Part 57 (2/2)
Oh! Baas, Baas, why did you not kill him at first, or letevil on us Well, they are gone and we can never find theain, so let us save our lives if we ht stones Come now and help me, Baas, for I have found two flat rocks that will serve our turn, a big one for you and the Shepherdess, since doubtless she will fear to make this journey alone, and a smaller one for myself”
Leonard followed him without a word; he was too heart-broken to speak, while Juanna rose and returned to the spot where Na up presently, her eyes still blurred with tears, she saw Leonard and the dwarf laboriously pushi+ng two heavy stones across the snoards her
”Co fro his hand kindly upon her shoulder, ”they are gone and there is an end of it Noe s”
”Oh!” she answered, ”if only you had seen the all your life”
”Then I dare say that the fit will be a short one,” replied Leonard grie which stretched between them and safety
”Listen, Juanna, you and I must lie upon this stone, and it will--so says Otter--carry us across to the other side of the ravine”
”I cannot, I cannot,” she gasped, ”I shall faint and fall off I am sure that I shall”
”But you must, Juanna,” answered Leonard ”At least youto the City of the Mist”
”I will come,” she said ”I know that I shall be killed, but it is better than going back to those horrible priests; and besides, it does not matter now that I have lost the jewels”
”Jewels are not everything, Juanna”
”Listen, Shepherdess,” put in Otter, ”the thing is easy, though it looks difficult All that you have to do is to shut your eyes and lie still, then the stone will carry you over I ao first to show you the way, and where a black dwarf can pass, there you white people who are so much braver can follow But before I start, I will tie you and the Deliverer together with ed both stones to the very verge of the incline, and having passed the rope about the waists of Juanna and Leonard, he prepared himself for the journey
”Now, Deliverer,” he said, ”when I am safe across, all that you must do it to lie flat upon the stone, both of you, and to push a little with the spear Then before you know it, you will be by ht,” said Leonard doubtfully ”Well, I suppose that you had better start; waiting won't o now Ah! little did I think that I should ever be forced to take such a ride as this Well, it will be sos about afterwards”
And Otter laid hih Leonard noticed that, however brave his spiritits natural weakness, for it quivered pitifully
”Now, Baas,” he said, gripping the edges of the stone with his large hands, ”when I give the word do you push gently, and then you will see how a black bird can fly Put your head lower, Baas”
Leonard obeyed, and the dhispered in his ear:
”I only want to say, Baas, in case we should not ain, for accidents will happen even on the safest roads, that I a of myself yonder; it was so dull down there in that hole of a palace, and the fogMoreover, drink and a wife have corrupted many a betterafraid”
Placing his hand at the back of the stone, Leonard gave it a slight push It began to move, very slowly at first, thenover the s sound like that produced by the flight of a bird Presently it had reached the bottoentle rise opposite, but so slowly that for a while Leonard thought that it was going to stop It crossed its broever, and vanished for a few seconds into a dip where the watchers could not see it, then it appeared again at the head of the second and longest slope, of which the angle was very steep Down this the stone rushed like an arrow froe, whereof the general confor on its back Indeed, from where Leonard and Juanna stood, the span of ice at this point seemed to be no thicker than a silver thread, while Otter and the stone ht have been a fly upon the thread Now of a sudden Leonard distinctly saw the rock sledge and its living burden, which just then was travelling its swiftest, h it had leaped into the air and then continue its course along the rising place which represented the throat of the wasp, till at length it stopped
Leonard looked at his watch; the time occupied by the transit was just fifty seconds, and the distance could not have been much less than half a mile
”See,” he cried to Juanna, who all this while had sat with her hand before her eyes to shut out the vision of the dwarf's dreadful progress, ”he has crossed safely!” and he pointed to a figure that appeared to be dancing with glee upon the breast of the snow slope
As he spoke a faint sound reached their ears, for in those i, and his words seelad he is safe,” said Juanna faintly, ”but noe must follow him Take my handkerchief, Leonard, and tie it over my eyes, please, for I cannot bear to look The idol's head was nothing to this”
Leonard obeyed her, bidding her not to be afraid
”Oh! but I ahtened in all iveso badly to you I know that I have behaved badly in h I have been too proud to ad your pardon I hope you will think kindly of me, Leonard, when I am dead, for I do love you with all an to roll down beneath the bandage