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02 - The House of Arden - E Nesbit · Classic Science Fiction Books

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Speaker 1: Chapter one, Arden's Lord, Part two. So it was from
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Speaker 1: the train that the pilgrims got their first sight of
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Speaker 1: Arden Castle. It stands up boldly on the cliff where
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Speaker 1: it was set to keep off foreign foes and guard
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Speaker 1: the country round about it. But of all its old splendor,
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Speaker 1: there is now nothing but the great walls that the
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Speaker 1: grasses and wild flowers grow on, and round towers whose
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Speaker 1: floors and ceilings have fallen away, and roofless chambers where
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Speaker 1: owls build, and brambles and green ferns grow strong and thick.
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Speaker 1: The children walked to the castle along the cliff path,
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Speaker 1: where the skylarks were singing like mad up in the
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Speaker 1: pale sky, and the bean fields, where the bees were busy,
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Speaker 1: gave out the sweetest scent in the world, a scent
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Speaker 1: that got itself mixed with the scent of the brown
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Speaker 1: seaweed that rises and falls in the wash of the
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Speaker 1: tide on the rocks at the cliff foot. Let's have
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Speaker 1: dinner here, said Elfrida, when they reached the top of
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Speaker 1: a little mound from which they could look down on
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Speaker 1: the castle. So they had it. Two bites of sandwich
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Speaker 1: and one of peppermint cream that was the rule, and
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Speaker 1: all the time they were munching, they looked down on
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Speaker 1: the castle and loved it more and more. Don't you
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Speaker 1: wish it was real and we lived in it, Elfrida asked,
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Speaker 1: when they had eaten as much as they wanted. Not
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Speaker 1: of peppermint creams, of course, but they had finished them.
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Speaker 1: It is real what there is of it, Yes, But
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Speaker 1: I mean if it was a house with chimneys and
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Speaker 1: fireplaces and doors with bolts and glass and the windows.
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Speaker 1: I wonder if we could get in, said Edred. We
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Speaker 1: might climb over, said Elfrida, looking hopefully at the enormous
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Speaker 1: wall sixty feet high, in which no gate or gap showed.
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Speaker 1: There's an old man going across that field. No, not
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Speaker 1: that one, the very green field. Let's ask him. So
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Speaker 1: they left their satchels lying on the short turf that
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Speaker 1: was half wild time and went down. But they were
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Speaker 1: not quite quick enough. Before they could get to him,
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Speaker 1: the old man had come through the field of young corn,
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Speaker 1: clambered over a stile, and vanished between the high hedges
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Speaker 1: of a deep sunk lane. So over the stile and
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Speaker 1: down into the lane went the children and caught up
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Speaker 1: with the old man just as He had clicked his
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Speaker 1: garden gate behind him, and had turned to go up
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Speaker 1: the bricked path between beds of woodruff and anemones and
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Speaker 1: narcissus and tulips of all colors. His back was towards them. Now,
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Speaker 1: it is very difficult to address a back politely, so
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Speaker 1: you will not be surprised to learn that. Edred said hi,
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Speaker 1: and Elfrida said hello, I say. The old man turned
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Speaker 1: and saw at his gait two small figures dressed in
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Speaker 1: what is known as sailor costume. They saw a very
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Speaker 1: wrinkled old face with snowy hair and mutton chop whiskers
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Speaker 1: of a silvery whiteness. There very bright twinkling blue eyes
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Speaker 1: in the sun browned face, and on the clean shaven
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Speaker 1: mouth a kind if tight smile. Well said he, And
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Speaker 1: what do you want? We want to know, said Elfrida
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Speaker 1: about the castle, said Edred. Can we get in and
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Speaker 1: look at it? I've got the keys, said the old man,
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Speaker 1: and put his hand in at his door and reached
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Speaker 1: them from a nail. I suppose no one lives there,
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Speaker 1: said Elfrida. Not now, said the old man, coming back
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Speaker 1: along the garden path, Lord Arden, he died a fortnight ago,
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Speaker 1: come Tuesday, and the place is shut up till the
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Speaker 1: new lord's found. I wish I was the new lord,
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Speaker 1: said Edred, as they followed the old man along the lane.
