Half-Past Bedtime Read online

  "Where have you been?" he asked.

  "Why, where _haven't_ I been?" said Marian, and then she told them allabout it. Cuthbert didn't believe her. But Cuthbert didn't believeanything. He was nine years old, and was beginning to learn French. ButMummy believed her, and Daddy believed her; and I'll tell you anotherthing that happened.

  Late that night, when everybody was asleep, Mr Jugg flew to Marian'swindow. Marian's angel--everybody has a guardian angel--was smoking aquiet cigarette on the sill outside.

  "Hullo!" he said; "fancy seeing you here!"

  He had once been a bumpy, you see, and Mr Jugg had taught him to fly.

  "Good evening," said Mr Jugg; "what do you think of this?"

  It was a little dream that he had brought for Marian.

  "By George!" said the angel, "that's a beauty."

  He slipped it very softly under Marian's pillow.

  She must have dreamed it too, for next morning when Mummy made her bedit wasn't there. But, alas! the loveliest dreams of all are the onesthat we never remember.

  Like the jungle he lives in, Tiger wears a dappled skin. Foxes on the plains of snow White as their surroundings go.

  So do fishes lose their sight, Buried in the ocean's night, Little knowing lovely day Lies but half a mile away.

  For the truth is plain to see, As our haunts are, so are we; And in cities you will find Busy blind men just as blind.

  Long ago they lost their eyes Under bags of merchandise; And they know not there are still Angels on the window-sill.

  GWENDOLEN

  Monkey Island]

  II

  GWENDOLEN

  Living in the same town as Marian there was a little girl calledGwendolen. Marian didn't know her very well, though they went to thesame school and sometimes smiled at each other in church. Her father andmother were always climbing mountains and lecturing about themafterward, so Gwendolen had to live with her aunt, who was very rich andwore a lot of rings.

  In many ways Gwendolen was a nice girl, but she had an exceptionallylarge tummy. Some people said that it was her own fault, because she wasalways sitting about eating marzipan. But some people said that shecouldn't help her tummy, and had to eat a lot to keep it full. Therewere also people who said that her aunt spoiled her, being so greedyherself and always eating buttered toast.

  Gwendolen's aunt had a pale, proud face, deeply lined by indigestion,and she lived in a big house on the right-hand side of BellingtonSquare. The colour of this house was a yellowish cream, and it had twopillars in front of the front door. There were eleven steps leading upto it, and there was a boy to open it who wore twelve brass buttons.

  In the middle of this Square there was a sort of garden with tall ironrailings all round it, and each of the people living in the Square had akey to open the gate of it. It was the tidiest garden in the wholeworld, and all the flowers in it stood in rows; and the people in theSquare paid for a gardener to shave the grass every day. One of thereasons why the people in the Square were so rich was that they had sofew children; and the children that they did have had to be very carefulnot to make foot-marks on the grass. Gwendolen's aunt sometimes wentthere when she had a headache and wanted to throw it off; and Gwendolenwent there to eat marzipan and read about Princes and Princesses. Shegenerally sat on a painted iron seat in front of a flower-bed shapedlike a lozenge, and once she was sick behind a bush called _B.stenophylla_ on a tin label.

  One day she was sitting on this seat when she heard a curious sort ofsound. At first it was rather faint, so that she didn't take much noticeof it, but gradually it became louder and louder. Her aunt was sittingon the same seat wondering which of her medicines to take before dinner,and Gwendolen noticed that she began to look annoyed, because the noisewas the sound of a harmonium. Some people like harmoniums, and have themin their houses, and play hymns on them on Sunday afternoons. But thiswas a harmonium that went on wheels, with a man to push it, and a womanwalking beside him. After he had pushed it for a few yards he would sitdown and play a tune on it, while the woman walked up and down, lookingat people's windows and trying to catch their eye. If she saw anybodyshe would say "Kind lady," or "Kind gentleman," as the case might be,and perhaps the kind lady or the kind gentleman would throw her somemoney, and then she would say "God bless you." But people like that,with travelling harmoniums, weren't allowed to come into BellingtonSquare, and Gwendolen's aunt said, "Dear me, just when I wanted a littlepeace and quiet!"

