Archibald Craven thought, as it was poured forth
in headlong boy fashion. Mystery and Magic
and wild creatures, the weird midnight meeting --
the coming of the spring -- the passion of insulted
pride which had dragged the young Rajah
to his feet to defy old Ben Weatherstaff to his
face. The odd companionship, the play acting,
the great secret so carefully kept. The listener
laughed until tears came into his eyes and sometimes
tears came into his eyes when he was not
laughing. The Athlete, the Lecturer, the Scientific
Discoverer was a laughable, lovable, healthy
young human thing.

"Now," he said at the end of the story, "it
need not be a secret any more. I dare say it will
frighten them nearly into fits when they see me --
but I am never going to get into the chair again.
I shall walk back with you, Father -- to the
house."

/tab\/tab\* * * * */tab\/tab\

Ben Weatherstaff's duties rarely took him away
from the gardens, but on this occasion he made an
excuse to carry some vegetables to the kitchen
and being invited into the servants' hall by Mrs.
Medlock to drink a glass of beer he was on the
spot -- as he had hoped to be -- when the most
dramatic event Misselthwaite Manor had seen
during the present generation actually took place.

[[373]]

p372 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p373w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p374

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