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28 - Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey - Ingersoll Lockwood · Science Fiction Books

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty eight, How a little burden may grow to
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  Speaker 1: be a grievous one, story of a man with a
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  Speaker 1: monkey in his hood, My terrible suffering concerning the awful
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  Speaker 1: panic that seized upon the Colti Corps, my visit to
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  Speaker 1: the deserted ice Palace, and what happened to Fuffkuja end
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  Speaker 1: of his brief but strange career a frozen kiss on
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  Speaker 1: a blade of horn, Or how Shneboulay chose a husband, Ah,
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  Speaker 1: little princess. How easy was it for thee to say
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  Speaker 1: that I would soon grow accustomed to the slender burden,
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  Speaker 1: And note it no more? How prone are we to
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  Speaker 1: call light the burdens which we lay upon the shoulders
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  Speaker 1: of others for our own benefit. True, Fuffkujo was not
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  Speaker 1: as long as a horse, nor as broad as an ox.
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  Speaker 1: And when in accordance with the King's decree, the hood
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  Speaker 1: had been completed, and the little animal who stowed away
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  Speaker 1: therein close against my back, so as to get a
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  Speaker 1: goodly share of the warmth of my body, it seemed
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  Speaker 1: to me that Shneboulay was right, that I would soon
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  Speaker 1: become accustomed to the load, and noted no, And so
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  Speaker 1: it seemed the second and third day, but not on
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  Speaker 1: the fourth, for on that day the little load appeared
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  Speaker 1: to have gained somewhat in weight, and although I was
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  Speaker 1: quick to feign that it was not so, when Princess
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  Speaker 1: Shneboulet quizzed me, saying, dear little Baron, did I not
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  Speaker 1: tell thee that thou wouldst soon? Forget that Fuffkujak slept
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  Speaker 1: on thy shoulders, and in my heart I felt that
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  Speaker 1: he really had grown a mite heavier. On the fifth day,
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  Speaker 1: Bulgar and I were bidden to a merry making at
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  Speaker 1: the Palace of Ice, and as I rose from my
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  Speaker 1: divan to betake me thither, methought, I was strangely heavy hearted,
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  Speaker 1: and so did Bulgar, for he made several efforts to
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  Speaker 1: draw a smile or a cheery tone from me, but
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  Speaker 1: in vain. Suddenly I realized that there was a weight
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  Speaker 1: pressing against my back. No, not a heavy weight, but
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  Speaker 1: a weight all the same. And then I whispered to myself,
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  Speaker 1: why if I am going to be a merry making,
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  Speaker 1: I'll cast it off? And then I wakened from my
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  Speaker 1: deep abstraction and murmured, how strange that I should have
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  Speaker 1: forgotten the Fuffkuja was in my hood, and so I
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  Speaker 1: went to the merry making with Fuffkuja nestled between my shoulders,
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  Speaker 1: and the Colti corpse laughed at the little baron and
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  Speaker 1: his child, as they called him, and drew near and
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  Speaker 1: raised the flap and peeped in at the curious creature
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  Speaker 1: within the hood. And when Fuffkujov felt their icy breasths,
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  Speaker 1: he buried his nose in the fir and sighed and whimpered.
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  Speaker 1: Then for a moment, when the Princess Shnebule came and
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  Speaker 1: sat beside me and praised me for my readiness to
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  Speaker 1: carry out her wishes, and thanked me so sweetly for
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  Speaker 1: my goodness to her, I forgot all about the little
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  Speaker 1: load laid upon me, and I ate the frozen tidbits
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  Speaker 1: from the royal kitchen and laughed and joked with Lord's
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  Speaker 1: frosty Fizz and glacier Boy, just as had been my
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  Speaker 1: wont before Gelidus had decreed that Fuffkujo should make his
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  Speaker 1: bed on my shoulders. But when the fete was over,
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  Speaker 1: and I stepped from the broad portal of the Ice
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  Speaker 1: Palace and looked up at the mighty lens set in
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  Speaker 1: the mountain side, through which the moonlight of the outer
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  Speaker 1: world was streaming in subdued but glorious splendor. I suddenly
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  Speaker 1: felt my legs bend under me. I staggered from right
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  Speaker 1: to left. I clutched at shadows. I was, it seemed
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  Speaker 1: to me, about to be crushed beneath a terrible burden.
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  Speaker 1: I quickened my pace, I broke into a run. I
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  Speaker 1: threw my arms into the air, as if I would
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  Speaker 1: cast off the wake that was smothering me. And so
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  Speaker 1: I came to my lodging, puffing, panting, gasping. Why What
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  Speaker 1: a fool? Was my first word when I had got
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  Speaker 1: my breath. It's only little fuff could john my back?
