 Chapter 18 of The Lost Prince This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Susan Unpleby The Lost Prince by Francis Hodgson Burnett Chapter 18. Cities and Faces The hours of Marco's unexplained absence had been terrible to Loristan and to Lazarus. They had reason for fears which it was not possible for them to express. As the night drew on, the fears took stronger form. They forgot the existence of the rat, who sat biting his nails in the bedroom, afraid to go out lest he might lose the chance of being given some errand to do, but also afraid to show himself, lest he should seem to be in the way. I'll stay upstairs," he had said to Lazarus. If you just whistle, I'll come. The anguish he passed through as the day went by and Lazarus went out and came in and he himself received no orders, could not have been expressed in any ordinary words. He writhed in his chair. He bit his nails to the quick. He wrought himself into a frenzy of misery and terror by recalling one by one all the crimes his knowledge of London police court supplied him with. He was doing nothing, yet he dare not leave his post. It was his post, after all, though they had not given it to him. He must do something. In the middle of the night, Loristan opened the door of the back-city room because he knew he must at least go upstairs and throw himself upon his bed, even if he could not sleep. He started back as the door opened. The rat was sitting huddled on the floor near it with his back against the wall. He had a piece of paper in his hand and his twisted face was a weird thing to see. Why are you here? Loristan asked. I've been here three hours, sir. I knew you'd have to come out some time and I thought you'd let me speak to you. Will you? Will you? Come into the room, said Loristan. I will listen to anything you want to say. What have you been drawing on that paper? As the rat got up in the wonderful way he had taught himself. The paper was covered with lines which showed it to be another of his plans. Please look at it, he begged. I dare not go out unless you might want to send me somewhere. I dare not sit doing nothing. I began remembering and thinking things out. I put down all the streets and squares he might have walked through on his way home. I've not missed one. If you'll let me start out and walk through every one of them and talk to the policemen on the beat and look at the houses and think things out and work at them, I'll not miss an inch. I'll not miss a brick or a flagstone. I'll... His voice had a hard sound, but it shook and he himself shook. Loristan touched his arm gently. You are a good comrade, he said. It is well for us that you are here. You have thought of a good thing. May I go now? said the rat. This moment, if you are ready, was the answer. The rat swung himself to the door. Loristan said to him a thing which was like a sudden lighting of a great light in the very center of his being. You are one of us. Now that I know you are doing this, I may even sleep. You are one of us. And it was because he was following this plan that the rat had turned into Brandon Terrace and heard the Samavian song ringing out from the locked basement of number ten. Yes, he is one of us, Loristan said, when he told this part of the story to Marco as they sat by the fire. I had not been sure before. I wanted to be very sure. Last night I saw into the depths of him and knew. He may be trusted. From that day the rat held a new place. Lazarus himself, strangely enough, did not resent his holding it. The boy was allowed to be near Loristan as he had never dared to hope to be near. It was not merely that he was allowed to serve him in many ways, but he was taken into the intimacy which had before enclosed only the three. Loristan talked to him as he talked to Marco, drawing him within the circle which held so much that was comprehended without speech. The rat knew he was being trained and observed and he realized it with exaltation. His idol had said he was one of them and he was watching and putting him to tests so that he might find out how much he was one of them. And he was doing it for some grave reason of his own. This thought possessed the rat's whole mind. Perhaps he was wondering if he should find out that he was to be trusted, as a rock is to be trusted. That he should even think that perhaps he might find that he was like a rock was inspiration enough. Sir, he said one night when they were alone together because the rat had been copying a roadmap, his voice was very low. Do you think that sometime you could trust me as you trust Marco? Could it ever be like that, ever? The time has come and Loristan's voice was almost as low as his own, though strong and deep feeling underlay its quiet. The time has come when I can trust you with Marco to be his companion, to care for him, to stand by his side at any moment. And Marco is, Marco is my son. He was enough to uplift the rat to the skies, but there was more to follow. It may not be long before it may be his part to do work in which he will need a comrade who can be trusted, as a rock can be trusted. He had said the very words the rat's own mind had given him. A rock, a rock! The boy broke out. Let me show you, sir. Send me with him for a servant. You've seen that they're as good as legs, haven't you? I've trained myself. I know, I know, dear lad. Marco had told him all of it. He gave him a gracious smile, which seemed as if it held a sort of fine secret. You shall go as his aide to camp. It shall be part of the game. He had always encouraged the game, and during the last weeks had even found time to help them in their plannings for the mysterious journey of the secret too. He had been so interested that once or twice he had called on Lazarus as an old soldier and Sumavian to give his opinions of certain routes and of the customs and habits of people in towns and villages by the way. Here they would find simple pastoral folk who