openedthe
gates
or
rang
the
bells
,
the
bewildered
train
stood
for
hours
at
Mornington
Crescent
before
any
member
of
the
watching
public
could
find
the
heart
to
interrupt
the
pretty
scene
.
It
is
patent
that
a
magic
person
must
have
been
the
more
or
less
deliberate
cause
of
this
episode
.
Then
again
,
there
is
the
story
of
the
'
bus
that
went
mad
,
just
as
it
was
leaving
its
burrow
at
Dalston
.
It
got
the
idea
that
the
kindly
public
was
its
enemy
.
You
should
have
seen
the
astonishment
of
Liverpool
Street
and
the
Bank
as
it
rushed
by
them
.
Old
ladies
about
to
ask
it
whether
it
went
to
Clapham
—
its
label
said
it
was
bound
for
Barnes
—
stood
aghast
,
and
their
questions
died
on
their
lips
.
Policemen
put
up
their
hands
against
it
,
—
it
ran
over
them
.
It
even
learned
the
trick
of
avoiding
the
nimble
business
man
by
a
cunning
little
skid
just
as
he
thought
he
had
caught
it
.
You
will
hardly
believe
me
,
but
that
'
bus
ran
seven
times
round
Trafalgar
Square
,
until
the
lions
'
tails
twisted
for
giddiness
,
and
Nelson
reeled
where
he
stood
.
I
do
n't
know
where
it
went
to
that
day
,
certainly
not
to
Barnes
,
but
late
in
the
evening
it
burst
into
another
'
bus
's
burrow
at
Tooting
,
its
sides
heaving
,
its
tyres
worn
to
the
quick
,
its
windows
streaming
with
perspiration
,
and
a
great
bruise
on
its
forehead
where
a
chance
bomb
had
struck
it
.
I
believe
the
poor
thing
had
to
be
put
out
of
its
misery
in
the
end
.
And
what
was
the
reason
of
all
this
?
It
was
found
that
a
wizard
,
called
Innocent
,
of
Stoke
Newington
,
had
been
asleep
on
the
top
all
the
time
,
having
forgotten
to
alight
the
night
before
,
on
his
return
from
the
City
.
Sarah
Brown
,
on
the
night
of
Lady
Arabel
's
supper
party
,
was
unaware
of
the
risk
she
ran
in
entering
a
public
conveyance
in
company
with
a
witch
.
But
she
was
spared
to
a
merciful
extent
,
for
nothing
happened
on
any
of
the
'
buses
they
boarded
,
except
that
,
as
they
crossed
the
Canal
,
a
cloud
of
sea-gulls
swooped
and
swirled
into
the
'
bus
,
resting
awhile
on
the
passengers
'
willing
shoulders
before
disappearing
again
.
Also
the
passengers
on
the
Baker
Street
stretch
sang
part-songs
,
all
the
way
down
to
Selfridge
's
.
The
conductor
turned
out
to
have
rather
a
pleasing
tenor
voice
.
The
witch
and
Sarah
Brown
knocked
at
the
Higgins
'
door
five
minutes
before
supper-time
.
Lady
Arabel
herself
opened
it
.
"
My
dears
,
is
n't
it
too
dretful
.
All
our
servants
are
gone
.
It
's
an
extraordinary
thing
,
they
never
can
stand
Rrchud
and
his
ways
.
"
The
tactful
Sarah
Brown
nudged
the
witch
.
"
Better
not
stay
,
"
she
murmured
.
"
Of
course
we
'll
stay
,
"
replied
the
witch
loudly
.
"
I
'm
horribly
hungry
,
and
there
's
sure
to
be
some
supper
.
"
"
Certainly
there
is
,
"
added
Lady
Arabel
.
"
I
cooked
it
myself
.
Do
you
know
,
I
've
never
seen
a
cookery
book
before
,
and
the
little
pictures
of
animals
with
the
names
of
joints
written
all
over
them
shocked
me
dretfully
.
I
feel
I
could
have
a
too
deliciously
intimate
conversation
with
a
bullock
now
.
"
The
house
of
Higgins
had
an
enormous
hall
to
which
a
large
number
of
high
windows
gave
the
impression
of
a
squint
.
I
should
think
two
small
Zeppelins
could
have
danced
a
minuet
under
its
dome
.
Sarah
Brown
and
the
witch
put
on
their
cathedral
look
at
once
,
by
mistake
,
and
propping
their
chins
upon
their
umbrellas
gazed
reverently
upward
.
"
Too
dretful
,
a
house
of
this
size
without
servants
,
"
said
Lady
Arabel
.
"
The
fourth
footman
was
the
last
to
go
.
He
said
even
the
Army
would
be
better
than
this
.
He
liked
spooks
,
he
said
,
at
second
hand
,
but
not
otherwise
.
Too
funny
how
people
take
dear
Rrchud
seriously
.
I
'm
glad
to
say
the
orchestra
has
stayed
with
us
.
Come
into
Rrchud
's
study
,
wo
n't
you
,
while
I
just
go
and
help
the
first
violin
to
dish
up
the
soup
.
"
Sarah
Brown
and
the
witch
were
left
in
a
small
room
that
opened
on
to
the
great
hall
.
It
was
furnished
rather
like
a
lodging-house
parlour
.
There
was
a
thermometer
elaborately
disguised
as
a
model
of
the
Eddystone
Lighthouse
on
the
mantelpiece
,
flanked
on
each
side
by
a
china
boot
in
pink
,
with
real
bootlaces
,
and
a
pig
looking
out
of
the
top
of
each
.
There
were
pictures
on
the
walls
,
mostly
representing
young
ladies
,
more
or
less
obviously
in
love
,
supported
by
rustic
properties
.
I
have
noticed
that
the
girl
's
first
love
is
the
monopoly
of
the
Victorian
painter
,
whereas
the
boy
's
is
that
of
the
novelist
,
but
I
do
not
know
the
reason
of
this
.
There
was
a
slight
clap
of
thunder
and
Richard
entered
.
He
would
have
been
very
obviously
a
wizard
even
without
the
thunder
,
and
seemed
much
less
innocent
about
his
magic
than
the
witch
.
He
had
pale
hair
,
a
pale
face
,
and
eyes
that
did
not
open
wide
without
a
certain
effort
on
the
part
of
the
brows
.
"
You
are
despising
my
ornaments
,
"
he
said
to
Sarah
Brown
.
"
I
admire
them
awfully
.
I
do
n't
like
really
clever
art
.
Do
you
know
,
it
makes
me
sneeze
.
"
Directly
he
spoke
,
one
saw
that
he
was
making
the
usual
effort
of
magic
to
appear
real
.
Witches
and
wizards
lead
difficult
lives
because
they
have
no
ancestry
working
within
them
to
prompt
them
in
the
little
details
.
Whenever
you
see
a
person
being
unusually
grown-up
,
suspect
them
of
magic
.
You
can
always
notice
witches
and
wizards
,
for
instance
,
after
eight
o'clock
at
night
,
pretending
that
they
are
not
proud
of
sitting
up
late
.
It
is
all
nonsense
about
witches
being
night
birds
;
they
often
fly
about
at
night
,
indeed
,
but
only
because
they
are
like
permanent
children
gloriously
escaped
for
ever
from
their
Nanas
.
"
This
picture
,
"
added
Richard
,
"
seems
to
me
very
beautiful
.
"
The
picture
might
have
cost
a
shilling
originally
,
framed
,
or
it
might
have
been
attached
to
a
calendar
once
.
It
was
a
landscape
so
thick
in
colouring
and
so
lightless
that
it
failed
to
give
an
outdoor
impression
at
all
.
There
was
a
river
and
waterfall
like
well-combed
hair
in
the
middle
,
and
a
dozen
leaden
mountains
lying
about
with
—
apparently
—
pocket-handkerchiefs
on
their
tops
,
and
a
dropsical-looking
stag
drinking
.
