Half-Past Bedtime

iny drop of blood come, and then she rubbed it into the palm of Gwendolen's hand and promised to be faithful to her for ever. Then Gwendolen p

e and put it back in the workbox, and Marian was very pleased, and so wa

Cuthbert didn't mind much, because he had gone to a new school, where there was a boy called Edward Goldsmith, who was wonderfully strong, and could dive into the water backward from the top diving-board at the

bing the Himalaya Mountains and writing a book called Two Above the Snowline. But Gwendolen didn't know, of course, about her father

Both Gwendolen's aunt and Captain Jeremy were away on a short voyage, and Marian and Gwendolen had the house to

lled Mr Williams, who worked for Lord Barrington at Fairbarrow Park. Percy was sixteen, and was going to marry Agnes as soon as he

tions they asked. Mr Williams was tall, with a grey moustache, and his clothes smelt of tobacco, and he wore gaiters; and Mrs Williams was short, and her arms smelt of soap, and she was always popping upst

ian garden and a Dutch garden and a rose-garden and a water-garden; and there were lawns as smooth as a ballroom floor, over which the peacocks cried and strutted. But besides all these, and the Par

they found him just at the farther edge of Lord Barrington's estate, where there was a little wood climbing up the side of Fairbarrow Down. There was a sort of grassy hollow near the wood, and here Mr Williams had placed half a dozen hen-coops; and in front of

rised, because it was such a lovely afternoon, with the sky bluer than any ocean, and the fields all glittering with the leaves of the root crops, or hidden away under the golden wheat. Here a

ides of it ran the Park wall, with sharp iron spikes on the top; and round the other two sides there was a barbed-wire fence, with a small gate in it, heavily padlocked. For twenty years it had

y in front of him, when Marian asked him what was

. His lordship has given me a month's notice. I'm got to quit

len stared at him

ve you been doing

his mouth and pointe

dn't get him out, so I went in to hunt for him. I was only in there for about five minutes, but just as I was coming out

you've broken them. It's no good arg

very angry, angrier than

said. "But p'raps he'

ms shook

nsion,' he says, 'and I'll give you a good character. But that wood

ct the young partridges, and put th

said, "and next month you'll have

have to turn out of her cottage-the gay little cottage that she was so proud of. Their cheeks were quite red, and there was a hot sort of

at great big house and no wife or children. And he's always goin

ives at the Park at all. He's judging people and sending

aid Gwendolen, "what a nice

enly thought

im," she said, "and ask h

and she remembered the grim look of his eyes and his high-bridged, hawk-like nose. But the thought of Mr Williams and

themselves up till they could see over the wall; and there they stopped for a moment, holding on to the spikes, and studying the lie of the land. Just to their right was the corner of the Haunted Wood, but spreading in front of them was the open park-lan

and was dressed in a grey flannel suit, carefully pressed, and russet-brown boots. Luckily he didn't see them, and they crouched behind the wall, holding on to the edge with their finger-tips; and when they next p

tooped down for a moment and listened. They could hear Lord Barrington still moving through the wood. And then very quietly they squeezed through the fence. They both tore the

-resin and crushed herbage. But always, just in front of them, they could hear Lord Barrington's footsteps, and sometimes they caught a glimpse of his side or back. Tripping o

at pine tree; and then, to their surprise, they saw him take his coat off and fold it carefully and put it on the ground. Then from under a bush he drew out three wickets, and set them up on the other side of the clearing, and put the bails on them, and laid down a bat beside them, and came back tos

say; and still the bat lay in front of the wickets,

ke a few words as if there were somebody really batting. And then a strange thing happened, for slowly, as they watched, they

art of his chest, and its sleeves were rolled back over his sturdy arms. They looked at the judge and saw that his whole face had altered, as if t

gin to colour a little at the words of praise; and then Gwendolen

n turned sharp

he asked in a

rian. It was no good hiding. They

. A wood-pigeon flew across the cleari

said, and they

e was like marble, and his eyes s

hat have you got to

ir heads and

o speak, though her

nted to ask you something, but

said: "did you

d their ey

ourse," th

silent. Then his voi

" he said, "and tel

nodded, and sat, as Mr Williams

this wood is private, and why I ne

the boy?"

nd. You see, I had a notion that if we human beings could only imagine anything hard enoug

, with its heavy

," he said, "where

an. "But why do yo

at and took something

graph," he said. "

ked at it, and then

icket," he said. "

eet, and they followe

" he said, "that yo

and his face be

as older than you; and rules are made to b

, and then Gwendolen had a ra

one of His rules," she said, "y

at least it seemed long, though it was only

your names

ir names, and he

en," he said; "and you can tell Mr

in the wo

lace where

n the twil

y to Silo

one accord

or a heal

shed and st

d on their h

THAT RE

r's