danced, sang after their day's work, and who would tell all they knew. Here they would find those who served or feared the Moranovic and who would not talk at all. In one place they would meet with hospitality, in another with unfriendly suspicion of all strangers. Through talk and stories the rat began to know the country almost as Marco knew it. That was part of the game too, because it was always the game they called it. Another part was the rat's training of his memory and bringing home his proofs of advance at night when he returned from his walk and could describe or recite or roughly sketch all he had seen in his passage from one place to another. Marco's part was to recall and sketch faces. Laura Stan one night gave him a number of photographs of people to commit to memory. Under each face was written the name of a place. Learn these faces he said until you would know each one of them at once wheresoever you met it. Fix them upon your mind so that it will be impossible for you to forget them. You must be able to sketch any one of them and recall the city or town or neighborhood connected with it. Even this was still called the game, but Marco began to know in his secret heart that it was so much more that his hand sometimes trembled with excitement as he made his sketches over and over again. To make each one many times was the best way to embed it in his memory. The rat knew, too, though he had no reason for knowing but mere instinct. He used to lie awake in the night and think it over and remember what Laura Stan had said of the time coming when Marco might need a comrade in his work. What was his work to be? It was to be something like the game and they were being prepared for it. And though Marco often lay awake on his bed when the rat lay awake on his sofa, neither boy spoke to the other of the thing his mind dwelt on. And Marco worked as he had never worked before. The game was very exciting when he could prove his prowess. The four gathered together at night in the back-sitting room. Lazarus was obliged to be with him because a second judge was needed. Laura Stan would mention the name of a place, perhaps a street in Paris or a hotel in Vienna, and Marco would at once make a rapid sketch of the face under whose photograph the name of the locality had been written. It was not long before he could begin his sketch without more than a moment's hesitation. And yet, even when this had become the case, they still played the game night after night. There was a great hotel near the Place de la Concorde in Paris of which Marco felt he should never hear the name during all his life without their starting up before his mental vision, a tall woman with fierce black eyes and a delicate high-bridge nose across which the strong eyebrows almost met. In Vienna there was a palace which would always bring back at once a pale cold-faced man with a heavy blonde lock which fell over his forehead. A certain street in Munich meant a stout, genial old aristocrat with a sly smile. A village in Bavaria, a peasant with a vacant and simple countenance. A curled and smooth man who looked like a hairdresser brought up a place in an Austrian mountain town. He knew them all as he knew his own face and number seven Filiburt Place. But still, night after night, the game was played. Then came a night when, out of a deep sleep, he was awakened by Lazarus touching him. He had so long been secretly ready to answer any call that he sat up straight in bed at the first touch. Dress quickly and come downstairs, Lazarus said. The prince is here and wishes to speak with you. Marco made no answer but got out of bed and began to slip on his clothes. Lazarus touched the rat. The rat was as ready as Marco and sat upright as he had done. Come down with a young master, he commanded. It is necessary that you should be seen and spoken to. And having given the order, he went away. No one heard the shoeless feet of the two boys as they stole down the stairs. An elderly man in ordinary clothes but with an unmistakable face was sitting quietly talking to Loristan who with a gesture called both forward. The prince has been much interested in what I have told him of your game, he said in his lowest voice. He wishes to see you make your sketches, Marco. Marco looked very straight into the prince's eyes which were fixed intently on him as he made his bow. His highness does me honor, he said, as his father might have said it. He went to the table at once and took from a drawer his pencils and pieces of cardboard. I should know he was your son and a Sumavian, the prince remarked. Then his keen and deep-set eyes turned themselves on the boy with the crutches. This, said Loristan, is the one who calls himself the rat. He is one of us. The rat saluted. Please tell him, sir, he whispered, that the crutches don't matter. He has trained himself to an extraordinary activity, Loristan said. He can do anything. The keen eyes were still taking the rat in. They are an advantage, said the prince at last. Lazarus had nailed together a light, rough easel which Marco used in making his sketches when the game was played. Lazarus was standing in state at the door and he came forward, brought the easel from its corner and arranged the necessary drying materials upon it. Marco stood near it and waited the pleasure of his father and his visitor. They were speaking together in low tones and he waited several minutes. What the rat noticed was what he had noticed before, that the big boy could stand still in perfect ease and silence. It was not necessary for him to say things or to ask questions, to look at people as if he felt restless if they did not speak to or notice him. He did not seem to require notice and the rat felt vaguely that, young as he was, this very freedom from any anxiety to be looked at or addressed made him somehow look like a great gentleman. Laura Stan and the prince advanced to where he stood. L'Hotel de