"
I
ca
n't
imagine
,
"
insisted
Richard
,
"
that
there
could
be
a
more
beautiful
picture
than
that
,
but
perhaps
it
appeals
to
me
specially
because
father
and
mother
and
I
so
often
talk
about
the
place
together
—
the
place
like
that
,
near
to
the
mountain
where
I
was
born
.
That
was
in
the
Rockies
,
you
know
,
and
just
below
our
mountain
I
am
sure
there
was
a
canyon
like
that
—
I
dream
of
it
—
with
milky-green
water
running
under
and
over
and
round
the
most
extraordinary
shapes
of
ice
,
and
cactuses
like
green
hedgehogs
in
the
crevices
of
the
rocks
,
and
great
untidy
pine-trees
clinging
to
an
ounce
of
earth
on
an
inch
of
flat
surface
.
And
the
rocks
are
a
most
splendid
rose-red
,
and
lie
in
steep
layers
,
and
break
out
into
shapes
that
are
so
deliberate
,
they
look
as
if
they
must
mean
something
.
Indeed
they
do
...
.
"
A
stave
played
by
a
'
cello
called
them
to
supper
,
and
,
as
they
returned
to
the
hall
,
a
burst
of
earnest
music
from
the
whole
orchestra
partially
drowned
the
clap
of
thunder
that
again
marked
Richard
's
passage
through
the
door
.
Sarah
Brown
felt
sure
that
Lady
Arabel
arranged
this
on
purpose
.
The
wizard
's
mother
obviously
had
great
difficulty
in
not
noticing
the
phenomena
connected
with
her
son
,
and
she
wore
a
striving
smile
and
a
look
of
glassy
and
well-bred
unconsciousness
whenever
anything
magic
happened
.
At
the
end
of
the
hall
the
orchestra
,
arranged
neatly
in
a
crescent
,
was
busily
employing
its
violins
in
a
unanimous
melody
of
so
rude
and
destructive
a
nature
that
it
seemed
as
if
every
string
must
be
broken
.
This
mania
spread
until
even
the
outlying
bassoons
,
triangles
,
and
celestas
were
infected
.
A
piercing
note
of
command
,
however
,
from
a
clarinet
caused
a
devastating
dumbness
to
fall
suddenly
on
every
instrument
except
the
piano
,
which
continued
self-consciously
alone
.
The
pianist
looked
at
the
ceiling
mostly
,
but
one
note
seemed
to
be
an
especial
favourite
with
him
,
and
whenever
he
played
it
he
looked
closely
and
paternally
at
it
,
almost
indeed
applying
his
nose
to
it
.
All
at
once
,
just
as
Sarah
Brown
was
beginning
to
imagine
that
she
could
catch
the
tune
and
the
time
,
the
music
ceased
,
apparently
in
the
middle
of
a
bar
.
Richard
sneezed
once
or
twice
.
That
unsophisticated
wizard
was
evidently
enjoying
himself
in
the
practice
of
his
art
.
One
felt
that
magic
was
not
encouraged
in
the
Army
,
and
that
the
supernatural
orgy
in
which
he
was
now
indulging
was
the
accumulated
reaction
after
long
self-control
.
Strange
noises
of
unnatural
laughter
,
for
instance
,
proceeded
from
distant
corners
of
the
hall
,
and
each
of
the
electric
lights
in
turn
winked
facetiously
.
The
string
of
the
double
bass
broke
loudly
,
and
the
new
string
which
its
devotee
laboriously
inserted
also
broke
at
once
.
The
performer
looked
appealingly
at
Lady
Arabel
,
but
she
refrained
from
meeting
his
eye
.
A
blizzard
of
butterflies
enveloped
the
table
.
This
was
evidently
rather
a
difficult
trick
,
for
the
spell
collapsed
repeatedly
,
and
from
one
second
to
another
Sarah
Brown
was
never
quite
sure
whether
there
were
really
Purple
Admirals
drowning
in
her
soup
or
not
.
"
You
are
so
lucky
,
"
sighed
the
witch
,
"
plenty
of
room
and
every
facility
.
I
myself
am
so
dreadfully
cramped
and
hampered
.
I
often
have
to
boil
my
incantations
over
a
spirit
lamp
,
and
even
that
is
becoming
difficult
—
no
methylated
.
"
"
Not
really
lucky
,
"
said
Richard
.
"
In
France
the
smallest
pinch
of
magic
seems
to
make
the
N.C.O.
sick
,
and
that
's
why
I
never
got
my
stripe
.
To
keep
my
hand
in
,
I
once
did
a
little
stunt
with
the
sergeant
's
cigarette
:
it
grew
suddenly
longer
as
he
struck
a
match
to
light
it
,
and
went
on
growing
till
he
had
to
ask
me
to
light
it
for
him
,
and
then
it
shrank
up
and
burnt
his
nose
.
Of
course
he
could
n't
really
bring
the
thing
home
to
me
,
but
somehow
—
well
,
as
I
say
,
I
never
got
my
stripe
.
"
To
this
discussion
,
and
indeed
to
all
the
enchantments
,
Lady
Arabel
paid
no
attention
,
but
continued
to
talk
a
little
nervously
on
very
insipid
subjects
.
Her
eyes
had
the
pathetic
look
often
seen
in
stupid
people
's
eyes
,
the
"
Don't-listen-to-me
"
look
,
"
I
am
not
saying
what
I
should
like
to
say
.
The
real
Me
is
better
than
this
.
"
Finally
Richard
indulged
in
a
trick
that
was
evidently
a
stock
joke
among
magic
people
,
for
the
witch
laughed
directly
it
began
.
Just
as
the
hostess
,
with
poised
fork
and
spoon
,
was
about
to
distribute
the
whitebait
,
the
round
table
began
to
spin
,
and
the
whitebait
were
whisked
away
from
her
.
The
table
continued
to
spin
for
a
moment
,
with
a
deep
thrilling
organ
sound
,
and
when
it
stopped
,
the
whitebait
were
found
to
have
assembled
opposite
to
Richard
's
place
.
He
distributed
them
gravely
.
Lady
Arabel
turned
scarlet
,
and
murmured
to
Sarah
Brown
:
"
So
dretfully
ingenious
,
and
so
merry
.
"
Sarah
Brown
took
pity
on
her
,
and
began
talking
at
random
.
The
orchestra
was
busy
again
,
and
to
the
tune
of
a
loud
elusive
rag-time
,
she
shouted
:
"
Do
you
know
,
I
gave
my
job
the
sack
this
morning
.
I
shall
be
on
the
brink
of
starvation
in
three
and
a
half
days
'
time
.
That
's
counting
a
box
of
Oxo
Cubes
I
have
by
me
.
You
do
n't
happen
to
know
of
a
suitable
job
.
I
ca
n't
cook
,
and
if
I
sew
a
button
on
it
comes
off
quicker
than
if
I
had
n't
.
But
I
once
learnt
to
play
the
big
drum
.
"
"
My
dear
,
"
said
Lady
Arabel
,
instantly
motherly
.
"
How
too
dretful
.
I
wish
I
knew
of
something
suitable
.
But
—
war-time
you
know
,
—
I
'm
afraid
I
sha
n't
be
justified
in
keeping
on
the
orchestra
,
certainly
not
in
adding
to
it
.
Besides
,
of
course
,
although
women
are
simply
too
splendid
nowadays
,
do
n't
you
think
the
big
drum
—
just
a
wee
bit
unwomanly
,
my
dear
.
However
—
—
"
"
Are
you
clever
?
"
asked
Richard
.
"
Yes
,
she
is
,
"
said
the
witch
proudly
.
"
She
writes
Minor
Poetry
.
I
saw
a
bit
by
her
in
a
magazine
that
had
no
pictures
,
—
the
bit
of
poetry
was
between
an
article
on
Tariff
Reform
and
a
statement
of
the
Coal
Situation
,
and
it
began
'
Oh
my
beloved
...
.
'
I
thought
it
was
a
very
beautiful
bit
of
Minor
Poetry
,
but
somehow
I
could
n't
make
it
fit
in
with
the
two
articles
.
