THE FIVE JARS

 by

 M. R. JAMES. 

 Author of "Ghost Stories of an Antiquary"

 New York. Longmans, Green & Co. 

 London. Edward Arnold & Co. 

 1922

 All Rights Reserved

 _Printed in Great Britain by_

 UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED, THE GRESHAM PRESS, LONDON AND WOKING

CONTENTS

 PAGE

 I. THE DISCOVERY 11

 II. THE FIRST JAR 31

 III. THE SECOND JAR 43

 IV. THE SMALL PEOPLE 59

 V. DANGER TO THE JARS 83

 VI. THE CAT, WAG, SLIM AND OTHERS 109

 VII. THE BAT-BALL 135

VIII. WAG AT HOME 155

I

THE DISCOVERY

My Dear Jane, You remember that you were puzzled when I told you I had heard somethingfrom the owls--or if not puzzled (for I know you have some experience ofthese things), you were at any rate anxious to know exactly how ithappened. Perhaps the time has now come for you to be told. 

It was really luck, and not any skill of mine, that put me in the way ofit; luck, and also being ready to believe more than I could see. I havepromised not to put down on paper the name of the wood where ithappened: that can keep till we meet; but all the rest I can tellexactly as it came about. 

It is a wood with a stream at the edge of it; the water is brown andclear. On the other side of it are flat meadows, and beyond these ahillside quite covered with an oak wood. The stream has alder-treesalong it, and is pretty well shaded over; the sun hits it in places andmakes flecks of light through the leaves. 

The day I am thinking of was a very hot one in early September. I hadcome across the meadows with some idea of sitting by the stream andreading. The only change in my plans that I made was that instead ofsitting down I lay down, and instead of reading I went to sleep. 

You know how sometimes--but very, very seldom--you see something in adream which you are quite sure is real. So it was with me this time. Idid not dream any story or see any people; I only dreamt of a plant. Inthe dream no one told me anything about it: I just saw it growing undera tree: a small bit of the tree root came into the picture, an oldgnarled root covered with moss, and with three sorts of eyes in it, round holes trimmed with moss--you know the kind. The plant was not oneI should have thought much about, though certainly it was not one that Iknew: it had no flowers or berries, and grew quite squat in the ground;more like a yellow aconite without the flower than anything else. Itseemed to consist of a ring of six leaves spread out pretty flat withnine points on each leaf. As I say, I saw this quite clearly, andremembered it because six times nine makes fifty-four, which happens tobe a number which I had a particular reason for remembering at thatmoment. 

Well, there was no more in the dream than that: but, such as it was, itfixed itself in my mind like a photograph, and I was sure that if ever Isaw that tree root and that plant, I should know them again. And, thoughI neither saw nor heard anything more of them than I have told you, itwas borne in upon my mind that the plant _was_ worth finding. 

When I woke up I still lay, feeling very lazy, on the grass with my headwithin a foot or two of the edge of the stream and listened to itsnoise, until in five or six minutes--whether I began to doze off againor not does not much matter--the water-sound became like words, andsaid, "_Trickle-up, trickle-up_, " an immense number of times. It pleasedme, for though in poetry we hear a deal about babbling brooks, andthough I am particularly fond of the noise they make, I never was ablebefore to pretend that I could hear any words. And when I did finallyget up and shake myself awake I thought I would anyhow pay so muchattention to what the water said as to stroll up the stream instead ofdown. So I did: it took me through the flat meadows, but still along theedge of the wood, and still every now and then I heard the same peculiarnoise which sounded like _Trickle-up_. 

Not so very long after, I came to a place where another stream ran outof the wood into the one I had been following, and just below the placewhere the two joined there was--not a bridge, but a pole across, andanother pole to serve as a rail, by which you could cross, withouttrouble. I did cross, not thinking much about it, but with some idea oflooking at this new little stream, which went at a very quick pace andseemed to promise small rapids and waterfalls a little higher up. Nowwhen I got to the edge of it, there was no mistake: it was saying"_Trickle-up_, " or even "_Track-up_, " much plainer than the old one. Istepped across it and went a few yards up the old stream. Before the newone joined it, it was saying nothing of the kind. I went back to the newone: it was talking as plain as print. Of course there were no two wordsabout what must be done now. Here was something quite new, and even if Imissed my tea, it had got to be looked into. So I went up the newstream into the wood. 

Though I was well on the look-out for unusual things--in particular theplant, which I could not help thinking about--I cannot say there wasanything peculiar about the stream or the plants or the insects or thetrees (except the words which the water kept saying) so long as I was inthe flat part of the wood. But soon I came to a steepish bank--the landbegan to slope up suddenly and the rapids and waterfalls of the brookwere very gay and interesting. Then, besides _Track-up_, which was nowits word always instead of _Trickle_, I heard every now and then _Allright_, which was encouraging and exciting. Still, there was nothing outof the way to be seen, look as I might. 

The climb up the slope or bank was fairly long. At the top was a kind ofterrace, pretty level and with large old trees growing upon it, mainlyoaks. Behind there was a further slope up and still more woodland: butthat does not matter now. For the present I was at the end of mywanderings. There was no more stream, and I had found what of allnatural things I think pleases me best, a real spring of water quiteuntouched. 

Five or six oaks grew in something like a semicircle, and in the middleof the flat ground in front of them was an almost perfectly round pool, not more than four or five feet across. The bottom of it in the middlewas pale sand which was continually rising up in little egg-shapedmounds and falling down again. It was the clearest and strongest springof the kind I had ever seen, and I could have watched it for hours. Idid sit down by it and watch it for some time without thinking ofanything but the luck I had had to find it. But then I began to wonderif it would say anything. Naturally I could not expect it to say"_Track-up_" any more, for here I was at the end of it. So I listenedwith some curiosity. It hardly made so much noise as the stream: thepool was deeper. But I thought it must say something, and I put my headdown as close as I could to the surface of the water. If I am notmistaken (and as things turned out I am sure I was right) the wordswere: _Gather gather, pick pick_, or _quick quick_. 

Now I had not been thinking about the plant for a little time; but, asyou may suppose, this brought it back to my mind and I got up and beganto look about at the roots of the old oaks which grew just round thespring. No, none of the roots on this side which faced towards the waterwere like that which I had seen--still, the feeling was strong upon methat this, if any, was the kind of place, and even the very place, wherethe plant must be. So I walked to the back of the trees, being carefulto go from right to left, according to the course of the sun. 

Well, I was not mistaken. At the back of the middlemost oak-tree therewere the roots I had dreamt of with the moss and the holes like eyes, and between them was the plant. I think the only thing which was new tome in the look of it was that it was so extraordinarily _green_. Itseemed to have in it all the greenness that was possible or that wouldbe wanted for a whole field of grass. 

I had some scruples about touching it. In fact, I actually went back tothe spring and listened, to make sure that it was still saying the samething. Yes, it was: "_Gather gather, pick_. " But there was somethingelse every now and then which I could _not_ for the life of me make outat first. I lay down, put my hand round my ear and held my breath. Itmight have been _bark tree_ or _dark tree_ or _cask free_. I gotimpatient at last and said:

"Well, I'm very sorry, but do what I will I _cannot_ make out what youare trying to say. "

Instantly a little spirt of water hit me on the ear, and I heard, asclear as possible, what it was: "_Ask tree_. "

I got up at once. "I _beg_ your pardon, " I said, "of course. Thank youvery much;" and the water went on saying "_Gather gather, all right, dipdip_. "

After thinking how best to greet it, I went back to the oak, stood infront of it and said (of course baring my head):

"Oak, I humbly desire your good leave to gather the green plant whichgrows between your roots. If an acorn falls into this my right hand"(which I held out) "I will count it that you answer yes--and give youthanks. " The acorn fell straight into the palm of my hand. I said, "Ithank you, Oak: good growth to you. I will lay this your acorn in theplace whence I gather the plant. "

Then very carefully I took hold of the stalk of the plant (which wasvery short, for, as I said, it grew rather flat on the ground) andpulled, and to my surprise it came up as easily as a mushroom. It had aclean round bulb without any rootlets and left a smooth neat hole in theground, in which, according to promise, I laid the acorn, and covered itin with earth. I think it very likely that it will turn into a secondplant. 

Then I remembered the last word of the spring and went back to dip theplant in it. I had a shock when I did so, and it was lucky I was holdingit firm, for when it touched the water it struggled in my hand like afish or a newt and almost slipped out. I dipped it three times andthought I felt it growing smaller in my hand: and indeed when I lookedat it I found it had shut up its leaves and curled them in quite close, so that the whole thing was little more than a bulb. As I looked at it Ithought the water changed its note and said, "_That'll do, that'll do_. "

I thought it was time to thank the spring for all it had done for me, though, as you may suppose, I did not yet know in the least what was tobe done with the plant, or what use it was going to be. 

So I went over and said in the politest words I could how much I wasobliged, and if there was anything I had or could do which would beagreeable, how glad I should be. Then I listened carefully, for itseemed by this time quite natural that I should get some sort of answer. It came. There was a sudden change in the sound, and the water saidclearly and rapidly, "_Silver silver silver silver_. " I felt in mypocket. Luckily I had several shillings, sixpences and half-crowns. Ithought the best way was to offer them all, so I put them in the palm ofmy right hand and held it under the water, open, just over the dancingsand. For a few seconds the water ran over the silver without doinganything: only the coins seemed to grow very bright and clean. Then oneof the shillings was very neatly and smoothly slid off, and thenanother and a sixpence. I waited, but no more happened, and the waterseemed to draw itself down and away from my hand, and to say "_Allright_. " So I got up. 

The three coins lay on the bottom of the pool looking brighter than eventhe newest I have ever seen, and gradually as they lay there they beganto appear larger. The shillings looked like half-crowns and the sixpencelike a shilling. I thought for a moment that it was because watermagnifies, but I soon saw that this could not be the reason, for theywent on growing larger, and of course thinner, until they finally spreadinto a kind of silver film all over the bottom of the pool; and as theydid so the water began to take on a musical sound, much like the singingthat comes when you wet your finger and draw it round the edge of afinger glass at dessert (which some people's idea of table mannersallows them to do). It was a pretty sight and sound, and I listened andlooked for a long time. 

But all this time what had become of the plant? Why, when I gave thesilver to the spring I had wrapped the plant carefully in a silkhandkerchief and put it safe in my breast pocket. I took thehandkerchief out now, and for a moment I was afraid the plant was gone;but it was not. It had shrunk to a very small whity-green ball. Now whatwas to be done with it, or rather what could it do? It was plain to methat it must have a strange and valuable property or virtue, since I hadbeen put on its track in such a remarkable way. I thought I could not dobetter than ask the spring. I said, "O Spring of water, have I your goodleave to ask what I should do with this precious plant to put it to thebest use?" The silver lining of the spring made its words much easier tocatch when it said anything--for I should tell you that for the mostpart now it did not speak, or not in any language that I couldunderstand, but rather sang--and it now said, "_Swallow swallow, drink, swallow_. "

_Prompt_ obedience, dear Jane, has always been my motto, as it isdoubtless yours, and I at once laid myself down, drank a mouthful ofwater from the spring, and put the little bulb in my mouth. It instantlygrew soft and slipped down my throat. How prosaic! I have no idea whatit tasted like. 

And again I addressed the spring: "Is there anything more for me to do?"

"_No no, no no, you'll see, you'll see--good-bye, good-bye_, " was theanswer which came at once. 

Accordingly I once more thanked the spring, wished it clear water, nomud, no tramplings of cattle, and bade it farewell. But, I said, Ishould hope to visit it again. 

Then I turned away and looked about me, wondering whether, now that Ihad swallowed the mysterious plant, I should see anything different. Theonly thing I noticed was due, I suppose, not to the plant, but to thespring; but it was odd enough. All the trees hard by were crowded withlittle birds of all kinds sitting in rows on the branches as they do ontelegraph wires. I have no doubt they were listening to the silver bellin the spring. They were quite still, and did not take any notice when Ibegan to walk away. 

I said, you will remember, that the ground I was on was a sort of flatterrace at the top of a steep slope. Now at one end this terrace justwent down into the wood, but at the other end there was a little moundor hillock with thick underwood behind it. I felt a curiosity, aninclination, to walk that way: I have very little doubt that the plantwas at the bottom of it. As I walked I looked at the ground, and noticeda curious thing: the roots of the plants and grasses seemed to show morethan I was accustomed to see them. 

It was not a great way to the hillock. When I got to it I wondered why Ihad gone, for there was nothing odd about it. Still I stepped on to thetop, and then I did see something, namely, a square flat stone just infront of my feet. I poked at it with my walking-stick, but somehow I didnot seem to touch it, nor was there any scraping noise. This was funny. I tried again, and now I saw that my stick was not touching it at all;there was something in between. I felt with my hands, and they met withwhat seemed like grass and earth, certainly not like stone. _Then_ Iunderstood. The plant was the one which makes you able to see what isunder the ground!

I need not tell you all I thought, or how surprising and delightful itwas. The first thing was to get at the flat stone and find out what wasunderneath it. 

