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minutes." "And you agreed?" Prince Gules cried, leaping to his feet. "Oh, no, no, no, no, Your Highness mustn't think that of me!" babbled Sir Greves. "I refused! Oh, I refused staunchly and indignantly! I informed him that courage, invincibility, even Page 200 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html the restored honor of my family was too low a price to offer for my integrity!" "Oh. So what happened then?" said the Prince sitting down again. "He raised the price," the knight said piteously. "He told me he'd throw in the recipe for Pi. And I-I capitulated." There was a grieved silence in the Throne Room for a mo- ment. Finally the little knight fetched an enormous sigh, and gloomily took up the story again. "I simply could not resist. Besides, I told myself-quite truth- fully, you must admit-that there was nothing valuable left in the castle anyhow, except the last Golden Circlet, and that was guarded day and night by the Wyver. I didn't see how Roundelay could do any harm in just five minutes. I didn't even suppose he wanted to. I thought being only a peddler, you know, he'd probably never been inside a castle in his life, and just wanted to take a quick look around. It even touched me, rather. I have a very kind heart. Well-I let him in. I had my key to the Knights' Chess-and-Checker Room, of course. And what did he use his five minutes for? To drug the Wyver and s-steal the C-Circlet!" Sir Greves choked up, and for a few moments was busy wiping his eyes and blowing his reddened nose. Fess said thoughtfully, "No wonder you fainted next morn- ing, when I told you the news. "Oh, it was dreadful! Dreadful! To wake up on a nice sun- shiny morning, with the Tourney all arranged at last, and the family honor about to be vindicated, and my blue rosebush just coming into bloom-and find out I was a traitor!" Sir Greves burst into a fresh flood of tears. "And I'll tell you the bitterest blow of all!" he sobbed. "That potion never. did me a bit of Page 201 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html good! I drank it, all right, but with the Circlet gone, there couldn't be any Tourney anyhow. Neither Sir Gauntlet nor I could so much as lift a lance!" "Oh, I say, old fellow, don't cry so hard," King Herald said uncomfortably. Even the floor around Sir Greve's stool had be- come quite damp, and his collar was simply soaked. "Now that the Circlet's found, maybe you can fight your Tourney bravely after all. Or has the potion worn off?" "I don't know, and I'm too miserable to care," replied the knight. Stumbling to his feet, he flung out both arms toward the Prince. "I've been miserable ever since the Circlet was taken, and I'll go right on being miserable until I'm punished! I insist that I be exiled immediately to the Sandbar Sinister-without so much as a f-frying pan to comfort me-and left there for the rest of my natural life!" "You have certainly behaved very badly," the Prince agreed in as forbidding a voice as he could summon. "As for your punishment, I will have to think the matter over. Pellets, take him into some other room to wait." After the door had closed behind Sir Greves, the entire com- pany sat in gloomy silence for some moments. The fact was, they were all terribly sorry for Sir Greves, in spite of the trouble he had caused-and finally Dorothy ventured to say so. "After all, it's not his fault he likes to cook," she pointed out. "If people had just let him do it openly, without making him think it was something disgraceful, he'd never had begun all that sneaking around and smuggling. Maybe he'd never even have got acquainted with Roundelay!" "It's not his fault he's a coward, either," said the Cowardly Lion moodily. He cast an embarrassed glance at the Prince. "I Page 202 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html suppose he shouldn't have sidestepped that joust, but I can't help sympathizing-family tradition or no family tradition." "Well, that family tradition is just silly!" Dorothy said. "Oh, my dear, I think so too!" exclaimed Queen Farthingale, leaning toward her confidentially. "Of course1 I never liked to say so-but really! For a couple of good friends like him and Sir Gauntlet to go rushing at each other with lances when they aren't even annoyed-!" "By Jove! It does seem a bit nit-witted, eh? When you put it like that," exclaimed King Herald, much struck. "Yes-but he should have put a stop to the tradition," said the Prince. "Instead, he kept avoiding the jousts and then feeling guilty about it-and look what a mess that got him into! What's more, he's committed treason against his king and country, whether k was exactly his fault or not. And treason's a bad crime, and it must be punished, and our laws say it must be punished with exile. I can't see any way out of doing just what he asked, and sending him to the Sandbar Sinister." "Oh, poor Sir Greves!" Flitter burst out. "He now perceives The webs he weaves When he deceives! Oh, poor Sir Greves! He's now bereft With nothing left But guilt for theft! Oh, poor Sir... Greft!" He finished distractedly. "Oh, what a mess! Isn't it, Fess?" Page 203 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html "Yes," sighed Fess, causing the Cowardly Lion to look at them both in some alarm, and hope the rhyming habit wasn't catching. "It's an awful mess!" the Prince said crossly. "Because I feel sorry for him too, and I don't want to exile him. And that makes me feel sorry for myself!" "I even feel sorry for the Roundheads," Robin said. He had spoken in his usual quiet voice, and had more or less assumed he was talking to himself, since people seldom heard him unless he shouted. Therefore he turned a little pink when everybody stared at him. "You feel sorry for the Roundheads?" Prince Gules repeated. "But they were the true thieves!" "No, they weren't-Roundelay was!" Robin said stubbornly. "Roundelay's the only sly one in the whole bunch. The others are ever so nice and jolly, and not a bit wicked, are they Merry? And they were so happy, and now everything's ruined for them, and they'll have to go back to being peddlers again. All they ever wanted was to stay home like other folks, and have some- thing grand to be proud of. That's what they need most of all, l think. A nice, grand king to be proud of." "And a new National Magic Possession?" Dorothy added doubtfully. "Roundelay was the only one who cared a pin about that!" Robin declared. "They need a new National Occupation a lot worse. They can't sell their wheels and balls and things any more, you see, because everybody's old ones are still good. Seems to me they've got to find something else to sell." "That makes a lot of sense," Dorothy said thoughtfully. "It does, doesn't it?" exclaimed King Herald. "Boy's got a Page 204 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html head on his shoulders, eh, Gulie?" "Yes, well. . ." Prince Gules sighed and waved a hand. "Very well, I feel sorry for the Roundheads too. But I can't solve every- body's problems, Papa. I still have plenty of my own. Sir Greves must be sent to the Sandbar Sinister, because I don't know what else to do with him. He can't be a knight after this, and he wouldn't be happy in Pax-on-Argent now anyhow. As for the [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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