  If there had been anybody near, such as a policeman or a gardener, shewould have told him to send the musicians away. But it was very hot, andthere was nobody about, and so the people went on playing. Gwendolenwatched them for a while through the railings, and the butler at NumberTen gave the woman a sixpence. Her aunt was very angry about it whenGwendolen told her, for what was the good of making rules, she said, ifyou encouraged people to break them?

  The people with the harmonium came a little nearer, and then Gwendolencould see what they looked like. The woman was stout, with a hard brownface and rolling eyes like dark-coloured pebbles. When she smiled it wasas if she had pinned it on, and as if the smile didn't really belong toher. The man had pale eyes, like those of ferrets in a hutch, and hewatched the woman all the time he was playing. Gwendolen noticed thatthere was a long string fastened to one of the handles of the harmonium.She heard a little voice close to her knees.

  "Oh, Gwendolen," it said, "save me."

  Gwendolen looked down and saw the unhappiest little face that she hadever seen in her life. It belonged to a small brown monkey wearing a redjacket and a blue sailor hat. He was staring up at her with timid darkeyes.

  "I heard your aunt speak to you," he said. "So I know your name."

  He looked over his shoulder at the man and the woman. But the woman waslooking at the houses, and the man was watching her.

  "What's the matter?" said Gwendolen.

  He was holding on to the garden railings.

  "Lift up my jacket," he said, "and you'll see."

  Gwendolen stooped down and lifted up his jacket. There were three greatwounds across his back.

  "Oh dear!" she cried; "how did you get those?"

  "They beat me," he said. "They're always beating me."

  Gwendolen may have been lazy, and she may have been greedy, but she hada soft heart, and the monkey had seen this.

  "Oh, how dreadful!" she said. "But when did you learn to talk?"

  The monkey shivered a little.

  "Hush, they don't know," he replied. "I've lived with them so long thatI've learned their language."

  "But why don't you run away?" asked Gwendolen.

  "How can I? They keep me on this string and beat me every night."

  Gwendolen thought for a moment.

  "Oh, Gwendolen," he said, "do save me if you can!"

  From where she was kneeling Gwendolen could see the woman going up thesteps to one of the houses. The man was watching her as usual. Gwendolenwas half hidden from them by a bush.

  "But there's my aunt," she said. "I don't know what my aunt would say."

  "Listen," said the monkey. "I could take you to a lovely island."

  Gwendolen frowned a little.

  "But I don't know," she said, "that my aunt's very fond of islands."

  "She would be of this," said the monkey. "What's your aunt fondest of?"

  Gwendolen thought for a moment.

  "Buttered toast," she said.

  "Well, it's ever so much nicer," said the monkey, "than buttered toast."

  Gwendolen looked at her aunt and then at the monkey, with his sad eyesand shaking limbs. There wasn't much time. In another minute the man andthe woman would be moving on. Close beside her, in a little green box,she could see the tops of the handles of the gardener's shears. She tooka deep breath. Then she made up her mind.

  "All right," she said. "I'll see what I can do."

  She crept to the box and took out the shears. The monkey squeezedhimself through the railings. Wi
th a beating heart Gwendolen cut thestring, caught up the monkey, and ran to her aunt. Her aunt looked up.

  "Why, what have you got here?" she asked.

  "He belongs to those people," said Gwendolen, "with the harmonium."

  "Oh, save me!" said the monkey. "Save me!"

  "Look what they've done to him," said Gwendolen. She lifted the monkey'sjacket. Gwendolen's aunt put on her spectacles.

  "Dear me!" she said; "but the monkey talks!"

  "Yes," said Gwendolen. "He's been learning for a long time."

  The monkey clasped his hands and looked into Gwendolen's aunt's face. Hesaw deep down into her, where her good nature was.

  "If you let me go back to them," he said, "they'll kill me. Oh, ladydear, please help me!"