Accordingly, what with a knife and what with my fingers, I soon had ituncovered: it was four or five inches under the surface. There were nomarks on it; it measured more than a foot each way. I lifted it. It wasthe cover of a sort of box with bottom and sides each made of a slabjust like the lid. In this box was another, made of some dark metal, which I took to be lead. I pulled it out and found that the lid of thebox was all of one piece with the rest, like a sardine tin. Evidently Icould not open it there and then. It was rather heavy, but I did notcare, and I managed without too much inconvenience to carry it home tothe place I was lodging in. Of course I put back the stone neatly andcovered it up with earth and grass again. 

I was late for tea, but I had found what was better than tea. 

II

THE FIRST JAR

That night I waited till the moon was up before trying to open the box. I do not well know why, but it seemed the right thing, and I followed myinstinct, feeling that it might be the plant that made me think as Idid. I drew up the blind and laid the box on a table near the window, where the moon shone full on it, and waited to see if anything elseoccurred to me. Suddenly I heard a sort of metallic snap. I went andlooked at the box. Nothing appeared on the side nearest to me--but whenI turned it round I saw that all along the side which the moon had shoneupon there was a line along the metal. I turned another side to themoonlight, and another snap came in two or three minutes. Of course Iwent on. When the moon had made a groove on all four sides, I tried thelid. It would not come off yet, so there was nothing to be done butcontinue the process. Three times I did it: every side I turned to themoon thrice, and when that was done the lid was free. I lifted it, andwhat did I see in the box? All this writing would be very little use ifI did not tell you, so it must be done. 

There were five compartments in the box: in each of them was a littlejar or vase of glass with a round body, a narrow neck, and spreading outa little at the top. The top of each was covered with a plate of metaland on each plate was a word or two in capital letters. On the one inthe middle there were the words _unge oculos_, the other jars had oneword apiece, _aures_, _linguam_, _frontem_, _pectus_. 

Now, years ago, I took great pains to learn the Latin language, and onmany occasions I have found it _most useful_, whatever you may see tothe contrary in the newspaper: but seldom or never have I found it moreuseful than now. I saw at once that the words meant _anoint the eyes_, _the ears_, _the tongue_, _the forehead_, _the chest_. What would be theresult of my doing this, of course I knew no more than you: but I waspretty sure that it would not do to try them all at once, and anotherthing I felt, that it would be better to wait till next day beforetrying any of them. It was past midnight now, so I went to bed: butfirst I locked up the box in a cupboard, for I did not want anyone tosee it as yet. 

 * * * * *

Next day I woke bright and early, looked at my watch, found there was noneed to think about getting up yet, and, like a wise creature, went tosleep again. I mention this, not merely by way of being jocose, butbecause after I went to sleep I had a dream which most likely came fromthe plant and certainly had to do with the box. 

I seemed to see a room, or to be in a room about which I only noticedthat the floor was paved with mosaic in a pattern mostly red and white, that there were no pictures on the walls and no fireplace, no sashes orindeed panes in the window, and the moon was shining in very bright. There was a table and a chest. Then I saw an old man, rather badlyshaved and bald, in a Roman dress, white for the most part, with apurple stripe somewhere, and sandals. He looked by no means a wicked ordesigning old man. I was glad of that. He opened the chest, took out mybox, and placed it carefully on the table in the moonlight. Then he wentto a part of the room I could not see, and I heard a sound of waterbeing poured into a metal basin, and he came into sight again, wipinghis hands on a white towel. He opened the box, took out a little silverspoon and one of the jars, took off the lid and dipped the spoon in thejar and touched first his right eye and then his left with it. Then heput the jar and the spoon back, laid the lid on the box and put it backin the chest. After that he went to the window and stood there lookingout, and seemed to be very much amused with what he saw. That was all. 

"Hints for me, " I remember thinking. "Perhaps it will be best not totouch the box before the moon is up to-night, and always with washedhands. " I suppose I woke up immediately, for it was all very fresh in mymind when I did. 

It was something of a disappointment to have to put off my experimentstill the night came round. But it was all for the best, for letters cameby the post which I had to attend to: in fact, I was obliged to go tothe town a little way off to see someone and to send telegrams and soon. I was a little doubtful about the seeing things underground, but Isoon found that unless I--so to say--turned on the tap, and speciallywished and tried to use the power, it did not interfere with my ordinaryseeing. When I did, it seemed to come forward from the back of my eyes, and was stronger than the day before. I could see rabbits in theirburrows and followed the roots of one oak-tree very deep down. Once itthreatened to be awkward, when I stooped to pick up a silver coin in thestreet, and grazed my knuckle against a paving stone, under which, ofcourse, it was. 

So much for that. By the way, I had taken a look at the box afterbreakfast, I found (not very much to my surprise) that the lid was astight on it as when I found it first. 

After dinner that evening I put out the light--the moon being nowbright--placed the box on the table, washed my hands, opened it and, shutting my eyes, put my hand on one of the jars at random and took itout. As I had rather expected, I heard a little rattle as I did so, andfeeling in the compartment, I found a little, a very little, spoon. Allwas well. Now to see which jar chance or the plant had chosen for myfirst experiment. I took it to the window: it was the one marked_aures_--ears--and the spoon had on the handle a letter A. I opened thejar. The lid fitted close but not over tightly. I put in the spoon asthe old man had done, as near as I could remember. It brought out a verysmall drop of thick stuff with which I touched first my right ear andthen my left. When I had done so I looked at the spoon. It was perfectlydry. I put it and the jar back, closed the box, locked it up, and, notknowing in the least what to expect, went to the open window and put myhead out. 

For some little time I heard nothing. That was to be expected, and I wasnot in the least inclined to distrust the jar. Then I was rewarded; abat flew by, and I, who have not heard a bat even squeak these twentyyears, now heard this one say in a whistling angry tone, "Would you, would you, _I've_ got you--no, drat, drat. " It was not a very excitingremark, but it was enough to show me that a whole new world (as thebooks say) was open to me. 

This, of course, was only a beginning. There were some plants andflowering shrubs under the window, and though I could see nothing, Ibegan to hear voices--two voices--talking among them. They soundedyoung: of course they were anyhow very small, but they seemed to belongto young creatures of their kind. 

"Hullo, I say, what have you got there? Do let's look; you might aswell. "

Then a pause--another voice: "I believe it's a bad one. "

_Number one_: "Taste it. "

_Number two_, after another pause, with a slight sound (very diminutive)of spitting: "Heugh! bad! I should rather think it was. Maggot!"

_Number one_ (after laughing rather longer than I thought kind): "Lookhere--don't chuck it away--let's give it to the old man. Here--shove thepiece in again and rub it over--here he is!" (Very demurely): "O sir, we've got such a nice-looking----" (_I could not catch what it was_)"here; we thought you might perhaps like it, sir. Would you, sir?. . . Ohno, thank you, sir, we've had plenty, sir, but this was the biggest wefound. "

A third voice said something; it was a deeper one and less easy to hear. 

_Number two_: "Bitten, sir? Oh no, I don't think so. Do you ----?" (_aname which I did not make out_). 

_Number one_: "Why, how could it be?"

_Number three_ again--angry, I thought. 

_Number two_ (rather anxiously): "But, sir, really, sir, I don't muchlike them. . . . Must I really, sir?. . . O _sir_, it's got a maggot in it, and I believe they're poison. " (_Smack, smack, smack, smack. _)

Two voices, very lamentable: "O _sir_, sir, please sir!"

A considerable pause, and sniffing. Then _Number two_, in a brokenvoice: "You silly fool, why did you go laughing like that right underhis snout? You might have known he'd cog it. " ("Cog. " I had not heardthe word since 1876. ) "There'll be an awful row to-morrow. Look here, Ishall go to bed. "

The voices died away; I thought _Number one_ seemed to be apologizing. 

That was all I heard _that_ night. After eleven o'clock things seemed toget very still, and I began to feel just a little apprehensive lestsomething of a less innocent kind should come along. So I went to bed. 

III

THE SECOND JAR

Next day, I must say, was very amusing. I spent the whole of it in thefields just strolling about and sitting down, as the fancy took me, listening to what went on in the trees and hedges. I will not write downyet the kind of thing I heard, for it was only the beginning. I had notyet found out the way of using the new power to the very best advantage. I felt the want of being able to put in a remark or a question of my ownevery now and then. But I was pretty sure that the jar which had_linguam_ on it would manage that. 

Very nearly all the talking I heard was done by the birds andanimals--especially the birds; but perhaps half a dozen times, as I satunder a tree or walked along the road, I was aware of voices whichsounded exactly like those of people (some grown-up and some children)passing by or coming towards me and talking to each other as they wentalong. Needless to say, there was nothing to be _seen_: no movement ofthe grass and no track on the dusty road, even when I could tell exactlywhere the people who owned the voices must be. It interested me morethan anything else to guess what sort of creatures they were, and Idetermined that the next jar I tried should be the Eye one. Once, I musttell you, I ventured to say "Good afternoon" when I heard a couple ofthese voices within a yard of me. I think the owners must nearly havehad a fit. They stopped dead: one of them gave a sort of cry ofsurprise, and then, I believe, they ran or flew away. I felt a littlebreath of wind on my face, and heard no more. It wasn't (as I know now)that they couldn't see me: but they felt much as you would if a tree ora cow were to say "Good afternoon" to you. 

When I was at supper that evening, the cat came in, as she usually did, to see what was going. I had always been accustomed to think that catstalk when they mew, dogs when they bark, and so on. It is not so at all. Their talking is almost all done (except when they are in a great stateof mind) in a tone which you cannot possibly hear without help. Mewingis for the most part only shouting without saying any words. Purring is, as we often say, singing. 

Well, this cat was an ordinary nice creature, tabby, and in she came, and sat watching me while I had soup. To all appearance she was asinnocent as a lamb--but no matter for that. What she was saying wassomething of this kind:

"Get on with it, do: shove it down, lap it up! Who cares about soup? Getto business. I know there's fish coming. "

When the fish actually came, there was a great deal of good feelingshown at first. "Oh, _how_ much we have to be thankful for, all of us, have we not? Fish, fish: what a thought! Dear, kind, generous people allaround us, all striving to supply us with what is best and pleasantestfor us. "

Then there was a silence for a short time, then in a somewhat differenttone I heard: "Ah dear! the longer I live, the wiser I find it is not toexpect too much consideration from others! Self-love! how few, howterribly few, are really free from it! The nature that knows how to takea hint, how rare it is!"

Another short silence, and then: "There you go--another great bit. Iwonder you don't choke or burst! Disgusting! A good scratch all downyour horrible fat cheek is what you want, and I know some cats thatwould give it you. No more notion how to behave than a cockroach. "

About this time I rang the bell and the fish was taken away. The catwent too, circling round the maid with trusting and childlike glances, and I heard her saying in the former tone:

"Well, I daresay after all there are _some_ kind hearts in the world, some that can feel for a poor weary creature, and know what a deal ofstrength and nourishment even the least bit of fish can give----" And Ilost the rest. 

When the time came and the box was open once more, I duly anointed myeyes and went to the window. I knew something of what I might expect tosee, but I had not realized at all how much of it there would be. In thefirst place there were a great many buildings, in fact a regularvillage, all about the little lawn on which my window looked. They were, of course, not big; perhaps three feet high was the largest size. Theroofs seemed to be of tiles, the walls were white, the windows werebrightly lighted, and I could see people moving about inside. But therewere plenty of people outside, too--people about six incheshigh--walking about, standing about, talking, running, playing some gamewhich might have been hockey. These were on levelled spaces, for thegrass, neatly kept as it was, would have come half-way up their legs;and there were some driving along smooth tracks in carriages drawn byhorses of the right size, which were really the most charming littleanimals I ever saw. 

You may suppose that I should not soon have got tired of watching themand listening to the little treble buzz of voices that went on, but Iwas interrupted. Just in front of me I heard what I can only call asnigger. I looked down, and saw four heads supported by four pairs ofelbows leaning on the window-sill and looking up at me. They belonged tofour boys who were standing on the twigs of a bush that grew up againstthe wall, and who seemed to be very much amused. Every now and againone of them nudged another and pointed towards me; and then, for someunexplained reason, they sniggered again. I felt my ears growing warmand red. 

"Well, young gentlemen, " I said, "you seem to be enjoying yourselves. "No answer. "I appear to be so fortunate as to afford you somegratification, " I went on, in my sarcastic manner. "Perhaps you would dome the honour of stepping into my poor apartment?" Again no answer, butmore undisguised amusement. I was thinking out a really witheringremark, when one of them said:

"Do look at his nose. I wonder if they know how ridiculous they are. I_should_ like to talk to one of them for five minutes. "

"Well, " I said, "that can be managed very easily, and I assure you Ishould be equally glad of the opportunity. _My_ remarks would deal withthe subject of good manners. "

Another one spoke this time, but did not answer me. "Oh, I don't know, "he said, "I expect they're pretty stupid. They look it--at least thisone does. "

"Can they talk?" said the third. "I've never heard 'em. "

"No, but you can see them moving their jaws and mouths and things. Thisone did just now. "

I saw how it was now, and, becoming cooler, I recognized that theseyouths were behaving very much as I might have done myself in thepresence of someone who I was sure could neither see nor hear me. I evensmiled. One of them pointed at me at once:

"Thought of a joke, I s'pose. Don't keep it all to yourself, old chap. "

At this moment the fourth, who had not said anything so far, but seemedto have been listening, piped up: "I say! I believe I know what it isthat makes that hammering noise: it's something he has got in hisclothes. "

I could not resist this. "Right again, " I said; "it's my watch, andyou're very welcome to look at it. " And I took it out and put it on thewindow-sill. 

