knew you'd find the right +party, once I showed you how the land lay."</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p>The Empty House, that stood in its neglected +garden not far from the Park gates, +was built on a point of land that entered +wedgewise into the Colonel's estate. Though +something of an eyesore, therefore, he could +do nothing with it.</p> + +<p>To the children it had always been an +object of peculiar, though not unwholesome, +mystery. None of them cared to pass it on +a stormy day—the wind made such odd noises +in its empty corridors and rooms—and they +refused point-blank to go within hailing distance +of it after dark. But in Jimbo's imagination +it was especially haunted, and if he +had ceased to reveal to the others what he +<em>knew</em> went on under its roof, it was only because +they were unable to follow him, and were +inclined to greet his extravagant recitals with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> +"Now, Jimbo, you know <em>perfectly</em> well you're +only making up."</p> + +<p>The House had been empty for many years; +but, to the children, it had been empty since +the beginning of the world, since what they +called the "<em>very</em> beginning." They believed—well, +each child believed according to his +own mind and powers, but there was at least +one belief they all held in common: for it +was generally accepted as an article of faith +that the Indians, encamped among the +shrubberies on the back lawn, secretly buried +their dead behind the crumbling walls of its +weedy garden—the "dead" provided by the +children's battles, be it understood. Wakeful +ears in the night-nursery had heard strange +sounds coming from that direction when the +windows were open on hot summer nights; +and the gardener, supreme authority on all +that happened in the night (since they believed +that he sat up to watch the vegetables and +fruit-trees ripen, and never went to bed at +all), was evidently of the same persuasion.</p> + +<p>When appealed to for an explanation of the +mournful wind-voices, he knew what was +expected of him, and rose manfully to the +occasion.</p> + +<p>"It's either them Redskins aburyin' wot<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> +you killed of 'em yesterday," he declared, +pointing towards the Empty House with a +bit of broken flower-pot, "or else it's the +ones you killed last week, and who was always +astealin' of my strorbriz." He looked very +wise as he said this, and his wand of office—a +dirty trowel—which he held in his hand, +gave him tremendous dignity.</p> + +<p>"That's just what <em>we</em> thought, and of course +if you say so too, that settles it," said +Nixie.</p> + +<p>"It's more'n likely, missie, leastways from +wot you describes, which it is a hempty house +all the same, though I can't say as I've heard +no sounds, not very distinct that is, myself."</p> + +<p>The gardener may have been anxious to +hedge a bit, for fear of a scolding from headquarters, +but his cryptic remarks pleased the +children greatly, because it showed, they +thought, that they knew more than the +gardener did.</p> + +<p>Thus the Empty House remained an object +of somewhat dreadful delight, lending a touch +of wonderland to that part of the lane where +it stood, and forming the background for +many an enchanting story over the nursery +fire in winter-time. It appealed vividly to +their imaginations, especially to Jimbo's. Its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> +dark windows, without blinds, were sometimes +full of faces that retreated the moment +they were looked at. That tangled ivy did +not grow over the roof so thickly for nothing; +and those high elms on the western side had +not been planted years ago in a semicircle +without a reason. Thus, at least, the children +argued, not knowing exactly what they meant, +nor caring much, so long as they proved to +their own satisfaction that the place was +properly haunted, and therefore worthy of +their attention.</p> + +<p>It was natural they should lead Miss Lake +in that direction on one of their first walks +together, and it was natural, too, that she +should at once discover from their manner +that the place was of some importance to +them.</p> + +<p>"What a queer-looking old house," she +remarked, when they turned the corner of +the lane and it came into view. "Almost a +ruin, isn't it?"</p> + +<p>The children exchanged glances. A "ruin" +did not seem the right sort of word at all; +and, besides, was a little disrespectful. Also, +they were not sure whether the new governess +ought to be told everything so soon. She +had not really won their confidence yet.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> +After a slight pause—and a children's pause +is the most eloquent imaginable—Nixie, being +the eldest, said in a stiff little voice: "It's +the Empty House, Miss Lake. <em>We</em> know it +very well indeed."</p> + +<p>"It looks empty," observed Miss Lake +briskly.</p> + +<p>"But it's not a ruin, of course," added the +child, with the cold dignity of chosen spokesman.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" said the governess, quite missing +the point. She was talking lightly on the +surface of things, wholly ignorant of the depths +beneath her feet, intuition with her having +always been sternly repressed.</p> + +<p>"It's a gamekeeper's cottage, or something +like that, I suppose," she said.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no; it isn't a bit."</p> + +<p>"Doesn't it belong to your father, then?"</p> + +<p>"No. It's somebody else's, you see."</p> + +<p>"Then you can't have it pulled down?"</p> + +<p>"Rather not! Of course not!" exclaimed +several indignant voices at once.</p> + +<p>Miss Lake perceived for the first time that +it held more than ordinary importance in their +mind.</p> + +<p>"Tell me about it," she said. "What is +its history, and who used to live in it?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p><p>There came another pause. The children +looked into each others' faces. They gazed +at the blue sky overhead; then they stared +at the dusty road at their feet. But no one +volunteered an answer. Miss Lake, they felt, +was approaching the subject in an offensive +manner.</p> + +<p>"Why are you all so mysterious about it?" +she went on. "It's only a tumble-down old +place, and must be very draughty to live in, +even for a gamekeeper."</p> + +<p>Silence.</p> + +<p>"Come, children, don't you hear me? I'm +asking you a question."</p> + +<p>A couple of startled birds flew out of the +ivy with a great whirring of wings. This was +followed by a faint sound of rumbling, that +seemed to come from the interior of the house. +Outside all was still, and the hot sunshine lay +over everything. The sound was repeated. +The children looked at each other with large, +expectant eyes. Something in the house was +moving—was coming nearer.</p> + +<p>"Have you <em>all</em> lost your tongues?" asked +the governess impatiently.</p> + +<p>"But you see," Nixie said at length, +"somebody <em>does</em> live in it now."</p> + +<p>"And who is he?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p> +<p>"I didn't say it was a <em>man</em>."</p> + +<p>"Whoever it is—tell me about the person," +persisted Miss Lake.</p> + +<p>"There's really nothing to tell," replied +the child, without looking up.</p> + +<p>"Oh, but there must be something," +declared the logical young governess, "or you +wouldn't object so much to its being pulled +down."</p> + +<p>Nixie looked puzzled, but Jimbo came to +the rescue at once.</p> + +<p>"But <em>you</em> wouldn't understand if we did +tell you," he said, in a slow, respectful voice. +His tone held a touch of that indescribable +scorn heard sometimes in a child's tone—the +utter contempt for the stupid grown-up +creature. Miss Lake noticed, and felt annoyed. +She recognised that she was not getting on +well with the children, and it piqued her. +She remembered the Colonel's words about +"knocking the nonsense out" of James' head, +and she saw that her first opportunity, in fact +her first real test, was at hand.</p> + +<p>"And why, pray, should I not understand?" +she asked, with some sharpness. "Is the +mystery so <em>very</em> great?"</p> + +<p>For some reason the duty of spokesman now +devolved unmistakably upon Jimbo; and very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> +seriously too, he accepted the task, standing +with his feet firmly planted in the road and +his hands in his trousers' pockets.</p> + +<p>"You see, Miss Lake," he began gravely, +"we know such a lot of Things in there, that +they might not like us to tell you about them. +They don't know you yet. If they did it +might be different. But—but—you see, it +isn't."</p> + +<p>This was rather crushing to the aspiring +educator, and the Colonel's instructions gained +additional point in the light of the boy's +explanation.</p> + +<p>"Fiddlesticks!" she laughed, "there's probably +nothing at all in there, except rats and +cobwebs. 'Things,' indeed!"</p> + +<p>"I knew you wouldn't understand," said +Jimbo coolly, with no sign of being offended. +"How could you?" He glanced at his +sisters, gaining so much support from their +enigmatical faces that he added, for their +especial benefit, "How could she?"</p> + +<p>"The gard'ner said so too," chimed in a +younger sister, with a vague notion that their +precious Empty House was being robbed of +its glory.</p> + +<p>"Yes; but, James, dear, I do understand +perfectly," continued Miss Lake more gently,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> +and wisely ignoring the reference to the +authority of the kitchen-garden. "Only, you +see, I cannot really encourage you in such +nonsense——"</p> + +<p>"It isn't nonsense," interrupted Jimbo, +with heat.</p> + +<p>"But, believe me, children, it <em>is</em> nonsense. +How do you know that there's anything +inside? You've never been there!"</p> + +<p>"You can know perfectly well what's inside +a thing without having gone there," replied +Jimbo with scorn. "At least, <em>we</em> can."</p> + +<p>Miss Lake changed her tack a little—fatally, +as it appeared afterwards.</p> + +<p>"I know at any rate," she said with +decision, "that there's nothing good in there. +Whatever there may be is bad, thoroughly +bad, and not fit for you to play with."</p> + +<p>The other children moved away, but Jimbo +stood his ground. They were all angry, disappointed, +sore hurt and offended. But +Jimbo suddenly began to feel something else +besides anger and vexation. It was a new +point of view to him that the Empty House +might contain bad things as well as good, or +perhaps, only bad things. His imagination +seized upon the point at once and set to work +vigorously to develop it. This was his way<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> +with all such things, and he could not prevent +it.</p> + +<p>"Bad Things?" he repeated, looking up +at the governess. "You mean Things that +could hurt?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, of course," she said, noting the effect +of her words and thinking how pleased the +Colonel would be later, when he heard it. +"Things that might run out and catch you +some day when you're passing here alone, +and take you back a prisoner. Then you'd +be a prisoner in the Empty House all your +life. Think of that!"</p> + +<p>Miss Lake mistook the boy's silence as proof +that she was taking the right line. She +enlarged upon this view of the matter, now +she was so successfully launched, and described +the <em>Inmate of the House</em> with such wealth of +detail that she felt sure her listener would +never have anything to do with the place +again, and that she had "knocked out" this +particular bit of "nonsense" for ever and +a day.</p> + +<p>But to Jimbo it was a new and horrible idea +that the Empty House, haunted hitherto only +by rather jolly and wonderful Red Indians, +contained a Monster who might take him +prisoner, and the thought made him feel<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> +afraid. The mischief had, of course, been +done, and the terror in his eyes was unmistakable, +when the foolish governess saw her +mistake. Retreat was impossible: the boy +was shaking with fear; and not all Miss +Lake's genuine sympathy, or Nixie's explanations +and soothings, were able to relieve his +mind of its new burden.</p> + +<p>Hitherto Jimbo's imagination had loved to +dwell upon the pleasant side of things invisible; +but now he had been severely frightened, and +his imagination took a new turn. Not only +the Empty House, but all his inner world, to +which it was in some sense the key, underwent +a distressing change. His sense of horror had +been vividly aroused.</p> + +<p>The governess would willingly have corrected +her mistake, but was, of course, powerless +to do so. Bitterly she regretted her +tactlessness and folly. But she could do +nothing, and to add to her distress, she saw +that Jimbo shrank from her in a way that +could not long escape the watchful eye of the +mother. But, if the boy shed tears of fear +that night in his bed, it must in justice be told +that she, for her part, cried bitterly in her +own room, not that she had endangered her +"place," but that she had done a cruel<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> +injury to a child, and that she was helpless +to undo it. For she loved children, though +she was quite unsuited to take care of them. +Her just reward, however, came swiftly upon +her.</p> + +<p>A few nights later, when Jimbo and Nixie +were allowed to come down to dessert, the +wind was heard to make a queer moaning +sound in the ivy branches that hung over the +dining-room windows. Jimbo heard it too. +He held his breath for a minute; then he +looked round the table in a frightened way, +and the next minute gave a scream and burst +into tears. He ran round and buried his face +in his father's arms.</p> + +<p>After the tears came the truth. It was a +bad thing for Miss Ethel Lake, this little +sighing of the wind and the ivy leaves, for +the Djin of terror she had thoughtlessly +evoked swept into the room and introduced +himself to the parents without her leave.</p> + +<p>"What new nonsense is this now?" growled +the soldier, leaving his walnuts and lifting the +boy on to his knee. "He shouldn't come +down till he's a little older, and knows how to +behave."</p> + +<p>"What's the matter, darling child?" asked +the mother, drying his eyes tenderly.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p><p>"I heard the bad Things crying in the +Empty House."</p> + +<p>"The Empty House is a mile away from +here!" snorted the Colonel.</p> + +<p>"Then it's come nearer," declared the +frightened boy.</p> + +<p>"Who told you there were bad things in +the Empty House?" asked the mother.</p> + +<p>"Yes, who told you, indeed, I should like +to know!" demanded the Colonel.</p> + +<p>And then it all came out. The Colonel's +wife was very quiet, but very determined. +Miss Lake went back to the clerical family +whence she had come, and the children knew +her no more.</p> + +<p>"I'm glad," said Nixie, expressing the +verdict of the nursery. "I thought she was +awfully stupid."</p> + +<p>"She wasn't a real lake at all," declared +another, "she was only a sort of puddle."</p> + +<p>Jimbo, however, said little, and the Colonel +likewise held his peace.</p> + +<p>But the governess, whether she was a lake +or only a puddle, left her mark behind her. +The Empty House was no longer harmless. +It had a new lease of life. It was tenanted +by some one who could never have friendly +relations with children. The weeds in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> +old garden took on fantastic shapes; figures +hid behind the doors and crept about the +passages; the rooks in the high elms became +birds of ill-omen; the ivy bristled upon the +walls, and the trivial explanations of the +gardener were no longer satisfactory.</p> + +<p>Even in bright sunshine a Shadow lay +crouching upon the broken roof. At any +moment it might leap into life, and with +immense striding legs chase the children down +to the very Park gates.</p> + +<p>There was no need to enforce the decree +that the Empty House was a forbidden land. +The children of their own accord declared it +out of bounds, and avoided it as carefully as +if all the wild animals from the Zoo were +roaming its gardens, hungry and unchained.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER III<br /> +<span class="chapsub">THE SHOCK</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">One</span> immediate result of Miss Lake's indiscretion +was that the children preferred to play +on the other side of the garden, the side +farthest from the Empty House. A spiked +railing here divided them from a field in which +cows disported themselves, and as bulls also +sometimes were admitted to the cows, the +field was strictly out of bounds.</p> + +<p>In this spiked railing, not far from the +great shrubberies where the Indians increased +and multiplied, there was a swinging gate. +The children swung on it whenever they could. +They called it Express Trains, and the fact +that it was forbidden only added to their +pleasure. When opened at its widest it would +swing them with a rush through the air, past +the pillars with a click, out into the field, +and then back again into the garden. It was +bad for the hinges, and it was also bad for the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> +garden, because it was frequently left open +after these carnivals, and the cows got in and +trod the flowers down. The children were +not afraid of the cows, but they held the bull +in great horror. And these trivial things have +been mentioned here because of the part they +played in Jimbo's subsequent adventures.</p> + +<p>It was only ten days or so after Miss Lake's +sudden departure when Jimbo managed one +evening to elude the vigilance of his lawful +guardians, and wandered off unnoticed among +the laburnums on the front lawn. From the +laburnums he passed successfully to the first +laurel shrubbery, and thence he executed a +clever flank movement and entered the +carriage drive in the rear. The rest was easy, +and he soon found himself at the Lodge gate.</p> + +<p>For some moments he peered through the +iron grating, and pondered on the seductiveness +of the dusty road and of the ditch beyond. +To his surprise he found, presently, that the +gate was moving outwards; it was yielding +to his weight. One thing leads easily to +another sometimes, and the open gate led +easily on to the seductive road. The result +was that a minute later Jimbo was chasing +butterflies along the green lane, and throwing +stones into the water of the ditch.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p><p>It was the evening of a hot summer's day, +and the butterflies were still out in force. +Jimbo's delight was intense. The joy of +finding himself alone where he had no right +to be put everything else out of his head, and +for some time he wandered on, oblivious of +all but the intoxicating sense of freedom and +the difficulty of choosing between so many +butterflies and such a magnificently dirty ditch.</p> + +<p>At first he yielded to the seductions of the +ditch. He caught a big, sleepy beetle and +put it on a violet leaf, and sent it sailing out +to sea; and when it landed on the farther +shore he found a still bigger leaf, and sent it +forth on a voyage in another direction, with +a cargo of daisy petals, and a hairy caterpillar +for a bo'sun's mate. But, just as the vessel +was getting under way, a butterfly of amazing +brilliance floated past insolently under his +very nose. Leaving the beetle and the caterpillar +to navigate the currents as best they +could, he at once gave chase. Cap in hand, +he flew after the butterfly down the lane, and +a dozen times when his cap was just upon +it, it sailed away sideways without the least +effort and escaped him.</p> + +<p>Then, suddenly, the lane took a familiar +turning; the ditch stopped abruptly; the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> +hedge on his right fell away altogether; the +butterfly danced out of sight into a field, +and Jimbo found himself face to face with +the one thing in the whole world that could, +at that time, fill him with abject terror—the +Empty House.</p> + +<p>He came to a full stop in the middle of the +road and stared up at the windows. He +realised for the first time that he was alone, +and that it was possible for brilliant sunshine, +even on a cloudless day, to become somehow +lustreless and dull. The walls showed a deep +red in the sunset light. The house was still +as the grave. His feet were rooted to the +ground, and it seemed as if he could not move +a single muscle; and as he stood there, the +blood ebbing quickly from his heart, the words +of the governess a few days before rushed +back into his mind, and turned his fear into +a dreadful, all-possessing horror. In another +minute the battered door would slowly open +and the horrible Inmate come out to seize +him. Already there was a sound of something +moving within, and as he gazed, fascinated +with terror, a shuddering movement ran over +the ivy leaves hanging down from the roof. +Then they parted in the middle, and something—he +could not in his agony see what<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>—flew +out with a whirring sound into his face, +and then vanished over his shoulder towards +the fields.</p> + +<p>Jimbo did not pause a single second to find +out what it was, or to reflect that any ordinary +thrush would have made just the same sound. +The shock it gave to his heart immediately +loosened the muscles of his little legs, and he +ran for his very life. But before he actually +began to run he gave one piercing scream for +help, and the person he screamed to was the +very person who was unwittingly the cause of +his distress. It was as though he knew +instinctively that the person who had created +for him the terror of the Empty House, with +its horrible Inmate, was also the person who +could properly banish it, and undo the mischief +before it was too late. He shrieked for +help to the governess, Miss Ethel Lake.</p> + +<p>Of course, there was no answer but the +noise of the air whistling in his ears as his +feet flew over the road in a cloud of dust; +there was no friendly butcher's cart, no baker's +boy, or farmer with his dog and gun; the +road was deserted. There was not even the +beetle or the caterpillar; he was beyond +reach of help.</p> + +<p>Jimbo ran for his life, but unfortunately he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> +ran in the wrong direction. Instead of going +the way he had come, where the Lodge gates +were ready to receive him not a quarter of a +mile away, he fled in the opposite direction.</p> + +<p>It so happened that the lane flanked the +field where the cows lived; but cows were +nothing compared to a Creature from the +Empty House, and even bulls seemed friendly. +The boy was over the five-barred gate in a +twinkling and half-way across the field before +he heard a heavy, thunderous sound behind +him. Either the Thing had followed him into +the field, or it was the bull. As he raced, he +managed to throw a glance over his shoulder +and saw a huge, dark mass bearing down upon +him at terrific speed. It must be the bull, he +reflected—the bull grown to the size of an elephant. +And it appeared to him to have two +immense black wings that flapped at its sides +and helped it forward, making a whirring +noise like the arms of a great windmill.</p> + +<p>This sight added to his speed, but he could +not last very much longer. Already his body +ached all over, and the frantic effort to get +breath nearly choked him.</p> + +<p>There, before him, not so very far away +now, was the swinging gate. If only he +could get there in time to scramble over into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> +the garden, he would be safe. It seemed +almost impossible, and behind him, meanwhile, +the sound of the following creature came +closer and closer; the ground seemed to +tremble; he could almost feel the breath on +his neck.</p> + +<p>The swinging gate was only twenty yards +off; now ten; now only five. Now he had +reached it—at last. He stretched out his +hands to seize the top bar, and in another +moment he would have been safe in the garden +and within easy reach of the house. But, +before he actually touched the iron rail, a +sharp, stinging pain shot across his back;—he +drew one final breath as he felt himself being +lifted, lifted up into the air. The horns had +caught him just behind the shoulders!</p> + +<p>There seemed to be no pain after the first +shock. He rose high into the air, while the +bushes and spiked railing he knew so well +sank out of sight beneath him, dwindling +curiously in size. At first he thought his head +must bump against the sky, but suddenly he +stopped rising, and the green earth rushed up +as if it would strike him in the face. This +meant he was sinking again. The gate and +railing flew by underneath him, and the next +second he fell with a crash upon the soft grass<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> +of the lawn—upon the other side. He had +been tossed over the gate into the garden, and +the bull could no longer reach him.</p> + +<p>Before he became wholly unconscious, a composite +picture, vivid in its detail, engraved +itself deeply, with exceeding swiftness, line by +line, upon the waxen tablets of his mind. In +this picture the thrush that had flown out of +the ivy, the Empty House itself, and its +horrible, pursuing Inmate were all somehow +curiously mingled together with the black +wings of the bull, and with his own sensation +of rushing—flying headlong—through space, +as he rose and fell in a curve from the +creature's horns.</p> + +<p>And behind it he was conscious that the +real author of it all was somewhere in the +shadowy background, looking on as though +to watch the result of her unfortunate mistake. +Miss Lake, surely, was not very far away. +He associated her with the horror of the +Empty House as inevitably as taste and smell +join together in the memory of a certain food; +and the very last thought in his mind, as he +sank away into the blackness of unconsciousness, +was a sort of bitter surprise that the +governess had not turned up to save him +before it was actually too late.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span></p><p>Moreover, a certain sense of disappointment +mingled with the terror of the shock; for he +was dimly aware that Miss Lake had not +acted as worthily as she might have done, +and had not played the game as well as might +have been expected of her. And, somehow, +it didn't all seem quite fair.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER IV<br /> +<span class="chapsub">ON THE EDGE OF UNCONSCIOUSNESS</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">Jimbo</span> had fallen on his head. Inside that +head lay the mass of highly sensitive matter +called the brain, on which were recorded, of +course, the impressions of everything that had +yet come to him in life. A severe shock, such +as he had just sustained, was bound to throw +these impressions into confusion and disorder, +jumbling them up into new and strange combinations, +obliterating some, and exaggerating +others. Jimbo himself was helpless in the +matter; he could exercise no control over +their antics until the doctors had once again +reduced them to order; he would have to +wander, lost and lonely, through the comparative +chaos of disproportioned visions, +generally known as the region of delirium, until +the doctor, assisted by mother nature, restored +him once more to normal consciousness.</p> + +<p>For a time everything was a blank, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> +presently he stirred uneasily in the grass, and +the pictures graven on the tablets of his mind +began to come back to him line by line.</p> + +<p>Yet, with certain changes: the bull, for +instance, had so far vanished into the background +of his thoughts that it had practically +disappeared altogether, and he recalled nothing +of it but the wings—the huge, flapping wings. +Of the creature to whom the wings belonged +he had no recollection beyond that it was very +large, and that it was chasing him from the +Empty House. The pain in his shoulders had +also gone; but what remained with undiminished +vividness were the sensations of +flight without escape, the breathless race up +into the sky, and the swift, tumbling drop +again through the air on to the lawn.</p> + +<p>This impression of rushing through space—short +though the actual distance had been—was +the dominating memory. All else was +apparently oblivion. He forgot where he +came from, and he forgot what he had been +doing. The events leading up to the catastrophe, +indeed everything connected with his +existence previously as "Master James," had +entirely vanished; and the slate of memory +had been wiped so clean that he had forgotten +even his own name!</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p><p>Jimbo was lying, so to speak, on the edge +of unconsciousness, and for a time it seemed +uncertain whether he would cross the line into +the region of delirium and dreams, or fall back +again into his natural world. Terror, assisted +by the horns of the black bull, had tossed him +into the borderland.</p> + +<p>His last scream, however, had reached the +ears of the ubiquitous gardener, and help was +near at hand. He heard voices that seemed +to come from beyond the stars, and was aware +that shadowy forms were standing over him +and talking in whispers. But it was all very +unreal; one minute the voices sounded up +in the sky, and the next in his very ears, +while the figures moved about, sometimes +bending over him, sometimes retreating and +melting away like shadows on a shifting +screen.</p> + +<p>Suddenly a blaze of light flashed upon him, +and his eyes flew open; he tumbled back for +a moment into his normal world. He wasn't +on the grass at all, but was lying upon his own +bed in the night nursery. His mother was +bending over him with a very white face, and +a tall man dressed in black stood beside her, +holding some kind of shining instrument in +his fingers. A little behind them he saw<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> +Nixie, shading a lamp with her hand. Then +the white face came close over the pillow, and +a voice full of tenderness whispered, +"My darling boy, don't you know me? +It's mother! No one will hurt you. Speak +to me, if you can, dear."</p> + +<p>She stretched out her hands, and Jimbo +knew her and made an effort to answer. But +it seemed to him as if his whole body had +suddenly become a solid mass of iron, and he +could control no part of it; his lips and his +hands both refused to move. Before he could +make a sign that he had understood and was +trying to reply, a fierce flame rushed between +them and blinded him, his eyes closed, and +he dropped back again into utter darkness. +The walls flew asunder and the ceiling melted +into air, while the bed sank away beneath him, +down, down, down into an abyss of shadows. +The lamp in Nixie's hands dwindled into a +star, and his mother's anxious face became a +tiny patch of white in the distance, blurred +out of all semblance of a human countenance. +For a time the man in black seemed to hover +over the bed as it sank, as though he were +trying to follow it down; but it, too, presently +joined the general enveloping blackness +and lost its outline. The pain had blotted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> +out everything, and the return to consciousness +had been only momentary.</p> + +<p>Not all the doctors in the world could have +made things otherwise. Jimbo was off on his +travels at last—travels in which the chief +incidents were directly traceable to the causes +and details of his accident: the terror of the +Empty House, the pursuit of its Inmate, the +pain of the bull's horns, and, above all, the +flight through the air.</p> + +<p>For everything in his subsequent adventures +found its inspiration in the events described, +and a singular parallel ran ever between the +Jimbo upon the bed in the night-nursery and +the other emancipated Jimbo wandering in +the regions of unconsciousness and delirium.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER V<br /> +<span class="chapsub">INTO THE EMPTY HOUSE</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> darkness lasted a long time without a +break, and when it lifted all recollection of +the bedroom scene had vanished.</p> + +<p>Jimbo found himself back again on the grass. +The swinging gate was just in front of him, +but he did not recognise it; no suggestion of +"Express Trains" came back to him as his +eyes rested without remembrance upon the +bars where he had so often swung, in defiance +of orders, with his brothers and sisters. +Recollection of his home, family, and previous +life he had absolutely none; or at least, it +was buried so deeply in his inner consciousness +that it amounted to the same thing, and he +looked out upon the garden, the gate, and the +field beyond as upon an entirely new piece of +the world.</p> + +<p>The stars, he saw, were nearly all gone, and +a very faint light was beginning to spread<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> +from the woods beyond the field. The eastern +horizon was slowly brightening, and soon the +night would be gone. Jimbo was glad of +this. He began to be conscious of little thrills +of expectation, for with the light surely help +would also come. The light always brought +relief, and he already felt that strange excitement +that comes with the first signs of dawn. +In the distance cocks were crowing, horses +began to stamp in the barns not far away, and +a hundred little stirrings of life ran over +the surface of the earth as the light crept +slowly up the sky and dropped down again +upon the world with its message of coming +day.</p> + +<p>Of course, help would come by the time the +sun was really up, and it was partly this +certainty, and partly because he was a little +too dazed to realise the seriousness of the +situation, that prevented his giving way to +a fit of fear and weeping. Yet a feeling of +vague terror lay only a little way below the +surface, and when, a few moments later, he +saw that he was no longer alone, and that +an odd-looking figure was creeping towards +him from the shrubberies, he sprang to his +feet, prepared to run unless it at once showed +the most friendly intentions.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span></p><p>This figure seemed to have come from nowhere. +Apparently it had risen out of the +earth. It was too large to have been concealed +by the low shrubberies; yet he had +not been aware of its approach, and it had +appeared without making any noise. Probably +it was friendly, he felt, in spite of its +curious shape and the stealthy way it had +come. At least, he hoped so; and if he +could only have told whether it was a man or +an animal he would easily have made up his +mind. But the uncertain light, and the way +it crouched half-hidden behind the bushes, +prevented this. So he stood, poised ready +to run, and yet waiting, hoping, indeed +expecting every minute a sign of friendliness +and help.</p> + +<p>In this way the two faced each other +silently for some time, until the feeling of +terror gradually stole deeper into the boy's +heart and began to rob him of full power over +his muscles. He wondered if he would be +able to run when the time came, and whether +he could run fast enough. This was how it +first showed itself, this suggestion of insidious +fear. Would he be able to keep up the start +he had? Would it chase him? Would it +run like a man or like an animal, on four legs<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> +or on two? He wished he could see more +clearly what it was. He still stood his ground +pluckily, facing it and waiting, but the fear, +once admitted to his mind, was gaining +strength, and he began to feel cold and shivery. +Then suddenly the tension came to an end. +In two strides the figure came up close to his +side, and the same second Jimbo was lifted off +his feet and borne swiftly away across the field.</p> + +<p>He felt quite unable to offer the least +resistance, and at the same time he felt a sense +of relief that something had happened at last. +He was still not sure that the figure was +unkind; only its shape filled him with a +feeling that was certainly the beginning of real +horror. It was the shape of a man, he thought, +but of a very large and ill-constructed man; +for it certainly had moved on two legs and +had caught him up in a pair of tremendously +strong arms. But there was something else +it had besides arms, for a kind of soft cloak +hung all round it and wrapped the boy from +head to foot, preventing him seeing his captor +properly, and at the same time filling his body +with a kind of warm drowsiness that mitigated +his active fear and made him rather like the +sensation of being carried along so easily and +so fast.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span></p><p>But was he being carried? The pace they +were going was amazing, and he moved as +easily as a sailing boat, and with the same +swinging motion. Could it be some animal +like a horse after all? Jimbo tried to see +more, but found it impossible to free himself +from the folds of the enveloping substance, +and meanwhile they were swinging forward at +what seemed a tremendous pace over fields +and ditches, through hedges, and down long +lanes.</p> + +<p>The odours of earth, and dew-drenched +grass, and opening flowers came to him. He +heard the birds singing, and felt the cool +morning air sting his cheeks as they raced +along. There was no jolting or jarring, and +the figure seemed to cover the ground as lightly +as though it hardly touched the earth. It +was certainly not a dream, he was sure of that; +but the longer they went on the drowsier he +became, and the less he wondered whether +the figure was going to help him or to do +something dreadful to him. He was now +thoroughly afraid, and yet, strange contradiction, +he didn't care a bit. Let the figure +do what it liked; it was only a sort of nightmare +person after all, and might vanish as +suddenly as it had arrived.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p><p>For a long time they raced forward at this +great speed, and then with a bump and a +crash they stopped suddenly short, and Jimbo +felt himself let down upon the solid earth. +He tried to free himself at once from the +folds of the clinging substance that enveloped +him, but, before he could do so and see what +his captor was really like, he heard a door +slam and felt himself pushed along what +seemed to be the hallways of a house. His +eyes were clear now and he could see, but the +darkness had come down again so thickly +that all he could discover was that the figure +was urging him along the floor of a large +empty hall, and that they were in a dark and +empty building.</p> + +<p>Jimbo tried hard to see his captor, but the +figure, dim enough in the uncertain light, +always managed to hide its face and keep +itself bunched up in such a way that he could +never see more than a great, dark mass of a +body, from which long legs and arms shot out +like telescopes, draped in a sort of clinging +cloak. Now that the rapid motion through +the air had ceased, the boy's drowsiness passed +a little, and he began to shiver with fear and +to feel that the tears could not be kept back +much longer.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p><p>Probably in another minute he would have +started to run for his life, when a new sound +caught his ears and made him listen intently, +while a feeling of wonder and delight caught +his heart, and made him momentarily forget +the figure pushing him forward from behind.</p> + +<p>Was it the wind he heard? Or was it the +voices of children all singing together very +low? It was a gentle, sighing sound that +rose and fell with mournful modulations and +seemed to come from the very centre of the +building; it held, too, a strange, far-away +murmur, like the surge of a faint breeze moving +in the tree-tops. It might be the wind +playing round the walls of the building, or it +might be children singing in hushed voices. +One minute he thought it was outside the +house, and the next he was certain it came +from somewhere in the upper part of the +building. He glanced up, and fancied for one +moment that he saw in the darkness a crowd +of little faces peering down at him over the +banisters, and that as they disappeared he +heard the sound of many little feet moving, +and then a door hurriedly closing. But a +push from the figure behind that nearly sent +him sprawling at the foot of the stairs, prevented +his hearing very clearly, and the light<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> +was far too dim to let him feel sure of what +he had seen.</p> + +<p>They passed quickly along deserted corridors +and through winding passages. No one +seemed about. The interior of the house was +chilly, and the keen air nipped. After going +up several flights of stairs they stopped at last +in front of a door, and before Jimbo had a +moment to turn and dash downstairs again +past the figure, as he had meant to do, he was +pushed violently forward into a room.</p> + +<p>The door slammed after him, and he heard +the heavy tread of the figure as it went down +the staircase again into the bottom of the +house. Then he saw that the room was full +of light and of small moving beings.</p> + +<p>Curiosity and astonishment now for a +moment took the place of fear, and Jimbo, +with a thumping heart and clenched fists, +stood and stared at the scene before him. He +stiffened his little legs and leaned against the +wall for support, but he felt full of fight in +case anything happened, and with wide-open +eyes he tried to take in the whole scene at +once and be ready for whatever might come.</p> + +<p>But there seemed no immediate cause for +alarm, and when he realised that the beings +in the room were apparently children, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> +only children, his rather mixed sensations of +astonishment and fear gave place to an emotion +of overpowering shyness. He became exceedingly +embarrassed, for he was surrounded by +children of all ages and sizes, staring at him +just as hard as he was staring at them.</p> + +<p>The children, he began to take in, were all +dressed in black; they looked frightened and +unhappy; their bodies were thin and their +faces very white. There was something else +about them he could not quite name, but it +inspired him with the same sense of horror +that he had felt in the arms of the Figure who +had trapped him. For he now realised +definitely that he had been trapped; and he +also began to realise for the first time that, +though he still had the body of a little boy, +his way of thinking and judging was sometimes +more like that of a grown-up person. +The two alternated, and the result was an odd +confusion; for sometimes he felt like a child +and thought like a man, while at others he +felt like a man and thought like a child. +Something had gone wrong, very much +wrong; and, as he watched this group of +silent children facing him, he knew suddenly +that what was just beginning to happen to +him <em>had happened to them long, long ago</em>.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span></p><p>For they looked as if they had been a long, +long time in the world, yet their bodies had +not kept pace with their minds. Something +had happened to stop the growth of the body, +while allowing the mind to go on developing. +The bodies were not stunted or deformed; +they were well-formed, nice little children's +bodies, but the minds within them were +grown-up, and the incongruity was distressing. +All this he suddenly realised in a flash, intuitively, +just as though it had been most +elaborately explained to him; yet he could +not have put the least part of it into words +or have explained what he saw and felt to +another.</p> + +<p>He saw that they had the hands and figures +of children, the heads of children, the unlined +faces and smooth foreheads of children, but +their gestures, and something in their movements, +belonged to grown-up people, and the +expression of their eyes in meaning and +intelligence was the expression of old people +and not of children. And the expression in +the eyes of every one of them he saw was the +expression of terror and of pain. The effect +was so singular that he seemed face to face +with an entirely new order of creatures: a +child's features with a man's eyes; a child's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> +figure with a woman's movements; full-grown +souls cramped and cribbed in absurdly +inadequate bodies and little, puny frames; +the old trying uncouthly to express itself in +the young.</p> + +<p>The grown-up, old portion of him had been +uppermost as he stared and received these +impressions, but now suddenly it passed away, +and he felt as a little boy again. He glanced +quickly down at his own little body in the +alpaca knickerbockers and sailor blouse, and +then, with a sigh of relief, looked up again at +the strange group facing him. So far, at any +rate, he had not changed, and there was +nothing yet to suggest that he was becoming +like them in appearance at least.</p> + +<p>With his back against the door he faced the +roomful of children who stood there motionless +and staring; and as he looked, wild feelings +rushed over him and made him tremble. Who +was he? Where had he come from? Where +in the world had he spent the other years of +his life, the forgotten years? There seemed +to be no one to whom he could go for comfort, +no one to answer questions; and there was +such a lot he wanted to ask. He seemed to +be so much older, and to know so much more +than he ought to have known, and yet to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> +have forgotten so much that he ought not to +have forgotten.</p> + +<p>His loss of memory, however, was of course +only partial. He had forgotten his own +identity, and all the people with whom he +had so far in life had to do; yet at the same +time he was dimly conscious that he had just +left all these people, and that some day he +would find them again. It was only the +surface-layers of memory that had vanished, +and these had not vanished for ever, but only +sunk down a little below the horizon.</p> + +<p>Then, presently, the children began to range +themselves in rows between him and the +opposite wall, without once taking their +horrible, intelligent eyes off him as they moved. +He watched them with growing dread, but at +last his curiosity became so strong that it +overcame everything else, and in a voice that +he meant to be very brave, but that sounded +hardly above a whisper, he said:</p> + +<p>"Who are you? And what's been done to +you?"</p> + +<p>The answer came at once in a whisper as +low as his own, though he could not distinguish +who spoke:</p> + +<p>"Listen and you shall know. You, too, +are now one of us."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p><p>Immediately the children began a slow, +impish sort of dance before him, moving almost +with silent feet over the boards, yet with a +sedateness and formality that had none of the +unconscious grace of children. And, as they +danced, they sang, but in voices so low, that +it was more like the mournful sighing of wind +among branches than human voices. It was the +sound he had already heard outside the building.</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"We are the children of the whispering night,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who live eternally in dreadful fright<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of stories told us in the grey twilight<br /></span> +<span class="i14"> By—<em>nurserymaids</em>!</span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">We are the children of a winter's day;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Under our breath we chant this mournful lay;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">We dance with phantoms and with shadows play,<br /></span> +<span class="i14"> And have no rest.</span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">We have no joy in any children's game,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For happiness to us is but a name,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Since Terror kissed us with his lips of flame<br /></span> +<span class="i14"> In wicked jest.</span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">We hear the little voices in the wind<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Singing of freedom we may never find,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Victims of fate so cruelly unkind,<br /></span> +<span class="i14"> We are unblest.</span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">We hear the little footsteps in the rain<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Running to help us, though they run in vain,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Tapping in hundreds on the window-pane<br /></span> +<span class="i14"> In vain behest.</span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> +<span class="i0">We are the children of the whispering night,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who dwell unrescued in eternal fright<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of stories told us in the dim twilight<br /></span> +<span class="i14"> By—<em>nurserymaids</em>!"</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>The plaintive song and the dance ceased +together, and before Jimbo could find any +words to clothe even one of the thoughts that +crowded through his mind, he saw them +moving towards a door he had not hitherto +noticed on the other side of the room. A +moment later they had opened it and passed +out, sedate, mournful, unhurried; and the +boy found that in some way he could not +understand the light had gone with them, +and he was standing with his back against +the wall in almost total darkness.</p> + +<p>Once out of the room, no sound followed +them, and he crossed over and tried the handle +of the door. It was locked. Then he went +back and tried the other door; that, too, +was locked. He was shut in. There was no +longer any doubt as to the Figure's intentions; +he was a prisoner, trapped like an animal in +a cage.</p> + +<p>The only thought in his mind just then +was an intense desire for freedom. Whatever +happened he must escape. He crossed the +floor to the only window in the room; it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> +without blinds, and he looked out. But +instantly he recoiled with a fresh and overpowering +sense of helplessness, for it was three +storeys from the ground, and down below in +the shadows he saw a paved courtyard that +rendered jumping utterly out of the question.</p> + +<p>He stood for a long time, fighting down the +tears, and staring as if his heart would break +at the field and trees beyond. A high wall +enclosed the yard, but beyond that was +freedom and open space. Feelings of loneliness +and helplessness, terror and dismay +overwhelmed him. His eyes burned and +smarted, yet, strange to say, the tears now +refused to come and bring him relief. He +could only stand there with his elbows on the +window-sill, and watch the outline of the trees +and hedges grow clearer and clearer as the +light drew across the sky, and the moment of +sunrise came close.</p> + +<p>But when at last he turned back into the +room, he saw that he was no longer alone. +Crouching against the opposite wall there was +a hooded figure steadily watching him.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER VI<br /> +<span class="chapsub">HIS COMPANION IN PRISON</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">Shocks</span> of terror, as they increase in number, +apparently lessen in effect; the repeated calls +made upon Jimbo's soul by the emotions of +fear and astonishment had numbed it; otherwise +the knowledge that he was locked in the +room with this mysterious creature beyond +all possibility of escape must have frightened +him, as the saying is, out of his skin.</p> + +<p>As it was, however, he kept his head in a +wonderful manner, and simply stared at the +silent intruder as hard as ever he could stare. +How in the world it got in was the principal +thought in his mind, and after that: what in +the world was it?</p> + +<p>The dawn must have come very swiftly, or +else he had been staring longer than he knew, +for just then the sun topped the edge of the +world and the window-sill simultaneously, and +sent a welcome ray of sunshine into the dingy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> +room. It turned the grey light to silver, and +fell full upon the huddled figure crouching +against the opposite wall. Jimbo caught his +breath, and stared harder than ever.</p> + +<p>It was a human figure, the figure, apparently, +of a man, sitting crumpled up in a very uncomfortable +sort of position on his haunches. +It sat perfectly still. A black cloak, with loose +sleeves, and a cowl or hood that completely +concealed the face, covered it from head to +foot. The material of the cloak could not +have been very thick, for inside the hood he +caught the gleam of eyes as they roamed +about the room and followed his movements. +But for this glitter of the moving eyes it might +have been a figure carved in wood. Was it +going to sit there for ever watching him? +At first he was afraid it was going to speak; +then he was afraid it wasn't. It might rise +suddenly and come towards him; yet the +thought that it would not move at all was +worse still.</p> + +<p>In this way the two faced each other for +several minutes until, just as the position was +becoming simply unbearable, a low whisper +ran round the room: "At last! Oh! I've +found him at last!" Jimbo was not quite +sure of the words, though it was certainly a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> +human voice that had spoken; but, the +suspense once broken, the boy could not stand +it any longer, and with a rush of desperate +courage he found his voice—a very husky +one—and moved a step forward.</p> + +<p>"Who are you, please, and how <em>did</em> you +get in?" he ventured with a great effort.</p> + +<p>Then he fell back against the wall, amazed +at his own daring, and waited with tightly-clenched +fists for an answer. But he had not +to wait very long, for almost immediately the +figure rose awkwardly to its feet, and came +over to where he stood. Its manner of +moving may best be described as shuffling; +and it stretched in front of it a long cloaked +arm, on which the sleeve hung, he thought, +like clothes on a washing line.</p> + +<p>He breathed hard, and waited. Like many +other people with strong wills and sensitive +nerves, Jimbo was both brave and a coward: +he hoped nothing horrid was going to happen, +but he was quite ready if it should. Yet, +now that the actual moment had come, he +had no particular fear, and when he felt the +touch of the hand on his shoulder, the words +sprang naturally to his lips with a little +trembling laugh, more of wonder perhaps than +anything else.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p><p>"You do look a horrid ... <em>brute</em>," he was +going to say, but at the last moment he changed +it to "<em>thing</em>," for, with the true intuition of a +child, he recognised that the creature inside +the cloak was a kind creature and well disposed +towards him. "But how did you get +in?" he added, looking up bravely into the +black visage, "because the doors are both +locked on the outside, and I couldn't get out?"</p> + +<p>By way of reply the figure shuffled to one +side, and, taking the hand from his shoulder, +pointed silently to a trap-door in the floor +behind him. As he looked, he saw it was being +shut down stealthily by some one beneath.</p> + +<p>"Hush!" whispered the figure, almost +inaudibly. "He's watching!"</p> + +<p>"Who's watching?" he cried, curiosity +taking the place of every other emotion. +"I want to see." He ran forward to the spot +where the trap-door now lay flush with the +floor, but, before he had gone two steps, the +black arms shot out and caught him. He +turned, struggling, and in the scuffle that +followed the cloak shrouding the figure became +disarranged; the hood dropped from the face, +and he found himself looking straight into the +eyes, not of a man, but of a woman!</p> + +<p>"It's you!" he cried, "<em class="uc">YOU—!</em>"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p><p>A shock ran right through his body from his +head to his feet, like a current of electricity, +and he caught his breath as though he had +been struck. For one brief instant the sinister +face of some one who had terrified him in the +past came back vividly to his mind, and he +shrank away in terror. But it was only for +an instant, the twentieth part of an instant. +Immediately, before he could even remember +the name, recognition passed into darkness and +his memory shut down with a snap. He was +staring into the face of an utter stranger, +about whom he knew nothing and had no +feelings particularly one way or another.</p> + +<p>"I thought I knew you," he gasped, "but +I've forgotten you again—and I thought you +were going to be a man, too."</p> + +<p>"Jimbo!" cried the other, and in her voice +was such unmistakable tenderness and yearning +that the boy knew at once beyond doubt +that she was his friend, "Jimbo!"</p> + +<p>She knelt down on the floor beside him, so +that her face was on a level with his, and then +opened both her arms to him. But though +Jimbo was glad to have found a friend who +was going to help him, he felt no particular +desire to be embraced, and he stood obstinately +where he was with his back to the window.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span></p><p>The morning sunshine fell upon her features +and touched the thick coils of her hair with +glory. It was not, strictly speaking, a pretty +face, but the look of real human tenderness +there was very welcome and comforting, and +in the kind brown eyes there shone a strange +light that was not merely the reflection of the +sunlight. The boy felt his heart warm to +her as he looked, but her expression puzzled +him, and he would not accept the invitation +of her arms.</p> + +<p>"Won't you come to me?" she said, her +arms still outstretched.</p> + +<p>"I want to know who you are, and what +I'm doing here," he said. "I feel so funny—so +old and so young—and all mixed up. I +can't make out who I am a bit. What's that +funny name you call me?"</p> + +<p>"Jimbo is your name," she said softly.</p> + +<p>"Then what's <em>your</em> name?" he asked +quickly.</p> + +<p>"My name," she repeated slowly after a +pause, "is not—as nice as yours. Besides, +you need not know my name—you might +dislike it."</p> + +<p>"But I must have something to call you," +he persisted.</p> + +<p>"But if I told you, and you disliked the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> +name, you might dislike <em>me</em> too," she said, +still hesitating.</p> + +<p>Jimbo saw the expression of sadness in her +eyes, and it won his confidence though he +hardly knew why. He came up closer to her +and put his puzzled little face next to hers.</p> + +<p>"I like you very much already," he +whispered, "and if your name is a horrid one +I'll change it for you at once. Please tell me +what it is."</p> + +<p>She drew the boy to her and gave him a little +hug, and he did not resist. For a long time +she did not answer. He felt vaguely that +something of dreadful importance hung about +this revelation of her name. He repeated his +question, and at length she replied, speaking +in a very low voice, and with her eyes fixed +intently upon his face.</p> + +<p>"My name," she said, "is Ethel Lake."</p> + +<p>"Ethel Lake," he repeated after her. The +words sounded somehow familiar to him; +surely he had heard that name before. Were +not the words associated with something in +his past that had been unpleasant? A curious +sinking sensation came over him as he heard +them.</p> + +<p>His companion watched him intently while +he repeated the words over to himself several<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> +times, as if to make sure he had got them +right. There was a moment's hesitation as +he slowly went over them once again. Then +he turned to her, laughing.</p> + +<p>"I like your name, Ethel Lake," he said. +"It's a nice name—Miss—Miss——" Again +he hesitated, while a little warning tremor ran +through his mind, and he wondered for an +instant why he said "Miss." But it passed +as suddenly as it had come, and he finished +the sentence—"Miss Lake, I shall call you." +He stared into her eyes as he said it.</p> + +<p>"Then you don't remember me at all?" +she cried, with a sigh of intense relief. "You've +quite forgotten?"</p> + +<p>"I never saw you before, did I? How +can I remember you? I don't remember any +of the things I've forgotten. Are you one of +them?"</p> + +<p>For reply she caught him to her breast and +kissed him. "You precious little boy!" she +said. "I'm so glad, oh, so glad!"</p> + +<p>"But do you remember <em>me</em>?" he asked, +sorely puzzled. "Who am I? Haven't I +been born yet, or something funny like that?"</p> + +<p>"If you don't remember <em>me</em>," said the other, +her face happy with smiles that had evidently +come only just in time to prevent tears,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> +"there's not much good telling you who <em>you</em> +are. But your name, if you really want to +know, is——" She hesitated a moment.</p> + +<p>"Be quick, Eth—Miss Lake, or you'll forget +it again."</p> + +<p>She laughed rather bitterly. "Oh, I never +forget. I can't!" she said. "I wish I could. +Your name is James Stone, and Jimbo is +'short' for James. Now you know."</p> + +<p>She might just as well have said Bill Sykes +for all the boy knew or remembered.</p> + +<p>"What a silly name!" he laughed. "But +it can't be my real name, or I should know it. +I never heard it before." After a moment he +added, "Am I an old man? I feel just like +one. I suppose I'm grown up—grown up so +fast that I've forgotten what came before——"</p> + +<p>"You're not grown up, dear, at least, not +exactly——" She glanced down at his alpaca +knickerbockers and brown stockings; and as +he followed her eyes and saw the dirty buttoned-boots +there came into his mind some dim +memory of where he had last put them on, +and of some one who had helped him. But +it all passed like a swift meteor across the dark +night of his forgetfulness and was lost in mist.</p> + +<p>"You mustn't judge by these silly clothes," +he laughed. "I shall change them as soon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> +as I get—as soon as I can find——" He +stopped short. No words came. A feeling of +utter loneliness and despair swept suddenly +over him, drenching him from head to foot. +He felt lost and friendless, naked, homeless, +cold. He was ever on the brink of regaining +a whole lot of knowledge and experience that +he had known once long ago, ever so long ago, +but it always kept just out of his reach. He +glanced at Miss Lake, feeling that she was his +only possible comfort in a terrible situation. +She met his look and drew him tenderly towards +her.</p> + +<p>"Now, listen to me," she said gently, "I've +something to tell you—about myself."</p> + +<p>He was all attention in a minute.</p> + +<p>"I am a discharged governess," she began, +holding her breath when once the words were +out.</p> + +<p>"Discharged!" he repeated vaguely. +"What's that? What for?"</p> + +<p>"For frightening a child. I told a little +boy awful stories that weren't true. They +terrified him so much that I was sent away. +That's why I'm here now. It's my punishment. +I am a prisoner here until I can find +him—and help him to escape——"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I say!" he exclaimed quickly, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> +though remembering something. But it +passed, and he looked up at her half-bored, +half-politely. "Escape from what?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"From here. This is the Empty House I +told the stories about; <em>and you are the little +boy I frightened</em>. Now, at last, I've found you, +and am going to save you." She paused, +watching him with eyes that never left his +face for an instant.</p> + +<p>Jimbo was delighted to hear he was going +to be rescued, but he felt no interest at all in +her story of having frightened a little boy, who +was himself. He thought it was very nice of +her to take so much trouble, and he told her +so, and when he went up and kissed her and +thanked her, he saw to his surprise that she +was crying. For the life of him he could not +understand why a discharged governess whom +he met, apparently, for the first time in the +Empty House, should weep over him and +show him so much affection. But he could +think of nothing to say, so he just waited till +she had finished.</p> + +<p>"You see, if I can save you," she said +between her sobs, "it will be all right again, +and I shall be forgiven, and shall be able to +escape with you. I want you to escape, so +that you can get back to life again."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p><p>"Oh, then I'm dead, am I?"</p> + +<p>"Not exactly dead," she said, drying her +eyes with the corner of her black hood. +"You've had a funny accident, you know. +If your body gets all right, so that you can go +back and live in it again, then you're not dead. +But if it's so badly injured that you can't +work in it any more, then you are dead, and +will have to stay dead. You're still joined +to the body in a fashion, you see."</p> + +<p>He stared and listened, not understanding +much. It all bored him. She talked without +explaining, he thought. An immense sponge +had passed over the slate of the past and +wiped it clean beyond recall. He was utterly +perplexed.</p> + +<p>"How funny you are!" he said vaguely, +thinking more of her tears than her explanations.</p> + +<p>"Water won't stay in a cracked bottle," +she went on, "and you can't stay in a broken +body. But they're trying to mend it now, +and if we can escape in time you can be an +ordinary, happy little boy in the world again."</p> + +<p>"Then are you dead, too?" he asked, "or +nearly dead?"</p> + +<p>"I am out of my body, like you," she +answered evasively, after a moment's pause.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p><p>He was still looking at her in a dazed sort +of way, when she suddenly sprang to her feet +and let the hood drop back over her face.</p> + +<p>"Hush!" she whispered, "he's listening +again."</p> + +<p>At the same moment a sound came from +beneath the floor on the other side of the +room, and Jimbo saw the trap-door being +slowly raised above the level of the floor.</p> + +<p>"Your number is 102," said a voice that +sounded like the rushing of a river.</p> + +<p>Instantly the trap-door dropped again, and +he heard heavy steps rumbling away into the +interior of the house. He looked at his companion +and saw her terrified face as she lifted +her hood.</p> + +<p>"He always blunders along like that," she +whispered, bending her head on one side to +listen. "He can't see properly in the daylight. +He hates sunshine, and usually only goes +out after dark." She was white and trembling.</p> + +<p>"Is that the person who brought me in here +this morning at such a frightful pace?" he +asked, bewildered.</p> + +<p>She nodded. "He wanted to get in before +it was light, so that you couldn't see his face."</p> + +<p>"Is he such a fright?" asked the boy, beginning +to share her evident feeling of horror.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p> +<p>"He <em>is</em> Fright!" she said in an awed +whisper. "But never talk about him again +unless you can't help it; he always knows +when he's being talked about, and he likes it, +because it gives him more power."</p> + +<p>Jimbo only stared at her without comprehending. +Then his mind jumped to something +else he wanted badly to have explained, +and he asked her about his number, and why +he was called No. 102.</p> + +<p>"Oh, that's easier," she said, "102 is your +number among the Frightened Children; +there are 101 of them, and you are the last +arrival. Haven't you seen them yet? It is +also the temperature of your broken little +body lying on the bed in the night nursery at +home," she added, though he hardly caught +her words, so low were they spoken.</p> + +<p>Jimbo then described how the children had +sung and danced to him, and went on to ask +a hundred questions about them. But Miss +Lake would give him very little information, +and said he would not have very much to do +with them. Most of them had been in the +House for years and years—so long that they +could probably never escape at all.</p> + +<p>"They are all frightened children," she +said. "Little ones scared out of their wits<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> +by silly people who meant to amuse them +with stories, or to frighten them into being +well behaved—nursery-maids, elder sisters, +and even governesses!"</p> + +<p>"And they can never escape?"</p> + +<p>"Not unless the people who frightened them +come to their rescue and <em>run the risk of being +caught themselves</em>."</p> + +<p>As she spoke there rose from the depths of +the house the sound of muffled voices, children's +voices singing faintly together; it rose and +fell exactly like the wind, and with as little +tune; it was weird and magical, but so +utterly mournful that the boy felt the tears +start to his eyes. It drifted away, too, just as +the wind does over the tops of the trees, dying +into the distance; and all became still again.</p> + +<p>"It's just like the wind," he said, "and I +do love the wind. It makes me feel so sad +and so happy. Why is it?"</p> + +<p>The governess did not answer.</p> + +<p>"How old am I <em>really</em>?" he went on. +"How can I be so old and so ignorant? I've +forgotten such an awful lot of knowledge."</p> + +<p>"The fact is—well, perhaps, you won't +quite understand—but you're really two ages +at once. Sometimes you feel as old as your +body, and sometimes as old as your soul.