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

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