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Speaker 1: And how old might you be, the old man asked,
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Speaker 1: I'm ten nearly. It's my birthday to morrow, said Edred.
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Speaker 1: How old are you getting on for eighty? I've seen
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Speaker 1: a deal in my time. If you was the young lord,
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Speaker 1: you'd have a chance. None of the rest of them
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Speaker 1: ever had you being the age you are. What sort
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Speaker 1: of chance? Why, said the old man. Don't you know
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Speaker 1: the saying? I thought every one knowed it hereabouts? What saying?
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Speaker 1: I ain't got the wind for saying? And walking too,
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Speaker 1: said the old man, and stopped leastways not Podery. He
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Speaker 1: drew a deep breath and said, when Arden's Lord still
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Speaker 1: lacketh ten and may not see his nine again, let
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Speaker 1: Arden stand as arden, may on arden Knoll at death
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Speaker 1: of day. If he have skill to say the spell,
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Speaker 1: he shall find the treasure and all be well, I say,
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Speaker 1: said both the children. And where's Arden Knoll? Edred asked
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Speaker 1: up yonder. He pointed to the mound where they had
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Speaker 1: had lunch. Elfrida inquired what treasure, But that question was
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Speaker 1: not answered. Then if I'm to talk, I must set
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Speaker 1: me down, said the old man. Shall we set down
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Speaker 1: here or set down inside of the castle. Two curiosities struggled,
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Speaker 1: and the stronger one in the castle, said the children.
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Speaker 1: So it was in the castle, on a pillar fallen
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Speaker 1: from one of the chapel arches, that the old man
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Speaker 1: sat down and waited. When the children had run up
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Speaker 1: and down the grassy enclosure, peeped into the ruined chambers,
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Speaker 1: picked their way along the ruined colonnade, and climbed the
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Speaker 1: steps of the only tower that they could find with
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Speaker 1: steps to climb. Then they came and sat beside the
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Speaker 1: old man on the grass that was white with daisies,
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Speaker 1: and said, now then, well, then said the old man.
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Speaker 1: You see, the Ardens was always great gentry. I've heard say,
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Speaker 1: there's always been Ardens here since before William the conquer,
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Speaker 1: whoever he was, ten sixty six, said Edred himself. And
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Speaker 1: they had their ups and downs like other folks, great
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Speaker 1: and small. And once when there was a war or
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Speaker 1: trouble of some sort abroad, there was a lot of
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Speaker 1: money and jewelry and silver plate hidden away that's what
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Speaker 1: it means by treasure, and the men who hid it
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Speaker 1: got killed. Ah them was unsafe times to be alive in,
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Speaker 1: I tell you, And nobody never knew where the treasure
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Speaker 1: was hid? Did they ever find it? Ain't I telling you.
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Speaker 1: And a wise woman that lived in them old ancient
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Speaker 1: times they went to her to ask her what to
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Speaker 1: do to find the treasure, and she had a fit,
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Speaker 1: directly what you'd call a historical fit nowadays. She never
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Speaker 1: said nothing worth hearing without she was in a fit,
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Speaker 1: and she made up the saying all in podery whilst
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Speaker 1: she was in her fit, and that was all they
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Speaker 1: could get out for. And she never would say what
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Speaker 1: the spell was. Only when she was a dying Lady
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Speaker 1: Arden that was then was very took up with nurses
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Speaker 1: of her, And before she breathed her lastest, she told
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Speaker 1: Lady Arden the spell. He stopped for lack of breath.
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Speaker 1: And what is the spell? Said the children, much more
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Speaker 1: breathless than he. Nobody knows, said he. But where is it?
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Speaker 1: Nobody knows? But I've heard say it's in a book
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Speaker 1: in the library in the house yonder. But it ain't
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Speaker 1: no good, because there's never been a lord Arden come
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Speaker 1: to his title without he's left is ten years far
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Speaker 1: behind him. Edred had a queer feeling in his head
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Speaker 1: than you can imagine. His hands got hot and dry,
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Speaker 1: and then cold and damp. I suppose he said, you've
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Speaker 1: got to be Lord Arden. It wouldn't do if you
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Speaker 1: were just playing John or James or Edred Arden. Because
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Speaker 1: my name's Arden, and I would like to have a try.
