E. V. Lucas

“ In the morning, after a breakfast of smush, they climbed on the monster's back and started for the city at a good swinging pace.
'It was like riding on a cloud,' said Tobene afterwards: 'so high up.'
They were well within sight of Ule when—'Look,' said Tobene suddenly, pointing in the direction of a speck on the white road, 'what's that?'
'It moves,' said Tilsa. 'It's a person.'
'We'll soon see what it is,' the Flamp grunted, lengthening his stride. The earth shook as his feet beat upon it. ”

“ Dropping crumbs is a bad habit in the house, I know, but out of doors it becomes a virtue. People who get up first thing in the morning to gorge themselves with bread and biscuits in this greedy way, and then drop no crumbs—well, piggish and inconsiderate is what I call them.'
The accusation aroused Tilsa. 'We didn't gorge,' she said, 'whoever you are, and we've slept here all night. But here are some crumbs for you, anyway,' and so saying, she broke up a piece of bread and scattered it on the ground. ”

“ Much as I love my studies, much as I am attached to the solitary life, I sometimes think it a finer thing to have been a boy even than to have been a hermit.'
Chimp thought it would be kind of him to say something cheery, yet could hit upon nothing but, 'Oh no, not at all,' just as if the Hermit had apologised for treading on his toe; yet it seemed to please the old man.
'However,' he broke off, 'this is by the way. Come, Alexander Joseph Chemmle, tell me about your adventures; how did you find your way to this island? How is it you are alone? ”

“ At the end, the Flamp bowed again and laid a massive paw upon his heart. Then he replied. He began by thanking the Liglid for his kind welcome, continued with the expression of his determination to do in the future all that he could for the good of the city, and ended with a eulogy of Tilsa and Tobene.
'They are, if I may use the word,' he said feelingly, 'kids which any city should be proud of. And to be the grandfather of such bricks ought to be as good as smush and a perpetual delight. ”

“ VIII THE ADVICE
'Now,' said the Ameliorator, when they were all comfortably inside the inner room, 'I want to tell you about some of my friends. "Ladies first" is a good rule: let me tell you about a little girl I once knew,'—here he laid his hand on Beryl's head—'who had just such soft hair as this, and just such a gloomy little face.' Here Beryl smiled, in spite of herself. 'Yes,' added the Ameliorator, 'and just such a smile now and then. And what do you think the trouble was? Why, although she had no fewer than fifteen dolls, all given to her by thoughtful friends, she wanted a new one. ”

“ At any rate, Bobus, try it.
'And little Aline,' the Ameliorator went on, taking Aline's hand and beaming down upon her with his kindly eyes, which danced more than ever behind his round spectacles, 'little Aline prefers cake to bread and butter! Dear, dear, this is very sad. If she eats three pieces of bread and butter she may have cake, but not till then. Well, I think I should advise her to eat those three pieces. Little girls who eat only cake grow up to be weedy and weak, and unable to do half the good things of life: they can't skate, and they can't dance, and they can't play games. ”

“ Soon Alison furled her umbrella and pointed to the Flamp, who was smiling and chuckling and soliloquising in the distance.
('It's as good as smush to see this,' he was saying.)
'Is that him?' Alison inquired.
'Yes,' said Tilsa, 'and he's such a dear, you can't think.'
'Yes, come along and be introduced,' said Tobene, and without a word Alison went, being quite assured that if the creature had not harmed her two pets it would not harm her.
'Mr. Flamp,' said Tobene, 'I want to introduce you to this lady, our nurse Alison. She's the best nurse in the world. ”

“ But I can see, Sim, that it must be very good to be a boy—very, very good.'
'Why yes, Billykins,' Chimp broke in, 'but you don't know really anything about it yet. And I'm afraid you can't know on this island. There isn't the company and there isn't the means. I can't even make you an apple-pie bed, when you sleep in a single blanket; and a booby-trap needs a door. And when there are only two people, and no one else to laugh, it's no fun to stick a cactus in a fellow's chair. ”

