Collected Works of Algernon Blackwood

by Algernon Blackwood

  The children repeated the Safety Rule together: ‘ When Lights are on, move fast. When Lights are out, keep still.’

  ‘That’s right,’ whispered Snitch approvingly. ‘ I’ll go first now, and you follow. Join me on the lawn. The Lights will go down with you.’

  There was a flicker of the great tail, a chuckling laugh, a swift rattling scuttle of four marvellous feet — and it was gone into empty space.

  Sambo and Topsy peered over the edge into the gulf of darkness. How smooth the wall looked! What a height it seemed! The garden lay below them far away, looking like a dim map spread out. They could smell the earth and flowers.

  ‘Don’t hesitate,’ rose up a tiny voice out of the gulf. ‘ Head first. Use hands and feet. Now — one... two... three... GO!’

  CHAPTER IX

  WITH his heart in his mouth, Sambo moved towards the dizzy edge. The floating Lights moved with him, so that he could see every detail, every crack and niche. The glow-worms grouped themselves in the air close about him. He was very frightened, to tell the truth. But he didn’t forget his sister. Even in his moment of fear before the terrible descent, he remembered Topsy. He must help her, if he could. ‘ Give me your hand, Topsy,’ he whispered,’ or your foot, if that’s easier.’

  His sentence was hardly finished when, to his amazement, Topsy slipped past him without a sound, and disappeared over the edge alone. She rolled into space. Ten of the Lights instantly detached themselves and followed her down.

  ‘I’m all right, young Sambo!’ her voice floated up to him with a gurgle. ‘ It’s quite easy. Come on!’

  She was already halfway down, and Sambo was ashamed to hesitate any longer. He crawled to the edge, put a leg over, found a crack for his foot — and was off. The Lights floated down with him, helping him to find the niches and rough bits he could cling to. It seemed a long way, but he got down at last and felt his feet on the gravel path that skirted the lawn. He drew a deep breath, thanked his stars he hadn’t slipped, and looked about him to find his sister and the lizard.

  A few feet beyond him he saw the group of glow-worms that had accompanied Topsy down the wall, and he was in the act of running across to join them, when there came a sound that set every nerve tingling in his body.

  ‘Snitch! ‘ he heard, close in the grass beside him.

  It was the warning, and it rang out sharp and clear. There was danger somewhere. The same instant every Light went out, as though an electric switch had turned them off.

  Sambo stood stock still in the darkness, holding his breath. He remembered the Rule: When Lights are on, move fast; when Lights are out, keep still! He kept as still as a mouse. What was the danger, he wondered, and how had the lizard discovered it? Where was it? From what side would it come? Was it an owl, a snake, a rat?

  He stared as hard as he could. He could see nothing but the gigantic house, the towering cedars on the lawn, the huge rhododendron bushes. All these, of course, now seemed enormous compared with his own tiny body. The blades of grass all round him rose to his shoulder, for he could feel them touching his cheeks, but the house and trees looked like mountains reaching to the sky. He saw the house clearest, because its walls were painted pale yellow, and glimmered through the darkness. Against this pale yellow wall he now became aware that something was moving. Its bulk was great. It seemed as large as a cow. It was alive. It moved slowly, stealthily. What in the world was it?

  Sambo was frightened. Shivers ran down his back. Although the big thing moved so delicately, he could just hear the soft thud of its feet on the gravel path by the wall. It stalked along. No stone was disturbed. It planted its feet most carefully.

  Frightened though he was, however, he again remembered his sister, for if he was frightened, she must be simply terrified. And though the Rule warned him not to move, he could not help trying to see if he could find her with his hand and comfort her.

  Very cautiously he stretched an arm out between the blades of grass surrounding him. Against his hand he could feel the rough edges of a dandelion leaf. He could actually hear the sound as it scraped along his skin. He trembled as he heard it. Tiny though it was, it seemed quite loud now that he was so close to the ground. At the same moment he felt a warm soft thing clutching his fingers. Only by a miracle did he keep back a scream.

  And then he knew — it was Topsy’s hand. She, too, had been groping for him in the darkness. The two hands clasped one another tightly, and Sambo heaved a deep sigh of relief. His hand, he knew, would comfort her.