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span> +You're still connected with your body; so +you get the sensations of both mixed up."</p> + +<p>"Then is the body younger than the soul?"</p> + +<p>"The soul—that is yourself," she answered, +"is, oh, so old, awfully old, as old as the +stars, and older. But the body is no older +than itself—of course, how could it be?"</p> + +<p>"Of course," repeated the boy, who was +not listening to a word she said. "How +could it be?"</p> + +<p>"But it doesn't matter how old you are +or how young you feel, as long as you don't +hate me for having frightened you," she said +after a pause. "That's the chief thing."</p> + +<p>He was very, very puzzled. He could not +help feeling it had been rather unkind of her +to frighten him so badly that he had literally +been frightened out of his skin; but he couldn't +remember anything about it, and she was +taking so much trouble to save him now that he +quite forgave her. He nestled up against her, +and said of course he liked her, and she stroked +his curly head and mumbled a lot of things +to herself that he couldn't understand a bit.</p> + +<p>But in spite of his new-found friend the +feeling of over-mastering loneliness would +suddenly rush over him. She might be a +protector, but she was not a <em>real</em> companion;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> +and he knew that somewhere or other he had +left a lot of other <em>real</em> companions whom he +now missed dreadfully. He longed more than +he could say for freedom; he wanted to be +able to come and go as he pleased; to play +about in a garden somewhere as of old; to +wander over soft green lawns among laburnums +and sweet-smelling lilac trees, and to be up +to all his old tricks and mischief—though he +could not remember in detail what they were.</p> + +<p>In a word, he wanted to escape; his whole +being yearned to escape and be free again; +yet here he was a wretched prisoner in a room +like a prison-cell, with a sort of monster for +a keeper, and a troop of horrible frightened +children somewhere else in the house to keep +him company. And outside there was only +a hard, narrow, paved courtyard with a high +wall round it. Oh, it was too terrible to think +of, and his heart sank down within him till +he felt as if he could do nothing else but cry.</p> + +<p>"I shall save you in time," whispered the +governess, as though she read his thoughts. +"You must be patient, and do what I tell +you, and I promise to get you out. Only be +brave, and don't ask too many questions. We +shall win in the end and escape."</p> + +<p>Suddenly he looked up, with quite a new<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> +expression in his face. "But I say, Miss +Cake, I'm frightfully hungry. I've had +nothing to eat since—I can't remember when, +but ever so long ago."</p> + +<p>"You needn't call me Miss Cake, though," +she laughed.</p> + +<p>"I suppose it's because I'm so hungry."</p> + +<p>"Then you'll call me Miss Lake when you're +thirsty, perhaps," she said. "But, anyhow, +I'll see what I can get you. Only, you must +eat as little as possible. I want you to get +very thin. What you feel is not really +hunger—it's only a memory of hunger, and +you'll soon get used to it."</p> + +<p>He stared at her with a very distressful +little face as she crossed the room making this +new announcement; and just as she disappeared +through the trap-door, only her head +being visible, she added with great emphasis, +"The thinner you get the better; because +the thinner you are the lighter you are, and +the lighter you are the easier it will be to +escape. Remember, the thinner the better—the +lighter the better—and don't ask a lot of +questions about it."</p> + +<p>With that the trap-door closed over her, +and Jimbo was left alone with her last strange +words ringing in his ears.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER VII<br /> +<span class="chapsub">THE SPELL OF THE EMPTY HOUSE</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was not long before Jimbo realised that +the House, and everything connected with it, +spelt for him one message, and one only—a +message of fear. From the first day of his +imprisonment the forces of his whole being +shaped themselves without further ado into +one intense, single, concentrated desire to +<em>escape</em>.</p> + +<p>Freedom, escape into the world beyond +that terrible high wall, was his only object, +and Miss Lake, the governess, as its symbol, +was his only hope. He asked a lot of questions +and listened to a lot of answers, but all he +really cared about was how he was going to +escape, and when. All her other explanations +were tedious, and he only half-listened to them. +His faith in her was absolute, his patience +unbounded; she had come to save him, and +he knew that before long she would accomplish<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span> +her end. He felt a blind and perfect confidence. +But, meanwhile, his fear of the +House, and his horror for the secret Being +who meant to keep him prisoner till at length +he became one of the troop of Frightened +Children, increased by leaps and bounds.</p> + +<p>Presently the trap-door creaked again, and +the governess reappeared; in her hand was a +small white jug and a soup plate.</p> + +<p>"Thin gruel and skim milk," she explained, +pouring out a substance like paste into the +soup plate, and handing him a big wooden +spoon.</p> + +<p>But Jimbo's hunger had somehow vanished.</p> + +<p>"It wasn't real hunger," she told him, +"but only a sort of memory of being hungry. +They're trying to feed your broken body now +in the night-nursery, and so you feel a sort +of ghostly hunger here even though you're +out of the body."</p> + +<p>"It's easily satisfied, at any rate," he said, +looking at the paste in the soup plate.</p> + +<p>"No one actually eats or drinks here——"</p> + +<p>"But I'm solid," he said, "am I not?"</p> + +<p>"People always think they're solid everywhere," +she laughed. "It's only a question +of degree; solidity <em>here</em> means a different +thing to solidity <em>there</em>."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p><p>"I can get thinner though, can't I?" he +asked, thinking of her remark about escape +being easier the lighter he grew.</p> + +<p>She assured him there would be no difficulty +about that, and after replying evasively to a +lot more questions, she gathered up the dishes +and once more disappeared through the trap-door.</p> + +<p>Jimbo watched her going down the ladder +into the black gulf below, and wondered +greatly where she went to and what she did +down there; but on these points the governess +had refused to satisfy his curiosity, and every +time she appeared or disappeared the atmosphere +of mystery came and went with her.</p> + +<p>As he stared, wondering, a sound suddenly +made itself heard behind him, and on turning +quickly round he saw to his great surprise +that the door into the passage was open. +This was more than he could resist, and in +another minute, with mingled feelings of +dread and delight, he was out in the passage.</p> + +<p>When he was first brought to the house, +two hours before, it had been too dark to see +properly, but now the sun was high in the +heavens, and the light still increasing. He +crept cautiously to the head of the stairs and +peered over into the well of the house. It<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> +was still too dark to make things out clearly; +but, as he looked, he thought something +moved among the shadows below, and for a +moment his heart stood still with fear. A +large grey face seemed to be staring up at +him out of the gloom. He clutched the +banisters and felt as if he hardly had strength +enough in his legs to get back to the room +he had just left; but almost immediately the +terror passed, for he saw that the face resolved +itself into the mingling of light and shadow, +and the features, after all, were of his own +creation. He went on slowly and stealthily +down the staircase.</p> + +<p>It was certainly an empty house. There +were no carpets; the passages were cold and +draughty; the paper curled from the damp +walls, leaving ugly discoloured patches about; +cobwebs hung in many places from the ceiling, +the windows were more or less broken, and all +were coated so thickly with dirt that the rain +had traced little furrows from top to bottom. +Shadows hung about everywhere, and Jimbo +thought every minute he saw moving figures; +but the figures always resolved themselves +into nothing when he looked closely.</p> + +<p>He began to wonder how far it was safe to +go, and why the governess had arranged for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> +the door to be opened—for he felt sure it was +she who had done this, and that it was all +right for him to come out. Fright, she had +said, was never about in the daylight. But, +at the same time, something warned him to +be ready at a moment's notice to turn and +dash up the stairs again to the room where +he was at least comparatively safe.</p> + +<p>So he moved along very quietly and very +cautiously. He passed many rooms with the +doors open—all empty and silent; some of +them had tables and chairs, but no sign of +occupation; the grates were black and empty, +the walls blank, the windows unshuttered. +Everywhere was only silence and shadows; +there was no sign of the frightened children, +or of where they lived; no trace of another +staircase leading to the region where the +governess went when she disappeared down +the ladder through the trap-door—only hushed, +listening, cold silence, and shadows that +seemed for ever shifting from place to place +as he moved past them. This illusion of +people peering at him from corners, and +behind doors just ajar, was very strong; yet +whenever he turned his head to face them, lo, +they were gone, and the shadows rushed in +to fill their places.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span></p><p>The spell of the Empty House was weaving +itself slowly and surely about his heart.</p> + +<p>Yet he went on pluckily, full of a dreadful +curiosity, continuing his search, and at length, +after passing through another gloomy passage, +he was in the act of crossing the threshold of +an open door leading out into the courtyard, +when he stopped short and clutched the door-posts +with both hands.</p> + +<p>Some one had laughed!</p> + +<p>He turned, trying to look in every direction +at once, but there was no sign of any living +being. Yet the sound was close beside him; +he could still hear it ringing in his ears—a +mocking sort of laugh, in a harsh, guttural +voice. The blood froze in his veins, and he +hardly knew which way to turn, when another +voice sounded, and his terror disappeared as +if by magic.</p> + +<p>It was Miss Lake's voice calling to him over +the banisters at the top of the house, and its +tone was so cheerful that all his courage came +back in a twinkling.</p> + +<p>"Go out into the yard," she called, "and +play in the sunshine. But don't stay too long."</p> + +<p>Jimbo answered "All right" in a rather +feeble little voice, and went on down the +passage and out into the yard.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p><p>The June sunshine lay hot and still over the +paved court, and he looked up into the blue +sky overhead. As he looked at the high wall +that closed it in on three sides, he realised +more than ever that he was caught in a +monstrous trap from which there could be no +ordinary means of escape. He could never +climb over such a wall even with a ladder. +He walked out a little way and noticed the +rank weeds growing in patches in the corners; +decay and neglect left everywhere their dismal +signs; the yard, in spite of the sunlight, +seemed as gloomy and cheerless as the house +itself.</p> + +<p>In one corner stood several little white +upright stones, each about three feet high; +there seemed to be some writing on them, +and he was in the act of going nearer to +inspect, when a window opened and he heard +some one calling to him in a loud, excited +whisper:</p> + +<p>"Hst! Come in, Jimbo, at once. Quick! +Run for your life!"</p> + +<p>He glanced up, quaking with fear, and saw +the governess leaning out of the open window. +At another window, a little beyond her, he +thought a number of white little faces pressed +against the glass, but he had no time to look<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> +more closely, for something in Miss Lake's +voice made him turn and run into the house +and up the stairs as though Fright himself +were close at his heels. He flew up the three +flights, and found the governess coming out +on the top landing to meet him. She caught +him in her arms and dashed back into the +room, as if there was not a moment to be +lost, slamming the door behind her.</p> + +<p>"How in the world did you get out?" +she gasped, breathless as himself almost, and +pale with alarm. "Another second and He'd +have had you——!"</p> + +<p>"I found the door open——"</p> + +<p>"He opened it on purpose," she whispered, +looking quickly round the room. "He meant +you to go out."</p> + +<p>"But you called to me to play in the yard," +he said. "I heard you. So of course I thought +it was safe."</p> + +<p>"No," she declared, "I never called to you. +That wasn't my voice. That was one of his +tricks. I only this minute found the door +open and you gone. Oh, Jimbo, that was a +narrow escape; you must never go out of +this room till—till I tell you. And never +believe any of these voices you hear—you'll +hear lots of them, saying all sorts of things<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>—but +unless you <em>see</em> me, don't believe it's my +voice."</p> + +<p>Jimbo promised. He was very frightened; +but she would not tell him any more, saying +it would only make it more difficult to escape +if he knew too much in advance. He told +her about the laugh, and the gravestones, and +the faces at the other window, but she would +not tell him what he wanted to know, and at +last he gave up asking. A very deep impression +had been made on his mind, however, +and he began to realise, more than he had +hitherto done, the horror of his prison and the +power of his dreadful keeper.</p> + +<p>But when he began to look about him +again, he noticed that there was a new thing +in the room. The governess had left him, +and was bending over it. She was doing +something very busily indeed. He asked her +what it was.</p> + +<p>"I'm making your bed," she said.</p> + +<p>It was, indeed, a bed, and he felt as he +looked at it that there was something very +familiar and friendly about the yellow framework +and the little brass knobs.</p> + +<p>"I brought it up just now," she explained. +"But it's not for sleeping in. It's only for you +to lie down on, and also partly to deceive Him."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span></p><p>"Why not for sleeping?"</p> + +<p>"There's no sleeping at all here," she went +on calmly.</p> + +<p>"Why not?"</p> + +<p>"You can't sleep out of your body," she +laughed.</p> + +<p>"Why not?" he asked again.</p> + +<p>"Your body goes to sleep, but <em>you</em> don't," +she explained.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I see." His head was whirling. +"And my body—my real body——"</p> + +<p>"Is lying asleep—unconscious they call it—in +the night-nursery at home. It's sound +asleep. That's why you're here. It can't +wake up till you go back to it, and you can't +go back to it till you escape—even if it's +ready for you before then. The bed is only +for you to rest on, for you can <em>rest</em> though you +can't <em>sleep</em>."</p> + +<p>Jimbo stared blankly at the governess for +some minutes. He was debating something +in his mind, something very important, and +just then it was his Older Self, and not the +child, that was uppermost. Apparently it +was soon decided, for he walked sedately up +to her and said very gravely, with her serious +eyes fixed on his face, "Miss Lake, are you <em>really</em> Miss Lake?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p><p>"Of course I am."</p> + +<p>"You're not a trick of His, like the voices, +I mean?"</p> + +<p>"No, Jimbo, I am really Miss Lake, the +discharged governess who frightened you." +There was profound anxiety in every word.</p> + +<p>Jimbo waited a minute, still looking steadily +into her eyes. Then he put out his hand +cautiously and touched her. He rose a little +on tiptoe to be on a level with her face, taking +a fold of her cloak in each hand. The soul-knowledge +was in his eyes just then, not the +mere curiosity of the child.</p> + +<p>"And are you—<em>dead</em>?" he asked, sinking +his voice to a whisper.</p> + +<p>For a moment the woman's eyes wavered. +She turned white and tried to move away; +but the boy seized her hand and peered more +closely into her face.</p> + +<p>"I mean, if we escape and I get back into +my body," he whispered, "will you get back +into yours too?"</p> + +<p>The governess made no reply, and shifted +uneasily on her feet. But the boy would not +let her go.</p> + +<p>"Please answer," he urged, still in a +whisper.</p> + +<p>"Jimbo, what funny questions you ask!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> +she said at last, in a husky voice, but trying +to smile.</p> + +<p>"But I want to know," he said. "I must +know. I believe you are giving up everything +just to save me—<em>everything</em>; and I don't want +to be saved unless you come too. Tell me!"</p> + +<p>The colour came back to her cheeks a little, +and her eyes grew moist. Again she tried to +slip past him, but he prevented her.</p> + +<p>"You must tell me," he urged; "I would +rather stay here with you than escape back +into my body and leave you behind."</p> + +<p>Jimbo knew it was his Older Self speaking—the +freed spirit rather than the broken +body—but he felt the strain was very great; +he could not keep it up much longer; any +minute he might slip back into the child again, +and lose interest, and be unequal to the task +he now saw so clearly before him.</p> + +<p>"Quick!" he cried in a louder voice. +"Tell me! You are giving up everything to +save me, aren't you? And if I escape you +will be left alone——quick, answer me! Oh, +be quick, I'm slipping back——"</p> + +<p>Already he felt his thoughts becoming confused +again, as the spirit merged back into the +child; in another minute the boy would usurp +the older self.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p><p>"You see," began the governess at length, +speaking very gently and sadly, "I am bound +to make amends whatever happens. I must +atone——"</p> + +<p>But already he found it hard to follow.</p> + +<p>"Atone," he asked, "what does '<em>atone</em>' +mean?" He moved back a step, and glanced +about the room. The moment of concentration +had passed without bearing fruit; his +thoughts began to wander again like a child's. +"Anyhow, we shall escape together when the +chance comes, shan't we?" he said.</p> + +<p>"Yes, darling, we shall," she said in a broken +voice. "And if you do what I tell you, it +will come very soon, I hope." She drew him +towards her and kissed him, and though he +didn't respond very heartily, he felt he liked +it, and was sure that she was good, and meant +to do the best possible for him.</p> + +<p>Jimbo asked nothing more for some time; +he turned to the bed where he found a mattress +and a blanket, but no sheets, and sat +down on the edge and waited. The governess +was standing by the window looking out; +her back was turned to him. He heard an +occasional deep sigh come from her, but he +was too busy now with his own sensations to +trouble much about her. Looking past her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> +he saw the sea of green leaves dancing lazily +in the sunshine. Something seemed to beckon +him from beyond the high wall, and he longed +to go out and play in the shade of the elms +and hawthorns; for the horror of the Empty +House was closing in upon him steadily but +surely, and he longed for escape into a bright, +unhaunted atmosphere, more than anything +else in the whole world.</p> + +<p>His thoughts ran on and on in this vein, +till presently he noticed that the governess +was moving about the room. She crossed +over and tried first one door and then the +other; both were fastened. Next she lifted +the trap-door and peered down into the black +hole below. That, too, apparently was satisfactory. +Then she came over to the bedside +on tiptoe.</p> + +<p>"Jimbo, I've got something very important +to ask you," she began.</p> + +<p>"All right," he said, full of curiosity.</p> + +<p>"You must answer me very exactly. +Everything depends on it."</p> + +<p>"I will."</p> + +<p>She took another long look round the room, +and then, in a still lower whisper, bent over +him, and asked:</p> + +<p>"Have you any pain?"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span></p><p>"Where?" he asked, remembering to be +exact.</p> + +<p>"Anywhere."</p> + +<p>He thought a moment.</p> + +<p>"None, thank you."</p> + +<p>"None at all—anywhere?" she insisted.</p> + +<p>"None at all—anywhere," he said with +decision.</p> + +<p>She seemed disappointed.</p> + +<p>"Never mind; it's a little soon yet, perhaps," +she said. "We must have patience. It will +come in time."</p> + +<p>"But I don't want any pain," he said, +rather ruefully.</p> + +<p>"You can't escape till it comes."</p> + +<p>"I don't understand a bit what you mean." +He began to feel alarmed at the notion of +escape and pain going together.</p> + +<p>"You'll understand later, though," she said +soothingly, "and it won't hurt <em>very</em> much. +The sooner the pain comes, the sooner we can +try to escape. Nowhere can there be escape +without it."</p> + +<p>And with that she left him, disappearing +without another word into the hole below the +trap, and leaving him, disconsolate yet +excited, alone in the room.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER VIII<br /> +<span class="chapsub">THE GALLERY OF ANCIENT MEMORIES</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">With</span> every one, of course, the measurement +of time depends largely upon the state of the +emotions, but in Jimbo's case it was curiously +exaggerated. This may have been because +he had no standard of memory by which to +test the succession of minutes; but, whatever +it was, the hours passed very quickly, +and the evening shadows were already darkening +the room when at length he got up +from the mattress and went over to the +window.</p> + +<p>Outside the high elms were growing dim; +soon the stars would be out in the sky. The +afternoon had passed away like magic, and +the governess still left him alone; he could +not quite understand why she went away for +such long periods.</p> + +<p>The darkness came down very swiftly, and +it was night almost before he knew it. Yet +he felt no drowsiness, no desire to yawn and +get under sheets and blankets; sleep was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> +evidently out of the question, and the hours +slipped away so rapidly that it made little +difference whether he sat up all night or +whether he slept.</p> + +<p>It was his first night in the Empty House, +and he wondered how many more he would +spend there before escape came. He stood at +the window, peering out into the growing +darkness and thinking long, long thoughts. +Below him yawned the black gulf of the yard, +and the outline of the enclosing wall was only +just visible, but beyond the elms rose far +into the sky, and he could hear the wind +singing softly in their branches. The sound +was very sweet; it suggested freedom, and +the flight of birds, and all that was wild and +unrestrained. The wind could never really +be a prisoner; its voice sang of open spaces +and unbounded distances, of flying clouds and +mountains, of mighty woods and dancing +waves; above all, of wings—free, swift, and +unconquerable wings.</p> + +<p>But this rushing song of wind among the +leaves made him feel too sad to listen long, +and he lay down upon the bed again, still +thinking, thinking.</p> + +<p>The house was utterly still. Not a thing +stirred within its walls. He felt lonely, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> +began to long for the companionship of the +governess; he would have called aloud for +her to come only he was afraid to break the +appalling silence. He wondered where she +was all this time and how she spent the long, +dark hours of the sleepless nights. Were all +these things really true that she told him? +Was he actually out of his body, and was his +name really Jimbo? His thoughts kept +groping backwards, ever seeking the other +companions he had lost; but, like a piece of +stretched elastic too short to reach its object, +they always came back with a snap just when +he seemed on the point of finding them. He +wanted these companions very badly indeed, +but the struggling of his memory was painful, +and he could not keep the effort up for very +long at one time.</p> + +<p>The effort once relaxed, however, his +thoughts wandered freely where they would; +and there rose before his mind's eye dim suggestions +of memories far more distant—ghostly +scenes and faces that passed before +him in endless succession, but always faded away +before he could properly seize and name them.</p> + +<p>This memory, so stubborn as regards quite +recent events, began to play strange tricks +with him. It carried him away into a Past<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> +so remote that he could not connect it with +himself at all, and it was like dreaming of +scenes and events that had happened to some +one else; yet, all the time, he knew quite +well those things had happened to him, and +to none else. It was the memory of the soul +asserting itself now that the clamour of the +body was low. It was an underground river +coming to the surface, for odd minutes, here +and there, showing its waters to the stars just +long enough to catch their ghostly reflections +before it rolled away underground again.</p> + +<p>Yet, swift and transitory as they were, these +glimpses brought in their train sensations that +were too powerful ever to have troubled his +child-mind in its present body. They stirred +in him the strong emotions, the ecstasies, the +terrors, the yearnings of a much more distant +past; whispering to him, could he but have +understood, of an infinitely deeper layer of +memories and experiences which, now released +from the burden of the immediate years, +strove to awaken into life again. The soul +in that little body covered with alpaca knickerbockers +and a sailor blouse seemed suddenly +to have access to a storehouse of knowledge +that must have taken centuries, rather than +a few short years, to acquire.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p><p>It was all very queer. The feeling of +tremendous age grew mysteriously over him. +He realised that he had been wandering for +ages. He had been to the stars and also to +the deeps; he had roamed over strange mountains +far away from cities or inhabited places +of the earth, and had lived by streams whose +waves were silvered by moonlight dropping +softly through whispering palm branches....</p> + +<p>Some of these ghostly memories brought +him sensations of keenest happiness—icy, +silver, radiant; others swept through his heart +like a cold wave, leaving behind a feeling of +unutterable woe, and a sense of loneliness that +almost made him cry aloud. And there came +Voices too—Voices that had slept so long in +the inner kingdoms of silence that they failed +to rouse in him the very slightest emotion of +recognition....</p> + +<p>Worn out at length with the surging of +these strange hosts through him, he got up +and went to the open window again. The +night was very dark and warm, but the stars +had disappeared, and there was the hush and +the faint odour of coming rain in the air. He +smelt leaves and the earth and the moist things +of the ground, the wonderful perfume of the +life of the soil.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span></p><p>The wind had dropped; all was silent as +the grave; the leaves of the elm trees were +motionless; no bird or insect raised its voice; +everything slept; he alone was watchful, +awake. Leaning over the window-sill, his +thoughts searched for the governess, and he +wondered anew where she was spending the +dark hours. She, too, he felt sure, was +wakeful somewhere, watching with him, +plotting their escape together, and always +mindful of his safety....</p> + +<p>His reverie was suddenly interrupted by the +flight of an immense night-bird dropping +through the air just above his head. He sprang +back into the room with a startled cry, as it +rushed past in the darkness with a great +swishing of wings. The size of the creature +filled him with awe; it was so close that the +wind it made lifted the hair on his forehead, +and he could almost feel the feathers brush +his cheeks. He strained his eyes to try and +follow it, but the shadows were too deep and +he could see nothing; only in the distance, +growing every moment fainter, he could hear +the noise of big wings threshing the air. He +waited a little, wondering if another bird +would follow it, or if it would presently return +to its perch on the roof; and then his thoughts<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> +passed on to uncertain memories of other big +birds—hawks, owls, eagles—that he had seen +somewhere in places now beyond the reach of +distinct recollections....</p> + +<p>Soon the light began to dawn in the east, +and he made out the shape of the elm trees +and the dreadful prison wall; and with +the first real touch of morning light he heard +a familiar creaking sound in the room behind +him, and saw the black hood of the governess +rising through the trap-door in the floor.</p> + +<p>"But you've left me alone all night!" he +said at once reproachfully, as she kissed him.</p> + +<p>"On purpose," she answered. "He'd get +suspicious if I stayed too much with you. +It's different in the daytime, when he can't +see properly."</p> + +<p>"Where's he been all night, then?" asked +the boy.</p> + +<p>"Last night he was out most of the time—hunting——"</p> + +<p>"Hunting!" he repeated, with excitement. +"Hunting what?"</p> + +<p>"Children—frightened children," she replied, +lowering her voice. "That's how he found you."</p> + +<p>It was a horrible thought—Fright hunting +for victims to bring to his dreadful prison—and +Jimbo shivered as he heard it.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p><p>"And how did you get on all this time?" +she asked, hurriedly changing the subject.</p> + +<p>"I've been remembering, that is half-remembering, +an awful lot of things, and +feeling, oh, so old. I never want to remember +anything again," he said wearily.</p> + +<p>"You'll forget quick enough when you get +back into your body, and have only the +body-memories," she said, with a sigh that he +did not understand. "But, now tell me," +she added, in a more serious voice, "have you +had any pain yet?"</p> + +<p>He shook his head. She stepped up beside +him.</p> + +<p>"None <em>there</em>?" she asked, touching him +lightly just behind the shoulder blades.</p> + +<p>Jimbo jumped as if he had been shot, and +uttered a piercing yell.</p> + +<p>"That hurts!" he screamed.</p> + +<p>"I'm so glad," cried the governess. "That's +the pains coming at last." Her face was +beaming.</p> + +<p>"Coming!" he echoed, "I think they've +<em>come</em>. But if they hurt as much as that, I +think I'd rather not escape," he added ruefully.</p> + +<p>"The pain won't last more than a minute," +she said calmly. "You must be brave and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> +stand it. There's no escape without pain—from +anything."</p> + +<p>"If there's no other way," he said pluckily, +"I'll try,—but——"</p> + +<p>"You see," she went on, rather absently, +"at this very moment the doctor is probing +the wounds in your back where the horns +went in——"</p> + +<p>But he was not listening. Her explanations +always made him want either to cry or +to laugh. This time he laughed, and the +governess joined him, while they sat on the +edge of the bed together talking of many +things. He did not understand all her explanations, +but it comforted him to hear them. +So long as somebody understood, no matter +who, he felt it was all right.</p> + +<p>In this way several days and nights passed +quickly away. The pains were apparently +no nearer, but as Miss Lake showed no particular +anxiety about their non-arrival, he +waited patiently too, dreading the moment, +yet also looking forward to it exceedingly.</p> + +<p>During the day the governess spent most +of the time in the room with him; but at night, +when he was alone, the darkness became enchanted, +the room haunted, and he passed into +the long, long Gallery of Ancient Memories.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER IX<br /> +<span class="chapsub">THE MEANS OF ESCAPE</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">A week</span> passed, and Jimbo began to wonder +if the pains he so much dreaded, yet so eagerly +longed for, were ever coming at all. The +imprisonment was telling upon him, and he +grew very thin, and consequently very light.</p> + +<p>The nights, though he spent them alone, +were easily borne, for he was then intensely +occupied, and the time passed swiftly; the +moment it was dark he stepped into the +Gallery of Memories, and in a little while +passed into a new world of wonder and delight. +But the daytime seemed always long. He +stood for hours by the window watching the +trees and the sky, and what he saw always +set painful currents running through his +blood—unsatisfied longings, yearnings, and +immense desires he never could understand.</p> + +<p>The white clouds on their swift journeys +took with them something from his heart<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> +every time he looked upon them; they +melted into air and blue sky, and lo! that +"something" came back to him charged with +all the wild freedom and magic of open spaces, +distance, and rushing winds.</p> + +<p>But the change was close at hand.</p> + +<p>One night, as he was standing by the open +window listening to the drip of the rain, he +felt a deadly weakness steal over him; the +strength went out of his legs. First he turned +hot, and then he turned cold; clammy perspiration +broke out all over him, and it was +all he could do to crawl across the room and +throw himself on to the bed. But no sooner +was he stretched out on the mattress than the +feelings passed entirely, and left behind them +an intoxicating sense of strength and lightness. +His muscles became like steel springs; his +bones were strong as iron and light as cork; +a wonderful vigour had suddenly come into +him, and he felt as if he had just stepped from +a dungeon into fresh air. He was ready to +face anything in the world.</p> + +<p>But, before he had time to realise the full +enjoyment of these new sensations, a stinging, +blinding pain shot suddenly through his right +shoulder as if a red-hot iron had pierced to the +very bone. He screamed out in agony;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> +though, even while he screamed, the pain +passed. Then the same thing happened in his +other shoulder. It shot through his back with +equal swiftness, and was gone, leaving him +lying on the bed trembling with pain. But +the instant it was gone the delightful sensations +of strength and lightness returned, and +he felt as if his whole body were charged with +some new and potent force.</p> + +<p>The pains had come at last! Jimbo had +no notion how they could possibly be connected +with escape, but Miss Lake—his kind +and faithful friend, Miss Lake—had said that +no escape was possible without them; and +had promised that they should be brief. And +this was true, for the entire episode had not +taken a minute of time.</p> + +<p>"<em class="uc">ESCAPE, ESCAPE!</em>"—the words rushed +through him like a flame of fire. Out of this +dreadful Empty House, into the open spaces; +beyond the prison wall; out where the wind +and the rain could touch him; where he could +feel the grass beneath his feet, and could see +the whole sky at once, instead of this narrow +strip through the window. His thoughts flew +to the stars and the clouds....</p> + +<p>But a strange humming of voices interrupted +his flight of imagination, and he saw<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> +that the room was suddenly full of moving +figures. They were passing before him with +silent footsteps, across the window from door +to door. How they had come in, or how +they went out, he never knew; but his heart +stood still for an instant as he recognised the +mournful figures of the Frightened Children +filing before him in a slow procession. They +were singing—though it sounded more like +a chorus of whispering than actual singing—and +as they moved past with the measured +steps of their sorrowful dance, he caught the +words of the song he had heard them sing +when he first came into the house:—</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"We hear the little voices in the wind<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Singing of freedom we may never find."</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>Jimbo put his fingers into his ears, but still +the sound came through. He heard the words +almost as if they were inside himself—his own +thoughts singing:—</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"We hear the little footsteps in the rain<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Running to help us, though they run in vain,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Tapping in hundreds on the window-pane."</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>The horrible procession filed past and melted +away near the door. They were gone as +mysteriously as they had come, and almost +before he realised it.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p><p>He sprang from the bed and tried the doors; +both were locked. How in the world had the +children got in and out? The whispering +voices rose again on the night air, and this +time he was sure they came from outside. +He ran to the open window and thrust his head +out cautiously. Sure enough, the procession +was moving slowly, still with the steps of that +impish dance across the courtyard stones. He +could just make out the slow waving arms, +the thin bodies, and the white little faces as +they passed on silent feet through the darkness, +and again a fragment of the song rose to +his ears as he watched, and filled him with an +overpowering sadness:—</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"We have no joy in any children's game,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">For happiness to us is but a name,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Since Terror kissed us with his lips of flame."</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>Then he noticed that the group was growing +smaller. Already the numbers were less. +Somewhere, over there in the dark corner of +the yard, the children disappeared, though it +was too dark to see precisely how or where.</p> + +<p>"We dance with phantoms, and with +shadows play," rose to his ears.</p> + +<p>Suddenly he remembered the little white +upright stones he had seen in that corner of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> +the yard, and understood. One by one they +vanished just behind those stones.</p> + +<p>Jimbo shivered, and drew his head in. He +did not like those upright stones; they made +him uncomfortable and afraid. Now, however, +the last child had disappeared and the +song had ceased. He realised what his fate +would be if the escape were not successful; +he would become one of this band of Frightened +Children; dwelling somewhere behind the +upright stones; a terrified shadow, waiting +in vain to be rescued, waiting perhaps for +ever and ever. The thought brought the +tears to his eyes, but he somehow managed +to choke them down. He knew it was the +young portion of him only that felt afraid—the +body; the older self could not feel fear, +and had nothing to do with tears.</p> + +<p>He lay down again upon the hard mattress +and waited; and soon afterwards the first +crimson streaks of sunrise appeared behind +the high elms, and rooks began to caw and +shake their wings in the upper branches. A +little later the governess came in.</p> + +<p>Before he could move out of the way—for +he disliked being embraced—she had her arms +round his neck, and was covering him with +kisses. He saw tears in her eyes.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span></p><p>"You darling Jimbo!" she cried, "they've +come at last."</p> + +<p>"How do you know?" he asked, surprised +at her knowledge and puzzled by her display +of emotion.</p> + +<p>"I heard you scream to begin with. Besides, +I've been watching."</p> + +<p>"Watching?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and listening too, every night, every +single night. You've hardly been a minute +out of my sight," she added.</p> + +<p>"I think it's awfully good of you," he said +doubtfully, "but——"</p> + +<p>A flood of questions followed—about the +upright stones, the shadowy children, where +she spent the night "watching him," and a +hundred other things besides. But he got +little satisfaction out of her. He never did +when it was Jimbo, the child, that asked; +and he remained Jimbo, the child, all that +day. She only told him that all was going +well. The pains had come; he had grown +nice and thin, and light; the children had +come into his room as a hint that he belonged +to their band, and other things had happened +about which she would tell him later. The +crisis was close at hand. That was all he +could get out of her.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span></p><p>"It won't be long now," she said excitedly. +"They'll come to-night, I expect."</p> + +<p>"What will come to-night?" he asked, +with querulous wonder.</p> + +<p>"Wait and see!" was all the answer he +got. "Wait and see!"</p> + +<p>She told him to lie quietly on the bed and +to have patience.</p> + +<p>With asking questions, and thinking, and +wondering, the day passed very quickly. +With the lengthening shadows his excitement +began to grow. Presently Miss Lake took +her departure and went off to her unknown +and mysterious abode; he watched her disappear +through the floor with mingled feelings, +wondering what would have happened before +he saw her again. She gave him a long, last +look as she sank away below the boards, +but it was a look that brought him fresh +courage, and her eyes were happy and +smiling.</p> + +<p>Tingling already with expectancy he got +into the bed and lay down, his brain alive with +one word—<em class="uc">ESCAPE</em>.</p> + +<p>From where he lay he saw the stars in the +narrow strip of sky; he heard the wind +whispering in the branches; he even smelt +the perfume of the fields and hedges—grass,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> +flowers, dew, and the sweet earth—the odours +of freedom.</p> + +<p>The governess had, for some reason she +refused to explain, taken his blouse away with +her. For a long time he puzzled over this, +seeking reasons and finding none. But, while +in the act of stroking his bare arms, the pains +of the night before suddenly returned to both +shoulders at once. Fire seemed to run down +his back, splitting his bones apart, and then +passed even more quickly than before, leaving +him with the same wonderful sensations of +lightness and strength. He felt inclined to +shout and run and jump, and it was only the +memory of the governess's earnest caution to +"lie quietly" that prevented his new emotions +passing into acts.</p> + +<p>With very great effort he lay still all night +long; and it was only when the room at last +began to get light again that he turned on +his side, preparatory to getting up.</p> + +<p>But there was something new—something +different! He rested on his elbow, waiting. +Something had happened to him. Cautiously +he sat on the edge of the bed, and stretched +out one foot and touched the floor. Excitement +ran through him like a wave. There +was a great change, a tremendous change;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> +for as he stepped out gingerly on to the floor +<em>something followed him from the bed</em>. It clung +to his back; it touched both shoulders at +once; it stroked his ribs, and tickled the +skin of his arms.</p> + +<p>Half frightened, he brought the other leg +over, and stood boldly upright on both feet. +But the weight still clung to his back. He +looked over his shoulder. Yes! it was trailing +after him from the bed; it was fan-shaped, +and brilliant in colour. He put out a hand +and touched it; it was soft and glossy; then +he took it deliberately between his fingers; +it was smooth as velvet, and had numerous +tiny ribs running along it.</p> + +<p>Seizing it at last with all his courage, he +pulled it forward in front of him for a better +view, only to discover that it would not come +out beyond a certain distance, and seemed +to have got caught somehow between his +shoulders—just where the pains had been. +A second pull, more vigorous than the first, +showed that it was not caught, but <em>fastened</em> to +his skin; it divided itself, moreover, into two +portions, one half coming from each shoulder.</p> + +<p>"I do believe they're feathers!" he exclaimed, +his eyes almost popping out of his +head.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span></p><p>Then, with a sudden flash of comprehension, +he saw it all, and understood. They were, +indeed, feathers; but they were something +more than feathers merely. <em>They were +wings!</em></p> + +<p>Jimbo caught his breath and stared in +silence. He felt dazed. Then bit by bit the +fragments of the weird mosaic fell into their +proper places, and he began to understand. +Escape was to be by flight. It filled him +with such a whirlwind of delight and excitement +that he could scarcely keep from screaming +aloud.</p> + +<p>Lost in wonder, he took a step forward, +and watched with bulging eyes how the wings +followed him, their tips trailing along the +floor. They were a beautiful deep red, and +hung down close and warm beside his body; +glossy, sleek, magical. And when, later, the +sun burst into the room and turned their +colour into living flame, he could not resist +the temptation to kiss them. He seized them, +and rubbed their soft surfaces over his face. +Such colours he had never seen before, and +he wanted to be sure that they really belonged +to him and were intended for actual use.</p> + +<p>Slowly, without using his hands, he raised +them into the air. The effort was a perfectly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> +easy muscular effort from the shoulders that +came naturally, though he did not quite +understand how he accomplished it. The +wings rose in a fine, graceful sweep, curving +over his head till the tips of the feathers met, +touching the walls as they rose, and almost +reaching to the ceiling.</p> + +<p>He gave a howl of delight, for this sight was +more than he could manage without some +outlet for his pent-up emotion; and at the +same moment the trap-door shot open, and +the governess came into the room with such +a bang and a clatter that Jimbo knew at +once her excitement was as great as his own. +In her hands she carried the blouse she had +taken away the night before. She held it +out to him without a word. Her eyes were +shining like electric lamps. In less than a +second he had slipped his wings through the +neatly-made slits, but before he could practise +them again, Miss Lake rushed over to him, +her face radiant with happiness.</p> + +<p>"Jimbo! My darling Jimbo!" she cried—and +then stopped short, apparently unable +to express her emotion.</p> + +<p>The next instant he was enveloped, wings +and all, in a warm confusion of kisses, congratulations +and folds of hood.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p><p>When they became disentangled again the +governess went down on her knees and made +a careful examination; she pulled the wings +out to their full extent and found that they +stretched about four feet and a half from tip +to tip.</p> + +<p>"They <em>are</em> beauties!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, +"and full grown and strong. +I'm not surprised they took so long coming."</p> + +<p>"Long!" he echoed, "I thought they came +awfully quickly."</p> + +<p>"Not half so quickly as they'll go," she +interrupted; adding, when she saw his expression +of dismay, "I mean, you'll fly like +the wind with them."</p> + +<p>Jimbo was simply breathless with excitement. +He wanted to jump out of the window +and escape at once. The blue sky and the +sunshine and the white flying clouds sent him +an irresistible invitation. He could not wait +a minute longer.</p> + +<p>"Quick," he cried, "I can't wait! They +may go again. Show me how to use them. +Oh! do show me."</p> + +<p>"I'll show you everything in time," she +answered. There was something in her voice +that made him pause in his excitement. He +looked at her in silence for some minutes.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></p> +<p>"But how are <em>you</em> going to escape?" he +asked at length. "You haven't got"——he +stopped short.</p> + +<p>The governess stepped back a few paces +from him. She threw back the hood from her +face. Then she lifted the long black cloak +that hung like a cassock almost to her ankles +and had always enveloped her hitherto.</p> + +<p>Jimbo stared. Falling from her shoulders, +and folding over her hips, he saw long red +feathers clinging to her; and when he dashed +forward to touch them with his hands, he +found they were just as sleek and smooth and +glossy as his own.</p> + +<p>"And you never told me all this time?" +he gasped.</p> + +<p>"It was safer not," she said. "You'd have +been stroking and feeling your shoulders the +whole time, and the wings might never have +come at all."</p> + +<p>She spread out her wings as she spoke to +their full extent; they were nearly six feet +across, and the deep crimson on the under side +was so exquisite, gleaming in the sunlight, +that Jimbo ran in and nestled beneath the +feathers, tickling his cheeks with the fluffy +surface and running his fingers with childish +delight along the slender red quills.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p><p>"You precious child," she said, tenderly +folding her wings round him and kissing the +top of his head. "Always remember that I +really love you; no matter what happens, +remember that, and I'll save you."</p> + +<p>"And we shall escape together?" he asked, +submitting for once to the caresses with a +good grace.</p> + +<p>"We shall escape from the Empty House +together," she replied evasively. "How far +we can go after that depends—on you."</p> + +<p>"On me?"</p> + +<p>"If you love me enough—as I love you, +Jimbo—we can never separate again, because +love ties us together for ever. Only," she +added, "it must be mutual."</p> + +<p>"I love you very much," he said, puzzled +a little. "Of course I do."</p> + +<p>"If you've really forgiven me for being the +cause of your coming here," she said, "we +can always be together, but——"</p> + +<p>"I don't remember, but I've forgiven you—that +<em>other you</em>—long ago," he said simply. +"If you hadn't brought me here, I should +never have met you."</p> + +<p>"That's not real forgiveness—quite," she +sighed, half to herself.</p> + +<p>But Jimbo could not follow this sort of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> +conversation for long; he was too anxious to +try his wings for one thing.</p> + +<p>"Is it <em>very</em> difficult to use them?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"Try," she said.</p> + +<p>He stood in the centre of the floor and +raised them again and again. They swept up +easily, meeting over his head, and the air +whistled musically through them. Evidently, +they had their proper muscles, for it was no +great effort, and when he folded them again +by his side they fell into natural curves over +his arms as if they had been there all his life. +The sound of the feathers threshing the air +filled him with delight and made him think of +the big night-bird that had flown past the +window during the night. He told the +governess about it, and she burst out laughing.</p> + +<p>"I was that big bird!" she said.</p> + +<p>"You!"</p> + +<p>"I perched on the roof every night to +watch over you. I flew down that time because +I was afraid you were trying to climb +out of the window."</p> + +<p>This was indeed a proof of devotion, and +Jimbo felt that he could never doubt her +again; and when she went on to tell him about +his wings and how to use them he listened<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> +with his very best attention and tried hard to +learn and understand.</p> + +<p>"The great difficulty is that you can't +practise properly," she explained. "There's +no room in here, and yet you can't get out till +you <em>fly</em> out. It's the first swoop that decides +all. You have to drop straight out of this +window, and if you use the wings properly +they will carry you in a single swoop over the +wall and right up into the sky."</p> + +<p>"But if I miss——?"</p> + +<p>"You can't miss," she said with decision, +"but, if you did, you would be a prisoner +here for ever. <em class="uc">HE</em> would catch you in the +yard and tear your wings off. It is just as +well that you should know this at once."</p> + +<p>Jimbo shuddered as he heard her.</p> + +<p>"When can we try?" he asked anxiously.</p> + +<p>"Very soon now. The muscles must harden +first, and that takes a little time. You must +practise flapping your wings until you can do +it easily four hundred times a minute. When +you can do that it will be time for the first +start. You must keep your head steady and +not get giddy; the novelty of the motion—the +ground rushing up into your face and the +whistling of the wind—are apt to confuse at +first, but it soon passes, and you must have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> +confidence. I can only help you up to a certain +point; the rest depends on you."</p> + +<p>"And the first jump?"</p> + +<p>"You'll have to make that by yourself," +she said; "but you'll do it all right. You're +very light, and won't go too near the ground. +You see, we're like bats, and cannot rise from +the earth. We can only fly by dropping +from a height, and that's what makes the +first plunge rather trying. But you won't +fall," she added, "and remember, I shall +always be within reach."</p> + +<p>"You're awfully kind to me," said Jimbo, +feeling his little soul more than ever invaded +by the force of her unselfish care. "I promise +you I'll do my best." He climbed on to her +knee and stared into her anxious face.</p> + +<p>"Then you are beginning to love me a +little, aren't you?" she asked softly, putting +her arms round him.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he said decidedly. "I love you +very much already."</p> + +<p>Four hundred times a minute sounded a very +great deal of wing-flapping; but Jimbo +practised eagerly, and though at first he could +only manage about twice a second, or one +hundred and twenty times a minute, he found +this increased very soon to a great deal more,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> +and before long he was able to do the full +four hundred, though only for a few minutes +at a time.</p> + +<p>He stuck to it pluckily, getting stronger +every day. The governess encouraged him as +much as possible, but there was very little +room for her while he was at work, and he +found the best way to practise was at night +when she was out of the way. She told him +that a large bird moved its wings about four +times a second, two up-strokes and two +down-strokes; but a small bird like a partridge +moved its wings so rapidly it was impossible +for the eye to distinguish or count +the strokes. A middle course of four hundred +suited his own case best, and he bent all his +energies to acquire it.</p> + +<p>He also learned that the convex outside +curve of wings allowed the wind to escape +over them, while the under side, being concave, +held every breath. Thus the upward +stroke did not simply counterbalance the +downward and keep him stationary. Moreover, +she showed him how the feathers underlapped +each other so that the downward +stroke pressed them closely together to hold +the wind, whereas in the upward stroke they +opened and separated, letting the air slip<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> +easily through them, thus offering less resistance +to the atmosphere.</p> + +<p>By the end of a week Jimbo had practised +so hard that he could keep himself off the +floor in mid-air for half an hour at a time, and +even then without feeling any great fatigue. +His excitement became intense; and, meanwhile, +in his body on the nursery bed, though +he did not know it, the fever was reaching its +crisis. He could think of nothing else but the +joys of flying, and what the first, awful plunge +would be like, and when Miss Lake came up +to him one afternoon and whispered something +in his ear, he was so wildly happy that he +hugged her for several minutes without the +slightest coaxing.</p> + +<p>"It's bright and clear," she explained, +"and Fright will not come after us, for he +fears the light, and can only fly on dark and +gloomy nights."</p> + +<p>"So we can start——?" he stammered +joyfully.</p> + +<p>"To-night," she answered, "for our first +practice-flight."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER X<br /> +<span class="chapsub">THE PLUNGE</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">To</span> enter the world of wings is to enter a new +state of existence. The apparent loss of +weight; the ability to attain full speed in a +few seconds, and to stop suddenly in a headlong +rush without fear of collapse; the power +to steer instantly in any direction by merely +changing the angle of the body; the altered +and enormous view of the green world below—looking +down upon forests, seas and clouds; +the easy voluptuous rhythm of rising and +falling in long, swinging undulations; and a +hundred other things that simply defy description +and can be appreciated only by +actual experience, these are some of the +delights of the new world of wings and flying. +And the fearful joy of very high speed, +especially when the exhilaration of escape is +added to it, means a condition little short of +real ecstasy.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p><p>Yet Jimbo's first flight, the governess had +been careful to tell him, could not be the flight +of final escape; for, even if the wings proved +equal to a prolonged effort, escape was impossible +until there was somewhere safe to +escape to. So it was understood that the +practice flights might be long, or might be +short; the important thing, meanwhile, was +to learn to fly as well as possible. For skilled +flying is very different to mere headlong +rushing, and both courage and perseverance +are necessary to acquire it.</p> + +<p>With rare common sense Miss Lake had +said very little about the possibility of failure. +Having warned him about the importance of +not falling, she had then stopped, and the +power of suggestion had been allowed to +work only in the right direction of certain +success. While the boy knew that the first +plunge from the window would be a moment +fraught with the highest danger, his mind +only recognised the mere off-chance of falling +and being caught. He felt confidence in +himself, and by so much, therefore, were the +chances of disaster lessened.</p> + +<p>For the rest of the afternoon Jimbo saw +nothing of his faithful companion; he spent +the time practising and resting, and when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> +weary of everything else, he went to the window +and indulged in thrilling calculations +about the exact height from the ground. A +drop of three storeys into a paved courtyard +with a monster waiting to catch him, and a +high wall too close to allow a proper swing, +was an alarming matter from any point of +view. Fortunately, his mind dwelt more on +the delight of prospective flight and freedom +than on the chances of being caught.</p> + +<p>The yard lay hot and naked in the afternoon +glare and the enclosing wall had never +looked more formidable; but from his lofty +perch Jimbo could see beyond into soft hayfields +and smiling meadows, yellow with +cowslips and buttercups. Everything that +flew he watched with absorbing interest: +swift blackbirds, whistling as they went, and +crows, their wings purple in the sunshine. +The song of the larks, invisible in the sea of +blue air sent a thrill of happiness through +him—he, too, might soon know something of +that glad music—and even the stately flight +of the butterflies, which occasionally ventured +over into the yard, stirred anticipations in +him of joys to come.</p> + +<p>The day waned slowly. The butterflies +vanished; the rooks sailed homewards through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> +the sunset; the wind dropped away, and the +shadows of the high elms lengthened gradually +and fell across the window.</p> + +<p>The mysterious hour of the dusk, when the +standard of reality changes and other worlds +come close and listen, began to work its subtle +spell upon his soul. Imperceptibly the +shadows deepened as the veil of night drew +silently across the sky. A gentle breathing +filled the air; trees and fields were composing +themselves to sleep; stars were peeping; +wings were being folded.</p> + +<p>But the boy's wings, trembling with life to +the very tips of their long feathers, these were +not being folded. Charged with excitement, +like himself, they were gathering all their forces +for the supreme effort of their first journey out +into the open spaces where they might touch +the secret sources of their own magical life.</p> + +<p>For a long, long time he waited; but at +last the trap-door lifted and Miss Lake appeared +above the floor. The moment she +stood in the room he noticed that her wings +came through two little slits in her gown and +folded down close to the body. They almost +touched the ground.</p> + +<p>"Hush!" she whispered, holding up a +warning finger.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span></p><p>She came over on tiptoe and they began to +talk in low whispers.</p> + +<p>"He's on the watch; we must speak very +quietly. We couldn't have a better night for +it. The wind's in the south and the moon +won't be up till we're well on our way."</p> + +<p>Now that the actual moment was so near +the boy felt something of fear steal over him. +The night seemed so vast and terrible all of a +sudden—like an immense black ocean with no +friendly islands where they could fold their +wings and rest.</p> + +<p>"Don't waste your strength thinking," +whispered the governess. "When the time +comes, act quickly, that's all!"</p> + +<p>She went over to the window and peered +out cautiously, after a while beckoning the +child to join her.</p> + +<p>"He is there," she murmured in his ear. +Jimbo could only make out an indistinct +shadowy object crouching under the wall, +and he was not even positive of that.</p> + +<p>"Does he know we're going?" he asked in +an awed whisper.</p> + +<p>"He's there on the chance," she muttered, +drawing back into the room. "When there's +a possibility of any one getting frightened he's +bound to be lurking about somewhere near.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> +That's Fright all over. But he can't hurt +you," she added, "because you're not +going to get frightened. Besides, he can only +fly when it's dark; and to-night we shall have +the moon."</p> + +<p>"I'm not afraid," declared the boy in spite +of a rather fluttering heart.</p> + +<p>"Are you ready?" was all she said.</p> + +<p>At last, then, the moment had come. It +was actually beside him, waiting, full of +mystery and wonder, with alarm not far +behind. The sun was buried below the +horizon of the world, and the dusk had +deepened into night. Stars were shining +overhead; the leaves were motionless; not +a breath stirred; the earth was silent and +waiting.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I'm ready," he whispered, almost +inaudibly.</p> + +<p>"Then listen," she said, "and I'll tell you +exactly what to do: Jump upwards from the +window ledge as high as you can, and the +moment you begin to drop, open your wings +and strike with all your might. You'll rise +at once. The thing to remember is to <em>rise as +quickly as possible</em>, because the wall prevents +a long, easy, sweeping rise; and, whatever +happens, you must clear that wall!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span></p><p>"I shan't touch the ground then?" asked +a faint little voice.</p> + +<p>"Of course not! You'll get near it, but +the moment you use your wings you'll stop +sinking, and rise up, up, up, ever so quickly."</p> + +<p>"And where to?"</p> + +<p>"To me. You'll see me waiting for you +above the trees. Steering will come naturally; +it's quite easy."</p> + +<p>Jimbo was already shaking with excitement. +He could not help it. And he knew, in spite +of all Miss Lake's care, that Fright was waiting +in the yard to catch him if he fell, or sank +too near the ground.</p> + +<p>"I'll go first," added the governess, "and +the moment you see that I've cleared the wall +you must jump after me. Only do not keep +me waiting!"</p> + +<p>The girl stood for a minute in silence, +arranging her wings. Her fingers were trembling +a little. Suddenly she drew the boy to +her and kissed him passionately.</p> + +<p>"Be brave!" she whispered, looking +searchingly into his eyes, "and strike hard—you +can't possibly fail."</p> + +<p>In another minute she was climbing out of +the window. For one second he saw her +standing on the narrow ledge with black space<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> +at her feet; the next, without even a cry, she +sprang out into the darkness, and was gone.</p> + +<p>Jimbo caught his breath and ran up to see. +She dropped like a stone, turning over sideways +in the air, and then at once her wings +opened on both sides and she righted. The +darkness swallowed her up for a moment so +that he could not see clearly, and only heard +the threshing of the huge feathers; but it +was easy to tell from the sound that she was +rising.</p> + +<p>Then suddenly a black form cleared the +wall and rose swiftly in a magnificent sweep +into the sky, and he saw her outlined darkly +against the stars above the high elm tree. +She was safe. Now it was his turn.</p> + +<p>"Act quickly! Don't think!" rang in his +ears. If only he could do it all as quickly as +she had done it. But insidious fear had been +working all the time below the surface, and +his refusal to recognise it could not prevent it +weakening his muscles and checking his power +of decision. Fortunately something of his +Older Self came to the rescue. The emotions +of fear, excitement, and intense anticipation +combined to call up the powers of his deeper +being: the boy trembled horribly, but the +old, experienced part of him sang with joy.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p><p>Cautiously he began to climb out on to the +window-sill; first one foot and then the other +hung over the edge. He sat there, staring +down into black space beneath.</p> + +<p>For a minute he hesitated; despair rushed +over him in a wave; he could never take that +awful jump into emptiness and darkness. It +was impossible. Better be a prisoner for ever +than risk so fearful a plunge. He felt cold, +weak, frightened, and made a half-movement +back into the room. The wings caught somehow +between his legs and nearly flung him +headlong into the yard.</p> + +<p>"Jimbo! I'm waiting for you!" came at +that moment in a faint cry from the stars, +and the sound gave him just the impetus he +needed before it was too late. He could not +disappoint her—his faithful friend. Such a +thing was impossible.</p> + +<p>He stood upright on the ledge, his hands +clutching the window-sash behind, balancing +as best he could. He clenched his fists, drew +a deep, long breath, and jumped upwards and +forwards into the air.</p> + +<p>Up rushed the darkness with a shriek; the +air whistled in his ears; he dropped at fearful +speed into nothingness.</p> + +<p>At first everything was forgotten—wings,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> +instructions, warnings, and all. He even +forgot to open his wings at all, and in another +second he would have been dashed upon the +hard paving-stones of the courtyard where his +great enemy lay waiting to seize him.</p> + +<p>But just in the nick of time he remembered, +and the long hours of practice bore fruit. +Out flew the great red wings in a tremendous +sweep on both sides of him, and he began to +strike with every atom of strength he possessed. +He had dropped to within six feet of the +ground; but at once the strokes began to +tell, and oh, magical sensation! he felt himself +rising easily, lightly, swiftly.</p> + +<p>A very slight effort of those big wings would +have been sufficient to lift him out of danger, +but in his terror and excitement he quite miscalculated +their power, and in a single moment +he was far out of reach of the dangerous yard +and anything it contained. But the mad +rush of it all made his head swim; he felt +dizzy and confused, and, instead of clearing +the wall, he landed on the top of it and clung +to the crumbling coping with hands and feet, +panting and breathless.</p> + +<p>The dizziness was only momentary, however. +In less than a minute he was on his +feet and in the act of taking his second leap<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> +into space. This time it came more easily. +He dropped, and the field swung up to meet +him. Soon the powerful strokes of his wings +drove him at great speed upwards, and he +bounded ever higher towards the stars.</p> + +<p>Overhead, the governess hovered like an +immense bird, and as he rose up he caught +the sound of her wings beating the air, while +far beneath him, he heard with a shudder a +voice like the rushing of a great river. It +made him increase his pace, and in another +minute he found himself among the little +whirlwinds that raced about from the beating +of Miss Lake's great wings.