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01 - Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey - Ingersoll Lockwood · Classic Sci Fi Books - Daily

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  Speaker 1: Baron Trump's Marvelous Underground Journey by Ingersoll Lockwood. Chapter one,
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  Speaker 1: Bolger is greatly annoyed by the familiarity of the village
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  Speaker 1: dogs and the presumption of the housecats. His health suffers thereby,
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  Speaker 1: and he implores me to set out on my travels again.
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  Speaker 1: I readily consent, for I had been reading of the
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  Speaker 1: World within a World in a musty old manuscript written
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  Speaker 1: by the learned Don Fung, parting interviews with the elder
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  Speaker 1: Baron and the gracious Baroness my mother preparations for departure.
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  Speaker 1: Boger was not himself at all, dear friends. There was
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  Speaker 1: a lack luster look in his eyes, and his tail
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  Speaker 1: responded with only a half hearted wag when I spoke
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  Speaker 1: to him. I say half hearted, for I always had
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  Speaker 1: a notion that the other end of Bulgar's tail was
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  Speaker 1: fastened to his heart. His appetite, too, had gone down
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  Speaker 1: with his spirits, and he rarely did anything more than
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  Speaker 1: sniff at the dainty food which I set before him,
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  Speaker 1: although I tried to tempt him with fried chicken livers
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  Speaker 1: and toasted cost combs, two of his favorite dishes. There
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  Speaker 1: was evidently something on his mind, and yet it never
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  Speaker 1: occurred to me what that something was. To be honest
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  Speaker 1: about it, it was something which, of all things, I
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  Speaker 1: never should have dreamed of finding there. Possibly I might
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  Speaker 1: have discovered that an earlier day what it was all about,
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  Speaker 1: it had not been that. Just at this time I
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  Speaker 1: was very busy, too busy, in fact, to pay much
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  Speaker 1: attention to anyone, even to my dear four footed foster brother.
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  Speaker 1: As you may remember, dear friends, my brain is a
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  Speaker 1: very active one, and when once I had become interested
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  Speaker 1: in the subject, Castle Trumpe itself might fire and burn
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  Speaker 1: until the legs of my chair had become charred, before
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  Speaker 1: I would hear the noise and confusion, or even smell
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  Speaker 1: the smoke. It so happened at the time of Bulger's
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  Speaker 1: low spirits that the elder Baron had, through the kindness
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  Speaker 1: of an old school friend, come into possession of a
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  Speaker 1: fifteenth century manuscript from the pen of a no less
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  Speaker 1: celebrated thinker and philosopher than the learned Spaniard Don Constantino
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  Speaker 1: Bortolomeo Strefolo fiche Guandneris Fum, commonly known among scholars as
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  Speaker 1: Don Fum, Entitled A World within a World. In this work,
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  Speaker 1: Don Fum advanced the wonderful theory that there is every
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  Speaker 1: reason to believe that the interior of our world is inhabited, That,
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  Speaker 1: as is well known, this vast earth ball is not solid,
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  Speaker 1: on the contrary, being in many places quite hollow, that
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  Speaker 1: ages and ages ago, terrible disturbances had taken place on
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  Speaker 1: its surface, and had driven the inhabitants to seek refuge
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  Speaker 1: in these vast underground chambers, so vast in fact, as
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  Speaker 1: well to marry the name of world within a world.
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  Speaker 1: This book, with its crumpled, torn and time stained leaves
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  Speaker 1: excelling the odors of vaulted, cripped and worm eaten chest,
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  Speaker 1: exercise a peculiar fascination upon me. All day long, and
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  Speaker 1: often far into the night. I sat pouring over its
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  Speaker 1: musty and mildew pages, quite forgetful of the surface world,
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  Speaker 1: and with the plummet of thought sounding these subterranean depths,
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  Speaker 1: and with the eye and ear of fans see visiting them,
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  Speaker 1: and gazing upon and listening to the dwellers therein, while
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  Speaker 1: I would be thus engaged. Boger's favorite position was on
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  Speaker 1: a quaintly embroidered leather cushion brought from the orient by
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  Speaker 1: me on one of my journeys, and now placed on
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  Speaker 1: the end of my work table nearest the window. From
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  Speaker 1: this point advantage Boger commanded a full view of the
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  Speaker 1: park and the terrorist, and of the drive leading up
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  Speaker 1: to the poor Cocheer. Nothing escaped his watchful eye. Here
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  Speaker 1: he sat hour by hour, amusing himself by noting the
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  Speaker 1: comings and goings of all sorts of folk, from the
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  Speaker 1: hawkers of Googleles to the noblest people in the shire.
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  Speaker 1: One day my attention was attracted by is suddenly leaping
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  Speaker 1: down from his cushion and giving a low grow of displeasure.