An awful horror and surprise came into their faces. In a second they haddived down like so many ducks. In another second I saw them walkingacross the grass, and each of them threw his arms round the waist or theneck of one of the elder people who were walking about among the houses. The person so attacked pulled himself up and listened attentively towhat the boy was saying. The particular one I was watching lookedtowards my window and then burst out laughing, slapped the boy on theback, and resumed his walk. The boy went slowly off towards one of thehouses. One or two of the other "men" came and stood nearer to thewindow, looking up. I thought I would venture a bow, and made one ratherceremoniously. It did not produce much effect, and I could not at themoment think of anything I could do that would show them quite clearlythat I saw them. They went on looking at me quietly enough, and then Iheard a deep low bell, seemingly very far off, toll five times. Theyheard it too, turned sharply round and walked off to the houses. Soonafter that the lights in the windows died down and everything becamevery still. I looked at my watch. It was ten o'clock. 

I waited for a while to see if anything would happen, but there wasnothing; so I got some books out (which took a few minutes) and before Isettled down to them I thought I would just take one more look out ofthe window. Where were all the little houses? At the first glance Ithought they had vanished, but it was not exactly so. I found I couldstill see the chimneys above the grass, but as I looked they toodisappeared. It was done very neatly: there was no hole, the turf closedin upon the roofs as they sank down, just as if it was of india-rubber. There was not a trace left of houses or roads or playgrounds oranything. 

I was strongly tempted to go out and walk over the site of the village, but I did not. For one thing I was afraid I might disturb the people ofthe house, and besides there was a mist coming up over the meadows whichsloped away outside the garden. So I stopped where I was. 

But what a very odd mist, I began to think. It was not coming in all inone piece as it should. It was more in patches or even pillars of asmoky grey which moved at different rates, some of them occasionallystanding still, others even seeming to go to and fro. And now I began tohear something like a hollow whispering coming from their direction. Itwas not conversation, for it went on quite continuously in the sametone: it sounded more as if something was being recited. I did not likeit. 

Then I saw what I liked less. Seven of these pillars of mist, eachabout the size of a man, were standing in a row just outside the gardenfence, and in each I thought I saw two dull red eyes; and the hollowwhispering grew louder. 

Just then I heard a noise behind me in the room, as if the fire-ironshad suddenly fallen down. So they had: and the reason why they had wasthat an old horseshoe which was on the mantelpiece had, for no reasonthat I could see, tumbled over and knocked them. Something I had heardcame into my mind. I took the horseshoe and laid it on the window-sill. The pillars of mist swayed and quivered as if a sudden gust of wind hadstruck them, and seemed all at once to go farther off; and the hollowmurmur was no longer to be heard. I shut the window and went to bed. But, the last thing, I looked out once again. The meadow was clear ofmist and bright beneath the light of the moon. 

As I lay in bed I thought and thought over what I had seen last. I wasquite sure that the pillars of mist concealed some beings who wished meno good: but why should they have any spite against me? I was also surethat they wanted to get into the house: but again, why? You may think Iwas slow in the wits, but I must confess that some few minutes passedbefore I guessed. Of course they wanted to get hold of the box with thefive jars. The thought disturbed me so much that I got up, lighted acandle, and went to the cupboard to see if all was safe. Yes, the boxwas there, but the cupboard door, which I knew I had locked, wasunfastened, and when I had to turn the key it became plain that the lockwas hampered and useless. How could this have come about? Earlier in theevening it had been perfectly right, and nobody had been in the roomsince I locked it last. 

Whoever had done it, they had made the cupboard no safe place for thebox. I took it into the bedroom and after a minute's thought clearedout a space in a suit-case which I had brought with me, locked it inthat, and put the key on the ring of my watch-chain. Watch and all wentunder my pillow, and once more I got into bed. 

IV

THE SMALL PEOPLE

You will have made sure that the next jar I meant to try was the one forthe tongue, in hopes that it would help me to speak to some of thecreatures. Though I looked forward to the experiment very much, and feltsomewhat restless until I had made it, I did get a good deal ofamusement out of what I saw and heard the next day. The small peoplewere not to be seen--at least not in the morning. No, I am wrong: Ifound a bunch of three of them--young ones--asleep in a hollow tree. They woke up and looked at me without much interest, and when I waswithdrawing my head they blew kisses to me. I am afraid there is nodoubt they did so in derision. But there were others. I passed acottage garden in which a little dog was barking most furiously. Itseemed to be barking at a clothes-line, on which, with a lot of otherthings, was a print dress with rather a staring pattern of flowers. Thedress caught my eye, and so did something red at the top which stuck upabove the line. I gave it another glance, and really I had a mostdreadful shock. It was a face. I gazed at it in horror, and was justgathering my wits to run and call for help or something, when I saw thatit was laughing. Then I realized that it could not be an ordinaryperson, hanging as it was on a thin bit of cord and blowing to and froin the breeze. I went nearer, staring at it with all my eyes, and madeout that it was the face of an old woman, very cheerful and ruddy, and, as I said, laughing and swinging to and fro. Suddenly she seemed tocatch my eye and to see that I saw her, and in a flash she was off theline and round the corner of the house, nearly tumbling over the dog asshe went. It rushed after her, still very angry, but soon came trottingback, rather out of breath, and _that_ incident was over. 

I walked on. Among the village people I met, there were one or two whomI didn't think I had seen before--elderly, bright-eyed people theywere--who seemed very much surprised when I said "Good morning" to them, and stopped still, looking after me, when I passed on. At last, somelittle way outside the village, I saw in the distance the samebright-coloured dress that had been on the clothes-line. The person whowore it was going slowly, and looking in the grass and hedges, andsometimes stooping to pick a plant, as it seemed. I quickened my paceand came up with her, and when I was just behind her, I cleared mythroat rather loudly and said, "Fine day, " or words to that effect. 

You should have seen her jump! I was well paid for the fright she hadgiven me just before. However, the startled look cleared away from herface, and she drew herself up and looked at me very calmly. 

"Yes, " she said, "it's a fine day. " Then she actually blushed and wenton: "I think I ought to beg your pardon for giving you such a turn justnow. "

"Well, " I said, "I certainly was a good deal startled, but no harm wasdone. The dog took it more to heart than I did. "

She gave a short laugh. "Yes, " she said. "I hardly know why I wasbehaving like that. I suppose we all of us feel skittish at times. " Shepaused and said with some little hesitation, "You have them, I suppose?"and at the same time she rapidly touched her ears, eyes and mouth withher forefinger. 

I looked at her in some doubt, for I thought, might not she be one ofthe unknown who wished to get hold of the Five Jars? But her eye washonest, and my instinct was to trust her: so I nodded, and put myfinger on my lips. 

"Of course, " she said. "Well, you are the first since I was a littlething, and that's fourteen hundred years ago. " (You may think I openedmy eyes. ) "Yes, Vitalis was the last, and he lived in the villa--theycalled it so--down by the stream. You'll find the place some of thesedays if you look. I heard talk yesterday that someone had got them, andI'm told the mist was about last night. Perhaps you saw it?"

"Yes, " I said, "I did, and I guessed what it meant. " And I told her allthat had happened, and ended by asking if she could kindly advise mewhat to do. 

She thought for a moment, and then handed me a little bunch of theleaves she held in her hand. "Four-leaved clover, " she said. "I knownothing better. Lay it on the box itself. You'll hear of them again, besure. "

"Who are _they_?" I asked in a whisper. 

She shook her head. "Not allowed, " was all she would say. "I must begoing"; and she was gone, sure enough. You might suppose (as I did, whenI came to think of it) that my new sight ought to have been able to seewhat became of her. I think it would, if she had gone straight away fromme; but what I believe she did was to dart round behind me and then goaway in a straight line, so that I was left looking in front of me whileshe was travelling away behind me like a bullet from a gun. You needpractice with these things, and I had only been at it a couple of days. 

I turned and walked rather quickly homewards, for I thought it would bewise to protect my box as soon as possible now that I had the means. Ithink it was fortunate that I did. 

As I opened the garden gate I saw an old woman coming down the path--anold woman very unlike the last. "Old" was not the word for her face:she might have been born before the history-books begin. As to herexpression, if ever you saw a snake with red rims to its eyes and theexpression of a parrot, you might have some idea of it. She was hobblingalong with a stick, in quite the proper manner, but I felt certain thatall that was put on, and that she could have glided as swift as an adderif she pleased. I confess I was afraid of her. I had a feeling that sheknew everything and hated everybody. 

"And what, " I suddenly thought, "has she been up to? If she has got atthe box, where am I? and more than that, what mischief will she and hercompany work among the small people and the birds and beasts?" Therewould be no mercy for them; a glance at her eye told me that. 

It was an immense relief to see that she could not possibly have got thebox about her, and another relief when my eye travelled to the door ofthe house and I saw no fewer than three horseshoes nailed above it. Ismiled to myself. Oh, how angry she looked! But she had to act her part, and with feeble curtseys and in a very small hoarse trembling voice shewished me a good day (though I noticed her pointing to the ground withher thumb as she said the words) and would be very obliged if I couldtell her the right time. I was going to pull out my watch (and if I had, she would have seen a certain key we know of), when something saidsuddenly and clearly to my brain, "Look out, " and by good luck I heard aclock inside the house strike one before I could answer. 

"Just struck one, " was my reply accordingly, and I said it as innocentlyas I could. She drew her breath in hard and quivered all over, and hermouth remained open like a cat's when it is using its worst expressions, and when she eventually thanked me I leave it to you to imagine howgracefully she did it. 

Well, she had no more cards to play at the moment, and no excuse forremaining. I stood my ground and watched her out of the gate. A path leddown the meadow, and, much against her will no doubt, she had to keep upthe pretence and toil painfully along it until she reached another hedgeand could reckon on being out of my sight. After that I neither saw norexpected to see anything more of her. I went up to my room and found allsafe, and laid the four-leaved clover on the box. At luncheon I tookoccasion to find out from the maid, without asking her in so many words, whether the old woman had been visible to her; evidently she had not:evidently also, the evil creatures were really on the track of the FiveJars, knew that I had them, and had a very fair idea of where they werekept. 

However, if the maid had not seen her, the cat had, and murmured a gooddeal to herself, and was in a rather nervous state. She sat, with herears turned different ways, on the window-sill, looking out, andtwitching her back uncomfortably, like an old lady who feels a draught. When I was available, she came and sat on my knee (a very uncommonattention on her part) with an air half of wishing to be protected andhalf of undertaking to protect me. 

"If there is fish to-night, " I said, "you shall have some. " But I wasnot yet in a position to make myself understood. 

"Pussy's been sleepin' on your box all the afternoon, sir, " said themaid when I came in to tea. "I couldn't get her to come off; and when Idid turn her out of the room, I do believe she climbed up and got inagain by the winder. "

"I don't mind at all, " I said; "let her be there if she likes. " Andindeed I felt quite grateful to the cat. I don't know that she couldhave done much if there had been any attempt on the box, but I was sureher intentions were good. 

There was fish that evening, and she had a good deal of it. She did notsay much that I could follow, but chiefly sang songs without words. 

 * * * * *

Not to go over the preliminaries again, I did, when the proper timecame, touch my tongue with the contents of the third jar. I found thatit worked in this way: I could not hear what I was saying myself, when Iwas talking to an animal: I only _thought_ the remark very clearly, andthen I felt my tongue and lips moving in an odd fashion, which I can'tdescribe. But with the small people in human shape it was different. Ispoke in the ordinary way to them, and though I dare say my voice wentup an octave or two, I can't say I perceived it. 

The village was there again to-night, and the life going on in it seemedmuch the same. I was set upon making acquaintance in a natural sort ofway with the people, and as it would not do to run any risk ofstartling them, I just took my place near the window and made somepretence of playing Patience. I thought it likely that some of the youngpeople would come and watch me, in spite of the fright they had had thenight before. And it was not long before I heard a rustling in theshrubs under the window and voices saying:

"Is he in there? Can you see? Oh, I say, _do_ look out: you all but hadme over that time!"

They were suddenly quiet after this, and apparently one must have, verycautiously, climbed up and looked into the room. When he got down againthere was a great fuss. 

"No, is he really?" "What d'you say he was doing?" "What sort of charm?""I say, d'you think we'd better get down?" "No, but what is he reallydoing?" "Laying out rows of flat things on the table, with marks onthem. " "I don't believe it. " "Well, you go and look yourself. " "Allright, I shall. " "Yes, but, I say, do look out: suppose you get shut inand we're late for the bell?" "Why, you fool, I shan't go into the room, only stop on the window-sill. " "Well, I don't know, but I do believe hesaw us last night, and my father said he thought so too. " "Oh, well, hecan't move very quick, anyway, and he's some way off the window. _I_shall go up. "

I managed, without altering my position too much, to keep my eye on thewindow-sill, and, sure enough, in a second or two a small round headcame into sight. I went on with my game. At first I could see that thewatcher was ready to duck down at the slightest provocation, but as Itook no sort of notice, he gained confidence, leant his elbows on thesill, and then actually pulled himself up and sat down on it. He bentover and whispered to the others below, and it was not long before I sawa whole row of heads filling up the window-sill from end to end. Theremust have been a dozen of them. I thought the time was come, and withoutmoving, and in as careless a tone as I could, I said:

"Come in, gentlemen, come in; don't be shy. " There was a rustle, and twoor three heads disappeared, but nobody said anything. "Come in, if youlike, " I said again; "you can hear the bell quite well from here, and Ishan't shut the window. "

"Promise!" said the one who was sitting on the sill. 