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Speaker 1: The old man stooped, caught Edred by the arm, pulled
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Speaker 1: him up and stood him between his knees. Let's have
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Speaker 1: a look at you, sonny, he said, and had a look. Ay,
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Speaker 1: he said, you're an Arden for sure? To think of
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Speaker 1: me not seeing that. I might have seen your long
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Speaker 1: nose and your chin that sticks out like a spur.
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Speaker 1: I ought to have known it anywhere. But my eyes
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Speaker 1: ain't what they was if you was Lord Arden. What's
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Speaker 1: your father's name? His christen name? I mean, Edred, the
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Speaker 1: same as mine. But father's dead, said Edred gravely. And
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Speaker 1: your grandfir's name. It wasn't George, was it George William? Yes?
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Speaker 1: It was, said Edred? How did you know? The old
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Speaker 1: man let go Edred's arms and stood up. Then he
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Speaker 1: touched his forehead and said, I've worked on the land,
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Speaker 1: dear man and boy, and I'm proud I've lived to
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Speaker 1: see another Lord Arden take the place of him as
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Speaker 1: is gone. Lok alive. Boy, don't garp like that. He
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Speaker 1: added sharply, you're Lord Arden right enough. I can't be gasped.
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Speaker 1: Edred Auntie said, Lord Arden was a relation of ours,
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Speaker 1: a sort of great uncle cousin. That's it, missy. The
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Speaker 1: old man nodded, Lord Arden Christen named James. He was
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Speaker 1: first cousin to mister George, as was your grandfer. His
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Speaker 1: son was mister Edred, as is your father, the late
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Speaker 1: Lord not having any sons nor daughters neither. For the
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Speaker 1: matter of that, the title comes to your branch of
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Speaker 1: the family. I've heard Snigsworthy, the lawyer's apprentice from Lewis,
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Speaker 1: tell it over fifty times this last three weeks. Your
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Speaker 1: Lord Arden, I tell you if I am, said Edred,
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Speaker 1: I shall say the spell and find the treasure. You'll
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Speaker 1: have to be quick about it, said Elfrida. You'll be
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Speaker 1: over ten the day after tomorrow, so I shall, said Edred.
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Speaker 1: When your Lord Arden, said the old man very seriously,
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Speaker 1: I mean when you grow up to enjoy the title
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Speaker 1: as please God you may you were, remember the poor
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Speaker 1: and needy young master. That's what you do. If I
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Speaker 1: find the treasure, I will, said Edred. You'd do it
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Speaker 1: whether or no, said the old man. I must be
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Speaker 1: getting along home. You'd like to play about a bit? Eh, well,
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Speaker 1: bring me the keys. When you've done, I can trust
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Speaker 1: you not to hurt your own place that's been in
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Speaker 1: the family all these hundreds of years. I should think
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Speaker 1: you could, said Edred proudly. Good Bye and thank you.
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Speaker 1: Good bye, my lord, said the old man, and went,
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Speaker 1: I say, said Edred, with a big bunch of keys
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Speaker 1: in his hand. If I am Lord Arden, you are
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Speaker 1: you are? Said Elfrida. I am perfectly certain you are.
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Speaker 1: And I suppose I'm Lady Arden. How perfectly ripping he
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Speaker 1: can shut up those lodging children. Now, anyhow, what's up?
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Speaker 1: Edred was frowning and pulling the velvet covering of moss
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Speaker 1: off the big stone on which he had absently sat down.
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Speaker 1: Do you think it's burglarish, he said, slowly, to go
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Speaker 1: into your own house without leave? Not if it is
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Speaker 1: your own house, of course, not, said Elfrida. But suppose
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Speaker 1: it isn't They might put you in prison for it.