“ Fugitives fleeing across the wide plain at night would, once within the gates of the city, pause a moment with raised finger, listening breathlessly. Then the still air would be filled with beautiful, consoling music, and 'Hark,' they would say, 'the nightingale! A good man lives close by. ”

“ Chimp went on with fine authority. 'Now, while I am cramming this sock with stuff to make a ball, you be sharpening these sticks for wickets. You've got a knife, I suppose?'
The Hermit admitted that he had not.
'What!' cried Chimp; 'no knife? Why, you'll never be a boy without a knife. ”

“ Well, that is good of you! Bless your hearts, no one knows how much a deed like that means. Why, it's as good as smush even to know that any one is thinking of you kindly, let alone doing things. I haven't felt so cheery and comfortable for years. But you must be hungry. Now tell me what you would like to eat and I'll try and get it for you, and afterwards you must tell me all about yourselves.'
Tilsa looked at Tobene, and Tobene at Tilsa.
Then Tobene spoke to the Flamp for the first time. 'You said just now that something was as good as smush. Please, what is smush? ”

“ Sometimes they would play cricket until they were too tired to run another yard, and then lean over the rim of the fountain and watch the goldfish gliding silently through the water, or they would sail their boats on the pond, or join in the marriage ceremonies of two of the blue ants that lived in the bark of the cedar. ”

“ A nickname should describe a fellow, you know—it shouldn't be just another ordinary name.'
'Yes,' replied his apprentice, 'and I mean to call you Sim, an abbreviation of Simian. And what will you call me?'
Chimp pondered awhile. 'I shall call you,' he said at length, 'Billykins, because of your long goat's beard.'
And thus began the Hermit's apprenticeship.
'It is too hot for footer,' said Chimp, after he had collected his thoughts, 'so we will make a start with a little cricket practice. Cricket,' he explained, 'is a game—the best game in the world. You ought to see W. G. and Ranji. ”

“ This was done, and Tilsa struck off to the left of the road into the plain. Then after walking for nearly an hour longer, they came to a little dell with a pool at the bottom and bushes growing on its sides, and here Tilsa stopped. The two children lay down together under a bush and at once fell asleep.
When Tilsa awoke, it was broad day. She roused Tobene, and they went to the pool and splashed some water over their faces and hands, and then Tilsa opened the basket. Breakfast consisted only of bread and butter and biscuits, but as they were hungry it was better than a banquet. ”

“ Now, is there anything I can do for you?'
'Well,' said Tilsa, 'we want to know the way to the Flamp.'
'Before I tell you,' said the wren, 'you must inform me whether I am speaking to a boy or a girl.'
'I am a girl,' said Tilsa. 'Toby here is a boy.'
'Very well,' the wren answered. 'Then I must talk to Toby. I make it a rule never to join in friendly conversation with women. They wear my feathers in their hats.'
'But men shoot you,' Tobene interposed, angry that Tilsa should be treated in this way.
'True,' said the wren, 'true. But so long as there are men, birds must expect to be shot. ”

“ First they visited the spring whence the Hermit brought water, and then climbing to a peak of rock, the Hermit described the island as it lay beneath them.
'There,' said he finally, indicating the little creek to which the footpath led, 'that is where the boat lands that once a year brings me my provisions. It puts off from my Aunt Amelia's yacht—The Tattooed Quaker. My Aunt Amelia is the only relative that remains to me. It is she who supplies the tinned meats and the pears. She really has admirable taste, although her choice in names may be a little fantastic. ”

“ Don't forget me altogether, will you; and you'll pay my Aunt Amelia a visit, won't you, and tell her about me?'
Chimp had a little difficulty in replying. He felt girlish, that is to say, gulpy and tearful. At last, 'Why don't you come back too?' he asked.
'I?' said the Hermit. 'Oh no, there is no place for Hermits in your country.'
'I don't know about that,' said Chimp, speaking more naturally again. 'You might make a lot of money showing yourself in caravans at fairs. People would go miles to see a hermit. I paid a penny once to see a fat woman, and there was no end of a squash in the tent. ”