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  Speaker 1: Stowed away in my fur hood, I must be beside
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  Speaker 1: myself to a thought that a great monster was seated there,
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  Speaker 1: and that he was gradually pressing me down, crushing the
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  Speaker 1: life out of me by degrees, flattening me to the
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  Speaker 1: very ground, and I not able to escape from his
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  Speaker 1: terrible embrace or to squirm out from under his awful
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  Speaker 1: limbs wrapped around my neck and body. All night long,
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  Speaker 1: this monster was clinging to me and urging me to
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  Speaker 1: a faster pace. Up and down, across and around I
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  Speaker 1: knew not where, on bootless errands, ending only to begin
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  Speaker 1: again on searches after nothing hidden nowhere, trying a thousand
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  Speaker 1: lids and finding every one law, returning home, only to
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  Speaker 1: go forth again, up and away and out on interminable highways,
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  Speaker 1: vanishing in a point far on ahead, with that grievous
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  Speaker 1: burden forever on my shoulders, growing heavier and heavier, till
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  Speaker 1: it seemed that I must go down with it into
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  Speaker 1: the dust. But no, it knew full well that it
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  Speaker 1: must not ride me to death. So when I was
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  Speaker 1: ready to drop, it throw off part of its weight
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  Speaker 1: to give me courage to begin again. When the morning came,
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  Speaker 1: my pulse was galloping, and my cheeks were on fire.
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  Speaker 1: I could feel the blood pounding against my temples, and
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  Speaker 1: it was natural that my face should be crimsoned over
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  Speaker 1: with the flush of fever. Half in a daze, I
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  Speaker 1: walked forth toward the grand staircase leading up to the
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  Speaker 1: Ice Palace, when suddenly I was startled by a fearful scream.
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  Speaker 1: I halted and looked up when another and another burst
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  Speaker 1: upond my ears. The terrified colti quarts were fleeing before
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  Speaker 1: me in every direction, shrieking as they fled. Fly, brothers Fly.
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  Speaker 1: The little baron is burning. The little baron is burning. Fly,
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  Speaker 1: brothers Fly. In a few moments, terror had seized upon
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  Speaker 1: every living creature in the icy domain of King Gelidas.
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  Speaker 1: They fled from me in mad haste, taking refuge in
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  Speaker 1: the distant caverns and corridors, filling the air with their
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  Speaker 1: wild outcries, no one being brave enough to halt and
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  Speaker 1: take a second look. My inflamed countenance filled them with
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  Speaker 1: such awful terror that they could only tear along and cry, Fly,
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  Speaker 1: brothers fly. The little baron is burning. The little baron
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  Speaker 1: is burning. With bulgar at my heels, I turned and
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  Speaker 1: sprang up the staircase, with the intention of seeking out
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  Speaker 1: King Gelidas and explaining the matter to him. But he
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  Speaker 1: too had fled, and with him every sentinel and serving man,
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  Speaker 1: every courtier and counselor. The palace was as still as death.
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  Speaker 1: I hastened through its silent corridors, calling out, Schnebeleh, Princess Schnebeley,
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  Speaker 1: Surely there are not afraid of me. Turn back, I
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  Speaker 1: will not harm thee I'm not burning. Turn back, Oh,
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  Speaker 1: turn back with this I reached the throne room, not
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  Speaker 1: a living creature was to be seen. The vast chamber
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  Speaker 1: was still as death. I staggered to a divan, and,
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  Speaker 1: pillowing my poor aching head on a cushion, I fell
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  Speaker 1: into a sound and refreshing sleep. When I awoke, I
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  Speaker 1: rubbed my eyes and looked about me, and at first
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  Speaker 1: I thought that I was still alone in the great
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  Speaker 1: round chamber with its walls of ice. But no there
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  Speaker 1: on the divan sat Schnebuleh, and she smiled and said,
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  Speaker 1: in mock displeasure, thou art not a very watchful nurse,
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  Speaker 1: little Baron, For in thy sleep thou didst squeeze fuff
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  Speaker 1: Guja so tightly against a cushion, and he crawled out
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  Speaker 1: from thy hood and nestled in my arms in thy arm, Schneebuleh,
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  Speaker 1: I exclaimed breathlessly, for I feared for the worst, and
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  Speaker 1: springing up, I drew aside the soft belt which she
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  Speaker 1: had wrapped around fuff Guja, and there they dead. Poor
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  Speaker 1: little beast had been so happy to crawl into the
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  Speaker 1: arms of one he loved so dearly, and had cuddled
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  Speaker 1: up closer and closer to her in search of greater warmth,
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  Speaker 1: but only to come nearer and nearer to a heart