  But that sigh, quiet as it was, had been heard. The scraping of the dandelion leaf had probably been heard too. For the Stalking Outline stopped instantly. For a second it kept as still as though it were a stone. Then the great mass moved forwards. The whole black bulk of it moved towards him — slowly, stealthily, silently — nearer and nearer, till it stood within a foot of Sambo and his sister. Large as a cow, it towered over them, and in the upper part of its great body were two large round discs that flashed with a queer greenish light. These great discs were turned straight upon the two cowering children. They were discovered. The monster stood glaring down at them.

  Then, suddenly, Sambo knew. The discs were eyes. The monster, of course, was Mrs. Tompkyns.

  Now, both children were brave. Topsy was brave, because she had no imagination and never dreamed anything would hurt her; and Sambo was braver still, because he had imagination — he realised how a thing might hurt him, yet faced it just the same. Anyhow, it was Topsy now, in this terrible moment, who acted first. Any moment, of course, the great cat might pounce on them, thinking they were mice because of their size. But Topsy never thought of that. She loved and trusted Mrs. Tompkyns. The cat’s gigantic body didn’t frighten her.

  ‘It’s old Mrs. Tompkyns,’ she whispered with a gurgling little laugh. ‘ Let’s get on her back, Sambo! We’ll climb up by the tail—’

  She never finished her sentence. What happened, happened so quickly, and with such appalling noise, that Sambo hardly knew what it was. Afterwards he knew, but at the moment it just seemed as if the house had fallen, or the great cedars had come crashing down about them. One thing he heard clearly, but only one — the voice of the lizard. Its shrill squeak penetrated in that instant above all else:

  ‘Run for your lives! Go in opposite directions. Hide under different stones!’

  Immediately following the words came a queer whistling sort of sound, a great shaking movement among the blades of grass, a scuttling of flying feet — and the lizard had darted past the children towards the cat.

  It was all like a hurricane that strikes a forest of trees, for the blades of grass bent this way and that, scraping their rough edges noisily together, while the thud of feet on the lawn was like thunder. There was a tremendous roar and scuffle, and the only thing Sambo knew was that, while he seized Topsy’s hand more tightly than before, and tore away with her to hide in the darkness beneath a stone on the path, he caught sight of Mrs. Tompkyns flying through the air above his head. He could see the whole black mass of her rushing past against the stars. It was followed by a crash that shook the ground. Then came silence again, a silence of the grave.

  Sambo felt about for his sister, for he had lost hold of her hand in that wild dash for safety. The big stone now covered them nicely. No one could see them.

  ‘Here I am,’ whispered Topsy. ‘ Old Tompkyns made a bad shot, didn’t she? ‘ And she giggled happily beside her brother. She snuggled up close to him again. ‘ I’m glad we came to the same stone,’ she added. ‘ Aren’t you, Sambo?’

  Sambo was still too excited to think clearly, or realize quite what had happened. He was still panting.

  ‘Has she disappeared? ‘ he asked breathlessly. ‘ The cat, I mean.’

  ‘Rather,’ Topsy told him. ‘ Snitch did it on purpose, I think.’

  ‘Of course,’ Sambo agreed, though he didn’t quite know what she meant yet, nor what the explanation of everything was. ‘ She’s in the middle of the rhododendron cl
ump, where old Tompkyns can’t follow her,’ added Topsy, gurgling her delight.

  And then at last it dawned upon Sambo what had happened. Snitch had realized their danger, had guessed that the cat might take them for mice and pounce upon them, and so had deliberately drawn attention upon herself. She had made a noise on purpose. Mrs. Tompkyns had suddenly caught sight of her — and jumped to catch her. The cat, of course, had jumped right over their heads, clearing them easily. The crash and noise and scuffle were now explained. But Snitch, laughing in her sleeve, had flashed away like lightning, and Mrs. Tompkyns had just landed upon an empty patch of grass where there was no lizard at all!

  ‘Snitch risked her life for us,’ declared Sambo, proud and pleased that at last he understood the whole business properly. ‘ We should have been a bit squashed, you know, if the cat had fallen on us. You would, at least,’ he added.

  ‘Hark! What’s that! ‘ Topsy interrupted him.