Marigny, Laura Stan said. Marco began to sketch rapidly. He began the portrait of the handsome woman with the delicate high-bridge nose and the black brows which almost met. As he did it, the prince drew nearer and watched the work over his shoulder. It did not take very long and, when it was finished, the inspector turned and, after giving Laura Stan a long and strange look, nodded twice. It is a remarkable thing, he said. In that rough sketch, she is not to be mistaken. Laura Stan bent his head. Then he mentioned the name of another street in another place and Marco sketched again. This time it was the peasant with a simple face. The prince bowed again. Then Laura Stan gave another name and, after that, another and another. And Marco did his work until it was at an end and Lazarus stood near with a handful of sketches which he had silently taken charge of as each was laid aside. You would know these faces wheresoever you saw them, said the prince. If you passed one in Bond Street or in the Marleybone Road, you would recognize it at once. As I know yours, sir, Marco answered. Then followed a number of questions. Laura Stan asked them as he had often asked them before. They were questions as to the height and build of the originals of the pictures and of the color of their hair and eyes and the order of their complexions. Marco answered them all. He knew all but the names of these people and it was plainly not necessary that he should know them as his father had never uttered them. After this questioning was at an end, the prince pointed to the rat who had leaned on his crutches against the wall, his eyes fiercely eager like a ferrets. And he, the prince said, what can he do? Let me try, said the rat. Marco knows. Marco looked at his father. May I help him to show you? He asked. Yes, Laura Stan answered. And then, as he turned to the prince, he said again in his low voice, he is one of us. Then Marco began a new form of the game. He held up one of the pictured faces before the rat. And the rat named it once the city and place connected with it. He detailed the color of eyes and hair, the height, the build, all the personal details as Marco himself had detailed them. To these he added descriptions of the cities and points concerning the police system, the palaces, the people. His face twisted itself, his eyes burned, his voice shook. But he was amazing in his readiness of reply and his exactness of memory. I can't draw, he said at the end. But I can remember. I didn't want anyone to be bothered with thinking I was trying to learn it. So only Marco knew. This, he said to Laura Stan with an appeal in his voice. It was he who invented the game, said Laura Stan. I showed you his strange maps and plans. It is a good game, the prince answered, in the manner of a man extraordinarily interested and impressed. They know it well. They can be trusted. No such thing has ever been done before, Laura Stan said. It is as new as it is daring and simple. Therein lies its safety, the prince answered. Perhaps only boyhood, said Laura Stan, could have dared to imagine it. The prince thanks you, he said after a few more words spoken aside to his visitor. We both thank you. You may go back to your beds. And the boys went. End of Chapter 18 Chapter 19 of The Lost Prince This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are available in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Susan Umpleby The Lost Prince by Francis Hodgson Burnett Chapter 19 That is one. A week had not passed before Marco brought to the rat in their bedroom an envelope containing a number of slips of paper and something. This is another part of the game, he said gravely. Let us sit down together by the table and study it. They sat down and examined what was written on the slips. At the head of each was the name of one of the places with which Marco had connected a face he had sketched. Below were clear and concise directions as to how it was to be reached and the words to be said This person is to be found at his stall in the market was written of the vacant face peasant. You will first attract his attention by asking the price of something. When he is looking at you touch your left thumb lightly with the forefinger of your right hand. Then utter in a low distinct tone the words, the lamp is lighted. That is all you are to do. Sometimes the directions were not quite so simple but they were all instructions of the same order. The originals of the sketches were to be sought out, always with precaution which should conceal that they were being sought at all. And always in such a manner as would cause an encounter to appear to be mere chance. Then certain words were to be uttered but always without attracting the attention of any bystander or passer by. The boys worked at their task through the entire day. They concentrated all their powers upon it. They wrote and rewrote. They repeated to each other what they committed to memory as if it were a lesson. Marco worked with the greater ease and more rapidly because exercise of this order had been his practice and entertainment from his babyhood. The rat however almost kept pace with him as he had been born with a phenomenal memory and his eagerness and desire were a fury. But throughout the entire day neither of them once referred to what they were doing as anything but the game. At night it is true each found himself lying awake and thinking. It was the rat who broke the silence from his sofa. It is what the messengers of the secret party would be ordered to do when they were sent out to give the sign of the rising, he said. I made that up the first day I invented the party, didn't I? Yes, answered Marco. After a third day's concentration they knew by heart everything given to them to learn. That night, Loristan put them through an examination. Can you write these things? He asked after each had repeated them and emerged safely from all cross questioning. Each boy