That
worried
me
a
little
.
"
"
If
you
'd
try
your
best
not
to
be
clever
I
'd
give
you
a
job
,
"
said
Richard
,
who
with
a
rather
tiresome
persistence
was
now
levitating
the
chicken
,
so
that
,
invisibly
suspended
at
a
height
of
eighteen
inches
above
the
middle
of
the
table
,
it
dripped
gravy
into
a
bowl
of
daffodils
.
"
In
fact
I
will
give
you
a
job
.
I
have
a
farm
called
Higgins
Farm
,
just
about
half-way
between
sea-level
and
sky-level
.
You
can
be
a
Hand
,
if
you
like
,
at
sixpence
an
hour
.
You
can
get
there
from
Mitten
Island
every
day
quite
easily
,
and
I
'll
tell
you
how
.
It
's
just
the
other
side
of
the
Parish
of
Faery
,
on
your
right
as
you
reach
the
mainland
from
Mitten
Island
.
You
follow
the
Green
Ride
through
the
Enchanted
Forest
,
until
you
come
to
the
Castle
where
the
Youngest
Prince
—
who
rescued
one
of
the
Fetherstonhaugh
girls
from
a
giant
and
married
her
—
used
to
live
.
The
Castle
's
to
let
now
;
she
is
an
ambulance
driver
in
Salonika
,
and
he
a
gunner
—
just
got
his
battery
,
I
believe
.
Below
the
outer
wall
of
the
Castle
you
will
see
the
Daisified
Path
,
and
that
leads
you
straight
to
the
gate
of
Higgins
Farm
,
under
a
clipped
box
archway
.
"
"
I
have
n't
got
a
land
outfit
,
"
said
Sarah
Brown
.
"
But
I
saw
a
pair
called
Mesopotamian
Officer
's
Model
,
with
laces
and
real
white
buckskin
collision
mats
between
the
knees
,
that
would
fit
me
,
and
I
can
pawn
my
—
—
"
At
that
moment
there
was
a
loud
report
.
Every
one
looked
at
the
double
bass
,
but
all
his
strings
were
for
the
moment
intact
.
"
A
maroon
,
"
said
the
witch
.
"
My
dears
,
"
exclaimed
Lady
Arabel
,
much
relieved
to
hear
that
this
new
sensation
was
not
supernatural
.
"
How
too
dretfully
tahsome
with
the
sweet
and
the
savoury
still
to
come
.
Do
you
know
,
I
promised
Pinehurst
—
my
husband
—
never
to
remain
in
this
house
during
an
air-raid
.
It
was
his
own
fault
,
the
dear
thing
;
he
had
a
craze
for
windows
;
this
house
has
more
glass
space
than
wall
,
I
think
,
and
Pinehurst
,
in
his
spare
time
,
used
always
to
be
making
plans
for
squeezing
in
more
windows
.
Our
room
is
like
a
conservatory
—
so
dretfully
embarrassing
.
So
I
always
take
my
knitting
across
the
road
to
the
crypt
of
St.
Sebastian
's
,
and
I
'm
sure
you
wo
n't
mind
coming
too
.
You
might
have
brought
a
box
of
spellicans
,
or
a
set
of
table
croquet
,
but
I
'm
afraid
the
Vicar
would
n't
like
it
.
A
nice
man
but
dretfully
particular
.
We
must
wait
for
the
end
of
this
piece
,
the
first
violin
is
so
touchy
.
"
They
all
waited
patiently
while
the
piece
continued
.
It
was
a
plain
uneventful
piece
,
composed
by
a
Higgins
relative
and
therefore
admired
in
the
household
.
"
A
thing
that
puzzles
me
,
"
said
the
witch
,
taking
advantage
of
an
emotional
pause
while
one
violin
was
wheezing
a
very
long
small
note
by
itself
,
"
is
why
only
ugly
songs
are
really
persistent
.
Have
n't
you
noticed
,
for
instance
,
that
a
peacock
,
or
a
cat
on
the
wall
,
or
a
baby
with
a
tin
trumpet
,
will
give
their
services
most
generously
for
hours
on
end
,
while
a
robin
on
a
snowy
tree
,
or
a
nightingale
,
or
a
fairy
—
—
"
She
was
interrupted
by
a
scuffling
sound
in
the
umbrella-stand
,
and
Harold
the
Broomstick
,
after
a
moment
's
rather
embarrassing
entanglement
with
a
butterfly
net
,
approached
,
panting
.
"
I
must
go
,
"
said
the
witch
.
"
I
bet
you
twopence
we
shall
have
some
fun
to-night
.
Sarah
Brown
,
I
'll
come
back
and
fetch
you
when
it
's
all
over
.
"
Lady
Arabel
and
Sarah
Brown
crossed
the
road
to
the
church
,
Richard
following
a
few
yards
behind
.
"
I
'm
afraid
my
little
dinner-party
was
n't
a
great
success
,
"
said
Lady
Arabel
confidentially
.
"
Rrchud
and
Angela
did
n't
get
that
good
talk
on
occult
subjects
as
Meta
Ford
said
they
would
.
Of
course
Rrchud
,
as
you
noticed
,
was
dretfully
restless
and
lighthearted
;
all
boys
are
like
that
for
the
first
few
hours
of
their
leave
.
He
is
naturally
of
a
quiet
disposition
,
though
you
would
n't
think
it
from
to-night
.
"
There
was
a
distant
blot
of
gunfire
on
the
air
,
just
as
they
reached
the
door
of
the
crypt
.
The
very
stout
dog
of
the
Vicar
(
are
not
all
reverend
dogs
fat
?
)
was
waiting
there
with
a
bored
look
.
"
The
Vicar
allows
no
animals
inside
the
crypt
.
So
hard
on
Mrs.
Perry
's
canary
which
has
fits
.
I
was
here
once
when
the
Vicar
's
youngest
son
brought
in
a
rabbit
under
his
coat
.
A
dretful
scene
,
my
dear
.
"
That
district
of
London
happened
to
be
rather
a
courageous
one
.
The
inhabitants
felt
that
if
the
War
had
to
be
brought
home
to
them
,
common
politeness
dictated
that
it
should
find
them
at
home
.
There
were
not
more
than
a
dozen
people
in
the
crypt
therefore
.
Most
of
them
were
old
ladies
from
the
district
's
less
respectable
quarter
,
knitting
.
The
Vicar
was
trying
to
press
comfort
upon
them
,
but
without
much
success
,
for
they
were
all
quite
content
,
discussing
the
deaths
in
their
families
.
The
noise
of
gunfire
was
coming
nearer
,
shaking
the
ground
like
the
uneven
tread
of
a
drunken
giant
.
Sarah
Brown
concentrated
on
an
evening
newspaper
,
busily
reading
again
and
again
one
of
those
columns
of
confidential
man-to-man
advertisement
,
which
everybody
reads
with
avidity
while
determining
the
more
never
to
buy
the
article
advertised
.
But
presently
the
fidgeting
hands
of
Richard
caught
her
eye
,
and
she
looked
at
him
.
He
was
sitting
next
to
his
mother
on
a
stone
step
.
He
seemed
to
be
in
a
quieter
mood
and
attempted
no
manifestation
.
Sarah
Brown
thought
he
was
suppressing
excitement
,
however
,
and
indeed
he
presently
said
:
"
I
say
,
wo
n't
it
be
fun
lying
about
all
this
to
posterity
and
Americans
,
and
other
defenceless
innocents
.
"
Opposite
to
them
,
on
two
campstools
,
sat
a
young
bridling
mother
of
fifty
,
with
her
old
hard
daughter
of
sixteen
or
so
.
Hard
was
that
daughter
in
every
way
;
you
would
have
counted
her
age
in
winters
,
not
in
summers
,
so
obviously
untender
were
her
years
.
An
iron
plait
of
hair
lay
for
about
six
inches
down
her
spine
;
her
feet
and
ankles
made
the
campstool
on
which
she
sat
,
looking
pathetically
ethereal
.