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Speaker 1: You could tell the policemen you thought it was yours,
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Speaker 1: I say, Edred, lets, it's not vulgar curiosity like Aunty says.
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Speaker 1: It's the spell I want, said the boy, as if
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Speaker 1: I didn't know that, said the girl contemptuously. But where's
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Speaker 1: the house, she might well ask, for there was no
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Speaker 1: house to be seen, only the great gray walls of
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Speaker 1: the castle, with their fine fringe of flowers and grass
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Speaker 1: showing feathery against the pale blue of the June sky.
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Speaker 1: Here and there, though there were gray wooden doors set
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Speaker 1: in the gray of the stone. It must be one
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Speaker 1: of those. Edred said, We'll try all the keys and
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Speaker 1: all the doors till we find it. So they tried
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Speaker 1: all the keys and all the doors. One door led
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Speaker 1: to aloft where apples were stored. Another to a cellar
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Speaker 1: where brooms and spades and picks leaned against the damp wall,
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Speaker 1: and there were baskets and piles of sacks. A third
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Speaker 1: opened into a tower that seemed to be used as
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Speaker 1: a pigeon coat. It was the very last door they
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Speaker 1: tried that led into the long garden between two high walls,
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Speaker 1: where already the weeds had grown high among the forget
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Speaker 1: me nots and pansies. And at the end of this
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Speaker 1: garden was a narrow house with a red roof wedged
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Speaker 1: tightly in between two high gray walls that belonged to
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Speaker 1: the castle. All the blinds were down. The garden was
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Speaker 1: chill and quiet and smelt of damp earth and dead leaves. Oh, Edred,
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Speaker 1: do you think we ought, Elfrida said, shivering. Yes, I do,
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Speaker 1: said Edred. And you're not being good, whatever you may think,
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Speaker 1: You're only being frightened. Elfrida naturally replied, I'm not. Come on.
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Speaker 1: But it was very slowly, and with a feeling of
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Speaker 1: being on tiptoe and holding their breath, that they went
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Speaker 1: up to those blinded windows that looked like sightless eyes.
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Speaker 1: The front door was locked, and none of the keys
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Speaker 1: would fit it. I don't care, said Edred. If I
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Speaker 1: am lord arden, I've got a right to get in,
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Speaker 1: And if I'm not, I don't care about anything. So
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Speaker 1: here goes Alfrida almost screamed, half with horror and half
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Speaker 1: with admiration of his daring when he climbed up to
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Speaker 1: a little window by means of an elder tree that
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Speaker 1: grew close to it. Tried to open the window, and
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Speaker 1: when he found it fast deliberately pushed his elbow through
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Speaker 1: the glass. Thus he said, rather unsteadily, the air of
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Speaker 1: arden Castle re enters his estates. He got the window
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Speaker 1: open and disappeared through it. Elfrida stood clasping and unclasping
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Speaker 1: her hands and in her mind trying to get rid
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Speaker 1: of the idea of a very large and sudden policeman
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Speaker 1: appearing in the garden door, and saying, in that deep voice,
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Speaker 1: so much admired in our village constables, where's your brother?
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Speaker 1: No policeman came, fortunately, and presently a blind went up,
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Speaker 1: a French window opened, and there was Edred beckoning her
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Speaker 1: with the air of a conspirator. It needed an effort
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Speaker 1: to obey his signal, but she did it. He closed
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Speaker 1: the French window, drew down the blind again, and oh,
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Speaker 1: don't let's, said Elfrida. Nonsense, said Edred. There's nothing to
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Speaker 1: be frightened of. It's just like our rooms at home.
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Speaker 1: It was. They went all over the house, and it
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Speaker 1: certainly was. Some of the upper rooms were very bare,
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Speaker 1: but all the furniture was of the same kind as
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Speaker 1: Aunt Edith's, and there were the same kind of pictures.