  They listened. A queer, wailing noise was audible in the distance. It came from the direction of the stables behind the house. It sounded at first, they thought, like a human voice, but the next moment they recognised it for what it was — a cat. It was caterwauling.

  ‘It’s old Tompkyns cat-a-walling on the stable walls,’ announced Sambo, using the long word as he believed it was really meant. ‘ She’s given up. We’re safe again. Snitch will be back any minute now.’

  ‘ — I hope so,’ replied Topsy, crawling out from beneath their stone.

  Sambo followed her. ‘ Look! ‘ he cried. ‘Look, Topsy! The Lights are on again!’

  Topsy clapped her tiny hands with delight when she saw the group of floating pale green Lights dancing about over their heads.

  ‘That means the lizard will be back any minute now,’ she laughed, as she rolled her way towards the lawn again, Sambo leading the way. ‘ The old thing’s as quick as lightning—’

  ‘Quicker, you mean,’ snapped a shrill voice. ‘And if you speak of me again like that, I shall make you bigger and send you back to bed!’

  It was Snitch, who had darted up across the lawn. She was, of course, offended. For a moment an awkward silence fell on them all. Sambo was horrified at the way his sister had spoken. He felt ashamed of her. Naturally the lizard’s feelings were hurt at hearing herself called ‘ old thing.’ And he was just going to talk severely to Topsy, when he saw her rolling quickly up to Snitch’s side and holding out her two hands.

  ‘I’m very sorry, Mrs. Snitch,’ she said in a whisper.’ I beg your pardon.’ Then she added ‘ R.S.V.P., R.S.V.P.,’ twice over.

  ‘Forgiven and forgotten,’ Snitch answered at once, to Sambo’s great surprise and happiness. He had expected a row. ‘ You’re a female. All females have sharp tongues. I’m one myself.’

  ‘Thank you, Mrs. Snitch,’ whispered Topsy, ‘ and I won’t do it again.’

  Snitch laughed. ‘ Perhaps not,’ she snapped. ‘ But you’ll do something worse. Anyhow, forgiven and forgotten. So let’s get on. The Lights are burning again. We’ll move fast.’

  ‘Thank you for saving our lives,’ put in Sambo quickly. ‘ You did save them, you know. It was wonderful.’

  ‘Oh, that’s nothing,’ said the lizard. ‘ I can always fool a cat.’

  ‘If that was nothing,’ exclaimed Sambo, ‘ what’ll something be like, I wonder?’

  ‘You’ll see,’ was the reply. ‘ Now give the ball a push, and let’s move fast.’

  Sambo caught Topsy by the hand, knowing she was the ball referred to, and that Snitch was making fun of his sister by way of a little revenge, and followed Snitch across the lawn. The dew was heavy. The big drops on the grass half soused them. But they puffed and panted along, following Snitch’s ever-vanishing tail, and so presently reached the gate into the field.

  Here Snitch paused. The two children paused beside her, trying to recover their breath. They looked about them. The Lights had scattered, so as to be less noticeable. In a group they might draw the attention of some hunting owl, but separate like this there was nothing to attract any night-creatures that might be on the prowl.

  Beyond them, in the field, Sambo saw that the grass was much thicker and taller than on the lawn. It looked so high, indeed, that he felt sure he would never be able to get through it, much less help Topsy rolling at his heels. The lawn was tiring enough, but this huge grass, rising like a forest, alarmed him.

  ‘Mrs. Snitch,’ he whispered, ‘ we — we feel rather small, I think, to — to go fast through that.’

  Snitch, motionless beside them, made no sign that she had heard. There was no reply, at any rate. Sambo nudged his sister. ‘ You say something too,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘ Something polite — very polite, mind.’

  The ball rolled over, for Sambo had nudged her harder than he knew. Topsy, now lying on her back, rose to the occasion and did her best. ‘ Please, Mrs. Snitch,’ she gurgled, ‘ I beg your pardon, but couldn’t you make us a little bigger? R.S.V.P.’

  Still there was no reply, nor did Snitch stir a muscle. Her great back lay like a log in the deep grass; her tail stretched away into the gloom of the thick stems; her eyes stared straight in front of her. Holding hands, the children waited for what seemed a long time. Then the lizard slowly turned her great head and looked at them.

  They saw that the bit of broken tail stuck in her big jaws.