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  Speaker 1: I paid little heed to it, but to my surprise,
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  Speaker 1: the next day, about the same hour it occurred again.
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  Speaker 1: My curiosity was now thoroughly aroused, and laying down don
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  Speaker 1: Fum's musty manuscript, by hastened to the window to learn
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  Speaker 1: the cause of Boger's irritation. Lo the seeker was out.
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  Speaker 1: There stood half a dozen mongle curves belonging to the
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  Speaker 1: tenantry of the baronial lands, looking up to the window,
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  Speaker 1: and by their barking and annex endeavoring to entice Boger
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  Speaker 1: out for a romp. Dear friends, need I assure you
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  Speaker 1: that such familiarity was extremely distasteful to Boger. Their impudence
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  Speaker 1: was just a little more than he could stand. Ringing
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  Speaker 1: my bell, I directed my servant to hunt them away,
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  Speaker 1: whereupon Boger consented to resume his seat by the window.
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  Speaker 1: Next morning, just as I had settled myself down for
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  Speaker 1: a good long read, I was almost my bogo bounding
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  Speaker 1: into the room with eyes flashing fire and teeth laid
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  Speaker 1: bare in anger. Laying hold of the skirt of my
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  Speaker 1: dressing gown, he gave it quite a savage tug, which
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  Speaker 1: meant put thy book aside, a little master, and follow me.
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  Speaker 1: I did so. He led me downstairs, across the hallway,
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  Speaker 1: and into the dining room. And then this new cause
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  Speaker 1: of discontent on his part became very apparent to me.
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  Speaker 1: They're grouped around his silver breakfast place, sat an ancient
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  Speaker 1: tabby cat and four kittens, all calmly licking or lapping
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  Speaker 1: away at his breakfast. Looking up into my face, he
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  Speaker 1: uttered a sharp complaining, how as much as to say, there,
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  Speaker 1: little master, look at that. Isn't that enough to rub
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  Speaker 1: the patience of a saint? Canst thou wonder that I
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  Speaker 1: am not happy? With all these disagreeable things happening to me,
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  Speaker 1: I tell thee little master, it is too much for
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  Speaker 1: flesh and blood to put up with. And I thought
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  Speaker 1: so too, and did all in my power to comfort
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  Speaker 1: my unhappy little friend. But judge of my surprise upon
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  Speaker 1: reaching my room and directing him to take his place
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  Speaker 1: on his cushion, to see him refuse to obey. It
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  Speaker 1: was something extraordinary and set me to thinking. He noticed
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  Speaker 1: this and gave a joyful bark, then dashed into my
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  Speaker 1: sleeping apartment. It was gone for several moments, and then returning,
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  Speaker 1: bearing in his mouth a pair of oriental shoes, which
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  Speaker 1: he laid at my feet. Again and again he disappeared,
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  Speaker 1: coming back, each time with some article of clothing in
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  Speaker 1: his mouth. In a few moments he had laid a
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  Speaker 1: complete oriental costume on the floor before my eyes. And
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  Speaker 1: would you believe me, dear friends, it was the identical
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  Speaker 1: suit which I had worn of my last travels in
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  Speaker 1: far away lands, when he and I had been wrecked
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  Speaker 1: on the island of Googla, the land of the around bodies.
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  Speaker 1: What did it all mean? Why this? To be sure?
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  Speaker 1: Little master? Canst thou not understand thy dear Bulgar, he
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  Speaker 1: is wary of this dull and spiritless existence. He is
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  Speaker 1: tired of this increasing familiarity on the part of these
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  Speaker 1: marble curves of the neighborhood, and of the audacity of
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  Speaker 1: these kitchen tabbies and their families. He implores thee s
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  Speaker 1: break away from this life of reverie and in action,
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  Speaker 1: and for the honor of the Trumps to be up
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  Speaker 1: and away again. Stooping down and winding my arms around
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  Speaker 1: my dear Bulger, I cried out, yes, I understand THEE now,
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  Speaker 1: faithful companion, and I promise THEE that before this moon
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  Speaker 1: has filled her horns, we shall once more turn our
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  Speaker 1: backs on Castle Trump, up and away in search of
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  Speaker 1: the portals to Dina Fum's world within a world. Upon
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  Speaker 1: hearing these words, Bulger broke out into the wildest, maddest barking,
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  Speaker 1: bounding hither and thither, as if the very spirit of
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  Speaker 1: mischief had suddenly nestled in his heart. In the midst
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  Speaker 1: of these mad gambles. A low rap on my chamber
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  Speaker 1: door caused me to call out, peace, Peace, Good Bulgar,
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  Speaker 1: someone knocks peace, I say it was the elder baron
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  Speaker 1: with summer mean and stately tread. He advanced and took
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  Speaker 1: conceit beside me on the canopy. Welcome, honored father, I exclaimed,
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  Speaker 1: as I took his hand and raised it to my lips.
