The Princess Passes Volume 56, Alice Muriel Williamson, Charles Norris Williamson [primary phonics txt] 📗

Aren't You? The Only One

I've Ever Met Was Stuffed, And Rather Moth-Eaten. He Was In A Dime

Museum In New York."

 

I Was Up At Half-Past Six Next Day, And At My Window, Where Mont Blanc

In Early Sunshine Smote Me In The Face With Its Nearness. A Sudden

Longing Took Me, As The Longing For A Great White Lamp Takes A Moth,

To Fly At It, Or, In Other Words, To Get Myself To The Top. I Had

Never "Done" Any Swiss Ascents, Though I Knew Almost Every Peak And

Pinnacle Of Rock In Cumberland And Wales, And It Seemed To Me That I

Should Be A Muff To Miss The Chance Of Such A Climb As This. By The

Time I Had Dressed, The Thing Was Decided. I Would See About Guides,

And Try To Arrange At Once For The Ascent.

 

The Thought Had Joy In It, And I Ran Downstairs, Whistling The "Alpine

Maid." The Boy And I Had Settled Overnight That We Would Drink Our

Morning Coffee And Eat Our Rolls Together, At A Quarter To Eight, Long

Before The Contessa Or Her Friends Had Opened Their Eyes; But The

Appointed Time Was Not Yet Come, And I Had It In Mind To Make

Enquiries Concerning My Excursion, When I Almost Stumbled Against The

Chapter 18 (Rank Tyranny) Pg 134

Boy, Coming In At The Front Door.

 

"I've Been Out In The Park," Said He, When We Had Exchanged By Way Of

Greeting A "Hello, Boy" And "Hello, Man."

 

"Meet Any Chamois?"

 

"Yes."

 

"Honour Bright? An Inspection Of The Park From My Window Led Me To

Fear That They Must Be An Engaging Myth. There's A Fine Big Garden,

With A Lot Of Trees In It, But As For Rocks Or Chamois----"

 

"There Are Both. Come Out And I'll Show You."

 

I Went, Walking Beside The Boy Along One Well-Kept Path After Another,

Until Suddenly The Bubble Delusion Broke. In A Cage Stood Or Sat, In

Various Attitudes Of Bored Dejection, Five Melancholy Little Animals

With Horns, And Singularly Large, Prominent Eyes. Their Aspect Begged

Pardon For Their Degradation, As They Turned Their Backs With Weak

Scorn Upon A Toy Rock In The Centre Of Their Prison. "We Have Reason

To Believe That We Are Well Connected," They Seemed To Bleat, "Because

There Is An Ancient Legend In Our Household That We Are Chamois, But

You Must Not Judge The Family By Us."

 

"I Believe," Said The Boy Pitifully, "They've Degenerated So Far Now,

That, If One Gave Them Mont Blanc To Bound Upon, They Wouldn't Know

What To Do With It."

 

"I Would, However," Said I, Full Of My Project, "And I'm Thinking Of

Trying."

 

"What Do You Meant" Asked The Boy, Looking Rather Startled.

 

"Let's Have Breakfast Out Of Doors On A Little Table Under The Trees,

And I'll Tell You. Here's One In The Shade, And Away From The--Er--A

Certain Chamois-Ness In The Air." I Pulled Up Chairs, And Raised My

Hand To A Hovering Waiter. "What I Mean To Say Is," I Went On, "That

I'm Going To Make The Ascent As Soon As I Can Arrange It. You Won't

Mind Waiting For Me A Couple Of Days, Will You?--Or, Of Course, You

Can Travel With The Contessa If You Like. No Doubt She Would Be

Delighted To Have You."

 

"You're Going Up--Mont Blanc?"

 

"I Am, My Kid."

 

"No."

 

"Why Not?"

 

"Because--You Might Be Killed."

 

Chapter 18 (Rank Tyranny) Pg 135

"Good Heavens, One Would Think I Was Icarus, Gluing A Pair Of Wax

Wings On To My Shoulder-Blades For A Flight Into Ether. I'm Not

Exactly A Novice At The Game, You Know, Though I Haven't Done Any

Snow-Climbing. Why, You Little Donkey, You Look Pale. What's The

Matter With You?"

 

"Do You Know What Happened This Morning--Or Rather Last Night?" The

Boy Replied To My Question With Another. "Did Any Of The Hotel People

Tell You?"

 

"No. Don't Be Mysterious Before Breakfast. It Isn't Good For The

Digestion."

 

"Don't Joke. I Wasn't Going To Say Anything About It Till Afterwards,

In Case You Hadn't Heard; But Now I Will. The _Femme De Chambre_ Told

Me. The News Has Just Come That A Young Guide Has Died Of Exhaustion

On The Mountain, Between The Observatory And The Grands Mulets. Two

Others Who Were With Him Had To Leave Him Lying Dead, After Dragging

The Body Down A Long Way."

 

At This Inappropriate Moment, Our Coffee, Rolls, And Honey Were Set

Before Us, And The Waiter, Being An Accomplished Linguist, Like Most

Of His Singularly Gifted And Enterprising Kind, Had Heard And

Understood The Last Sentence. Bursting With Gruesome Information, He

Could Not Resist Lightening Himself Of The Burden, For Our Benefit And

His Own. "You Can See The Dead Man Lying On The Snow, Far Up On The

Mountain," Said He Eagerly, "If You Go Into The Town And Look Through

One Of The Telescopes. I Have Seen Him Already; He Is Like A Small,

Dark Packet On The White Ground, Wrapped In His Coat."