"I promise, honour bright, " I said, whereupon he made the plunge. Firsthe dropped on to the seat of a chair by the window, and from that to thefloor. Then he wandered about the room, keeping at a distance from me atfirst, and, I have no doubt, watching very anxiously to see whether Ihad any intention of pouncing on him. The others followed, first one byone and then two or three at a time. Some remained sitting on thewindow-sill, but most plucked up courage to get down on to the floor andexplore. 

I had now my first good chance of seeing what they were like. They allwore the same fashion of clothes--a tunic and close-fitting hose andflat caps--seemingly very much what a boy would have worn in QueenElizabeth's time. The colours were sober--dark blue, dark red, grey, brown--and each one's clothes were of one colour all through. They hadsome white linen underneath; it showed a little at the neck. There wereboth fair and dark among them: all were clean and passably good-looking, one or two certainly handsome. The firstcomer was ruddy andauburn-haired and evidently a leader. They called him Wag. 

I heard whispers from corners of the room, and appeals to Wag to explainwhat this and that unfamiliar object was, and noticed that he was neverat a loss for an answer of some kind, correct or not. The fireplace, which had its summer dressing, was, it appeared, a rock garden; an oldletter lying on the floor was a charm ("Better not touch it"); thewaste-paper basket (not unnaturally) a prison; the pattern on the carpetwas--"Oh, you wouldn't understand it if I was to tell you. "

Soon a voice--Wag's voice--came from somewhere near my foot. 

"I say, could I get up on the top?" I offered to lift him, but hedeclined rather hastily and said my leg would be all right if I didn'tmind putting it out a bit sloping: and he then ran up it on allfours--he was quite a perceptible weight--and got on to the table frommy knee without any difficulty. 

Once there, there was a great deal to interest him--books, papers, ink, pens, pipes, matches and cards. He was full of questions about them, andhis being so much at his ease encouraged the others to follow him, sothat before very long the whole lot were perambulating the table andmaking me very nervous lest they should fall off, while Wag was standingclose up to me and putting me through a catechism. 

"What do you have such _little_ spears for?" he wanted to know, brandishing a pen at me. "Is that blood on the end? whose blood? Wellthen, what do you do with it? Let's see--only that?" (when I wrote aword or two). "Well, you can tell me about it another time. Now I wantto know what these clubs in the chest are. "

I said, "We make fire with them; if you like I'll show you--but it makesa little noise. "

"Go on, " said Wag; and I struck a match, rather expecting a stampede. But no, they were quite unmoved, and Wag said, "Beastly row andsmell--why don't you do the ordinary way?"

He brushed the palm of his left hand along the tips of the fingers onhis right hand, put them to his lips and then to his eyes, and behold!his eyes began to glow from behind with a light which would have beenquite bright enough for him to read by. "Quite simple, " he said; "don'tyou know it?" Then he did the same thing in reverse order, touchingeyes, lips and hand, and the light was gone. I didn't like to confessthat this was beyond me. 

"Yes, that's all very well, " I said, "but how do you manage about yourhouses? I am sure I saw lights in the windows. "

"Course, " he said, "put as many as you want;" and he ran round the tabledabbing his hand here and there on the cloth, or on anything that lay onit, and at every place a little round bud or drop of very bright butalso soft light came out. "See?" he said, and darted round again, passing his hands over the lights and touching his lips; and they weregone. He came back and said, "It's a _much_ better way; it is _really_, "as if it were only my native stupidity that prevented me from using itmyself. 

A smaller one, who looked to me rather a quieter sort than Wag, had comeup and was standing by him: he now said in a low voice:

"P'raps they can't. "

It seemed a new idea to Wag: he made his eyes very round. "Can't? Oh, rot! it's quite simple. "

The other shook his head and pointed to my hand which rested on thetable. Wag looked at it too, and then at my face. 

"Could I see it spread out?" he said. 

"Yes, if you'll promise not to spoil it. "

He laughed slightly, and then both he and the other--whom he calledSlim--bent over and looked closely at the tips of my fingers. "Otherside, please, " he said after a time, and they subjected my nails to alike examination. The others, who had been at the remoter parts of thetable, wandered up and looked over their shoulders. After tapping mynails and lifting up one or more fingers, Wag stood upright and said:

"Well, I s'pose it's true, and you can't. I thought your sort could doanything. "

"I thought much the same about you, " I said in self-defence. "I alwaysthought you could fly, but you----"

"So we can, " said Wag very sharply, and his face grew red. 

"Oh, " I said, "then why haven't you been doing it to-night?"

He kicked one foot with the other and looked quickly at Slim. The restsaid nothing and edged away, humming to themselves. 

"Well, we _can_ fly perfectly well, only----"

"Only not to-night, I suppose, " said I, rather unkindly. 

"No, _not_ to-night, " said Wag; "and you needn't laugh, either--we'llsoon show you. "

"That _will_ be nice, " I said; "and when will you show me?"

"Let's see" (he turned to Slim), "two nights more, isn't it? All rightthen (to me), in two nights more you'll see. "

Just then a moth which flew in caused a welcome diversion--for I couldsee that somehow I had touched on a sore subject, and that he wasfeeling awkward--and he first jumped at it and then ran after it. Slimlingered. I raised my eyebrows and pointed at Wag. Slim nodded. 

"The fact is, " he said in a low voice, "he got us into rather a rowyesterday and we're all stopped flying for three nights. "

"Oh, " said I. "I _see_: you must tell him I am very sorry for being sostupid. May I ask who stopped you?"

"Oh, just the old man, not the owls. "

"You do go to the owls for something, then?" I asked, trying to appearintelligent. 

"Yes, history and geography. "

"To be sure, " I said; "of course they've seen a lot, haven't they?"

"So they say, " said Slim, "but----"

Just then the low toll of the bell was wafted through the window andthere was an instant scurry to the edge of the table, then to the seatof the chair, and up to the window-sill; small arms waved caps at me, the shrubs rustled, and I was left alone. 

V

DANGER TO THE JARS

Now my ears and eyes and tongue had been dealt with, and what remainedwere the forehead and the chest. I could not guess what would come oftreating these with the ointment, but I thought I would try the foreheadfirst. There was still a day or two when the moon would be bright enoughfor the trial. I hoped that perhaps the effect of these two last jarsmight be to make me able to go on with my experiences--to keep in touchwith the new people I had come across--during the time when she--themoon, I mean--was out of sight. 

I had one anxiety. The precious box must be guarded from those who wereafter it. About this I had a conviction, that if I could keep them offuntil I had used each of the five jars, the box and I would be safe. WhyI felt sure of this I could not say, but my experience had led me totrust these beliefs that came into my head, and I meant to trust thisone. It would be best, I thought, if I did not go far from thehouse--perhaps even if I did not leave it at all till the time of dangerwas past. 

Several things happened in the course of the morning which confirmed mein my belief. I took up a position at the table by the window of mysitting-room. I had put the box in my suit-case, which I had locked, andI now laid it beside me where I could keep an eye upon it. The view frommy window showed me, first, the garden of the cottage, with its lawn andlittle flower beds, its hedge and back gate, and beyond that a pathleading down across a field. More fields, I knew, came after that one, and sloped pretty sharply down to a stream in the valley, which I couldnot see; but I could see the steep slope of fields, partly pasture, andthen clothed with green woods towards the top. There were no otherhouses in sight: the road was behind me, passing the front of thecottage, and my bedroom looked out that way. I had some writing andreading to do, and I had not long finished breakfast before I settleddown to it, and heard the maid "doing out" the bedroom as usual, accompanied every now and then by a slight mew from the cat, who (alsoas usual) was watching her at work. These mews meant nothing inparticular, I may say; they were only intended to be met by anencouraging remark, such as "There you are, then, pussy, " or "Don't getin my way, now, " or "All in good time. " Finally I heard "Come alongthen, and let's see what we've got for you downstairs, " and the door wasshut. I mention this because of what happened about a quarter of an hourlater. 

There was suddenly a fearful crash in the bedroom, a fall, a breakingof glass and crockery and snapping of wood, and then, fainter, sobbingsand moans of pain. I started up. 

"Goodness!" I thought, "she must have been dusting that heavy shelf highup on the wall with all the china on it, and the whole thing has givenway. She must be badly hurt! But why doesn't her mistress come rushingupstairs? and what was that rasping noise just beside me?"

I looked at my suit-case, which lay on the table just inside the openwindow. Across the new smooth top of it there were three deep scratchesrunning towards the window, which had not been there before. I moved itto the other side of me and sat down. There had been an attempt to decoyme out of the room, and it had failed. Certainly there would be more. 

I waited; but everything was quiet in the house: no more noise from thebedroom and no one moving about, upstairs or downstairs; nothing butthe pump clanking in the scullery. I turned to my work again. 

Half an hour must have gone by, and, though on the look-out, I was notfidgety. Then I was aware of a confused noise from the field outside. 

"Help! help! Keep off, you brute! Help, you there!" as well as I couldmake out, again and again. Towards the far end of the field, which was apretty large one, a poor old man was trying to get to a gate in thehedge at a staggering run, and striking now and then with his stick at agreat deer-hound which was leaping up at him with hollow barks. Itseemed as if nothing but the promptest dash to the spot could save him;it seemed, too, as if he had caught sight of me at the window, for hebeckoned. How strange the cries sounded! It was as if someone wasshouting into an empty jug. My field-glasses were by me on the table, and I thought I would take just _one_ look before I rushed out. I amglad I did; for, do you know, when I had the glasses focused on the dogand the man, all that I could see was a sort of fuzz of dancing vapour, much as if the shimmering air that you see on the heath on a hot day hadbeen gathered up and rolled into a shape. 

"Ha! ha!" I said, as I put down the glasses; and something in the air, about four yards off, made a sharp hissing sound. No doubt there werewords, but I could not distinguish them. A second attempt had failed;you may be sure I was well on the alert for the next. 

I put away my books now, and sat looking out of the window, andwondering as I watched whether there was anything out of the common tobe noticed. For one thing, I thought there were more little birds aboutthan I expected. At first I did not see them, for they were not hoppingabout on the lawn; but as I stared at the hedge of the garden, and atthat of the field, I became aware that these were full of life. Onalmost every twig that could hold a bird in shelter--not on the top ofthe hedges--a bird was sitting, quite still, and they were all lookingtowards the window, as if they were expecting something to happen there. Occasionally one would flutter its wings a little and turn its headtowards its neighbour; but this was all they did. 

I picked up my glasses and began to study the bottom of the hedges andthe bushes, where there was some quantity of dead leaves, and here, too, I could see that there were spectators. A small bright eye or a bit of anose was visible almost wherever I looked; in short, the mice, and, Idon't doubt, some of the rats, hedgehogs, and toads as well, werecollected there and were as intently on the watch as the birds. "What achance for the cat, if only she knew!" I put my head cautiously out ofthe window, and looking down on the sill of the window below, I couldsee her head, with the ears pushed forward; she was looking earnestlyat the hedge, but she did not move. Only, at the slight noise I made, she turned her face upwards and crowed to me in a modest but encouragingmanner. 

Time passed on. Luncheon was laid--on another table--and was over, before anything else happened. 

The next thing was that I heard the maid saying sharply:

"What business 'ave you got going round to the back? We don't want noneof your rubbish here. "

A hoarse voice answered inaudibly. 

_Maid_: "No, nor the gentleman don't want none of your stuff neither;and how do you know there's a gentleman here at all I should like toknow? What? Don't mean no offence? I dare say. That's more than I know. Well, that's the last word I've got to say. "

In a minute more there was a knock at my door, and at the same time astep on the gravel path under my window, and a loud hiss from the cat. As I said "Come in" to the knock, I hastily looked out of the window, but saw nothing. It was the maid who had knocked. She had come to ask ifthere was anything I should like from the village, or anything I shouldwant before tea-time, because the mistress was going out, and wanted herto go over and fetch something from the shop. I said there was nothingexcept the letters and perhaps a small parcel from the post office. Shelingered a moment before going, and finally said:

"You'll excuse me naming it, sir, but there seems to be some funnypeople about the roads to-day, if you'd please to be what I mean to saya bit on the look-out, if you're not a-going out yourself. "

"Certainly, " I said. "No, I don't mean to go out. By the way, who was itcame to the door just now?"

"Oh, it was one of these 'awking men, not one I've seen before, and hemust be a stranger in this part, I think, because he began going roundto the garden door, only I stopped him. He'd got these cheap rubbishing'atpins and what not; leastways, if you understand me, what I thought tomyself I shouldn't like to be seen with 'em, whatever others might. "

"Yes, I see, " I answered; and she went, and I turned to my books oncemore. 