wrote them correctly from memory. Write yours in French in German in Russian in Mayvian. Loristan said to Marco All you have told me to do and to learn is part of myself father Marco said in the end it is part of me as if it were my hand or my eyes or my heart. I believe that is true answered Loristan. He was pale that night and there was a shadow on his face. His eyes held a great longing as they rested on Marco. It was a yearning which had a sort of dread in it. Lazarus also did not seem quite himself. He was red instead of pale and his movements were uncertain and restless. He cleared his throat nervously at intervals and more than once left his chair as if to look for something. It was almost midnight when Loristan standing near Marco put his arm round his shoulders. The game he began and then was silent a few moments while Marco felt his arm tighten its hold. Both Marco and the Rhett felt a hard quick beat in their breasts and because of this and because the pause seemed long Marco spoke. The game, yes father he said the game is about to give you work to do both of you Loristan answered. Lazarus cleared his throat at the corner of the room but he only changed the position of a piece of drawing paper on it and then came back. In two days you are to go to Paris as you, to the Rhett planned in the game. As I planned the Rhett barely breathed the words. Yes answered Loristan the instructions you have learned you will carry out. There is no more to be done than to manage to approach certain persons closely enough to be able to utter certain words to them. Only two young strollers who no man could suspect put in Lazarus in an astonishingly rough and shaky voice they could pass near the emperor himself without danger. The young master his voice became so hoarse that he was obligated to clear it loudly. The young master must carry himself less finely. It would be well to shuffle a little and slouch as if he were of the common people. Yes, said the Rhett hastily. He must do that. I can teach him. He holds his head in his shoulders like a gentleman. He must look like a street lad. I will look like one said Marko with determination. I will trust you to remind him. Loristan said to the Rhett and he said it with gravity. That will be your charge. As he lay upon his pillow that night it seemed to Marko as if a load had lifted itself from his heart. It was the load of uncertainty and longing. He had so long borne the pain of feeling that he was too young to be allowed to serve in any way. His dreams had never been wild ones. They had in fact always been boyish and modest howsoever romantic. But now no dream which could have passed through his brain would have seemed so wonderful as this that the hour had come. The hour had come and that he, Marko, was to be its messenger. He was to do no dramatic deed and be announced by no flourish of heralds. No one would know what he did. What he achieved could only be attained if he remained obscure and unknown and seemed to everyone only a common, ordinary boy who knew nothing whatever of important things. But his father had given to him a gift so splendid that he trembled with awe and joy as he thought of it. The game had become real. He and the Rat were to carry with them the sign and it would be like carrying a tiny lamp to set a flame lights which would blaze from one mountaintop to another while half the world seemed on fire. As he had awakened out of his sleep when Lazarus touched him so he awakened in the middle of the night again. But he was not aroused by a touch. When he opened his eyes he knew it was a look which had penetrated his sleep. A look in the eyes of his father who was standing by his side. In the road outside there was the utter silence he had noticed the night of the prince's first visit. The only light was that of the lamp in the street but he could see Loristan's face clearly enough to know that the mere intensity of his gaze had awakened him. The Rat was sleeping profoundly. Loristan spoke in Sumavian and under his breath Beloved one he said you are very young because I am your father just at this hour I can feel your voice I have trained you for this through all the years of your life I am proud of your young maturity and strength but Beloved you are a child can I do this thing for the moment his face and his voice were scarcely like his own. He kneeled by the bedside and as he did it Marco half sitting up caught his hand and held it hard against his breast Father I know he cried under his breath also it is true I am a child but am I not a man also you yourself said it I always knew that you were teaching me to be one for some reason it was my secret that I knew it I learned well because I never forgot it and I learned did I not he was so eager that he looked more like a boy than ever but his young strength and courage were splendid to see Laura Stan knew him through and through and read every boy's thought of his yes he answered slowly you did your part and now if I drew back you would feel that I had failed you failed you you Marco breathed it proudly you could not fail even the weakest thing in the world there was a moment's silence in which the two pairs of eyes dwelt on each other with the deepest meaning and then Laura Stan rose to his feet the end will be all that our hearts most wish he said tomorrow you may begin the new part of the game you may go to Paris when the train which was to meet the boat that crossed from Dover to Calais steamed out of the noisy chairing cross station a carried in a third class carriage two shabby boys one of them would have been a handsome lad if he had not carried himself slouchingly and walked with a street lads careless shuffling gate the other was a cripple who moved slowly and apparently with difficulty on crutches there was nothing remarkable or picturesque enough about them to attract attention they sat in the corner of the carriage and neither talked much nor