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  Speaker 1: I was upon the very point of seeking thee out.
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  Speaker 1: He smiled and then said, well, little Baron, what thinkest
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  Speaker 1: thou of dn Fume's world within a world? I think,
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  Speaker 1: my lord? Was my reply, that dun Fum is right
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  Speaker 1: that such a world must exist, and with thy consent,
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  Speaker 1: it is my intention to set out in search of
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  Speaker 1: its portals with all safe haste, and as soon as
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  Speaker 1: my dear mother, the gracious Baroness, and may be able
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  Speaker 1: to bring our heart to part with me. The old
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  Speaker 1: Baron was silent for a moment, and then added, little Baron,
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  Speaker 1: much as thy mother and I shall dread to think
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  Speaker 1: of thy being again out from under the safe protection
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  Speaker 1: of this venerable roof, the moss grown tiles of which
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  Speaker 1: have sheltered so many generations of the Trumps. Yet must
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  Speaker 1: we not be selfish in this matter? Heaven forbid that
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  Speaker 1: such a thought should move our souls to stay thee
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  Speaker 1: the honor of our family, thy fame as an explorer
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  Speaker 1: of strained lands in far away corners of the globe
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  Speaker 1: call unto us to be strong hearted. Therefore, my dear boy,
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  Speaker 1: make ready and go forth once more in search of
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  Speaker 1: new marbles. The learned don Fom's chart will stand thee
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  Speaker 1: by like a safe and trusty council. Remember, little Baron,
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  Speaker 1: the motto of the Trumps per adua ad astro. The
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  Speaker 1: pathway to glory is strewn with pitfall and dangers. But
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  Speaker 1: the comforting thought shall ever be mine that when thy
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  Speaker 1: keen intelligence fails, Bulger's an erring instinct will be there
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  Speaker 1: to guide. As I stooped to kiss the elder Baron's hand,
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  Speaker 1: the gracious Baroness entered the room, Bulger hastened to raise
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  Speaker 1: himself upon his hind legs and lick her hand in
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  Speaker 1: token of respectful greeting. The tears were pressing hard against
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  Speaker 1: her eyelids, but she kept them back, and encircling my
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  Speaker 1: neck with her loving arms, she pressed many and many
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  Speaker 1: a kiss upon my cheeks and brow. I know what
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  Speaker 1: it all means, my dear son, she murmured, with the
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  Speaker 1: status of smiles. But it never shall be said that
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  Speaker 1: Gertrude Baroness von Trump stood in the way of her son,
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  Speaker 1: adding new glories to the family, scutching, go, go, little
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  Speaker 1: baron in heaven, bring thee safely back to our arms
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  Speaker 1: and to our hearts in its own good time. At
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  Speaker 1: these words, Bulger, who had been listening to the conversation
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  Speaker 1: with pricked up ears and listening eyes, gave one long
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  Speaker 1: howl of joy, and then, springing into my lap, covered
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  Speaker 1: my face with kisses. This done evented his happiness and
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  Speaker 1: a string of ear splitting barks in a series of
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  Speaker 1: the maddest gambols. It was one of the happiest and
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  Speaker 1: proudest days of his life, for he felt that he
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  Speaker 1: had exerted considerable influence and sprang to the sticking point
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  Speaker 1: my resolution to set out on my travels once again.
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  Speaker 1: And now the patter of hurrying feet and a loud
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  Speaker 1: murmur of anxious voices resounded through the castle corridors. While
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  Speaker 1: inside and out ever and Anon, I could hear the cry,
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  Speaker 1: now whispered and now outspoken, the little Baron is making
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  Speaker 1: ready to leave home again. Bogo ran hither and thither,
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  Speaker 1: surveying everything, taking note of all the preparations, and I
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  Speaker 1: could hear joyous bark ring out as some familiar article
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  Speaker 1: used by me on my former journeys, was dragged from
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  Speaker 1: his hiding place. Twenty times a day. My gentle mother
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  Speaker 1: came into my room to repeat some good counsel or
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  Speaker 1: reiterate some valuable caution. It seemed to me that I
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  Speaker 1: had never seen her so calm, so stately, so lovable.
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  Speaker 1: She was very proud of my great name, and so
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  Speaker 1: in fact were every man, woman and child in the castle.
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  Speaker 1: Had I not gotten office I did, I should have
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  Speaker 1: been literally killed with kindness and bogar slain with sweetcake.
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  Speaker 1: End of Chapter one