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Speaker 1: Only the library was different. It was a very large room,
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Speaker 1: and there were no pictures at all, nothing but books
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Speaker 1: and books and books bound in yellowy leather, books from
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Speaker 1: ceiling to floor, shelves of books between the windows, and
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Speaker 1: over the mantelpiece, hundreds and thousands of books. Even Edred's
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Speaker 1: spirits sank. It's no go. It will take us years
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Speaker 1: to look in them all, he said. We may as
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Speaker 1: well look some of them, said Elfrida, always less daring
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Speaker 1: but more persevering than her brother, She sat down on
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Speaker 1: the worn carpet and began to read the names on
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Speaker 1: the backs of the books nearest to her. Burtons Atomy
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Speaker 1: of Melon Something she read, and Locke on Understanding, and
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Speaker 1: many other dull and wearying titles. But none of the
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Speaker 1: books seemed at all likely to contain a spell for
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Speaker 1: finding treasure. Burgess on the Precious Metals beguiled her for
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Speaker 1: a moment, but she saw at once that there was
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Speaker 1: no room in its closely printed, brown spotted pages for
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Speaker 1: anything so interesting as a spell. Time passed by, the
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Speaker 1: sunlight that came through the blinds had quite changed its
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Speaker 1: place on the carpet, and Elfrida still persevered, Dred grew
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Speaker 1: more and more restless. It's no use, he kept saying,
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Speaker 1: and let's chuck it. And I expect that old Chap
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Speaker 1: was just kidding us. They don't feel a bit like
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Speaker 1: I did about it, and do let's go along home.
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Speaker 1: But Elfrida plodded on, though her head and her back
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Speaker 1: both ached. I wish I could say that her perseverance
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Speaker 1: was rewarded, but it wasn't, and one must keep to
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Speaker 1: facts as it happened. It was Edred, who, aimlessly running
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Speaker 1: his finger along the edge of the book shelf just
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Speaker 1: for the pleasure of looking at the soft mouse colored
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Speaker 1: dust that clung to the finger at the end of
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Speaker 1: each shelf, suddenly cried out, what about this? And pulled
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Speaker 1: out a great white book that had on its cover
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Speaker 1: a shield printed in gold with squares and little spots
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Speaker 1: on it, and a gold pig standing on top of
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Speaker 1: the shield, and on the back the history of the
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Speaker 1: Ardens of Arden. In an instant, it was open on
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Speaker 1: the floor between them, and they were turning its pages
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Speaker 1: with quick, anxious hands. But alas it was as empty
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Speaker 1: of spells as dull old Burgess himself. It was only
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Speaker 1: when Edred shut it with a bang, and the remark
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Speaker 1: that he had had jolly well enough of it that
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Speaker 1: a paper fluttered out and swept away like a pigeon
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Speaker 1: settling on the fireless hearth. And it was the spell,
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Speaker 1: there was no doubt of that, written in faint ink
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Speaker 1: on a square, yellowed sheet of letter paper that had
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Speaker 1: been folded once, and opened and folded again so often
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Speaker 1: that the fold was worn thin and hardly held its
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Speaker 1: two parts together. The writing was fine and pointed and ladylike.
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Speaker 1: At the top was written the spell, Aunt Anne told me,
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Speaker 1: December twenty fourth, seventeen ninety three. And then came the spell.
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Speaker 1: Here o, Badge of Arden's house, the spell, my little
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Speaker 1: age allows Arden speaks it without fear. Badge of Arden's House,
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Speaker 1: draw near, Make me brave and kind and wise, and
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Speaker 1: show me where the treasure lies to be said the
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Speaker 1: paper went on at sun setting by a Lord Arden,
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Speaker 1: between the completion of his ninth and tenth years. But
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Speaker 1: it is all folly and not to be believed. This
17:54
Speaker 1: is it, right enough, said Dred. Come on, let's get
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Speaker 1: out of this. They turned to go, and as they
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Speaker 1: did so, something moved in the corner of the library,
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Speaker 1: something little and they could not see its shape. Neither
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Speaker 1: drew free breath again till they were out of the
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Speaker 1: house and out of the garden, and out of the castle,
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Speaker 1: and on the wide timy downs with the blue sky above,
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Speaker 1: where the skylarks sang, and there was the sweet fresh
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Speaker 1: scent of the seaweed and the beanfields. Oh, said Elfrida.