</p> + +<p>"Well done!" cried the delighted governess. +"Safe at last! Now we can fly to our heart's +content!"</p> + +<p>Jimbo flew up alongside, and together they +dashed forward into the night.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER XI<br /> +<span class="chapsub">THE FIRST FLIGHT</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">There</span> was not much talking at first. The +stress of conflicting emotions was so fierce +that the words choked themselves in his throat, +and the desire for utterance found its only +vent in hard breathing.</p> + +<p>The intoxication of rapid motion carried +him away headlong in more senses than one. +At first he felt as if he never would be able +to keep up; then it seemed as if he never +would get down again. For with wings it is +almost easier to rise than to fall, and a first +flight is, before anything else, a series of vivid +and audacious surprises.</p> + +<p>For a long time Jimbo was so dizzy with +excitement and the novelty of the sensation +that he forgot his deliverer altogether.</p> + +<p>And what a flight it was! Instead of the +steady race of the carrier pigeon, or of the +rooks homeward bound at evening, it was the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> +see-saw motion of the wren's swinging journey +across the lawn; only heavier, faster, and with +more terrific impetus. Up and down, each +time with a rise and fall of twenty feet, he +careered, whistling through the summer night; +at the drop of each curve, so low that the +scents of dewy grass rose into his face; at +the crest of it, so high that the trees and +hedges often became mere blots upon the dark +surface of the earth.</p> + +<p>The fields rushed by beneath him; the +white roads flashed past like streaks of snow. +Sometimes he shot across sheets of water and +felt the cooler air strike his cheeks; sometimes +over sheltered meadows, where the +sunshine had slept all day and the air was +still soft and warm; on and on, as easily as +rain dropping from the sky, or wind rushing +earthwards from between the clouds. Everything +flew past him at an astonishing rate—everything +but the bright stars that gazed +calmly down overhead; and when he looked +up and saw their steadfastness it helped to +keep within bounds the fine alarm of this first +excursion into the great vault of the sky.</p> + +<p>"Gently, child!" gasped Miss Lake behind +him. "We shall never keep it up at this +rate."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p><p>"Oh! but it's so wonderful," he cried, +drawing in the air loudly between his teeth, +and shaking his wings rapidly like a hawk +before it drops.</p> + +<p>The pace slackened a little and the girl +drew up alongside. For some time they flew +forward together in silence.</p> + +<p>They had been skirting the edge of a wood, +when suddenly the trees fell away and Jimbo +gave a scream and rose fifty feet into the air +with a single bound. Straight in front of him +loomed an immense, glaring disc that seemed +to swim suddenly up into the sky above the +trees. It hung there before his eyes and +dazzled him.</p> + +<p>"It's only the moon," cried Miss Lake +from below.</p> + +<p>Jimbo dropped through the air to her side +again with a gasp.</p> + +<p>"I thought it was a big hole in the sky +with fire rushing through," he explained +breathlessly.</p> + +<p>The boy stared, full of wonder and delight, +at the huge flaming circle that seemed to fill +half the heavens in front of him.</p> + +<p>"Look out!" cried the governess, seizing +his hand.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p><p>Whish! whew! whirr! A large bird +whipped past them like some winged imp of +darkness, vanishing among the trees far below. +There would certainly have been a collision +but for the girl's energetic interference.</p> + +<p>"You must be on the look-out for these +night-birds," she said. "They fly so unexpectedly, +and, of course, they don't see us +properly. Telegraph wires and church steeples +are bad too, but then we shan't fly over cities +much. Keep a good height, it's safer."</p> + +<p>They altered their course a little, flying at +a different angle, so that the moon no longer +dazzled them. Steering came quite easily by +turning the body, and Jimbo still led the way, +the governess following heavily and with a +mighty business of wings and flapping.</p> + +<p>It was something to remember, the glory +of that first journey through the air. Sixty +miles an hour, and scarcely an effort! +Skimming the long ridges of the hills and rushing +through the pure air of mountain tops; +threading the star-beams; bathing themselves +from head to foot in an ocean of cool, +clean wind; swimming on the waves of +viewless currents—currents warmed only by +the magic of the stars, and kissed by the +burning lips of flying meteors.</p> + +<p>Far below them the moonlight touched the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> +fields with silver and the murmur of the world +rose faintly to their ears, trembling, as it were, +with the inarticulate dreams of millions. +Everywhere about them thrilled and sang the +unspeakable power of the night. The mystery +of its great heart seemed laid bare before +them.</p> + +<p>It was like a wonder-journey in some +Eastern fairy tale. Sometimes they passed +through zones of sweeter air, perfumed with +the scents of hay and wild flowers; at others, +the fresh, damp odour of ploughed fields rose +up to them; or, again, they went spinning +over leagues of forest where the tree-tops +stretched beneath them like the surface of a +wide, green sea, sleeping in the moonlight. +And, when they crossed open water, the stars +shone reflected in their faces; and all the +while the wings, whirring and purring softly +through the darkness, made pleasant music in +their ears.</p> + +<p>"I'm tired," declared Jimbo presently.</p> + +<p>"Then we'll go down and rest," said his +breathless companion with obvious relief.</p> + +<p>She showed him how to spread his wings, +sloping them towards the ground at an angle +that enabled him to shoot rapidly downwards, +at the same time regulating his speed by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> +least upward tilt. It was a glorious motion, +without effort or difficulty, though the pace +made it hard to keep the eyes open, and +breathing became almost impossible. They +dropped to within ten feet of the ground and +then shot forward again.</p> + +<p>But, while the boy was watching his companion's +movements, and paying too little +attention to his own, there rose suddenly +before him out of the ground a huge, bulky +form of something—and crash—he flew headlong +into it.</p> + +<p>Fortunately it was only a haystack; but +the speed at which he was going lodged his +head several inches under the thatch, whence +he projected horizontally into space, feet, +arms, and wings gyrating furiously. The +governess, however, soon released him with +much laughter, and they dropped down into +the fallen hay upon the ground with no worse +result than a shaking.</p> + +<p>"Oh, what a lark!" he cried, shaking the +hay out of his feathers, and rubbing his head +rather ruefully.</p> + +<p>"Except that larks are hardly night-birds," +she laughed, helping him.</p> + +<p>They settled with folded wings in the +shadow of the haystack; and the big moon,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> +peeping over the edge at them, must have +surely wondered to see such a funny couple, +in such a place, and at such an hour.</p> + +<p>"Mushrooms!" suddenly cried the governess, +springing to her feet. "There must be +lots in this field. I'll go and pick some while +you rest a bit."</p> + +<p>Off she went, trapesing over the field in the +moonlight, her wings folded behind her, her +body bent a little forward as she searched, +and in ten minutes she came back with her +hands full. That was undoubtedly the time +to enjoy mushrooms at their best, with the +dew still on their tight little jackets, and the +sweet odour of the earth caught under their +umbrellas.</p> + +<p>Soon they were all eaten, and Jimbo was +lying back on a pile of hay, his shoulders +against the wall of the stack, and his wings +gathered round him like a warm cloak of +feathers. He felt cosy and dozy, full of +mushrooms inside and covered with hay and +feathers outside. The governess had once +told him that a sort of open-air sleep sometimes +came after a long flight. It was, of +course, not a real sleep, but a state in which +everything about oneself is forgotten; no +dreams, no movement, no falling asleep and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> +waking up in the ordinary sense, but a condition +of deep repose in which recuperation +is very great.</p> + +<p>Jimbo would have been greatly interested, +no doubt, to know that his real body on the +bed had also just been receiving nourishment, +and was now passing into a quieter and less +feverish condition. The parallel always held +true between himself and his body in the +nursery, but he could not know anything about +this, and only supposed that it was this +open-air sleep that he felt gently stealing over +him.</p> + +<p>It brought at first strange thoughts that +carried him far away to other woods and other +fields. While Miss Lake sat beside him eating +her mushrooms, his mind was drawn off to +some other little folk. But it was always +stopped just short of them. He never could +quite see their faces. Yet his thoughts continued +their search, groping in the darkness; +he felt sure he ought to be sharing his adventures +with these other little persons, whoever +they were; they ought to have been sitting +beside him at that very moment, eating mushrooms, +combing their wings, comparing the +length of their feathers, and snuggling with +him into the warm hay.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span></p><p>But they obstinately hovered just outside +his memory, and refused to come in and +surrender themselves. He could not remember +who they were, and his yearnings went unsatisfied +up to the stars, as yearnings generally +do, while his thoughts returned weary from +their search and he yielded to the seductions +of the soothing open-air sleep.</p> + +<p>The moon, meanwhile, rose higher and +higher, drawing a silver veil over the stars. +Upon the field the dews of midnight fell +silently. A faint mist rose from the ground +and covered the flowers in their dim seclusion +under the hedgerows. The hours slipped away +swiftly.</p> + +<p>"Come on, Jimbo, boy!" cried the governess +at length. "The moon's below the hills, +and we must be off!"</p> + +<p>The boy turned and stared sleepily at her +from his nest in the hay.</p> + +<p>"We've got miles to go. Remember the +speed we came at!" she explained, getting up +and arranging her wings.</p> + +<p>Jimbo got up slowly and shook himself.</p> + +<p>"I've been miles away," he said dreamily, +"miles and miles. But I'm ready to start at +once."</p> + +<p>They looked about for a raised place to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> +jump from. A ladder stood against the other +side of the haystack. The governess climbed +up it and Jimbo followed her drowsily. Hand +in hand they sprang into the air from the edge +of the thatched roof, and their wings spread +out like sails to catch the wind. It smote +their faces pleasantly as they plunged downwards +and forwards, and the exhilarating rush +of cool air banished from the boy's head the +last vestige of the open-air sleep.</p> + +<p>"We must keep up a good pace," cried the +governess, taking a stream and the hedge +beyond in a single sweep. "There's a light +in the east already."</p> + +<p>As she spoke a dog howled in a farmyard +beneath them, and she shot upwards as though +lifted by a sudden gust of wind.</p> + +<p>"We're too low," she shouted from above. +"That dog felt us near. Come up higher. +It's easier flying, and we've got a long way +to go."</p> + +<p>Jimbo followed her up till they were several +hundred feet above the earth and the keen +air stung their cheeks. Then she led him +still higher, till the meadows looked like the +squares on a chess-board and the trees were +like little toy shrubs. Here they rushed +along at a tremendous speed, too fast to speak,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> +their wings churning the air into little whirlwinds +and eddies as they passed, whizzing, +whistling, tearing through space.</p> + +<p>The fields, however, were still dim in the +shadows that precede the dawn, and the stars +only just beginning to fade, when they saw +the dark outline of the Empty House below +them, and began carefully to descend. Soon +they topped the high elms, startling the rooks +into noisy cawing, and then, skimming the +wall, sailed stealthily on outspread wings +across the yard.</p> + +<p>Cautiously dropping down to the level of +the window, they crawled over the sill into +the dark little room, and folded their wings.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER XII<br /> +<span class="chapsub">THE FOUR WINDS</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">The</span> governess left the boy to his own reflections +almost immediately. He spent the hours +thinking and resting; going over again in his +mind every incident of the great flight and +wondering when the real, final escape would +come, and what it would be like. Thus, +between the two states of excitement he +forgot for a while that he was still a prisoner, +and the spell of horror was lifted temporarily +from his heart.</p> + +<p>The day passed quickly, and when Miss +Lake appeared in the evening, she announced +that there could be no flying again that night, +and that she wished instead to give him +important instruction for the future. There +were rules, and signs, and times which he must +learn carefully. The time might come when +he would have to fly alone, and he must be +prepared for everything.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span></p><p>"And the first thing I have to tell you," +she said, exactly as though it was a schoolroom, +"is: <em>Never fly over the sea.</em> Our kind +of wings quickly absorb the finer particles of +water and get clogged and heavy over the sea. +You finally cannot resist the drawing power +of the water, and you will be dragged down +and drowned. So be very careful! When +you are flying high it is often difficult to +know where the land ends and the sea begins, +especially on moonless nights. But you can +always be certain of one thing: if there are +no sounds below you—hoofs, voices, wheels, +wind in trees—you are over the sea."</p> + +<p>"Yes," said the child, listening with great +attention. "And what else?"</p> + +<p>"The next thing is: <em>Don't fly too high.</em> +Though we fly like birds, remember we are +not birds, and we can fly where they can't. +We can fly in the ether——"</p> + +<p>"Where's that?" he interrupted, half afraid +of the sound.</p> + +<p>She stooped and kissed him, laughing at +his fear.</p> + +<p>"There is nothing to be frightened about," +she explained. "The air gets lighter and +lighter as you go higher, till at last it stops +altogether. Then there's only ether left.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> +Birds can't fly in ether because it's too thin. +We can, because——"</p> + +<p>"Is that why it was good for me to get +lighter and thinner?" he interrupted again +in a puzzled voice.</p> + +<p>"Partly, yes."</p> + +<p>"And what happens in the ether, please?" +It still frightened him a little.</p> + +<p>"Nothing—except that if you fly too high +you reach a point where the earth ceases to +hold you, and you dash off into space. Weight +leaves you then, and the wings move without +effort. Faster and faster you rush upwards, +till you lose all control of your movements, +and then——"</p> + +<p>Miss Lake hesitated a moment.</p> + +<p>"And then——?" asked the fascinated +child.</p> + +<p>"You may never come down again," she +said slowly. "You may be sucked into +anything that happens to come your way—a +comet, or a shooting star, or the moon."</p> + +<p>"I should like a shooting star best," +observed the boy, deeply interested. "The +moon frightens me, I think. It looks so dreadfully +clean."</p> + +<p>"You won't like any of them when the +time comes," she laughed. "No one ever<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> +gets out again who once gets in. But you'll +never be caught that way after what I've +told you," she added, with decision.</p> + +<p>"I shall never want to fly as high as that, +I'm sure," said Jimbo. "And now, please, +what comes next?"</p> + +<p>The next thing, she went on to explain, was +the <em>weather</em>, which, to all flying creatures, was +of the utmost importance. Before starting +for a flight he must always carefully consider +the state of the sky, and the direction in which +he wished to go. For this purpose he must +master the meaning and character of the Four +Winds and be able to recognise them in a +moment.</p> + +<p>"Once you know these," she said, "you +cannot possibly go wrong. To make it easier, +I've put each Wind into a little simple rhyme, +for you."</p> + +<p>"I'm listening," he said eagerly.</p> + +<p>"The North Wind is one of the worst and +most dangerous, because it blows so much +faster than you think. It's taken you ten +miles before you think you've gone two. In +starting with a North Wind, always fly <em>against</em> +it; then it will bring you home easily. If +you fly <em>with</em> it, you may be swept so far that +the day will catch you before you can get<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> +home; and then you're as good as lost. Even +birds fly warily when this wind is about. It +has no lulls or resting-places in it; it blows +steadily on and on, and conquers everything +it comes against—everything except the +mountains."</p> + +<p>"And its rhyme?" asked Jimbo, all ears.</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"It will show you the joy of the birds, my child,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">You shall know their terrible bliss;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It will teach you to hide, when the night is wild,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From the storm's too passionate kiss.<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> For the Wind of the North<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> Is a volleying forth<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> That will lift you with springs<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> In the heart of your wings,<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> And may sweep you away<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> To the edge of the day.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So, beware of the Wind of the North, my child,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fly not with the Wind of the North!"</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>"I think I like him all the same," said +Jimbo. "But I'll remember always to fly +against him."</p> + +<p>"The East Wind is worse still, for it hurts," +continued the governess. "It stings and cuts. +It's like the breath of an ice-creature; it +brings hail and sleet and cold rain that beat +down wings and blind the eyes. Like the +North Wind, too, it is dreadfully swift and +full of little whirlwinds, and may easily carry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> +you into the light of day that would prove +your destruction. Avoid it always; no +hiding-place is safe from it. This is the +rhyme:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"It will teach you the secrets the eagles know<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of the tempests' and whirlwinds' birth;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the magical weaving of rain and snow<br /></span> +<span class="i0">As they fall from the sky to the earth.<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> But an Easterly wind<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> Is for ever unkind;<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> It will torture and twist you<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> And never assist you,<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> But will drive you with might<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> To the verge of the night.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So, beware of the Wind of the East, my child,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fly not with the Wind of the East."</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>"The West Wind is really a very nice and +jolly wind in itself," she went on, "but it's +dangerous for a special reason: <em>it will carry +you out to sea</em>. The Empty House is only a +few miles from the coast, and a strong West +Wind would take you there almost before you +had time to get down to earth again. And +there's no use struggling against a really steady +West Wind, for it's simply tireless. Luckily, +it rarely blows at night, but goes down with +the sun. Often, too, it blows hard to the +coast, and then drops suddenly, leaving you +among the fogs and mists of the sea."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p><p>"Rather a nice, exciting sort of wind +though," remarked Jimbo, waiting for the +rhyme.</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"So, at last, you shall know from their lightest breath<br /></span> +<span class="i0">To which heaven each wind belongs;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And shall master their meaning for life or death<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By the shout of their splendid songs.<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> Yet the Wind of the West<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> Is a wind unblest;<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> It is lifted and kissed<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> By the spirits of mist;<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> It will clasp you and flee<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> To the wastes of the sea.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So, beware of the Wind of the West, my child,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fly not with the Wind of the West!"</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>"A jolly wind," observed Jimbo again. +"But that doesn't leave much over to fly with," +he added sadly. "They all seem dangerous +or cruel."</p> + +<p>"Yes," she laughed, "and so they are till +you can master them—then they're kind, +only one that's really always safe and kind is +the Wind of the South. It's a sweet, gentle +wind, beloved of all that flies, and you can't +possibly mistake it. You can tell it at once +by the murmuring way it stirs the grasses and +the tops of the trees. Its taste is soft and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> +sweet in the mouth like wine, and there's +always a faint perfume about it like gardens +in summer. It is the joy of this wind that +makes all flying things sing. With a South +Wind you can go anywhere and no harm can +come to you."</p> + +<p>"Dear old South Wind," cried Jimbo, +rubbing his hands with delight. "I hope it +will blow soon."</p> + +<p>"Its rhyme is very easy, too, though you +will always be able to tell it without that," +she added.</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"For this is the favourite Wind of all,<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> Beloved of the stars and night;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the rustle of leaves you shall hear it call<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> To the passionate joys of flight.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">It will carry you forth in its wonderful hair<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> To the far-away courts of the sky,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And the breath of its lips is a murmuring prayer<br /></span> +<span class="i2"> For the safety of all who fly.<br /></span> +<span class="i3"> For the Wind of the South<br /></span> +<span class="i3"> Is like wine in the mouth,<br /></span> +<span class="i3"> With its whispering showers<br /></span> +<span class="i3"> And perfume of flowers,<br /></span> +<span class="i3"> When it falls like a sigh<br /></span> +<span class="i3"> From the heart of the sky."</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>"Oh!" interrupted Jimbo, rubbing his +hands, "that <em>is</em> nice. That's <em>my</em> wind!"</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i03"> "It will bear you aloft<br /></span> +<span class="i3"> With a pressure so soft<br /></span> +<span class="i3"> That you hardly shall guess<br /></span> +<span class="i3"> Whose the gentle caress."</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>"Hooray!" he cried again.</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i03"> "It's the kindest of weathers<br /></span> +<span class="i3"> For our red feathers,<br /></span> +<span class="i3"> And blows open the way<br /></span> +<span class="i3"> To the Gardens of Play.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">So, fly out with the Wind of the South, my child,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With the wonderful Wind of the South."</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>"Oh, I love the South Wind already," he +shouted, clapping his hands again. "I hope +it will blow very, <em>very</em> soon."</p> + +<p>"It may be rising even now," answered +the governess, leading him to the window. +But, as they gazed at the summer landscape +lying in the fading light of the sunset, all was +still and resting. The air was hushed, the +leaves motionless. There was no call just +then to flight from among the tree-tops, and +he went back into the room disappointed.</p> + +<p>"But why can't we escape at once?" he +asked again, after he had given his promise to +remember all she had told him, and to be +extra careful if he ever went out flying alone.</p> + +<p>"Jimbo, dear, I've told you before, it's +because your body isn't ready for you yet,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> +she answered patiently. "There's hardly any +circulation in it, and if you forced your way +back now the shock might stop your heart +beating altogether. Then you'd be really +dead, and escape would be impossible."</p> + +<p>The boy sat on the edge of the bed staring +intently at her while she spoke. Something +clutched at his heart. He felt his Older Self, +with its greater knowledge, rising up out of +the depths within him. The child struggled +with the old soul for possession.</p> + +<p>"Have <em>you</em> got any circulation?" he asked +abruptly at length. "I mean, has <em>your</em> heart +stopped beating?"</p> + +<p>But the smile called up by his words froze +on her lips. She crossed to the window and +stood with her back to the fading light, +avoiding his eyes.</p> + +<p>"My case, Jimbo, is a little different from +yours," she said presently. "The important +thing is to make certain about your escape. +Never mind about me."</p> + +<p>"But escape without you is nothing," he +said, the Older Self now wholly in possession. +"I simply wouldn't go. I'd rather stay +here—with you."</p> + +<p>The governess made no reply, but she turned +her back to the room and leaned out of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> +window. Jimbo fancied he heard a sob. He +felt a great big heart swelling up within his +little body, and he crossed over beside her. +For some minutes they stood there in silence, +watching the stars that were already shining +faintly in the sky.</p> + +<p>"Whatever happens," he said, nestling +against her, "I shan't go from here without +you. Remember that!"</p> + +<p>He was going to say a lot more, but somehow +or other, when she stooped over to kiss +his head—he hardly came up to her shoulder—it +all ran suddenly out of his mind, and the +little child dropped back into possession again. +The tide of his thoughts that seemed about +to rise, fast and furious, sank away completely, +leaving his mind a clean-washed slate without +a single image; and presently, without any +more words, the governess left him and went +through the trap-door into the silence and +mystery of the house below.</p> + +<p>Several hours later, about the middle of the +night, there came over him a most disagreeable +sensation of nausea and dizziness. The +ground rose and fell beneath his feet, the walls +swam about sideways, and the ceiling slid +off into the air. It only lasted a few minutes, +however, and Jimbo knew from what she had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> +told him that it was the Flying Sickness which +always followed the first long flight.</p> + +<p>But, about the same time, another little +body, lying in a night-nursery bed, was being +convulsed with a similar attack; and the +sickness of the little prisoner in the Empty +House had its parallel, strangely enough, in +the half-tenanted body miles away in a +different world.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER XIII<br /> +<span class="chapsub">PLEASURES OF FLIGHT</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">Since</span> the night when Jimbo had nearly fallen +into the yard and risked capture, Fright, the +horrible owner of the house, had kept himself +well out of the way, and had allowed himself +to be neither seen nor heard.</p> + +<p>But the boy was not foolish enough to fall +into the other trap, and imagine, therefore, +that He did not know what was going on. +Jimbo felt quite sure that He was only waiting +his chance; and the governess's avoidance +of the subject tended to confirm this supposition.</p> + +<p>"He's disappeared somewhere and taken +the children with him," she declared when he +questioned her. "And now you know almost +as much as I do."</p> + +<p>"But not quite!" he laughed mischievously.</p> + +<p>"Enough, though," she replied. "We want +all our energy for escape when it comes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> +Don't bother about anything else for the +moment."</p> + +<p>During the day, when he was alone, his +thoughts and fancies often terrified him; but +at night, when he was rushing through the +heavens, the intense delight of flying drove +all minor emotions out of his consciousness, +and he even forgot his one great desire—to +escape. One night, however, something happened +that brought it back more keenly than +ever.</p> + +<p>He had been out flying alone, but had not +gone far when he noticed that an easterly +wind had begun to rise and was blowing +steadily behind him. With the recent instructions +fresh in his head, he thought it +wiser to turn homewards rather than fight his +way back later against a really strong wind +from this quarter. Flying low along the +surface of the fields so as to avoid its full +force, he suddenly rose up with a good sweep +and settled on the top of the wall enclosing +the yard.</p> + +<p>The moonlight lay bright over everything. +His approach had been very quiet. He was +just about to sail across to the window when +something caught his eye, and he hesitated a +moment, and stared.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span></p><p>Something was moving at the other end of +the courtyard.</p> + +<p>It seemed to him that the moonlight +suddenly grew pale and ghastly; the night +air turned chilly; shivers began to run up +and down his back.</p> + +<p>He folded his wings and watched.</p> + +<p>At the end of the yard he saw several figures +moving busily to and fro in the shadow of the +wall. They were very small; but close beside +them all the time stood a much larger figure +which seemed to be directing their movements. +There was no need to look twice; it was impossible +to mistake these terrible little people +and their hideous overseer. Horror rushed +over the boy, and a wild scream was out in the +night before he could possibly prevent it. At +the same moment a cloud passed over the +face of the moon and the yard was shrouded in +darkness.</p> + +<p>A minute later the cloud passed off; but +while it was still too dark to see clearly, +Jimbo was conscious of a rushing, whispering +sound in the air, and something went past +him at a tremendous pace into the sky. The +wind stirred his hair as it passed, and a moment +later he heard voices far away in the distance—up +in the sky or within the house he could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> +not tell—singing mournfully the song he now +knew so well:—</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">We dance with phantoms and with shadows play.</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>But when he looked down at the yard he +saw that it was deserted, and the corner by +the little upright stones lay in the clear moonlight, +empty of figures, large or small.</p> + +<p>Shivering with fright, he flew across to the +window ledge, and almost tumbled into the +arms of the governess who was standing close +inside.</p> + +<p>"What's the matter, child?" she asked in +a voice that trembled a little.</p> + +<p>And, still shuddering, he told her how he +thought he had seen the children working by +the gravestones. All her efforts to calm him +at first failed, but after a bit she drew his +thoughts to pleasanter things, and he was +not so certain after all that he had not been +deceived by the cunning of the moonlight and +the shadows.</p> + +<p>A long interval passed, and no further sign +was given by the owner of the house or his +band of frightened children. Jimbo soon lost +himself again in the delights of flying and the +joy of his increasing powers.</p> + +<p>Most of all he enjoyed the quiet, starlit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> +nights before the moon was up; for the moon +dazzled the eyes in the rarefied air where they +flew, whereas the stars gave just enough light +to steer by without making it uncomfortable.</p> + +<p>Moreover, the moon often filled him with a +kind of faint terror, as of death; he could +never gaze at her white face for long without +feeling that something entered his heart with +those silver rays—something that boded him +no good. He never spoke of this to the governess; +indeed, he only recognised it himself +when the moon was near the full; but it lay +always in the depths of his being, and he felt +dimly that it would have to be reckoned with +before he could really escape for good. He +took no liberties when the moon was at the full.</p> + +<p>He loved to hover—for he had learned by +this time that most difficult of all flying feats; +to hold the body vertical and whirr the wings +without rising or advancing—he loved to +hover on windless nights over ponds and rivers +and see the stars reflected in their still pools. +Indeed, sometimes he hovered till he dropped, +and only saved himself from a wetting by +sweeping up in a tremendous curve along the +surface of the water, and thus up into the +branches of the trees where the governess sat +waiting for him. And then, after a little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> +rest, they would launch forth again and fly +over fields and woods, sometimes even as far +as the hills that ran down the coast of the sea +itself.</p> + +<p>They usually flew at a height of about a +thousand feet, and the earth passed beneath +them like a great streaked shadow. But as +soon as the moon was up the whole country +turned into a fairyland of wonder. Her light +touched the woods with a softened magic, +and the fields and hedges became frosted most +delicately. Beneath a thin transparency of +mist the water shone with a silvery brilliance +that always enabled them to distinguish it +from the land at any height; while the farms +and country houses were swathed in tender +grey shadows through which the trees and +chimneys pierced in slender lines of black. It +was wonderful to watch the shadows everywhere +spinning their blue veil of distance that +lent even to the commonest objects something +of enchantment and mystery.</p> + +<p>Those were wonderful journeys they made +together into the pathways of the silent night, +along the unknown courses, into that hushed +centre where they could almost hear the +beatings of her great heart—like winged +thoughts searching the huge vault, till the boy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> +ached with the sensations of speed and distance, +and the old yellow moon seemed to +stagger across the sky.</p> + +<p>Sometimes they rose very high into freezing +air, so high that the earth became a dull +shadow specked with light. They saw the +trains running in all directions with thin +threads of smoke shining in the glare of the +open fire-boxes. But they seemed very tiny +trains indeed, and stirred in him no recollections +of the semi-annual visits to London town +when he went to the dentist, and lunched with +the dreaded grandmother or the stiff and +fashionable aunts.</p> + +<p>And when they came down again from +these perilous heights, the scents of the earth +rose to meet them, the perfume of woods and +fields, and the smells of the open country.</p> + +<p>There was, too, the delight, the curious +delight of windy nights, when the wind smote +and buffeted them, knocking them suddenly +sideways, whistling through their feathers as +if it wanted to tear them from their sockets; +rushing furiously up underneath their wings +with repeated blows; turning them round, +and backwards and forwards, washing them +from head to foot in a tempestuous sea of +rapid and unexpected motion.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span></p><p>It was, of course, far easier to fly with a +wind than without one. The difficulty with a +violent wind was to get down—not to keep +up. The gusts drove up against the under-surfaces +of their wings and kept them afloat, +so that by merely spreading them like sails +they could sweep and circle without a single +stroke. Jimbo soon learned to manÅ“uvre so +that he could turn the strength of a great wind +to his own purposes, and revel in its boisterous +waves and currents like a strong swimmer in +a rough sea.</p> + +<p>And to listen to the wind as it swept backwards +and forwards over the surface of the +earth below was another pleasure; for everything +it touched gave out a definite note. He +soon got to know the long sad cry from the +willows, and the little whispering in the tops +of the poplar trees; the crisp, silvery rattle +of the birches, and the deep roar from oaks +and beech woods. The sound of a forest was +like the shouting of the sea.</p> + +<p>But far more lovely, when they descended +a little, and the wind was more gentle, were +the low pipings among the reeds and the +little wayward murmurs under the hedgerows.</p> + +<p>The pine trees, however, drew them most,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> +with their weird voices, now far away, now +near, rising upwards with a wind of sighs.</p> + +<p>There was a grove of these trees that +trooped down to the waters of a little lake in +the hills, and to this spot they often flew when +the wind was low and the music likely, therefore, +to be to their taste. For, even when there +was no perceptible wind, these trees seemed +always full of mysterious, mournful whisperings; +their branches held soft music that +never quite died away, even when all other +trees were silent and motionless.</p> + +<p>Besides these special expeditions, they flew +everywhere and anywhere. They visited the +birds in their nests in lofty trees, and exchanged +the time of night with wise-eyed owls staring +out upon them from the ivy. They hovered +up the face of great cliffs, and passed the +hawks asleep on perilous ledges; skimmed +over lonely marshes, frightening the water-birds +paddling in and out among the reeds. +They followed the windings of streams, singing +among the meadows, and flew along the wet +sands as they watched the moon rise out of +the sea.</p> + +<p>These flights were unadulterated pleasure, +and Jimbo thought he could never have +enough of them.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span></p><p>He soon began to notice, too, that the trees +emanated something that affected his own +condition. When he sat in their branches this +was very noticeable. Currents of force passed +from them into himself. And even when he +flew over their crests he was aware that some +woods exhaled vigorous, life-giving forces, +while others tired and depleted him. Nothing +was visible actually, but fine waves seemed +to beat up against his eyes and thoughts, +making him stronger or weaker, happy or +melancholy, full of hope and courage, or listless +and indifferent.</p> + +<p>These emanations of the trees—this giving-forth +of their own personal forces—were, of +course, very varied in strength and character. +Oaks and pines were the best combination, +he found, before the stress of a long flight, the +former giving him steadiness, and the latter +steely endurance and the power to steer in +sinuous, swift curves, without taking thought +or trouble.</p> + +<p>Other trees gave other powers. All gave +something. It was impossible to sit among +their branches without absorbing some of the +subtle and exhilarating tree-life. He soon +learned how to gather it all into himself, and +turn it to account in his own being.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p><p>"Sit quietly," the governess said. "Let +the forces creep in and stir about. Do nothing +yourself. Give them time to become part of +yourself and mix properly with your own +currents. Effort on your part prevents this, +and you weaken them without gaining anything +yourself."</p> + +<p>Jimbo made all sorts of experiments with +trees and rocks and water and fields, learning +gradually the different qualities of force they +gave forth, and how to use them for himself. +Nothing, he found, was really dead. And +sometimes he got himself into strange difficulties +in the beginning of his attempts to +master and absorb these nature-forces.</p> + +<p>"Remember," the governess warned him +more than once, when he was inclined to play +tricks, "they are in quite a different world to +ours. You cannot take liberties with them. +Even a sympathetic soul like yourself only +touches the fringe of their world. You exchange +surface-messages with them, nothing +more. Some trees have terrible forces just +below the surface. They could extinguish +you altogether—absorb you into themselves. +Others are naturally hostile. Some are mere +tricksters. Others are shifty and treacherous, +like the hollies, that move about too much.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> +The oak and the pine and the elm are friendly, +and you can always trust them absolutely. +But there are others——!"</p> + +<p>She held up a warning finger, and Jimbo's +eyes nearly dropped out of his head.</p> + +<p>"No," she added, in reply to his questions, +"you can't learn all this at once. Perhaps——" +She hesitated a little. "Perhaps, if you don't +escape, we should have time for all manner of +adventures among the trees and other things—but +then, we <em>are</em> going to escape, so there's no +good wasting time over <em>that</em>!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER XIV<br /> +<span class="chapsub">AN ADVENTURE</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">But</span> Miss Lake did not always accompany +him on these excursions into the night; sometimes +he took long flights by himself, and +she rather encouraged him in this, saying it +would give him confidence in case he ever +lost her and was obliged to find his way +about alone.</p> + +<p>"But I couldn't get really lost," he said +once to her. "I know the winds perfectly +now and the country round for miles, and I +never go out in fog——"</p> + +<p>"But these are only practice flights," she +replied. "The flight of escape is a very +different matter. I want you to learn all you +possibly can so as to be prepared for anything."</p> + +<p>Jimbo felt vaguely uncomfortable when she +talked like this.</p> + +<p>"But you'll be with me in the Escape +Flight—the final one of all," he said; "and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> +nothing ever goes wrong when you're with +me."</p> + +<p>"I should like to be always with you," she +answered tenderly, "but it's well to be prepared +for anything, just the same."</p> + +<p>And more than this the boy could never get +out of her.</p> + +<p>On one of these lonely flights, however, he +made the unpleasant discovery that he was +being followed.</p> + +<p>At first he only imagined there was somebody +after him because of the curious vibrations +of the very rarefied air in which he flew. +Every time his flight slackened and the noise +of his own wings grew less, there reached him +from some other corner of the sky a sound like +the vibrations of large wings beating the air. +It seemed behind, and generally below him, +but the swishing of his own feathers made it +difficult to hear with distinctness, or to be +certain of the direction.</p> + +<p>Evidently it was a long way off; but now +and again, when he took a spurt and then +sailed silently for several minutes on outstretched +wings, the beating of distant, following +feathers seemed unmistakably clear, and +he raced on again at full speed more than +terrified. Other times, however, when he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> +tried to listen, there was no trace of this other +flyer, and then his fear would disappear, and +he would persuade himself that it had been +imagination. So much on these flights he +knew to be imagination—the sentences, voices, +and laughter, for instance, that filled the air +and sounded so real, yet were actually caused +by the wind rushing past his ears, the rhythm of +the wing-beats, and the tips of the feathers occasionally +rubbing against the sides of his body.</p> + +<p>But at last one night the suspicion that he +was followed became a certainty.</p> + +<p>He was flying far up in the sky, passing +over some big city, when the sound rose to +his ears, and he paused, sailing on stretched +wings, to listen. Looking down into the immense +space below, he saw, plainly outlined +against the luminous patch above the city, +the form of a large flying creature moving by +with rapid strokes. The pulsations of its +great wings made the air tremble so that he +both heard and felt them. It may have been +that the vapours of the city distorted the +thing, just as the earth's atmosphere magnifies +the rising or setting of the moon; but, even +so, it was easy to see that it was something a +good deal larger than himself, and with a much +more powerful flight.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span></p><p>Fortunately, it did not seem this time to be +actually on his trail, for it swept by at a great +pace, and was soon lost in the darkness far +ahead. Perhaps it was only searching for +him, and his great height had proved his +safety. But in any case he was exceedingly +terrified, and at once turned round, pointed +his head for the earth, and shot downwards +in the direction of the Empty House as fast +as ever he could.</p> + +<p>But when he spoke to the governess she made +light of it, and told him there was nothing to +be afraid of. It might have been a flock of +hurrying night-birds, she said, or an owl distorted +by the city's light, or even his own +reflection magnified in water. Anyhow, she +felt sure it was not chasing him, and he need +pay no attention to it.</p> + +<p>Jimbo felt reassured, but not quite satisfied. +He knew a flying monster when he saw one; +and it was only when he had been for many +more flights alone, without its reappearance, +that his confidence was fully restored, and he +began to forget about it.</p> + +<p>Certainly these lonely flights were very +much to his taste. His Older Self, with its +dim hauntings of a great memory somewhere +behind him, took possession then, and he was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> +able to commune with nature in a way that +the presence of the governess made impossible. +With her his Older Self rarely showed itself +above the surface for long; he was always the +child. But, when alone, Nature became +alive; he drew force from the trees and +flowers, and felt that they all shared a common +life together. Had he been imprisoned by +some wizard of old in a tree-form, knowing of +the sunset and the dawn only by the sweet +messages that rustled in his branches, the +wind could hardly have spoken to him with a +more intimate meaning; or the life of the +fields, eternally patient, have touched him +more nearly with their joys and sorrows. It +seemed almost as if, from his leafy cell, he +had gazed before this into the shining pools +with which the summer rains jewelled the +meadows, sending his soul in a stream of +unsatisfied yearning up to the stars. It all +came back dimly when he heard the wind +among the leaves, and carried him off to the +woods and fields of an existence far antedating +this one——</p> + +<p>And on gentle nights, when the wind itself +was half asleep and dreaming, the pine trees +drew him most of all, for theirs was the song +he loved above all others. He would fly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span> +round and round the little grove by the mountain +lake, listening for hours together to their +sighing voices. But the governess was never +told of this, whatever she may have guessed; +for it seemed to him a joy too deep for words, +the pains and sweetness being mingled too +mysteriously for him ever to express in +awkward sentences. Moreover, it all passed +away and was forgotten the moment the child +took possession and usurped the older memory.</p> + +<p>One night, when the moon was high and the +air was cool and fragrant after the heat of the +day, Jimbo felt a strong desire to get off by +himself for a long flight. He was full of +energy, and the space-craving cried to be +satisfied. For several days he had been +content with slow, stupid expeditions with +the governess.</p> + +<p>"I'm off alone to-night," he cried, balancing +on the window ledge, "but I'll be back before +dawn. Good-bye!"</p> + +<p>She kissed him, as she always did now, and +with her good-bye ringing in his ears, he +dropped from the window and rose rapidly +over the elms and away from earth.</p> + +<p>This night, for some reason, the stars and +the moon seemed to draw him, and with +tireless wings he mounted up, up, up, to a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> +height he had never reached before. The +intoxication of the strong night air rose into +his brain and he dashed forward ever faster, +with a mad delight, into the endless space +before him.</p> + +<p>Mile upon mile lay behind him as he rushed +onwards, always pointing a little on the +upward slope, drunk with speed. The earth +faded away to a dark expanse of shadow +beneath him, and he no longer was conscious +of the deep murmur that usually flowed +steadily upwards from its surface. He had +often before risen out of reach of the earth +noises, but never so far that this dull reverberating +sound, combined of all the voices of +the world merged together, failed to make +itself heard. To-night, however, he heard +nothing. The stars above his head changed +from yellow to diamond white, and the cold +air stung his cheeks and brought the water +to his eyes.</p> + +<p>But at length the governess's warning, as +he explored these forbidden regions, came +back to him, and in a series of gigantic bounds +that took his breath away completely, he +dropped nearer to the earth again and kept +on at a much lower level.</p> + +<p>The hours passed and the position of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> +moon began to alter noticeably. Some of the +constellations that were overhead when he +started were now dipping below the horizon. +Never before had he ventured so far from home, +and he began to realise that he had been +flying much longer than he knew or intended. +The speed had been terrific.</p> + +<p>The change came imperceptibly. With the +discovery that his wings were not moving +quite so easily as before, he became suddenly +aware that this had really been the case for +some little time. He was flying with greater +effort, and for a long time this effort had been +increasing gradually before he actually recognised +the fact.</p> + +<p>Although no longer pointing towards the +earth he seemed to be sinking. It became +increasingly difficult to fly upwards. His +wings did not seem to fail or weaken, nor was +he conscious of feeling tired; but something +was ever persuading him to fly lower, almost +as if a million tiny threads were coaxing him +downwards, drawing him gradually nearer to +the world again. Whatever it was, the earth +had come much closer to him in the last hour, +and its familiar voices were pleasant to hear +after the boundless heights he had just +left.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span></p><p>But for some reason his speed grew insensibly +less and less. His wings moved +apparently as fast as before, but it was harder +to keep up. In spite of himself he kept +sinking. The sensation was quite new, and he +could not understand it. It almost seemed +as though he were being <em>pulled</em> downwards.</p> + +<p>Jimbo began to feel uneasy. He had not +lost his bearings, but he was a very long way +from home, and quite beyond reach of the help +he was so accustomed to. With a great effort +he mounted several hundred feet into the air, +and tried hard to stay there. For a short +time he succeeded, but he soon felt himself +sinking gradually downwards again. The +force drawing him was a constant force without +rise or fall; and with a deadly feeling of +fear the boy began to realise that he would +soon have to yield to it altogether. His heart +beat faster and his thoughts turned to the +friend who was then far away, but who alone +could save him.</p> + +<p>She, at least, could have explained it and +told him what best to do. But the governess +was beyond his reach. This problem he must +face alone.</p> + +<p>Something, however, had to be done quickly, +and Jimbo, acting more as the man than as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> +the boy, turned and flew hurriedly forward +in another direction. He hoped this might +somehow counteract the force that still drew +him downwards; and for a time it apparently +did so, and he flew level. But the strain +increased every minute, and he looked down +with something of a shudder as he realised +that before very long he would be obliged to +yield to this deadly force—and drop!</p> + +<p>It was then for the first time he noticed a +change had come over the surface of the earth +below. Instead of the patchwork of field and +wood and road, he saw a vast cloud stretching +out, white and smooth in the moonlight. The +world was hidden beneath a snowy fog, dense +and impenetrable. It was no longer even +possible to tell in what direction he was +flying, for there was nothing to steer by. +This was a new and unexpected complication, +and the boy could not understand how the +change had come about so quickly; the last +time he had glanced down for indications to +steer by, everything had been clear and easily +visible.</p> + +<p>It was very beautiful, this carpet of white +mist with the silver moon shining upon it, +but it thrilled him now with an unpleasant +sense of dread. And, still more unpleasant,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> +was a new sound which suddenly broke in +upon the stillness and turned his blood into +ice. He was certain that he heard wings +behind him. He was being followed, and this +meant that it was impossible to turn and fly +back.</p> + +<p>There was nothing now to do but fly forwards +and hope to distance the huge wings; +but if he was being followed by the powerful +flyer he had seen a few nights before, the boy +knew that he stood little chance of success, +and he only did it because it seemed the one +thing possible.</p> + +<p>The cloud was dense and chill as he entered +it; its moisture clung to his wings and made +them heavy; his muscles seemed to stiffen, +and motion became more and more difficult. +The wings behind him meanwhile came closer.</p> + +<p>He was flying along the surface of the mist +now, his body and wings hidden, and his head +just above the level. He could see along its +white, even top. If he sank a few more +inches it would be impossible to see at all, or +even to judge where he was going. Soon it +rose level with his lips, and at the same time +he noticed a new smell in the air, faint at first, +but growing every moment stronger. It was +a fresh, sweet odour, yet it somehow added to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> +his alarm, and stirred in him new centres of +uneasiness. He tried vainly to increase his +speed and distance the wings which continued +to gain so steadily upon him from behind.</p> + +<p>The cloud, apparently, was not everywhere +of the same density, for here and there he saw +the tops of green hills below him as he flew. +But he could not understand why each green +hill seemed to have a little lake on its summit—a +little lake in which the reflected moon stared +straight up into his face. Nor could he quite +make out what the sounds were which rose +to his ears through the muffling of the cloud—sounds +of tumultuous rushing, hissing, and +tumbling. They were continuous, these +sounds, and once or twice he thought he +heard with them a deep, thunderous roar that +almost made his heart stop beating as he +listened.</p> + +<p>Was he, perhaps, over a range of high +mountains, and was this the sound of the +tumbling torrents?</p> + +<p>Then, suddenly, it came to him with a shock +that the ordinary sounds of the earth had +wholly ceased.</p> + +<p>Jimbo felt his head beginning to whirl. He +grew weaker every minute; less able to offer +resistance to the remorseless forces that were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> +sucking him down. Now the mist had closed +over his head, and he could no longer see the +moonlight. He turned again, shaking with +terror, and drove forward headlong through +the clinging vapour. A sensation of choking +rose in his throat; he was tired out, ready +to drop with exhaustion. The wings of the +following creature were now so close that he +thought every minute he would be seized +from behind and plunged into the abyss to +his death.</p> + +<p>It was just then that he made the awful +discovery that the world below him was not +stationary: the <em>green hills were moving</em>. They +were sweeping past with a rushing, thundering +sound in regular procession; and their huge +sides were streaked with white. The reflection +of the moon leaped up into his face as +each hill rolled hissing and gurgling by, and +he knew at last with a shock of unutterable +horror that it was <em class="ucsmcap">THE SEA</em>!</p> + +<p>He was flying over the sea, and the waters +were drawing him down. The immense, green +waves that rolled along through the sea fog, +carrying the moon's face on their crests, +foaming and gurgling as they went, were +already leaping up to seize him by the feet +and drag him into their depths.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p><p>He dropped several feet deeper into the +mist, and towards the sea, terror-stricken and +blinded. Then, turning frantically, not knowing +what else to do, he struck out, with his +last strength, for the upper surface and the +moonlight. But as he did so, turning his +face towards the sky he saw a dark form +hovering just above him, covering his retreat +with huge outstretched wings. It was too +late; he was hemmed in on all sides.</p> + +<p>At that moment a huge, rolling wave, +bigger than all the rest, swept past and wet +him to the knees. His heart failed him. The +next wave would cover him. Already it was +rushing towards him with foaming crest. He +was in its shadow; he heard its thunder. +Darkness rushed over him—he saw the vast +sides streaked with grey and white—when +suddenly, the owner of the wings plucked him +in the back, mid-way between the shoulders, +and lifted him bodily out of the fog, so that +the wave swept by without even wetting his +feet.</p> + +<p>The next minute he saw a dim, white sheet +of silvery mist at his feet, and found himself +far above it in the sweet, clean moonlight; +and when he turned, almost dead with terror, +to look upon his captor, he found himself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> +looking straight into the eyes of—the +governess.</p> + +<p>The sense of relief was so great that Jimbo +simply closed his wings, and hung, a dead +weight, in the air.</p> + +<p>"Use your wings!" cried the governess +sharply; and, still holding him, while he began +to flap feebly, she turned and flew in the +direction of the land.</p> + +<p>"You!" he gasped at last. "It was you +following me!"</p> + +<p>"Of course it was me! I never let you out +of my sight. I've always followed you—every +time you've been out alone."</p> + +<p>Jimbo was still conscious of the drawing +power of the sea, but he felt that his companion +was too strong for it. After fifteen +minutes of fierce flight he heard the sounds +of earth again, and knew that they were +safe.</p> + +<p>Then the governess loosened her hold, and +they flew along side by side in the direction +of home.</p> + +<p>"I won't scold you, Jimbo," she said +presently, "for you've suffered enough +already." She was the first to break the +silence, and her voice trembled a little. "But +remember, the sea draws you down, just as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> +surely as the moon draws you up. Nothing +would please Him better than to see you +destroyed by one or the other."</p> + +<p>Jimbo said nothing. But, when once they +were safe inside the room again, he went up +and cried his eyes out on her arm, while she +folded him in to her heart as if he were the +only thing in the whole world she had to +love.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER XV<br /> +<span class="chapsub">THE CALL OF THE BODY</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">One</span> night, towards the end of the practice +flights, a strange thing happened, which +showed that the time for the final flight of +escape was drawing near.</p> + +<p>They had been out for several hours flying +through a rainstorm, the thousand little drops +of which stung their faces like tiny gun-shot. +About two in the morning the wind shifted +and drove the clouds away as by magic; the +stars came out, at first like the eyes of children +still dim with crying, but later with a clear +brilliance that filled Jimbo and the governess +with keen pleasure. The air was washed and +perfumed; the night luminous, alive, singing. +All its tenderness and passion entered their +hearts and filled them with the wonder of its +glory.</p> + +<p>"Come down, Jimbo," said the governess, +"and we'll lie in the trees and smell the air +after the rain."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span></p><p>"Yes," added the boy, whose Older Self +had been whispering mysterious things to him, +"and watch the stars and hear them singing."</p> + +<p>He led the way to some beech trees that +lined a secluded lane, and settled himself comfortably +in the top branches of the largest, +while the governess soon found a resting-place +beside him. It was a deserted spot, far from +human habitation. Here and there through +the foliage they could see little pools of rain-water +reflecting the sky. The group of trees +swung in the wind, dreaming great woodland +dreams, and overhead the stars looked like a +thousand orchards in the sky, filling the air +with the radiance of their blossoms.</p> + +<p>"How brilliant they are to-night," said the +governess, after watching the boy attentively +for some minutes as they lay side by side in the +great forked branch. "I never saw the +constellations so clear."</p> + +<p>"But they have so little shape," he answered +dreamily; "if we wore lights when we flew +about we should make much better constellations +than they do."</p> + +<p>"The Big and Little Child instead of the +Big and Little Bear," she laughed, still +watching him.</p> + +<p>"I'm slipping away——" he began, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> +then stopped suddenly. He saw the expression +of his companion's eyes, which were +looking him through and through with the +most poignant love and yearning mingled in +their gaze, and something clutched at his +heart that he could not understand.</p> + +<p>"——not slipping out of the tree," he went +on vaguely, "but slipping into some new +place or condition. I don't understand it. +Am I—going off somewhere—where you can't +follow? I thought suddenly—I was losing you."</p> + +<p>The governess smiled at him sadly and said +nothing. She stroked his wings and then +raised them to her lips and kissed them. +Jimbo watched her, and folded his other wing +across into her hands; he felt unhappy, and +his heart began to swell within him; but he +didn't know what to say, and the Older Self +began slowly to fade away again.</p> + +<p>"But the stars," he went on, "have they +got things they send out too—forces, I mean, +like the trees? Do they send out something +that makes us feel sad, or happy, or strong, +or weak?"</p> + +<p>She did not answer for some time; she lay +watching his face and fondling his smooth +red wings; and, presently, when she did +begin to explain, Jimbo found that the child<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> +in him was then paramount again, and he +could not quite follow what she said.</p> + +<p>He tried to answer properly and seem +interested, but her words were very long and +hard to understand, and after a time he thought +she was talking to herself more than to him, +and he gave up all serious effort to follow. +Then he became aware that her voice had +changed. The words seemed to drop down +upon him from a great height. He imagined +she was standing on one of those far stars he +had been asking about, and was shouting at +him through an immense tube of sky and +darkness. The words pricked his ears like +needle-points, only he no longer heard them +as words, but as tiny explosions of sound, +meaningless and distant. Swift flashes of +light began to dance before his eyes, and +suddenly from underneath the tree, a wind +rose up and rushed, laughing, across his face. +Darkness in a mass dropped over his eyes, +and he sank backwards somewhere into another +corner of space altogether.</p> + +<p>The governess, meanwhile, lay quite still, +watching the limp form in the branches beside +her and still holding the tips of his red wings. +Presently tears stole into her eyes, and began +to run down her cheeks. One deep sigh after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> +another escaped from her lips; but the little +boy, or the old soul, who was the cause of all +her emotion, apparently was far away and +knew nothing of it. For a long time she lay +in silence, and then leaned a little nearer to +him, so as to see his full face. The eyes were +wide open and staring, but they were looking +at nothing she could see, for the consciousness +cannot be in two places at the same time, and +Jimbo just then was off on a little journey +of his own, a journey that was but preliminary +to the great final one of all.</p> + +<p>"Jimbo," whispered the girl between her +tears and sighs, "Jimbo! Where have you +gone to? Tell me, are they getting ready +for you at last, and am I to lose you after +all? Is this the only way I can save you—by +losing you?"</p> + +<p>There was no answer, no sign of movement; +and the governess hid her face in her hands +and cried quietly to herself, while her tears +dropped down through the branches of the +tree and fell into the rain-pools beneath.</p> + +<p>For Jimbo's state of oblivion in the tree +was in reality a momentary return to consciousness +in his body on the bed, and the +repaired mechanism of the brain and muscles +had summoned him back on a sort of trial<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> +visit. He remembered nothing of it afterwards, +any more than one remembers the +experiences of deep sleep; but the fact was +that, with the descent of the darkness upon +him in the branches, he had opened his eyes +once again on the scene in the night-nursery +bedroom where his body lay.</p> + +<p>He saw figures standing round the bed and +about the room; his mother with the same +white face as before, was still bending over +the bed asking him if he knew her; a tall man +in a long black coat moved noiselessly to and +fro; and he saw a shaded lamp on a table a +little to the right of the bed. Nothing seemed +to have changed very much, though there had +probably been time enough since he last +opened his eyes for the black-coated doctor +to have gone and come again for a second +visit. He held an instrument in his hands +that shone brightly in the lamplight. Jimbo +saw this plainly and wondered what it was. +He felt as if he were just waking out of a nice, +deep sleep—dreamless and undisturbed. The +Empty House, the Governess, Fright and the +Children had all vanished from his memory, +and he knew no more about wings and feathers +than he did about the science of meteorology.</p> + +<p>But the bedroom scene was a mere glimpse<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> +after all; his eyes were already beginning to +close again. First they shut out the figure of +the doctor; then the bed-curtains; and then +the nurse moved her arm, making the whole +scene quiver for an instant, like some huge +jelly-shape, before it dipped into profound +darkness and disappeared altogether. His +mother's voice ran off into a thin trickle of +sound, miles and miles away, and the light +from the lamp followed him with its glare for +less than half a second. All had vanished.</p> + +<p>"Jimbo, dear, where have you been? Can +you remember anything?" asked the soft +voice beside him, as he looked first at the stars +overhead, and then from the tracery of branches +and leaves beneath him to the great sea of +tree-tops and open country all round.