The Greatest Works of E. Nesbit (220+ Titles in One Illustrated Edition). Эдит Несбит

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ scene was indeed "exactly like a picture." He admired it all so much that he felt braver than ever.

       Robert was dragged forthwith—by the reluctant ear

      "Come hither, lad," said the glorious leader, when the men in Cromwellian steel-caps had said a few low eager words. And he took off his helmet, because he could not see properly with it on. He had a kind face, and long fair hair. "Have no fear; thou shalt take no scathe," he said.

      Robert was glad of that. He wondered what "scathe" was, and if it was nastier than the medicine which he had to take sometimes.

      "Unfold thy tale without alarm," said the leader kindly. "Whence comest thou, and what is thine intent?"

      "My what?" said Robert.

      "What seekest thou to accomplish? What is thine errand, that thou wanderest here alone among these rough men-at-arms? Poor child, thy mother's heart aches for thee e'en now, I'll warrant me."

      "I don't think so," said Robert; "you see, she doesn't know I'm out."

      The leader wiped away a manly tear, exactiy as a leader in a historical romance would have done, and said—

      "Fear not to speak the truth, my child; thou hast nought to fear from Wulfric de Talbot."

      Robert had a wild feeling that this glorious leader of the besieging party—being himself part of a wish—would be able to understand better than Martha, or the gipsies, or the policeman in Rochester, or the clergyman of yesterday, the true tale of the wishes and the Psammead. The only difficulty was that he knew he could never remember enough

       He wiped away a manly tear

      "quothas" and "beshrew me's," and things like that, to make his talk sound like the talk of a boy in a historical romance. However, he began boldly enough, with a sentence straight out of Ralph de Courcy; or, The Boy Crusader. He said—

      "Grammercy for thy courtesy, fair sir knight. The fact is, it's like this—and I hope you're not in a hurry, because the story's rather a breather. Father and mother are away, and when we went down playing in the sand-pits we found a Psammead."

      "I cry thee mercy! A Sammyadd?" said the knight.

      "Yes, a sort of—of fairy, or enchanter—yes, that's it, an enchanter; and he said we could have a wish every day, and we wished first to be beautiful."

      "Thy wish was scarce granted," muttered one of the men-at-arms, looking at Robert, who went on as if he had not heard, though he thought the remark very rude indeed.

      "And then we wished for money—treasure, you know; but we couldn't spend it. And yesterday we wished for wings, and we got them, and we had a ripping time to begin with"—

      "Thy speech is strange and uncouth," said Sir Wulfric de Talbot. "Repeat thy words—what hadst thou?"

      "A ripping—I mean a jolly—no—we were contented with our, lot—that's what I mean; only, after we got into an awful fix."

      "What is a fix? A fray, mayhap?"

      "No—not a fray. A—a—a tight place."

      "A dungeon? Alas for thy youthful fettered limbs!" said the knight, with polite sympathy.

      "It wasn't a dungeon. We just—just encountered undeserved misfortunes," Robert explained, "and to-day we are punished by not being allowed to go out. That's where I live,"—he pointed to the castle. "The others are in there, and they're not allowed to go out. It's all the Psammead's—I mean the enchanter's fault. I wish we'd never seen him."

      "He is an enchanter of might?"

      "Oh yes—of might and main. Rather!"

      "And thou deemest that it is the spells of the enchanter whom thou hast angered that have lent strength to the besieging party," said the gallant leader; "but know thou that Wulfric de Talbot needs no enchanter's aid to lead his followers to victory."

      "No, I'm sure you don't," said Robert, with hasty courtesy;" of course not—you wouldn't, you know. But, all the same, it's partly his fault, but we're most to blame. You couldn't have done anything if it hadn't been for us."

      "How now, bold boy?" asked Sir Wulfric haughtily. "Thy speech is dark, and eke scarce courteous. Unravel me this riddle!"

      "Oh," said Robert desperately, "of course you don't know it, but you're not real at all. You're only here because the others must have been idiots enough to wish for a castle—and when the sun sets you'll just vanish away, and it'll be all right."

      The captain and the men-at-arms exchanged glances at first pitying, and then sterner, as the longest-booted man said, "Beware, my noble lord; the urchin doth but feign madness to escape from our clutches. Shall we not bind him?"

      "I'm no more mad than you are," said Robert angrily, "perhaps not so much—Only, I was an idiot to think you'd understand anything. Let me go—I haven't done anything to you."

      "Whither?" asked the knight, who seemed to have believed all the enchanter story till it came to his own share in it. "Whither wouldst thou wend?"

      "Home, of course." Robert pointed to the castle.

      "To carry news of succor? Nay!"

      "All right, then," said Robert, struck by a sudden idea; "then let me go somewhere else." His mind sought eagerly among the memories of the historical romance:

      "Sir Wulfric de Talbot," he said slowly, "should think foul scorn to—to keep a chap—I mean one who has done him no hurt—when he wants to cut off quietly—I mean to depart without violence."

      "This to my face! Beshrew thee for a knave!" replied Sir Wulfric. But the appeal seemed to have gone home. "Yet thou sayest sooth," he added thoughtfully. "Go where thou wilt," he added nobly, "thou art free. Wulfric de Talbot warreth not with babes, and Jakin here shall bear thee company."

      "All right," said Robert wildly. "Jakin will enjoy himself, I think. Come on, Jakin. Sir Wulfric, I salute thee."

      He saluted after the modern military manner, and set off running to the sand-pit, Jakin's long boots keeping up easily.

      He found the Fairy. He dug it up, he woke it up, he implored it to give him one more wish.

      "I've done two to-day already," it grumbled, "and one was as stiff a bit of work as ever I did."

      "Oh, do, do, do, do, do!" said Robert, while Jakin looked on with an expression of open-mouthed horror at the strange beast that talked, and gazed with its snail's eyes at him.

      "Well, what is it?" snapped the Psammead, with cross sleepiness.

      "I wish I was with the others," said Robert. And the Psammead began to swell. Robert never thought of wishing the castle and the siege away. Of course he knew they had all come out of a wish, but swords and daggers and pikes and lances seemed much too real to be wished away. Robert lost consciousness for an instant. When he opened his eyes the others were crowding round him.

      "We СКАЧАТЬ