  Gwendolen's aunt was rather disturbed. Nothing like this had happened toher before. If she took the monkey away, people would call her a thief.But if she let him go back, perhaps he would be beaten to death.

  "Where do you live?" she asked.

  "On Monkey Island; it's the loveliest island in the world."

  "But how did you come here?" she said.

  The monkey began to tremble again.

  "They stole me away," he said, "from my wife and children."

  "Oh, Auntie," said Gwendolen, "can't we take him back there? He saysit's ever so much nicer than buttered toast."

  Her aunt stood up.

  "Oh, bother the buttered toast," she said. "It's his wife and babiesthat I'm thinking about."

  Then the harmonium suddenly stopped, and they heard the man cry out.

  "Why, where's that monkey?" he said. He began to swear. They saw thewoman run down the steps. The monkey gave a little cry and jumped intoGwendolen's aunt's arms. Then they saw the man and the woman rush towardthe railings. Both their faces were dark as night.

  "Come on," said Gwendolen's aunt. "We'll have to run for it. Make forthe gate."

  Fortunately, the gate was on the opposite side of the garden, and theirown house was opposite the gate. The man and the woman would have to runright round the Square.

  "We ought to beat them," said Gwendolen's aunt.

  Oh, how sorry Gwendolen was then that her tummy was so large! But sheran as fast as ever she could, and almost kept up with her aunt. The manand the woman had started to run too, shouting aloud at the tops oftheir voices.

  "We shan't be safe," said her aunt, "till we've got to the island;because we shall really be thieves till we've taken the monkey home."

  They dashed across the grass and through the gate, and, just as theywere running up their own front steps, they saw the man and the womancoming into sight round the corner of the railings. They had found apoliceman, and he was running with them.

  "Luckily the servants are out," said Gwendolen's aunt.

  She was quite excited, and her eyes were shining. Gwendolen had neverseen her looking so young. As soon as they were safely in the house, sheshut the front door and bolted it.

  "That'll give us another five minutes," she said. "Run upstairs and getyour hat and overcoat."

  Gwendolen ran upstairs, panting and puffing, and fetched her hat andovercoat and her doll David. Meanwhile her aunt ran into the study,opened her cash-box, and took out a hundred pounds. A minute later therecame a thunder of knocks and two or three peals of the front-door bell.

  "We'll get away," said her aunt, "through the back garden."

  She had packed up a knapsack and slipped into a rain-coat. The knockswere repeated--rat-a-tat-_tat_. They heard angry voices shouting throughthe letter-box. Gwendolen's aunt laughed and shook her fist at them.

  "Come along," she said; "now for the back garden."

  From the back garden there was a little door leading into a streetbehind. Here there was a cab-stand, and Gwendolen's aunt told thecab-driver to drive to the station.

  "We shall just be in time," she said, "to catch the 3.40 train."

  It was only a horse-cab, but the horse galloped, and they arrived at thestation just as the train came in. There was hardly a moment to taketheir tickets in. But the guard waited for them, and they just managedit. The engine whistled, the porter slammed the door, and the nextmoment they were off. The monkey, who had been hiding under Gwendolen'saunt's coat, poked his head out, and looked about him. Fortunately theyhad the carriage all to themselves.

  "Oh dear!" said Gwendolen. "How splendid!"

  It was an express train, and it didn't stop for an hour, and thenGwendolen's aunt thought that they had better get out.

  "We'll hire a motor-car," she said, "and go to Lullington Bay and findmy old friend Captain Jeremy. When I was young he wanted to marry me.But I was too proud and wouldn't let him."

  So they got out and hired a motor-car, and drove at full speed toLullington Bay. It was a long drive, and when they arrived at theCaptain's cottage the stars were shining and the Captain was in hisgarden. Deep below them they could see the ocean, dark as bronze andknocking at the shore. Captain Jeremy was looking through a telescope. Astout little sailing-ship was anchored in the bay.

  "Why, Josina," he said--that was Gwendolen's aunt's name--"fancy seeingyou here after all these years!"