Within a very few minutes I began to suspect that I was getting sleepy. Yes, it was undoubtedly so. What with the warmth of the day, and lunch, and not having been out. . . . There was a curious smell in the room, too, not exactly nasty, like something burning. What did it remind me of?Wood smoke from a cottage fire, that one smells on an autumn evening asone comes bicycling down the hill into a village? Not quite so nice asthat; something more like a chemist's shop. I wondered: and as Iwondered, my eyes closed and my head went forward. 

A sharp pain on the back of my hand, and a crash of glass! Up I jumped, and which of three or four things I realized first I don't know now. ButI did realize in a second or two that my hand was bleeding from ascratch all down the back of it, that a pane of the window was brokenand that the whole window was darkened with little birds that werebumping their chests against it; that the cat was on the table gazinginto my face with intense expression, that a little smoke was driftinginto the room, and that my suit-case was on the point of slipping outover the window-sill. A despairing dash at it I made, and managed toclutch it; but for the life of me I could not pull it back. I could seeno string or cord, much less any hand that was dragging at it. I hardlydared to take my hand from it to catch up something and hack at thethief I could not see. Besides, there was nothing within reach. 

Then I remembered the knife in my pocket. Could I get it out and openit without losing hold? "They hate steel, " I thought. Somehow--franticallyholding on with one hand--I got out the knife, and opened it, goodnessknows how, for it was horribly small and stiff, with my teeth, andsheared and stabbed indiscriminately all round the farther end of thesuit-case. Thank goodness, the strain relaxed. I got the thing insidethe window, dropped it, and stood on it, craning over the garden pathand round the corner of the house. Of course there was nothing to beseen. The birds were gone. The cat was still on the table saying "O youowl! O you owl!" The sole and only clue to what had been happening was asmall earthenware saucer that lay on the path immediately below thewindow, with a little heap of ashes in it, from which a thin column ofsmoke was coming straight up and curling over when it reached the windowlevel. That, I could not doubt, was the cause of my sudden sleepiness. I dropped a large book straight on to it, and had the satisfaction ofhearing it crush to bits and of seeing the smoke go four ways along theground and vanish. 

I was perfectly awake now. I looked at the cat, and showed her the backof my hand. She sat quite still and said:

"Well, what did you expect? I had to do something. I'll lick it if youlike, but I'd rather not. No particular ill-feeling, you understand; allthe same a hundred years hence. "

I was not in a position to answer her, so I shook my head at her, woundup my hand in a handkerchief, and then stroked her. She took itagreeably, jumped off the table, and requested to be let out. 

So the third attack had failed. I sat down and looked out. The hedgeswere empty; not a bird, not a mouse was left. I took this to mean thatthe dangerous time was past, and great was the relief. Soon I heard themaid come back from her errands in the village, then the mistress'schaise, then the clock striking five. I felt it would be all right forme to go out after tea. 

And so I did; first, however, concealing the suit-case in mybedroom--not that I supposed hiding it would be of much use--and pilingupon it poker, tongs, knife, horseshoe, and anything else I could findwhich I thought would keep off trespassers. I had, by the way, toexplain to the maid that a bird had flown against the window and brokenit, and when she said "Stupid, tiresome little things they are, " I amafraid I did not contradict her. 

I went out by way of the garden and crossed the field, near the middleof which stands a large old oak. I went up to this, for no particularreason, and stood gazing at the trunk. As I did so I became aware thatmy eyes were beginning to "see through, " and behold! a family of owlswas inside. As it was near evening, they were getting wakeful, stirring, smacking their beaks and opening their wings a little fromtime to time. At last one of them said:

"Time's nearly up. Out and about! Out and about!"

"Anyone outside?" said another. 

"No harm there, " said the first. 

This short way of talking, I believe, was due to the owls not beingproperly awake and consequently sulky. As they brightened up and gottheir eyes open, they began to be more easy in manner. 

"Oop! Oop! Oop! I've had a very good day of it. You have, too, I hope?"

"Sound as a rock, I thank you, except when they were carrying on at thecottage. "

"Oh goodness! I forgot! They didn't bring it off, I hope. "

"Not they; the watch was too well set, but it was wanted. I had a leafabout it a few minutes after, and it seems they got him asleep. "

"Well! I never heard anyone bring a leaf. "

"I dare say not, but I was expecting it; pigeon dropped it. There it is, on that child's back. "

I saw the hen-owl stoop and examine a dead chestnut leaf which lay, asthe other had said, on an owlet's back. 

"Fa-a-ther!" said this owlet suddenly, in a shrill voice, "mayn't I goout to-night?"

But all that Father did was to clasp its head in his claw and push it toand fro several times. When he let go, the owlet made no sound, butcrept away and hid its face in a corner, and heaved as if with sobs. Father closed his eyes slowly and opened them slowly--amused, I thought. The mother had been reading the leaf all the time. 

"Dear me! _very_ interesting!" she said. "I suppose now the worst of itis over. "

"All's quiet for to-night, anyhow, " said Father, "but I wish he couldsee someone about to-morrow; that's their last chance, and they_may_----" He ruffled up his feathers, lifted first one foot and thenthe other. "The awkwardness is, " he went on, "if I say too much and theydo get the jars, there's one risk; and if there's no warning and theyget them, there's another risk. "

"But if there _is_ a warning and they _don't_ get them, " said she, verysensibly. 

"Well, to be sure, that would be better, even though we don't know muchabout him. "

"But where do you suppose he is, and whom ought he to see?" (It was justwhat I wanted to know, and I thanked her. )

"Why, as to the first, I suspect he's outside; there is someone there, and why they should stop there all this time unless they're listening, Idon't know. "

"Good gracious! listening to our private conversation! and me with myfeathers all anyhow!" She began to peck at herself vigorously; but thiswas straying from the point, and annoyed me. However, Father went slowlyon:

"As to that, I don't much care whether he's listening or not. As to whomhe ought to see, that's rather more difficult. If he's got as far astalking to any of the Right People (he said this as if they had capitalletters), they'd know, of course; and some of them down about thevillage, they'd know; and the Old Mother knows, and----"

"What about the boys?" said she, pausing in the middle of her toilet andpoking her head up at him. He wholly disdained to answer, and merelybutted at her with his head, so that she slipped down off her ledgeseveral inches, with a great scrabbling. "Oh, _don't_!" she saidpeevishly, as she climbed back. "I'm all untidy again. "

"Well then, don't ask such ridiculous questions. I shall buffle you withboth wings next time. And now, as soon as the coast is clear, I shall beout and about. "

I took the hint and moved off, for I had learnt as much perhaps as Icould expect, even if all was not yet plain; and before I had gone manypaces I was aware of the pair both sailing smoothly off in the oppositedirection. 

I was "seeing through" a good deal that evening; it is surprising what alot of coppers people drop, even on a field path; surprising, too, inhow many places there lie, unsuspected, bones of men. Some things I sawwhich were ugly and sad, like that, but more that were amusing and evenexciting. There is one spot I could show where four gold cups standround what was once a book, but the book is no more than earth now. That, however, I did not see on this particular evening. 

What I remember best is a family of young rabbits huddled round theirparents in a burrow, and the mother telling a story: "And so then hewent a little farther and found a dandelion, and stopped and sat up andbegan to eat it. And when he had eaten two large leaves and one littleone, he saw a fly on it--no, two flies; and then he thought he had hadenough of that dandelion, and he went a little farther and found anotherdandelion. . . . " And so it went on interminably, and entirely stupid, likeeverything else I ever heard a rabbit say, for they have forgotten allabout their ancestor, Brer Rabbit. However, the children were absorbedin the story, so much so that they never heard a stoat making its waydown the burrow. But I heard it, and by stamping and driving my stick inI was able to make it turn tail and go off, cursing. All stoats, weasels, ferrets, polecats, are of the wrong people, as you may imagine, and so are most rats and bats. 

At last I left off seeing through, by trying not to do so, and went backto the house, where I found all safe and quiet. 

I ought to say that I had not as yet tried speaking to any animal, evento the cat when she scratched me, but I thought I would try it now. Sowhen she came in at dinner-time and circled about, with what I may callpious aspirations about fish and other such things, I summoned up mycourage and said (using my voice in the way I described, or rather didnot describe, before):

"I used to be told, 'If you are hungry, you can eat dry bread. '"

She was certainly horribly startled. At first I thought she would havedashed up the chimney or out of the window; but she recovered prettyquickly and sat down, still looking at me with intense surprise. 

"I suppose I might have guessed, " she said; "but dear! what a turn youdid give me! I feel quite faint; and gracious! what a day it has been!When I found you dozing off like a great---- Well, no one wants to berude, do they? but I can tell you I had more than half a mind to go atyour face. "

"I am glad you didn't, " I said; "and really, you know, it wasn't myfault: it was that stuff they were burning on the path. "

"I know that well enough, " she said; "but to come back to the point, allthis anxiety has made me as empty in myself as a clean saucer. "

"Just what I was saying; if you are hungry, you can----"

"Say that again, say it just once more, " she said, and her eyes grewnarrow as she said it, "and I shall----"

"What shall you do?" I asked, for she stopped suddenly. 

She calmed herself. "Oh, you know how it is when one's been allexcited-like and worked up; we all say more than we mean. But that aboutdry bread! Well, there! I simply can't bear it. It's a wicked, crueluntruth, that's what it is; and besides, you _can't_ be going to eat allthe whole of what she's put down for you. " Excitement was coming onagain, and she ended with a loud ill-tempered mew. 

Well, I gave her what she seemed to want, and shortly after, worn outdoubtless with the fatigues of the day, she went to sleep on a chair, not even caring to follow the maid downstairs when things were clearedaway. 

VI

THE CAT, WAG, SLIM AND OTHERS

I got out my precious casket. I sat by the window and watched. The moonshone out, the lid of the box loosened in due course, and I touched myforehead with the ointment. But neither at once nor for some little timeafter did I notice any fresh power coming to me. 

With the moon, up came also the little town, and no sooner were thedoors of the houses level with the grass than the boys were out of themand running in some numbers towards my window; in fact, some slipped outof their own windows, not waiting for the doors to be available. Wag wasthe first. Slim, more sedate, came among the crowd that followed. Thesewere still the only two who felt no hesitation about talking to me. Theothers were all fully occupied in exploring the room. 

"To-morrow, " I said (after some sort of how-do-you-do's had beenexchanged), "you'll be flying all over the place, I suppose. "

"Yes, " said Wag, shortly. "But I want to know--I say, Slim, what was itwe wanted first?"

"Wasn't there a message from your father?" said Slim. 

"Oh, yes, of course. 'If they're about the house, ' he said, 'give themhorseshoes; if there's a bat-ball, squirt at it': he thinks there's asquirt in the tool-house--Oh, there's the cat; I must----" Afterdelivering all this in one sentence, he rushed to the edge of the tableand took a kind of header into the midst of the unfortunate animal, who, however, only moaned or crowed without waking, and turned partly over onher back. 

Slim remained sitting on a book and gazing soberly at me. 

"Well, " I said, "it's very kind of Wag's father to send me a message, but I must say I can't make much of it. "

Slim nodded. "So he said, and he said you'd see when the time came; ofcourse I don't know, myself; I've never seen a bat-ball. Wag says hehas, but you never know with Wag. "

"Well, I must do the best I can, I suppose; but look here, Slim, I wishyou could tell me one or two things. What _are_ you? What do they callyou?"

"They call me Slim: and the whole of us they call the Right People, "said Slim; "but it's no good asking us much, because we don't know, andbesides, it isn't good for us. "

"How do you mean?"

"Why, you see, our job is to keep the little things right, and if we domore than that, or if we try to find out much more, then we burst. "

"And is that the end of you?"

"Oh, no!" he said cheerfully, "but that's one of the things it's no goodasking. "

"And if you don't do your job, what then?"

"Oh, then they get smaller and have no sense. " (He said _they_, not_we_, I noticed. )

"I see. Well now, you go to school, don't you?" He nodded. "What for?Isn't that likely to be bad for you?" (I hardly liked to say "make youburst. ")

"No, " he said; "you see, it's to learn our job. We have to be told whatused to go on, so as we can put things right, or keep them right. Andthe owls, you see, they remember a long way back, but they don't knowany more than we do about the swell things. "

I was very shy about putting the next question I had in mind, but I feltI must. "Now do you know how old you are, or how long it takes you togrow up, or how--how long you go on when you _are_ grown up!"

He pressed his hands to his head, and I was dreadfully afraid for themoment that it might be swelling and would burst; but it was not so badas that. After a few seconds he looked up and said:

"I think it's seven times seven moons since I went to school and seventimes seven times seven moons before I grow up; and the rest is no goodasking. But it's all right"; upon which he smiled. 

And this, I may say, was the most part of what I ventured to ask any ofthem about themselves. But at other times I gathered that as long asthey "did their job" nothing could injure them; and they were regularlymeasured--all of them--to see if they were getting smaller, and acareful record kept. But if anyone lost as much as a quarter of hisheight, he was doomed, and he crept off out of the settlement. Whethersuch a one ever came back I could not be sure; most of the failures (andthey were not common) went and lived in hollow trees or by brooks, andwere happy enough, but in a feeble way, not remembering much, nor ableto make anything; and it was supposed that very slowly they shrunk tothe size of a pin's point, and probably to nothing. All the same, it wasbelieved that they _could_ recover. Many other things that _you_ wouldhave asked, I did not, being anxious to avoid giving trouble. 