</p> + +<p>But he could tell her nothing; he seemed +dreamy and absent-minded, lying and staring +at her as if he hardly knew who she was or +what she was saying. His mind was still +hovering near the border-line of the two +states of consciousness, like the region between +sleeping and waking, where both worlds seem +unreal and wholly wonderful.</p> + +<p>He could not answer her questions, but he +evidently caught some reflex of her emotions, +for he leaned towards her across the branches,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> +and said he was happy and never wanted to +leave her. Then he crawled to the end of the +big bough and sprang out into the air with a +shout of delight. He was the child again—the +flying child, wild with the excitement of +tearing through the night air at fifty miles +an hour.</p> + +<p>The governess soon followed him and they +flew home together, taking a long turn by the +sea and past the great chalk cliffs, where the +sea sang loud beneath them.</p> + +<p>These lapses became with time more frequent, +as well as of longer duration; and with +them the boy noticed that the longing to +escape became once again intense. He wanted +<em>to get home</em>, wherever home was; he experienced +a sort of nostalgia for the body, though +he could not remember where that body lay. +But when he asked the governess what this +feeling meant, she only mystified him by her +answers, saying that every one, in the body +or out of it, felt a deep longing for their final +<em>home</em>, though they might not have the least +idea where it lay, or even to be able to recognise, +much less to label, their longing.</p> + +<p>His normal feelings, too, were slowly returning +to him. The Older Self became more and +more submerged. As he approached the state<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> +of ordinary, superficial consciousness, the +characteristics of that state reflected themselves +more and more in his thoughts and +feelings. His memory still remained a complete +blank; but he somehow felt that the +things, places, and people he wanted to +remember, had moved much nearer to him +than before. Every day brought them more +within his reach.</p> + +<p>"All these forgotten things will come back to +me soon, I know," he said one day to the governess, +"and then I'll tell you all about them."</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you'll remember me too then," +she answered, a shadow passing across her face.</p> + +<p>Jimbo clapped his hands with delight.</p> + +<p>"Oh," he cried, "I should like to remember +you, because that would make you a sort of +two-people governess, and I should love you +twice as much."</p> + +<p>But with the gradual return to former conditions +the feelings of age and experience grew +dim and indefinite, his knowledge lessened, +becoming obscure and confused, showing itself +only in vague impressions and impulses, until +at last it became quite the exception for the +child-consciousness to be broken through by +flashes of intuition and inspiration from the +more deeply hidden memories.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p><p>For one thing, the deep horror of the +Empty House and its owner now returned to +him with full force. Fear settled down again +over the room, and lurked in the shadows +over the yard. A vivid dread seized him of +the <em>other door</em> in the room—the door through +which the Frightened Children had disappeared, +but which had never opened since. It gradually +became for him a personality in the room, +a staring, silent, listening thing, always watching, +always waiting. One day it would open +and he would be caught! In a dozen ways +like this the horror of the house entered his +heart and made him long for escape with all +the force of his being.</p> + +<p>But the governess, too, seemed changing; +she was becoming more vague and more +mysterious. Her face was always sad now, +and her eyes wistful; her manner became +restless and uneasy, and in many little ways +the child could not fail to notice that her mind +was intent upon other things. He begged +her to name the day for the final flight, but +she always seemed to have some good excuse +for putting it off.</p> + +<p>"I feel frightened when you don't tell me +what's going on," he said to her.</p> + +<p>"It's the preparations for the last flight,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> +she answered, "the flight of escape. He'll +try to prevent us going together so that you +should get lost. But it's better you shouldn't +know too much," she added. "Trust me and +have patience."</p> + +<p>"Oh, that's what you're so afraid of," he +said, "<em>separation</em>!" He was very proud +indeed of the long word, and said it over several +times to himself.</p> + +<p>And the governess, looking out of the +window at the fading sunlight, repeated to +herself more than to him the word he was so +proud of.</p> + +<p>"Yes, that's what I'm so afraid of—separation; +but if it means your salvation——" +and her sentence remained unfinished +as her eyes wandered far above the +tops of the trees into the shadows of the sky.</p> + +<p>And Jimbo, drawn by the sadness of her +voice, turned towards the window and noticed +to his utter amazement that he could <em>see right +through her</em>. He could see the branches of +the trees <em>beyond</em> her body.</p> + +<p>But the next instant she turned and was no +longer transparent, and before the boy could +say a word, she crossed the floor and disappeared +from the room.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER XVI<br /> +<span class="chapsub">PREPARATION</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">Now</span> that he was preparing to leave it, Jimbo +began to realise more fully how things in this +world of delirium—so the governess sometimes +called it—were all terribly out of order and +confused. So long as he was wholly in it and +of it, everything had seemed all right; but, +as he approached his normal condition again, +the disorder became more and more apparent.</p> + +<p>And the next few hours brought it home +with startling clearness, and increased to +fever heat the desire for final escape.</p> + +<p>It was not so much a nonsense-world—it +was too alarming for that—as a world of nightmare, +wherein everything was distorted. +Events in it were all out of proportion; effects +no longer sprang from adequate causes; +things happened in a dislocated sort of way, +and there was no sequence in the order of their +happening. Tiny occurrences filled him with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> +disproportionate, inconceivable horror; and +great events, on the other hand, passed him +scathless. The spirit of disorder—monstrous, +uncouth, terrifying—reigned supreme; and +Jimbo's whole desire, though inarticulate, +was to escape back into order and harmony +again.</p> + +<p>In contrast to all this dreadful uncertainty, +the conduct of the governess stood out alone +as the one thing he could count upon: she +was sure and unfailing; he felt absolute confidence +in her plans for his safety, and when +he thought of her his mind was at rest. Come +what might, she would always be there in time +to help. The adventure over the sea had +proved that; but, childlike, he thought +chiefly of his own safety, and had ceased to +care very much whether she escaped with him +or not. It was the older Jimbo that preferred +captivity to escape without her, whereas every +minute now he was sinking deeper into the +normal child state in which the intuitive +flashes from the buried soul became more and +more rare.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, there was preparation going on, +secret and mysterious. He could feel it. +Some one else besides the governess was +making plans, and the boy began to dread the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> +moment of escape almost as much as he +desired it. The alternative appalled him—to +live for ever in the horror of this house, +bounded by the narrow yard, watched by +Fright listening ever at his elbow, and visited +by the horrible Frightened Children. Even +the governess herself began to inspire him with +something akin to fear, as her personality +grew more and more mysterious. He thought +of her as she stood by the window, with the +branches of the tree visible through her body, +and the thought filled him with a dreadful +and haunting distress.</p> + +<p>But this was only when she was absent; +the moment she came into the room, and he +looked into her kind eyes, the old feeling +of security returned, and he felt safe and happy.</p> + +<p>Once, during the day, she came up to see +him, and this time with final instructions. +Jimbo listened with rapt attention.</p> + +<p>"To-night, or to-morrow night we start," +she said in a quiet voice. "You must wait till +you hear me calling——"</p> + +<p>"But sha'n't we start together?" he +interrupted.</p> + +<p>"Not exactly," she replied. "I'm doing +everything possible to put him off the scent, +but it's not easy, for once Fright knows you<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> +he's always on the watch. Even if he can't +prevent your escape, he'll try to send you +home to your body with such a shock that +you'll be only 'half there' for the rest of +your life."</p> + +<p>Jimbo did not quite understand what she +meant by this, and returned at once to the +main point.</p> + +<p>"Then the moment you call I'm to start?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. I shall be outside somewhere. It +depends on the wind and weather a little, but +probably I shall be hovering above the trees. +You must dash out of the window and join +me the moment you hear me call. Clear the +wall without sinking into the yard, and +mind he doesn't tear your wings off as you +fly by."</p> + +<p>"What will happen, though, if I don't find +you?" he asked.</p> + +<p>"You might get lost. If he succeeds in +getting me out of the way first, you're sure to +get lost——"</p> + +<p>"But I've had long flights without getting +lost," he objected.</p> + +<p>"Nothing to this one," she replied. "It +will be tremendous. You see, Jimbo, it's not +only distance; it's change of condition as +well."</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span></p><p>"I don't mind what it is so long as we escape +together," he said, puzzled by her words.</p> + +<p>He kept his eyes fixed on her face. It +seemed to him she was changing even as he +looked at her. A sort of veil lifted from her +features. He fancied he could see the shape +of the door through her body.</p> + +<p>"Oh, please, Miss Lake——" he began in +a frightened voice, taking a step towards her. +"What is the matter? You look so different!"</p> + +<p>"Nothing, dearest boy, is the matter," she +replied faintly. "I feel sad at the thought of +your—of our going, that's all. But that's +nothing," she added more briskly, "and +remember, I've told you exactly what to do; +so you can't make any mistake. Now good-bye +for the present."</p> + +<p>There was a smile on her face that he had +never seen there before, and an expression of +tenderness and love that he could not fail to +understand. But even as he looked she +seemed to fade away into a delicate, thin +shadow as she moved slowly towards the trap-door. +Jimbo stretched out his arms to touch +her, for the moment of dread had passed, and +he wanted to kiss her.</p> + +<p>"No!" she cried sharply. "Don't touch +me, child; don't touch me!"</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p><p>But he was already close beside her, and in +another second would have had his arms +round her, when his foot stumbled over something, +and he fell forward into her with his +full weight. Instead of saving himself against +her body, however, he fell <em>clean through her</em>! +Nothing stopped him; there was no resistance; +he met nothing more solid than air, and fell +full length upon the floor. Before he could +recover from his surprise and pick himself +up, something touched him on the lips, and +he heard a voice that was faint as a whisper +saying, "Good-bye, darling child, and bless +you." The next moment he was on his feet +again and the room was empty. The governess +had gone through the trap-door, and he was +alone.</p> + +<p>It was all very strange and confusing, and +he could not understand what was happening +to her. He never for a moment realised that +the change was in himself, and that as the tie +between himself and his body became closer, +the things of this other world he had been living +in for so long must fade gradually away into +shadows and emptiness.</p> + +<p>But Jimbo was a brave boy; there was +nothing of the coward in him, though his +sensitive temperament made him sometimes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> +hesitate where an ordinary child with less +imagination would have acted promptly. +The desire to cry he thrust down and repressed, +fighting his depression by the thought that +within a few hours the voice might sound that +should call him to the excitement of the last +flight—and freedom.</p> + +<p>The rest of the daylight slipped away very +quickly, and the room was full of shadows +almost before he knew it. Then came the +darkness. Outside, the wind rose and fell +fitfully, booming in the chimney with hollow +music, and sighing round the walls of the house. +A few stars peeped between the branches of +the elms, but masses of cloud hid most of the +sky, and the air felt heavy with coming rain.</p> + +<p>He lay down on the bed and waited. At +the least sound he started, thinking it might +be the call from the governess. But the few +sounds he did hear always resolved themselves +into the moaning of the wind, and no voice +came. With his eyes on the open window, +trying to pierce the gloom and find the stars, +he lay motionless for hours, while the night +wore on and the shadows deepened.</p> + +<p>And during those long hours of darkness +and silence he was conscious that a change +was going on within him. Name it he could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> +not, but somehow it made him feel that living +people like himself were standing near, trying +to speak, beckoning, anxious to bring him +back into their own particular world. The +darkness was so great that he could see only +the square outline of the open window, but +he felt sure that any sudden flash of light +would have revealed a group of persons round +his bed with arms outstretched, trying to +reach him. The emotion they roused in him +was not fear, for he felt sure they were kind, +and eager only to help him; and the more +he realised their presence, the less he thought +about the governess who had been doing so +much to make his escape possible.</p> + +<p>Then, too, voices began to sound somewhere +in the air, but he could not tell whether +they were actually in the room, or outside +in the night, or only within himself—in his +own head:—strange, faint voices, whispering, +laughing, shouting, crying; fragments of +stories, rhymes, riddles, odd names of people +and places jostled one another with varying +degrees of clearness, now loud, now soft, till +he wondered what it all meant, and longed for +the light to come.</p> + +<p>But besides all this, something else, too, +was abroad that night—something he could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> +not name or even think about without shaking +with terror down at the very roots of his being. +And when he thought of this, his heart called +loudly for the governess, and the people hidden +in the shadows of the room seemed quite +useless and unable to help.</p> + +<p>Thus he hovered between the two worlds +and the two memories, phantoms and realities +shifting and changing places every few +minutes.</p> + +<p>A little light would have saved him much +suffering. If only the moon were up! Moonlight +would have made all the difference. +Even a moon half hidden and misty would +have put the shadows farther away from him.</p> + +<p>"Dear old misty moon!" he cried half +aloud to himself upon the bed, "why aren't +you here to-night? My last night!"</p> + +<p>Misty Moon, Misty Moon! The words kept +ringing in his head. Misty Moon, Misty +Moon! They swam round in his blood in an +odd, tumultuous rhythm. Every time the +current of blood passed through his brain in +the course of its circulation it brought the +words with it, altered a little, and singing like +a voice.</p> + +<p>Like a voice! Suddenly he made the +discovery that it actually <em>was</em> a voice—and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> +not his own. It was no longer the blood +singing in his veins, it was some one singing +outside the window. The sound began faintly +and far away, up above the trees; then it +came gradually nearer, only to die away again +almost to a whisper.</p> + +<p>If it was not the voice of the governess, he +could only say it was a very good imitation +of it.</p> + +<p>The words forming out of the empty air +rose and fell with the wind, and, taking his +thoughts, flung them in a stream through the +dark sky towards the hidden, misty moon:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"O misty moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Dear, misty moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The nights are long without thee;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The shadows creep<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Across my sleep,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And fold their wings about me!"</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>And another silvery voice, that might have +been the voice of a star, took it up faintly, +evidently from a much greater distance:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"O misty moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Sweet, misty moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">The stars are dim behind thee;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And, lo, thy beams<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Spin through my dreams<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And weave a veil to blind me!"</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span></p><p>The sound of this beautiful voice so delighted +Jimbo that he sprang from his bed and rushed +to the window, hoping that he might be able +to hear it more clearly. But, before he got +half-way across the room, he stopped short, +trembling with terror. Underneath his very +feet, in the depths of the house, he heard the +awful voice he dreaded more than anything +else. It roared out the lines with a sound like +the rushing of a great river:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"O misty moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Pale misty moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thy songs are nightly driven,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Eternally,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From sky to sky,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">O'er the old, grey Hills of Heaven!"</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>And after the verse Jimbo heard a great peal +of laughter that seemed to shake the walls of +the house, and rooted his feet to the floor. +It rolled away with thundering echoes into +the very bowels of the earth. He just managed +to crawl back to his mattress and lie down, +when another voice took up the song, but this +time in accents so tender, that the child felt +something within him melt into tears of joy, +and he was on the verge of recognising, for +the first time since his accident, the voice of +his mother:</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span></p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"O misty moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shy, misty moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whence comes the blush that trembles<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In sweet disgrace<br /></span> +<span class="i0">O'er half thy face<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When Night her stars assembles?"</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>But his memory, of course, failed him just as +he seemed about to grasp it, and he was left +wondering why the sound of that one voice +had brought him a moment of radiant happiness +in the midst of so much horror and pain. +Meanwhile the answering voices went on, +each time different, and in new directions.</p> + +<p>But the next verse somehow brought back +to him all the terror he had felt in his flight +over the sea, when the sound of the hissing +waters had reached his ears through the +carpet of fog:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"O misty moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Persuasive moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Earth's tides are ever rising;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">By the awful grace<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of thy weird white face<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Leap the seas to thy enticing!"</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>Then followed the voice that had started the +horrid song. This time he was sure it was not +Miss Lake's voice, but only a very clever +imitation of it. Moreover, it again ended in a +shriek of laughter that froze his blood:</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span></p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"O misty moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Deceiving moon,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Thy silvery glance brings sadness;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Who flies to thee,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From land or sea,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Shall end—his—days—in—<em class="uc">MADNESS</em>!"</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>Other voices began to laugh and sing, but +Jimbo stopped his ears, for he simply could +not bear any more. He felt certain, too, that +these strange words to the moon had all been +part of a trap—a device to draw him to the +window. He shuddered to think how nearly +he had fallen into it, and determined to lie +on the bed and wait till he heard his companion +calling, and knew beyond all doubt +that it was she.</p> + +<p>But the night passed away and the dawn +came, and no voice had called him forth to +the last flight.</p> + +<p>Hitherto, in all his experiences, there had +been only one absolute certainty: the appearance +of the governess with the morning light. +But this time sunrise came and the clouds +cleared away, and the sweet smells of field +and air stole into the little room, yet without +any sign of the governess. The hours passed, +and she did not come, till finally he realised +that she was not coming at all, and he would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> +have to spend the whole day alone. Something +had happened to prevent her, or else it +was all part of her mysterious "plan." He +did not know, and all he could do was to wait, +and wonder, and hope.</p> + +<p>All day long he lay and waited, and all day +long he was alone. The trap-door never once +moved; the courtyard remained empty and +deserted; there was no sound on the landing +or on the stairs; no wind stirred the leaves +outside, and the hot sun poured down out of +a cloudless sky. He stood by the open +window for hours watching the motionless +branches. Everything seemed dead; not +even a bird crossed his field of vision. The +loneliness, the awful silence, and above all, the +dread of the approaching night, were sometimes +more than he seemed able to bear; and +he wanted to put his head out of the window +and scream, or lie down on the bed and cry +his heart out. But he yielded to neither +impulse; he kept a brave heart, knowing +that this would be his last night in prison, and +that in a few hours' time he would hear his +name called out of the sky, and would dash +through the window to liberty and the last +wild flight. This thought gave him courage, +and he kept all his energy for the great effort.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span></p><p>Gradually, once more, the sunlight faded, +and the darkness began to creep over the land. +Never before had the shadows under the elms +looked so fantastic, nor the bushes in the field +beyond assumed such sinister shapes. The +Empty House was being gradually invested; +the enemy was masquerading already under +cover of these very shadows.</p> + +<p>Very soon, he felt, the attack would begin, +and he must be ready to act.</p> + +<p>The night came down at last with a strange +suddenness, and with it the warning of the +governess came back to him; he thought +quakingly of the stricken children who had +been caught and deprived of their wings; and +then he pulled out his long red feathers and +tried their strength, and gained thus fresh +confidence in their power to save him when +the time came.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER XVII<br /> +<span class="chapsub">OFF!</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">With</span> the full darkness a whole army of horrors +crept nearer. He felt sure of this, though he +could actually see nothing. The house was +surrounded, the courtyard crowded. Outside, +on the stairs, in the other rooms, even on +the roof itself, waited dreadful things ready +to catch him, to tear off his wings, to make +him prisoner for ever and ever.</p> + +<p>The possibility that something had happened +to the governess now became a probability. +Imperceptibly the change was wrought; +he could not say how or when exactly; but +he now felt almost certain that the effort +to keep her out of the way had succeeded. If +this were true, the boy's only hope lay in his +wings, and he pulled them out to their full +length and kissed them passionately, speaking +to the strong red feathers as if they were +living little persons.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span></p><p>"You must save me! You will save me, +won't you?" he cried in his anguish. And +every time he did this and looked at them he +gained fresh hope and courage.</p> + +<p>The problem <em>where he was to fly to</em> had not +yet insisted on a solution, though it lay +always at the back of his mind; for the final +flight of escape without a guide had never +been even a possibility before.</p> + +<p>Lying there alone in the darkness, waiting +for the sound of the voice so longed-for, he +found his thoughts turning again to the moon, +and the strange words of the song that had +puzzled him the night before. What in the +world did it all mean? Why all this about +the moon? Why was it a cruel moon, and +why should it attract and persuade and entice +him? He felt sure, the more he thought of +it, that this had all been a device to draw him +to the window—and perhaps even farther.</p> + +<p>The darkness began to terrify him; he +dreaded more and more the waiting, listening +things that it concealed. Oh, when would the +governess call to him? When would he be +able to dash through the open window and +join her in the sky?</p> + +<p>He thought of the sunlight that had flooded +the yard all day—so bright it seemed to have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> +come from a sun fresh made and shining for +the first time. He thought of the exquisite +flowers that grew in the fields just beyond the +high wall, and the night smells of the earth +reached him through the window, wafted in +upon a wind heavy with secrets of woods and +fields. They all came from a Land of Magic +that after to-night might be for ever beyond +his reach, and they went straight to his heart +and immediately turned something solid there +into tears. But the tears did not find their +natural expression, and Jimbo lay there fighting +with his pain, keeping all his strength for +the one great effort, and waiting for the voice +that at any minute now might sound above +the tree-tops.</p> + +<p>But the hours passed and the voice did not +come.</p> + +<p>How he loathed the room and everything +in it. The ceiling stretched like a white, +staring countenance above him; the walls +watched and listened; and even the mantelpiece +grew into the semblance of a creature +with drawn-up shoulders bending over him. +The whole room, indeed, seemed to his +frightened soul to run into the shape of a +monstrous person whose arms were outstretched +in all directions to prevent his escape.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p><p>His hands never left his wings now. He +stroked and fondled them, arranging the +feathers smoothly and speaking to them under +his breath just as though they were living +things. To him they were indeed alive, and +he knew when the time came they would not +fail him. The fierce passion for the open +spaces took possession of his soul, and his +whole being began to cry out for freedom, +rushing wind, the stars, and a pathless sky.</p> + +<p>Slowly the power of the great, open Night +entered his heart, bringing with it a courage +that enabled him to keep the terrors of the +House at a distance.</p> + +<p>So far, the boy's strength had been equal +to the task, but a moment was approaching +when the tension would be too great to bear, +and the long pent-up force would rush forth +into an act. Jimbo realised this quite clearly; +though he could not exactly express it in +words, he felt that his real hope of escape lay +in the success of that act. Meanwhile, with +more than a child's wisdom, he stored up every +particle of strength he had for the great +moment when it should come.</p> + +<p>A light wind had risen soon after sunset, +but as the night wore on it began to fail, +dropping away into little silences that grew<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> +each time longer. In the heart of one of +these spells of silence Jimbo presently noticed +a new sound—a sound that he recognised.</p> + +<p>Far away at first, but growing in distinctness +with every dropping of the wind, this +new sound rose from the interior of the house +below and came gradually upon him. It was +voices faintly singing, and the tread of stealthy +footsteps.</p> + +<p>Nearer and nearer came the sound, till at +length they reached the door, and there passed +into the room a wave of fine, gentle sound +that woke no echo and scarcely seemed to +stir the air into vibration at all. The door +had opened, and a number of voices were +singing softly under their breath.</p> + +<p>And after the sounds, creeping slowly like +some timid animal, there came into the room +a small black figure just visible in the faint +starlight. It peered round the edge of the +door, hesitated a moment, and then advanced +with an odd rhythmical sort of motion. And +after the first figure came a second, and after +the second a third; and then several entered +together, till a whole group of them stood on +the floor between Jimbo and the open window.</p> + +<p>Then he recognised the Frightened Children +and his heart sank. Even they, he saw, were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> +arrayed against him, and took it for granted +that he already belonged to them.</p> + +<p>Oh, why did not the governess come for +him? Why was there no voice in the sky? +He glanced with longing towards the heavens, +and as the children moved past, he was +almost certain that he saw the stars <em>through</em> +their bodies too.</p> + +<p>Slowly they shuffled across the floor till +they formed a semicircle round the bed; and +then they began a silent, impish dance that +made the flesh creep. Their thin forms were +dressed in black gowns like shrouds, and as +they moved through the steps of the bizarre +measure he saw that their legs were little +more than mere skin and bone. Their faces—what +he could see of them when he dared +to open his eyes—were pale as ashes, and their +beady little eyes shone like the facets of cut +stones, flashing in all directions. And while +they danced in and out amongst each other, +never breaking the semicircle round the bed, +they sang a low, mournful song that sounded +like the wind whispering through a leafless +wood.</p> + +<p>And the words stirred in him that vague +yet terrible fear known to all children who +have been frightened and made to feel afraid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> +of the dark. Evidently his sensations were +being merged very rapidly now into those of +the little boy in the night-nursery bed.</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"There is Someone in the Nursery<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Whom we never saw before;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">—Why hangs the moon so red?—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And he came not by the passage,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Or the window, or the door;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">—Why hangs the moon so red?—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And he stands there in the darkness,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the centre of the floor.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">—See, where the moon hangs red!—<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Someone's hiding in the passage<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Where the door begins to swing;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">—Why drive the clouds so fast?—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the corner by the staircase<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There's a dreadful waiting thing:<br /></span> +<span class="i0">—Why drive the clouds so fast?—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Past the curtain creeps a monster<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With a black and fluttering wing;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">—See, where the clouds drive fast!—<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">In the chilly dusk of evening;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the hush before the dawn;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">—Why drips the rain so cold?—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the twilight of the garden,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the mist upon the lawn,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">—Why drips the rain so cold?—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Faces stare, and mouth upon us,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Faces white and weird and drawn;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">—See, how the rain drips cold!—<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Close beside us in the night-time,<br /></span> +<span class="i0"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span>Waiting for us in the gloom,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">—O! Why sings the wind so shrill?—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the shadows by the cupboard,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">In the corners of the room,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">—O! Why sings the wind so shrill?—<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From the corridors and landings<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Voices call us to our doom.<br /></span> +<span class="i0">—O! how the wind sings shrill!"—<br /></span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>By this time the dreadful dancers had come +much closer to him, shifting stealthily nearer +to the bed under cover of their dancing, and +always <em>between him and the window</em>.</p> + +<p>Suddenly their intention flashed upon him; +they meant to prevent his escape!</p> + +<p>With a tremendous effort he sprang from +the bed. As he did so a dozen pairs of thin, +shadowy arms shot out towards him as though +to seize his wings; but with an agility born +of fright he dodged them, and ran swiftly into +the corner by the mantelpiece. Standing with +his back against the wall he faced the children, +and strove to call out for help to the governess; +but this time there was an entirely new +difficulty in the way, for he found to his utter +dismay that his voice refused to make itself +heard. His mouth was dry and his tongue +would hardly stir.</p> + +<p>Not a sound issued from his lips, but the +children instantly moved forwards and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> +hemmed him in between them and the wall; +and to reach the window he would have to +break through this semicircle of whispering, +shadowy forms. Above their heads he could +see the stars shining, and any moment he +might hear Miss Lake's voice calling to him +to come out. His heart rose with passionate +longing within him, and he gathered his wings +tightly about him ready for the final dash. It +would take more than the Frightened Children +to hold him prisoner when once he heard that +voice, or even without it!</p> + +<p>Whether they were astonished at his boldness, +or merely waiting their opportunity +later, he could not tell; but anyhow they +kept their distance for a time and made no +further attempt to seize his feathers. Whispering +together under their breath, sometimes +singing their mournful, sighing songs, sometimes +sinking their voices to a confused +murmur, they moved in and out amongst each +other with soundless feet like the shadows of +branches swaying in the wind.</p> + +<p>Then, suddenly, they moved closer and +stretched out their arms towards him, their +bodies swaying rhythmically together, while +their combined voices, raised just above a +whisper, sang to him—</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span></p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"Dare you fly out to-night,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When the Moon is so strong?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Though the stars are so bright,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">There is death in their song;<br /></span> +<span class="i0">You're a hostage to Fright,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And to us you belong!<br /></span> +</div> + +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Dare you fly out alone<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Through the shadows that wave,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">When the course is unknown<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And there's no one to save?<br /></span> +<span class="i0">You are bone of our bone,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And for ever His slave!"</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>And, following these words, came from +somewhere in the air that voice like the thunder +of a river. Jimbo knew only too well to whom +it belonged as he listened to the rhyme of the +West Wind—</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i00">"For the Wind of the West<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Is a wind unblest,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">And its dangerous breath<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Will entice you to death!<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Fly not with the Wind of the West, O child,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">With the terrible Wind of the West!"</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>But the boy knew perfectly well that these +efforts to stop him were all part of a trap. +They were lying to him. It was not the +Wind of the West at all; <em>it was the South +Wind</em>! That at least he knew by the odours +that were wafted in through the window.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> +Again he tried to call to the governess, but +his tongue lay stiff in his mouth and no +sound came.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the children began to draw +closer, hemming him in. They moved almost +imperceptibly, but he saw plainly that the +circle was growing smaller and smaller. His +legs began to tremble, and he felt that soon +he would collapse and drop at their feet, for +his strength was failing and the power to act +and move was slowly leaving him.</p> + +<p>The little shadowy figures were almost +touching him, when suddenly a new sound +broke the stillness and set every nerve tingling +in his body.</p> + +<p>Something was shuffling along the landing. +He heard it outside, pushing against the door. +The handle turned with a rattle, and a moment +later the door slowly opened.</p> + +<p>For a second Jimbo's breath failed him, +and he nearly fell in a heap upon the floor. +Round the edge of the door he saw a dim +huge figure come crawling into the room—creeping +along the floor—and trailing behind +it a pair of immense black wings that stretched +along the boards. For one brief second he +stared, horror-stricken, and wondering what +it was. But before the whole length of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> +creature was in, he knew. It was Fright +himself! <em>And he was making steadily for the +window!</em></p> + +<p>The shock instantly galvanised the boy into +a state of activity again. He recovered the +use of all his muscles and all his faculties. +His voice, released by terror, rang out in a +wild shriek for help to the governess, and he +dashed forward across the room in a mad rush +for the window. Unless he could reach it +before the other, he would be a prisoner for +the rest of his life. It was now or never.</p> + +<p>The instant he moved, the children came +straight at him with hands outstretched to +stop him; but he passed through them as if +they were smoke, and with almost a single +bound sprang upon the narrow window-sill. +To do this he had to clear the head and +shoulders of the creature on the floor, and +though he accomplished it successfully, he +felt himself clutched from behind. For a +second he balanced doubtfully on the window +ledge. He felt himself being pulled back into +the room, and he combined all his forces into +one tremendous effort to rush forward.</p> + +<p>There was a ripping, tearing sound as he +sprang into the air with a yell of mingled +terror and exultation. His prompt action<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> +and the fierce impetus had saved him. He +was free. But in the awful hand that seized +him he had left behind the end feathers of +his right wing. A few inches more and it +would have been not merely the feathers, but +the entire wing itself.</p> + +<p>He dropped to within three feet of the stones +in the yard, and then, borne aloft by the kind, +rushing Wind of the South, he rose in a tremendous +sweep far over the tops of the high +elms and out into the heart of the night.</p> + +<p>Only there was no governess's voice to +guide him; and behind him, a little lower +down, a black pursuing figure with huge wings +flapped heavily as it followed with laborious +flight through the darkness.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span></p> + +<h2>CHAPTER XVIII<br /> +<span class="chapsub">HOME</span></h2> + +<p><span class="smcap">But</span> it was the sound of something crashing +heavily through the top branches of the elms +that made the boy realise he was actually +being followed; and all his efforts became +concentrated into the desire to put as much +distance as possible between himself and the +horror of the Empty House.</p> + +<p>He heard the noise of big wings far beneath +him, and his one idea was to out-distance +his pursuer and then come down again to +earth and rest his wings in the branches of +a tree till he could devise some plan how to +find the governess. So at first he raced at +full speed through the air, taking no thought +of direction.</p> + +<p>When he looked down, all he could see was +that something vague and shadowy, shaking +out a pair of enormous wings between him +and the earth, move along with him. Its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> +path was parallel with his own, but apparently +it made no effort to rise up to his higher level. +It thundered along far beneath him, and instinctively +he raised his head and steered more +and more upwards and away from the world.</p> + +<p>The gap at the end of his right wing where +the feathers had been torn out seemed to +make no difference in his power of flight or +steering, and he went tearing through the +night at a pace he had never dared to try +before, and at a height he had never yet +reached in any of the practice flights. He +soared higher even than he knew; and perhaps +this was fortunate, for the friction of the +lower atmosphere might have heated him to +the point of igniting, and some watcher at +one of earth's windows might have suddenly +seen a brilliant little meteor flash through the +night and vanish into dust.</p> + +<p>At first the joy of escape was the only idea +his mind seemed able to grasp; he revelled +in a passionate sense of freedom, and all his +energies poured themselves into one concentrated +effort to fly faster, faster, faster. But +after a time, when the pursuer had been +apparently outflown, and he realised that +escape was an accomplished fact, he began to +search for the governess, calling to her, rising<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> +and falling, darting in all directions, and then +hovering on outstretched wings to try and +catch some sound of a friendly voice.</p> + +<p>But no answer came, either from the stars +that crowded the vault above, or from the +dark surface of the world below; only silence +answered his cries, and his voice was swallowed +up and lost in the immensity of space almost +the moment it left his lips.</p> + +<p>Presently he began to realise to what an +appalling distance he had risen above the +world, and with anxious eyes he tried to pierce +the gaping emptiness beneath him and on all +sides. But this vast sea of air had nothing +to reveal. The stars shone like pinholes of +gold pricked in a deep black curtain; and +the moon, now rising slowly, spread a veil of +silver between him and the upper regions. +There was not a cloud anywhere and the +winds were all asleep. He was alone in space. +Yet, as the swishing of his feathers slackened +and the roar in his ears died away, he heard +in the short pause the ominous beating of +great wings somewhere in the depths beneath +him, and knew that the great pursuer was still +on his track.</p> + +<p>The glare of the moon now made it impossible +to distinguish anything properly, and in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> +these huge spaces, with nothing to guide the +eye, it was difficult to know exactly from +what direction the sound came. He was only +sure of one thing—that it was far below him, +and that for the present it did not seem to +come much nearer. The cry for help that +kept rising to his lips he suppressed, for it +would only have served to guide his pursuer; +and, moreover, a cry—a little thin, despairing +cry—was instantly lost in these great +heavens. It was less than a drop in an ocean.</p> + +<p>On and on he flew, always pointing away +from the earth, and trying hard to think +where he would find safety. Would this awful +creature hunt him all night long into the +daylight, or would he be forced back into the +Empty House in sheer exhaustion? The +thought gave him new impetus, and with +powerful strokes he dashed onwards and +upwards through the wilderness of space in +which the only pathways were the little +golden tracks of the starbeams. The governess +would turn up somewhere; he was positive +of that. She had never failed him yet.</p> + +<p>So, alone and breathless, he pursued his +flight, and the higher he went the more the +tremendous vault opened up into inconceivable +and untold distances. His speed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> +kept increasing; he thought he had never +found flying so easy before; and the thunder +of the following wings that held persistently +on his track made it dangerous for him to +slacken up for more than a minute here and +there. The earth became a dark blot beneath +him, while the moon, rising higher and higher, +grew weirdly bright and close. How black +the sky was; how piercing the points of starlight; +how stimulating the strong, new +odours of these lofty regions! He realised +with a thrill of genuine awe that he had flown +over the very edge of the world, and the +moment the thought entered his mind it was +flung back at him by a voice that seemed close +to his ear one moment, and the next was miles +away in the space overhead. Light thoughts, +born of the stars and the moon and of his +great speed, danced before his mind in fanciful +array. Once he laughed aloud at them, but +once only. The sound of his voice in these +echoless spaces made him afraid.</p> + +<p>The speed, too, affected his vision, for at +one moment thin clouds stretched across his +face, and the next he was whirling through +perfectly clear air again with no vestige of a +cloud in sight. The same reason doubtless +explained the sudden presence of sheets of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> +light in the air that reflected the moonlight +like particles of glittering ice, and then suddenly +disappeared again. The terrific speed +would explain a good many things, but +certainly it was curious how creatures formed +out of the hollow darkness, like foam before +a steamer's bows, and moved noiselessly away +on either side to join the army of dim life that +crowded everywhere and watched his passage. +For, in front and on both sides, there gathered +a vast assembly of silent forms more than +shadows, less than bodily shapes, that opened +up a pathway as he rushed through them, +and then immediately closed up their ranks +again when he had passed. The air seemed +packed with living creatures. Space was +filled with them. They surrounded him on all +sides. Yet his passage through them was like +the passage of a hand through smoke; it was +easy to make a pathway, but the pathway +left no traces behind it. More smoke rushed +in and filled the void.</p> + +<p>He could never see these things properly, +face to face; they always kept just out of +the line of vision, like shadows that follow a +lonely walker in a wood and vanish the +moment he turns to look at them over his +shoulder. But ever by his side, with a steady,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> +effortless motion, he knew they kept up with +him—strange inhabitants of the airless heights, +immense and misty-winged, with veiled, +flaming eyes and silent feathers. He was not +afraid of them; for they were neither friendly +nor hostile; they were simply the beings of +another world, alien and unknown.</p> + +<p>But what puzzled him more was that the +light and the darkness seemed separate things, +each distinctly visible. After each stroke of +his wings he <em>saw the darkness</em> sift downwards +past him through the air like dust. It floated +all round him in thinnest diaphanous texture—visible, +not because the moonlight made it so, +but because in its inmost soul it was itself +luminous. It rose and fell in eddies, swirling +wreaths, and undulations; inwoven with starbeams, +as with golden thread, it clothed him +about in circles of some magical primordial +substance.</p> + +<p>Even the stars, looking down upon him +from terrifying heights, seemed now draped, +now undraped, as if by the sweeping of +enormous wings that stirred these sheets of +visible darkness into a vast system of circulation +through the heavens. Everything in +these oceans of upper space apparently made +use of wings, or the idea of wings. Perhaps<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> +even the great earth itself, rolling from star +to star, was moved by the power of gigantic, +invisible wings!...</p> + +<p>Jimbo realised he had entered a forbidden +region. He began to feel afraid.</p> + +<p>But the only possible expression of his fear, +and its only possible relief, lay in his own +wings—and he used them with redoubled +energy. He dashed forward so fast that his +face begun to burn, and he kept turning his +head in every direction for a sign of the +governess, or for some indication of where he +could <em>escape to</em>. In the pauses of the wild +flight he heard the thunder of the following +wings below. They were still on his trail, +and it seemed that they were gaining on him.</p> + +<p>He took a new angle, realising that his only +chance was to fly high; and the new course +took him perpendicularly away from the earth +and straight towards the moon. Later, when +he had out-distanced the other creature, he +would drop down again to safer levels.</p> + +<p>Yet the hours passed and it never overtook +him. A measured distance was steadily kept +up between them as though with calculated +purpose.</p> + +<p>Curious distant voices shouted from time to +time all manner of sentences and rhymes in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> +his ears, but he could neither understand nor +remember them. More and more the awful +stillness of the vast regions that lie between +the world and the moon appalled him.</p> + +<p>Then, suddenly, a new sound reached him +that at first he could not in the least understand. +It reached him, however, not through +the ears, but by a steady trembling of the whole +surface of his body. It set him in vibration +all over, and for some time he had no idea +what it meant. The trembling ran deeper and +deeper into his body, till at last a single, +powerful, regular vibration took complete +possession of his whole being, and he felt as +though he was being wrapped round and +absorbed by this vast and gigantic sound. +He had always thought that the voice of +Fright, like the roar of a river, was the loudest +and deepest sound he had ever heard. Even +that set his soul a-trembling. But this new, +tremendous, rolling-ocean of a voice came not +that way, and could not be compared to it. +The voice of the other was a mere tickling of +the ear compared to this awful crashing of +seas and mountains and falling worlds. It +must break him to pieces, he felt.</p> + +<p>Suddenly he knew what it was,—and for a +second his wings failed him:—he had reached<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> +such a height that he could hear the roar of +the world as it thundered along its journey +through space! That was the meaning of +this voice of majesty that set him all a-trembling. +And before long he would probably +hear, too, the voices of the planets, and the +singing of the great moon. The governess +had warned him about this. At the first +sound of these awful voices she told him to +turn instantly and drop back to the earth as +fast as ever he could drop.</p> + +<p>Jimbo turned instinctively and began to +fall. But, before he had dropped half a mile, +he met once again the ascending sound of the +wings that had followed him from the Empty +House.</p> + +<p>It was no good flying straight into destruction. +He summoned all his courage and +turned once more towards the stars. Anything +was better than being caught and held for ever +by Fright, and with a wild cry for help that +fell dead in the empty spaces, he renewed his +unending flight towards the stars.</p> + +<p>But, meanwhile, the pursuer had distinctly +gained. Appalled by the mighty thunder of +the stars' voices above, and by the prospect +of immediate capture if he turned back, Jimbo +flew blindly on towards the moon, regardless<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> +of consequences. And below him the Pursuer +came closer and closer. The strokes of its +wings were no longer mere distant thuds that +he heard when he paused in his own flight to +listen; they were the audible swishing of +feathers. It was near enough for that.</p> + +<p>Jimbo could never properly see what was +following him. A shadow between him and +the earth was all he could distinguish, but in +the centre of that shadow there seemed to +burn two glowing eyes. Two brilliant lights +flashed whenever he looked down, like the +lamps of a revolving lighthouse. But other +things he saw, too, when he looked down, +and once the earth rose close to his face so +that he could have touched it with his hands. +The same instant it dropped away again with +a rush of whirlwinds, and became a distant +shadow miles and miles below him. But +before it went, he had time to see the Empty +House standing within its gloomy yard, and +the horror of it gave him fresh impetus.</p> + +<p>Another time when the world raced up close +to his eyes he saw a scene of a different kind +that stirred a passionately deep yearning +within him—a house overgrown with ivy and +standing among trees and gardens, with +laburnums and lilacs flowering on smooth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> +green lawns, and a clean gravel drive leading +down to a big pair of iron gates. Oh, it all +seemed so familiar! Perhaps in another +minute the well-known figures would have +appeared and spoken to him. Already he +heard their voices behind the bushes. But, +just before they appeared, the earth dropped +back with a roar of a thousand winds, and +Jimbo saw instead the shadow of the Pursuer +mounting, mounting, mounting towards him. +Up he shot again with terror in his heart, and +all trembling with the thunder of the great +star-voices above. He felt like a leaf in a +hurricane, "lost, dizzy, shelterless."</p> + +<p>Voices, too, now began to be heard more +frequently. They dropped upon him out of +the reaches of this endless void; and with +them sometimes came forms that shot past +him with amazing swiftness, racing into the +empty Beyond as though sucked into a vast +vacuum. The very stars seemed to move. +He became part of some much larger movement +in which he was engulfed and merged. +He could no longer think of himself as Jimbo. +When he uttered his own name he saw merely +a mass of wind and colour through which the +great pulses of space and the planets beat +tumultuously, lapping him round with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> +currents of a terrific motion that seemed to +swallow up his own little personality entirely, +while giving him something infinitely +greater....</p> + +<p>But surely these small voices, shrill and +trumpet-like, did not come from the stars! +these deep whispers that ran round the +immense vault overhead and sounded almost +familiarly in his ears—</p> + +<p>"Give it him the moment he wakes."</p> + +<p>"Bring the ice-bag ... quick!"</p> + +<p>"Put the hot bottle to his feet <em class="ucsmcap">IMMEDIATELY</em>!"</p> + +<p>The voices shrieked all round him, turning +suddenly into soft whispers that died away +somewhere among his feathers. The soles of +his feet began to glow, and he felt a gigantic +hand laid upon his throat and head. Almost +it seemed as if he were lying somewhere on +his back, and people were bending over him, +shouting and whispering.</p> + +<p>"Why hangs the moon so red?" cried a +voice that was instantly drowned in a chorus +of unintelligible whispering.</p> + +<p>"The black cow must be killed," whispered +some one deep within the sky.</p> + +<p>"Why drips the rain so cold?" yelled one +of the hideous children close behind him. And<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> +a third called with a distant laughter from +behind a star—</p> + +<p>"Why sings the wind so shrill?"</p> + +<p>"<em class="smcap">Quiet!</em>" roared an appalling voice below, +as if all the rivers of the world had suddenly +turned loose into the sky. "<em class="smcap">Quiet!</em>"</p> + +<p>Instantly a star, that had been hovering for +some time on the edge of a fantastic dance, +dropped down close in front of his face. It +had a glaring disc, with mouth and eyes. An +icy hand seemed laid on his head, and the +star rushed back into its place in the sky, +leaving a trail of red flame behind it. A +little voice seemed to go with it, growing +fainter and fainter in the distance—</p> + +<p>"We dance with phantoms and with +shadows play."</p> + +<p>But, regardless of everything, Jimbo flew +onwards and upwards, terrified and helpless +though he was. His thoughts turned without +ceasing to the governess, and he felt sure that +she would yet turn up in time to save him +from being caught by the Fright that pursued, +or lost among the fearful spaces that lay +beyond the stars.</p> + +<p>For a long time, however, his wings had been +growing more and more tired, and the prospect +of being destroyed from sheer exhaustion now<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> +presented itself to the boy vaguely as a possible +alternative—vaguely only, because he +was no longer able to think, properly speaking, +and things came to him more by way of dull +feeling than anything else.</p> + +<p>It was all the more with something of a +positive shock, therefore, that he realised the +change. For a change had come. He was +now sudden by conscious of an influx of new +power—greater than anything he had ever +known before in any of his flights. His wings +now suddenly worked as if by magic. Never +had the motion been so easy, and it became +every minute easier and easier. He simply +flashed along without apparent effort. An +immense driving power had entered into him. +He realised that he could fly for ever without +getting tired. His pace increased tenfold—increased +alarmingly. The possibility of exhaustion +vanished utterly. Jimbo knew now +that something was wrong. This new driving +power was something wholly outside himself. +His wings were working far too easily. Then, +suddenly, he understood: <em>His wings were not +working at all!</em></p> + +<p>He was not being driven forward from +behind; he was being drawn forward from +in front.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span></p><p>He saw it all in a flash: Miss Lake's warning +long ago about the danger of flying too high; +the last song of the Frightened Children, +"Dare you fly out alone through the shadows +that wave, when the course is unknown and +there's no one to save?" the strange words +sung to him about the "relentless misty +moon," and the object of the dreadful Pursuer +in steadily forcing him upwards and away +from the earth. It all flashed across his poor +little dazed mind. He understood at last.</p> + +<p>He had soared too high and had entered the +sphere of the moon's attraction.</p> + +<p>"The moon is too strong, and there's death +in the stars!" a voice bellowed below him +like the roar of a falling mountain, shaking +the sky.</p> + +<p>The child flew screaming on. There was +nothing else he could do. But hardly had +the roar died away when another voice was +heard, a tender voice, a whispering, sympathetic +voice, though from what part of the +sky it came he could not tell—</p> + +<p>"Arrange the pillows for his little head."</p> + +<p>But below him the wings of the Pursuer +were mounting closer and closer. He could +almost feel the mighty wind from their +feathers, and hear the rush of the great body<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> +between them. It was impossible to slacken +his speed even had he wished; no strength +on earth could have resisted that terrible +power drawing upwards towards the moon. +Instinctively, however, he realised that he +would rather have gone forwards than backwards. +He never could have faced capture +by that dreadful creature behind. All the +efforts of the past weeks to escape from +Fright, the owner of the Empty House, now +acted upon him with a cumulative effect, and +added to the suction of the moon-life. He +shot forward at a pace that increased with +every second.</p> + +<p>At the back of his mind, too, lay some kind +of faint perception that the governess would, +after all, be there to help him. She had +always turned up before when he was in +danger, and she would not fail him now. +But this was a mere ghost of a thought that +brought little comfort, and merely added its +quota of force to the speed that whipped +him on, ever faster, into the huge white +moon-world in front.</p> + +<p>For this, then, he had escaped from the +horror of the Empty House! To be sucked +up into the moon, the "relentless, misty +moon"—to be drawn into its cruel, silver web,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> +and destroyed. The Song to the Misty Moon +outside the window came back in snatches +and added to his terror; only it seemed now +weeks ago since he had heard it. Something +of its real meaning, too, filtered down into his +heart, and he trembled anew to think that +the moon could be a great, vast, moving +Being, alive and with a purpose....</p> + +<p>But why, oh, why did they keep shouting +these horrid snatches of the song through +the sky? Trapped! Trapped! The word +haunted him through the night:</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">Thy songs are nightly driven,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">From sky to sky,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Eternally,<br /></span> +<span class="i0">O'er the old, grey hills of heaven!</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p><em>Caught!</em> Caught at last! The moon's +prisoner, a captive in her airless caves; alone +on her dead white plains; searching for ever +in vain for the governess; wandering alone +and terrified.</p> + +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">By the awful grace<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Of thy weird white face.</span> +</div> +</div> + +<p>The thought crazed him, and he struggled +like a bird caught in a net. But he might as +well have struggled to push the worlds out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> +of their courses. The power against him was +the power of the universe in which he was +nothing but a little, lost, whirling atom. It +was all of no avail, and the moon did not even +smile at his feeble efforts. He was too light +to revolve round her, too impalpable to create +his own orbit; he had not even the consistency +of a comet; he had reached the +point of stagnation, as it were—the dead +level—the neutral zone where the attractions +of the earth and moon meet and counterbalance +one another—where bodies have no +weight and existence no meaning.</p> + +<p>Now the moon was close upon him; he +could see nothing else. There lay the vast, +shining sea of light in front of him. Behind, +the roar of the following creature grew fainter +and fainter, as he outdistanced it in the awful +swiftness of the huge drop down upon the +moon mountains.</p> + +<p>Already he was close enough to its surface +to hear nothing of its great singing but a deep, +confused murmur. And, as the distance +increased, he realised that the change in his +own condition increased. He felt as if he +were flying off into a million tiny particles—breaking +up under the effects of the deadly +speed and the action of the new moon-forces.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> +Immense, invisible arms, half-silver and half-shadow, +grew out of the white disc and drew +him downwards upon her surface. He was +being merged into the life of the moon.</p> + +<p>There was a pause. For a moment his +wings stopped dead. Their vain fluttering +was all but over....</p> + +<p>Hark! Was that a voice borne on the +wings of some lost wind? Why should his +heart beat so tumultuously all at once?</p> + +<p>He turned and stared into the ocean of +black air overhead till it turned him dizzy. +A violent trembling ran through his tired +being from head to foot. He had heard a +voice—a voice that he knew and loved—a +voice of help and deliverance. It rang in +shrill syllables up the empty spaces, and it +reached new centres of force within him that +touched his last store of courage and strength.</p> + +<p>"Jimbo, hold on!" it cried, like a faint, +thin, pricking current of sound almost unable +to reach him through the seas of distance. +"I'm coming; hold on a little longer!"</p> + +<p>It was the governess. She was true to the +end. Jimbo felt his heart swell within him. +She was mounting, mounting behind him with +incredible swiftness. The sound of his own +name in these terrible regions recalled to him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> +some degree of concentration, and he strove +hard to fight against the drawing power that +was seeking his destruction.</p> + +<p>He struggled frantically with his wings. +But between him and the governess there was +still the power of Fright to be overcome—the +very Power she had long ago invoked. It +was following him still, preventing his turning +back, and driving him ever forward to his death.</p> + +<p>Again the voice sounded in the night; and +this time it was closer. He could not quite +distinguish the words. They buzzed oddly +in his ears ... other voices mingled with +them ... the hideous children began to +shriek somewhere underneath him ... wings +with eyes among their burning feathers flashed +past him.</p> + +<p>His own wings folded close over his little +body, drooping like dead things. His eyes +closed, and he turned on his side. A huge +face that was one-half the governess and the +other half the head gardener at home, thrust +itself close against his own, and blew upon his +eyelids till he opened them. Already he was +falling, sinking, tumbling headlong through a +space that offered no resistance.</p> + +<p>"Jimbo!" shrieked a voice that instantly +died away into a wail behind him.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span></p><p>He opened his eyes once more—for it was +that loved voice again—but the glare from +the moon so dazzled him that he could only +fancy he saw the figure of the governess, not +a hundred feet away, struggling and floundering +in the clutch of a black creature that beat the +air with enormous wings all round her. He +saw her hair streaming out into the night, +and one wing seemed to hang broken and +useless at her side.