Of
such
stuff
as
this
is
the
backbone
of
England
made
,
which
is
perhaps
why
the
backbone
of
England
sometimes
seems
so
sadly
inflexible
.
There
was
a
screeching
noise
outside
,
followed
by
an
incredible
crash
.
It
seemed
to
cleave
a
bottomless
abyss
between
one
second
and
the
next
,
so
that
one
seemed
to
be
conscious
for
the
first
time
in
an
astonished
and
astonishing
world
.
Lady
Arabel
said
:
"
Boys
will
be
boys
,
of
course
I
know
,
but
really
this
is
going
a
little
too
far
.
Pinehurst
's
one
hobby
was
his
windows
.
"
The
campstooled
mother
gave
a
luxurious
little
shriek
as
soon
as
the
crash
was
safely
over
.
"
The
villains
,
"
she
said
kittenishly
.
"
Aiming
at
places
of
worship
as
usual
.
I
am
absolutely
paralysed
with
terror
.
Mary
,
darling
,
I
do
n't
believe
you
turned
a
hair
.
"
"
Pas
un
cheval
,
"
replied
her
firm
daughter
,
in
not
unnatural
error
.
One
could
easily
see
that
she
was
beloved
at
home
,
and
one
wondered
why
.
The
sound
of
the
guns
seemed
only
a
negative
form
of
sound
after
the
bomb
,
and
clearly
above
the
firing
could
be
heard
a
howl
.
The
Vicar
's
dog
,
still
howling
,
ran
into
the
crypt
.
"
RUPERT
!
"
said
the
Vicar
,
in
a
terrible
voice
,
interrupting
himself
in
the
middle
of
a
cheering
platitude
.
But
he
had
no
time
to
say
anything
more
,
for
behind
Rupert
came
a
procession
of
perhaps
a
dozen
people
,
all
dressed
in
sheets
.
Everybody
saw
at
one
pitiful
glance
that
these
were
unfortunate
householders
,
so
suddenly
roused
from
oblivion
as
to
forget
all
their
ordinary
suburban
dignity
,
probably
barely
escaping
from
ruined
homes
with
their
lives
and
a
sheet
each
.
There
was
a
very
old
man
,
a
middle-aged
spinster
,
and
then
an
enormous
group
of
children
of
ages
varying
from
two
months
to
twenty
years
,
followed
by
their
parents
,
teachers
,
or
guardians
.
A
nearer
gun
began
to
fire
,
and
one
of
the
old
ladies
on
the
other
side
of
the
crypt
suddenly
threw
down
her
knitting
and
began
confessing
her
sins
.
"
Ow
,
I
shall
go
to
'
ell
,
"
she
shouted
dramatically
.
"
I
bin
sich
a
wicked
ol
'
woman
.
I
nearly
done
in
me
first
ol
'
man
by
biffin
'
the
chopper
at
'
is
nob
,
and
Lawd
,
the
lies
I
bin
an
'
tol
'
me
second
only
yesterday
.
"
"
This
is
indeed
a
solemn
moment
,
"
said
the
sheeted
spinster
sitting
down
beside
Lady
Arabel
.
"
I
hope
I
am
meeting
it
in
a
proper
spirit
,
but
of
course
one
is
still
only
human
,
and
naturally
nervous
.
I
have
learned
my
statement
by
heart
.
"
"
What
statement
?
"
asked
Lady
Arabel
,
who
was
rather
deeply
engrossed
in
turning
the
heel
of
the
sock
she
was
knitting
.
"
The
statement
I
shall
make
when
the
sheep
are
divided
from
the
goats
.
"
"
Oh
,
come
,
come
,
"
said
kind
Lady
Arabel
.
"
Things
are
not
so
bad
as
that
,
surely
.
You
must
not
be
so
dretfully
pessimistic
.
"
"
You
mistake
me
,
"
said
the
sheeted
lady
,
bridling
.
"
There
is
,
I
am
confident
,
no
cause
whatever
for
pessimism
on
my
part
.
I
have
no
misgivings
as
to
the
verdict
.
But
not
being
used
to
courts
of
law
,
I
thought
it
best
to
learn
my
statement
,
as
I
say
,
by
heart
.
"
The
old
knitter
had
been
rather
annoyed
to
find
her
confession
interrupted
.
"
A
wicked
ol
'
woman
I
may
be
,
"
she
said
with
more
dignity
.
"
But
I
'll
never
regret
givin
'
that
bloody
speshul
a
bit
o
'
me
mind
this
mornin
'
when
'
e
turned
saucy
to
the
sugar
queue
.
I
ses
to
'
im
—
—
"
"
We
all
have
our
faults
,
"
Lady
Arabel
's
neighbour
broke
in
.
"
But
I
think
,
at
this
solemn
moment
,
I
may
feel
thankful
that
hastiness
of
recrimination
was
never
one
of
mine
.
All
my
life
I
have
made
it
an
unalterable
rule
never
to
make
a
statement
without
first
asking
myself
:
Is
it
TRUE
?
Is
it
JUST
?
Is
it
KIND
?
"
"
You
may
well
say
so
,
"
replied
Lady
Arabel
pleasantly
.
"
I
only
wish
the
younger
generation
would
follow
your
example
.
Nowadays
it
is
much
more
likely
to
be
:
Is
it
true
?
No.
Is
it
just
?
No.
Is
it
kind
?
No.
Is
it
FUNNY
?
Yes
.
And
out
it
comes
.
"
"
Be
that
as
it
may
,
"
said
the
ladylike
creature
.
(
One
could
see
she
was
a
Real
Lady
even
through
the
sheet
.
Obviously
she
read
the
Morning
Post
daily
.
)
"
Be
that
as
it
may
,
perhaps
you
can
help
me
in
one
little
matter
which
is
intriguing
me
slightly
even
at
this
solemn
moment
.
Do
you
suppose
the
sheep
will
be
allowed
to
hear
the
trial
of
the
goats
,
or
will
the
court
be
cleared
?
I
must
say
I
should
be
so
interested
to
hear
the
defence
of
the
late
churchwarden
who
eloped
with
—
—
"
"
Ah
,
please
,
please
,
"
said
Lady
Arabel
,
"
do
n't
talk
in
that
dretful
way
.
Do
n't
let
your
mind
dwell
on
the
worst
.
I
assure
you
that
you
will
be
all
right
.
"
"
Of
course
I
shall
be
all
right
,
as
you
put
it
,
"
said
the
elderly
lady
,
coldly
drawing
herself
up
.
"
Everybody
can
be
my
witness
that
I
have
kept
my
candle
burning
in
my
small
corner
—
—
"
"
Good
gracious
,
"
shrieked
the
kittenish
mother
.
"
A
candle
burning
to-night
.
And
probably
unshaded
.
Do
n't
you
know
that
those
fiends
in
the
sky
are
always
on
the
watch
for
the
slightest
illumination
?
"
"
Fiends
in
the
sky
!
"
exclaimed
the
sheeted
lady
.
"
Do
you
mean
to
say
they
are
abroad
even
at
this
solemn
moment
?
"
"
Oh
,
do
n't
talk
such
rot
,
"
implored
the
hard
flapper
.
"
Who
the
dickens
do
you
suppose
was
responsible
for
that
crash
?
"
"
Responsible
for
the
crash
!
"
said
the
other
,
whose
tones
were
becoming
more
and
more
alive
with
exclamation
marks
.
"
Is
then
the
solemn
work
of
summoning
us
entrusted
to
the
minions
of
the
Evil
One
?
"
A
series
of
crashes
interrupted
her
,
the
work
of
the
adjacent
gun
.
The
earth
shook
,
and
each
report
was
followed
by
the
curious
ethereal
wail
of
shells
on
their
way
.
"
What
,
again
?
"
exclaimed
Lady
Arabel
's
sheeted
neighbour
.
"
I
should
have
thought
one
would
have
been
ample
.
But
still
,
one
cannot
be
too
careful
,
and
some
people
are
heavy
sleepers
.