“ Spiders, too, have a way of getting down one's neck. Perhaps frogs are best of all. Frogs are quite satisfactory; they always jump when you touch them up. Toads, on the other hand, are sulky; but their eyes are good to look into.
On this particular morning, Bertram and Beryl, Bobus and Aline met as usual, but for some reason or other they found it impossible to have a really good game; whatever they tried appeared flat and tiresome. They began with cricket and were fairly successful until Bobus hit the ball into the pond, where it immediately sank. ”

“ What's to be done?'
'The best course,' remarked old Alison, who was always a wonderful manager, whether with the cold mutton or a child in a temper, 'the best course is to wait. You lie down here, Mr. Flamp, and make as little noise breathing as you can; and you, Tilsa, darling, take this pencil and paper and write a note to your grandfather, to be slipped under the gate. They'll venture out soon and find it.'
The Flamp and Tilsa did as they were bid. This was Tilsa's note to the Liglid:—
'My dear Grandpapa—There is no need to be frightened. ”

“ When asked about it afterwards, Tilsa and Tobene, even to their old age, would become purple and inarticulate with enthusiasm. Perhaps if each of you thinks of all the most delicious things you have ever eaten, you will come a little nearer to an idea of what smush is like. ”

“ He spoke not at all at breakfast, except, when laying the table, to remark that potted ham and chicken make a pleasing variety upon bloater paste. But after breakfast, placing one seat in the shade for Chimp and one for himself, he talked.
'I have been thinking deeply, Alexander Joseph Chemmle,' he began. 'During the night I have reviewed my life, and now more than ever I am conscious of the limiting influence exerted upon a philosopher by the loss of boyhood. The suspicion has been with me for years: it is now a certainty. ”

“ Very often the bride had to be changed as often as six times before the church was reached, where Bertram, who always insisted on being the clergy-man, was waiting to perform the service. Ants, it must be confessed, are not good at games: they are too busy, or, as Bertram put it, too selfish. Neither are wood-lice. Just at important moments wood-lice turn sulky and roll themselves into little balls. Worms are most trust-worthy, although never eager for sensible play; but worms are slimy, and Beryl always refused to touch them. ”

“ Afterwards came sports of all kinds on the plain, in which the Flamp took part, carrying enormous loads of children up and down at a hand gallop, until the Commissioner of Works begged him to move more slowly, owing to the danger caused to the public buildings of Ule by the tremor of the earth. Never in the memory of the oldest inhabitant had such a day of jollification and excitement been spent.
Of course the Flamp was the chief attraction, but Tilsa and Tobene and old Alison were very considerable lions too, and a hundred times they told the story of their adventures. ”

“ But men can't understand animals. Children can, though they're apt to grow out of it. Thank goodness, there's some children that stay childlike to the end, however old they may be.' He brushed his paw across his eyes again. ”

“ They were too busy to notice Tilsa's entrance.
'We must hurry it through the House,' the Liglid was saying, 'or there won't be time. Rigmarola is a long way off.'
'How long will it take to march the troops here?' the Town Clerk asked.
'Fully six months,' said the Liglid, 'and then they must be drilled. They don't fight Flamps every day, and they may find it difficult to fix upon a mode of attack. What a pity it is,' he added, 'that Ule has no army.'
'It will be expensive,' said the Town Clerk.
'Money,' the Liglid remarked, 'is no object where the circumvention of the Flamp is concerned. ”

“ Alison and Toby and me are just outside the gates all safe with the Flamp, who is really and truly the sweetest creature you ever saw. He doesn't want to hurt this city at all, he only wants simpithy like I said he did. If you open the gate and tell the people this you can see for yourself how kind and gentle he is, and that there isn't any need of sircumventing him. So please open the gate quickly. Your affectionate grandchild,
Tilsa.
The paper was folded and addressed to 'His Excellency the Liglid of Ule,' and Tobene slipped it under the gate. Then the little party sat down to wait. ”

“ In addition to the provisions, it is my aunt's custom to send a letter beseeching me to return in the yacht to England, and declaring that if I do not, that particular supply of food will be the last. For forty years she has done this. She is a noble woman, my Aunt Amelia.'
'When is the boat due?' Chimp asked, thinking more of its possible effect upon himself than upon the Hermit. ”