</p> + +<p>He was turning over and over, like a piece +of wood in the waves of the sea, and the +governess, caught by Fright, the monster of +her own creation, drifted away from his +consciousness as a dream melts away in the +light of the morning.... From the gleaming +mountains and treeless plains below Jimbo +thought there rose a hollow roar like the +mocking laughter of an immense multitude of +people, shaking with mirth. The Moon had +got him at last, and her laughter ran through +the heavens like a wave. Revolving upon his +own little axis so swiftly that he neither saw +nor heard anything more, he dropped straight +down upon the great satellite.</p> + +<p>The light of the moon flamed up into his +eyes and dazzled him.</p> + +<p>But what in the world was this?</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span></p><p>How could the moon dwindle so suddenly +to the size of a mere lamp flame?</p> + +<p>How could the whole expanse of the +heavens shrink in an instant to the limits of +a little, cramped room?</p> + +<p>In a single second, before he had time to +realise that he felt surprise, the entire memory +of his recent experiences vanished from his +mind. The past became an utter blank. +Like a wreath of smoke everything melted +away as if it had never been at all. The +functions of the brain resumed their normal +course. The delirium of the past few hours +was over.</p> + +<p>Jimbo was lying at home on his bed in the +night-nursery, and his mother was bending +over him. At the foot of the bed stood the +doctor in black. The nurse held a lamp, only +half shaded by her hand, as she approached +the bedside.</p> + +<p>This lamp was the moon of his delirium—only +he had quite forgotten now that there +had ever been any moon at all.</p> + +<p>The little thermometer, thrust into his +teeth among the stars, was still in his mouth. +A hot-water bottle made his feet glow and +burn. And from the walls of the sick-room +came as it were the echoes of recently-uttered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span> +sentences: "Take his temperature! Give +him the medicine the moment he wakes! +Put the hot bottle to his feet.... Fetch the +ice-bag.... Quick!"</p> + +<p>"Where am I, mother?" he asked in a +whisper.</p> + +<p>"You're in bed, darling, and must keep +quite quiet. You'll soon be all right again. +It was the old black cow that tossed you. +The gardener found you by the swinging gate +and carried you in.... You've been unconscious!"</p> + +<p>"How long have I been uncon——?" +Jimbo could not manage the whole +word.</p> + +<p>"About three hours, darling."</p> + +<p>Then he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, +and when he woke long after it was early +morning, and there was no one in the room +but the old family nurse, who sat watching +beside the bed. Something—some dim +memory—that had stirred his brain in sleep, +immediately rushed to his lips in the form of +an inconsequent question. But before he +could even frame the sentence, the thought +that prompted it had slipped back into the +deeper consciousness he had just left behind +with the trance of deep sleep.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span></p><p>But the old nurse, watching every movement, +waiting upon the child's very breath, +had caught the question, and she answered +soothingly in a whisper—</p> + +<p>"Oh, Miss Lake died a few days after she +left here," she said in a very low voice. "But +don't think about her any more, dearie! +She'll never frighten children again with her +silly stories."</p> + +<p>"<em>DIED!</em>"</p> + +<p>Jimbo sat up in bed and stared into the +shadows behind her, as though his eyes saw +something she could not see. But his voice +seemed almost to belong to some one else.</p> + +<p>"She was really dead all the time, then," +he said below his breath.</p> + +<p>Then the child fell back without another +word, and dropped off into the sleep which +was the first step to final recovery.</p> + +<p class="center end">THE END</p> + +<p class="bt center sm">PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY<br /> +WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.</p> + +<div id="tn"> +<p class="center u">Transcriber's Note:</p> + +<p>The following corrections were made:</p> + +<ul> +<li><a href="#Page_52">p. 52</a>: removed paragraph break after comma (whispered, "My darling boy,)</li> +<li><a href="#Page_87">p. 87</a>: acccomplish to accomplish (she would accomplish)</li> +<li><a href="#Page_96">p. 96</a>: removed paragraph break after comma (and said very gravely, with +her serious eyes fixed on his face, "Miss Lake,)</li> +<li><a href="#Page_123">p. 123</a>: achoed to echoed ("Long!" he echoed,)</li> +<li><a href="#Page_181">p. 181</a>: existance to existence (an existence far antedating)</li> +<li><a href="#Page_197">p. 197</a>: conciousness to consciousness (the consciousness cannot)</li> +<li><a href="#Page_204">p. 204</a>: so to no (no sequence in the order)</li> +</ul> + +<p>Minor punctuation errors and missing spaces between words have been +corrected without note.</p> + +<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have not been corrected.</p> +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Jimbo, by Algernon Blackwood + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIMBO *** + +***** This file should be named 30974-h.htm or 30974-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/9/7/30974/ + +Produced by David Clarke, S.D., and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Jimbo + A Fantasy + +Author: Algernon Blackwood + +Release Date: January 15, 2010 [EBook #30974] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIMBO *** + + + + +Produced by David Clarke, S.D., and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + + + + +JIMBO + + + + + MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited + + LONDON . BOMBAY . CALCUTTA . MADRAS + MELBOURNE + + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + + NEW YORK . BOSTON . CHICAGO + DALLAS . ATLANTA . SAN FRANCISCO + + THE MACMILLAN COMPANY + OF CANADA, LIMITED + + TORONTO + + + + + JIMBO + + A FANTASY + + _By_ + + ALGERNON + BLACKWOOD + + MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED + ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON + + 1930 + + + COPYRIGHT + + _First Published_ 1909 + _The Caravan Library_ 1930 + + + PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. "RABBITS" 7 + + II. MISS LAKE COMES--AND GOES 24 + + III. THE SHOCK 40 + + IV. ON THE EDGE OF UNCONSCIOUSNESS 49 + + V. INTO THE EMPTY HOUSE 54 + + VI. HIS COMPANION IN PRISON 69 + + VII. THE SPELL OF THE EMPTY HOUSE 87 + + VIII. THE GALLERY OF ANCIENT MEMORIES 102 + + IX. THE MEANS OF ESCAPE 111 + + X. THE PLUNGE 131 + + XI. THE FIRST FLIGHT 142 + + XII. THE FOUR WINDS 153 + + XIII. PLEASURES OF FLIGHT 165 + + XIV. AN ADVENTURE 177 + + XV. THE CALL OF THE BODY 193 + + XVI. PREPARATION 204 + + XVII. OFF! 219 + + XVIII. HOME 232 + + + + +JIMBO + +CHAPTER I + +"RABBITS" + + +Jimbo's governess ought to have known better--but she didn't. If she +had, Jimbo would never have met with the adventures that subsequently +came to him. Thus, in a roundabout sort of way, the child ought to have +been thankful to the governess; and perhaps, in a roundabout sort of +way, he was. But that comes at the far end of the story, and is doubtful +at best; and in the meanwhile the child had gone through his suffering, +and the governess had in some measure expiated her fault; so that at +this stage it is only necessary to note that the whole business began +because the Empty House happened to be really an Empty House--not the +one Jimbo's family lived in, but another of which more will be known in +due course. + +Jimbo's father was a retired Colonel, who had married late in life, and +now lived all the year round in the country; and Jimbo was the youngest +child but one. The Colonel, lean in body as he was sincere in mind, an +excellent soldier but a poor diplomatist, loved dogs, horses, guns and +riding-whips. He also really understood them. His neighbours, had they +been asked, would have called him hard-headed, and so far as a +soft-hearted man may deserve the title, he probably was. He rode two +horses a day to hounds with the best of them, and the stiffer the +country the better he liked it. Besides his guns, dogs and horses, he +was also very fond of his children. It was his hobby that he understood +them far better than his wife did, or than any one else did, for that +matter. The proper evolution of their differing temperaments had no +difficulties for him. The delicate problems of child-nature, which defy +solution by nine parents out of ten, ceased to exist the moment he +spread out his muscular hand in a favourite omnipotent gesture and +uttered some extraordinarily foolish generality in that thunderous, +good-natured voice of his. The difficulty for himself vanished when he +ended up with the words, "Leave that to me, my dear; believe me, I know +best!" But for all else concerned, and especially for the child under +discussion, this was when the difficulty really began. + +Since, however, the Colonel, after this chapter, mounts his best hunter +and disappears over a high hedge into space so far as our story is +concerned, any further delineation of his wholesome but very ordinary +type is unnecessary. + +One winter's evening, not very long after Christmas, the Colonel made a +discovery. It alarmed him a little; for it suggested to his cocksure +mind that he did not understand _all_ his children as comprehensively as +he imagined. + +Between five o'clock tea and dinner--that magic hour when lessons were +over and the big house was full of shadows and mystery--there came a +timid knock at the study door. + +"Come in," growled the soldier in his deepest voice, and a little girl's +face, wreathed in tumbling brown hair, poked itself hesitatingly through +the opening. + +The Colonel did not like being disturbed at this hour, and everybody in +the house knew it; but the spell of Christmas holidays was still somehow +in the air, and the customary order was not yet fully re-established. +Moreover, when he saw who the intruder was, his growl modified itself +into a sort of common sternness that yet was not cleverly enough +simulated to deceive the really intuitive little person who now stood +inside the room. + +"Well, Nixie, child, what do you want now?" + +"Please, father, will you--we wondered if----" + +A chorus of whispers issued from the other side of the door: + +"Go on, silly!" + +"Out with it!" + +"You promised you would, Nixie." + +"... if you would come and play Rabbits with us?" came the words in a +desperate rush, with laughter not far behind. + +The big man with the fierce white moustaches glared over the top of his +glasses at the intruders as if amazed beyond belief at the audacity of +the request. + +"Rabbits!" he exclaimed, as though the mere word ought to have caused an +instant explosion. "Rabbits!" + +"Oh, _please_ do." + +"Rabbits at this time of night!" he repeated. "I never heard of such a +thing. Why, all good rabbits are asleep in their holes by now. And you +ought to be in yours too by rights, I'm sure." + +"We don't sleep in holes, father," said the owner of the brown hair, who +was acting as leader. + +"And there's still a nour before bedtime, _really_," added a voice in +the rear. + +The big man slowly put his glasses down and looked at his watch. He +looked very savage, but of course it was all pretence, and the children +knew it. "If he was _really_ cross he'd pretend to be nice," they +whispered to each other, with merciless perception. + +"Well--" he began. But he who hesitates, with children, is lost. The +door flung open wide, and the troop poured into the room in a medley of +long black legs, flying hair and outstretched hands. They surrounded the +table, swarmed upon his big knees, shut his stupid old book, tried on +his glasses, kissed him, and fell to discussing the game breathlessly +all at once, as though it had already begun. + +This, of course, ended the battle, and the big man had to play the part +of the Monster Rabbit in a wonderful game of his own invention. But +when, at length, it was all over, and they were gathered panting round +the fire of blazing logs in the hall, the Monster Rabbit--the only one +with any breath at his command--looked up and spoke. + +"Where's Jimbo?" he asked. + +"Upstairs." + +"Why didn't he come and play too?" + +"He didn't want to." + +"Why? What's he doing?" + +Several answers were forthcoming. + +"Nothing in p'tickler." + +"Talking to the furniture when I last saw him." + +"Just thinking, as usual, or staring in the fire." + +None of the answers seemed to satisfy the Monster Rabbit, for when he +kissed them a little later and said good-night, he gave orders, with a +graver face, for Jimbo to be sent down to the study before he went to +bed. Moreover, he called him "James," which was a sure sign of parental +displeasure. + +"James, why didn't you come and play with your brothers and sisters just +now?" asked the Colonel, as a dreamy-eyed boy of about eight, with a mop +of dark hair and a wistful expression, came slowly forward into the +room. + +"I was in the middle of making pictures." + +"Where--what--making pictures?" + +"In the fire." + +"James," said the Colonel in a serious tone, "don't you know that you +are getting too old now for that sort of thing? If you dream so much, +you'll fall asleep altogether some fine day, and never wake up again. +Just think what that means!" + +The child smiled faintly and moved up confidingly between his father's +knees, staring into his eyes without the least sign of fear. But he said +nothing in reply. His thoughts were far away, and it seemed as if the +effort to bring them back into the study and to a consideration of his +father's words was almost beyond his power. + +"You must run about more," pursued the soldier, rubbing his big hands +together briskly, "and join your brothers and sisters in their games. +Lie about in the summer and dream a bit if you like, but now it's +winter, you must be more active, and make your blood circulate +healthily,--er--and all that sort of thing." + +The words were kindly spoken, but the voice and manner rather +deliberate. Jimbo began to look a little troubled, as his father watched +him. + +"Come now, little man," he said more gently, "what's the matter, eh?" +He drew the boy close to him. "Tell me all about it, and what it is +you're always thinking about so much." + +Jimbo brought back his mind with a tremendous effort, and said, "I don't +like the winter. It's so dark and full of horrid things. It's all ice +and shadows, so--so I go away and think of what I like, and other +places----" + +"Nonsense!" interrupted his father briskly; "winter's a capital time for +boys. What in the world d'ye mean, I wonder?" + +He lifted the child on to his knee and stroked his hair, as though he +were patting the flank of a horse. Jimbo took no notice of the +interruption or of the caress, but went on saying what he had to say, +though with eyes a little more clouded. + +"Winter's like going into a long black tunnel, you see. It's downhill to +Christmas, of course, and then uphill all the way to the summer +holidays. But the uphill part's so slow that----" + +"Tut, tut!" laughed the Colonel in spite of himself; "you mustn't have +such thoughts. Those are a baby's notions. They're silly, silly, silly." + +"Do you _really_ think so, father?" continued the boy, as if politeness +demanded some recognition of his father's remarks, but otherwise anxious +only to say what was in his mind. "You wouldn't think them silly if you +really knew. But, of course, there's no one to tell you in the stable, +so you _can't_ know. You've never seen the funny big people rushing past +you and laughing through their long hair when the wind blows so loud. +_I_ know several of them almost to speak to, but you hear only wind. And +the other things with tiny legs that skate up and down the slippery +moonbeams, without ever tumbling off--they aren't silly a bit, only they +don't like dogs and noise. And I've seen the furniture"--he pronounced +it furchinur--"dancing about in the day-nursery when it thought it was +alone, and I've heard it talking at night. I know the big cupboard's +voice quite well. It's just like a drum, only rougher...." + +The Colonel shook his head and frowned severely, staring hard at his +son. But though their eyes met, the boy hardly saw him. Far away at the +other end of the dark Tunnel of the Months he saw the white summer +sunshine lying over gardens full of nodding flowers. Butterflies were +flitting across meadows yellow with buttercups, and he saw the +fascinating rings upon the lawn where the Fairy People held their dances +in the moonlight; he heard the wind call to him as it ran on along by +the hedgerows, and saw the gentle pressure of its swift feet upon the +standing hay; streams were murmuring under shady trees; birds were +singing; and there were echoes of sweeter music still that he could not +understand, but loved all the more perhaps on that account.... + +"Yes," announced the Colonel later that evening to his wife, spreading +his hands out as he spoke. "Yes, my dear, I _have_ made a discovery, and +an alarming one. You know, I'm rarely at fault where the children are +concerned--and I've noted all the symptoms with unusual care. James, my +dear, is an imaginative boy." + +He paused to note the effect of his words, but seeing none, continued: + +"I regret to be obliged to say it, but it's a fact beyond dispute. His +head is simply full of things, and he talked to me this evening about +tunnels and slippery moonlight till I very nearly lost my temper +altogether. Now, the boy will never make a man unless we take him in +hand properly at once. We must get him a governess, or something, +without delay. Just fancy, if he grew up into a poet or one of +these--these----" + +In his distress the soldier could only think of horse-terms, which did +not seem quite the right language. He stuck altogether, and kept +repeating the favourite gesture with his open hand, staring at his wife +over his glasses as he did so. + +But the mother never argued. + +"He's very young still," she observed quietly, "and, as you have always +said, he's not a bit like other boys, remember." + +"Exactly what I say. Now that your eyes are opened to the actual state +of affairs, I'm satisfied." + +"We'll get a sensible nursery-governess at once," added the mother. + +"A practical one?" + +"Yes, dear." + +"Hard-headed?" + +"Yes." + +"And well educated?" + +"Yes." + +"And--er--firm with children. She'll do for the lot, then." + +"If possible." + +"And a young woman who doesn't go in for poetry, and dreaming, and all +that kind of flummery." + +"Of course, dear." + +"Capital. I felt sure you would agree with me," he went on. "It'd be no +end of a pity if Jimbo grew up an ass. At present he hardly knows the +difference between a roadster and a racer. He's going into the army, +too," he added by way of climax, "and you know, my dear, the army would +never stand _that_!" + +"Never," said the mother quietly, and the conversation came to an end. + +Meanwhile, the subject of these remarks was lying wide awake upstairs in +the bed with the yellow iron railing round it. His elder brother was +asleep in the opposite corner of the room, snoring peacefully. He could +just see the brass knobs of the bedstead as the dying firelight quivered +and shone on them. The walls and ceiling were draped in shadows that +altered their shapes from time to time as the coals dropped softly into +the grate. Gradually the fire sank, and the room darkened. A feeling of +delight and awe stole into his heart. + +Jimbo loved these early hours of the night before sleep came. He felt no +fear of the dark; its mystery thrilled his soul; but he liked the +summer dark, with its soft, warm silences better than the chill winter +shadows. Presently the firelight sprang up into a brief flame and then +died away altogether with an odd little gulp. He knew the sound well; he +often watched the fire out, and now, as he lay in bed waiting for he +knew not what, the moonlight filtered in through the baize curtains and +gradually gave to the room a wholly new character. + +Jimbo sat up in bed and listened. The house was very still. He slipped +into his red dressing-gown and crept noiselessly over to the window. For +a moment he paused by his brother's bed to make sure that he really was +asleep; then, evidently satisfied, he drew aside a corner of the curtain +and peered out. + +"Oh!" he said, drawing in his breath with delight, and again "oh!" + +It was difficult to understand why the sea of white moonlight that +covered the lawn should fill him with such joy, and at the same time +bring a lump into his throat. It made him feel as if he were swelling +out into something very much greater than the actual limits of his +little person. And the sensation was one of mingled pain and delight, +too intense for him to feel for very long. The unhappiness passed +gradually away, he always noticed, and the happiness merged after a +while into a sort of dreamy ecstasy in which he neither thought nor +wished much, but was conscious only of one single unmanageable yearning. + +The huge cedars on the lawn reared themselves up like giants in silver +cloaks, and the horse-chestnut--the Umbrella Tree, as the children +called it--loomed with motionless branches that were frosted and +shining. Beyond it, in a blue mist of moonlight and distance, lay the +kitchen-garden; he could just make out the line of the high wall where +the fruit-trees grew. Immediately below him the gravel of the carriage +drive sparkled with frost. + +The bars of the windows were cold to his hands, yet he stood there for a +long time with his nose flattened against the pane and his bare feet on +the cane chair. He felt both happy and sad; his heart longed dreadfully +for something he had not got, something that seemed out of his reach +because he could not name it. No one seemed to believe all the things he +_knew_ in quite the same way as he did. His brothers and sisters played +up to a certain point, and then put the things aside as if they had only +been assumed for the time and were not real. To him they were always +real. His father's words, too, that evening had sorely puzzled him when +he came to think over them afterwards: "They're a baby's notions.... +They're silly, silly, silly." Were these things real or were they not? +And, as he pondered, yearning dumbly, as only these little souls can +yearn, the wistfulness in his heart went out to meet the moonlight in +the air. Together they wove a spell that seemed to summon before him a +fairy of the night, who whispered an answer into his heart: "We are real +so long as you believe in us. It is your imagination that makes us real +and gives us life. Please, never, never stop believing." + +Jimbo was not quite sure that he understood the message, but he liked it +all the same, and felt comforted. So long as they believed in one +another, the rest did not matter very much after all. And when at last, +shivering with cold, he crept back to bed, it was only to find through +the Gates of Sleep a more direct way to the things he had been thinking +about, and to wander for the rest of the night, unwatched and free, +through the wonders of an Enchanted Land. + +Jimbo, as his father had said, was an imaginative child. Most children +are--more or less; and he was "more," at least, "more" than his brothers +and sisters. The Colonel thought he had made a penetrating discovery, +but his wife had known it always. His head, indeed, was "full of +things,"--things that, unless trained into a channel where they could be +controlled and properly schooled, would certainly interfere with his +success in a practical world, and be a source of mingled pain and joy to +him all through life. To have trained these forces, ever bursting out +towards creation, in his little soul,--to have explained, interpreted, +and dealt fairly by them, would perhaps have been the best and wisest +way; to have suppressed them altogether, cleaned them out by the process +of substitution, this might have succeeded too in less measure; but to +turn them into a veritable rout of horror by the common method of +"frightening the nonsense out of the boy," this was surely the very +worst way of dealing with such a case, and the most cruel. Yet, this was +the method adopted by the Colonel in the robust good-nature of his +heart, and the utter ignorance of his soul. + +So it came about that three months later, when May was melting into +June, Miss Ethel Lake arrived upon the scene as a result of the +Colonel's blundering good intentions. She brought with her a kind +disposition, a supreme ignorance of unordinary children, a large store +of self-confidence--and a corded yellow tin box. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +MISS LAKE COMES--AND GOES + + +The conversation took place suddenly one afternoon, and no one knew +anything about it except the two who took part in it: the Colonel asked +the governess to try and knock the nonsense out of Jimbo's head, and the +governess promised eagerly to do her very best. It was her first +"place"; and by "nonsense" they both understood imagination. True +enough, Jimbo's mother had given her rather different instructions as to +the treatment of the boy, but she mistook the soldier's bluster for +authority, and deemed it best to obey him. This was her first mistake. + +In reality she was not devoid of imaginative insight; it was simply that +her anxiety to prove a success permitted her better judgment to be +overborne by the Colonel's boisterous manner. + +The wisdom of the mother was greater than that of her husband. For the +safe development of that tender and imaginative little boy of hers, she +had been at great pains to engage a girl--a clergyman's daughter--who +possessed sufficient sympathy with the poetic and dreamy nature to be of +real help to him; for true help, she knew, can only come from true +understanding. And Miss Lake was a good girl. She was entirely +well-meaning--which is the beginning of well-doing, and her principal +weakness lay in her judgment, which led her to obey the Colonel too +literally. + +"She seems most sensible," he declared to his wife. + +"Yes, dear." + +"And practical." + +"I think so." + +"And firm and--er--wise with children." + +"I hope so." + +"Just the sort for young Jimbo," added the Colonel with decision. + +"I trust so; she's a little young, perhaps." + +"Possibly, but one can't get everything," said her husband, in his +horse-and-dog voice. "A year with her should clean out that fanciful +brain of his, and prepare him for school with other boys. He'll be all +right once he gets to school. My dear," he added, spreading out his +right hand, fingers extended, "you've made a most wise selection. I +congratulate you. I'm delighted." + +"I'm so glad." + +"Capital, I repeat, capital. You're a clever little woman. I knew you'd +find the right party, once I showed you how the land lay." + + * * * * * + +The Empty House, that stood in its neglected garden not far from the +Park gates, was built on a point of land that entered wedgewise into the +Colonel's estate. Though something of an eyesore, therefore, he could do +nothing with it. + +To the children it had always been an object of peculiar, though not +unwholesome, mystery. None of them cared to pass it on a stormy day--the +wind made such odd noises in its empty corridors and rooms--and they +refused point-blank to go within hailing distance of it after dark. But +in Jimbo's imagination it was especially haunted, and if he had ceased +to reveal to the others what he _knew_ went on under its roof, it was +only because they were unable to follow him, and were inclined to greet +his extravagant recitals with "Now, Jimbo, you know _perfectly_ well +you're only making up." + +The House had been empty for many years; but, to the children, it had +been empty since the beginning of the world, since what they called the +"_very_ beginning." They believed--well, each child believed according +to his own mind and powers, but there was at least one belief they all +held in common: for it was generally accepted as an article of faith +that the Indians, encamped among the shrubberies on the back lawn, +secretly buried their dead behind the crumbling walls of its weedy +garden--the "dead" provided by the children's battles, be it understood. +Wakeful ears in the night-nursery had heard strange sounds coming from +that direction when the windows were open on hot summer nights; and the +gardener, supreme authority on all that happened in the night (since +they believed that he sat up to watch the vegetables and fruit-trees +ripen, and never went to bed at all), was evidently of the same +persuasion. + +When appealed to for an explanation of the mournful wind-voices, he knew +what was expected of him, and rose manfully to the occasion. + +"It's either them Redskins aburyin' wot you killed of 'em yesterday," +he declared, pointing towards the Empty House with a bit of broken +flower-pot, "or else it's the ones you killed last week, and who was +always astealin' of my strorbriz." He looked very wise as he said this, +and his wand of office--a dirty trowel--which he held in his hand, gave +him tremendous dignity. + +"That's just what _we_ thought, and of course if you say so too, that +settles it," said Nixie. + +"It's more'n likely, missie, leastways from wot you describes, which it +is a hempty house all the same, though I can't say as I've heard no +sounds, not very distinct that is, myself." + +The gardener may have been anxious to hedge a bit, for fear of a +scolding from headquarters, but his cryptic remarks pleased the children +greatly, because it showed, they thought, that they knew more than the +gardener did. + +Thus the Empty House remained an object of somewhat dreadful delight, +lending a touch of wonderland to that part of the lane where it stood, +and forming the background for many an enchanting story over the nursery +fire in winter-time. It appealed vividly to their imaginations, +especially to Jimbo's. Its dark windows, without blinds, were sometimes +full of faces that retreated the moment they were looked at. That +tangled ivy did not grow over the roof so thickly for nothing; and those +high elms on the western side had not been planted years ago in a +semicircle without a reason. Thus, at least, the children argued, not +knowing exactly what they meant, nor caring much, so long as they proved +to their own satisfaction that the place was properly haunted, and +therefore worthy of their attention. + +It was natural they should lead Miss Lake in that direction on one of +their first walks together, and it was natural, too, that she should at +once discover from their manner that the place was of some importance to +them. + +"What a queer-looking old house," she remarked, when they turned the +corner of the lane and it came into view. "Almost a ruin, isn't it?" + +The children exchanged glances. A "ruin" did not seem the right sort of +word at all; and, besides, was a little disrespectful. Also, they were +not sure whether the new governess ought to be told everything so soon. +She had not really won their confidence yet. After a slight pause--and +a children's pause is the most eloquent imaginable--Nixie, being the +eldest, said in a stiff little voice: "It's the Empty House, Miss Lake. +_We_ know it very well indeed." + +"It looks empty," observed Miss Lake briskly. + +"But it's not a ruin, of course," added the child, with the cold dignity +of chosen spokesman. + +"Oh!" said the governess, quite missing the point. She was talking +lightly on the surface of things, wholly ignorant of the depths beneath +her feet, intuition with her having always been sternly repressed. + +"It's a gamekeeper's cottage, or something like that, I suppose," she +said. + +"Oh, no; it isn't a bit." + +"Doesn't it belong to your father, then?" + +"No. It's somebody else's, you see." + +"Then you can't have it pulled down?" + +"Rather not! Of course not!" exclaimed several indignant voices at once. + +Miss Lake perceived for the first time that it held more than ordinary +importance in their mind. + +"Tell me about it," she said. "What is its history, and who used to live +in it?" + +There came another pause. The children looked into each others' faces. +They gazed at the blue sky overhead; then they stared at the dusty road +at their feet. But no one volunteered an answer. Miss Lake, they felt, +was approaching the subject in an offensive manner. + +"Why are you all so mysterious about it?" she went on. "It's only a +tumble-down old place, and must be very draughty to live in, even for a +gamekeeper." + +Silence. + +"Come, children, don't you hear me? I'm asking you a question." + +A couple of startled birds flew out of the ivy with a great whirring of +wings. This was followed by a faint sound of rumbling, that seemed to +come from the interior of the house. Outside all was still, and the hot +sunshine lay over everything. The sound was repeated. The children +looked at each other with large, expectant eyes. Something in the house +was moving--was coming nearer. + +"Have you _all_ lost your tongues?" asked the governess impatiently. + +"But you see," Nixie said at length, "somebody _does_ live in it now." + +"And who is he?" + +"I didn't say it was a _man_." + +"Whoever it is--tell me about the person," persisted Miss Lake. + +"There's really nothing to tell," replied the child, without looking up. + +"Oh, but there must be something," declared the logical young governess, +"or you wouldn't object so much to its being pulled down." + +Nixie looked puzzled, but Jimbo came to the rescue at once. + +"But _you_ wouldn't understand if we did tell you," he said, in a slow, +respectful voice. His tone held a touch of that indescribable scorn +heard sometimes in a child's tone--the utter contempt for the stupid +grown-up creature. Miss Lake noticed, and felt annoyed. She recognised +that she was not getting on well with the children, and it piqued her. +She remembered the Colonel's words about "knocking the nonsense out" of +James' head, and she saw that her first opportunity, in fact her first +real test, was at hand. + +"And why, pray, should I not understand?" she asked, with some +sharpness. "Is the mystery so _very_ great?" + +For some reason the duty of spokesman now devolved unmistakably upon +Jimbo; and very seriously too, he accepted the task, standing with his +feet firmly planted in the road and his hands in his trousers' pockets. + +"You see, Miss Lake," he began gravely, "we know such a lot of Things in +there, that they might not like us to tell you about them. They don't +know you yet. If they did it might be different. But--but--you see, it +isn't." + +This was rather crushing to the aspiring educator, and the Colonel's +instructions gained additional point in the light of the boy's +explanation. + +"Fiddlesticks!" she laughed, "there's probably nothing at all in there, +except rats and cobwebs. 'Things,' indeed!" + +"I knew you wouldn't understand," said Jimbo coolly, with no sign of +being offended. "How could you?" He glanced at his sisters, gaining so +much support from their enigmatical faces that he added, for their +especial benefit, "How could she?" + +"The gard'ner said so too," chimed in a younger sister, with a vague +notion that their precious Empty House was being robbed of its glory. + +"Yes; but, James, dear, I do understand perfectly," continued Miss Lake +more gently, and wisely ignoring the reference to the authority of the +kitchen-garden. "Only, you see, I cannot really encourage you in such +nonsense----" + +"It isn't nonsense," interrupted Jimbo, with heat. + +"But, believe me, children, it _is_ nonsense. How do you know that +there's anything inside? You've never been there!" + +"You can know perfectly well what's inside a thing without having gone +there," replied Jimbo with scorn. "At least, _we_ can." + +Miss Lake changed her tack a little--fatally, as it appeared afterwards. + +"I know at any rate," she said with decision, "that there's nothing good +in there. Whatever there may be is bad, thoroughly bad, and not fit for +you to play with." + +The other children moved away, but Jimbo stood his ground. They were all +angry, disappointed, sore hurt and offended. But Jimbo suddenly began to +feel something else besides anger and vexation. It was a new point of +view to him that the Empty House might contain bad things as well as +good, or perhaps, only bad things. His imagination seized upon the point +at once and set to work vigorously to develop it. This was his way with +all such things, and he could not prevent it. + +"Bad Things?" he repeated, looking up at the governess. "You mean Things +that could hurt?" + +"Yes, of course," she said, noting the effect of her words and thinking +how pleased the Colonel would be later, when he heard it. "Things that +might run out and catch you some day when you're passing here alone, and +take you back a prisoner. Then you'd be a prisoner in the Empty House +all your life. Think of that!" + +Miss Lake mistook the boy's silence as proof that she was taking the +right line. She enlarged upon this view of the matter, now she was so +successfully launched, and described the _Inmate of the House_ with such +wealth of detail that she felt sure her listener would never have +anything to do with the place again, and that she had "knocked out" this +particular bit of "nonsense" for ever and a day. + +But to Jimbo it was a new and horrible idea that the Empty House, +haunted hitherto only by rather jolly and wonderful Red Indians, +contained a Monster who might take him prisoner, and the thought made +him feel afraid. The mischief had, of course, been done, and the terror +in his eyes was unmistakable, when the foolish governess saw her +mistake. Retreat was impossible: the boy was shaking with fear; and not +all Miss Lake's genuine sympathy, or Nixie's explanations and soothings, +were able to relieve his mind of its new burden. + +Hitherto Jimbo's imagination had loved to dwell upon the pleasant side +of things invisible; but now he had been severely frightened, and his +imagination took a new turn. Not only the Empty House, but all his inner +world, to which it was in some sense the key, underwent a distressing +change. His sense of horror had been vividly aroused. + +The governess would willingly have corrected her mistake, but was, of +course, powerless to do so. Bitterly she regretted her tactlessness and +folly. But she could do nothing, and to add to her distress, she saw +that Jimbo shrank from her in a way that could not long escape the +watchful eye of the mother. But, if the boy shed tears of fear that +night in his bed, it must in justice be told that she, for her part, +cried bitterly in her own room, not that she had endangered her "place," +but that she had done a cruel injury to a child, and that she was +helpless to undo it. For she loved children, though she was quite +unsuited to take care of them. Her just reward, however, came swiftly +upon her. + +A few nights later, when Jimbo and Nixie were allowed to come down to +dessert, the wind was heard to make a queer moaning sound in the ivy +branches that hung over the dining-room windows. Jimbo heard it too. He +held his breath for a minute; then he looked round the table in a +frightened way, and the next minute gave a scream and burst into tears. +He ran round and buried his face in his father's arms. + +After the tears came the truth. It was a bad thing for Miss Ethel Lake, +this little sighing of the wind and the ivy leaves, for the Djin of +terror she had thoughtlessly evoked swept into the room and introduced +himself to the parents without her leave. + +"What new nonsense is this now?" growled the soldier, leaving his +walnuts and lifting the boy on to his knee. "He shouldn't come down till +he's a little older, and knows how to behave." + +"What's the matter, darling child?" asked the mother, drying his eyes +tenderly. + +"I heard the bad Things crying in the Empty House." + +"The Empty House is a mile away from here!" snorted the Colonel. + +"Then it's come nearer," declared the frightened boy. + +"Who told you there were bad things in the Empty House?" asked the +mother. + +"Yes, who told you, indeed, I should like to know!" demanded the +Colonel. + +And then it all came out. The Colonel's wife was very quiet, but very +determined. Miss Lake went back to the clerical family whence she had +come, and the children knew her no more. + +"I'm glad," said Nixie, expressing the verdict of the nursery. "I +thought she was awfully stupid." + +"She wasn't a real lake at all," declared another, "she was only a sort +of puddle." + +Jimbo, however, said little, and the Colonel likewise held his peace. + +But the governess, whether she was a lake or only a puddle, left her +mark behind her. The Empty House was no longer harmless. It had a new +lease of life. It was tenanted by some one who could never have friendly +relations with children. The weeds in the old garden took on fantastic +shapes; figures hid behind the doors and crept about the passages; the +rooks in the high elms became birds of ill-omen; the ivy bristled upon +the walls, and the trivial explanations of the gardener were no longer +satisfactory. + +Even in bright sunshine a Shadow lay crouching upon the broken roof. At +any moment it might leap into life, and with immense striding legs chase +the children down to the very Park gates. + +There was no need to enforce the decree that the Empty House was a +forbidden land. The children of their own accord declared it out of +bounds, and avoided it as carefully as if all the wild animals from the +Zoo were roaming its gardens, hungry and unchained. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE SHOCK + + +One immediate result of Miss Lake's indiscretion was that the children +preferred to play on the other side of the garden, the side farthest +from the Empty House. A spiked railing here divided them from a field in +which cows disported themselves, and as bulls also sometimes were +admitted to the cows, the field was strictly out of bounds. + +In this spiked railing, not far from the great shrubberies where the +Indians increased and multiplied, there was a swinging gate. The +children swung on it whenever they could. They called it Express Trains, +and the fact that it was forbidden only added to their pleasure. When +opened at its widest it would swing them with a rush through the air, +past the pillars with a click, out into the field, and then back again +into the garden. It was bad for the hinges, and it was also bad for the +garden, because it was frequently left open after these carnivals, and +the cows got in and trod the flowers down. The children were not afraid +of the cows, but they held the bull in great horror. And these trivial +things have been mentioned here because of the part they played in +Jimbo's subsequent adventures. + +It was only ten days or so after Miss Lake's sudden departure when Jimbo +managed one evening to elude the vigilance of his lawful guardians, and +wandered off unnoticed among the laburnums on the front lawn. From the +laburnums he passed successfully to the first laurel shrubbery, and +thence he executed a clever flank movement and entered the carriage +drive in the rear. The rest was easy, and he soon found himself at the +Lodge gate. + +For some moments he peered through the iron grating, and pondered on the +seductiveness of the dusty road and of the ditch beyond. To his surprise +he found, presently, that the gate was moving outwards; it was yielding +to his weight. One thing leads easily to another sometimes, and the open +gate led easily on to the seductive road. The result was that a minute +later Jimbo was chasing butterflies along the green lane, and throwing +stones into the water of the ditch. + +It was the evening of a hot summer's day, and the butterflies were +still out in force. Jimbo's delight was intense. The joy of finding +himself alone where he had no right to be put everything else out of his +head, and for some time he wandered on, oblivious of all but the +intoxicating sense of freedom and the difficulty of choosing between so +many butterflies and such a magnificently dirty ditch. + +At first he yielded to the seductions of the ditch. He caught a big, +sleepy beetle and put it on a violet leaf, and sent it sailing out to +sea; and when it landed on the farther shore he found a still bigger +leaf, and sent it forth on a voyage in another direction, with a cargo +of daisy petals, and a hairy caterpillar for a bo'sun's mate. But, just +as the vessel was getting under way, a butterfly of amazing brilliance +floated past insolently under his very nose. Leaving the beetle and the +caterpillar to navigate the currents as best they could, he at once gave +chase. Cap in hand, he flew after the butterfly down the lane, and a +dozen times when his cap was just upon it, it sailed away sideways +without the least effort and escaped him. + +Then, suddenly, the lane took a familiar turning; the ditch stopped +abruptly; the hedge on his right fell away altogether; the butterfly +danced out of sight into a field, and Jimbo found himself face to face +with the one thing in the whole world that could, at that time, fill him +with abject terror--the Empty House. + +He came to a full stop in the middle of the road and stared up at the +windows. He realised for the first time that he was alone, and that it +was possible for brilliant sunshine, even on a cloudless day, to become +somehow lustreless and dull. The walls showed a deep red in the sunset +light. The house was still as the grave. His feet were rooted to the +ground, and it seemed as if he could not move a single muscle; and as he +stood there, the blood ebbing quickly from his heart, the words of the +governess a few days before rushed back into his mind, and turned his +fear into a dreadful, all-possessing horror. In another minute the +battered door would slowly open and the horrible Inmate come out to +seize him. Already there was a sound of something moving within, and as +he gazed, fascinated with terror, a shuddering movement ran over the ivy +leaves hanging down from the roof. Then they parted in the middle, and +something--he could not in his agony see what--flew out with a whirring +sound into his face, and then vanished over his shoulder towards the +fields. + +Jimbo did not pause a single second to find out what it was, or to +reflect that any ordinary thrush would have made just the same sound. +The shock it gave to his heart immediately loosened the muscles of his +little legs, and he ran for his very life. But before he actually began +to run he gave one piercing scream for help, and the person he screamed +to was the very person who was unwittingly the cause of his distress. It +was as though he knew instinctively that the person who had created for +him the terror of the Empty House, with its horrible Inmate, was also +the person who could properly banish it, and undo the mischief before it +was too late. He shrieked for help to the governess, Miss Ethel Lake. + +Of course, there was no answer but the noise of the air whistling in his +ears as his feet flew over the road in a cloud of dust; there was no +friendly butcher's cart, no baker's boy, or farmer with his dog and gun; +the road was deserted. There was not even the beetle or the caterpillar; +he was beyond reach of help. + +Jimbo ran for his life, but unfortunately he ran in the wrong +direction. Instead of going the way he had come, where the Lodge gates +were ready to receive him not a quarter of a mile away, he fled in the +opposite direction. + +It so happened that the lane flanked the field where the cows lived; but +cows were nothing compared to a Creature from the Empty House, and even +bulls seemed friendly. The boy was over the five-barred gate in a +twinkling and half-way across the field before he heard a heavy, +thunderous sound behind him. Either the Thing had followed him into the +field, or it was the bull. As he raced, he managed to throw a glance +over his shoulder and saw a huge, dark mass bearing down upon him at +terrific speed. It must be the bull, he reflected--the bull grown to the +size of an elephant. And it appeared to him to have two immense black +wings that flapped at its sides and helped it forward, making a whirring +noise like the arms of a great windmill. + +This sight added to his speed, but he could not last very much longer. +Already his body ached all over, and the frantic effort to get breath +nearly choked him. + +There, before him, not so very far away now, was the swinging gate. If +only he could get there in time to scramble over into the garden, he +would be safe. It seemed almost impossible, and behind him, meanwhile, +the sound of the following creature came closer and closer; the ground +seemed to tremble; he could almost feel the breath on his neck. + +The swinging gate was only twenty yards off; now ten; now only five. Now +he had reached it--at last. He stretched out his hands to seize the top +bar, and in another moment he would have been safe in the garden and +within easy reach of the house. But, before he actually touched the iron +rail, a sharp, stinging pain shot across his back;--he drew one final +breath as he felt himself being lifted, lifted up into the air. The +horns had caught him just behind the shoulders! + +There seemed to be no pain after the first shock. He rose high into the +air, while the bushes and spiked railing he knew so well sank out of +sight beneath him, dwindling curiously in size. At first he thought his +head must bump against the sky, but suddenly he stopped rising, and the +green earth rushed up as if it would strike him in the face. This meant +he was sinking again. The gate and railing flew by underneath him, and +the next second he fell with a crash upon the soft grass of the +lawn--upon the other side. He had been tossed over the gate into the +garden, and the bull could no longer reach him. + +Before he became wholly unconscious, a composite picture, vivid in its +detail, engraved itself deeply, with exceeding swiftness, line by line, +upon the waxen tablets of his mind. In this picture the thrush that had +flown out of the ivy, the Empty House itself, and its horrible, pursuing +Inmate were all somehow curiously mingled together with the black wings +of the bull, and with his own sensation of rushing--flying +headlong--through space, as he rose and fell in a curve from the +creature's horns. + +And behind it he was conscious that the real author of it all was +somewhere in the shadowy background, looking on as though to watch the +result of her unfortunate mistake. Miss Lake, surely, was not very far +away. He associated her with the horror of the Empty House as inevitably +as taste and smell join together in the memory of a certain food; and +the very last thought in his mind, as he sank away into the blackness of +unconsciousness, was a sort of bitter surprise that the governess had +not turned up to save him before it was actually too late. + +Moreover, a certain sense of disappointment mingled with the terror of +the shock; for he was dimly aware that Miss Lake had not acted as +worthily as she might have done, and had not played the game as well as +might have been expected of her. And, somehow, it didn't all seem quite +fair. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +ON THE EDGE OF UNCONSCIOUSNESS + + +Jimbo had fallen on his head. Inside that head lay the mass of highly +sensitive matter called the brain, on which were recorded, of course, +the impressions of everything that had yet come to him in life. A severe +shock, such as he had just sustained, was bound to throw these +impressions into confusion and disorder, jumbling them up into new and +strange combinations, obliterating some, and exaggerating others. Jimbo +himself was helpless in the matter; he could exercise no control over +their antics until the doctors had once again reduced them to order; he +would have to wander, lost and lonely, through the comparative chaos of +disproportioned visions, generally known as the region of delirium, +until the doctor, assisted by mother nature, restored him once more to +normal consciousness. + +For a time everything was a blank, but presently he stirred uneasily in +the grass, and the pictures graven on the tablets of his mind began to +come back to him line by line. + +Yet, with certain changes: the bull, for instance, had so far vanished +into the background of his thoughts that it had practically disappeared +altogether, and he recalled nothing of it but the wings--the huge, +flapping wings. Of the creature to whom the wings belonged he had no +recollection beyond that it was very large, and that it was chasing him +from the Empty House. The pain in his shoulders had also gone; but what +remained with undiminished vividness were the sensations of flight +without escape, the breathless race up into the sky, and the swift, +tumbling drop again through the air on to the lawn. + +This impression of rushing through space--short though the actual +distance had been--was the dominating memory. All else was apparently +oblivion. He forgot where he came from, and he forgot what he had been +doing. The events leading up to the catastrophe, indeed everything +connected with his existence previously as "Master James," had entirely +vanished; and the slate of memory had been wiped so clean that he had +forgotten even his own name! + +Jimbo was lying, so to speak, on the edge of unconsciousness, and for a +time it seemed uncertain whether he would cross the line into the region +of delirium and dreams, or fall back again into his natural world. +Terror, assisted by the horns of the black bull, had tossed him into the +borderland. + +His last scream, however, had reached the ears of the ubiquitous +gardener, and help was near at hand. He heard voices that seemed to come +from beyond the stars, and was aware that shadowy forms were standing +over him and talking in whispers. But it was all very unreal; one minute +the voices sounded up in the sky, and the next in his very ears, while +the figures moved about, sometimes bending over him, sometimes +retreating and melting away like shadows on a shifting screen. + +Suddenly a blaze of light flashed upon him, and his eyes flew open; he +tumbled back for a moment into his normal world. He wasn't on the grass +at all, but was lying upon his own bed in the night nursery. His mother +was bending over him with a very white face, and a tall man dressed in +black stood beside her, holding some kind of shining instrument in his +fingers. A little behind them he saw Nixie, shading a lamp with her +hand. Then the white face came close over the pillow, and a voice full +of tenderness whispered, "My darling boy, don't you know me? It's +mother! No one will hurt you. Speak to me, if you can, dear." + +She stretched out her hands, and Jimbo knew her and made an effort to +answer. But it seemed to him as if his whole body had suddenly become a +solid mass of iron, and he could control no part of it; his lips and his +hands both refused to move. Before he could make a sign that he had +understood and was trying to reply, a fierce flame rushed between them +and blinded him, his eyes closed, and he dropped back again into utter +darkness. The walls flew asunder and the ceiling melted into air, while +the bed sank away beneath him, down, down, down into an abyss of +shadows. The lamp in Nixie's hands dwindled into a star, and his +mother's anxious face became a tiny patch of white in the distance, +blurred out of all semblance of a human countenance. For a time the man +in black seemed to hover over the bed as it sank, as though he were +trying to follow it down; but it, too, presently joined the general +enveloping blackness and lost its outline. The pain had blotted out +everything, and the return to consciousness had been only momentary. + +Not all the doctors in the world could have made things otherwise. Jimbo +was off on his travels at last--travels in which the chief incidents +were directly traceable to the causes and details of his accident: the +terror of the Empty House, the pursuit of its Inmate, the pain of the +bull's horns, and, above all, the flight through the air. + +For everything in his subsequent adventures found its inspiration in the +events described, and a singular parallel ran ever between the Jimbo +upon the bed in the night-nursery and the other emancipated Jimbo +wandering in the regions of unconsciousness and delirium. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +INTO THE EMPTY HOUSE + + +The darkness lasted a long time without a break, and when it lifted all +recollection of the bedroom scene had vanished. + +Jimbo found himself back again on the grass. The swinging gate was just +in front of him, but he did not recognise it; no suggestion of "Express +Trains" came back to him as his eyes rested without remembrance upon the +bars where he had so often swung, in defiance of orders, with his +brothers and sisters. Recollection of his home, family, and previous +life he had absolutely none; or at least, it was buried so deeply in his +inner consciousness that it amounted to the same thing, and he looked +out upon the garden, the gate, and the field beyond as upon an entirely +new piece of the world. + +The stars, he saw, were nearly all gone, and a very faint light was +beginning to spread from the woods beyond the field. The eastern +horizon was slowly brightening, and soon the night would be gone. Jimbo +was glad of this. He began to be conscious of little thrills of +expectation, for with the light surely help would also come. The light +always brought relief, and he already felt that strange excitement that +comes with the first signs of dawn. In the distance cocks were crowing, +horses began to stamp in the barns not far away, and a hundred little +stirrings of life ran over the surface of the earth as the light crept +slowly up the sky and dropped down again upon the world with its message +of coming day. + +Of course, help would come by the time the sun was really up, and it was +partly this certainty, and partly because he was a little too dazed to +realise the seriousness of the situation, that prevented his giving way +to a fit of fear and weeping. Yet a feeling of vague terror lay only a +little way below the surface, and when, a few moments later, he saw that +he was no longer alone, and that an odd-looking figure was creeping +towards him from the shrubberies, he sprang to his feet, prepared to run +unless it at once showed the most friendly intentions. + +This figure seemed to have come from nowhere. Apparently it had risen +out of the earth. It was too large to have been concealed by the low +shrubberies; yet he had not been aware of its approach, and it had +appeared without making any noise. Probably it was friendly, he felt, in +spite of its curious shape and the stealthy way it had come. At least, +he hoped so; and if he could only have told whether it was a man or an +animal he would easily have made up his mind. But the uncertain light, +and the way it crouched half-hidden behind the bushes, prevented this. +So he stood, poised ready to run, and yet waiting, hoping, indeed +expecting every minute a sign of friendliness and help. + +In this way the two faced each other silently for some time, until the +feeling of terror gradually stole deeper into the boy's heart and began +to rob him of full power over his muscles. He wondered if he would be +able to run when the time came, and whether he could run fast enough. +This was how it first showed itself, this suggestion of insidious fear. +Would he be able to keep up the start he had? Would it chase him? Would +it run like a man or like an animal, on four legs or on two? He wished +he could see more clearly what it was. He still stood his ground +pluckily, facing it and waiting, but the fear, once admitted to his +mind, was gaining strength, and he began to feel cold and shivery. Then +suddenly the tension came to an end. In two strides the figure came up +close to his side, and the same second Jimbo was lifted off his feet and +borne swiftly away across the field. + +He felt quite unable to offer the least resistance, and at the same time +he felt a sense of relief that something had happened at last. He was +still not sure that the figure was unkind; only its shape filled him +with a feeling that was certainly the beginning of real horror. It was +the shape of a man, he thought, but of a very large and ill-constructed +man; for it certainly had moved on two legs and had caught him up in a +pair of tremendously strong arms. But there was something else it had +besides arms, for a kind of soft cloak hung all round it and wrapped the +boy from head to foot, preventing him seeing his captor properly, and at +the same time filling his body with a kind of warm drowsiness that +mitigated his active fear and made him rather like the sensation of +being carried along so easily and so fast. + +But was he being carried? The pace they were going was amazing, and he +moved as easily as a sailing boat, and with the same swinging motion. +Could it be some animal like a horse after all? Jimbo tried to see more, +but found it impossible to free himself from the folds of the enveloping +substance, and meanwhile they were swinging forward at what seemed a +tremendous pace over fields and ditches, through hedges, and down long +lanes. + +The odours of earth, and dew-drenched grass, and opening flowers came to +him. He heard the birds singing, and felt the cool morning air sting his +cheeks as they raced along. There was no jolting or jarring, and the +figure seemed to cover the ground as lightly as though it hardly touched +the earth. It was certainly not a dream, he was sure of that; but the +longer they went on the drowsier he became, and the less he wondered +whether the figure was going to help him or to do something dreadful to +him. He was now thoroughly afraid, and yet, strange contradiction, he +didn't care a bit. Let the figure do what it liked; it was only a sort +of nightmare person after all, and might vanish as suddenly as it had +arrived. + +For a long time they raced forward at this great speed, and then with a +bump and a crash they stopped suddenly short, and Jimbo felt himself let +down upon the solid earth. He tried to free himself at once from the +folds of the clinging substance that enveloped him, but, before he could +do so and see what his captor was really like, he heard a door slam and +felt himself pushed along what seemed to be the hallways of a house. His +eyes were clear now and he could see, but the darkness had come down +again so thickly that all he could discover was that the figure was +urging him along the floor of a large empty hall, and that they were in +a dark and empty building. + +Jimbo tried hard to see his captor, but the figure, dim enough in the +uncertain light, always managed to hide its face and keep itself bunched +up in such a way that he could never see more than a great, dark mass of +a body, from which long legs and arms shot out like telescopes, draped +in a sort of clinging cloak. Now that the rapid motion through the air +had ceased, the boy's drowsiness passed a little, and he began to shiver +with fear and to feel that the tears could not be kept back much longer. + +Probably in another minute he would have started to run for his life, +when a new sound caught his ears and made him listen intently, while a +feeling of wonder and delight caught his heart, and made him momentarily +forget the figure pushing him forward from behind. + +Was it the wind he heard? Or was it the voices of children all singing +together very low? It was a gentle, sighing sound that rose and fell +with mournful modulations and seemed to come from the very centre of the +building; it held, too, a strange, far-away murmur, like the surge of a +faint breeze moving in the tree-tops. It might be the wind playing round +the walls of the building, or it might be children singing in hushed +voices. One minute he thought it was outside the house, and the next he +was certain it came from somewhere in the upper part of the building. He +glanced up, and fancied for one moment that he saw in the darkness a +crowd of little faces peering down at him over the banisters, and that +as they disappeared he heard the sound of many little feet moving, and +then a door hurriedly closing. But a push from the figure behind that +nearly sent him sprawling at the foot of the stairs, prevented his +hearing very clearly, and the light was far too dim to let him feel +sure of what he had seen. + +They passed quickly along deserted corridors and through winding +passages. No one seemed about. The interior of the house was chilly, and +the keen air nipped. After going up several flights of stairs they +stopped at last in front of a door, and before Jimbo had a moment to +turn and dash downstairs again past the figure, as he had meant to do, +he was pushed violently forward into a room. + +The door slammed after him, and he heard the heavy tread of the figure +as it went down the staircase again into the bottom of the house. Then +he saw that the room was full of light and of small moving beings. + +Curiosity and astonishment now for a moment took the place of fear, and +Jimbo, with a thumping heart and clenched fists, stood and stared at the +scene before him. He stiffened his little legs and leaned against the +wall for support, but he felt full of fight in case anything happened, +and with wide-open eyes he tried to take in the whole scene at once and +be ready for whatever might come. + +But there seemed no immediate cause for alarm, and when he realised that +the beings in the room were apparently children, and only children, his +rather mixed sensations of astonishment and fear gave place to an +emotion of overpowering shyness. He became exceedingly embarrassed, for +he was surrounded by children of all ages and sizes, staring at him just +as hard as he was staring at them. + +The children, he began to take in, were all dressed in black; they +looked frightened and unhappy; their bodies were thin and their faces +very white. There was something else about them he could not quite name, +but it inspired him with the same sense of horror that he had felt in +the arms of the Figure who had trapped him. For he now realised +definitely that he had been trapped; and he also began to realise for +the first time that, though he still had the body of a little boy, his +way of thinking and judging was sometimes more like that of a grown-up +person. The two alternated, and the result was an odd confusion; for +sometimes he felt like a child and thought like a man, while at others +he felt like a man and thought like a child. Something had gone wrong, +very much wrong; and, as he watched this group of silent children facing +him, he knew suddenly that what was just beginning to happen to him _had +happened to them long, long ago_. + +For they looked as if they had been a long, long time in the world, yet +their bodies had not kept pace with their minds. Something had happened +to stop the growth of the body, while allowing the mind to go on +developing. The bodies were not stunted or deformed; they were +well-formed, nice little children's bodies, but the minds within them +were grown-up, and the incongruity was distressing. All this he suddenly +realised in a flash, intuitively, just as though it had been most +elaborately explained to him; yet he could not have put the least part +of it into words or have explained what he saw and felt to another. + +He saw that they had the hands and figures of children, the heads of +children, the unlined faces and smooth foreheads of children, but their +gestures, and something in their movements, belonged to grown-up people, +and the expression of their eyes in meaning and intelligence was the +expression of old people and not of children. And the expression in the +eyes of every one of them he saw was the expression of terror and of +pain. The effect was so singular that he seemed face to face with an +entirely new order of creatures: a child's features with a man's eyes; a +child's figure with a woman's movements; full-grown souls cramped and +cribbed in absurdly inadequate bodies and little, puny frames; the old +trying uncouthly to express itself in the young. + +The grown-up, old portion of him had been uppermost as he stared and +received these impressions, but now suddenly it passed away, and he felt +as a little boy again. He glanced quickly down at his own little body in +the alpaca knickerbockers and sailor blouse, and then, with a sigh of +relief, looked up again at the strange group facing him. So far, at any +rate, he had not changed, and there was nothing yet to suggest that he +was becoming like them in appearance at least. + +With his back against the door he faced the roomful of children who +stood there motionless and staring; and as he looked, wild feelings +rushed over him and made him tremble. Who was he? Where had he come +from? Where in the world had he spent the other years of his life, the +forgotten years? There seemed to be no one to whom he could go for +comfort, no one to answer questions; and there was such a lot he wanted +to ask. He seemed to be so much older, and to know so much more than he +ought to have known, and yet to have forgotten so much that he ought +not to have forgotten. + +His loss of memory, however, was of course only partial. He had +forgotten his own identity, and all the people with whom he had so far +in life had to do; yet at the same time he was dimly conscious that he +had just left all these people, and that some day he would find them +again. It was only the surface-layers of memory that had vanished, and +these had not vanished for ever, but only sunk down a little below the +horizon. + +Then, presently, the children began to range themselves in rows between +him and the opposite wall, without once taking their horrible, +intelligent eyes off him as they moved. He watched them with growing +dread, but at last his curiosity became so strong that it overcame +everything else, and in a voice that he meant to be very brave, but that +sounded hardly above a whisper, he said: + +"Who are you? And what's been done to you?" + +The answer came at once in a whisper as low as his own, though he could +not distinguish who spoke: + +"Listen and you shall know. You, too, are now one of us." + +Immediately the children began a slow, impish sort of dance before him, +moving almost with silent feet over the boards, yet with a sedateness +and formality that had none of the unconscious grace of children. And, +as they danced, they sang, but in voices so low, that it was more like +the mournful sighing of wind among branches than human voices. It was +the sound he had already heard outside the building. + + "We are the children of the whispering night, + Who live eternally in dreadful fright + Of stories told us in the grey twilight + By--_nurserymaids_! + + We are the children of a winter's day; + Under our breath we chant this mournful lay; + We dance with phantoms and with shadows play, + And have no rest. + + We have no joy in any children's game, + For happiness to us is but a name, + Since Terror kissed us with his lips of flame + In wicked jest. + + We hear the little voices in the wind + Singing of freedom we may never find, + Victims of fate so cruelly unkind, + We are unblest. + + We hear the little footsteps in the rain + Running to help us, though they run in vain, + Tapping in hundreds on the window-pane + In vain behest. + + We are the children of the whispering night, + Who dwell unrescued in eternal fright + Of stories told us in the dim twilight + By--_nurserymaids_!" + +The plaintive song and the dance ceased together, and before Jimbo could +find any words to clothe even one of the thoughts that crowded through +his mind, he saw them moving towards a door he had not hitherto noticed +on the other side of the room. A moment later they had opened it and +passed out, sedate, mournful, unhurried; and the boy found that in some +way he could not understand the light had gone with them, and he was +standing with his back against the wall in almost total darkness. + +Once out of the room, no sound followed them, and he crossed over and +tried the handle of the door. It was locked. Then he went back and tried +the other door; that, too, was locked. He was shut in. There was no +longer any doubt as to the Figure's intentions; he was a prisoner, +trapped like an animal in a cage. + +The only thought in his mind just then was an intense desire for +freedom. Whatever happened he must escape. He crossed the floor to the +only window in the room; it was without blinds, and he looked out. But +instantly he recoiled with a fresh and overpowering sense of +helplessness, for it was three storeys from the ground, and down below +in the shadows he saw a paved courtyard that rendered jumping utterly +out of the question. + +He stood for a long time, fighting down the tears, and staring as if his +heart would break at the field and trees beyond. A high wall enclosed +the yard, but beyond that was freedom and open space. Feelings of +loneliness and helplessness, terror and dismay overwhelmed him. His eyes +burned and smarted, yet, strange to say, the tears now refused to come +and bring him relief. He could only stand there with his elbows on the +window-sill, and watch the outline of the trees and hedges grow clearer +and clearer as the light drew across the sky, and the moment of sunrise +came close. + +But when at last he turned back into the room, he saw that he was no +longer alone. Crouching against the opposite wall there was a hooded +figure steadily watching him. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +HIS COMPANION IN PRISON + + +Shocks of terror, as they increase in number, apparently lessen in +effect; the repeated calls made upon Jimbo's soul by the emotions of +fear and astonishment had numbed it; otherwise the knowledge that he was +locked in the room with this mysterious creature beyond all possibility +of escape must have frightened him, as the saying is, out of his skin. + +As it was, however, he kept his head in a wonderful manner, and simply +stared at the silent intruder as hard as ever he could stare. How in the +world it got in was the principal thought in his mind, and after that: +what in the world was it? + +The dawn must have come very swiftly, or else he had been staring longer +than he knew, for just then the sun topped the edge of the world and the +window-sill simultaneously, and sent a welcome ray of sunshine into the +dingy room. It turned the grey light to silver, and fell full upon the +huddled figure crouching against the opposite wall. Jimbo caught his +breath, and stared harder than ever. + +It was a human figure, the figure, apparently, of a man, sitting +crumpled up in a very uncomfortable sort of position on his haunches. It +sat perfectly still. A black cloak, with loose sleeves, and a cowl or +hood that completely concealed the face, covered it from head to foot. +The material of the cloak could not have been very thick, for inside the +hood he caught the gleam of eyes as they roamed about the room and +followed his movements. But for this glitter of the moving eyes it might +have been a figure carved in wood. Was it going to sit there for ever +watching him? At first he was afraid it was going to speak; then he was +afraid it wasn't. It might rise suddenly and come towards him; yet the +thought that it would not move at all was worse still. + +In this way the two faced each other for several minutes until, just as +the position was becoming simply unbearable, a low whisper ran round the +room: "At last! Oh! I've found him at last!" Jimbo was not quite sure of +the words, though it was certainly a human voice that had spoken; but, +the suspense once broken, the boy could not stand it any longer, and +with a rush of desperate courage he found his voice--a very husky +one--and moved a step forward. + +"Who are you, please, and how _did_ you get in?" he ventured with a +great effort. + +Then he fell back against the wall, amazed at his own daring, and waited +with tightly-clenched fists for an answer. But he had not to wait very +long, for almost immediately the figure rose awkwardly to its feet, and +came over to where he stood. Its manner of moving may best be described +as shuffling; and it stretched in front of it a long cloaked arm, on +which the sleeve hung, he thought, like clothes on a washing line. + +He breathed hard, and waited. Like many other people with strong wills +and sensitive nerves, Jimbo was both brave and a coward: he hoped +nothing horrid was going to happen, but he was quite ready if it should. +Yet, now that the actual moment had come, he had no particular fear, and +when he felt the touch of the hand on his shoulder, the words sprang +naturally to his lips with a little trembling laugh, more of wonder +perhaps than anything else. + +"You do look a horrid ... _brute_," he was going to say, but at the +last moment he changed it to "_thing_," for, with the true intuition of +a child, he recognised that the creature inside the cloak was a kind +creature and well disposed towards him. "But how did you get in?" he +added, looking up bravely into the black visage, "because the doors are +both locked on the outside, and I couldn't get out?" + +By way of reply the figure shuffled to one side, and, taking the hand +from his shoulder, pointed silently to a trap-door in the floor behind +him. As he looked, he saw it was being shut down stealthily by some one +beneath. + +"Hush!" whispered the figure, almost inaudibly. "He's watching!" + +"Who's watching?" he cried, curiosity taking the place of every other +emotion. "I want to see." He ran forward to the spot where the trap-door +now lay flush with the floor, but, before he had gone two steps, the +black arms shot out and caught him. He turned, struggling, and in the +scuffle that followed the cloak shrouding the figure became disarranged; +the hood dropped from the face, and he found himself looking straight +into the eyes, not of a man, but of a woman! + +"It's you!" he cried, "YOU--!" + +A shock ran right through his body from his head to his feet, like a +current of electricity, and he caught his breath as though he had been +struck. For one brief instant the sinister face of some one who had +terrified him in the past came back vividly to his mind, and he shrank +away in terror. But it was only for an instant, the twentieth part of an +instant. Immediately, before he could even remember the name, +recognition passed into darkness and his memory shut down with a snap. +He was staring into the face of an utter stranger, about whom he knew +nothing and had no feelings particularly one way or another. + +"I thought I knew you," he gasped, "but I've forgotten you again--and I +thought you were going to be a man, too." + +"Jimbo!" cried the other, and in her voice was such unmistakable +tenderness and yearning that the boy knew at once beyond doubt that she +was his friend, "Jimbo!" + +She knelt down on the floor beside him, so that her face was on a level +with his, and then opened both her arms to him. But though Jimbo was +glad to have found a friend who was going to help him, he felt no +particular desire to be embraced, and he stood obstinately where he was +with his back to the window. + +The morning sunshine fell upon her features and touched the thick coils +of her hair with glory. It was not, strictly speaking, a pretty face, +but the look of real human tenderness there was very welcome and +comforting, and in the kind brown eyes there shone a strange light that +was not merely the reflection of the sunlight. The boy felt his heart +warm to her as he looked, but her expression puzzled him, and he would +not accept the invitation of her arms. + +"Won't you come to me?" she said, her arms still outstretched. + +"I want to know who you are, and what I'm doing here," he said. "I feel +so funny--so old and so young--and all mixed up. I can't make out who I +am a bit. What's that funny name you call me?" + +"Jimbo is your name," she said softly. + +"Then what's _your_ name?" he asked quickly. + +"My name," she repeated slowly after a pause, "is not--as nice as yours. +Besides, you need not know my name--you might dislike it." + +"But I must have something to call you," he persisted. + +"But if I told you, and you disliked the name, you might dislike _me_ +too," she said, still hesitating. + +Jimbo saw the expression of sadness in her eyes, and it won his +confidence though he hardly knew why. He came up closer to her and put +his puzzled little face next to hers. + +"I like you very much already," he whispered, "and if your name is a +horrid one I'll change it for you at once. Please tell me what it is." + +She drew the boy to her and gave him a little hug, and he did not +resist. For a long time she did not answer. He felt vaguely that +something of dreadful importance hung about this revelation of her name. +He repeated his question, and at length she replied, speaking in a very +low voice, and with her eyes fixed intently upon his face. + +"My name," she said, "is Ethel Lake." + +"Ethel Lake," he repeated after her. The words sounded somehow familiar +to him; surely he had heard that name before. Were not the words +associated with something in his past that had been unpleasant? A +curious sinking sensation came over him as he heard them. + +His companion watched him intently while he repeated the words over to +himself several times, as if to make sure he had got them right. There +was a moment's hesitation as he slowly went over them once again. Then +he turned to her, laughing. + +"I like your name, Ethel Lake," he said. "It's a nice +name--Miss--Miss----" Again he hesitated, while a little warning tremor +ran through his mind, and he wondered for an instant why he said "Miss." +But it passed as suddenly as it had come, and he finished the +sentence--"Miss Lake, I shall call you." He stared into her eyes as he +said it. + +"Then you don't remember me at all?" she cried, with a sigh of intense +relief. "You've quite forgotten?" + +"I never saw you before, did I? How can I remember you? I don't remember +any of the things I've forgotten. Are you one of them?" + +For reply she caught him to her breast and kissed him. "You precious +little boy!" she said. "I'm so glad, oh, so glad!" + +"But do you remember _me_?" he asked, sorely puzzled. "Who am I? Haven't +I been born yet, or something funny like that?" + +"If you don't remember _me_," said the other, her face happy with smiles +that had evidently come only just in time to prevent tears, "there's +not much good telling you who _you_ are. But your name, if you really +want to know, is----" She hesitated a moment. + +"Be quick, Eth--Miss Lake, or you'll forget it again." + +She laughed rather bitterly. "Oh, I never forget. I can't!" she said. "I +wish I could. Your name is James Stone, and Jimbo is 'short' for James. +Now you know." + +She might just as well have said Bill Sykes for all the boy knew or +remembered. + +"What a silly name!" he laughed. "But it can't be my real name, or I +should know it. I never heard it before." After a moment he added, "Am I +an old man? I feel just like one. I suppose I'm grown up--grown up so +fast that I've forgotten what came before----" + +"You're not grown up, dear, at least, not exactly----" She glanced down +at his alpaca knickerbockers and brown stockings; and as he followed her +eyes and saw the dirty buttoned-boots there came into his mind some dim +memory of where he had last put them on, and of some one who had helped +him. But it all passed like a swift meteor across the dark night of his +forgetfulness and was lost in mist. + +"You mustn't judge by these silly clothes," he laughed. "I shall change +them as soon as I get--as soon as I can find----" He stopped short. No +words came. A feeling of utter loneliness and despair swept suddenly +over him, drenching him from head to foot. He felt lost and friendless, +naked, homeless, cold. He was ever on the brink of regaining a whole lot +of knowledge and experience that he had known once long ago, ever so +long ago, but it always kept just out of his reach. He glanced at Miss +Lake, feeling that she was his only possible comfort in a terrible +situation. She met his look and drew him tenderly towards her. + +"Now, listen to me," she said gently, "I've something to tell you--about +myself." + +He was all attention in a minute. + +"I am a discharged governess," she began, holding her breath when once +the words were out. + +"Discharged!" he repeated vaguely. "What's that? What for?" + +"For frightening a child. I told a little boy awful stories that weren't +true. They terrified him so much that I was sent away. That's why I'm +here now. It's my punishment. I am a prisoner here until I can find +him--and help him to escape----" + +"Oh, I say!" he exclaimed quickly, as though remembering something. But +it passed, and he looked up at her half-bored, half-politely. "Escape +from what?" he asked. + +"From here. This is the Empty House I told the stories about; _and you +are the little boy I frightened_. Now, at last, I've found you, and am +going to save you." She paused, watching him with eyes that never left +his face for an instant. + +Jimbo was delighted to hear he was going to be rescued, but he felt no +interest at all in her story of having frightened a little boy, who was +himself. He thought it was very nice of her to take so much trouble, and +he told her so, and when he went up and kissed her and thanked her, he +saw to his surprise that she was crying. For the life of him he could +not understand why a discharged governess whom he met, apparently, for +the first time in the Empty House, should weep over him and show him so +much affection. But he could think of nothing to say, so he just waited +till she had finished. + +"You see, if I can save you," she said between her sobs, "it will be all +right again, and I shall be forgiven, and shall be able to escape with +you. I want you to escape, so that you can get back to life again." + +"Oh, then I'm dead, am I?" + +"Not exactly dead," she said, drying her eyes with the corner of her +black hood. "You've had a funny accident, you know. If your body gets +all right, so that you can go back and live in it again, then you're not +dead. But if it's so badly injured that you can't work in it any more, +then you are dead, and will have to stay dead. You're still joined to +the body in a fashion, you see." + +He stared and listened, not understanding much. It all bored him. She +talked without explaining, he thought. An immense sponge had passed over +the slate of the past and wiped it clean beyond recall. He was utterly +perplexed. + +"How funny you are!" he said vaguely, thinking more of her tears than +her explanations. + +"Water won't stay in a cracked bottle," she went on, "and you can't stay +in a broken body. But they're trying to mend it now, and if we can +escape in time you can be an ordinary, happy little boy in the world +again." + +"Then are you dead, too?" he asked, "or nearly dead?" + +"I am out of my body, like you," she answered evasively, after a +moment's pause. + +He was still looking at her in a dazed sort of way, when she suddenly +sprang to her feet and let the hood drop back over her face. + +"Hush!" she whispered, "he's listening again." + +At the same moment a sound came from beneath the floor on the other side +of the room, and Jimbo saw the trap-door being slowly raised above the +level of the floor. + +"Your number is 102," said a voice that sounded like the rushing of a +river. + +Instantly the trap-door dropped again, and he heard heavy steps rumbling +away into the interior of the house. He looked at his companion and saw +her terrified face as she lifted her hood. + +"He always blunders along like that," she whispered, bending her head on +one side to listen. "He can't see properly in the daylight. He hates +sunshine, and usually only goes out after dark." She was white and +trembling. + +"Is that the person who brought me in here this morning at such a +frightful pace?" he asked, bewildered. + +She nodded. "He wanted to get in before it was light, so that you +couldn't see his face." + +"Is he such a fright?" asked the boy, beginning to share her evident +feeling of horror. + +"He _is_ Fright!" she said in an awed whisper. "But never talk about +him again unless you can't help it; he always knows when he's being +talked about, and he likes it, because it gives him more power." + +Jimbo only stared at her without comprehending. Then his mind jumped to +something else he wanted badly to have explained, and he asked her about +his number, and why he was called No. 102. + +"Oh, that's easier," she said, "102 is your number among the Frightened +Children; there are 101 of them, and you are the last arrival. Haven't +you seen them yet? It is also the temperature of your broken little body +lying on the bed in the night nursery at home," she added, though he +hardly caught her words, so low were they spoken. + +Jimbo then described how the children had sung and danced to him, and +went on to ask a hundred questions about them. But Miss Lake would give +him very little information, and said he would not have very much to do +with them. Most of them had been in the House for years and years--so +long that they could probably never escape at all. + +"They are all frightened children," she said. "Little ones scared out of +their wits by silly people who meant to amuse them with stories, or to +frighten them into being well behaved--nursery-maids, elder sisters, and +even governesses!" + +"And they can never escape?" + +"Not unless the people who frightened them come to their rescue and _run +the risk of being caught themselves_." + +As she spoke there rose from the depths of the house the sound of +muffled voices, children's voices singing faintly together; it rose and +fell exactly like the wind, and with as little tune; it was weird and +magical, but so utterly mournful that the boy felt the tears start to +his eyes. It drifted away, too, just as the wind does over the tops of +the trees, dying into the distance; and all became still again. + +"It's just like the wind," he said, "and I do love the wind. It makes me +feel so sad and so happy. Why is it?" + +The governess did not answer. + +"How old am I _really_?" he went on. "How can I be so old and so +ignorant? I've forgotten such an awful lot of knowledge." + +"The fact is--well, perhaps, you won't quite understand--but you're +really two ages at once. Sometimes you feel as old as your body, and +sometimes as old as your soul. You're still connected with your body; +so you get the sensations of both mixed up." + +"Then is the body younger than the soul?" + +"The soul--that is yourself," she answered, "is, oh, so old, awfully +old, as old as the stars, and older. But the body is no older than +itself--of course, how could it be?" + +"Of course," repeated the boy, who was not listening to a word she said. +"How could it be?" + +"But it doesn't matter how old you are or how young you feel, as long as +you don't hate me for having frightened you," she said after a pause. +"That's the chief thing." + +He was very, very puzzled. He could not help feeling it had been rather +unkind of her to frighten him so badly that he had literally been +frightened out of his skin; but he couldn't remember anything about it, +and she was taking so much trouble to save him now that he quite forgave +her. He nestled up against her, and said of course he liked her, and she +stroked his curly head and mumbled a lot of things to herself that he +couldn't understand a bit. + +But in spite of his new-found friend the feeling of over-mastering +loneliness would suddenly rush over him. She might be a protector, but +she was not a _real_ companion; and he knew that somewhere or other he +had left a lot of other _real_ companions whom he now missed dreadfully. +He longed more than he could say for freedom; he wanted to be able to +come and go as he pleased; to play about in a garden somewhere as of +old; to wander over soft green lawns among laburnums and sweet-smelling +lilac trees, and to be up to all his old tricks and mischief--though he +could not remember in detail what they were. + +In a word, he wanted to escape; his whole being yearned to escape and be +free again; yet here he was a wretched prisoner in a room like a +prison-cell, with a sort of monster for a keeper, and a troop of +horrible frightened children somewhere else in the house to keep him +company. And outside there was only a hard, narrow, paved courtyard with +a high wall round it. Oh, it was too terrible to think of, and his heart +sank down within him till he felt as if he could do nothing else but +cry. + +"I shall save you in time," whispered the governess, as though she read +his thoughts. "You must be patient, and do what I tell you, and I +promise to get you out. Only be brave, and don't ask too many questions. +We shall win in the end and escape." + +Suddenly he looked up, with quite a new expression in his face. "But I +say, Miss Cake, I'm frightfully hungry. I've had nothing to eat since--I +can't remember when, but ever so long ago." + +"You needn't call me Miss Cake, though," she laughed. + +"I suppose it's because I'm so hungry." + +"Then you'll call me Miss Lake when you're thirsty, perhaps," she said. +"But, anyhow, I'll see what I can get you. Only, you must eat as little +as possible. I want you to get very thin. What you feel is not really +hunger--it's only a memory of hunger, and you'll soon get used to it." + +He stared at her with a very distressful little face as she crossed the +room making this new announcement; and just as she disappeared through +the trap-door, only her head being visible, she added with great +emphasis, "The thinner you get the better; because the thinner you are +the lighter you are, and the lighter you are the easier it will be to +escape. Remember, the thinner the better--the lighter the better--and +don't ask a lot of questions about it." + +With that the trap-door closed over her, and Jimbo was left alone with +her last strange words ringing in his ears. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE SPELL OF THE EMPTY HOUSE + + +It was not long before Jimbo realised that the House, and everything +connected with it, spelt for him one message, and one only--a message of +fear. From the first day of his imprisonment the forces of his whole +being shaped themselves without further ado into one intense, single, +concentrated desire to _escape_. + +Freedom, escape into the world beyond that terrible high wall, was his +only object, and Miss Lake, the governess, as its symbol, was his only +hope. He asked a lot of questions and listened to a lot of answers, but +all he really cared about was how he was going to escape, and when. All +her other explanations were tedious, and he only half-listened to them. +His faith in her was absolute, his patience unbounded; she had come to +save him, and he knew that before long she would accomplish her end. He +felt a blind and perfect confidence. But, meanwhile, his fear of the +House, and his horror for the secret Being who meant to keep him +prisoner till at length he became one of the troop of Frightened +Children, increased by leaps and bounds. + +Presently the trap-door creaked again, and the governess reappeared; in +her hand was a small white jug and a soup plate. + +"Thin gruel and skim milk," she explained, pouring out a substance like +paste into the soup plate, and handing him a big wooden spoon. + +But Jimbo's hunger had somehow vanished. + +"It wasn't real hunger," she told him, "but only a sort of memory of +being hungry. They're trying to feed your broken body now in the +night-nursery, and so you feel a sort of ghostly hunger here even though +you're out of the body." + +"It's easily satisfied, at any rate," he said, looking at the paste in +the soup plate. + +"No one actually eats or drinks here----" + +"But I'm solid," he said, "am I not?" + +"People always think they're solid everywhere," she laughed. "It's only +a question of degree; solidity _here_ means a different thing to +solidity _there_." + +"I can get thinner though, can't I?" he asked, thinking of her remark +about escape being easier the lighter he grew. + +She assured him there would be no difficulty about that, and after +replying evasively to a lot more questions, she gathered up the dishes +and once more disappeared through the trap-door. + +Jimbo watched her going down the ladder into the black gulf below, and +wondered greatly where she went to and what she did down there; but on +these points the governess had refused to satisfy his curiosity, and +every time she appeared or disappeared the atmosphere of mystery came +and went with her. + +As he stared, wondering, a sound suddenly made itself heard behind him, +and on turning quickly round he saw to his great surprise that the door +into the passage was open. This was more than he could resist, and in +another minute, with mingled feelings of dread and delight, he was out +in the passage. + +When he was first brought to the house, two hours before, it had been +too dark to see properly, but now the sun was high in the heavens, and +the light still increasing. He crept cautiously to the head of the +stairs and peered over into the well of the house. It was still too +dark to make things out clearly; but, as he looked, he thought something +moved among the shadows below, and for a moment his heart stood still +with fear. A large grey face seemed to be staring up at him out of the +gloom. He clutched the banisters and felt as if he hardly had strength +enough in his legs to get back to the room he had just left; but almost +immediately the terror passed, for he saw that the face resolved itself +into the mingling of light and shadow, and the features, after all, were +of his own creation. He went on slowly and stealthily down the +staircase. + +It was certainly an empty house. There were no carpets; the passages +were cold and draughty; the paper curled from the damp walls, leaving +ugly discoloured patches about; cobwebs hung in many places from the +ceiling, the windows were more or less broken, and all were coated so +thickly with dirt that the rain had traced little furrows from top to +bottom. Shadows hung about everywhere, and Jimbo thought every minute he +saw moving figures; but the figures always resolved themselves into +nothing when he looked closely. + +He began to wonder how far it was safe to go, and why the governess had +arranged for the door to be opened--for he felt sure it was she who had +done this, and that it was all right for him to come out. Fright, she +had said, was never about in the daylight. But, at the same time, +something warned him to be ready at a moment's notice to turn and dash +up the stairs again to the room where he was at least comparatively +safe. + +So he moved along very quietly and very cautiously. He passed many rooms +with the doors open--all empty and silent; some of them had tables and +chairs, but no sign of occupation; the grates were black and empty, the +walls blank, the windows unshuttered. Everywhere was only silence and +shadows; there was no sign of the frightened children, or of where they +lived; no trace of another staircase leading to the region where the +governess went when she disappeared down the ladder through the +trap-door--only hushed, listening, cold silence, and shadows that seemed +for ever shifting from place to place as he moved past them. This +illusion of people peering at him from corners, and behind doors just +ajar, was very strong; yet whenever he turned his head to face them, lo, +they were gone, and the shadows rushed in to fill their places. + +The spell of the Empty House was weaving itself slowly and surely about +his heart. + +Yet he went on pluckily, full of a dreadful curiosity, continuing his +search, and at length, after passing through another gloomy passage, he +was in the act of crossing the threshold of an open door leading out +into the courtyard, when he stopped short and clutched the door-posts +with both hands. + +Some one had laughed! + +He turned, trying to look in every direction at once, but there was no +sign of any living being. Yet the sound was close beside him; he could +still hear it ringing in his ears--a mocking sort of laugh, in a harsh, +guttural voice. The blood froze in his veins, and he hardly knew which +way to turn, when another voice sounded, and his terror disappeared as +if by magic. + +It was Miss Lake's voice calling to him over the banisters at the top of +the house, and its tone was so cheerful that all his courage came back +in a twinkling. + +"Go out into the yard," she called, "and play in the sunshine. But don't +stay too long." + +Jimbo answered "All right" in a rather feeble little voice, and went on +down the passage and out into the yard. + +The June sunshine lay hot and still over the paved court, and he looked +up into the blue sky overhead. As he looked at the high wall that closed +it in on three sides, he realised more than ever that he was caught in a +monstrous trap from which there could be no ordinary means of escape. He +could never climb over such a wall even with a ladder. He walked out a +little way and noticed the rank weeds growing in patches in the corners; +decay and neglect left everywhere their dismal signs; the yard, in spite +of the sunlight, seemed as gloomy and cheerless as the house itself. + +In one corner stood several little white upright stones, each about +three feet high; there seemed to be some writing on them, and he was in +the act of going nearer to inspect, when a window opened and he heard +some one calling to him in a loud, excited whisper: + +"Hst! Come in, Jimbo, at once. Quick! Run for your life!" + +He glanced up, quaking with fear, and saw the governess leaning out of +the open window. At another window, a little beyond her, he thought a +number of white little faces pressed against the glass, but he had no +time to look more closely, for something in Miss Lake's voice made him +turn and run into the house and up the stairs as though Fright himself +were close at his heels. He flew up the three flights, and found the +governess coming out on the top landing to meet him. She caught him in +her arms and dashed back into the room, as if there was not a moment to +be lost, slamming the door behind her. + +"How in the world did you get out?" she gasped, breathless as himself +almost, and pale with alarm. "Another second and He'd have had you----!" + +"I found the door open----" + +"He opened it on purpose," she whispered, looking quickly round the +room. "He meant you to go out." + +"But you called to me to play in the yard," he said. "I heard you. So of +course I thought it was safe." + +"No," she declared, "I never called to you. That wasn't my voice. That +was one of his tricks. I only this minute found the door open and you +gone. Oh, Jimbo, that was a narrow escape; you must never go out of this +room till--till I tell you. And never believe any of these voices you +hear--you'll hear lots of them, saying all sorts of things--but unless +you _see_ me, don't believe it's my voice." + +Jimbo promised. He was very frightened; but she would not tell him any +more, saying it would only make it more difficult to escape if he knew +too much in advance. He told her about the laugh, and the gravestones, +and the faces at the other window, but she would not tell him what he +wanted to know, and at last he gave up asking. A very deep impression +had been made on his mind, however, and he began to realise, more than +he had hitherto done, the horror of his prison and the power of his +dreadful keeper. + +But when he began to look about him again, he noticed that there was a +new thing in the room. The governess had left him, and was bending over +it. She was doing something very busily indeed. He asked her what it +was. + +"I'm making your bed," she said. + +It was, indeed, a bed, and he felt as he looked at it that there was +something very familiar and friendly about the yellow framework and the +little brass knobs. + +"I brought it up just now," she explained. "But it's not for sleeping +in. It's only for you to lie down on, and also partly to deceive Him." + +"Why not for sleeping?" + +"There's no sleeping at all here," she went on calmly. + +"Why not?" + +"You can't sleep out of your body," she laughed. + +"Why not?" he asked again. + +"Your body goes to sleep, but _you_ don't," she explained. + +"Oh, I see." His head was whirling. "And my body--my real body----" + +"Is lying asleep--unconscious they call it--in the night-nursery at +home. It's sound asleep. That's why you're here. It can't wake up till +you go back to it, and you can't go back to it till you escape--even if +it's ready for you before then. The bed is only for you to rest on, for +you can _rest_ though you can't _sleep_." + +Jimbo stared blankly at the governess for some minutes. He was debating +something in his mind, something very important, and just then it was +his Older Self, and not the child, that was uppermost. Apparently it was +soon decided, for he walked sedately up to her and said very gravely, +with her serious eyes fixed on his face, "Miss Lake, are you _really_ +Miss Lake?" + +"Of course I am." + +"You're not a trick of His, like the voices, I mean?" + +"No, Jimbo, I am really Miss Lake, the discharged governess who +frightened you." There was profound anxiety in every word. + +Jimbo waited a minute, still looking steadily into her eyes. Then he put +out his hand cautiously and touched her. He rose a little on tiptoe to +be on a level with her face, taking a fold of her cloak in each hand. +The soul-knowledge was in his eyes just then, not the mere curiosity of +the child. + +"And are you--_dead_?" he asked, sinking his voice to a whisper. + +For a moment the woman's eyes wavered. She turned white and tried to +move away; but the boy seized her hand and peered more closely into her +face. + +"I mean, if we escape and I get back into my body," he whispered, "will +you get back into yours too?" + +The governess made no reply, and shifted uneasily on her feet. But the +boy would not let her go. + +"Please answer," he urged, still in a whisper. + +"Jimbo, what funny questions you ask!" she said at last, in a husky +voice, but trying to smile. + +"But I want to know," he said. "I must know. I believe you are giving up +everything just to save me--_everything_; and I don't want to be saved +unless you come too. Tell me!" + +The colour came back to her cheeks a little, and her eyes grew moist. +Again she tried to slip past him, but he prevented her. + +"You must tell me," he urged; "I would rather stay here with you than +escape back into my body and leave you behind." + +Jimbo knew it was his Older Self speaking--the freed spirit rather than +the broken body--but he felt the strain was very great; he could not +keep it up much longer; any minute he might slip back into the child +again, and lose interest, and be unequal to the task he now saw so +clearly before him. + +"Quick!" he cried in a louder voice. "Tell me! You are giving up +everything to save me, aren't you? And if I escape you will be left +alone----quick, answer me! Oh, be quick, I'm slipping back----" + +Already he felt his thoughts becoming confused again, as the spirit +merged back into the child; in another minute the boy would usurp the +older self. + +"You see," began the governess at length, speaking very gently and +sadly, "I am bound to make amends whatever happens. I must atone----" + +But already he found it hard to follow. + +"Atone," he asked, "what does '_atone_' mean?" He moved back a step, and +glanced about the room. The moment of concentration had passed without +bearing fruit; his thoughts began to wander again like a child's. +"Anyhow, we shall escape together when the chance comes, shan't we?" he +said. + +"Yes, darling, we shall," she said in a broken voice. "And if you do +what I tell you, it will come very soon, I hope." She drew him towards +her and kissed him, and though he didn't respond very heartily, he felt +he liked it, and was sure that she was good, and meant to do the best +possible for him. + +Jimbo asked nothing more for some time; he turned to the bed where he +found a mattress and a blanket, but no sheets, and sat down on the edge +and waited. The governess was standing by the window looking out; her +back was turned to him. He heard an occasional deep sigh come from her, +but he was too busy now with his own sensations to trouble much about +her. Looking past her he saw the sea of green leaves dancing lazily in +the sunshine. Something seemed to beckon him from beyond the high wall, +and he longed to go out and play in the shade of the elms and hawthorns; +for the horror of the Empty House was closing in upon him steadily but +surely, and he longed for escape into a bright, unhaunted atmosphere, +more than anything else in the whole world. + +His thoughts ran on and on in this vein, till presently he noticed that +the governess was moving about the room. She crossed over and tried +first one door and then the other; both were fastened. Next she lifted +the trap-door and peered down into the black hole below. That, too, +apparently was satisfactory. Then she came over to the bedside on +tiptoe. + +"Jimbo, I've got something very important to ask you," she began. + +"All right," he said, full of curiosity. + +"You must answer me very exactly. Everything depends on it." + +"I will." + +She took another long look round the room, and then, in a still lower +whisper, bent over him, and asked: + +"Have you any pain?" + +"Where?" he asked, remembering to be exact. + +"Anywhere." + +He thought a moment. + +"None, thank you." + +"None at all--anywhere?" she insisted. + +"None at all--anywhere," he said with decision. + +She seemed disappointed. + +"Never mind; it's a little soon yet, perhaps," she said. "We must have +patience. It will come in time." + +"But I don't want any pain," he said, rather ruefully. + +"You can't escape till it comes." + +"I don't understand a bit what you mean." He began to feel alarmed at +the notion of escape and pain going together. + +"You'll understand later, though," she said soothingly, "and it won't +hurt _very_ much. The sooner the pain comes, the sooner we can try to +escape. Nowhere can there be escape without it." + +And with that she left him, disappearing without another word into the +hole below the trap, and leaving him, disconsolate yet excited, alone in +the room. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE GALLERY OF ANCIENT MEMORIES + + +With every one, of course, the measurement of time depends largely upon +the state of the emotions, but in Jimbo's case it was curiously +exaggerated. This may have been because he had no standard of memory by +which to test the succession of minutes; but, whatever it was, the hours +passed very quickly, and the evening shadows were already darkening the +room when at length he got up from the mattress and went over to the +window. + +Outside the high elms were growing dim; soon the stars would be out in +the sky. The afternoon had passed away like magic, and the governess +still left him alone; he could not quite understand why she went away +for such long periods. + +The darkness came down very swiftly, and it was night almost before he +knew it. Yet he felt no drowsiness, no desire to yawn and get under +sheets and blankets; sleep was evidently out of the question, and the +hours slipped away so rapidly that it made little difference whether he +sat up all night or whether he slept. + +It was his first night in the Empty House, and he wondered how many more +he would spend there before escape came. He stood at the window, peering +out into the growing darkness and thinking long, long thoughts. Below +him yawned the black gulf of the yard, and the outline of the enclosing +wall was only just visible, but beyond the elms rose far into the sky, +and he could hear the wind singing softly in their branches. The sound +was very sweet; it suggested freedom, and the flight of birds, and all +that was wild and unrestrained. The wind could never really be a +prisoner; its voice sang of open spaces and unbounded distances, of +flying clouds and mountains, of mighty woods and dancing waves; above +all, of wings--free, swift, and unconquerable wings. + +But this rushing song of wind among the leaves made him feel too sad to +listen long, and he lay down upon the bed again, still thinking, +thinking. + +The house was utterly still. Not a thing stirred within its walls. He +felt lonely, and began to long for the companionship of the governess; +he would have called aloud for her to come only he was afraid to break +the appalling silence. He wondered where she was all this time and how +she spent the long, dark hours of the sleepless nights. Were all these +things really true that she told him? Was he actually out of his body, +and was his name really Jimbo? His thoughts kept groping backwards, ever +seeking the other companions he had lost; but, like a piece of stretched +elastic too short to reach its object, they always came back with a snap +just when he seemed on the point of finding them. He wanted these +companions very badly indeed, but the struggling of his memory was +painful, and he could not keep the effort up for very long at one time. + +The effort once relaxed, however, his thoughts wandered freely where +they would; and there rose before his mind's eye dim suggestions of +memories far more distant--ghostly scenes and faces that passed before +him in endless succession, but always faded away before he could +properly seize and name them. + +This memory, so stubborn as regards quite recent events, began to play +strange tricks with him. It carried him away into a Past so remote that +he could not connect it with himself at all, and it was like dreaming of +scenes and events that had happened to some one else; yet, all the time, +he knew quite well those things had happened to him, and to none else. +It was the memory of the soul asserting itself now that the clamour of +the body was low. It was an underground river coming to the surface, for +odd minutes, here and there, showing its waters to the stars just long +enough to catch their ghostly reflections before it rolled away +underground again. + +Yet, swift and transitory as they were, these glimpses brought in their +train sensations that were too powerful ever to have troubled his +child-mind in its present body. They stirred in him the strong emotions, +the ecstasies, the terrors, the yearnings of a much more distant past; +whispering to him, could he but have understood, of an infinitely deeper +layer of memories and experiences which, now released from the burden of +the immediate years, strove to awaken into life again. The soul in that +little body covered with alpaca knickerbockers and a sailor blouse +seemed suddenly to have access to a storehouse of knowledge that must +have taken centuries, rather than a few short years, to acquire. + +It was all very queer. The feeling of tremendous age grew mysteriously +over him. He realised that he had been wandering for ages. He had been +to the stars and also to the deeps; he had roamed over strange mountains +far away from cities or inhabited places of the earth, and had lived by +streams whose waves were silvered by moonlight dropping softly through +whispering palm branches.... + +Some of these ghostly memories brought him sensations of keenest +happiness--icy, silver, radiant; others swept through his heart like a +cold wave, leaving behind a feeling of unutterable woe, and a sense of +loneliness that almost made him cry aloud. And there came Voices +too--Voices that had slept so long in the inner kingdoms of silence that +they failed to rouse in him the very slightest emotion of +recognition.... + +Worn out at length with the surging of these strange hosts through him, +he got up and went to the open window again. The night was very dark and +warm, but the stars had disappeared, and there was the hush and the +faint odour of coming rain in the air. He smelt leaves and the earth and +the moist things of the ground, the wonderful perfume of the life of the +soil. + +The wind had dropped; all was silent as the grave; the leaves of the +elm trees were motionless; no bird or insect raised its voice; +everything slept; he alone was watchful, awake. Leaning over the +window-sill, his thoughts searched for the governess, and he wondered +anew where she was spending the dark hours. She, too, he felt sure, was +wakeful somewhere, watching with him, plotting their escape together, +and always mindful of his safety.... + +His reverie was suddenly interrupted by the flight of an immense +night-bird dropping through the air just above his head. He sprang back +into the room with a startled cry, as it rushed past in the darkness +with a great swishing of wings. The size of the creature filled him with +awe; it was so close that the wind it made lifted the hair on his +forehead, and he could almost feel the feathers brush his cheeks. He +strained his eyes to try and follow it, but the shadows were too deep +and he could see nothing; only in the distance, growing every moment +fainter, he could hear the noise of big wings threshing the air. He +waited a little, wondering if another bird would follow it, or if it +would presently return to its perch on the roof; and then his thoughts +passed on to uncertain memories of other big birds--hawks, owls, +eagles--that he had seen somewhere in places now beyond the reach of +distinct recollections.... + +Soon the light began to dawn in the east, and he made out the shape of +the elm trees and the dreadful prison wall; and with the first real +touch of morning light he heard a familiar creaking sound in the room +behind him, and saw the black hood of the governess rising through the +trap-door in the floor. + +"But you've left me alone all night!" he said at once reproachfully, as +she kissed him. + +"On purpose," she answered. "He'd get suspicious if I stayed too much +with you. It's different in the daytime, when he can't see properly." + +"Where's he been all night, then?" asked the boy. + +"Last night he was out most of the time--hunting----" + +"Hunting!" he repeated, with excitement. "Hunting what?" + +"Children--frightened children," she replied, lowering her voice. +"That's how he found you." + +It was a horrible thought--Fright hunting for victims to bring to his +dreadful prison--and Jimbo shivered as he heard it. + +"And how did you get on all this time?" she asked, hurriedly changing +the subject. + +"I've been remembering, that is half-remembering, an awful lot of +things, and feeling, oh, so old. I never want to remember anything +again," he said wearily. + +"You'll forget quick enough when you get back into your body, and have +only the body-memories," she said, with a sigh that he did not +understand. "But, now tell me," she added, in a more serious voice, +"have you had any pain yet?" + +He shook his head. She stepped up beside him. + +"None _there_?" she asked, touching him lightly just behind the shoulder +blades. + +Jimbo jumped as if he had been shot, and uttered a piercing yell. + +"That hurts!" he screamed. + +"I'm so glad," cried the governess. "That's the pains coming at last." +Her face was beaming. + +"Coming!" he echoed, "I think they've _come_. But if they hurt as much +as that, I think I'd rather not escape," he added ruefully. + +"The pain won't last more than a minute," she said calmly. "You must be +brave and stand it. There's no escape without pain--from anything." + +"If there's no other way," he said pluckily, "I'll try,--but----" + +"You see," she went on, rather absently, "at this very moment the doctor +is probing the wounds in your back where the horns went in----" + +But he was not listening. Her explanations always made him want either +to cry or to laugh. This time he laughed, and the governess joined him, +while they sat on the edge of the bed together talking of many things. +He did not understand all her explanations, but it comforted him to hear +them. So long as somebody understood, no matter who, he felt it was all +right. + +In this way several days and nights passed quickly away. The pains were +apparently no nearer, but as Miss Lake showed no particular anxiety +about their non-arrival, he waited patiently too, dreading the moment, +yet also looking forward to it exceedingly. + +During the day the governess spent most of the time in the room with +him; but at night, when he was alone, the darkness became enchanted, the +room haunted, and he passed into the long, long Gallery of Ancient +Memories. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE MEANS OF ESCAPE + + +A week passed, and Jimbo began to wonder if the pains he so much +dreaded, yet so eagerly longed for, were ever coming at all. The +imprisonment was telling upon him, and he grew very thin, and +consequently very light. + +The nights, though he spent them alone, were easily borne, for he was +then intensely occupied, and the time passed swiftly; the moment it was +dark he stepped into the Gallery of Memories, and in a little while +passed into a new world of wonder and delight. But the daytime seemed +always long. He stood for hours by the window watching the trees and the +sky, and what he saw always set painful currents running through his +blood--unsatisfied longings, yearnings, and immense desires he never +could understand. + +The white clouds on their swift journeys took with them something from +his heart every time he looked upon them; they melted into air and blue +sky, and lo! that "something" came back to him charged with all the wild +freedom and magic of open spaces, distance, and rushing winds. + +But the change was close at hand. + +One night, as he was standing by the open window listening to the drip +of the rain, he felt a deadly weakness steal over him; the strength went +out of his legs. First he turned hot, and then he turned cold; clammy +perspiration broke out all over him, and it was all he could do to crawl +across the room and throw himself on to the bed. But no sooner was he +stretched out on the mattress than the feelings passed entirely, and +left behind them an intoxicating sense of strength and lightness. His +muscles became like steel springs; his bones were strong as iron and +light as cork; a wonderful vigour had suddenly come into him, and he +felt as if he had just stepped from a dungeon into fresh air. He was +ready to face anything in the world. + +But, before he had time to realise the full enjoyment of these new +sensations, a stinging, blinding pain shot suddenly through his right +shoulder as if a red-hot iron had pierced to the very bone. He screamed +out in agony; though, even while he screamed, the pain passed. Then the +same thing happened in his other shoulder. It shot through his back with +equal swiftness, and was gone, leaving him lying on the bed trembling +with pain. But the instant it was gone the delightful sensations of +strength and lightness returned, and he felt as if his whole body were +charged with some new and potent force. + +The pains had come at last! Jimbo had no notion how they could possibly +be connected with escape, but Miss Lake--his kind and faithful friend, +Miss Lake--had said that no escape was possible without them; and had +promised that they should be brief. And this was true, for the entire +episode had not taken a minute of time. + +"ESCAPE, ESCAPE!"--the words rushed through him like a flame of fire. +Out of this dreadful Empty House, into the open spaces; beyond the +prison wall; out where the wind and the rain could touch him; where he +could feel the grass beneath his feet, and could see the whole sky at +once, instead of this narrow strip through the window. His thoughts flew +to the stars and the clouds.... + +But a strange humming of voices interrupted his flight of imagination, +and he saw that the room was suddenly full of moving figures. They were +passing before him with silent footsteps, across the window from door to +door. How they had come in, or how they went out, he never knew; but his +heart stood still for an instant as he recognised the mournful figures +of the Frightened Children filing before him in a slow procession. They +were singing--though it sounded more like a chorus of whispering than +actual singing--and as they moved past with the measured steps of their +sorrowful dance, he caught the words of the song he had heard them sing +when he first came into the house:-- + + "We hear the little voices in the wind + Singing of freedom we may never find." + +Jimbo put his fingers into his ears, but still the sound came through. +He heard the words almost as if they were inside himself--his own +thoughts singing:-- + + "We hear the little footsteps in the rain + Running to help us, though they run in vain, + Tapping in hundreds on the window-pane." + +The horrible procession filed past and melted away near the door. They +were gone as mysteriously as they had come, and almost before he +realised it. + +He sprang from the bed and tried the doors; both were locked. How in +the world had the children got in and out? The whispering voices rose +again on the night air, and this time he was sure they came from +outside. He ran to the open window and thrust his head out cautiously. +Sure enough, the procession was moving slowly, still with the steps of +that impish dance across the courtyard stones. He could just make out +the slow waving arms, the thin bodies, and the white little faces as +they passed on silent feet through the darkness, and again a fragment of +the song rose to his ears as he watched, and filled him with an +overpowering sadness:-- + + "We have no joy in any children's game, + For happiness to us is but a name, + Since Terror kissed us with his lips of flame." + +Then he noticed that the group was growing smaller. Already the numbers +were less. Somewhere, over there in the dark corner of the yard, the +children disappeared, though it was too dark to see precisely how or +where. + +"We dance with phantoms, and with shadows play," rose to his ears. + +Suddenly he remembered the little white upright stones he had seen in +that corner of the yard, and understood. One by one they vanished just +behind those stones. + +Jimbo shivered, and drew his head in. He did not like those upright +stones; they made him uncomfortable and afraid. Now, however, the last +child had disappeared and the song had ceased. He realised what his fate +would be if the escape were not successful; he would become one of this +band of Frightened Children; dwelling somewhere behind the upright +stones; a terrified shadow, waiting in vain to be rescued, waiting +perhaps for ever and ever. The thought brought the tears to his eyes, +but he somehow managed to choke them down. He knew it was the young +portion of him only that felt afraid--the body; the older self could not +feel fear, and had nothing to do with tears. + +He lay down again upon the hard mattress and waited; and soon afterwards +the first crimson streaks of sunrise appeared behind the high elms, and +rooks began to caw and shake their wings in the upper branches. A little +later the governess came in. + +Before he could move out of the way--for he disliked being embraced--she +had her arms round his neck, and was covering him with kisses. He saw +tears in her eyes. + +"You darling Jimbo!" she cried, "they've come at last." + +"How do you know?" he asked, surprised at her knowledge and puzzled by +her display of emotion. + +"I heard you scream to begin with. Besides, I've been watching." + +"Watching?" + +"Yes, and listening too, every night, every single night. You've hardly +been a minute out of my sight," she added. + +"I think it's awfully good of you," he said doubtfully, "but----" + +A flood of questions followed--about the upright stones, the shadowy +children, where she spent the night "watching him," and a hundred other +things besides. But he got little satisfaction out of her. He never did +when it was Jimbo, the child, that asked; and he remained Jimbo, the +child, all that day. She only told him that all was going well. The +pains had come; he had grown nice and thin, and light; the children had +come into his room as a hint that he belonged to their band, and other +things had happened about which she would tell him later. The crisis was +close at hand. That was all he could get out of her. + +"It won't be long now," she said excitedly. "They'll come to-night, I +expect." + +"What will come to-night?" he asked, with querulous wonder. + +"Wait and see!" was all the answer he got. "Wait and see!" + +She told him to lie quietly on the bed and to have patience. + +With asking questions, and thinking, and wondering, the day passed very +quickly. With the lengthening shadows his excitement began to grow. +Presently Miss Lake took her departure and went off to her unknown and +mysterious abode; he watched her disappear through the floor with +mingled feelings, wondering what would have happened before he saw her +again. She gave him a long, last look as she sank away below the boards, +but it was a look that brought him fresh courage, and her eyes were +happy and smiling. + +Tingling already with expectancy he got into the bed and lay down, his +brain alive with one word--ESCAPE. + +From where he lay he saw the stars in the narrow strip of sky; he heard +the wind whispering in the branches; he even smelt the perfume of the +fields and hedges--grass, flowers, dew, and the sweet earth--the odours +of freedom. + +The governess had, for some reason she refused to explain, taken his +blouse away with her. For a long time he puzzled over this, seeking +reasons and finding none. But, while in the act of stroking his bare +arms, the pains of the night before suddenly returned to both shoulders +at once. Fire seemed to run down his back, splitting his bones apart, +and then passed even more quickly than before, leaving him with the same +wonderful sensations of lightness and strength. He felt inclined to +shout and run and jump, and it was only the memory of the governess's +earnest caution to "lie quietly" that prevented his new emotions passing +into acts. + +With very great effort he lay still all night long; and it was only when +the room at last began to get light again that he turned on his side, +preparatory to getting up. + +But there was something new--something different! He rested on his +elbow, waiting. Something had happened to him. Cautiously he sat on the +edge of the bed, and stretched out one foot and touched the floor. +Excitement ran through him like a wave. There was a great change, a +tremendous change; for as he stepped out gingerly on to the floor +_something followed him from the bed_. It clung to his back; it touched +both shoulders at once; it stroked his ribs, and tickled the skin of his +arms. + +Half frightened, he brought the other leg over, and stood boldly upright +on both feet. But the weight still clung to his back. He looked over his +shoulder. Yes! it was trailing after him from the bed; it was +fan-shaped, and brilliant in colour. He put out a hand and touched it; +it was soft and glossy; then he took it deliberately between his +fingers; it was smooth as velvet, and had numerous tiny ribs running +along it. + +Seizing it at last with all his courage, he pulled it forward in front +of him for a better view, only to discover that it would not come out +beyond a certain distance, and seemed to have got caught somehow between +his shoulders--just where the pains had been. A second pull, more +vigorous than the first, showed that it was not caught, but _fastened_ +to his skin; it divided itself, moreover, into two portions, one half +coming from each shoulder. + +"I do believe they're feathers!" he exclaimed, his eyes almost popping +out of his head. + +Then, with a sudden flash of comprehension, he saw it all, and +understood. They were, indeed, feathers; but they were something more +than feathers merely. _They were wings!_ + +Jimbo caught his breath and stared in silence. He felt dazed. Then bit +by bit the fragments of the weird mosaic fell into their proper places, +and he began to understand. Escape was to be by flight. It filled him +with such a whirlwind of delight and excitement that he could scarcely +keep from screaming aloud. + +Lost in wonder, he took a step forward, and watched with bulging eyes +how the wings followed him, their tips trailing along the floor. They +were a beautiful deep red, and hung down close and warm beside his body; +glossy, sleek, magical. And when, later, the sun burst into the room and +turned their colour into living flame, he could not resist the +temptation to kiss them. He seized them, and rubbed their soft surfaces +over his face. Such colours he had never seen before, and he wanted to +be sure that they really belonged to him and were intended for actual +use. + +Slowly, without using his hands, he raised them into the air. The effort +was a perfectly easy muscular effort from the shoulders that came +naturally, though he did not quite understand how he accomplished it. +The wings rose in a fine, graceful sweep, curving over his head till the +tips of the feathers met, touching the walls as they rose, and almost +reaching to the ceiling. + +He gave a howl of delight, for this sight was more than he could manage +without some outlet for his pent-up emotion; and at the same moment the +trap-door shot open, and the governess came into the room with such a +bang and a clatter that Jimbo knew at once her excitement was as great +as his own. In her hands she carried the blouse she had taken away the +night before. She held it out to him without a word. Her eyes were +shining like electric lamps. In less than a second he had slipped his +wings through the neatly-made slits, but before he could practise them +again, Miss Lake rushed over to him, her face radiant with happiness. + +"Jimbo! My darling Jimbo!" she cried--and then stopped short, apparently +unable to express her emotion. + +The next instant he was enveloped, wings and all, in a warm confusion of +kisses, congratulations and folds of hood. + +When they became disentangled again the governess went down on her +knees and made a careful examination; she pulled the wings out to their +full extent and found that they stretched about four feet and a half +from tip to tip. + +"They _are_ beauties!