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Speaker 1: Then I'm so glad it's not at midnight. You've got
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Speaker 1: to say the spell. You'd be too frightened. I shouldn't,
18:33
Speaker 1: said Edred, very pale and walking quickly away from the castle.
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Speaker 1: I should say it just the same if it was midnight.
18:40
Speaker 1: And he very nearly believed what he said. Elfrida. It
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Speaker 1: was who had picked up the paper that Edred had dropped.
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Speaker 1: When that thing moved in the corner, she still held
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Speaker 1: it fast. I expect it was only a rat or something,
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Speaker 1: said Edred, his heart beating nineteen to the dozen, as
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Speaker 1: they say in Kent and elsewhere. Oh yes, said Elfrida,
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Speaker 1: whose lips were trembling a little. I am sure it
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Speaker 1: was only a rat or something. When they got to
19:06
Speaker 1: the top of Arden Knoll, there was no sign of sunset.
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Speaker 1: There was time, therefore to pull oneself together to listen
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Speaker 1: to the skylarks, and to smell the bean flowers, and
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Speaker 1: to wonder how one could have been such a duffer
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Speaker 1: as to be scared by a rat or something. Also,
19:21
Speaker 1: there were some bits of sandwich and crumbled cake, despised
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Speaker 1: at dinner time, but now somehow tasting quite different. These
19:29
Speaker 1: helped to pass the time till the sun almost seemed
19:31
Speaker 1: to rest on a brown shoulder of the downs that
19:34
Speaker 1: looked as though it were shrugging itself up to meet
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Speaker 1: the round red ball that the evening mists had made
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Speaker 1: of the sun. The children had not spoken for several minutes.
19:42
Speaker 1: Their four eyes were fixed on the sun, and as
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Speaker 1: the edge of it seemed to flatten itself against the
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Speaker 1: hills shoulder, Elfrida whispered now and gave her brother the paper.
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Speaker 1: They had read the spell so often as they sat
19:56
Speaker 1: there in the waning light that both knew it by heart,
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Speaker 1: so there was no need for Edred to read it.
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Speaker 1: And that was lucky, for in that thick pink light,
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Speaker 1: the faint ink hardly showed it all on the yellowy paper.
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Speaker 1: Edred stood up. Now, said Elfrida again, Say it now,
20:14
Speaker 1: and Edred said quite out loud and in a pleasant
20:17
Speaker 1: sort of sing song, such as he was accustomed to
20:20
Speaker 1: use at school when reciting the stirring ballads of the
20:22
Speaker 1: late Lord Macauley, or the moving tale of the Boy
20:25
Speaker 1: on the Burning Deck. Here o, Badge of Arden's House,
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Speaker 1: the spell my little age allows, Arden speaks it without fear.
20:34
Speaker 1: Badge of Arden's House drawn near. Make me brave and
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Speaker 1: kind and wise, and show me where the treasure lies.
20:44
Speaker 1: He said it, slowly and carefully, his sister eagerly listening,
20:48
Speaker 1: ready to correct him if he said a word wrong.
20:51
Speaker 1: But he did not where the treasure lies. He ended,
20:56
Speaker 1: and the great silence of the downed seemed to rush
20:58
Speaker 1: in like a wave, to fill the space which his
21:01
Speaker 1: voice had filled. And nothing else happened at all. A
21:05
Speaker 1: flush of pink from the sun's setting spread over the downs.
21:08
Speaker 1: The grass stems showed up thin and distinct. The sky
21:11
Speaker 1: larks had ceased to sing, but the scent of the
21:13
Speaker 1: bean flowers and the seaweed was stronger than ever, And
21:17
Speaker 1: nothing happened till Edred cried out, what's that for? Close
21:22
Speaker 1: to his foot something moved, not quickly or suddenly so
21:26
Speaker 1: as to startle, but very gently, very quietly, very unmistakably
21:32
Speaker 1: something that glittered goldenly in the pink diffused light of
21:36
Speaker 1: the sun's setting. Why, said Elfrida, stooping, Why it's end
21:45
Speaker 1: of section two.