I
heard
the
first
myself
without
any
possibility
of
mistake
,
and
rose
at
once
,
though
the
slab
lay
heavy
on
my
chest
—
—
"
"
Most
unwise
,
"
said
Lady
Arabel
,
"
to
touch
that
sort
of
thing
late
at
night
.
I
always
have
a
little
Benger
myself
.
"
Sarah
Brown
happened
to
look
at
Richard
.
His
eyes
were
shut
,
but
he
was
smiling
very
broadly
with
tight
lips
,
and
his
face
was
turned
towards
the
ceiling
.
His
fingers
were
very
tense
and
busy
on
his
lap
,
as
though
he
were
still
fidgeting
with
magic
.
But
her
study
of
him
was
interrupted
by
the
loud
denouncing
voice
of
the
very
venerable
man
who
had
led
the
procession
of
late-comers
.
"
A
dog
in
this
hallowed
place
,
"
he
said
,
pointing
at
the
deeply
disconcerted
Rupert
who
was
weaving
himself
nervously
in
and
out
of
his
master
's
legs
.
"
Never
in
all
the
forty
years
of
my
ministration
here
have
I
allowed
such
an
outrage
—
—
"
"
Gently
,
gently
,
my
dear
sir
,
"
protested
the
Vicar
,
a
little
roused
.
"
I
am
the
minister
of
this
church
,
and
the
dog
is
mine
.
I
was
indeed
about
to
turn
it
out
when
you
entered
,
after
which
I
lost
sight
of
it
for
a
moment
.
Rupert
,
go
home
.
"
Rupert
howled
again
,
and
lay
down
as
if
about
to
faint
.
"
Forty
years
have
I
been
Vicar
of
this
parish
,
"
said
the
veteran
,
"
and
never
—
—
"
"
What
?
"
interrupted
the
Vicar
,
"
Forty
years
Vicar
of
this
parish
.
Then
you
must
be
Canon
Burstley-Ripp
.
How
very
extraordinary
,
I
always
understood
that
he
passed
away
quite
ten
years
ago
.
"
He
approached
the
old
man
and
strove
to
button-hole
him
.
The
sheet
at
first
foiled
him
in
this
intention
,
but
he
presently
contented
himself
with
seizing
a
little
corner
of
it
,
by
which
he
led
his
aged
brother
vicar
into
a
corner
.
There
they
could
be
heard
for
some
time
misunderstanding
each
other
in
low
earnest
tones
.
"
Ow
,
what
a
wicked
ol
'
woman
I
bin
an
'
bin
,
"
suddenly
burst
forth
again
the
repentant
knitter
.
"
I
bin
an
'
stole
'
arf
a
pound
o
'
sugar
off
of
the
Eelite
'
Atshop
where
I
does
a
bit
o
'
cleanin
'
.
Ef
I
get
out
o
'
this
alive
,
I
swear
I
'll
repay
it
an
'
undredfold
—
that
is
ef
I
can
get
that
much
awf
me
sugar
card
...
.
"
Sarah
Brown
was
becoming
sleepy
.
A
blankness
was
invading
her
mind
,
and
the
talk
in
the
crypt
seemed
to
lose
its
meaning
,
and
to
consist
chiefly
of
S
's
.
She
pondered
idly
on
the
family
of
children
with
their
elders
,
all
of
whom
were
now
studying
each
other
with
a
certain
look
of
disillusionment
.
It
was
a
group
whose
relationships
were
difficult
to
make
out
,
the
ages
of
many
of
the
children
being
unnaturally
approximate
.
There
seemed
to
be
at
least
seven
children
under
three
years
old
,
and
yet
they
all
bore
a
strong
and
regrettable
family
likeness
.
Several
of
the
babies
would
hardly
have
been
given
credit
for
having
reached
walking
age
,
yet
none
had
been
carried
in
.
The
woman
who
seemed
to
imagine
herself
the
mother
of
this
rabble
was
distributing
what
looked
like
hurried
final
words
of
advice
.
The
father
with
a
pensive
eye
was
obviously
trying
to
remember
their
names
,
and
at
intervals
whispering
to
a
man
apparently
twenty
years
his
senior
,
whom
he
addressed
as
Sonny
.
It
was
all
very
confusing
.
A
long
dim
stretch
of
time
seemed
to
have
passed
when
suddenly
the
note
of
a
bugle
sprang
out
across
space
.
Somehow
the
air
at
once
felt
cooler
and
more
wholesome
,
the
sound
of
the
All-clear
had
something
akin
to
the
sight
of
the
sun
after
a
thunderstorm
,
lighting
up
a
crouching
whipped
world
.
"
The
Trump
at
last
,
"
said
Lady
Arabel
's
garrulous
neighbour
,
rising
with
alacrity
,
and
twitching
her
sheet
into
more
becoming
folds
.
"
I
was
just
wondering
—
—
"
But
at
that
moment
the
two
Vicars
approached
,
and
the
elder
one
,
including
both
the
spinster
and
the
mysterious
family
in
one
glance
,
spoke
in
a
clerical
yet
embarrassed
voice
.
"
Dear
friends
,
a
slight
but
inconvenient
mistake
has
occurred
,
and
I
am
afraid
I
must
ask
you
to
submit
blindly
to
my
guidance
in
a
matter
strangely
difficult
to
explain
,
even
as
I
—
myself
in
much
confusion
—
bow
to
the
advice
of
my
reverend
friend
here
.
It
would
be
out
of
place
—
—
"
The
spinster
interrupted
,
and
,
by
the
way
she
did
it
,
one
saw
that
she
was
Chapel
.
"
Excuse
me
,
Canon
,
"
she
said
acidly
,
"
but
is
not
all
discussion
out
of
place
at
this
solemn
moment
?
"
"
Believe
me
,
madam
,
"
replied
the
aged
Burstley-Ripp
.
"
You
overrate
the
solemnity
of
the
moment
.
I
must
earnestly
ask
you
all
to
return
with
me
to
the
places
whence
—
labouring
under
an
extraordinary
error
—
we
came
to-night
.
I
see
that
Mrs.
Parachute
trusts
me
,
and
is
prepared
to
lead
her
little
flock
to
rest
again
.
You
,
madam
—
—
"
"
Where
Mrs.
Parachute
leads
,
far
be
it
from
me
to
seem
behindhand
,
"
said
the
other
,
much
ruffled
,
as
she
gathered
her
sheet
about
her
.
By
the
way
she
said
it
,
one
saw
that
she
and
Mrs.
Parachute
did
not
call
.
She
bowed
to
Lady
Arabel
,
and
became
satirical
,
even
arch
.
"
Good
afternoon
,
Mrs.
—
er
—
,
I
am
assured
that
the
moment
is
not
solemn
,
and
therefore
solemn
it
shall
not
be
.
To
turn
to
lighter
subjects
,
I
hope
I
shall
have
the
pleasure
of
meeting
you
and
your
delightful
son
and
daughter
again
at
no
distant
date
,
the
moment
then
being
genuinely
solemn
.
I
fear
I
have
no
visiting
card
on
me
,
but
—
er
—
perhaps
my
slab
just
outside
—
very
superior
granite
—
would
do
as
a
substitute
...
.
"
The
pale
party
filed
out
of
the
crypt
and
disappeared
.
The
remaining
Vicar
smote
his
brow
,
and
addressed
the
now
calm
Rupert
in
a
low
voice
,
but
with
such
unaccountable
warmth
that
that
harassed
animal
disappeared
precipitately
in
the
direction
of
his
home
.
Lady
Arabel
,
Sarah
Brown
,
and
Richard
crossed
the
churchyard
together
.
"
Oh
,
my
dears
,
look
,
"
said
Lady
Arabel
.
"
How
too
too
dretful
,
that
bomb
fell
quite
close
to
us
.
Do
look
how
it
has
disturbed
the
graves
...
.
"
CHAPTER
VI
AN
AIR
RAID
SEEN
FROM
ABOVE
The
moonlight
lay
like
cream
upon
the
pavement
when
the
witch
and
Harold
her
broomstick
left
the
Higgins
'
doorstep
.
