Half-Past Bedtime

other boys thought him conceited, and so did Cuthbert, and so he was. But Cuthbert had once been conceited himself, and so he was able to sympathize with him. Besides being

t, that Cuthbert had first met Tod; and Tod had told him not to be frightened, because there was no need to be, and it wouldn't do any good. Tod himself was often in hospital, because he had consumption and had lost one of his lungs; and besides th

e all night with him, and Tod had told him the names of the stars. Very early in the morning, when Cuthbert woke up, he had seen Tod

come through the grass to have her back stroked. That whistle was one of Tod's secrets, and he knew lots more, and was alway

ther impatient to go and find him, and talk to him. But the difficulty was that Tod was always travelling about, and Cuthbert never kne

of the houses were sodden and empty of flowers. But out in the country, where the harvest was stacked, and men were drilling seed into the moist-smelling earth, the oaks and elms were still glowing with coppery or rusty-red leaves. The cottage gardens, too, were full of flowers-clumps of starry Michaelmas daisies, and sheaves of

ay, it was just possible to see the sea; and battles had been fought on all these hills hundreds and thousands of years before. Sometimes they had been held by the ancient Britons when they were fighting against each other; and sometimes they had been held by the ancient Britons when they were fighting against the Romans. Sometimes the Romans had held them w

ked more peaceful than on this autumn afternoon, with the baby moon peeping above it and growing brighter as the daylight faded. It was a steep climb to the top of C?sar's Camp, and the hill was guarded at the bottom by a fringe of elm trees; and in front of these elm trees

his he had thrown his blanket and the little tarpaulin that made his tent. When they first caught

he gipsies

es come f

y sun be

was the

re stripped

em suck for

ror's bone

she heard

to Edward Goldsmith, and

t in time for tea. You'll have to share

s; and his eyes were as bright and gay and piercing as if they had just come back from some m

he gipsies

a tomb fo

a tomb fo

t touched

d him deep

hat would

their lean-

him the

ides of the quarry, the overhan

ere they've lef

t stare

ot going to d

his chest. "There's not much left,

seem to mind mu

y. I've just found out something that I've

the dusk had already come, and the firelight cast strange shadows over the little quarry. The boys dr

een trying to make this powder; and

ed the powder. It was as light as

ook,"

ut the boys could see nothin

laug

hey suddenly saw a bird hovering, and then another bird an

tiny beaks, and the sound of wings, and the ghosts of cheepings and chirpings, as if they had been

re they?" sa

Tod. "They were the memor

s remember?"

've come across, the hills above us, they're crammed with memories. And when they die, if they ever do die, these m

s feet and lo

e birds. But look at this,"-he picked up a piece of wood-"this is the core of an old tree. This was a

down over his shoulders. He wore a plumed hat, and his sleeves were frilled, and there was a sword at his belt, and he wore knee-breeches and stockings and jewelled buckles upon his sho

as gone, and there were two children playing hide-and-seek in the wreathing smoke. One was a little girl, and she wore a mob cap and a l

front paws lifted; and then there was nothing again but the

ecause I've no more powder

the top of the hill, hidden

p there?" as

s if he were trying

courage?

y told him that they hoped so, b

e to-night, just about half-past twelve, you'll be able to see

ld have to go to bed first and creep out of their houses without anybody knowing. The moon would have sunk, too, so that it would be qu

But Edward came just as the clock struck, and the night seemed less dark now that there were two of them, and soon they were out of the town and running close together between the hedges of the country road. Once a moto

, a star did drop, and they almost heard it. Presently, when their eyes became used to the darkness, they could see the dim outline of the h

n to the hillside beyond. The grass was short here and slippery with dew, with glimmers of chalk beneath

behind them seemed to have vanished into a lake of darkness. Then they began to climb again, their boots slipping, and

p there an hour ago. I've

or a moment close to a large white stone

ne," he said. "We

smaller mound that had once been a barricade. In this trench Tod had dug half a dozen holes, and in each of these hol

id, "all there is, and all there ever w

kly over the burning turf in each of the little h

tored in this hill, but they are fierce

erent, as if it were surrounded by a different sort of country-a savage country, with no railways in it, or roads, or parliaments, or policemen. Even the star

rious patterns, shining in dull colours from their skins; and they were all pointing toward the darkness that lay like a sea round the sides of the hill. Then some of them spoke to him and asked him who he w

us?" And Cuthbert suddenly felt himself burning with ang

erybody rushed to the barricade; and there all round them, pricking

m for invading his country; and he was so excited that he had forgotten to not

hillside, and he had jumped over the barricade and run down to explore them. When he got there, he had found himself among an ar

ver with pride, and said, "Rather, you bet I am." Then a great stone from the top of the barricade came leaping down

shouts of the British chief, and his eyes were full of tears as he beat at the Roman shields; and then he saw Edward and hit him in the face, and made his nose bleed, and knocked out two of his teeth. Edward struck bac

ipsy laughing at them; and Cuthbert rubbed his eye, and Edward sniffed hard t

said, "and so has the hill, an

explaining that an ancient Briton had hit him on the nose. But Cuthbert's daddy only stroked his chin when he heard that the Romans had give

ead centur

psy drives

iton, Sax

psy hears

ath the no

verhear t

an the sta

n, he sees

U

and St