  He was a sunburnt man with blue eyes, and Gwendolen liked him because helooked so kind. They told him what had happened, and he looked verygrave.

  "We must be off at once," he said. "I know that man and woman."

  "Why, who are they?" asked Gwendolen.

  "Smugglers," he said. "They're two of the most dangerous people I know.Luckily my ship is all ready to sail. We'll put off at once for MonkeyIsland."

  The Captain lived alone. He had never been married. So he had only tolock up his cottage and put the key in his pocket.

  "We ought to get there," he said, "in a couple of months' time if thewind holds fair."

  It was the first time that Gwendolen had been on the sea, and for two orthree days she was rather sea-sick. But after that she began to enjoythe voyage and the smell of the spray and the sight of the waves. It waslovely weather, and as they drew near the equator a great yellow moonshone on them all night. It was so hot that she hardly wore any clothes,and used to go barefooted just like the sailors; and she grew so brownand so graceful that she scarcely looked like the same girl. As for hertummy--well, there was no marzipan on board, and she soon began to loseall her love for it. She would ever so much rather be up in the riggingwith David her doll and Captain Jeremy's telescope.

  One day she suddenly noticed a sort of little cloud on the horizon. Butit didn't move, and as the ship drew nearer she saw that the cloud wasreally an island. She called to the monkey, and he ran up the riggingbeside her, and after one look he could hardly contain himself.

  "That's the island," he cried, "my beautiful island, with my wife on itand my children."

  Presently they came so close that they could see the golden sand and thetall trees with their clusters of fruit; and soon the ship wasanchored, and Captain Jeremy gave orders for a boat to be lowered.Captain Jeremy himself, with two of his sailors, and Gwendolen, andGwendolen's aunt all got into it; and in another five minutes they werestanding on dry land again, with the happy monkey dancing beside them.Captain Jeremy and the sailors stayed by the boat, but Gwendolen and heraunt and the monkey began to explore the island. There were flowerseverywhere, not planted in rows like the flowers in Bellington Square,but growing where they liked, and rejoicing in their freedom andpraising God with their beautiful colours. Some of the trees weresmooth, with curious flat leaves and knobbly brown berries that tastedlike buttered toast. But Gwendolen's aunt had made a resolve to give upeating buttered toast. Since she had helped Gwendolen to rescue themonkey all her indigestion had disappeared; and she felt as fresh, andlooked as pretty, as if she were only half her age.

  Some of the trees were different, with twisted trunks, and pale redblossoms dripping with juice; and this juice tasted like marzipan, butGwendolen had resolved to give up marzipan.

  But it was a lovelier island than they had ever imagined, a
nd soon thelittle monkey gave a cry of joy, and the next moment he was hugging inhis arms another little monkey that had dashed to meet him. It was hiswife, and just behind her there were two smaller monkeys waiting to bekissed; and Gwendolen and her aunt could almost have cried to see howhappy they all were.

  For nearly a month they stayed at the island, sleeping on board, butlanding every morning; and Gwendolen learned to swim almost as well as afish and to climb trees almost as well as a monkey. But Captain Jeremywasn't really happy until a big steamer happened to come by with newsthat the man and the woman had been drowned in a storm on their way totry and catch Gwendolen and her aunt. It was now October, and by thetime that they arrived home Gwendolen would have been away from schoolfor a term and a half. So they said good-bye to the monkey and hisfamily, and set sail from the island. Gwendolen cried a little, and sodid her aunt; but on the way home an odd thing happened, for CaptainJeremy asked her aunt to marry him, and they had to think a lot aboutthe wedding. They decided to get married on Christmas Day, and whenGwendolen's school-friends saw her as a bridesmaid she had grown so talland straight and happy-looking that they wondered what on earth couldpossibly have happened to her.

  "Sailor, sailor, What's the song That you sing The whole day long?"

  And the sailor Said to me: "Birth's the jetty, Time's the sea,

  "Death's the harbour, Life's the trip, Hope's the pilot, You're the ship."