But this time, anyhow, I felt I had catechized Slim long enough, so Ibroke off and said:

"What can Wag be doing all this while?"

"There's no knowing, " said Slim. "But he's very quiet for him; eitherhe's doing something awful, or he's asleep. "

"I saw him with the cat last, " I said; "you might go and look at her. "

He walked to the edge of the table, and said, "Why, he _is_ asleep!" Andso he was, with his head on the cat's chest, under her chin, which shehad turned up; and she had put her front paws together over the top ofhis head. As for the others, I descried them sitting in a circle in acorner of the room, also very quiet. (I imagine they were a littleafraid of doing much without Wag, and also of waking him. ) But I couldnot make out what they were doing, so I asked Slim. 

"Racing earwigs, I should think, " he said, with something of contempt. 

"Well, I hope they won't leave them about when they go. I don't likeearwigs. "

"Who does?" he said; "but they'll take them away all right; they'reprize ones, some of them. "

I went over and looked at the racing for a little. The course was neatlymarked out with small lights sprouting out of the boards, and the circlewas at the winning-post, the starters being at the other end, some sixfeet away. I watched one heat. The earwigs seemed to me neither veryspeedy nor very intelligent, and all except one were apt to stop inmid-course and engage in personal encounters with each other. 

I was beginning to wonder how long this would go on, when Wag woke up. Like most of us, he was not willing to allow that he had been asleep. 

"I thought I'd just lie down a bit, " he said, "and then I didn't want tobustle your cat, so I stopped there. And now I want to know--Slim, Isay, what was it you were asking me?"

"Me asking you? I don't know. "

"Oh, yes, you do; what he was doing the other time before we came in. "

"I didn't ask you that; you asked me. "

"Well, it doesn't matter who asked. " (Turning to me): "What _were_ youdoing?"

"I don't know, " I said. "Was it these things I was using" (taking up apack of cards), "or something like this?" (I held up a book. )

"Yes, that one. What were you doing with it? What's it for?"

"We call it reading a book, " and I tried to explain what the idea was, and read out a few lines; it happened to be _Pickwick_. They wereabsorbed. Slim said, half to himself, "Something like a glass, " which Ithought quite meaningless at the time. Then I showed them a picture inanother book. That they made out very quickly. 

"But when's it going to move on?" said Slim. 

"Never, " I said. "Ours stop just like that always. Do yours move on?"

"Of course they do; look here. " He lay down on the tablecloth andpressed his forehead on it, but evidently could make nothing of it. "It's all rough, " he said. I gave him a sheet of paper. "That's better;"and he lay down again in the same posture for a few seconds. Then he gotup and began rubbing the paper all over with the palms of his hands. Ashe did so a coloured picture came out pretty quickly, and when it wasfinished he drew aside to let me see, and said, somewhat bashfully, "Idon't think I've got it _quite_ right, but I meant it for what happenedthe other evening. " He had certainly not got it right as far as I wasconcerned. It was a view of the window of the house, seen from outsideby moonlight, and there was a back view of a row of figures with theirelbows on the sill. So far, so good; but inside the open window wasstanding a figure which was plainly--much too plainly, I thought--meantfor me; far too short and fat, far too red-faced, and with an owlishexpression which I am sure I never wear. This person was now seen tomove his hand--a very poor hand, with only about three fingers--to hisside, and pull, apparently, out of his body, a round object more or lesslike a watch (at any rate it was white on one side with black marks, andyellow on the other) and lay it down in front of him. At this thefigures at the window-sill threw up their arms in all directions andfell or slid down like so many dolls. Then the picture began to getfainter, and disappeared from the paper. Slim looked at me expectantly. 

"Well, " I said, "it's very interesting to see how you do it, but is thatthe best likeness of me that you can make?"

"What's wrong with it?" said he. "Isn't it handsome enough orsomething?"

I heard Wag throw himself down on the table, and, looking at him, I sawthat he had got both hands pressed over his mouth. 

"May I ask what the joke is?" I said rather dryly (for it is surprisinghow touchy one can be over one's personal appearance, even at my time oflife). He looked up for an instant at me, and then gasped and hid hisface again. Slim went up to him and kicked him in the ribs. 

"Where's your manners?" he said in a loud whisper. Wag rolled over andsat up, wiping his eyes. 

"I'm very sorry, " he said. "I'm sure I don't know what I was laughingfor. " Slim whistled. "Well, " said Wag, "what _was_ I?"

"Him, of course, and you know perfectly well!"

"Oh, was I? Well, perhaps you'll tell me what there is to laugh at abouthim?" said Wag, rather basely, I thought; so, as Slim put his finger tohis lip and looked unhappy, I interrupted. 

"Get up a minute, Wag, " I said. "I want to see something. "

"What?" said he, jumping up at once. 

"Stand back to back with Slim, if you don't mind. That's it. Dear me! Ithought you were taller than that--you looked to me taller last night. My mistake, I dare say. All right, thanks. " But there they stood, gazingat each other with horror, and I felt I had been trifling with a mostserious subject, so I laughed and said, "Don't disturb yourselves. I wasonly chaffing you, Wag, because you seemed to be doing something of thekind to me. "

Slim understood, and heaved a sigh of relief. Wag sat down on a book andlooked reproachfully upon me. Neither said a word. I was very muchashamed, and begged their pardon as nicely as I knew how. Luckily Wagwas soon convinced that I was not in earnest, and he recovered hisspirits directly. 

"All _right_, " he said, nodding at me; "did I hear you say you didn'tlike earwigs? That's worth remembering, Slim. "

This reduced me at once; I tried to point out that he had begun it, andthat it would be a mean revenge, and very hard on the earwigs, if hefilled my room with them, for I should be obliged to kill all I could. 

"Why, " he said, "they needn't be real earwigs; my own tickle every bitas much as real ones. "

This was no better for me, and I tried to make more appeals to hisbetter feelings. He did not seem to be listening very attentively, though his eyes were fixed on me. 

"What's that on your neck?" he said suddenly, and at the same moment Ifelt a procession of legs walking over my skin. I brushed at it hastily, and something seemed to fall on the table. "No, the other side I mean, "said he, and again I felt the same horrid tickling and went through thesame exercises, with a face, I've no doubt, contorted with terror. Anyhow, it seemed to amuse them very much; Wag, in fact, was quiteunable to speak, and could only point. It was dull of me not to haverealized at once that these were "his" earwigs and not real ones. Butnow I did, and though I still felt the tickling, I did not move, but satdown and gazed severely at him. Soon he got the better of his mirth andsaid, "I think we are quits now. " Then, with sudden alarm, "I say, what's become of the others? The bell hasn't gone, has it?"

"How should I know?" I said. "If you hadn't been making all thisdisturbance, perhaps we might have heard it. "

He took a flying leap--an extraordinary feat it was--from the edge ofthe table to a chair in the window, scrambled up to the sill, and gazedout. "It's all right, " he said, in a faint voice of infinite relief; lethimself down limply to the floor, and climbed slowly up my leg to hisformer place. 

"Well, " I said, "the bell hasn't gone, it seems, but where are the rest?I've hardly seen anything of them. "

"Oh, _you_ go and find 'em, Slim; I'm worn out with all these frights. "

Slim went to the farther end of the table, prospected, and returned. Hereported them "all right, but they're having rather a slow time of it, Ithink. " I, too, got up, walked round, and looked; they were seated in asolemn circle on the floor round the cat, who was now curled up and fastasleep on a round footstool. Not a word was being said by anybody. Ithought I had better address them, so I said:

"Gentlemen, I'm afraid I've been very inattentive to you this evening. Isn't there anything I can do to amuse you? Won't you come up on thetable? You're welcome to walk up my leg if you find that convenient. "

I was almost sorry I had spoken the moment after, for they made but onerush at my legs as I stood by the table, and the sensation was ratherlike that, I imagine, of a swarm of rats climbing up one's trousers. However, it was over in a few seconds, and all of them--over adozen--were with Wag and Slim on the table, except one, who, whether bymistake or on purpose, went on climbing me by way of my waistcoatbuttons, rather deliberately, until he reached my shoulder. I didn'tobject, of course, but I turned round (which made him catch at my ear)and went back to my chair, seated in which I felt rather as if I waspresiding at a meeting. The one on my shoulder sat down and, I thought, folded his arms and looked at his friends with some triumph. Wagevidently took this to be a liberty. 

"My word!" he said, "what do you mean by it, Wisp? Come off it!"

Wisp was a little daunted, as I judged by his fidgeting somewhat, butput a bold face on it and said, "Why should I come off?"

I put in a word: "I don't mind his being here. "

"I dare say not; that's not the point, " said Wag. "Are you coming down?"

"No, " said Wisp, "not for you. " But his tone was rather blustering thanbrave. 

"Very well, don't then, " said Wag; and I expected him to run up and pullWisp down by the legs, but he didn't do that. He took something out ofthe breast of his tunic, put it in his mouth, lay down on his stomach, and, with his eyes on Wisp, puffed out his cheeks. Two or three secondspassed, during which I felt Wisp shifting about on his perch, andbreathing quickly. Then he gave a sharp shriek, which went right throughmy head, slipped rapidly down my chest and legs and on to the floor, where he continued to squeal and to run about like a mad thing, to thegreat amusement of everyone on the table. 

Then I saw what was the matter. All round his head were a multitude oflittle sparks, which flew about him like a swarm of bees, every now andthen settling and coming off again, and, I suppose, burning him everytime; if he beat them off, they attacked his hands, so he was in a badway. After watching him for about a minute from the edge of the table, Wag called out:

"Do you apologize?"

"Yes!" he screamed. 

"All right, " said Wag; "stand still! stand still, you bat! How can I get'em back if you don't?" Wag was back to me and I couldn't see what hedid, but Wisp sat down on the carpet free of sparks, and wiped his faceand neck with his handkerchief for some time, while the rest graduallyrecovered from their laughter. "You can come up again now, " said Wag;and so he did, though he was slow and shy about it. 

"Why didn't he send sparks at Wag?" said I to Slim. 

"He hasn't got 'em to send, " was the answer. "It's only the Captain ofthe moon. "

"Well now, what about a little peace and quiet?" I said. "And, you know, I've never been introduced to you all properly. Wouldn't it be a goodidea to do that, before the bell goes?"

"Very well, " said Wag. "We'll _do_ it properly. You bring 'em up one ata time, Slim, and" (to me) "you put your sun-hand out on the table. "

(_I_: "Sun-hand?"

_Wag_: "Yes, sun-hand; don't you know?" He held up his right hand, thenhis left: "Sun-hand, Moon-hand, Day-hand, Night-hand, Star-hand, Cloud-hand, and so on. "

_I_: "Thank you. ")

This was done, and meanwhile Slim formed the troop into a queue andbeckoned them up one by one. Wag stood on a book on the right andproclaimed the name of each. First he had made me arrange my right handedgeways on the table, with the forefinger out. Then "Gold!" said Wag. Gold stepped forward and made a lovely bow, which I returned with aninclination of my head, then took as much of my forefinger top joint inhis right hand as he could manage, bent over it and shook it or triedto, and then took up a position on the left and watched the next comer. The ceremony was the same for everyone, but not all the bows wereequally elegant; some of the boys were jocular, and shook my finger withboth hands and a great display of effort. These were frowned upon byWag. The names (I need not set them all down now) were all of the samekind as you have heard; there was Red, Wise, Dart, Sprat, and so on. After Wisp, who came last and was rather humble, Wag called out Slim, and, after him, descended and presented himself in the same form. 

"And now, " he said, "perhaps you'll tell us _your_ name. "

I did so (one is always a little shamefaced about it, I don't know why)in full. He whistled. 

"Too much, " he said; "what's the easiest you can do?"

After some thought I said, "What about M or N?"

"Much better! If M's all right for you, it'll do for us. " So M wasagreed upon. 

I was still rather afraid that the rank and file had been passing a dullevening and would not come again, and I tried to express as much tothem. But they said:

"Dull? Oh no, M; why we've found out all sorts of things!"

"Really? What sort of things?"

"Well, inside the wall in that corner there's the biggest spider I'veever seen, for one thing. "

"Good gracious!" I said. "I hate 'em. I hope it can't get out?"

"It would have to-night if we hadn't stopped up the hole. Something'sbeen helping it to gnaw through. "

"Has it?" said Wag. "My word! that looks bad. What was it made thehole?"

Some called out, "A bat, " and some "A rat. "

"It doesn't matter much for that, " said Slim, "so long as it's safe now. Where is it?"

"Gone down to the bottom and saying awful things, " Red answered. 

"Well, I _am_ obliged to you, " I said. "Anything else?"

"There's a lot of this stuff under the floor, " said Dart, pointing withhis foot at a half-crown which lay on the table. 

"Is there? Whereabouts?" said I. "Oh, but I was forgetting; I can lookafter that myself. "

"Yes, of course you can, " they said; "and lots of things happened herebefore you came. We were watching. The old man and the woman, they werethe worst, weren't they, Red?"

"Do you mean you've been here before?" I asked. 