  ‘Thay after me,’ she said,’ thith verth. And touch my broken tail at the thame time:

  Pleathe make my figure

  A little bigger —

  About enough

  To clear the rough.’

  Sambo and Topsy obeyed at once. Raising their hands, they touched the bit of tail and repeated the words of the spell.

  But nothing happened.

  ‘Thut your eyeth,’ said Snitch severely.

  They shut their eyes tightly. Everything was black.

  ‘ — Now try again,’ they heard.

  Again they repeated the spell:

  ‘Please make my figure

  A little bigger —

  Just big enough

  To clear the rough!’

  There was a curious swelling sensation inside them. Sambo felt his sister pushing against him as she expanded. He felt his own head scraping past the grass-stems as he rose. He seemed to be rising in the air.

  ‘Open your eyes,’ ordered Snitch.

  And when they obeyed, they found that they were just tall enough to look over the tops of the rough grass. They had doubled their size and height. Snitch, too, had grown bigger with them. They now looked across the surface of what seemed a gigantic hay-field, and in the distance they could just make out dark masses that looked like hills.

  ‘Cows,’ said the lizard briefly. ‘If you’re ready, we’ll climb up one. The Lights are on. Follow me!’

  CHAPTER X

  CLIMB up a sleeping cow! What an adventure!

  The lizard’s body made a trail through the thick grass, but in spite of this the children had difficulty in keeping up. Topsy was puffing and grunting, while Sambo, holding her hand, dragged her along behind him. Great drops of dew splashed their faces. The grass was stiff. They stumbled and tripped as they went. Beetles and insects watched them pass but did not interfere. There was only the starry sky to light them, for Snitch had dismissed the glow-worms for safety’s sake.

  As they drew nearer, the body of the cow grew bigger. Like a little hill it loomed before them, blocking half the stars. It looked enormous. It did not move. But they could hear a curious deep sound coming from it.

  A few feet from the monster Snitch stopped. ‘ We must find the best way up,’ she whispered. ‘ I’ll go and scout, while you wait here.’ And, without a sound, she vanished.

  Alone in this forest of grass beneath the stars, the crouching monster only a few feet away, Sambo felt less comfortable. Whether his legs trembled or not is hard to say, but at any rate he suddenly sat down. ‘ We’re safer out of sight,’ he whispered, pulling Topsy down beside him, ‘ and remember
the Rule: “ When lights are out, keep still! “‘

  Topsy, landing beside him with a bump, snuggled in close. Sambo could feel her heart beating against his ribs. His own heart was going like a drum, but he knew it was a man’s business to protect a female.

  ‘Don’t be frightened,’ he whispered. ‘ I’m here, Topsy.’

  ‘I’m not frightened,’ she whispered back. ‘ But I don’t like that noise so near us. What is it? ‘ She drew in closer still.

  There was this curious roaring sound that came at regular intervals like a gust of wind, making the grass shake and rattle. It was very close. Trees in a storm made that kind of roar.

  But Sambo had guessed what it was. ‘ It’s only the cow breathing,’ he said below a whisper. ‘ She’s asleep. We mustn’t wake her—’

  ‘In front of her mouth we should be blown away,’ began Topsy — when suddenly the danger signal sounded.

  ‘Snitch! Snitch!’

  The warning sneeze made them jump, for it was in their very ears. The lizard had come back. She had made no sound, but was just suddenly there.

  ‘There’s a mole on the other side,’ came her squeaky voice. ‘ I’ve been all round. The cow’s asleep. But a mole came up to the surface against her ribs. And it tickled her. She may wake. We must wait a moment. When the breathing gets quiet again it’ll mean she’s safely asleep.’

  They waited some time till the roaring noise grew less and less, and presently the lizard began to stir again.

  ‘Now,’ she whispered. ‘ Are you ready for the climb? Come on!’

  ‘Which end?’ asked Topsy breathlessly.

  ‘The far end, of course,’ snapped the reply. ‘ Away from the mouth and horns.’

  ‘By the tail? ‘ exclaimed Topsy, bursting with curiosity and excitement.

  ‘Hind leg,’ Snitch answered. ‘ It’s less steep than the ribs.’ And she led the way through the tangled grass towards the sleeping monster.