<SPAN name="chap14"></SPAN>
<h3> CHAPTER 14 </h3>
<h3> That Night Week </h3>
<p>During the whole of the week Irene had been thinking every other moment
of her promise to the old lady, although even now she could not feel
quite sure that she had not been dreaming. Could it really be that an
old lady lived up in the top of the house, with pigeons and a
spinning-wheel, and a lamp that never went out? She was, however, none
the less determined, on the coming Friday, to ascend the three stairs,
walk through the passages with the many doors, and try to find the
tower in which she had either seen or dreamed her grandmother.</p>
<p>Her nurse could not help wondering what had come to the child—she
would sit so thoughtfully silent, and even in the midst of a game with
her would so suddenly fall into a dreamy mood. But Irene took care to
betray nothing, whatever efforts Lootie might make to get at her
thoughts. And Lootie had to say to herself: 'What an odd child she
is!' and give it up.</p>
<p>At length the longed-for Friday arrived, and lest Lootie should be
moved to watch her, Irene endeavoured to keep herself as quiet as
possible. In the afternoon she asked for her doll's house, and went on
arranging and rearranging the various rooms and their inhabitants for a
whole hour. Then she gave a sigh and threw herself back in her chair.
One of the dolls would not sit, and another would not stand, and they
were all very tiresome. Indeed, there was one would not even lie down,
which was too bad. But it was now getting dark, and the darker it got
the more excited Irene became, and the more she felt it necessary to be
composed.</p>
<p>'I see you want your tea, princess,' said the nurse: 'I will go and get
it. The room feels close: I will open the window a little. The evening
is mild: it won't hurt you.'</p>
<p>'There's no fear of that, Lootie,' said Irene, wishing she had put off
going for the tea till it was darker, when she might have made her
attempt with every advantage.</p>
<p>I fancy Lootie was longer in returning than she had intended; for when
Irene, who had been lost in thought, looked up, she saw it was nearly
dark, and at the same moment caught sight of a pair of eyes, bright
with a green light, glowering at her through the open window. The next
instant something leaped into the room. It was like a cat, with legs
as long as a horse's, Irene said, but its body no bigger and its legs
no thicker than those of a cat. She was too frightened to cry out, but
not too frightened to jump from her chair and run from the room.</p>
<p>It is plain enough to every one of my readers what she ought to have
done—and indeed, Irene thought of it herself; but when she came to the
foot of the old stair, just outside the nursery door, she imagined the
creature running up those long ascents after her, and pursuing her
through the dark passages—which, after all, might lead to no tower!
That thought was too much. Her heart failed her, and, turning from the
stair, she rushed along to the hall, whence, finding the front door
open, she darted into the court pursued—at least she thought so—by
the creature. No one happening to see her, on she ran, unable to think
for fear, and ready to run anywhere to elude the awful creature with
the stilt-legs. Not daring to look behind her, she rushed straight out
of the gate and up the mountain. It was foolish indeed—thus to run
farther and farther from all who could help her, as if she had been
seeking a fit spot for the goblin creature to eat her in his leisure;
but that is the way fear serves us: it always sides with the thing we
are afraid of.</p>
<p>The princess was soon out of breath with running uphill; but she ran
on, for she fancied the horrible creature just behind her, forgetting
that, had it been after her such long legs as those must have overtaken
her long ago. At last she could run no longer, and fell, unable even
to scream, by the roadside, where she lay for some time half dead with
terror. But finding nothing lay hold of her, and her breath beginning
to come back, she ventured at length to get half up and peer anxiously
about her. It was now so dark she could see nothing. Not a single
star was out. She could not even tell in what direction the house lay,
and between her and home she fancied the dreadful creature lying ready
to pounce upon her. She saw now that she ought to have run up the
stairs at once. It was well she did not scream; for, although very few
of the goblins had come out for weeks, a stray idler or two might have
heard her. She sat down upon a stone, and nobody but one who had done
something wrong could have been more miserable. She had quite
forgotten her promise to visit her grandmother. A raindrop fell on her
face. She looked up, and for a moment her terror was lost in
astonishment. At first she thought the rising moon had left her place,
and drawn nigh to see what could be the matter with the little girl,
sitting alone, without hat or cloak, on the dark bare mountain; but she
soon saw she was mistaken, for there was no light on the ground at her
feet, and no shadow anywhere. But a great silver globe was hanging in
the air; and as she gazed at the lovely thing, her courage revived. If
she were but indoors again, she would fear nothing, not even the
terrible creature with the long legs! But how was she to find her way
back? What could that light be? Could it be—? No, it couldn't. But
what if it should be—yes—it must be—her great-great-grandmother's
lamp, which guided her pigeons home through the darkest night! She
jumped up: she had but to keep that light in view and she must find the
house. Her heart grew strong. Speedily, yet softly, she walked down
the hill, hoping to pass the watching creature unseen. Dark as it was,
there was little danger now of choosing the wrong road. And—which was
most strange—the light that filled her eyes from the lamp, instead of
blinding them for a moment to the object upon which they next fell,
enabled her for a moment to see it, despite the darkness. By looking
at the lamp and then dropping her eyes, she could see the road for a
yard or two in front of her, and this saved her from several falls, for
the road was very rough. But all at once, to her dismay, it vanished,
and the terror of the beast, which had left her the moment she began to
return, again laid hold of her heart. The same instant, however, she
caught the light of the windows, and knew exactly where she was. It
was too dark to run, but she made what haste she could, and reached the
gate in safety. She found the house door still open, ran through the
hall, and, without even looking into the nursery, bounded straight up
the stair, and the next, and the next; then turning to the right, ran
through the long avenue of silent rooms, and found her way at once to
the door at the foot of the tower stair.</p>
<p>When first the nurse missed her, she fancied she was playing her a
trick, and for some time took no trouble about her; but at last,
getting frightened, she had begun to search; and when the princess
entered, the whole household was hither and thither over the house,
hunting for her. A few seconds after she reached the stair of the
tower they had even begun to search the neglected rooms, in which they
would never have thought of looking had they not already searched every
other place they could think of in vain. But by this time she was
knocking at the old lady's door.</p>
<br/><br/><br/>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />
1 of 2
2 of 2
Previous
Next
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.