"No, no, but to-night we were looking at them, like we do at school. "

This was beyond me, and I thought it would be of no use to ask for moreexplanations. Besides, just at this moment we heard the bell. They allclambered down either me or the chairs or the tablecloth. Slim lingereda moment to say, "You'll look out, won't you?" and then followed therest on to the window-sill, where, taking the time from Captain Wag, they all stood in a row, bowed with their caps off, straightened upagain, each sang one note, which combined into a wonderful chord, facedround and disappeared. I followed them to the window and saw theinhabitants of the house separating and going to their homes with theyoung ones capering round them. One or two of the elders--Wag's fatherin particular--looked up at me, paused in their walk, and bowed gravely, which courtesy I returned. I went on gazing until the lawn was a blankonce more, and then, closing and fastening the sitting-room window, Ibetook myself to the bedroom. 

VII

THE BAT-BALL

It had certainly been an eventful day and evening, and I felt that myadventures could not be quite at an end yet, for I had still to find outwhat new power or sense the Fourth Jar had brought me. I stood andthought, and tried quite vainly to detect some difference in myself. Andthen I went to the window and drew the curtain aside and looked out onthe road, and within a few minutes I began to understand. 

There came walking rapidly along the road a young man, and he turned inat the garden gate and came straight up the path to the house door. Ibegan to be surprised, not at his coming, for it was not so very late, but at the look of him. He was young, as I said, rather red-faced, butnot bad-looking; of the class of a farmer, I thought. He wore biggishbrown whiskers--which is not common nowadays--and his hair was ratherlong at the back--which also is not common with young men who want tolook smart--but his hat, and his clothes generally, were the really oddpart of him. The hat was a sort of low top-hat, with a curved brim; itspread out at the top and it was brushed rough instead of smooth. Hiscoat was a blue swallow-tail with brass buttons. He had a broad tiewound round and round his neck, and a Gladstone collar. His trouserswere tight all the way down and had straps under his feet. To put it inthe dullest, shortest way, he was "dressed in the fashion of eighty orninety years ago, " as we read in the ghost stories. Evidently he knewhis way about very well. He came straight up to the front door and, asfar as I could tell, into the house, but I did not hear the door openor shut or any steps on the stairs. He must, I thought, be in mylandlady's parlour downstairs. 

I turned away from the window, and there was the next surprise. It wasas if there was no wall between me and the sitting-room. I saw straightinto it. There was a fire in the grate, and by it were sitting face toface an old man and an old woman. I thought at once of what one of theboys had said, and I looked curiously at them. They were, you would havesaid, as fine specimens of an old-fashioned yeoman and his wife asanyone could wish to see. The man was hale and red-faced, with greywhiskers, smiling as he sat bolt upright in his arm-chair. The old ladywas rosy and smiling too, with a smart silk dress and a smart cap, andtidy ringlets on each side of her face--a regular picture of wholesomeold age; and yet I hated them both. The young man, their son, I suppose, was in the room standing at the door with his hat in his hand, lookingtimidly at them. The old man turned half round in his chair, looked athim, turned down the corners of his mouth, looked across at the oldlady, and they both smiled as if they were amused. The son came fartherinto the room, put his hat down, leaned with both hands on the table, and began to speak (though nothing could be heard) with an earnestnessthat was painful to see, because I could be certain his pleading wouldbe of no use; sometimes he spread out his hands and shook them, everynow and again he brushed his eyes. He was very much moved, and so was I, merely watching him. The old people were not; they leaned forward alittle in their chairs and sometimes smiled at each other--again as ifthey were amused. At last he had done, and stood with his hands beforehim, quivering all over. His father and mother leaned back in theirchairs and looked at each other. I think they said not a single word. The son caught up his hat, turned round, and went quickly out of theroom. Then the old man threw back his head and laughed, and the old ladylaughed too, not so boisterously. 

I turned back to the window. It was as I expected. Outside the gardengate, in the road, a young slight girl in a large poke-bonnet and shawland rather short-skirted dress was waiting, in great anxiety, as I couldsee by the way she held to the railings. Her face I could not see. Theyoung man came out; she clasped her hands, he shook his head; they wentoff together slowly up the road, he with bowed shoulders, supportingher, she, I dare say, crying. Again I looked round to the sitting-room. The wall hid it now. 

It sounds a dull ordinary scene enough, but I can assure you it washorribly disturbing to watch, and the cruel calm way in which the fatherand mother, who looked so nice and worthy and were so abominable, treated their son, was like nothing I had ever seen. 

Of course I know now what the effect of the Fourth Jar was; it made meable to see what had happened in any place. I did not yet know how farback the memories would go, or whether I was obliged to see them if Idid not want to. But it was clear to me that the boys were sometimestaught in this way. "We were watching them like we do at school, " one ofthem said, and though the grammar was poor, the meaning was plain, and Iwould ask Slim about it when we next met. Meanwhile I must say I hopedthe gift would not go on working instead of letting me go to sleep. Itdid not. 

Next day I met my landlady employing herself in the garden, and askedher about the people who had formerly lived in the house. 

"Oh yes, " said she. "I can tell you about them, for my father heremembered old Mr. And Mrs. Eld quite well when he was a slip of a lad. They wasn't liked in the place, neither of them, partly through bein' sohard-like to their workpeople, and partly from them treating their onlyson so bad--I mean to say turning him right off because he marriedwithout asking permission. Well, no doubt, that's what he shouldn't havedone, but my father said it was a very nice respectable young girl hemarried, and it do seem hard for them never to say a word of kindnessall those years and leave every penny away from the young people. Whatbecome of them, do you say, sir? Why, I believe they emigrated away tothe United States of America and never was heard of again, but the oldpeople they lived on here, and I never heard but what they was easy intheir minds right up to the day of their death. Nice-looking old peoplethey was too, my father used to say; seemed as if butter wouldn't meltin their mouths, as the saying is. Now I don't know when I've thoughtof them last, but I recollect my father speaking of them as well, andthe way they're spoke of on their stone that lays just to the right-handside as you go up the churchyard path--well, you'd think there never wassuch people. But I believe that was put up by them that got theproperty; now what was that name again?"

But about that time I thought I must be getting on. I also thought (asbefore) that it would be well for me not to go very far away from thehouse. 

As I strolled up the road I pondered over the message which Wag's fatherhad been so good as to send me. "If they're about the house, give themhorseshoes; if there's a bat-ball, squirt at it. I think there's asquirt in the tool-house. " All very well, no doubt. I had one horseshoe, but that was not much, and I could explore the tool-house and borrow thegarden squirt. But more horseshoes?

At that moment I heard a squeak and a rustle in the hedge, and could nothelp poking my stick into it to see what had made the noise. The stickclinked against something with its iron ferrule. An oldhorseshoe!--evidently shown to me on purpose by a friendly creature. Ipicked it up, and, not to make a long story of it, I was helped by muchthe same devices to increase my collection to four. And now I felt itwould be wise to turn back. 

As I turned into the back garden and came in sight of the littlepotting-shed or tool-house or whatever it was, I started. Someone wasjust coming out of it. I gave a loud cough. The party turned roundhastily; it was an old man in a sleeved waistcoat, made up, I thought, to look like an "odd man. " He touched his hat civilly enough, and showedno surprise; but, oh, horror! he held in his hand the garden squirt. 

"Morning, " I said; "going to do a bit of watering?" He grinned. "Juststepped up to borrer this off the lady; there's a lot of fly gets on theplants this weather. "

"I dare say there is. By the way, what a lot of horseshoes you peopleleave about. How many do you think I picked up this morning just alongthe road? Look here!" and I held one out to him, and his hand cameslowly out to meet it, as though he could not keep it back. 

His face wrinkled up into a horrible scowl, and what he was going to sayI don't know, but just then his hand clutched the horseshoe and he gavea shout of pain, dropped the squirt and the horseshoe, whipped round asquick as any young man could, and was off round the corner of the shedbefore I had really taken in what was happening. Before I tried to seewhat had become of him, I snatched up the squirt and the horseshoe, andalmost dropped them again. Both were pretty hot--the squirt much thehotter of the two; but both of them cooled down in a few seconds. Bythat time my old man was completely out of sight. And I should notwonder if he was away some time; for perhaps you know, and perhaps youdon't know, the effect of an old horseshoe on that sort of people. Notonly is it of iron, which they can't abide, but when they see or, stillmore, touch the shoe, they have to go over all the ground that the shoewent over since it was last in the blacksmith's hands. Only I doubt ifthe same shoe will work for more than one witch or wizard. Anyway, I putthat one aside when I went indoors. And then I sat and wondered whatwould come next, and how I could best prepare for it. It occurred to methat it would do no harm to put one of the shoes where it couldn't beseen at once, and it also struck me that under the rug just inside thebedroom door would not be a bad place. So there I put it, and then fellto smoking and reading. 

A knock at the door. 

"Come in, " said I, a little curious; but no, it was only the maid. Asshe passed me (which she did quickly) I heard her mutter something about"'ankerchieves for the wash, " and I thought there was something notquite usual about the voice. So I looked round. She was back to me, butthe dress and the height and the hair was what I was accustomed to see. Into the bedroom she hurried, and the next thing was a scream like thatof at least two cats in agony! I could just see her leap into the air, come down again on the rug, scream again, and then bundle, hopping, limping--I don't know what--out of the room and down the stairs. I didcatch sight of her feet, though; they were bare, they were greenish, andthey were webbed, and I think there were some large white blisters onthe soles of them. You would have thought that the commotion would havebrought the household about my ears; but it did not, and I can onlysuppose that they heard no more of it than they did of the things whichthe birds and so on say to each other. 

"Next, please!" said I, as I lighted a pipe; but if you will believe it, there was no next. Lunch, the afternoon, tea, all passed by, and I wascompletely undisturbed. "They must be saving up for the bat-ball, " Ithought. "What in the world can it be?"

As candle-time came on, and the moon began to make herself felt, I tookup my old position at the window, with the garden squirt at hand and twofull jugs of water on the floor--plenty more to be got from the bathroomif wanted. The leaden box of the Five Jars was in the right place forthe moonbeams to fall on it. . . . But no moonbeams would touch itto-night! Why was this? There were no clouds. Yet, between the orb ofthe moon and my box, there was some obstruction. High up in the sky wasa dancing film, thick enough to cast a shadow on the area of the window;and ever, as the moon rode higher in the heavens, this obstructionbecame more solid. It seemed gradually to get its bearings and settleinto the place where it would shut off the light from the box mostcompletely. I began to guess. It was the bat-ball; neither more nor lessthan a dense cloud of bats, gradually forming itself into a solid ball, and coming lower, and nearer to my window. Soon they were only aboutthirty feet off, and I felt that the moment was come. 

I have never much liked bats or desired their company, and now, as Istudied them through the glass, and saw their horrid little wicked facesand winking wings, I felt justified in trying to make things asunpleasant for them as I could. I charged the squirt and let fly, andagain, and again, as quick as I could fill it. The water spread a bitbefore it reached the ball, but not too much to spoil the effect; andthe effect was almost alarming. Some hundreds of bats all shrieking outat once, and shrieking with rage and fear (not merely from theexcitement of chasing flies, as they generally do). Dozens of themdropping away, with wings too soaked to fly, some on to the grass, wherethey hopped and fluttered and rolled in ecstasies of passion, some intobushes, one or two plumb on to the path, where they lay motionless; thatwas the first tableau. Then came a new feature. From both sides theredarted into the heart of the ball two squadrons of figures flying atgreat speed (though without wings) and perfectly horizontal, with armsjoined and straight out in front of them, and almost at the same instantseven or eight more plunged into the ball from above, as if takingheaders. The boys were out. 

I stopped squirting, for I did not know whether the water would fellthem as it felled the bats; but a shrill cry rose from below:

"Go on, M! go on, M!"

So I aimed again, and it was time, for a knot of bats just then detacheditself from the main body and flew full-face towards me. My shot caughtthe middle one on the snout, and as I swung the squirt to left andright, it disabled four or five others, and discouraged the rest. Meanwhile the ball was cloven again and again by the arms of the flyingsquadrons, which shot through it from side to side and from top tobottom (though never, as appeared later, quite through the middle), andthough it kept closing up again, it was plainly growing smaller as moreand more of the bats outside, which were exposed to the squirt, droppedaway. 

I suddenly felt something alight on my shoulder, and a voice said in myear, "Wag says if you _could_ throw a shoe into the middle now, hebelieves it would finish them. Can you?" It was, I think, Dart who hadbeen sent with the message. 

"Horseshoes, I suppose he means, " I said. "I'll try. "

"Wait till we're out of the way, " said Dart, and was off. 

In a moment more I heard--not what I was rather expecting, a horn ofElf-land, but two strokes on the bell. I saw the figures of the boysshoot up and away to left and right, leaving the bat-ball clear, and thebats shrieked aloud, I dare say in triumph at the enemy's retreat. 

There were two horseshoes left. I had no idea how they would fly, and Ihad not much confidence in my power of aiming; but it must be tried, andI threw them edgeways, like quoits. The first skimmed the top of theball, the second went straight through the middle. Something which thebats in the very centre were holding--something soft--was pierced by it, and burst. I think it must have been a globe of jelly-like stuff in athin skin. The contents spurted out on to some of the bats, and seemedto scald the fur off them in an instant and singe up all the membranesof their wings. They fell down at once, with broken screams. The restdarted off in every direction, and the ball was gone. 