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  Speaker 1: that could not warm him. And so the insidious chill
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  Speaker 1: of death, which bringeth sweet and pleasant drowsiness with it,
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  Speaker 1: had stole over him, and he had died. And Schnebule's tears,
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  Speaker 1: freezing as they fell, now showered like the gentle hail
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  Speaker 1: of tiny gems upon the little lead beasts. No longer
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  Speaker 1: fuff Cujay, but once again the little man with the
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  Speaker 1: frozen smile. Presently the Colti corps were recovered from their
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  Speaker 1: senseless fear, and first one by one, then group wise
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  Speaker 1: they returned to their homes, King Gelidus and his court,
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  Speaker 1: coming back too, to the fair palace which they had
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  Speaker 1: abandoned in their wild fright. When the cry had gone up,
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  Speaker 1: the little baron was burning. Everybody was sorry to hear
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  Speaker 1: that fuff Cuja had died the second time. And many
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  Speaker 1: were the frozen tears that dropped from the chilly cheeks
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  Speaker 1: of the Colti corpse as they looked upon the little
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  Speaker 1: man with a frozen smile as he lay on the
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  Speaker 1: white pelt beside the Princess Schnebelet. That day we bore
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  Speaker 1: him back to the ice grotto, and having laid him
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  Speaker 1: in the hollow molded by his body in the crystal block,
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  Speaker 1: it was closed again so skillfully by the king's quarrymen
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  Speaker 1: that no eye was keen enough to note where the
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  Speaker 1: cleavage had been, and the same uncanny glint was in
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  Speaker 1: his eyes. And when the Colti corps saw this, their
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  Speaker 1: icy hearts felt a cold shiver of satisfaction. For not
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  Speaker 1: only was the little man with a frozen smile, back
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  Speaker 1: in his crystal cell again, but all the fears and
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  Speaker 1: dreadful fancies which his coming to life again had given
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  Speaker 1: rise to, were past and gone forever in peace and
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  Speaker 1: quiet and sweet contentment rained throughout the icy realm of
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  Speaker 1: his frigid Majesty Galadas, King of the Colti Corpse. Now
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  Speaker 1: nothing remained to make his cold heart crack with joy
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  Speaker 1: but to see his beloved child Sneeberly make choice of
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  Speaker 1: a husband, and he had not long to wait for
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  Speaker 1: one day. Upon entering the palace, she saw a youth
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  Speaker 1: lying at the foot of the stairway, overcome with sleep.
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  Speaker 1: In one hand he held an alabaster lamp, and in
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  Speaker 1: the other a new wick, which he was about to
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  Speaker 1: fit into it for the youth was a lamp trimmer
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  Speaker 1: in the ice palace of King Galidas, And when the
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  Speaker 1: Princess Sneberile saw him lying there, overcome with sleep, she
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  Speaker 1: stooped and kissed him on the cheek, and passed on
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  Speaker 1: without another thought about the matter, one way or the other.
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  Speaker 1: And the kiss froze on the cheek of the lamp trimmer,
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  Speaker 1: where Schnebilet had pressed it. Presently, King Gelidas came tramping
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  Speaker 1: into the hallway with his breath white upon his beard,
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  Speaker 1: and he saw the youth lying there, and the frozen
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  Speaker 1: kiss on his cheek, and he bade glacier boy scrape
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  Speaker 1: the delicate frost crystals from the youth's face with a
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  Speaker 1: blade of polished horn. What hast there, father of mine,
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  Speaker 1: asked the princess, when she saw him bearing the blade
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  Speaker 1: of horn along so carefully a kiss which some one
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  Speaker 1: pressed upon the cheek of one of my lamp tremmers,
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  Speaker 1: now lying on the staircase overcome with sleep, replied King Gilidas,
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  Speaker 1: in ringing icy tones. Why, father of mine, exclaimed the
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  Speaker 1: Princess Snebulet, Now that thou speakest of it, I really
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  Speaker 1: believe the kiss is milling, for I recollect kissing someone.
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  Speaker 1: As I entered the palace, I was deep in thought,
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  Speaker 1: but no doubt the youth pleased me as he lay
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  Speaker 1: there asleep, with lamp in one hand and wick in
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  Speaker 1: the other, and that lamp tremor trimmed no more lamps
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  Speaker 1: in the ice palace of his frigid magic Ste Gelidus,
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  Speaker 1: King of the Colti Corpse. No doubt he made Schneebily
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  Speaker 1: a very good husband, and I am quite sure that
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  Speaker 1: she made him a good wife. I would have been
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  Speaker 1: glad to tarry for the nuptial feast, but that was
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  Speaker 1: out of the question. I had stayed too long already.
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  Speaker 1: End of Chapter twenty eight.