 

 

My Appetite For Breakfast Suddenly Dwindled, But Not So My Appetite

For The Climb. I Was Very Sorry That A Man Had Died On The Mountain,

But I Could Not Bring Him To Life Again By Remaining On Low Levels,

And So I Remarked When The Boy Asked Me If I Were Still In The Same

Mind Concerning The Ascent. "I Shall See About A Guide Directly After

Breakfast," Said I, "And When You Hear A Cannon Fired In The Town

Announcing The Arrival Of A Party At The Top Of Mont Blanc, You Will

Know It Is An Echo Of My Shout Of Excelsior!"

 

"No, I Won't Know It," Returned The Boy Obstinately. "For One Thing,

The Cannon Might Be Fired For Someone Else, And Besides, I Won't Be

Here."

 

"Oh, You'll Go On With The Contessa? But I Shouldn't Be Surprised If

She Were Good-Natured Enough To Wait At Chamounix To Congratulate Me

When I Come Down."

 

"No Doubt She Thinks Enough Of You To Do That. But What I Mean Is

This: If You Go Up Mont Blanc, I'm Going Too."

 

"Nonsense! You'll Do Nothing Of The Kind. You Are A Very Plucky Chap,

But You're Not A Hercules Yet, Whatever You May Develop Into Ten Years

Chapter 18 (Rank Tyranny) Pg 136

From Now. No Minors Are Permitted To Ascend Mont Blanc."

 

"_That's_ Nonsense, If You Like! I Shall Go If You Do."

 

"I Won't Take You."

 

"I Don't Ask You To. I Shan't Start Until After You've Gone, So, You

See, You'll Have No Power To Prevent Me."

 

"You Are Simply Talking Rot, My Dear Boy. Good Heavens, You'd Die Of

Mountain Sickness Or Exhaustion Before You Were Half-Way Up."

 

"Perhaps. I Know Very Little About My Ability As A Climber, For I've

Never Made Any Big Ascents, Though I've Scrambled About In The

Mountains A Little At Home."

 

"It Would Be Madness For You To Attempt Such A Thing. Why, Don't You

Know It Taxes The Endurance Of A Strong Man? You've Only Lately

Recovered From An Illness; You Told Me So Yourself. I Shan't Allow You

To----"

 

"You're Not My Keeper, You Know."

 

"But We Are Friends, Pals. I Ask You, As A Great Favour, To Be

Sensible, And----"

 

"I Asked You As A Great Favour Not To Go Up Mont Blanc. Things Happen.

I Have A Feeling That Something Might Happen To You. I Should

Be--Wretched While You Were Gone. I Couldn't Sit Still Under The

Suspense, Feeling As I Do. So I Would Follow Your Example."

 

"There'd Be No Danger For Me. There Might Be Death For You."

 

"Well, Then, You Can Save My Life If You Like, By Not Going. If You

Don't Go, I Won't."

 

"Of All The Brutal Tyrants Who Have Tyrannised Over Mankind----"

 

"I Heard You Say Once That You Would Like To Have Been A Professional

Tyrant. Why Shouldn't I Qualify For The Part?"

 

"You Are Cruel To Put Me In Such A Position."

 

"You Are Cruel To Make Me Do It, For Your Own Selfish Amusement."

 

"By Jove! You Talk Like An Exacting Woman!"

 

The Blood Rushed To His Face So Hotly That It Forced Water Into The

Brilliant Eyes Of Wild-Chicory Blue.

 

"If I Were A Woman I Don't Think I Would Be An Exacting One. I Should

Only Want People I--Liked, To Do Things Because They Cared About Me,

Otherwise Favours Would Be Of No Value. We're Pals, As You Say, Great

Chapter 18 (Rank Tyranny) Pg 137

Pals, But If You Don't Care Enough----"

 

"Oh, Hang It All, Kid, I'll Give The Thing Up," I Broke In, Crossly.

"I'll Potter About With You And The Contessa In Chamounix, And Take

Some Nice, Pretty, Proper Walks. But All The Same, You're A Little

Brute."

 

"Do You Hate Me?"

 

"Not Precisely. But If I Stop Down Here, Satan Will Certainly Find

Mischief For My Idle Hands To Do. I Shall Try To Take Your Contessa

Away From You, Perhaps."

 

"Oh, Will You? Then I Shall Try To Keep Her; And We Shall See Which Is

The Better Man."

 

He Rose From The Table With A Little Swagger, Ruffling It Gaily In His

Triumph Over Me; And So Young, So Small He Seemed, To Be Boasting Of

His Manhood And His Prowess In The Warfare Of Love, That I Burst Out

Laughing.

 

"Come On," I Said, "Let's Go And Have A Look Round Chamounix, Since

There's No Better Sport To Be Had."

 

So We Strolled Out Of The _Vaste Parc Avec Chamois_ Into The Streets

Of The Gay And Charming Little Town, Lying Like A Bright Crystal At

The Foot Of Mont Blanc. Round Each Of Several Big Telescopes Under

Striped Canvas Umbrellas, Was Collected A Crowd. We Could Guess At

What They Were Looking. "Shall We Stop And See That Piteous Dark

Packet Lying Lonely On The Snow?"