London
was
a
still
Switzerland
in
silver
and
star-grey
,
unblotted
by
people
.
There
was
a
hint
of
pale
green
about
the
moonlight
,
and
the
lamps
with
their
dim
light
downcast
were
like
daffodils
in
faery
fields
.
The
witch
mounted
.
Harold
,
who
was
every
inch
a
thoroughbred
and
very
highly
strung
,
trembled
beneath
her
,
but
not
with
fear
.
They
reached
Piccadilly
Circus
with
supernatural
speed
,
and
flashed
across
it
.
The
sound
of
people
singing
desultorily
while
taking
shelter
in
the
Tube
floated
up
to
them
.
Here
the
witch
said
"
Yoop
"
to
Harold
,
and
he
reared
and
shot
upwards
,
narrowly
missing
the
statue
of
One
In
A
Bus-catching
Attitude
,
which
marks
the
middle
of
the
Circus
.
As
soon
as
the
witch
had
out-distanced
the
noise
of
expectant
London
,
she
heard
quite
distinctly
the
approach
of
London
's
guests
.
They
came
with
a
chorus
of
many
notes
,
all
deep
and
dangerous
.
There
were
a
few
clouds
wandering
about
among
the
stars
,
and
to
one
of
these
the
witch
and
her
faithful
Harold
repaired
.
A
cloud
gives
quite
reasonable
support
to
magic
people
,
and
most
witches
and
wizards
have
discovered
the
delight
of
paddling
knee-deep
about
those
quicksilver
continents
.
They
wander
along
shining
and
changing
valleys
under
a
most
ardent
sky
;
they
climb
the
purple
thunderclouds
,
or
launch
the
first
snowflake
of
a
blizzard
;
they
spring
from
pink
stepping-stone
to
pink
stepping-stone
of
clouds
each
no
bigger
than
a
baby
's
hand
,
across
great
sunsets
.
Often
when
in
London
I
am
battling
with
a
barrage
of
rain
,
or
falling
over
unseen
strangers
into
gutters
during
fogs
,
I
think
happily
of
the
sunlit
roof
of
cloud
above
my
head
,
and
of
the
witches
and
wizards
,
lying
on
their
backs
with
their
coats
off
,
among
cloud-meadows
in
a
glory
of
perfect
summer
and
sun
.
The
witch
,
with
one
soothing
hand
on
the
bristling
mane
of
her
Harold
,
lay
on
her
front
on
the
cloud
she
had
chosen
,
and
looked
down
through
a
little
hole
in
it
.
It
was
practically
the
only
cloud
present
that
would
have
afforded
reasonable
cover
;
the
others
were
mere
wisps
of
sky-weed
floating
in
the
moonlight
.
There
was
a
greater
chorus
of
aeroplanes
below
her
now
;
the
whole
sky
was
ringing
with
it
.
The
witch
could
hear
a
deep
bass-voiced
machine
,
a
baritone
,
a
quavering
tenor
,
and
—
thin
and
sharp
as
a
pin
—
a
little
treble
sound
that
made
Harold
rear
and
struggle
to
be
free
.
"
Another
witch
,
"
said
the
witch
.
"
I
was
wondering
why
the
Huns
had
n't
got
their
magic
organised
by
now
.
"
She
mounted
her
Harold
and
slipped
off
the
cloud
.
The
guns
were
shouting
now
,
and
the
shells
wailed
and
burst
not
so
very
far
below
them
,
but
Harold
trembled
no
longer
.
More
quickly
than
a
falling
star
he
swooped
,
and
in
a
second
the
alien
witch
was
in
sight
,
an
unwieldy
figure
whose
broomstick
sounded
rather
broken-winded
,
probably
owing
to
the
long-distance
flight
and
to
the
fourteen
stone
of
Teutonic
magic
on
its
back
.
There
was
a
wicked-looking
apparatus
attached
to
the
collar
of
the
German
broomstick
,
obviously
designed
to
squirt
unpleasant
enchantments
downward
.
This
contrivance
was
apparently
giving
some
trouble
,
for
the
German
was
so
busy
attending
to
it
that
at
first
she
did
not
see
or
hear
the
approach
of
Harold
and
his
rider
.
She
was
aroused
to
her
danger
by
a
heavy
chunk
of
magic
which
struck
and
nearly
unseated
her
.
In
a
second
,
however
,
she
was
ready
with
a
parrying
enchantment
,
and
the
fight
began
.
The
two
broomsticks
reared
and
circled
round
each
other
,
and
over
and
under
each
other
.
From
their
riders
'
finger-tips
magic
of
the
most
explosive
kind
crackled
,
and
incantations
of
such
potency
were
exchanged
that
,
I
am
told
,
the
tiles
and
chimney-pots
of
the
streets
below
suffered
a
good
deal
.
Round
and
round
and
over
and
under
whirled
the
broomsticks
,
till
the
very
spaces
went
mad
,
and
London
seemed
to
rush
down
nightmare
slopes
into
a
stormy
sky
,
while
its
lights
swung
from
pole
to
pole
and
were
entangled
with
the
stars
.
Both
broomsticks
were
by
now
so
uproariously
excited
that
neither
witch
was
able
to
aim
her
magic
missiles
very
carefully
,
and
indeed
it
was
not
long
before
Harold
passed
entirely
beyond
control
.
After
bucking
violently
once
or
twice
,
he
gave
a
wild
high
cry
that
was
like
the
wind
howling
through
the
fierce
forest
past
of
his
race
,
and
fell
upon
the
other
broomstick
,
fixing
his
bristles
into
its
throat
.
The
shock
of
the
collision
was
too
much
for
both
witches
.
Our
witch
—
if
I
may
call
her
so
—
was
shot
over
Harold
's
head
,
and
landed
on
the
ample
breast
of
her
adversary
,
who
,
in
consequence
,
lost
her
balance
.
They
fell
together
into
space
.
"
Oh
,
lost
,
lost
,
...
"
cried
our
witch
,
and
thoughts
rushed
through
her
mind
of
green
safe
places
,
and
old
safe
years
,
and
the
little
hut
in
a
pale
bluebell
wood
,
where
she
was
born
.
She
had
time
to
remember
the
blue
ground
,
dimpled
and
starred
with
sunlight
,
and
the
way
the
bees
pulled
over
the
bluebells
and
swung
on
them
to
the
tune
of
cuckoos
in
a
May
mist
;
she
had
time
to
think
of
the
green
globe
ghosts
of
the
bluebells
that
haunted
the
wood
after
the
spring
was
dead
.
Bluebells
and
being
young
were
in
all
her
thoughts
,
and
it
was
some
time
before
she
noticed
how
slowly
she
and
her
enemy
were
falling
.
For
they
were
locked
together
.
And
the
enemy
witch
's
cloak
,
an
orthodox
witch
cloak
except
for
its
colour
,
which
was
German
field-grey
instead
of
red
,
was
spread
out
like
a
parachute
,
and
was
supporting
them
upon
their
peaceful
and
almost
affectionate
descent
.
For
all
I
know
they
might
have
alighted
gently
in
the
Strand
,
and
the
authorities
might
by
now
be
regretting
the
capture
of
a
most
embarrassing
and
unaccountable
prisoner
.
But
something
intervened
.
The
cloud
,
like
a
sheep
suffering
from
the
lack
of
other
sheep
to
follow
,
had
not
yet
quitted
the
scene
.
The
witches
'
battle
had
tended
upward
,
and
it
had
ended
several
hundred
feet
above
the
level
of
the
cloud
,
which
was
apparently
sinking
.
The
downward
course
of
the
combatants
'
fall
was
therefore
arrested
,
and
they
found
themselves
still
interlocked
,
prostrate
and
embedded
,
with
their
eyes
and
mouths
full
of
woolly
wisps
of
cloud
.
Our
witch
was
the
first
to
recover
herself
.