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, "and full grown +and strong. I'm not surprised they took so long coming." + +"Long!" he echoed, "I thought they came awfully quickly." + +"Not half so quickly as they'll go," she interrupted; adding, when she +saw his expression of dismay, "I mean, you'll fly like the wind with +them." + +Jimbo was simply breathless with excitement. He wanted to jump out of +the window and escape at once. The blue sky and the sunshine and the +white flying clouds sent him an irresistible invitation. He could not +wait a minute longer. + +"Quick," he cried, "I can't wait! They may go again. Show me how to use +them. Oh! do show me." + +"I'll show you everything in time," she answered. There was something in +her voice that made him pause in his excitement. He looked at her in +silence for some minutes. + +"But how are _you_ going to escape?" he asked at length. "You haven't +got"----he stopped short. + +The governess stepped back a few paces from him. She threw back the hood +from her face. Then she lifted the long black cloak that hung like a +cassock almost to her ankles and had always enveloped her hitherto. + +Jimbo stared. Falling from her shoulders, and folding over her hips, he +saw long red feathers clinging to her; and when he dashed forward to +touch them with his hands, he found they were just as sleek and smooth +and glossy as his own. + +"And you never told me all this time?" he gasped. + +"It was safer not," she said. "You'd have been stroking and feeling your +shoulders the whole time, and the wings might never have come at all." + +She spread out her wings as she spoke to their full extent; they were +nearly six feet across, and the deep crimson on the under side was so +exquisite, gleaming in the sunlight, that Jimbo ran in and nestled +beneath the feathers, tickling his cheeks with the fluffy surface and +running his fingers with childish delight along the slender red quills. + +"You precious child," she said, tenderly folding her wings round him +and kissing the top of his head. "Always remember that I really love +you; no matter what happens, remember that, and I'll save you." + +"And we shall escape together?" he asked, submitting for once to the +caresses with a good grace. + +"We shall escape from the Empty House together," she replied evasively. +"How far we can go after that depends--on you." + +"On me?" + +"If you love me enough--as I love you, Jimbo--we can never separate +again, because love ties us together for ever. Only," she added, "it +must be mutual." + +"I love you very much," he said, puzzled a little. "Of course I do." + +"If you've really forgiven me for being the cause of your coming here," +she said, "we can always be together, but----" + +"I don't remember, but I've forgiven you--that _other you_--long ago," +he said simply. "If you hadn't brought me here, I should never have met +you." + +"That's not real forgiveness--quite," she sighed, half to herself. + +But Jimbo could not follow this sort of conversation for long; he was +too anxious to try his wings for one thing. + +"Is it _very_ difficult to use them?" he asked. + +"Try," she said. + +He stood in the centre of the floor and raised them again and again. +They swept up easily, meeting over his head, and the air whistled +musically through them. Evidently, they had their proper muscles, for it +was no great effort, and when he folded them again by his side they fell +into natural curves over his arms as if they had been there all his +life. The sound of the feathers threshing the air filled him with +delight and made him think of the big night-bird that had flown past the +window during the night. He told the governess about it, and she burst +out laughing. + +"I was that big bird!" she said. + +"You!" + +"I perched on the roof every night to watch over you. I flew down that +time because I was afraid you were trying to climb out of the window." + +This was indeed a proof of devotion, and Jimbo felt that he could never +doubt her again; and when she went on to tell him about his wings and +how to use them he listened with his very best attention and tried hard +to learn and understand. + +"The great difficulty is that you can't practise properly," she +explained. "There's no room in here, and yet you can't get out till you +_fly_ out. It's the first swoop that decides all. You have to drop +straight out of this window, and if you use the wings properly they will +carry you in a single swoop over the wall and right up into the sky." + +"But if I miss----?" + +"You can't miss," she said with decision, "but, if you did, you would be +a prisoner here for ever. HE would catch you in the yard and tear your +wings off. It is just as well that you should know this at once." + +Jimbo shuddered as he heard her. + +"When can we try?" he asked anxiously. + +"Very soon now. The muscles must harden first, and that takes a little +time. You must practise flapping your wings until you can do it easily +four hundred times a minute. When you can do that it will be time for +the first start. You must keep your head steady and not get giddy; the +novelty of the motion--the ground rushing up into your face and the +whistling of the wind--are apt to confuse at first, but it soon passes, +and you must have confidence. I can only help you up to a certain +point; the rest depends on you." + +"And the first jump?" + +"You'll have to make that by yourself," she said; "but you'll do it all +right. You're very light, and won't go too near the ground. You see, +we're like bats, and cannot rise from the earth. We can only fly by +dropping from a height, and that's what makes the first plunge rather +trying. But you won't fall," she added, "and remember, I shall always be +within reach." + +"You're awfully kind to me," said Jimbo, feeling his little soul more +than ever invaded by the force of her unselfish care. "I promise you +I'll do my best." He climbed on to her knee and stared into her anxious +face. + +"Then you are beginning to love me a little, aren't you?" she asked +softly, putting her arms round him. + +"Yes," he said decidedly. "I love you very much already." + +Four hundred times a minute sounded a very great deal of wing-flapping; +but Jimbo practised eagerly, and though at first he could only manage +about twice a second, or one hundred and twenty times a minute, he found +this increased very soon to a great deal more, and before long he was +able to do the full four hundred, though only for a few minutes at a +time. + +He stuck to it pluckily, getting stronger every day. The governess +encouraged him as much as possible, but there was very little room for +her while he was at work, and he found the best way to practise was at +night when she was out of the way. She told him that a large bird moved +its wings about four times a second, two up-strokes and two +down-strokes; but a small bird like a partridge moved its wings so +rapidly it was impossible for the eye to distinguish or count the +strokes. A middle course of four hundred suited his own case best, and +he bent all his energies to acquire it. + +He also learned that the convex outside curve of wings allowed the wind +to escape over them, while the under side, being concave, held every +breath. Thus the upward stroke did not simply counterbalance the +downward and keep him stationary. Moreover, she showed him how the +feathers underlapped each other so that the downward stroke pressed them +closely together to hold the wind, whereas in the upward stroke they +opened and separated, letting the air slip easily through them, thus +offering less resistance to the atmosphere. + +By the end of a week Jimbo had practised so hard that he could keep +himself off the floor in mid-air for half an hour at a time, and even +then without feeling any great fatigue. His excitement became intense; +and, meanwhile, in his body on the nursery bed, though he did not know +it, the fever was reaching its crisis. He could think of nothing else +but the joys of flying, and what the first, awful plunge would be like, +and when Miss Lake came up to him one afternoon and whispered something +in his ear, he was so wildly happy that he hugged her for several +minutes without the slightest coaxing. + +"It's bright and clear," she explained, "and Fright will not come after +us, for he fears the light, and can only fly on dark and gloomy nights." + +"So we can start----?" he stammered joyfully. + +"To-night," she answered, "for our first practice-flight." + + + + +CHAPTER X + +THE PLUNGE + + +To enter the world of wings is to enter a new state of existence. The +apparent loss of weight; the ability to attain full speed in a few +seconds, and to stop suddenly in a headlong rush without fear of +collapse; the power to steer instantly in any direction by merely +changing the angle of the body; the altered and enormous view of the +green world below--looking down upon forests, seas and clouds; the easy +voluptuous rhythm of rising and falling in long, swinging undulations; +and a hundred other things that simply defy description and can be +appreciated only by actual experience, these are some of the delights of +the new world of wings and flying. And the fearful joy of very high +speed, especially when the exhilaration of escape is added to it, means +a condition little short of real ecstasy. + +Yet Jimbo's first flight, the governess had been careful to tell him, +could not be the flight of final escape; for, even if the wings proved +equal to a prolonged effort, escape was impossible until there was +somewhere safe to escape to. So it was understood that the practice +flights might be long, or might be short; the important thing, +meanwhile, was to learn to fly as well as possible. For skilled flying +is very different to mere headlong rushing, and both courage and +perseverance are necessary to acquire it. + +With rare common sense Miss Lake had said very little about the +possibility of failure. Having warned him about the importance of not +falling, she had then stopped, and the power of suggestion had been +allowed to work only in the right direction of certain success. While +the boy knew that the first plunge from the window would be a moment +fraught with the highest danger, his mind only recognised the mere +off-chance of falling and being caught. He felt confidence in himself, +and by so much, therefore, were the chances of disaster lessened. + +For the rest of the afternoon Jimbo saw nothing of his faithful +companion; he spent the time practising and resting, and when weary of +everything else, he went to the window and indulged in thrilling +calculations about the exact height from the ground. A drop of three +storeys into a paved courtyard with a monster waiting to catch him, and +a high wall too close to allow a proper swing, was an alarming matter +from any point of view. Fortunately, his mind dwelt more on the delight +of prospective flight and freedom than on the chances of being caught. + +The yard lay hot and naked in the afternoon glare and the enclosing wall +had never looked more formidable; but from his lofty perch Jimbo could +see beyond into soft hayfields and smiling meadows, yellow with cowslips +and buttercups. Everything that flew he watched with absorbing interest: +swift blackbirds, whistling as they went, and crows, their wings purple +in the sunshine. The song of the larks, invisible in the sea of blue air +sent a thrill of happiness through him--he, too, might soon know +something of that glad music--and even the stately flight of the +butterflies, which occasionally ventured over into the yard, stirred +anticipations in him of joys to come. + +The day waned slowly. The butterflies vanished; the rooks sailed +homewards through the sunset; the wind dropped away, and the shadows of +the high elms lengthened gradually and fell across the window. + +The mysterious hour of the dusk, when the standard of reality changes +and other worlds come close and listen, began to work its subtle spell +upon his soul. Imperceptibly the shadows deepened as the veil of night +drew silently across the sky. A gentle breathing filled the air; trees +and fields were composing themselves to sleep; stars were peeping; wings +were being folded. + +But the boy's wings, trembling with life to the very tips of their long +feathers, these were not being folded. Charged with excitement, like +himself, they were gathering all their forces for the supreme effort of +their first journey out into the open spaces where they might touch the +secret sources of their own magical life. + +For a long, long time he waited; but at last the trap-door lifted and +Miss Lake appeared above the floor. The moment she stood in the room he +noticed that her wings came through two little slits in her gown and +folded down close to the body. They almost touched the ground. + +"Hush!" she whispered, holding up a warning finger. + +She came over on tiptoe and they began to talk in low whispers. + +"He's on the watch; we must speak very quietly. We couldn't have a +better night for it. The wind's in the south and the moon won't be up +till we're well on our way." + +Now that the actual moment was so near the boy felt something of fear +steal over him. The night seemed so vast and terrible all of a +sudden--like an immense black ocean with no friendly islands where they +could fold their wings and rest. + +"Don't waste your strength thinking," whispered the governess. "When the +time comes, act quickly, that's all!" + +She went over to the window and peered out cautiously, after a while +beckoning the child to join her. + +"He is there," she murmured in his ear. Jimbo could only make out an +indistinct shadowy object crouching under the wall, and he was not even +positive of that. + +"Does he know we're going?" he asked in an awed whisper. + +"He's there on the chance," she muttered, drawing back into the room. +"When there's a possibility of any one getting frightened he's bound to +be lurking about somewhere near. That's Fright all over. But he can't +hurt you," she added, "because you're not going to get frightened. +Besides, he can only fly when it's dark; and to-night we shall have the +moon." + +"I'm not afraid," declared the boy in spite of a rather fluttering +heart. + +"Are you ready?" was all she said. + +At last, then, the moment had come. It was actually beside him, waiting, +full of mystery and wonder, with alarm not far behind. The sun was +buried below the horizon of the world, and the dusk had deepened into +night. Stars were shining overhead; the leaves were motionless; not a +breath stirred; the earth was silent and waiting. + +"Yes, I'm ready," he whispered, almost inaudibly. + +"Then listen," she said, "and I'll tell you exactly what to do: Jump +upwards from the window ledge as high as you can, and the moment you +begin to drop, open your wings and strike with all your might. You'll +rise at once. The thing to remember is to _rise as quickly as possible_, +because the wall prevents a long, easy, sweeping rise; and, whatever +happens, you must clear that wall!" + +"I shan't touch the ground then?" asked a faint little voice. + +"Of course not! You'll get near it, but the moment you use your wings +you'll stop sinking, and rise up, up, up, ever so quickly." + +"And where to?" + +"To me. You'll see me waiting for you above the trees. Steering will +come naturally; it's quite easy." + +Jimbo was already shaking with excitement. He could not help it. And he +knew, in spite of all Miss Lake's care, that Fright was waiting in the +yard to catch him if he fell, or sank too near the ground. + +"I'll go first," added the governess, "and the moment you see that I've +cleared the wall you must jump after me. Only do not keep me waiting!" + +The girl stood for a minute in silence, arranging her wings. Her fingers +were trembling a little. Suddenly she drew the boy to her and kissed him +passionately. + +"Be brave!" she whispered, looking searchingly into his eyes, "and +strike hard--you can't possibly fail." + +In another minute she was climbing out of the window. For one second he +saw her standing on the narrow ledge with black space at her feet; the +next, without even a cry, she sprang out into the darkness, and was +gone. + +Jimbo caught his breath and ran up to see. She dropped like a stone, +turning over sideways in the air, and then at once her wings opened on +both sides and she righted. The darkness swallowed her up for a moment +so that he could not see clearly, and only heard the threshing of the +huge feathers; but it was easy to tell from the sound that she was +rising. + +Then suddenly a black form cleared the wall and rose swiftly in a +magnificent sweep into the sky, and he saw her outlined darkly against +the stars above the high elm tree. She was safe. Now it was his turn. + +"Act quickly! Don't think!" rang in his ears. If only he could do it all +as quickly as she had done it. But insidious fear had been working all +the time below the surface, and his refusal to recognise it could not +prevent it weakening his muscles and checking his power of decision. +Fortunately something of his Older Self came to the rescue. The emotions +of fear, excitement, and intense anticipation combined to call up the +powers of his deeper being: the boy trembled horribly, but the old, +experienced part of him sang with joy. + +Cautiously he began to climb out on to the window-sill; first one foot +and then the other hung over the edge. He sat there, staring down into +black space beneath. + +For a minute he hesitated; despair rushed over him in a wave; he could +never take that awful jump into emptiness and darkness. It was +impossible. Better be a prisoner for ever than risk so fearful a plunge. +He felt cold, weak, frightened, and made a half-movement back into the +room. The wings caught somehow between his legs and nearly flung him +headlong into the yard. + +"Jimbo! I'm waiting for you!" came at that moment in a faint cry from +the stars, and the sound gave him just the impetus he needed before it +was too late. He could not disappoint her--his faithful friend. Such a +thing was impossible. + +He stood upright on the ledge, his hands clutching the window-sash +behind, balancing as best he could. He clenched his fists, drew a deep, +long breath, and jumped upwards and forwards into the air. + +Up rushed the darkness with a shriek; the air whistled in his ears; he +dropped at fearful speed into nothingness. + +At first everything was forgotten--wings, instructions, warnings, and +all. He even forgot to open his wings at all, and in another second he +would have been dashed upon the hard paving-stones of the courtyard +where his great enemy lay waiting to seize him. + +But just in the nick of time he remembered, and the long hours of +practice bore fruit. Out flew the great red wings in a tremendous sweep +on both sides of him, and he began to strike with every atom of strength +he possessed. He had dropped to within six feet of the ground; but at +once the strokes began to tell, and oh, magical sensation! he felt +himself rising easily, lightly, swiftly. + +A very slight effort of those big wings would have been sufficient to +lift him out of danger, but in his terror and excitement he quite +miscalculated their power, and in a single moment he was far out of +reach of the dangerous yard and anything it contained. But the mad rush +of it all made his head swim; he felt dizzy and confused, and, instead +of clearing the wall, he landed on the top of it and clung to the +crumbling coping with hands and feet, panting and breathless. + +The dizziness was only momentary, however. In less than a minute he was +on his feet and in the act of taking his second leap into space. This +time it came more easily. He dropped, and the field swung up to meet +him. Soon the powerful strokes of his wings drove him at great speed +upwards, and he bounded ever higher towards the stars. + +Overhead, the governess hovered like an immense bird, and as he rose up +he caught the sound of her wings beating the air, while far beneath him, +he heard with a shudder a voice like the rushing of a great river. It +made him increase his pace, and in another minute he found himself among +the little whirlwinds that raced about from the beating of Miss Lake's +great wings. + +"Well done!" cried the delighted governess. "Safe at last! Now we can +fly to our heart's content!" + +Jimbo flew up alongside, and together they dashed forward into the +night. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE FIRST FLIGHT + + +There was not much talking at first. The stress of conflicting emotions +was so fierce that the words choked themselves in his throat, and the +desire for utterance found its only vent in hard breathing. + +The intoxication of rapid motion carried him away headlong in more +senses than one. At first he felt as if he never would be able to keep +up; then it seemed as if he never would get down again. For with wings +it is almost easier to rise than to fall, and a first flight is, before +anything else, a series of vivid and audacious surprises. + +For a long time Jimbo was so dizzy with excitement and the novelty of +the sensation that he forgot his deliverer altogether. + +And what a flight it was! Instead of the steady race of the carrier +pigeon, or of the rooks homeward bound at evening, it was the see-saw +motion of the wren's swinging journey across the lawn; only heavier, +faster, and with more terrific impetus. Up and down, each time with a +rise and fall of twenty feet, he careered, whistling through the summer +night; at the drop of each curve, so low that the scents of dewy grass +rose into his face; at the crest of it, so high that the trees and +hedges often became mere blots upon the dark surface of the earth. + +The fields rushed by beneath him; the white roads flashed past like +streaks of snow. Sometimes he shot across sheets of water and felt the +cooler air strike his cheeks; sometimes over sheltered meadows, where +the sunshine had slept all day and the air was still soft and warm; on +and on, as easily as rain dropping from the sky, or wind rushing +earthwards from between the clouds. Everything flew past him at an +astonishing rate--everything but the bright stars that gazed calmly down +overhead; and when he looked up and saw their steadfastness it helped to +keep within bounds the fine alarm of this first excursion into the great +vault of the sky. + +"Gently, child!" gasped Miss Lake behind him. "We shall never keep it up +at this rate." + +"Oh! but it's so wonderful," he cried, drawing in the air loudly +between his teeth, and shaking his wings rapidly like a hawk before it +drops. + +The pace slackened a little and the girl drew up alongside. For some +time they flew forward together in silence. + +They had been skirting the edge of a wood, when suddenly the trees fell +away and Jimbo gave a scream and rose fifty feet into the air with a +single bound. Straight in front of him loomed an immense, glaring disc +that seemed to swim suddenly up into the sky above the trees. It hung +there before his eyes and dazzled him. + +"It's only the moon," cried Miss Lake from below. + +Jimbo dropped through the air to her side again with a gasp. + +"I thought it was a big hole in the sky with fire rushing through," he +explained breathlessly. + +The boy stared, full of wonder and delight, at the huge flaming circle +that seemed to fill half the heavens in front of him. + +"Look out!" cried the governess, seizing his hand. + +Whish! whew! whirr! A large bird whipped past them like some winged imp +of darkness, vanishing among the trees far below. There would certainly +have been a collision but for the girl's energetic interference. + +"You must be on the look-out for these night-birds," she said. "They fly +so unexpectedly, and, of course, they don't see us properly. Telegraph +wires and church steeples are bad too, but then we shan't fly over +cities much. Keep a good height, it's safer." + +They altered their course a little, flying at a different angle, so that +the moon no longer dazzled them. Steering came quite easily by turning +the body, and Jimbo still led the way, the governess following heavily +and with a mighty business of wings and flapping. + +It was something to remember, the glory of that first journey through +the air. Sixty miles an hour, and scarcely an effort! Skimming the long +ridges of the hills and rushing through the pure air of mountain tops; +threading the star-beams; bathing themselves from head to foot in an +ocean of cool, clean wind; swimming on the waves of viewless +currents--currents warmed only by the magic of the stars, and kissed by +the burning lips of flying meteors. + +Far below them the moonlight touched the fields with silver and the +murmur of the world rose faintly to their ears, trembling, as it were, +with the inarticulate dreams of millions. Everywhere about them thrilled +and sang the unspeakable power of the night. The mystery of its great +heart seemed laid bare before them. + +It was like a wonder-journey in some Eastern fairy tale. Sometimes they +passed through zones of sweeter air, perfumed with the scents of hay and +wild flowers; at others, the fresh, damp odour of ploughed fields rose +up to them; or, again, they went spinning over leagues of forest where +the tree-tops stretched beneath them like the surface of a wide, green +sea, sleeping in the moonlight. And, when they crossed open water, the +stars shone reflected in their faces; and all the while the wings, +whirring and purring softly through the darkness, made pleasant music in +their ears. + +"I'm tired," declared Jimbo presently. + +"Then we'll go down and rest," said his breathless companion with +obvious relief. + +She showed him how to spread his wings, sloping them towards the ground +at an angle that enabled him to shoot rapidly downwards, at the same +time regulating his speed by the least upward tilt. It was a glorious +motion, without effort or difficulty, though the pace made it hard to +keep the eyes open, and breathing became almost impossible. They dropped +to within ten feet of the ground and then shot forward again. + +But, while the boy was watching his companion's movements, and paying +too little attention to his own, there rose suddenly before him out of +the ground a huge, bulky form of something--and crash--he flew headlong +into it. + +Fortunately it was only a haystack; but the speed at which he was going +lodged his head several inches under the thatch, whence he projected +horizontally into space, feet, arms, and wings gyrating furiously. The +governess, however, soon released him with much laughter, and they +dropped down into the fallen hay upon the ground with no worse result +than a shaking. + +"Oh, what a lark!" he cried, shaking the hay out of his feathers, and +rubbing his head rather ruefully. + +"Except that larks are hardly night-birds," she laughed, helping him. + +They settled with folded wings in the shadow of the haystack; and the +big moon, peeping over the edge at them, must have surely wondered to +see such a funny couple, in such a place, and at such an hour. + +"Mushrooms!" suddenly cried the governess, springing to her feet. "There +must be lots in this field. I'll go and pick some while you rest a bit." + +Off she went, trapesing over the field in the moonlight, her wings +folded behind her, her body bent a little forward as she searched, and +in ten minutes she came back with her hands full. That was undoubtedly +the time to enjoy mushrooms at their best, with the dew still on their +tight little jackets, and the sweet odour of the earth caught under +their umbrellas. + +Soon they were all eaten, and Jimbo was lying back on a pile of hay, his +shoulders against the wall of the stack, and his wings gathered round +him like a warm cloak of feathers. He felt cosy and dozy, full of +mushrooms inside and covered with hay and feathers outside. The +governess had once told him that a sort of open-air sleep sometimes came +after a long flight. It was, of course, not a real sleep, but a state in +which everything about oneself is forgotten; no dreams, no movement, no +falling asleep and waking up in the ordinary sense, but a condition of +deep repose in which recuperation is very great. + +Jimbo would have been greatly interested, no doubt, to know that his +real body on the bed had also just been receiving nourishment, and was +now passing into a quieter and less feverish condition. The parallel +always held true between himself and his body in the nursery, but he +could not know anything about this, and only supposed that it was this +open-air sleep that he felt gently stealing over him. + +It brought at first strange thoughts that carried him far away to other +woods and other fields. While Miss Lake sat beside him eating her +mushrooms, his mind was drawn off to some other little folk. But it was +always stopped just short of them. He never could quite see their faces. +Yet his thoughts continued their search, groping in the darkness; he +felt sure he ought to be sharing his adventures with these other little +persons, whoever they were; they ought to have been sitting beside him +at that very moment, eating mushrooms, combing their wings, comparing +the length of their feathers, and snuggling with him into the warm hay. + +But they obstinately hovered just outside his memory, and refused to +come in and surrender themselves. He could not remember who they were, +and his yearnings went unsatisfied up to the stars, as yearnings +generally do, while his thoughts returned weary from their search and he +yielded to the seductions of the soothing open-air sleep. + +The moon, meanwhile, rose higher and higher, drawing a silver veil over +the stars. Upon the field the dews of midnight fell silently. A faint +mist rose from the ground and covered the flowers in their dim seclusion +under the hedgerows. The hours slipped away swiftly. + +"Come on, Jimbo, boy!" cried the governess at length. "The moon's below +the hills, and we must be off!" + +The boy turned and stared sleepily at her from his nest in the hay. + +"We've got miles to go. Remember the speed we came at!" she explained, +getting up and arranging her wings. + +Jimbo got up slowly and shook himself. + +"I've been miles away," he said dreamily, "miles and miles. But I'm +ready to start at once." + +They looked about for a raised place to jump from. A ladder stood +against the other side of the haystack. The governess climbed up it and +Jimbo followed her drowsily. Hand in hand they sprang into the air from +the edge of the thatched roof, and their wings spread out like sails to +catch the wind. It smote their faces pleasantly as they plunged +downwards and forwards, and the exhilarating rush of cool air banished +from the boy's head the last vestige of the open-air sleep. + +"We must keep up a good pace," cried the governess, taking a stream and +the hedge beyond in a single sweep. "There's a light in the east +already." + +As she spoke a dog howled in a farmyard beneath them, and she shot +upwards as though lifted by a sudden gust of wind. + +"We're too low," she shouted from above. "That dog felt us near. Come up +higher. It's easier flying, and we've got a long way to go." + +Jimbo followed her up till they were several hundred feet above the +earth and the keen air stung their cheeks. Then she led him still +higher, till the meadows looked like the squares on a chess-board and +the trees were like little toy shrubs. Here they rushed along at a +tremendous speed, too fast to speak, their wings churning the air into +little whirlwinds and eddies as they passed, whizzing, whistling, +tearing through space. + +The fields, however, were still dim in the shadows that precede the +dawn, and the stars only just beginning to fade, when they saw the dark +outline of the Empty House below them, and began carefully to descend. +Soon they topped the high elms, startling the rooks into noisy cawing, +and then, skimming the wall, sailed stealthily on outspread wings across +the yard. + +Cautiously dropping down to the level of the window, they crawled over +the sill into the dark little room, and folded their wings. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +THE FOUR WINDS + + +The governess left the boy to his own reflections almost immediately. He +spent the hours thinking and resting; going over again in his mind every +incident of the great flight and wondering when the real, final escape +would come, and what it would be like. Thus, between the two states of +excitement he forgot for a while that he was still a prisoner, and the +spell of horror was lifted temporarily from his heart. + +The day passed quickly, and when Miss Lake appeared in the evening, she +announced that there could be no flying again that night, and that she +wished instead to give him important instruction for the future. There +were rules, and signs, and times which he must learn carefully. The time +might come when he would have to fly alone, and he must be prepared for +everything. + +"And the first thing I have to tell you," she said, exactly as though +it was a schoolroom, "is: _Never fly over the sea._ Our kind of wings +quickly absorb the finer particles of water and get clogged and heavy +over the sea. You finally cannot resist the drawing power of the water, +and you will be dragged down and drowned. So be very careful! When you +are flying high it is often difficult to know where the land ends and +the sea begins, especially on moonless nights. But you can always be +certain of one thing: if there are no sounds below you--hoofs, voices, +wheels, wind in trees--you are over the sea." + +"Yes," said the child, listening with great attention. "And what else?" + +"The next thing is: _Don't fly too high._ Though we fly like birds, +remember we are not birds, and we can fly where they can't. We can fly +in the ether----" + +"Where's that?" he interrupted, half afraid of the sound. + +She stooped and kissed him, laughing at his fear. + +"There is nothing to be frightened about," she explained. "The air gets +lighter and lighter as you go higher, till at last it stops altogether. +Then there's only ether left. Birds can't fly in ether because it's too +thin. We can, because----" + +"Is that why it was good for me to get lighter and thinner?" he +interrupted again in a puzzled voice. + +"Partly, yes." + +"And what happens in the ether, please?" It still frightened him a +little. + +"Nothing--except that if you fly too high you reach a point where the +earth ceases to hold you, and you dash off into space. Weight leaves you +then, and the wings move without effort. Faster and faster you rush +upwards, till you lose all control of your movements, and then----" + +Miss Lake hesitated a moment. + +"And then----?" asked the fascinated child. + +"You may never come down again," she said slowly. "You may be sucked +into anything that happens to come your way--a comet, or a shooting +star, or the moon." + +"I should like a shooting star best," observed the boy, deeply +interested. "The moon frightens me, I think. It looks so dreadfully +clean." + +"You won't like any of them when the time comes," she laughed. "No one +ever gets out again who once gets in. But you'll never be caught that +way after what I've told you," she added, with decision. + +"I shall never want to fly as high as that, I'm sure," said Jimbo. "And +now, please, what comes next?" + +The next thing, she went on to explain, was the _weather_, which, to all +flying creatures, was of the utmost importance. Before starting for a +flight he must always carefully consider the state of the sky, and the +direction in which he wished to go. For this purpose he must master the +meaning and character of the Four Winds and be able to recognise them in +a moment. + +"Once you know these," she said, "you cannot possibly go wrong. To make +it easier, I've put each Wind into a little simple rhyme, for you." + +"I'm listening," he said eagerly. + +"The North Wind is one of the worst and most dangerous, because it blows +so much faster than you think. It's taken you ten miles before you think +you've gone two. In starting with a North Wind, always fly _against_ it; +then it will bring you home easily. If you fly _with_ it, you may be +swept so far that the day will catch you before you can get home; and +then you're as good as lost. Even birds fly warily when this wind is +about. It has no lulls or resting-places in it; it blows steadily on and +on, and conquers everything it comes against--everything except the +mountains." + +"And its rhyme?" asked Jimbo, all ears. + + "It will show you the joy of the birds, my child, + You shall know their terrible bliss; + It will teach you to hide, when the night is wild, + From the storm's too passionate kiss. + For the Wind of the North + Is a volleying forth + That will lift you with springs + In the heart of your wings, + And may sweep you away + To the edge of the day. + So, beware of the Wind of the North, my child, + Fly not with the Wind of the North!" + +"I think I like him all the same," said Jimbo. "But I'll remember always +to fly against him." + +"The East Wind is worse still, for it hurts," continued the governess. +"It stings and cuts. It's like the breath of an ice-creature; it brings +hail and sleet and cold rain that beat down wings and blind the eyes. +Like the North Wind, too, it is dreadfully swift and full of little +whirlwinds, and may easily carry you into the light of day that would +prove your destruction. Avoid it always; no hiding-place is safe from +it. This is the rhyme: + + "It will teach you the secrets the eagles know + Of the tempests' and whirlwinds' birth; + And the magical weaving of rain and snow + As they fall from the sky to the earth. + But an Easterly wind + Is for ever unkind; + It will torture and twist you + And never assist you, + But will drive you with might + To the verge of the night. + So, beware of the Wind of the East, my child, + Fly not with the Wind of the East." + +"The West Wind is really a very nice and jolly wind in itself," she went +on, "but it's dangerous for a special reason: _it will carry you out to +sea_. The Empty House is only a few miles from the coast, and a strong +West Wind would take you there almost before you had time to get down to +earth again. And there's no use struggling against a really steady West +Wind, for it's simply tireless. Luckily, it rarely blows at night, but +goes down with the sun. Often, too, it blows hard to the coast, and then +drops suddenly, leaving you among the fogs and mists of the sea." + +"Rather a nice, exciting sort of wind though," remarked Jimbo, waiting +for the rhyme. + + "So, at last, you shall know from their lightest breath + To which heaven each wind belongs; + And shall master their meaning for life or death + By the shout of their splendid songs. + Yet the Wind of the West + Is a wind unblest; + It is lifted and kissed + By the spirits of mist; + It will clasp you and flee + To the wastes of the sea. + So, beware of the Wind of the West, my child, + Fly not with the Wind of the West!" + +"A jolly wind," observed Jimbo again. "But that doesn't leave much over +to fly with," he added sadly. "They all seem dangerous or cruel." + +"Yes," she laughed, "and so they are till you can master them--then +they're kind, only one that's really always safe and kind is the Wind of +the South. It's a sweet, gentle wind, beloved of all that flies, and you +can't possibly mistake it. You can tell it at once by the murmuring way +it stirs the grasses and the tops of the trees. Its taste is soft and +sweet in the mouth like wine, and there's always a faint perfume about +it like gardens in summer. It is the joy of this wind that makes all +flying things sing. With a South Wind you can go anywhere and no harm +can come to you." + +"Dear old South Wind," cried Jimbo, rubbing his hands with delight. "I +hope it will blow soon." + +"Its rhyme is very easy, too, though you will always be able to tell it +without that," she added. + + "For this is the favourite Wind of all, + Beloved of the stars and night; + In the rustle of leaves you shall hear it call + To the passionate joys of flight. + It will carry you forth in its wonderful hair + To the far-away courts of the sky, + And the breath of its lips is a murmuring prayer + For the safety of all who fly. + For the Wind of the South + Is like wine in the mouth, + With its whispering showers + And perfume of flowers, + When it falls like a sigh + From the heart of the sky." + +"Oh!" interrupted Jimbo, rubbing his hands, "that _is_ nice. That's _my_ +wind!" + + "It will bear you aloft + With a pressure so soft + That you hardly shall guess + Whose the gentle caress." + +"Hooray!" he cried again. + + "It's the kindest of weathers + For our red feathers, + And blows open the way + To the Gardens of Play. + So, fly out with the Wind of the South, my child, + With the wonderful Wind of the South." + +"Oh, I love the South Wind already," he shouted, clapping his hands +again. "I hope it will blow very, _very_ soon." + +"It may be rising even now," answered the governess, leading him to the +window. But, as they gazed at the summer landscape lying in the fading +light of the sunset, all was still and resting. The air was hushed, the +leaves motionless. There was no call just then to flight from among the +tree-tops, and he went back into the room disappointed. + +"But why can't we escape at once?" he asked again, after he had given +his promise to remember all she had told him, and to be extra careful if +he ever went out flying alone. + +"Jimbo, dear, I've told you before, it's because your body isn't ready +for you yet," she answered patiently. "There's hardly any circulation +in it, and if you forced your way back now the shock might stop your +heart beating altogether. Then you'd be really dead, and escape would be +impossible." + +The boy sat on the edge of the bed staring intently at her while she +spoke. Something clutched at his heart. He felt his Older Self, with its +greater knowledge, rising up out of the depths within him. The child +struggled with the old soul for possession. + +"Have _you_ got any circulation?" he asked abruptly at length. "I mean, +has _your_ heart stopped beating?" + +But the smile called up by his words froze on her lips. She crossed to +the window and stood with her back to the fading light, avoiding his +eyes. + +"My case, Jimbo, is a little different from yours," she said presently. +"The important thing is to make certain about your escape. Never mind +about me." + +"But escape without you is nothing," he said, the Older Self now wholly +in possession. "I simply wouldn't go. I'd rather stay here--with you." + +The governess made no reply, but she turned her back to the room and +leaned out of the window. Jimbo fancied he heard a sob. He felt a great +big heart swelling up within his little body, and he crossed over beside +her. For some minutes they stood there in silence, watching the stars +that were already shining faintly in the sky. + +"Whatever happens," he said, nestling against her, "I shan't go from +here without you. Remember that!" + +He was going to say a lot more, but somehow or other, when she stooped +over to kiss his head--he hardly came up to her shoulder--it all ran +suddenly out of his mind, and the little child dropped back into +possession again. The tide of his thoughts that seemed about to rise, +fast and furious, sank away completely, leaving his mind a clean-washed +slate without a single image; and presently, without any more words, the +governess left him and went through the trap-door into the silence and +mystery of the house below. + +Several hours later, about the middle of the night, there came over him +a most disagreeable sensation of nausea and dizziness. The ground rose +and fell beneath his feet, the walls swam about sideways, and the +ceiling slid off into the air. It only lasted a few minutes, however, +and Jimbo knew from what she had told him that it was the Flying +Sickness which always followed the first long flight. + +But, about the same time, another little body, lying in a night-nursery +bed, was being convulsed with a similar attack; and the sickness of the +little prisoner in the Empty House had its parallel, strangely enough, +in the half-tenanted body miles away in a different world. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +PLEASURES OF FLIGHT + + +Since the night when Jimbo had nearly fallen into the yard and risked +capture, Fright, the horrible owner of the house, had kept himself well +out of the way, and had allowed himself to be neither seen nor heard. + +But the boy was not foolish enough to fall into the other trap, and +imagine, therefore, that He did not know what was going on. Jimbo felt +quite sure that He was only waiting his chance; and the governess's +avoidance of the subject tended to confirm this supposition. + +"He's disappeared somewhere and taken the children with him," she +declared when he questioned her. "And now you know almost as much as I +do." + +"But not quite!" he laughed mischievously. + +"Enough, though," she replied. "We want all our energy for escape when +it comes. Don't bother about anything else for the moment." + +During the day, when he was alone, his thoughts and fancies often +terrified him; but at night, when he was rushing through the heavens, +the intense delight of flying drove all minor emotions out of his +consciousness, and he even forgot his one great desire--to escape. One +night, however, something happened that brought it back more keenly than +ever. + +He had been out flying alone, but had not gone far when he noticed that +an easterly wind had begun to rise and was blowing steadily behind him. +With the recent instructions fresh in his head, he thought it wiser to +turn homewards rather than fight his way back later against a really +strong wind from this quarter. Flying low along the surface of the +fields so as to avoid its full force, he suddenly rose up with a good +sweep and settled on the top of the wall enclosing the yard. + +The moonlight lay bright over everything. His approach had been very +quiet. He was just about to sail across to the window when something +caught his eye, and he hesitated a moment, and stared. + +Something was moving at the other end of the courtyard. + +It seemed to him that the moonlight suddenly grew pale and ghastly; the +night air turned chilly; shivers began to run up and down his back. + +He folded his wings and watched. + +At the end of the yard he saw several figures moving busily to and fro +in the shadow of the wall. They were very small; but close beside them +all the time stood a much larger figure which seemed to be directing +their movements. There was no need to look twice; it was impossible to +mistake these terrible little people and their hideous overseer. Horror +rushed over the boy, and a wild scream was out in the night before he +could possibly prevent it. At the same moment a cloud passed over the +face of the moon and the yard was shrouded in darkness. + +A minute later the cloud passed off; but while it was still too dark to +see clearly, Jimbo was conscious of a rushing, whispering sound in the +air, and something went past him at a tremendous pace into the sky. The +wind stirred his hair as it passed, and a moment later he heard voices +far away in the distance--up in the sky or within the house he could +not tell--singing mournfully the song he now knew so well:-- + + We dance with phantoms and with shadows play. + +But when he looked down at the yard he saw that it was deserted, and the +corner by the little upright stones lay in the clear moonlight, empty of +figures, large or small. + +Shivering with fright, he flew across to the window ledge, and almost +tumbled into the arms of the governess who was standing close inside. + +"What's the matter, child?" she asked in a voice that trembled a little. + +And, still shuddering, he told her how he thought he had seen the +children working by the gravestones. All her efforts to calm him at +first failed, but after a bit she drew his thoughts to pleasanter +things, and he was not so certain after all that he had not been +deceived by the cunning of the moonlight and the shadows. + +A long interval passed, and no further sign was given by the owner of +the house or his band of frightened children. Jimbo soon lost himself +again in the delights of flying and the joy of his increasing powers. + +Most of all he enjoyed the quiet, starlit nights before the moon was +up; for the moon dazzled the eyes in the rarefied air where they flew, +whereas the stars gave just enough light to steer by without making it +uncomfortable. + +Moreover, the moon often filled him with a kind of faint terror, as of +death; he could never gaze at her white face for long without feeling +that something entered his heart with those silver rays--something that +boded him no good. He never spoke of this to the governess; indeed, he +only recognised it himself when the moon was near the full; but it lay +always in the depths of his being, and he felt dimly that it would have +to be reckoned with before he could really escape for good. He took no +liberties when the moon was at the full. + +He loved to hover--for he had learned by this time that most difficult +of all flying feats; to hold the body vertical and whirr the wings +without rising or advancing--he loved to hover on windless nights over +ponds and rivers and see the stars reflected in their still pools. +Indeed, sometimes he hovered till he dropped, and only saved himself +from a wetting by sweeping up in a tremendous curve along the surface of +the water, and thus up into the branches of the trees where the +governess sat waiting for him. And then, after a little rest, they +would launch forth again and fly over fields and woods, sometimes even +as far as the hills that ran down the coast of the sea itself. + +They usually flew at a height of about a thousand feet, and the earth +passed beneath them like a great streaked shadow. But as soon as the +moon was up the whole country turned into a fairyland of wonder. Her +light touched the woods with a softened magic, and the fields and hedges +became frosted most delicately. Beneath a thin transparency of mist the +water shone with a silvery brilliance that always enabled them to +distinguish it from the land at any height; while the farms and country +houses were swathed in tender grey shadows through which the trees and +chimneys pierced in slender lines of black. It was wonderful to watch +the shadows everywhere spinning their blue veil of distance that lent +even to the commonest objects something of enchantment and mystery. + +Those were wonderful journeys they made together into the pathways of +the silent night, along the unknown courses, into that hushed centre +where they could almost hear the beatings of her great heart--like +winged thoughts searching the huge vault, till the boy ached with the +sensations of speed and distance, and the old yellow moon seemed to +stagger across the sky. + +Sometimes they rose very high into freezing air, so high that the earth +became a dull shadow specked with light. They saw the trains running in +all directions with thin threads of smoke shining in the glare of the +open fire-boxes. But they seemed very tiny trains indeed, and stirred in +him no recollections of the semi-annual visits to London town when he +went to the dentist, and lunched with the dreaded grandmother or the +stiff and fashionable aunts. + +And when they came down again from these perilous heights, the scents of +the earth rose to meet them, the perfume of woods and fields, and the +smells of the open country. + +There was, too, the delight, the curious delight of windy nights, when +the wind smote and buffeted them, knocking them suddenly sideways, +whistling through their feathers as if it wanted to tear them from their +sockets; rushing furiously up underneath their wings with repeated +blows; turning them round, and backwards and forwards, washing them from +head to foot in a tempestuous sea of rapid and unexpected motion. + +It was, of course, far easier to fly with a wind than without one. The +difficulty with a violent wind was to get down--not to keep up. The +gusts drove up against the under-surfaces of their wings and kept them +afloat, so that by merely spreading them like sails they could sweep and +circle without a single stroke. Jimbo soon learned to manoeuvre so that +he could turn the strength of a great wind to his own purposes, and +revel in its boisterous waves and currents like a strong swimmer in a +rough sea. + +And to listen to the wind as it swept backwards and forwards over the +surface of the earth below was another pleasure; for everything it +touched gave out a definite note. He soon got to know the long sad cry +from the willows, and the little whispering in the tops of the poplar +trees; the crisp, silvery rattle of the birches, and the deep roar from +oaks and beech woods. The sound of a forest was like the shouting of the +sea. + +But far more lovely, when they descended a little, and the wind was more +gentle, were the low pipings among the reeds and the little wayward +murmurs under the hedgerows. + +The pine trees, however, drew them most, with their weird voices, now +far away, now near, rising upwards with a wind of sighs. + +There was a grove of these trees that trooped down to the waters of a +little lake in the hills, and to this spot they often flew when the wind +was low and the music likely, therefore, to be to their taste. For, even +when there was no perceptible wind, these trees seemed always full of +mysterious, mournful whisperings; their branches held soft music that +never quite died away, even when all other trees were silent and +motionless. + +Besides these special expeditions, they flew everywhere and anywhere. +They visited the birds in their nests in lofty trees, and exchanged the +time of night with wise-eyed owls staring out upon them from the ivy. +They hovered up the face of great cliffs, and passed the hawks asleep on +perilous ledges; skimmed over lonely marshes, frightening the +water-birds paddling in and out among the reeds. They followed the +windings of streams, singing among the meadows, and flew along the wet +sands as they watched the moon rise out of the sea. + +These flights were unadulterated pleasure, and Jimbo thought he could +never have enough of them. + +He soon began to notice, too, that the trees emanated something that +affected his own condition. When he sat in their branches this was very +noticeable. Currents of force passed from them into himself. And even +when he flew over their crests he was aware that some woods exhaled +vigorous, life-giving forces, while others tired and depleted him. +Nothing was visible actually, but fine waves seemed to beat up against +his eyes and thoughts, making him stronger or weaker, happy or +melancholy, full of hope and courage, or listless and indifferent. + +These emanations of the trees--this giving-forth of their own personal +forces--were, of course, very varied in strength and character. Oaks and +pines were the best combination, he found, before the stress of a long +flight, the former giving him steadiness, and the latter steely +endurance and the power to steer in sinuous, swift curves, without +taking thought or trouble. + +Other trees gave other powers. All gave something. It was impossible to +sit among their branches without absorbing some of the subtle and +exhilarating tree-life. He soon learned how to gather it all into +himself, and turn it to account in his own being. + +"Sit quietly," the governess said. "Let the forces creep in and stir +about. Do nothing yourself. Give them time to become part of yourself +and mix properly with your own currents. Effort on your part prevents +this, and you weaken them without gaining anything yourself." + +Jimbo made all sorts of experiments with trees and rocks and water and +fields, learning gradually the different qualities of force they gave +forth, and how to use them for himself. Nothing, he found, was really +dead. And sometimes he got himself into strange difficulties in the +beginning of his attempts to master and absorb these nature-forces. + +"Remember," the governess warned him more than once, when he was +inclined to play tricks, "they are in quite a different world to ours. +You cannot take liberties with them. Even a sympathetic soul like +yourself only touches the fringe of their world. You exchange +surface-messages with them, nothing more. Some trees have terrible +forces just below the surface. They could extinguish you +altogether--absorb you into themselves. Others are naturally hostile. +Some are mere tricksters. Others are shifty and treacherous, like the +hollies, that move about too much. The oak and the pine and the elm are +friendly, and you can always trust them absolutely. But there are +others----!" + +She held up a warning finger, and Jimbo's eyes nearly dropped out of his +head. + +"No," she added, in reply to his questions, "you can't learn all this at +once. Perhaps----" She hesitated a little. "Perhaps, if you don't +escape, we should have time for all manner of adventures among the trees +and other things--but then, we _are_ going to escape, so there's no good +wasting time over _that_!" + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +AN ADVENTURE + + +But Miss Lake did not always accompany him on these excursions into the +night; sometimes he took long flights by himself, and she rather +encouraged him in this, saying it would give him confidence in case he +ever lost her and was obliged to find his way about alone. + +"But I couldn't get really lost," he said once to her. "I know the winds +perfectly now and the country round for miles, and I never go out in +fog----" + +"But these are only practice flights," she replied. "The flight of +escape is a very different matter. I want you to learn all you possibly +can so as to be prepared for anything." + +Jimbo felt vaguely uncomfortable when she talked like this. + +"But you'll be with me in the Escape Flight--the final one of all," he +said; "and nothing ever goes wrong when you're with me." + +"I should like to be always with you," she answered tenderly, "but it's +well to be prepared for anything, just the same." + +And more than this the boy could never get out of her. + +On one of these lonely flights, however, he made the unpleasant +discovery that he was being followed. + +At first he only imagined there was somebody after him because of the +curious vibrations of the very rarefied air in which he flew. Every time +his flight slackened and the noise of his own wings grew less, there +reached him from some other corner of the sky a sound like the +vibrations of large wings beating the air. It seemed behind, and +generally below him, but the swishing of his own feathers made it +difficult to hear with distinctness, or to be certain of the direction. + +Evidently it was a long way off; but now and again, when he took a spurt +and then sailed silently for several minutes on outstretched wings, the +beating of distant, following feathers seemed unmistakably clear, and he +raced on again at full speed more than terrified. Other times, however, +when he tried to listen, there was no trace of this other flyer, and +then his fear would disappear, and he would persuade himself that it had +been imagination. So much on these flights he knew to be +imagination--the sentences, voices, and laughter, for instance, that +filled the air and sounded so real, yet were actually caused by the wind +rushing past his ears, the rhythm of the wing-beats, and the tips of the +feathers occasionally rubbing against the sides of his body. + +But at last one night the suspicion that he was followed became a +certainty. + +He was flying far up in the sky, passing over some big city, when the +sound rose to his ears, and he paused, sailing on stretched wings, to +listen. Looking down into the immense space below, he saw, plainly +outlined against the luminous patch above the city, the form of a large +flying creature moving by with rapid strokes. The pulsations of its +great wings made the air tremble so that he both heard and felt them. It +may have been that the vapours of the city distorted the thing, just as +the earth's atmosphere magnifies the rising or setting of the moon; but, +even so, it was easy to see that it was something a good deal larger +than himself, and with a much more powerful flight. + +Fortunately, it did not seem this time to be actually on his trail, for +it swept by at a great pace, and was soon lost in the darkness far +ahead. Perhaps it was only searching for him, and his great height had +proved his safety. But in any case he was exceedingly terrified, and at +once turned round, pointed his head for the earth, and shot downwards in +the direction of the Empty House as fast as ever he could. + +But when he spoke to the governess she made light of it, and told him +there was nothing to be afraid of. It might have been a flock of +hurrying night-birds, she said, or an owl distorted by the city's light, +or even his own reflection magnified in water. Anyhow, she felt sure it +was not chasing him, and he need pay no attention to it. + +Jimbo felt reassured, but not quite satisfied. He knew a flying monster +when he saw one; and it was only when he had been for many more flights +alone, without its reappearance, that his confidence was fully restored, +and he began to forget about it. + +Certainly these lonely flights were very much to his taste. His Older +Self, with its dim hauntings of a great memory somewhere behind him, +took possession then, and he was able to commune with nature in a way +that the presence of the governess made impossible. With her his Older +Self rarely showed itself above the surface for long; he was always the +child. But, when alone, Nature became alive; he drew force from the +trees and flowers, and felt that they all shared a common life together. +Had he been imprisoned by some wizard of old in a tree-form, knowing of +the sunset and the dawn only by the sweet messages that rustled in his +branches, the wind could hardly have spoken to him with a more intimate +meaning; or the life of the fields, eternally patient, have touched him +more nearly with their joys and sorrows. It seemed almost as if, from +his leafy cell, he had gazed before this into the shining pools with +which the summer rains jewelled the meadows, sending his soul in a +stream of unsatisfied yearning up to the stars. It all came back dimly +when he heard the wind among the leaves, and carried him off to the +woods and fields of an existence far antedating this one---- + +And on gentle nights, when the wind itself was half asleep and dreaming, +the pine trees drew him most of all, for theirs was the song he loved +above all others. He would fly round and round the little grove by the +mountain lake, listening for hours together to their sighing voices. But +the governess was never told of this, whatever she may have guessed; for +it seemed to him a joy too deep for words, the pains and sweetness being +mingled too mysteriously for him ever to express in awkward sentences. +Moreover, it all passed away and was forgotten the moment the child took +possession and usurped the older memory. + +One night, when the moon was high and the air was cool and fragrant +after the heat of the day, Jimbo felt a strong desire to get off by +himself for a long flight. He was full of energy, and the space-craving +cried to be satisfied. For several days he had been content with slow, +stupid expeditions with the governess. + +"I'm off alone to-night," he cried, balancing on the window ledge, "but +I'll be back before dawn. Good-bye!" + +She kissed him, as she always did now, and with her good-bye ringing in +his ears, he dropped from the window and rose rapidly over the elms and +away from earth. + +This night, for some reason, the stars and the moon seemed to draw him, +and with tireless wings he mounted up, up, up, to a height he had never +reached before. The intoxication of the strong night air rose into his +brain and he dashed forward ever faster, with a mad delight, into the +endless space before him. + +Mile upon mile lay behind him as he rushed onwards, always pointing a +little on the upward slope, drunk with speed. The earth faded away to a +dark expanse of shadow beneath him, and he no longer was conscious of +the deep murmur that usually flowed steadily upwards from its surface. +He had often before risen out of reach of the earth noises, but never so +far that this dull reverberating sound, combined of all the voices of +the world merged together, failed to make itself heard. To-night, +however, he heard nothing. The stars above his head changed from yellow +to diamond white, and the cold air stung his cheeks and brought the +water to his eyes. + +But at length the governess's warning, as he explored these forbidden +regions, came back to him, and in a series of gigantic bounds that took +his breath away completely, he dropped nearer to the earth again and +kept on at a much lower level. + +The hours passed and the position of the moon began to alter +noticeably. Some of the constellations that were overhead when he +started were now dipping below the horizon. Never before had he ventured +so far from home, and he began to realise that he had been flying much +longer than he knew or intended. The speed had been terrific. + +The change came imperceptibly. With the discovery that his wings were +not moving quite so easily as before, he became suddenly aware that this +had really been the case for some little time. He was flying with +greater effort, and for a long time this effort had been increasing +gradually before he actually recognised the fact. + +Although no longer pointing towards the earth he seemed to be sinking. +It became increasingly difficult to fly upwards. His wings did not seem +to fail or weaken, nor was he conscious of feeling tired; but something +was ever persuading him to fly lower, almost as if a million tiny +threads were coaxing him downwards, drawing him gradually nearer to the +world again. Whatever it was, the earth had come much closer to him in +the last hour, and its familiar voices were pleasant to hear after the +boundless heights he had just left. + +But for some reason his speed grew insensibly less and less. His wings +moved apparently as fast as before, but it was harder to keep up. In +spite of himself he kept sinking. The sensation was quite new, and he +could not understand it. It almost seemed as though he were being +_pulled_ downwards. + +Jimbo began to feel uneasy. He had not lost his bearings, but he was a +very long way from home, and quite beyond reach of the help he was so +accustomed to. With a great effort he mounted several hundred feet into +the air, and tried hard to stay there. For a short time he succeeded, +but he soon felt himself sinking gradually downwards again. The force +drawing him was a constant force without rise or fall; and with a deadly +feeling of fear the boy began to realise that he would soon have to +yield to it altogether. His heart beat faster and his thoughts turned to +the friend who was then far away, but who alone could save him. + +She, at least, could have explained it and told him what best to do. But +the governess was beyond his reach. This problem he must face alone. + +Something, however, had to be done quickly, and Jimbo, acting more as +the man than as the boy, turned and flew hurriedly forward in another +direction. He hoped this might somehow counteract the force that still +drew him downwards; and for a time it apparently did so, and he flew +level. But the strain increased every minute, and he looked down with +something of a shudder as he realised that before very long he would be +obliged to yield to this deadly force--and drop! + +It was then for the first time he noticed a change had come over the +surface of the earth below. Instead of the patchwork of field and wood +and road, he saw a vast cloud stretching out, white and smooth in the +moonlight. The world was hidden beneath a snowy fog, dense and +impenetrable. It was no longer even possible to tell in what direction +he was flying, for there was nothing to steer by. This was a new and +unexpected complication, and the boy could not understand how the change +had come about so quickly; the last time he had glanced down for +indications to steer by, everything had been clear and easily visible. + +It was very beautiful, this carpet of white mist with the silver moon +shining upon it, but it thrilled him now with an unpleasant sense of +dread. And, still more unpleasant, was a new sound which suddenly broke +in upon the stillness and turned his blood into ice. He was certain that +he heard wings behind him. He was being followed, and this meant that it +was impossible to turn and fly back. + +There was nothing now to do but fly forwards and hope to distance the +huge wings; but if he was being followed by the powerful flyer he had +seen a few nights before, the boy knew that he stood little chance of +success, and he only did it because it seemed the one thing possible. + +The cloud was dense and chill as he entered it; its moisture clung to +his wings and made them heavy; his muscles seemed to stiffen, and motion +became more and more difficult. The wings behind him meanwhile came +closer. + +He was flying along the surface of the mist now, his body and wings +hidden, and his head just above the level. He could see along its white, +even top. If he sank a few more inches it would be impossible to see at +all, or even to judge where he was going. Soon it rose level with his +lips, and at the same time he noticed a new smell in the air, faint at +first, but growing every moment stronger. It was a fresh, sweet odour, +yet it somehow added to his alarm, and stirred in him new centres of +uneasiness. He tried vainly to increase his speed and distance the wings +which continued to gain so steadily upon him from behind. + +The cloud, apparently, was not everywhere of the same density, for here +and there he saw the tops of green hills below him as he flew. But he +could not understand why each green hill seemed to have a little lake on +its summit--a little lake in which the reflected moon stared straight up +into his face. Nor could he quite make out what the sounds were which +rose to his ears through the muffling of the cloud--sounds of tumultuous +rushing, hissing, and tumbling. They were continuous, these sounds, and +once or twice he thought he heard with them a deep, thunderous roar that +almost made his heart stop beating as he listened. + +Was he, perhaps, over a range of high mountains, and was this the sound +of the tumbling torrents? + +Then, suddenly, it came to him with a shock that the ordinary sounds of +the earth had wholly ceased. + +Jimbo felt his head beginning to whirl. He grew weaker every minute; +less able to offer resistance to the remorseless forces that were +sucking him down. Now the mist had closed over his head, and he could no +longer see the moonlight. He turned again, shaking with terror, and +drove forward headlong through the clinging vapour. A sensation of +choking rose in his throat; he was tired out, ready to drop with +exhaustion. The wings of the following creature were now so close that +he thought every minute he would be seized from behind and plunged into +the abyss to his death. + +It was just then that he made the awful discovery that the world below +him was not stationary: the _green hills were moving_. They were +sweeping past with a rushing, thundering sound in regular procession; +and their huge sides were streaked with white. The reflection of the +moon leaped up into his face as each hill rolled hissing and gurgling +by, and he knew at last with a shock of unutterable horror that it was +THE SEA! + +He was flying over the sea, and the waters were drawing him down. The +immense, green waves that rolled along through the sea fog, carrying the +moon's face on their crests, foaming and gurgling as they went, were +already leaping up to seize him by the feet and drag him into their +depths. + +He dropped several feet deeper into the mist, and towards the sea, +terror-stricken and blinded. Then, turning frantically, not knowing what +else to do, he struck out, with his last strength, for the upper surface +and the moonlight. But as he did so, turning his face towards the sky he +saw a dark form hovering just above him, covering his retreat with huge +outstretched wings. It was too late; he was hemmed in on all sides. + +At that moment a huge, rolling wave, bigger than all the rest, swept +past and wet him to the knees. His heart failed him. The next wave would +cover him. Already it was rushing towards him with foaming crest. He was +in its shadow; he heard its thunder. Darkness rushed over him--he saw +the vast sides streaked with grey and white--when suddenly, the owner of +the wings plucked him in the back, mid-way between the shoulders, and +lifted him bodily out of the fog, so that the wave swept by without even +wetting his feet. + +The next minute he saw a dim, white sheet of silvery mist at his feet, +and found himself far above it in the sweet, clean moonlight; and when +he turned, almost dead with terror, to look upon his captor, he found +himself looking straight into the eyes of--the governess. + +The sense of relief was so great that Jimbo simply closed his wings, and +hung, a dead weight, in the air. + +"Use your wings!" cried the governess sharply; and, still holding him, +while he began to flap feebly, she turned and flew in the direction of +the land. + +"You!" he gasped at last. "It was you following me!" + +"Of course it was me! I never let you out of my sight. I've always +followed you--every time you've been out alone." + +Jimbo was still conscious of the drawing power of the sea, but he felt +that his companion was too strong for it. After fifteen minutes of +fierce flight he heard the sounds of earth again, and knew that they +were safe. + +Then the governess loosened her hold, and they flew along side by side +in the direction of home. + +"I won't scold you, Jimbo," she said presently, "for you've suffered +enough already." She was the first to break the silence, and her voice +trembled a little. "But remember, the sea draws you down, just as +surely as the moon draws you up. Nothing would please Him better than to +see you destroyed by one or the other." + +Jimbo said nothing. But, when once they were safe inside the room again, +he went up and cried his eyes out on her arm, while she folded him in to +her heart as if he were the only thing in the whole world she had to +love. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE CALL OF THE BODY + + +One night, towards the end of the practice flights, a strange thing +happened, which showed that the time for the final flight of escape was +drawing near. + +They had been out for several hours flying through a rainstorm, the +thousand little drops of which stung their faces like tiny gun-shot. +About two in the morning the wind shifted and drove the clouds away as +by magic; the stars came out, at first like the eyes of children still +dim with crying, but later with a clear brilliance that filled Jimbo and +the governess with keen pleasure. The air was washed and perfumed; the +night luminous, alive, singing. All its tenderness and passion entered +their hearts and filled them with the wonder of its glory. + +"Come down, Jimbo," said the governess, "and we'll lie in the trees and +smell the air after the rain." + +"Yes," added the boy, whose Older Self had been whispering mysterious +things to him, "and watch the stars and hear them singing." + +He led the way to some beech trees that lined a secluded lane, and +settled himself comfortably in the top branches of the largest, while +the governess soon found a resting-place beside him. It was a deserted +spot, far from human habitation. Here and there through the foliage they +could see little pools of rain-water reflecting the sky. The group of +trees swung in the wind, dreaming great woodland dreams, and overhead +the stars looked like a thousand orchards in the sky, filling the air +with the radiance of their blossoms. + +"How brilliant they are to-night," said the governess, after watching +the boy attentively for some minutes as they lay side by side in the +great forked branch. "I never saw the constellations so clear." + +"But they have so little shape," he answered dreamily; "if we wore +lights when we flew about we should make much better constellations than +they do." + +"The Big and Little Child instead of the Big and Little Bear," she +laughed, still watching him. + +"I'm slipping away----" he began, and then stopped suddenly. He saw the +expression of his companion's eyes, which were looking him through and +through with the most poignant love and yearning mingled in their gaze, +and something clutched at his heart that he could not understand. + +"----not slipping out of the tree," he went on vaguely, "but slipping +into some new place or condition. I don't understand it. Am I--going off +somewhere--where you can't follow? I thought suddenly--I was losing +you." + +The governess smiled at him sadly and said nothing. She stroked his +wings and then raised them to her lips and kissed them. Jimbo watched +her, and folded his other wing across into her hands; he felt unhappy, +and his heart began to swell within him; but he didn't know what to say, +and the Older Self began slowly to fade away again. + +"But the stars," he went on, "have they got things they send out +too--forces, I mean, like the trees? Do they send out something that +makes us feel sad, or happy, or strong, or weak?" + +She did not answer for some time; she lay watching his face and fondling +his smooth red wings; and, presently, when she did begin to explain, +Jimbo found that the child in him was then paramount again, and he +could not quite follow what she said. + +He tried to answer properly and seem interested, but her words were very +long and hard to understand, and after a time he thought she was talking +to herself more than to him, and he gave up all serious effort to +follow. Then he became aware that her voice had changed. The words +seemed to drop down upon him from a great height. He imagined she was +standing on one of those far stars he had been asking about, and was +shouting at him through an immense tube of sky and darkness. The words +pricked his ears like needle-points, only he no longer heard them as +words, but as tiny explosions of sound, meaningless and distant. Swift +flashes of light began to dance before his eyes, and suddenly from +underneath the tree, a wind rose up and rushed, laughing, across his +face. Darkness in a mass dropped over his eyes, and he sank backwards +somewhere into another corner of space altogether. + +The governess, meanwhile, lay quite still, watching the limp form in the +branches beside her and still holding the tips of his red wings. +Presently tears stole into her eyes, and began to run down her cheeks. +One deep sigh after another escaped from her lips; but the little boy, +or the old soul, who was the cause of all her emotion, apparently was +far away and knew nothing of it. For a long time she lay in silence, and +then leaned a little nearer to him, so as to see his full face. The eyes +were wide open and staring, but they were looking at nothing she could +see, for the consciousness cannot be in two places at the same time, and +Jimbo just then was off on a little journey of his own, a journey that +was but preliminary to the great final one of all. + +"Jimbo," whispered the girl between her tears and sighs, "Jimbo! Where +have you gone to? Tell me, are they getting ready for you at last, and +am I to lose you after all? Is this the only way I can save you--by +losing you?" + +There was no answer, no sign of movement; and the governess hid her face +in her hands and cried quietly to herself, while her tears dropped down +through the branches of the tree and fell into the rain-pools beneath. + +For Jimbo's state of oblivion in the tree was in reality a momentary +return to consciousness in his body on the bed, and the repaired +mechanism of the brain and muscles had summoned him back on a sort of +trial visit. He remembered nothing of it afterwards, any more than one +remembers the experiences of deep sleep; but the fact was that, with the +descent of the darkness upon him in the branches, he had opened his eyes +once again on the scene in the night-nursery bedroom where his body lay. + +He saw figures standing round the bed and about the room; his mother +with the same white face as before, was still bending over the bed +asking him if he knew her; a tall man in a long black coat moved +noiselessly to and fro; and he saw a shaded lamp on a table a little to +the right of the bed. Nothing seemed to have changed very much, though +there had probably been time enough since he last opened his eyes for +the black-coated doctor to have gone and come again for a second visit. +He held an instrument in his hands that shone brightly in the lamplight. +Jimbo saw this plainly and wondered what it was. He felt as if he were +just waking out of a nice, deep sleep--dreamless and undisturbed. The +Empty House, the Governess, Fright and the Children had all vanished +from his memory, and he knew no more about wings and feathers than he +did about the science of meteorology. + +But the bedroom scene was a mere glimpse after all; his eyes were +already beginning to close again. First they shut out the figure of the +doctor; then the bed-curtains; and then the nurse moved her arm, making +the whole scene quiver for an instant, like some huge jelly-shape, +before it dipped into profound darkness and disappeared altogether. His +mother's voice ran off into a thin trickle of sound, miles and miles +away, and the light from the lamp followed him with its glare for less +than half a second. All had vanished. + +"Jimbo, dear, where have you been? Can you remember anything?" asked the +soft voice beside him, as he looked first at the stars overhead, and +then from the tracery of branches and leaves beneath him to the great +sea of tree-tops and open country all round. + +But he could tell her nothing; he seemed dreamy and absent-minded, lying +and staring at her as if he hardly knew who she was or what she was +saying. His mind was still hovering near the border-line of the two +states of consciousness, like the region between sleeping and waking, +where both worlds seem unreal and wholly wonderful. + +He could not answer her questions, but he evidently caught some reflex +of her emotions, for he leaned towards her across the branches, and +said he was happy and never wanted to leave her. Then he crawled to the +end of the big bough and sprang out into the air with a shout of +delight. He was the child again--the flying child, wild with the +excitement of tearing through the night air at fifty miles an hour. + +The governess soon followed him and they flew home together, taking a +long turn by the sea and past the great chalk cliffs, where the sea sang +loud beneath them. + +These lapses became with time more frequent, as well as of longer +duration; and with them the boy noticed that the longing to escape +became once again intense. He wanted _to get home_, wherever home was; +he experienced a sort of nostalgia for the body, though he could not +remember where that body lay. But when he asked the governess what this +feeling meant, she only mystified him by her answers, saying that every +one, in the body or out of it, felt a deep longing for their final +_home_, though they might not have the least idea where it lay, or even +to be able to recognise, much less to label, their longing. + +His normal feelings, too, were slowly returning to him. The Older Self +became more and more submerged. As he approached the state of ordinary, +superficial consciousness, the characteristics of that state reflected +themselves more and more in his thoughts and feelings. His memory still +remained a complete blank; but he somehow felt that the things, places, +and people he wanted to remember, had moved much nearer to him than +before. Every day brought them more within his reach. + +"All these forgotten things will come back to me soon, I know," he said +one day to the governess, "and then I'll tell you all about them." + +"Perhaps you'll remember me too then," she answered, a shadow passing +across her face. + +Jimbo clapped his hands with delight. + +"Oh," he cried, "I should like to remember you, because that would make +you a sort of two-people governess, and I should love you twice as +much." + +But with the gradual return to former conditions the feelings of age and +experience grew dim and indefinite, his knowledge lessened, becoming +obscure and confused, showing itself only in vague impressions and +impulses, until at last it became quite the exception for the +child-consciousness to be broken through by flashes of intuition and +inspiration from the more deeply hidden memories. + +For one thing, the deep horror of the Empty House and its owner now +returned to him with full force. Fear settled down again over the room, +and lurked in the shadows over the yard. A vivid dread seized him of the +_other door_ in the room--the door through which the Frightened Children +had disappeared, but which had never opened since. It gradually became +for him a personality in the room, a staring, silent, listening thing, +always watching, always waiting. One day it would open and he would be +caught! In a dozen ways like this the horror of the house entered his +heart and made him long for escape with all the force of his being. + +But the governess, too, seemed changing; she was becoming more vague and +more mysterious. Her face was always sad now, and her eyes wistful; her +manner became restless and uneasy, and in many little ways the child +could not fail to notice that her mind was intent upon other things. He +begged her to name the day for the final flight, but she always seemed +to have some good excuse for putting it off. + +"I feel frightened when you don't tell me what's going on," he said to +her. + +"It's the preparations for the last flight," she answered, "the flight +of escape. He'll try to prevent us going together so that you should get +lost. But it's better you shouldn't know too much," she added. "Trust me +and have patience." + +"Oh, that's what you're so afraid of," he said, "_separation_!" He was +very proud indeed of the long word, and said it over several times to +himself. + +And the governess, looking out of the window at the fading sunlight, +repeated to herself more than to him the word he was so proud of. + +"Yes, that's what I'm so afraid of--separation; but if it means your +salvation----" and her sentence remained unfinished as her eyes wandered +far above the tops of the trees into the shadows of the sky. + +And Jimbo, drawn by the sadness of her voice, turned towards the window +and noticed to his utter amazement that he could _see right through +her_. He could see the branches of the trees _beyond_ her body. + +But the next instant she turned and was no longer transparent, and +before the boy could say a word, she crossed the floor and disappeared +from the room. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +PREPARATION + + +Now that he was preparing to leave it, Jimbo began to realise more fully +how things in this world of delirium--so the governess sometimes called +it--were all terribly out of order and confused. So long as he was +wholly in it and of it, everything had seemed all right; but, as he +approached his normal condition again, the disorder became more and more +apparent. + +And the next few hours brought it home with startling clearness, and +increased to fever heat the desire for final escape. + +It was not so much a nonsense-world--it was too alarming for that--as a +world of nightmare, wherein everything was distorted. Events in it were +all out of proportion; effects no longer sprang from adequate causes; +things happened in a dislocated sort of way, and there was no sequence +in the order of their happening. Tiny occurrences filled him with +disproportionate, inconceivable horror; and great events, on the other +hand, passed him scathless. The spirit of disorder--monstrous, uncouth, +terrifying--reigned supreme; and Jimbo's whole desire, though +inarticulate, was to escape back into order and harmony again. + +In contrast to all this dreadful uncertainty, the conduct of the +governess stood out alone as the one thing he could count upon: she was +sure and unfailing; he felt absolute confidence in her plans for his +safety, and when he thought of her his mind was at rest. Come what +might, she would always be there in time to help. The adventure over the +sea had proved that; but, childlike, he thought chiefly of his own +safety, and had ceased to care very much whether she escaped with him or +not. It was the older Jimbo that preferred captivity to escape without +her, whereas every minute now he was sinking deeper into the normal +child state in which the intuitive flashes from the buried soul became +more and more rare. + +Meanwhile, there was preparation going on, secret and mysterious. He +could feel it. Some one else besides the governess was making plans, and +the boy began to dread the moment of escape almost as much as he +desired it. The alternative appalled him--to live for ever in the horror +of this house, bounded by the narrow yard, watched by Fright listening +ever at his elbow, and visited by the horrible Frightened Children. Even +the governess herself began to inspire him with something akin to fear, +as her personality grew more and more mysterious. He thought of her as +she stood by the window, with the branches of the tree visible through +her body, and the thought filled him with a dreadful and haunting +distress. + +But this was only when she was absent; the moment she came into the +room, and he looked into her kind eyes, the old feeling of security +returned, and he felt safe and happy. + +Once, during the day, she came up to see him, and this time with final +instructions. Jimbo listened with rapt attention. + +"To-night, or to-morrow night we start," she said in a quiet voice. "You +must wait till you hear me calling----" + +"But sha'n't we start together?" he interrupted. + +"Not exactly," she replied. "I'm doing everything possible to put him +off the scent, but it's not easy, for once Fright knows you he's always +on the watch. Even if he can't prevent your escape, he'll try to send +you home to your body with such a shock that you'll be only 'half there' +for the rest of your life." + +Jimbo did not quite understand what she meant by this, and returned at +once to the main point. + +"Then the moment you call I'm to start?" + +"Yes. I shall be outside somewhere. It depends on the wind and weather a +little, but probably I shall be hovering above the trees. You must dash +out of the window and join me the moment you hear me call. Clear the +wall without sinking into the yard, and mind he doesn't tear your wings +off as you fly by." + +"What will happen, though, if I don't find you?" he asked. + +"You might get lost. If he succeeds in getting me out of the way first, +you're sure to get lost----" + +"But I've had long flights without getting lost," he objected. + +"Nothing to this one," she replied. "It will be tremendous. You see, +Jimbo, it's not only distance; it's change of condition as well." + +"I don't mind what it is so long as we escape together," he said, +puzzled by her words. + +He kept his eyes fixed on her face. It seemed to him she was changing +even as he looked at her. A sort of veil lifted from her features. He +fancied he could see the shape of the door through her body. + +"Oh, please, Miss Lake----" he began in a frightened voice, taking a +step towards her. "What is the matter? You look so different!" + +"Nothing, dearest boy, is the matter," she replied faintly. "I feel sad +at the thought of your--of our going, that's all. But that's nothing," +she added more briskly, "and remember, I've told you exactly what to do; +so you can't make any mistake. Now good-bye for the present." + +There was a smile on her face that he had never seen there before, and +an expression of tenderness and love that he could not fail to +understand. But even as he looked she seemed to fade away into a +delicate, thin shadow as she moved slowly towards the trap-door. Jimbo +stretched out his arms to touch her, for the moment of dread had passed, +and he wanted to kiss her. + +"No!" she cried sharply. "Don't touch me, child; don't touch me!" + +But he was already close beside her, and in another second would have +had his arms round her, when his foot stumbled over something, and he +fell forward into her with his full weight. Instead of saving himself +against her body, however, he fell _clean through her_! Nothing stopped +him; there was no resistance; he met nothing more solid than air, and +fell full length upon the floor. Before he could recover from his +surprise and pick himself up, something touched him on the lips, and he +heard a voice that was faint as a whisper saying, "Good-bye, darling +child, and bless you." The next moment he was on his feet again and the +room was empty. The governess had gone through the trap-door, and he was +alone. + +It was all very strange and confusing, and he could not understand what +was happening to her. He never for a moment realised that the change was +in himself, and that as the tie between himself and his body became +closer, the things of this other world he had been living in for so long +must fade gradually away into shadows and emptiness. + +But Jimbo was a brave boy; there was nothing of the coward in him, +though his sensitive temperament made him sometimes hesitate where an +ordinary child with less imagination would have acted promptly. The +desire to cry he thrust down and repressed, fighting his depression by +the thought that within a few hours the voice might sound that should +call him to the excitement of the last flight--and freedom. + +The rest of the daylight slipped away very quickly, and the room was +full of shadows almost before he knew it. Then came the darkness. +Outside, the wind rose and fell fitfully, booming in the chimney with +hollow music, and sighing round the walls of the house. A few stars +peeped between the branches of the elms, but masses of cloud hid most of +the sky, and the air felt heavy with coming rain. + +He lay down on the bed and waited. At the least sound he started, +thinking it might be the call from the governess. But the few sounds he +did hear always resolved themselves into the moaning of the wind, and no +voice came. With his eyes on the open window, trying to pierce the gloom +and find the stars, he lay motionless for hours, while the night wore on +and the shadows deepened. + +And during those long hours of darkness and silence he was conscious +that a change was going on within him. Name it he could not, but +somehow it made him feel that living people like himself were standing +near, trying to speak, beckoning, anxious to bring him back into their +own particular world. The darkness was so great that he could see only +the square outline of the open window, but he felt sure that any sudden +flash of light would have revealed a group of persons round his bed with +arms outstretched, trying to reach him. The emotion they roused in him +was not fear, for he felt sure they were kind, and eager only to help +him; and the more he realised their presence, the less he thought about +the governess who had been doing so much to make his escape possible. + +Then, too, voices began to sound somewhere in the air, but he could not +tell whether they were actually in the room, or outside in the night, or +only within himself--in his own head:--strange, faint voices, +whispering, laughing, shouting, crying; fragments of stories, rhymes, +riddles, odd names of people and places jostled one another with varying +degrees of clearness, now loud, now soft, till he wondered what it all +meant, and longed for the light to come. + +But besides all this, something else, too, was abroad that +night--something he could not name or even think about without shaking +with terror down at the very roots of his being. And when he thought of +this, his heart called loudly for the governess, and the people hidden +in the shadows of the room seemed quite useless and unable to help. + +Thus he hovered between the two worlds and the two memories, phantoms +and realities shifting and changing places every few minutes. + +A little light would have saved him much suffering. If only the moon +were up! Moonlight would have made all the difference. Even a moon half +hidden and misty would have put the shadows farther away from him. + +"Dear old misty moon!" he cried half aloud to himself upon the bed, "why +aren't you here to-night? My last night!" + +Misty Moon, Misty Moon! The words kept ringing in his head. Misty Moon, +Misty Moon! They swam round in his blood in an odd, tumultuous rhythm. +Every time the current of blood passed through his brain in the course +of its circulation it brought the words with it, altered a little, and +singing like a voice. + +Like a voice! Suddenly he made the discovery that it actually _was_ a +voice--and not his own. It was no longer the blood singing in his +veins, it was some one singing outside the window. The sound began +faintly and far away, up above the trees; then it came gradually nearer, +only to die away again almost to a whisper. + +If it was not the voice of the governess, he could only say it was a +very good imitation of it. + +The words forming out of the empty air rose and fell with the wind, and, +taking his thoughts, flung them in a stream through the dark sky towards +the hidden, misty moon: + + "O misty moon, + Dear, misty moon, + The nights are long without thee; + The shadows creep + Across my sleep, + And fold their wings about me!" + +And another silvery voice, that might have been the voice of a star, +took it up faintly, evidently from a much greater distance: + + "O misty moon, + Sweet, misty moon, + The stars are dim behind thee; + And, lo, thy beams + Spin through my dreams + And weave a veil to blind me!" + +The sound of this beautiful voice so delighted Jimbo that he sprang +from his bed and rushed to the window, hoping that he might be able to +hear it more clearly. But, before he got half-way across the room, he +stopped short, trembling with terror. Underneath his very feet, in the +depths of the house, he heard the awful voice he dreaded more than +anything else. It roared out the lines with a sound like the rushing of +a great river: + + "O misty moon, + Pale misty moon, + Thy songs are nightly driven, + Eternally, + From sky to sky, + O'er the old, grey Hills of Heaven!" + +And after the verse Jimbo heard a great peal of laughter that seemed to +shake the walls of the house, and rooted his feet to the floor. It +rolled away with thundering echoes into the very bowels of the earth. He +just managed to crawl back to his mattress and lie down, when another +voice took up the song, but this time in accents so tender, that the +child felt something within him melt into tears of joy, and he was on +the verge of recognising, for the first time since his accident, the +voice of his mother: + + "O misty moon, + Shy, misty moon, + Whence comes the blush that trembles + In sweet disgrace + O'er half thy face + When Night her stars assembles?" + +But his memory, of course, failed him just as he seemed about to grasp +it, and he was left wondering why the sound of that one voice had +brought him a moment of radiant happiness in the midst of so much horror +and pain. Meanwhile the answering voices went on, each time different, +and in new directions. + +But the next verse somehow brought back to him all the terror he had +felt in his flight over the sea, when the sound of the hissing waters +had reached his ears through the carpet of fog: + + "O misty moon, + Persuasive moon, + Earth's tides are ever rising; + By the awful grace + Of thy weird white face + Leap the seas to thy enticing!" + +Then followed the voice that had started the horrid song. This time he +was sure it was not Miss Lake's voice, but only a very clever imitation +of it. Moreover, it again ended in a shriek of laughter that froze his +blood: + + "O misty moon, + Deceiving moon, + Thy silvery glance brings sadness; + Who flies to thee, + From land or sea, + Shall end--his--days--in--MADNESS!" + +Other voices began to laugh and sing, but Jimbo stopped his ears, for he +simply could not bear any more. He felt certain, too, that these strange +words to the moon had all been part of a trap--a device to draw him to +the window. He shuddered to think how nearly he had fallen into it, and +determined to lie on the bed and wait till he heard his companion +calling, and knew beyond all doubt that it was she. + +But the night passed away and the dawn came, and no voice had called him +forth to the last flight. + +Hitherto, in all his experiences, there had been only one absolute +certainty: the appearance of the governess with the morning light. But +this time sunrise came and the clouds cleared away, and the sweet smells +of field and air stole into the little room, yet without any sign of the +governess. The hours passed, and she did not come, till finally he +realised that she was not coming at all, and he would have to spend the +whole day alone. Something had happened to prevent her, or else it was +all part of her mysterious "plan." He did not know, and all he could do +was to wait, and wonder, and hope. + +All day long he lay and waited, and all day long he was alone. The +trap-door never once moved; the courtyard remained empty and deserted; +there was no sound on the landing or on the stairs; no wind stirred the +leaves outside, and the hot sun poured down out of a cloudless sky. He +stood by the open window for hours watching the motionless branches. +Everything seemed dead; not even a bird crossed his field of vision. The +loneliness, the awful silence, and above all, the dread of the +approaching night, were sometimes more than he seemed able to bear; and +he wanted to put his head out of the window and scream, or lie down on +the bed and cry his heart out. But he yielded to neither impulse; he +kept a brave heart, knowing that this would be his last night in prison, +and that in a few hours' time he would hear his name called out of the +sky, and would dash through the window to liberty and the last wild +flight. This thought gave him courage, and he kept all his energy for +the great effort. + +Gradually, once more, the sunlight faded, and the darkness began to +creep over the land. Never before had the shadows under the elms looked +so fantastic, nor the bushes in the field beyond assumed such sinister +shapes. The Empty House was being gradually invested; the enemy was +masquerading already under cover of these very shadows. + +Very soon, he felt, the attack would begin, and he must be ready to act. + +The night came down at last with a strange suddenness, and with it the +warning of the governess came back to him; he thought quakingly of the +stricken children who had been caught and deprived of their wings; and +then he pulled out his long red feathers and tried their strength, and +gained thus fresh confidence in their power to save him when the time +came. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +OFF! + + +With the full darkness a whole army of horrors crept nearer. He felt +sure of this, though he could actually see nothing. The house was +surrounded, the courtyard crowded. Outside, on the stairs, in the other +rooms, even on the roof itself, waited dreadful things ready to catch +him, to tear off his wings, to make him prisoner for ever and ever. + +The possibility that something had happened to the governess now became +a probability. Imperceptibly the change was wrought; he could not say +how or when exactly; but he now felt almost certain that the effort to +keep her out of the way had succeeded. If this were true, the boy's only +hope lay in his wings, and he pulled them out to their full length and +kissed them passionately, speaking to the strong red feathers as if they +were living little persons. + +"You must save me! You will save me, won't you?" he cried in his +anguish. And every time he did this and looked at them he gained fresh +hope and courage. + +The problem _where he was to fly to_ had not yet insisted on a solution, +though it lay always at the back of his mind; for the final flight of +escape without a guide had never been even a possibility before. + +Lying there alone in the darkness, waiting for the sound of the voice so +longed-for, he found his thoughts turning again to the moon, and the +strange words of the song that had puzzled him the night before. What in +the world did it all mean? Why all this about the moon? Why was it a +cruel moon, and why should it attract and persuade and entice him? He +felt sure, the more he thought of it, that this had all been a device to +draw him to the window--and perhaps even farther. + +The darkness began to terrify him; he dreaded more and more the waiting, +listening things that it concealed. Oh, when would the governess call to +him? When would he be able to dash through the open window and join her +in the sky? + +He thought of the sunlight that had flooded the yard all day--so bright +it seemed to have come from a sun fresh made and shining for the first +time. He thought of the exquisite flowers that grew in the fields just +beyond the high wall, and the night smells of the earth reached him +through the window, wafted in upon a wind heavy with secrets of woods +and fields. They all came from a Land of Magic that after to-night might +be for ever beyond his reach, and they went straight to his heart and +immediately turned something solid there into tears. But the tears did +not find their natural expression, and Jimbo lay there fighting with his +pain, keeping all his strength for the one great effort, and waiting for +the voice that at any minute now might sound above the tree-tops. + +But the hours passed and the voice did not come. + +How he loathed the room and everything in it. The ceiling stretched like +a white, staring countenance above him; the walls watched and listened; +and even the mantelpiece grew into the semblance of a creature with +drawn-up shoulders bending over him. The whole room, indeed, seemed to +his frightened soul to run into the shape of a monstrous person whose +arms were outstretched in all directions to prevent his escape. + +His hands never left his wings now. He stroked and fondled them, +arranging the feathers smoothly and speaking to them under his breath +just as though they were living things. To him they were indeed alive, +and he knew when the time came they would not fail him. The fierce +passion for the open spaces took possession of his soul, and his whole +being began to cry out for freedom, rushing wind, the stars, and a +pathless sky. + +Slowly the power of the great, open Night entered his heart, bringing +with it a courage that enabled him to keep the terrors of the House at a +distance. + +So far, the boy's strength had been equal to the task, but a moment was +approaching when the tension would be too great to bear, and the long +pent-up force would rush forth into an act. Jimbo realised this quite +clearly; though he could not exactly express it in words, he felt that +his real hope of escape lay in the success of that act. Meanwhile, with +more than a child's wisdom, he stored up every particle of strength he +had for the great moment when it should come. + +A light wind had risen soon after sunset, but as the night wore on it +began to fail, dropping away into little silences that grew each time +longer. In the heart of one of these spells of silence Jimbo presently +noticed a new sound--a sound that he recognised. + +Far away at first, but growing in distinctness with every dropping of +the wind, this new sound rose from the interior of the house below and +came gradually upon him. It was voices faintly singing, and the tread of +stealthy footsteps. + +Nearer and nearer came the sound, till at length they reached the door, +and there passed into the room a wave of fine, gentle sound that woke no +echo and scarcely seemed to stir the air into vibration at all. The door +had opened, and a number of voices were singing softly under their +breath. + +And after the sounds, creeping slowly like some timid animal, there came +into the room a small black figure just visible in the faint starlight. +It peered round the edge of the door, hesitated a moment, and then +advanced with an odd rhythmical sort of motion. And after the first +figure came a second, and after the second a third; and then several +entered together, till a whole group of them stood on the floor between +Jimbo and the open window. + +Then he recognised the Frightened Children and his heart sank. Even +they, he saw, were arrayed against him, and took it for granted that he +already belonged to them. + +Oh, why did not the governess come for him? Why was there no voice in +the sky? He glanced with longing towards the heavens, and as the +children moved past, he was almost certain that he saw the stars +_through_ their bodies too. + +Slowly they shuffled across the floor till they formed a semicircle +round the bed; and then they began a silent, impish dance that made the +flesh creep. Their thin forms were dressed in black gowns like shrouds, +and as they moved through the steps of the bizarre measure he saw that +their legs were little more than mere skin and bone. Their faces--what +he could see of them when he dared to open his eyes--were pale as ashes, +and their beady little eyes shone like the facets of cut stones, +flashing in all directions. And while they danced in and out amongst +each other, never breaking the semicircle round the bed, they sang a +low, mournful song that sounded like the wind whispering through a +leafless wood. + +And the words stirred in him that vague yet terrible fear known to all +children who have been frightened and made to feel afraid of the dark. +Evidently his sensations were being merged very rapidly now into those +of the little boy in the night-nursery bed. + + "There is Someone in the Nursery + Whom we never saw before; + --Why hangs the moon so red?-- + And he came not by the passage, + Or the window, or the door; + --Why hangs the moon so red?-- + And he stands there in the darkness, + In the centre of the floor. + --See, where the moon hangs red!-- + + Someone's hiding in the passage + Where the door begins to swing; + --Why drive the clouds so fast?-- + In the corner by the staircase + There's a dreadful waiting thing: + --Why drive the clouds so fast?-- + Past the curtain creeps a monster + With a black and fluttering wing; + --See, where the clouds drive fast!-- + + In the chilly dusk of evening; + In the hush before the dawn; + --Why drips the rain so cold?-- + In the twilight of the garden, + In the mist upon the lawn, + --Why drips the rain so cold?-- + Faces stare, and mouth upon us, + Faces white and weird and drawn; + --See, how the rain drips cold!-- + + Close beside us in the night-time, + Waiting for us in the gloom, + --O! Why sings the wind so shrill?-- + In the shadows by the cupboard, + In the corners of the room, + --O! Why sings the wind so shrill?-- + From the corridors and landings + Voices call us to our doom. + --O! how the wind sings shrill!"-- + +By this time the dreadful dancers had come much closer to him, shifting +stealthily nearer to the bed under cover of their dancing, and always +_between him and the window_. + +Suddenly their intention flashed upon him; they meant to prevent his +escape! + +With a tremendous effort he sprang from the bed. As he did so a dozen +pairs of thin, shadowy arms shot out towards him as though to seize his +wings; but with an agility born of fright he dodged them, and ran +swiftly into the corner by the mantelpiece. Standing with his back +against the wall he faced the children, and strove to call out for help +to the governess; but this time there was an entirely new difficulty in +the way, for he found to his utter dismay that his voice refused to make +itself heard. His mouth was dry and his tongue would hardly stir. + +Not a sound issued from his lips, but the children instantly moved +forwards and hemmed him in between them and the wall; and to reach the +window he would have to break through this semicircle of whispering, +shadowy forms. Above their heads he could see the stars shining, and any +moment he might hear Miss Lake's voice calling to him to come out. His +heart rose with passionate longing within him, and he gathered his wings +tightly about him ready for the final dash. It would take more than the +Frightened Children to hold him prisoner when once he heard that voice, +or even without it! + +Whether they were astonished at his boldness, or merely waiting their +opportunity later, he could not tell; but anyhow they kept their +distance for a time and made no further attempt to seize his feathers. +Whispering together under their breath, sometimes singing their +mournful, sighing songs, sometimes sinking their voices to a confused +murmur, they moved in and out amongst each other with soundless feet +like the shadows of branches swaying in the wind. + +Then, suddenly, they moved closer and stretched out their arms towards +him, their bodies swaying rhythmically together, while their combined +voices, raised just above a whisper, sang to him-- + + "Dare you fly out to-night, + When the Moon is so strong? + Though the stars are so bright, + There is death in their song; + You're a hostage to Fright, + And to us you belong! + + Dare you fly out alone + Through the shadows that wave, + When the course is unknown + And there's no one to save? + You are bone of our bone, + And for ever His slave!" + +And, following these words, came from somewhere in the air that voice +like the thunder of a river. Jimbo knew only too well to whom it +belonged as he listened to the rhyme of the West Wind-- + + "For the Wind of the West + Is a wind unblest, + And its dangerous breath + Will entice you to death! + Fly not with the Wind of the West, O child, + With the terrible Wind of the West!" + +But the boy knew perfectly well that these efforts to stop him were all +part of a trap. They were lying to him. It was not the Wind of the West +at all; _it was the South Wind_! That at least he knew by the odours +that were wafted in through the window. Again he tried to call to the +governess, but his tongue lay stiff in his mouth and no sound came. + +Meanwhile the children began to draw closer, hemming him in. They moved +almost imperceptibly, but he saw plainly that the circle was growing +smaller and smaller. His legs began to tremble, and he felt that soon he +would collapse and drop at their feet, for his strength was failing and +the power to act and move was slowly leaving him. + +The little shadowy figures were almost touching him, when suddenly a new +sound broke the stillness and set every nerve tingling in his body. + +Something was shuffling along the landing. He heard it outside, pushing +against the door. The handle turned with a rattle, and a moment later +the door slowly opened. + +For a second Jimbo's breath failed him, and he nearly fell in a heap +upon the floor. Round the edge of the door he saw a dim huge figure come +crawling into the room--creeping along the floor--and trailing behind it +a pair of immense black wings that stretched along the boards. For one +brief second he stared, horror-stricken, and wondering what it was. But +before the whole length of the creature was in, he knew. It was Fright +himself! _And he was making steadily for the window!_ + +The shock instantly galvanised the boy into a state of activity again. +He recovered the use of all his muscles and all his faculties. His +voice, released by terror, rang out in a wild shriek for help to the +governess, and he dashed forward across the room in a mad rush for the +window. Unless he could reach it before the other, he would be a +prisoner for the rest of his life. It was now or never. + +The instant he moved, the children came straight at him with hands +outstretched to stop him; but he passed through them as if they were +smoke, and with almost a single bound sprang upon the narrow +window-sill. To do this he had to clear the head and shoulders of the +creature on the floor, and though he accomplished it successfully, he +felt himself clutched from behind. For a second he balanced doubtfully +on the window ledge. He felt himself being pulled back into the room, +and he combined all his forces into one tremendous effort to rush +forward. + +There was a ripping, tearing sound as he sprang into the air with a yell +of mingled terror and exultation. His prompt action and the fierce +impetus had saved him. He was free. But in the awful hand that seized +him he had left behind the end feathers of his right wing. A few inches +more and it would have been not merely the feathers, but the entire wing +itself. + +He dropped to within three feet of the stones in the yard, and then, +borne aloft by the kind, rushing Wind of the South, he rose in a +tremendous sweep far over the tops of the high elms and out into the +heart of the night. + +Only there was no governess's voice to guide him; and behind him, a +little lower down, a black pursuing figure with huge wings flapped +heavily as it followed with laborious flight through the darkness. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +HOME + + +But it was the sound of something crashing heavily through the top +branches of the elms that made the boy realise he was actually being +followed; and all his efforts became concentrated into the desire to put +as much distance as possible between himself and the horror of the Empty +House. + +He heard the noise of big wings far beneath him, and his one idea was to +out-distance his pursuer and then come down again to earth and rest his +wings in the branches of a tree till he could devise some plan how to +find the governess. So at first he raced at full speed through the air, +taking no thought of direction. + +When he looked down, all he could see was that something vague and +shadowy, shaking out a pair of enormous wings between him and the earth, +move along with him. Its path was parallel with his own, but apparently +it made no effort to rise up to his higher level. It thundered along far +beneath him, and instinctively he raised his head and steered more and +more upwards and away from the world. + +The gap at the end of his right wing where the feathers had been torn +out seemed to make no difference in his power of flight or steering, and +he went tearing through the night at a pace he had never dared to try +before, and at a height he had never yet reached in any of the practice +flights. He soared higher even than he knew; and perhaps this was +fortunate, for the friction of the lower atmosphere might have heated +him to the point of igniting, and some watcher at one of earth's windows +might have suddenly seen a brilliant little meteor flash through the +night and vanish into dust. + +At first the joy of escape was the only idea his mind seemed able to +grasp; he revelled in a passionate sense of freedom, and all his +energies poured themselves into one concentrated effort to fly faster, +faster, faster. But after a time, when the pursuer had been apparently +outflown, and he realised that escape was an accomplished fact, he began +to search for the governess, calling to her, rising and falling, +darting in all directions, and then hovering on outstretched wings to +try and catch some sound of a friendly voice. + +But no answer came, either from the stars that crowded the vault above, +or from the dark surface of the world below; only silence answered his +cries, and his voice was swallowed up and lost in the immensity of space +almost the moment it left his lips. + +Presently he began to realise to what an appalling distance he had risen +above the world, and with anxious eyes he tried to pierce the gaping +emptiness beneath him and on all sides. But this vast sea of air had +nothing to reveal. The stars shone like pinholes of gold pricked in a +deep black curtain; and the moon, now rising slowly, spread a veil of +silver between him and the upper regions. There was not a cloud anywhere +and the winds were all asleep. He was alone in space. Yet, as the +swishing of his feathers slackened and the roar in his ears died away, +he heard in the short pause the ominous beating of great wings somewhere +in the depths beneath him, and knew that the great pursuer was still on +his track. + +The glare of the moon now made it impossible to distinguish anything +properly, and in these huge spaces, with nothing to guide the eye, it +was difficult to know exactly from what direction the sound came. He was +only sure of one thing--that it was far below him, and that for the +present it did not seem to come much nearer. The cry for help that kept +rising to his lips he suppressed, for it would only have served to guide +his pursuer; and, moreover, a cry--a little thin, despairing cry--was +instantly lost in these great heavens. It was less than a drop in an +ocean. + +On and on he flew, always pointing away from the earth, and trying hard +to think where he would find safety. Would this awful creature hunt him +all night long into the daylight, or would he be forced back into the +Empty House in sheer exhaustion? The thought gave him new impetus, and +with powerful strokes he dashed onwards and upwards through the +wilderness of space in which the only pathways were the little golden +tracks of the starbeams. The governess would turn up somewhere; he was +positive of that. She had never failed him yet. + +So, alone and breathless, he pursued his flight, and the higher he went +the more the tremendous vault opened up into inconceivable and untold +distances. His speed kept increasing; he thought he had never found +flying so easy before; and the thunder of the following wings that held +persistently on his track made it dangerous for him to slacken up for +more than a minute here and there. The earth became a dark blot beneath +him, while the moon, rising higher and higher, grew weirdly bright and +close. How black the sky was; how piercing the points of starlight; how +stimulating the strong, new odours of these lofty regions! He realised +with a thrill of genuine awe that he had flown over the very edge of the +world, and the moment the thought entered his mind it was flung back at +him by a voice that seemed close to his ear one moment, and the next was +miles away in the space overhead. Light thoughts, born of the stars and +the moon and of his great speed, danced before his mind in fanciful +array. Once he laughed aloud at them, but once only. The sound of his +voice in these echoless spaces made him afraid. + +The speed, too, affected his vision, for at one moment thin clouds +stretched across his face, and the next he was whirling through +perfectly clear air again with no vestige of a cloud in sight. The same +reason doubtless explained the sudden presence of sheets of light in +the air that reflected the moonlight like particles of glittering ice, +and then suddenly disappeared again. The terrific speed would explain a +good many things, but certainly it was curious how creatures formed out +of the hollow darkness, like foam before a steamer's bows, and moved +noiselessly away on either side to join the army of dim life that +crowded everywhere and watched his passage. For, in front and on both +sides, there gathered a vast assembly of silent forms more than shadows, +less than bodily shapes, that opened up a pathway as he rushed through +them, and then immediately closed up their ranks again when he had +passed. The air seemed packed with living creatures. Space was filled +with them. They surrounded him on all sides. Yet his passage through +them was like the passage of a hand through smoke; it was easy to make a +pathway, but the pathway left no traces behind it. More smoke rushed in +and filled the void. + +He could never see these things properly, face to face; they always kept +just out of the line of vision, like shadows that follow a lonely walker +in a wood and vanish the moment he turns to look at them over his +shoulder. But ever by his side, with a steady, effortless motion, he +knew they kept up with him--strange inhabitants of the airless heights, +immense and misty-winged, with veiled, flaming eyes and silent feathers. +He was not afraid of them; for they were neither friendly nor hostile; +they were simply the beings of another world, alien and unknown. + +But what puzzled him more was that the light and the darkness seemed +separate things, each distinctly visible. After each stroke of his wings +he _saw the darkness_ sift downwards past him through the air like dust. +It floated all round him in thinnest diaphanous texture--visible, not +because the moonlight made it so, but because in its inmost soul it was +itself luminous. It rose and fell in eddies, swirling wreaths, and +undulations; inwoven with starbeams, as with golden thread, it clothed +him about in circles of some magical primordial substance. + +Even the stars, looking down upon him from terrifying heights, seemed +now draped, now undraped, as if by the sweeping of enormous wings that +stirred these sheets of visible darkness into a vast system of +circulation through the heavens. Everything in these oceans of upper +space apparently made use of wings, or the idea of wings. Perhaps even +the great earth itself, rolling from star to star, was moved by the +power of gigantic, invisible wings!... + +Jimbo realised he had entered a forbidden region. He began to feel +afraid. + +But the only possible expression of his fear, and its only possible +relief, lay in his own wings--and he used them with redoubled energy. He +dashed forward so fast that his face begun to burn, and he kept turning +his head in every direction for a sign of the governess, or for some +indication of where he could _escape to_. In the pauses of the wild +flight he heard the thunder of the following wings below. They were +still on his trail, and it seemed that they were gaining on him. + +He took a new angle, realising that his only chance was to fly high; and +the new course took him perpendicularly away from the earth and straight +towards the moon. Later, when he had out-distanced the other creature, +he would drop down again to safer levels. + +Yet the hours passed and it never overtook him. A measured distance was +steadily kept up between them as though with calculated purpose. + +Curious distant voices shouted from time to time all manner of sentences +and rhymes in his ears, but he could neither understand nor remember +them. More and more the awful stillness of the vast regions that lie +between the world and the moon appalled him. + +Then, suddenly, a new sound reached him that at first he could not in +the least understand. It reached him, however, not through the ears, but +by a steady trembling of the whole surface of his body. It set him in +vibration all over, and for some time he had no idea what it meant. The +trembling ran deeper and deeper into his body, till at last a single, +powerful, regular vibration took complete possession of his whole being, +and he felt as though he was being wrapped round and absorbed by this +vast and gigantic sound. He had always thought that the voice of Fright, +like the roar of a river, was the loudest and deepest sound he had ever +heard. Even that set his soul a-trembling. But this new, tremendous, +rolling-ocean of a voice came not that way, and could not be compared to +it. The voice of the other was a mere tickling of the ear compared to +this awful crashing of seas and mountains and falling worlds. It must +break him to pieces, he felt. + +Suddenly he knew what it was,--and for a second his wings failed +him:--he had reached such a height that he could hear the roar of the +world as it thundered along its journey through space! That was the +meaning of this voice of majesty that set him all a-trembling. And +before long he would probably hear, too, the voices of the planets, and +the singing of the great moon. The governess had warned him about this. +At the first sound of these awful voices she told him to turn instantly +and drop back to the earth as fast as ever he could drop. + +Jimbo turned instinctively and began to fall. But, before he had dropped +half a mile, he met once again the ascending sound of the wings that had +followed him from the Empty House. + +It was no good flying straight into destruction. He summoned all his +courage and turned once more towards the stars. Anything was better than +being caught and held for ever by Fright, and with a wild cry for help +that fell dead in the empty spaces, he renewed his unending flight +towards the stars. + +But, meanwhile, the pursuer had distinctly gained. Appalled by the +mighty thunder of the stars' voices above, and by the prospect of +immediate capture if he turned back, Jimbo flew blindly on towards the +moon, regardless of consequences. And below him the Pursuer came closer +and closer. The strokes of its wings were no longer mere distant thuds +that he heard when he paused in his own flight to listen; they were the +audible swishing of feathers. It was near enough for that. + +Jimbo could never properly see what was following him. A shadow between +him and the earth was all he could distinguish, but in the centre of +that shadow there seemed to burn two glowing eyes. Two brilliant lights +flashed whenever he looked down, like the lamps of a revolving +lighthouse. But other things he saw, too, when he looked down, and once +the earth rose close to his face so that he could have touched it with +his hands. The same instant it dropped away again with a rush of +whirlwinds, and became a distant shadow miles and miles below him. But +before it went, he had time to see the Empty House standing within its +gloomy yard, and the horror of it gave him fresh impetus. + +Another time when the world raced up close to his eyes he saw a scene of +a different kind that stirred a passionately deep yearning within him--a +house overgrown with ivy and standing among trees and gardens, with +laburnums and lilacs flowering on smooth green lawns, and a clean +gravel drive leading down to a big pair of iron gates. Oh, it all seemed +so familiar! Perhaps in another minute the well-known figures would have +appeared and spoken to him. Already he heard their voices behind the +bushes. But, just before they appeared, the earth dropped back with a +roar of a thousand winds, and Jimbo saw instead the shadow of the +Pursuer mounting, mounting, mounting towards him. Up he shot again with +terror in his heart, and all trembling with the thunder of the great +star-voices above. He felt like a leaf in a hurricane, "lost, dizzy, +shelterless." + +Voices, too, now began to be heard more frequently. They dropped upon +him out of the reaches of this endless void; and with them sometimes +came forms that shot past him with amazing swiftness, racing into the +empty Beyond as though sucked into a vast vacuum. The very stars seemed +to move. He became part of some much larger movement in which he was +engulfed and merged. He could no longer think of himself as Jimbo. When +he uttered his own name he saw merely a mass of wind and colour through +which the great pulses of space and the planets beat tumultuously, +lapping him round with the currents of a terrific motion that seemed to +swallow up his own little personality entirely, while giving him +something infinitely greater.... + +But surely these small voices, shrill and trumpet-like, did not come +from the stars! these deep whispers that ran round the immense vault +overhead and sounded almost familiarly in his ears-- + +"Give it him the moment he wakes." + +"Bring the ice-bag ... quick!" + +"Put the hot bottle to his feet IMMEDIATELY!" + +The voices shrieked all round him, turning suddenly into soft whispers +that died away somewhere among his feathers. The soles of his feet began +to glow, and he felt a gigantic hand laid upon his throat and head. +Almost it seemed as if he were lying somewhere on his back, and people +were bending over him, shouting and whispering. + +"Why hangs the moon so red?" cried a voice that was instantly drowned in +a chorus of unintelligible whispering. + +"The black cow must be killed," whispered some one deep within the sky. + +"Why drips the rain so cold?" yelled one of the hideous children close +behind him. And a third called with a distant laughter from behind a +star-- + +"Why sings the wind so shrill?" + +"QUIET!" roared an appalling voice below, as if all the rivers of the +world had suddenly turned loose into the sky. "QUIET!" + +Instantly a star, that had been hovering for some time on the edge of a +fantastic dance, dropped down close in front of his face. It had a +glaring disc, with mouth and eyes. An icy hand seemed laid on his head, +and the star rushed back into its place in the sky, leaving a trail of +red flame behind it. A little voice seemed to go with it, growing +fainter and fainter in the distance-- + +"We dance with phantoms and with shadows play." + +But, regardless of everything, Jimbo flew onwards and upwards, terrified +and helpless though he was. His thoughts turned without ceasing to the +governess, and he felt sure that she would yet turn up in time to save +him from being caught by the Fright that pursued, or lost among the +fearful spaces that lay beyond the stars. + +For a long time, however, his wings had been growing more and more +tired, and the prospect of being destroyed from sheer exhaustion now +presented itself to the boy vaguely as a possible alternative--vaguely +only, because he was no longer able to think, properly speaking, and +things came to him more by way of dull feeling than anything else. + +It was all the more with something of a positive shock, therefore, that +he realised the change. For a change had come. He was now sudden by +conscious of an influx of new power--greater than anything he had ever +known before in any of his flights. His wings now suddenly worked as if +by magic. Never had the motion been so easy, and it became every minute +easier and easier. He simply flashed along without apparent effort. An +immense driving power had entered into him. He realised that he could +fly for ever without getting tired. His pace increased tenfold-- +increased alarmingly. The possibility of exhaustion vanished utterly. +Jimbo knew now that something was wrong. This new driving power was +something wholly outside himself. His wings were working far too easily. +Then, suddenly, he understood: _His wings were not working at all!_ + +He was not being driven forward from behind; he was being drawn forward +from in front. + +He saw it all in a flash: Miss Lake's warning long ago about the danger +of flying too high; the last song of the Frightened Children, "Dare you +fly out alone through the shadows that wave, when the course is unknown +and there's no one to save?" the strange words sung to him about the +"relentless misty moon," and the object of the dreadful Pursuer in +steadily forcing him upwards and away from the earth. It all flashed +across his poor little dazed mind. He understood at last. + +He had soared too high and had entered the sphere of the moon's +attraction. + +"The moon is too strong, and there's death in the stars!" a voice +bellowed below him like the roar of a falling mountain, shaking the sky. + +The child flew screaming on. There was nothing else he could do. But +hardly had the roar died away when another voice was heard, a tender +voice, a whispering, sympathetic voice, though from what part of the sky +it came he could not tell-- + +"Arrange the pillows for his little head." + +But below him the wings of the Pursuer were mounting closer and closer. +He could almost feel the mighty wind from their feathers, and hear the +rush of the great body between them. It was impossible to slacken his +speed even had he wished; no strength on earth could have resisted that +terrible power drawing upwards towards the moon. Instinctively, however, +he realised that he would rather have gone forwards than backwards. He +never could have faced capture by that dreadful creature behind. All the +efforts of the past weeks to escape from Fright, the owner of the Empty +House, now acted upon him with a cumulative effect, and added to the +suction of the moon-life. He shot forward at a pace that increased with +every second. + +At the back of his mind, too, lay some kind of faint perception that the +governess would, after all, be there to help him. She had always turned +up before when he was in danger, and she would not fail him now. But +this was a mere ghost of a thought that brought little comfort, and +merely added its quota of force to the speed that whipped him on, ever +faster, into the huge white moon-world in front. + +For this, then, he had escaped from the horror of the Empty House! To be +sucked up into the moon, the "relentless, misty moon"--to be drawn into +its cruel, silver web, and destroyed. The Song to the Misty Moon +outside the window came back in snatches and added to his terror; only +it seemed now weeks ago since he had heard it. Something of its real +meaning, too, filtered down into his heart, and he trembled anew to +think that the moon could be a great, vast, moving Being, alive and with +a purpose.... + +But why, oh, why did they keep shouting these horrid snatches of the +song through the sky? Trapped! Trapped! The word haunted him through the +night: + + Thy songs are nightly driven, + From sky to sky, + Eternally, + O'er the old, grey hills of heaven! + +_Caught!_ Caught at last! The moon's prisoner, a captive in her airless +caves; alone on her dead white plains; searching for ever in vain for +the governess; wandering alone and terrified. + + By the awful grace + Of thy weird white face. + +The thought crazed him, and he struggled like a bird caught in a net. +But he might as well have struggled to push the worlds out of their +courses. The power against him was the power of the universe in which he +was nothing but a little, lost, whirling atom. It was all of no avail, +and the moon did not even smile at his feeble efforts. He was too light +to revolve round her, too impalpable to create his own orbit; he had not +even the consistency of a comet; he had reached the point of stagnation, +as it were--the dead level--the neutral zone where the attractions of +the earth and moon meet and counterbalance one another--where bodies +have no weight and existence no meaning. + +Now the moon was close upon him; he could see nothing else. There lay +the vast, shining sea of light in front of him. Behind, the roar of the +following creature grew fainter and fainter, as he outdistanced it in +the awful swiftness of the huge drop down upon the moon mountains. + +Already he was close enough to its surface to hear nothing of its great +singing but a deep, confused murmur. And, as the distance increased, he +realised that the change in his own condition increased. He felt as if +he were flying off into a million tiny particles--breaking up under the +effects of the deadly speed and the action of the new moon-forces. +Immense, invisible arms, half-silver and half-shadow, grew out of the +white disc and drew him downwards upon her surface. He was being merged +into the life of the moon. + +There was a pause. For a moment his wings stopped dead. Their vain +fluttering was all but over.... + +Hark! Was that a voice borne on the wings of some lost wind? Why should +his heart beat so tumultuously all at once? + +He turned and stared into the ocean of black air overhead till it turned +him dizzy. A violent trembling ran through his tired being from head to +foot. He had heard a voice--a voice that he knew and loved--a voice of +help and deliverance. It rang in shrill syllables up the empty spaces, +and it reached new centres of force within him that touched his last +store of courage and strength. + +"Jimbo, hold on!" it cried, like a faint, thin, pricking current of +sound almost unable to reach him through the seas of distance. "I'm +coming; hold on a little longer!" + +It was the governess. She was true to the end. Jimbo felt his heart +swell within him. She was mounting, mounting behind him with incredible +swiftness. The sound of his own name in these terrible regions recalled +to him some degree of concentration, and he strove hard to fight +against the drawing power that was seeking his destruction. + +He struggled frantically with his wings. But between him and the +governess there was still the power of Fright to be overcome--the very +Power she had long ago invoked. It was following him still, preventing +his turning back, and driving him ever forward to his death. + +Again the voice sounded in the night; and this time it was closer. He +could not quite distinguish the words. They buzzed oddly in his ears ... +other voices mingled with them ... the hideous children began to shriek +somewhere underneath him ... wings with eyes among their burning +feathers flashed past him. + +His own wings folded close over his little body, drooping like dead +things. His eyes closed, and he turned on his side. A huge face that was +one-half the governess and the other half the head gardener at home, +thrust itself close against his own, and blew upon his eyelids till he +opened them. Already he was falling, sinking, tumbling headlong through +a space that offered no resistance. + +"Jimbo!" shrieked a voice that instantly died away into a wail behind +him. + +He opened his eyes once more--for it was that loved voice again--but +the glare from the moon so dazzled him that he could only fancy he saw +the figure of the governess, not a hundred feet away, struggling and +floundering in the clutch of a black creature that beat the air with +enormous wings all round her. He saw her hair streaming out into the +night, and one wing seemed to hang broken and useless at her side. + +He was turning over and over, like a piece of wood in the waves of the +sea, and the governess, caught by Fright, the monster of her own +creation, drifted away from his consciousness as a dream melts away in +the light of the morning.... From the gleaming mountains and treeless +plains below Jimbo thought there rose a hollow roar like the mocking +laughter of an immense multitude of people, shaking with mirth. The Moon +had got him at last, and her laughter ran through the heavens like a +wave. Revolving upon his own little axis so swiftly that he neither saw +nor heard anything more, he dropped straight down upon the great +satellite. + +The light of the moon flamed up into his eyes and dazzled him. + +But what in the world was this? + +How could the moon dwindle so suddenly to the size of a mere lamp +flame? + +How could the whole expanse of the heavens shrink in an instant to the +limits of a little, cramped room? + +In a single second, before he had time to realise that he felt surprise, +the entire memory of his recent experiences vanished from his mind. The +past became an utter blank. Like a wreath of smoke everything melted +away as if it had never been at all. The functions of the brain resumed +their normal course. The delirium of the past few hours was over. + +Jimbo was lying at home on his bed in the night-nursery, and his mother +was bending over him. At the foot of the bed stood the doctor in black. +The nurse held a lamp, only half shaded by her hand, as she approached +the bedside. + +This lamp was the moon of his delirium--only he had quite forgotten now +that there had ever been any moon at all. + +The little thermometer, thrust into his teeth among the stars, was still +in his mouth. A hot-water bottle made his feet glow and burn. And from +the walls of the sick-room came as it were the echoes of +recently-uttered sentences: "Take his temperature! Give him the +medicine the moment he wakes! Put the hot bottle to his feet.... Fetch +the ice-bag.... Quick!" + +"Where am I, mother?" he asked in a whisper. + +"You're in bed, darling, and must keep quite quiet. You'll soon be all +right again. It was the old black cow that tossed you. The gardener +found you by the swinging gate and carried you in.... You've been +unconscious!" + +"How long have I been uncon----?" Jimbo could not manage the whole word. + +"About three hours, darling." + +Then he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, and when he woke long after +it was early morning, and there was no one in the room but the old +family nurse, who sat watching beside the bed. Something--some dim +memory--that had stirred his brain in sleep, immediately rushed to his +lips in the form of an inconsequent question. But before he could even +frame the sentence, the thought that prompted it had slipped back into +the deeper consciousness he had just left behind with the trance of deep +sleep. + +But the old nurse, watching every movement, waiting upon the child's +very breath, had caught the question, and she answered soothingly in a +whisper-- + +"Oh, Miss Lake died a few days after she left here," she said in a very +low voice. "But don't think about her any more, dearie! She'll never +frighten children again with her silly stories." + +"_DIED!_" + +Jimbo sat up in bed and stared into the shadows behind her, as though +his eyes saw something she could not see. But his voice seemed almost to +belong to some one else. + +"She was really dead all the time, then," he said below his breath. + +Then the child fell back without another word, and dropped off into the +sleep which was the first step to final recovery. + + +THE END + + +PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY + +WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES. + + + + +[Transcriber's Note: + + +The following corrections were made: + +p. 52: removed paragraph break after comma (whispered, "My darling boy,) + +p. 87: acccomplish to accomplish (she would accomplish) + +p. 96: removed paragraph break after comma (and said very gravely, with +her serious eyes fixed on his face, "Miss Lake,) + +p. 123: achoed to echoed ("Long!" he echoed,) + +p. 181: existance to existence (an existence far antedating) + +p. 197: conciousness to consciousness (the consciousness cannot) + +p. 204: so to no (no sequence in the order) + +Minor punctuation errors and missing spaces between words have been +corrected without note. An oe-ligature in the word manoeuvre has been +replaced with "oe" in the plain text versions. + +Inconsistencies in hyphenation have not been corrected.] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Jimbo, by Algernon Blackwood + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JIMBO *** + +***** This file should be named 30974.txt or 30974.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/9/7/30974/ + +Produced by David Clarke, S.D., and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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