"Now don't be long, " said a voice from the window-sill. 

I thought I knew what was meant, and looked to the leaden casket. As ifto make up for lost time, the moonbeam had already made an opening allround the part on which it shone, and I had but to turn the other sidetowards it--not even very slowly--to get the whole lid free. Aftercleansing my hands in the water, I made trial of the Fifth Jar, and, asI replaced it, a chorus of applause and cheering came up from below. 

The Jars were mine. 

VIII

WAG AT HOME

There was no scrambling up to the window-sill this time. My visitorsshot in like so many arrows, and "brought up" on their hands on thetablecloth, or lit on their feet on the top rail of a chair-back or onmy shoulder, as the fancy took them. It would be tedious to go throughall the congratulations and thanks which I offered, and indeed received, for it was important to them that the Jars should not get into wronghands. 

"Father says, " said Wag, who was sitting on a book, as usual--"Oh, whatfun it is to be able to fly again!" And he darted straight and level andbutted head first into the back of--Sprat, was it?--who was standingnear the edge of the table. Sprat was merely propelled into the air afoot or two off, and remained standing, but, of course, turned round andtold Wag what he thought of him. Wag returned contentedly to his book. "Father says, " he resumed, "he hopes you'll come and see us now. He saysyou did all right, and he's very glad the stuff got spilt, becausethey'll take moons and moons to get as much of it together again. Hesays they meant to squirt some of it on you when they got near enough, and while you were trying to get it off they'd have got hold of----" Hepointed to the box of jars; there was a shyness about mentioning it. 

"Your father's very kind, " I said, "and I hope you'll thank him from me;but I don't quite see how I'm to get into your house. "

"Fancy you not knowing that!" said Wag. "I'll tell him you'll come. " Andhe was out of the window. As usual, I had recourse to Slim. 

"Why, you did put some on your chest, didn't you?" was Slim's question. 

"Yes, but nothing came of it. "

"Well, I believe you can go pretty well anywhere with that, if you thinkyou can. "

"Can I fly, then?"

"No, I should say not; I mean, if you couldn't fly before, you can'tnow. "

"How do you fly? I don't see any wings. "

"No, we never have wings, and I'm rather glad we don't; the things thathave them are always going wrong somehow. We just work it in the properway with our backs, and there you are; like this. " He made a slightmovement of his shoulders, and was standing in the air an inch off thetable. "You never tried that, I suppose?" he went on. 

"No, " I said, "only in dreams, " which evidently meant nothing to him. "Well now, " I said, "do you tell me that if I went to Wag's house now, I could get inside it? Look at the size I am!"

"It doesn't look as if you could, " he agreed, "but my father said justthe same as Wag's father about it. "

Here Wag shot on to my shoulder. "Are you coming?"

"Yes, if I knew how. "

"Well, come and try, anyhow. "

"Very well, as you please; anything to oblige. "

I picked up a hat and went downstairs. All the rest followed, if you cancall it following, when there was at least as much flying up steps andin and out of banisters as going down. When we were out on the path, Wagsaid with more seriousness than usual:

"Now you do mean to come into our house, don't you?"

"Certainly I do, if you wish me to. "

"Then that's all right. This way. There's Father. "

We were on the grass now, and very long it was, and nice and wet Ithought I should be with all the dew. As I looked up to see the elderWag I very nearly fell over a large log which it was very careless ofanyone to have left about. But here was Mr. Wag within a yard of me, andto my extreme surprise he was quite a sizeable man of middle height, with a sensible, good-humoured face, in which I could see a stronglikeness to his son. We both bowed, and then shook hands, and Mr. Wagwas very complimentary and pleasant about the occurrences of theevening. 

"We've pretty well got the mess cleared up, you see. Yes, don't bealarmed, " he went on, and took hold of my elbow, for he had, no doubt, seen a bewildered look in my eyes. The fact was, as I suppose you havemade out, not that he had grown to my size, but that I had come down tohis. "Things right themselves; you'll have no difficulty about gettingback when the time comes. But come in, won't you?"

You will expect me to describe the house and the furniture. I shall not, further than to say that it seemed to me to be of a piece with thefashion in which the boys were dressed; that is, it was like my idea ofa good citizen's house in Queen Elizabeth's time; and I shall notdescribe Mrs. Wag's costume. She did not wear a ruff, anyhow. 

Wag, who had been darting about in the air while we walked to his home, followed us in on foot. He now reached up to my shoulder. Slim, who camein too, was shorter. 

"Haven't you got any sisters?" I took occasion to say to Wag. 

"Of course, " said he; "don't you see 'em? Oh! I forgot. Come out, yousillies!"

Upon which there came forward three nice little girls, each of whom wasputting away something into a kind of locket which she wore round herneck. No, it is no use asking me what _their_ dresses were like; noneat all. All I know is that they curtsied to me very nicely, and thatwhen we all sat down the youngest came and put herself on my knee as ifit was a matter of course. 

"Why didn't I see you before?" I asked her. 

"I suppose because the flowers were in our hair. "

"Show him what you mean, my dear, " said her father. "He doesn't know ourways yet. "

Accordingly she opened her locket and took out of it a small blueflower, looking as if it was made of enamel, and stuck it in her hairover her forehead. As she did so she vanished, but I could still feelthe weight of her on my knee. When she took it out again (as no doubtshe did) she became visible, put it back in the locket, and smiledagreeably at me. Naturally, I had a good many questions to ask aboutthis, but you will hardly expect me to put them all down. Becominginvisible in this way was a privilege which the girls always had tillthey were grown up, and I suppose I may say "came out. " Of course, ifthey presumed on it, the lockets were taken away for the timebeing--just in the same way as the boys were sometimes stopped fromflying, as we have seen. But their own families could always see them, or at any rate the flowers in their hair, and they could always see eachother. 

But dear me! how much am I to tell of the conversation of that evening?One part at least: I remembered to ask about the pictures of the thingsthat had happened in former times in places where I chanced to be. Was Iobliged to see them, whether they were pleasant or horrible? "Oh no, "they said; if you shut your eyes from below--that meant pushing up thelower eyelids--you would be rid of them; and you would only beginseeing them, either if you wanted to, or else if you left your mindquite blank, and were thinking of nothing in particular. Then they wouldbegin to come, and there was no knowing how old they might be; thatdepended on how angry or excited or happy or sad the people had been towhom they happened. 

And that reminds me of another thing. Wag had got rather fidgety whilewe were talking, and was flying up to the ceiling and down again, andwalking on his hands, and so forth, when his mother said:

"Dear, do be quiet. Why don't you take a glass and amuse yourself withit? Here's the key of the cupboard. "

She threw it to him and he caught it and ran to a tall bureau oppositeand unlocked it. After humming and flitting about in front of it for alittle time, he pulled a thing like a slate off a shelf where there werea large number of them. 

"What have you got?" said his mother. 

"The one I didn't get to the end of yesterday, about the dragon. "

"Oh, that's a very good one, " said she. "I used to be very fond ofthat. "

"I liked it awfully as far as I got, " he said, and was betaking himselfto a settle on the other side of the room when I asked if I might seeit, and he brought it to me. 

It was just like a small looking-glass in a frame, and the frame had oneor two buttons or little knobs on it. Wag put it into my hand and thengot behind me and put his chin on my shoulder. 

"That's where I'd got to, " he said; "he's just going out through theforest. "

I thought at the first glance that I was looking at a very good copy ofa picture. It was a knight on horseback, in plate-armour, and the armourlooked as if it had really seen service. The horse was a massive whitebeast, rather of the cart-horse type, but not so "hairy in the hoof";the background was a wood, chiefly of oak-trees; but the undergrowthwas wonderfully painted. I felt that if I looked into it I should seeevery blade of grass and every bramble-leaf. 

"Ready?" said Wag, and reached over and moved one of the knobs. Theknight shook his rein, and the horse began to move at a foot-pace. 

"Well, but he can't _hear_ anything, Wag, " said his father. 

"I thought you wanted to be quiet, " said Wag, "but we'll have it aloudif you like. "

He slid aside another knob, and I began to hear the tread of the horseand the creaking of the saddle and the chink of the armour, as well as arising breeze which now came sighing through the wood. Like a cinema, you will say, of course. Well, it was; but there was colour and sound, and you could hold it in your hand, and it wasn't a photograph, but thelive thing which you could stop at pleasure, and look into every detailof it. 

Well, I went on reading, as you may say, this glass. In a theatre, youknow, if you saw a knight riding through a forest, the effect would bemanaged by making the scenery slide backwards past him; and in a cinemait could all be shortened up by increasing the pace or leaving out partof the film. Here it was not like that; we seemed to be keeping pace andgoing along with the knight. Presently he began to sing. He had a loudvoice and uttered his words crisply, so that I had no difficulty inmaking out the song. It was about a lady who was very proud and haughtyto him and would have nothing to say to his suit, and it declared thatthe only thing left for him was to lay himself down under a tree. But heseemed quite cheerful about it, and indeed neither his complexion northe glance of his eye gave any sign that he was suffering the pangs ofhopeless love. 

Suddenly his horse stopped short and snorted uneasily. The knight leftoff singing in the middle of a verse, looked earnestly into the wood atthe back of the picture, and then out towards us, and then behind him. He patted his horse's neck, and then, humming to himself, put on hisgauntlets, which were hanging at his saddle bow, managed somehow tolatch or bolt the fastenings of them, slipped down his visor, and tookthe hilt of his sword in one hand and the sheath in the other andloosened the blade in the sheath. He had hardly done this when the horseshied violently and reared; and out of the thicket on the near side ofthe road (I suppose) something shot up in front of him on the saddle. Weall drew in our breath. 

"Don't be frightened, dear, " said Mrs. Wag to the youngest girl, who hadgiven a sort of jump. "He's quite safe this time. "

I must say it did not look like it. The beast that had leapt on to thesaddle was tearing with its claws, drawing back its head and driving itforward again with horrid force against the visor, and was at suchclose quarters that the knight could not possibly either draw or use hissword. It was a horrible beast, too; evidently a young dragon. As it saton the saddle-bow, its head was just about on a level with the knight's. It had four short legs with long toes and claws. It clung to the saddlewith the hind feet and tore with the fore feet, as I said. Its head wasrather long, and had two pointed ears and two small sharp horns. Besides, it had bat wings, with which it buffeted the knight, but itstail was short. I don't know whether it had been bitten or cut off insome previous fight. It was all of a mustard-yellow colour. The knightwas for the moment having a bad time of it, for the horse was plungingand the dragon doing its very worst. The crisis was not long, though. The knight took hold of the right wing with both hands and tore themembrane upwards to the root, like parchment. It bled yellow blood, andthe dragon gave a grating scream. Then he clutched it hard by the neckand managed to wrench it away from its hold on the saddle; and when itwas in the air, he whirled its body, heavy as it was, first over hisback and then forwards again, and its neck-bone, I suppose, broke, forit was quite limp when he cast it down. He looked down at it for alittle, and seeing it stir, he got off, with the rein over his arm, drewhis sword, cut the head off, and kicked it away some yards. The nextthing he did was to push up his visor, look upward, mutter something Icould not well hear, and cross himself; after which he said aloud, "Where man finds one of a brood, he may look for more, " mounted, turnedhis horse's head and galloped off the way he had come. 

We had not followed him far through the wood when--

"Bother!" said Wag, "there's the bell"; and he reached over and slidback the knobs in the frame, and the knight stopped. 

I was full of questions, but there was no time to put them. Good-nightshad to be said quickly, and Father Wag saw me out of the front door. 

I set out on what seemed a considerable walk across the rough grasstowards the enormous building in which I lived. I suppose I did notreally take many minutes about getting to the path; and as I stepped onto it--rather carefully, for it was a longish way down--why, without anyshock or any odd feeling, I was my own size again. And I went to bedpondering much upon the events of the day. 

 * * * * *

Well, I began this communication by saying that I was going to explainto you how it was that I "heard something from the owls, " and I think Ihave explained how it is that I am able to say that I have done so. Exactly what it was that you and I were talking about when I mentionedthe owls, I dare say neither of us remembers. As you can see, I havehad more exciting experiences than merely conversing withthem--interesting, and, I think, unusual as that is. I have not, ofcourse, told you nearly all there is to tell, but perhaps I have saidenough for the present. More, if you should wish it, another time. 

As to present conditions. To-day there is a slight coolness between Wispand the cat. He made his way into a mouse-hole which she was watching, and enticed her close up to it by scratchings and other sounds, andthen, when she came quite near (taking great trouble, of course, to makeno noise whatever), he put his head out and blew in her face, whichaffronted her very much. However, I believe I have persuaded her that hemeant no harm. 

The room is rather full of them to-night. Wag and most of the rest arerehearsing a play which they mean to present before I go. Slim, whohappens not to be wanted for a time, is manoeuvring on the table, facing me, and is trying to produce a portrait of me which shall be alittle less libellous than his first effort. He has just now shown methe final production, with which he is greatly pleased. I am not. 

Farewell. I am, with the usual expressions of regard, Yours, M (or N).