She
stood
up
and
brushed
herself
,
remarking
:
"
By
jove
,
that
parachute
cloak
of
yours
is
a
great
dodge
.
I
wish
I
'd
thought
of
it
.
I
always
keep
my
full-dress
togs
put
away
,
like
the
ass
that
I
am
.
A
stitch
or
two
,
and
a
few
lengths
of
whalebone
would
have
done
the
trick
.
"
The
German
was
an
older
woman
,
and
less
adaptable
to
the
strange
chances
of
War
.
She
was
silent
for
a
few
minutes
,
seated
in
the
small
crater
made
in
the
cloud
by
her
fall
.
She
was
not
exactly
ugly
.
She
had
the
sort
of
face
about
which
one
could
not
help
feeling
that
one
could
have
done
it
better
oneself
,
or
at
least
that
one
could
have
taken
more
trouble
.
It
seemed
moulded
—
even
kneaded
—
carelessly
,
in
very
soft
material
.
Beneath
her
open
cloak
her
dress
was
of
the
ordinary
German
Reform-Kleid
type
,
and
her
figure
had
the
rather
jelloid
appearance
of
those
who
affect
this
style
.
Her
regulation
witch
's
hat
was
by
now
,
probably
,
in
the
Serpentine
,
and
her
round
head
was
therefore
disclosed
,
with
two
stout
sand-coloured
plaits
pursuing
each
other
round
it
.
The
witches
faced
each
other
for
some
seconds
.
A
long
way
away
they
could
hear
the
spitting
and
crackling
sound
of
the
two
broomsticks
fighting
.
Looking
up
,
they
could
see
the
combatants
,
like
black
comets
in
collision
.
Our
witch
,
who
had
good
sight
,
saw
that
the
enemy
broomstick
was
upper-most
,
and
that
the
writhing
Harold
was
being
shaken
like
a
mouse
.
Their
bristles
were
interlocked
.
One
twig
floated
down
between
the
witches
,
and
our
witch
recognised
it
as
coming
from
her
poor
Harold
's
mane
.
As
,
for
this
purpose
,
she
brought
her
eyes
to
her
immediate
surroundings
,
it
seemed
to
her
suddenly
that
the
sky
was
growing
larger
,
and
then
she
realised
that
this
was
because
their
refuge
was
growing
smaller
.
The
edges
of
the
cloud
were
dissolving
.
She
saw
at
last
her
peril
and
her
disadvantage
.
If
Harold
should
be
killed
or
disabled
she
could
never
reach
the
earth
again
,
except
by
means
of
a
fatal
fall
of
several
thousand
feet
.
The
enemy
witch
,
with
her
ingenious
cloak
contrivance
strapped
securely
about
her
,
stood
a
reasonable
chance
of
escape
.
But
our
witch
was
an
amateur
in
War
,
she
was
without
support
,
forlornly
dressed
in
her
faithful
blue
serge
three-year-old
,
and
her
little
squirrel
tippet
.
Magic
,
as
you
know
,
has
limitations
.
Fire
is
of
course
a
plaything
in
magic
hands
.
Water
has
its
docile
moments
,
the
earth
herself
may
be
tampered
with
,
and
an
incantation
may
call
man
or
any
of
his
possessions
to
attention
.
But
space
is
too
great
a
thing
,
space
is
the
inconceivable
Hand
,
holding
aloft
this
fragile
delusion
that
is
our
world
.
There
is
no
power
that
can
mock
at
space
,
there
is
no
enchantment
that
is
not
lost
between
us
and
the
moon
,
and
all
magic
people
know
—
and
tremble
to
know
—
that
in
a
breath
,
between
one
second
and
another
,
that
Hand
may
close
,
and
the
shell
of
time
first
crack
and
then
be
crushed
,
and
magic
be
one
with
nothingness
and
death
and
all
other
delusions
.
This
is
why
magic
,
which
treats
the
other
elements
as
its
servants
,
bows
before
space
,
and
has
to
call
such
a
purely
independent
contrivance
as
a
broomstick
to
its
help
in
the
matter
of
air-travel
.
The
witches
faced
each
other
on
their
little
unstable
sanctuary
in
the
kingdom
of
space
.
Our
witch
felt
secretly
sick
,
and
at
the
same
time
she
tore
fear
from
her
mind
,
and
knew
that
death
was
but
an
imperfectly
kept
secret
,
and
that
not
an
evil
one
.
After
all
,
we
have
condemned
it
unheard
.
Both
witches
could
talk
a
magic
tongue
,
and
make
themselves
mutually
understood
.
Neither
knew
the
other
's
natural
tongue
.
But
when
our
witch
noticed
several
large
ferocious
tears
rolling
down
her
opponent
's
cheeks
,
she
was
able
,
by
means
of
magic
,
to
say
:
"
Great
Scott
,
my
good
person
,
what
are
you
crying
for
?
"
"
I
am
not
crying
,
"
replied
the
German
witch
.
"
I
would
not
allow
one
tear
of
mine
to
fall
upon
and
water
one
possible
grain
of
wheat
in
this
accursed
country
of
yours
.
Certainly
I
am
not
crying
.
"
"
Accursed
country
?
"
echoed
the
astounded
English
witch
.
"
How
d'you
mean
—
accursed
?
This
is
England
,
you
know
.
England
has
n't
done
anything
accursed
.
Are
n't
you
muddling
it
up
with
Germany
?
"
"
England
is
the
World
Enemy
,
"
said
the
German
,
evidently
pleased
to
meet
someone
to
whom
this
information
was
fresh
.
"
Throughout
the
ages
she
has
been
the
Robber
State
,
crushing
the
weaker
nations
,
adding
to
her
own
wealth
by
treachery
,
and
now
forcing
this
war
of
aggression
upon
her
peace-loving
neighbours
.
"
Our
witch
laughed
.
She
was
forgetting
her
danger
.
"
This
is
really
rather
funny
,
"
she
said
.
"
Do
you
know
what
's
happened
?
You
've
been
reading
the
Daily
Mail
and
misunderstanding
it
.
The
whole
of
that
quotation
applied
to
Germany
,
not
England
.
It
's
Germany
that
's
being
naughty
.
You
made
a
mistake
,
but
never
mind
,
I
wo
n't
repeat
it
.
"
The
German
took
no
notice
of
this
.
The
past
three
years
had
made
her
an
adept
in
taking
no
notice
.
"
And
now
,
"
she
added
.
"
After
all
these
weary
months
of
hoping
,
and
long-distance
broomstick
practice
,
and
of
parachute
practice
,
and
of
conflict
with
narrow
officialdom
,
I
have
come
—
and
this
is
the
result
.
I
am
separated
from
my
broomstick
,
which
has
all
the
germ-bombs
hanging
from
its
collar
—
the
germs
are
those
of
dissension
and
riot
—
I
am
marooned
upon
an
English
cloud
,
with
no
enemy
at
my
mercy
but
a
paltry
and
treacherous
non-combatant
—
—
"
"
At
your
mercy
,
"
breathed
our
witch
,
remembering
.
She
looked
up
.
The
broomsticks
were
closer
now
,
and
through
the
breathless
air
,
amidst
the
dream-like
firing
of
the
guns
below
,
she
could
hear
the
difficult
gasping
of
the
hard-pressed
Harold
,
still
fighting
bravely
but
with
hardly
a
twig
on
his
head
.
The
tide
of
space
was
coming
in
.
The
edge
of
the
cloud
was
barely
six
inches
from
her
hand
.
Our
witch
's
mind
overflowed
with
the
thought
of
invasions
and
the
coming
in
of
tides
.
It
seemed
that
all
her
life
she
had
been
living
on
a
narrowing
shore
.
She
remembered
all
her
dawns
as
precarious
footholds
of
peace
on
a
threatened
rock
,
and
all
her
evenings
as
golden
sands
sloping
down
into
encroaching
sleep
.
She
realised
Everything
as
a
little
hopeless
garrison
against
the
army
of
Nothing
.
She
clutched
a
pinch
of
cloud
nervously
,
and
it
broke
off
in
her
hand
.
She
recalled
her
senses
with
a
devastating
effort
.
"
Do
you
mean
to
say
,
"
she
said
,
after
a
moment
,
"
that
poor
dear
Germany
really
believes
that
she
is
right
and
we
are
wrong
?
I
suppose
,
when
you
come
to
think
of
it
,
a
man-eating
tiger
feels
the
same
way
.
It
fights
with
a
high
heart
,
and
a
hot
reproach
,
just
as
we
do
—
—
"
"
We
are
Crusaders
,
"
said
the
German
.
"
Crusaders
at
War
with
Evil
.
"
"
Why
,
how
funny
—
so
are
we
,
"
said
our
witch
.
"
But
then
how
very
peculiar
that
two
Crusaders
should
apparently
be
fighting
each
other
.
Where
then
is
the
Evil
?
In
No
Man
's
Land
?
"
"
We
are
fighting
,
"
recited
the
German
glibly
,
"
because
England
is
the
World
Enemy
.
Throughout
the
ages
she
has
been
the
Rob
—
—
"
There
was
a
violent
explosion
quite
close
to
them
,
and
the
cloud
reeled
and
shook
.
About
a
foot
of
the
German
end
of
it
broke
off
and
was
dissolved
.
"
We
're
within
range
of
our
guns
,
"
said
our
witch
,
looking
down
.
"
This
cloud
must
be
sinking
.
"
"
It
will
never
sink
enough
to
save
you
,
"
said
the
German
,
trying
to
conceal
the
nervousness
with
which
she
rearranged
her
rigid-looking
cloak
round
her
.
She
seemed
to
be
sinking
herself
to
a
certain
extent
;
perhaps
the
warmth
of
her
emotions
was
melting
the
cloud
beneath
her
.
Certainly
she
now
sat
,
apparently
squat
as
an
idol
,
her
figure
submerged
in
cloud
to
the
waist
.
The
English
witch
looked
down
,
singing
a
little
to
keep
up
her
morale
.
London
looked
exactly
like
the
maps
you
buy
for
sixpence
from
sad-looking
gentlemen
in
the
Strand
,
only
it
was
sown
with
a
thin
crop
of
lights
,
and
was
chiefly
designed
in
grey
and
darker
grey
,
and
the
Tubes
did
not
show
so
indecently
.
With
surprising
clearness
the
rhythmic
whispering
of
the
trains
and
the
scanty
traffic
could
be
heard
,
and
once
even
the
shrill
characteristic
voice
of
an
ambulance
.
Somehow
space
did
not
seem
disturbed
by
these
sounds
;
its
quietness
pressed
upon
the
listeners
'
minds
like
a
heavy
dream
,
and
there
was
no
real
believing
in
anything
but
space
.
Our
witch
felt
she
could
have
smudged
London
off
the
face
of
space
with
her
finger
,
and
the
thought
of
seven
million
lives
involved
in
the
fate
of
that
sliding
chart
carried
no
conviction
to
her
.
She
forced
into
her
mind
the
realisation
of
humanity
,
and
of
little
lives
lived
in
little
rooms
.
"
As
one
Crusader
to
another
,
"
she
said
,
"
do
you
find
it
does
much
good
in
the
war
against
Evil
to
drop
bombs
on
people
in
their
homes
?
After
all
,
every
baby
is
good
in
bed
,
and
even
soldiers
when
on
leave
are
anti-militarist
.
"
"
It
always
does
good
to
exterminate
vermin
in
their
lair
,
"
said
the
German
,
trying
restlessly
to
raise
herself
more
to
the
level
of
her
lighter
companion
,
who
was
still
perched
on
the
surface
of
the
cloud
.
"
It
is
at
home
that
Evil
is
originated
,
it
is
at
home
that
English
women
conceive
and
bear
a
new
generation
of
enemies
of
the
Right
,
it
is
at
home
that
English
children
are
bred
up
in
their
marauding
ways
.
It
is
on
the
home
,
the
vital
place
of
Evil
,
that
the
scourge
should
fall
.
"
"
Oh
,
but
surely
not
,
"
said
our
witch
eagerly
.
"
It
is
at
home
that
people
are
kindly
and
think
what
they
will
have
for
supper
,
and
bathe
their
babies
.
Men
come
home
when
they
are
hurt
or
hungry
,
and
women
when
they
are
lonely
or
tired
.
Nobody
is
taught
anything
stupid
or
international
at
home
.
You
can
bring
death
to
a
home
,
but
never
a
righteous
scourge
.
Nobody
feels
scourged
or
instructed
by
a
bomb
in
their
parlour
,
they
just
feel
dead
,
and
dead
without
a
reason
.
"
The
cloud
was
very
small
now
.
The
filmy
edges
of
it
were
faintly
rising
and
falling
like
the
seaweed
frill
of
a
rock
in
the
sea
.
The
witch
kept
her
eyes
on
her
opponent
's
face
,
because
to
look
anywhere
else
gave
her
a
white
feeling
in
her
head
.
"
Crusades
of
the
high
explosive
kind
,
"
she
said
,
"
can
work
only
on
battle-fields
.
Indeed
,
even
on
battle-fields
—
ah
,
what
are
we
about
,
what
are
we
about
?
We
are
neither
of
us
killing
Evil
,
we
are
killing
youth
...
.
"
"
I
know
,
I
know
,
"
wept
the
German
witch
.
"
My
wizard
fell
at
Vimy
Ridge
...
.
"
"
You
are
talking
magic
at
last
,
"
said
our
witch
.
"
Dear
witch
,
why
do
n't
you
go
home
and
ask
how
it
can
be
a
good
plan
for
one
Crusader
against
Evil
to
blow
up
another
?
How
can
two
people
be
righteously
scourging
each
other
at
the
same
time
?
It
is
like
the
old
problem
of
two
serpents
eating
each
other
,
starting
at
the
tail
.
There
must
be
some
misunderstanding
somewhere
.
Or
else
some
real
Evil
somewhere
.
"
"
There
is
,
"
said
the
German
,
recovering
herself
.
"
England
is
Evil
.
England
is
the
World
Enemy
.
Throughout
the
ages
she
has
been
the
Robber
State
,
crushing
—
—
"
But
she
had
little
luck
.
Once
more
she
was
interrupted
by
an
explosion
,
a
much
louder
one
,
directly
above
them
.
Our
witch
hardly
heard
the
noise
;
she
seemed
suddenly
to
have
found
the
climax
of
her
life
,
and
the
climax
was
pain
.
There
was
pain
and
a
feeling
of
terrible
change
all
over
her
,
smothering
her
,
and
a
super-pain
in
her
shoulder
.
After
a
second
or
two
as
long
as
death
,
she
realised
dimly
that
she
was
all
tensely
strung
to
an
attitude
,
like
a
marionette
.
Her
hands
were
up
trying
to
shield
her
head
,
her
chin
was
pressed
down
to
her
drawn-up
knees
.
Her
blue
serge
shoulder
was
extraordinarily
wet
and
immovable
.
She
looked
along
the
cloud
.
Her
enemy
was
not
there
.
There
was
a
round
hole
in
the
cloud
,
and
as
she
leaned
painfully
towards
it
,
she
could
see
a
few
of
the
lights
of
London
,
and
something
falling
spasmodically
towards
them
.
The
cloud
had
been
shaken
to
its
foundations
by
the
two
explosions
,
and
the
German
witch
,
who
had
been
seated
perhaps
on
a
seam
in
the
material
,
or
at
any
rate
on
one
of
the
less
stable
parts
of
the
fabric
,
had
fallen
through
.
Her
parachute
cloak
,
in
passing
through
the
hole
in
the
cloud
,
had
been
turned
inside
out
above
her
head
,
and
rendered
useless
.
Over
and
about
her
falling
figure
her
broomstick
darted
helplessly
,
uttering
curious
sad
cries
,
like
a
seagull
's
.
Even
as
the
English
witch
watched
her
enemy
's
disaster
,
the
larger