seemed to be particularly interested in the journey or each other when they went on board the steamer they were soon lost among the commoner passengers and in fact found for themselves a secluded place which was not advantageous enough to be wanted by anyone else what can such a poor looking pair of lads be going to Paris for someone asked his companion not for pleasure certainly perhaps to get work was the casual answer in the evening they reached Paris and Marco led the way to a small cafe in a side street where they got some cheap food in the same side street they found a bed they could share for the night in a tiny room over a baker's shop the rat was too much excited to be ready to go to bed early he begged Marco to guide him about the brilliant streets they went slowly along the broad avenue des Champs-Elysées under the light glittering among the horse chestnut trees the rat's sharp eyes took it all in the light of the cafes among the empowering trees, the many carriages rolling by the people who loitered and laughed or sat at little tables drinking wine and listening to music the broad stream of life which flowed down the street it's brighter and clearer than London, he said to Marco the people look as if they are having more fun than they do in England the Place de la Concorde spreading its stately spaces a world of illumination, movement and majestic beauty held him as though by a fascination he wanted to stand and stare at it first from one point of view and then from another it was bigger and more wonderful to picture it when Marco had described it to him and told him of the part he had played in the days of the French Revolution when the guillotine had stood in it and the tumbles had emptied themselves at the foot of its steps he stood near the obelisk a long time without speaking I can see it all happening he said at last and he pulled Marco away before they returned home they found their way to a large house which stood in a courtyard and the ironwork of the handsome gates which shut it in was wrought a gilded coronet the gates were closed and the house was not brightly lighted they walked past it and round it without speaking but when they neared the entrance for the second time the rat said in a low tone she is five feet seven has black hair a nose with a high bridge black and almost meet across it she has a pale olive skin and holds her head proudly that is the one Marco answered they were a week in Paris and each day passed this big house there were certain hours when great ladies were more likely to go out and come in than they were at others Marco knew this and they managed to be with inside of the house or to pass it at these hours for two days they saw no sign of the person they wished to see but one morning the gates were thrown open and they saw flowers and palms being taken in she has been away and is coming back said Marco the next day they passed three times once at the hour when fashionable women drive out to do their shopping once at the time when afternoon visiting is most likely to begin and once when the streets were brilliant and the carriages had begun to roll by to dinner parties and theaters then as they stood a little distance from the iron gates a carriage drove through them and stopped before the big open door which was thrown open by two tall footmen in splendid livery she is coming out said the rat they would be able to see her plainly when she came because the lights over the entrance were so bright under his coat sleeve a carefully made sketch he looked at it and the rat looked at it a footman stood erect on each side of the open door the footman who sat with the coachman had got down and was waiting by the carriage Marco and the rat glanced again with furtive haste at the sketch a handsome woman appeared upon the threshold she paused and gave some order to the footman who stood on the right then she came out in the full light and got into the carriage which drove out of the courtyard and quite near the place where the two boys waited when it was gone Marco drew a long breath as he tore the sketch into very small pieces indeed he did not throw them away but put them into his pocket the rat drew a long breath also yes he said positively yes said Marco when they were safely shut up in their room over the baker's shop they discussed the chances of their being able to pass her in such a way as would seem accidental two common boys could not enter the courtyard there was a back entrance for tradespeople and messengers when she drove she would always enter her carriage from the same place unless she sometimes walked they could not approach her what should be done the thing was difficult after they had talked some time the rat sat and nod his nails tomorrow afternoon he broke out at last we'll watch and see if her carriage drives in for her then when she comes to the door I'll go in and begin to beg the servant will think I'm a foreigner and don't know what I'm doing you can come after me to tell me to come away because you know better than I do that I shall be ordered out she may be a good natured woman listen to us and you might get near her we might try it Marco answered it might work we will try it the rat never failed to treat him as his leader he had begged Loristan to let him come with Marco as his servant and his servant he had been more than willing to be when Loristan had said he should be his aide to camp he had felt his trust lifted to a military which uplifted him with it as his aide to camp he must serve him obey his lightest wish make everything easy for him sometimes Marco was troubled by the way in which he insisted on serving him this queer once dictatorial and contankerous lad who had begun by throwing stones at him you must not wait on me he said to him I must wait upon myself the rat rather flushed he told me he would let me come with you as your aide to camp he said it's part of the game it makes things easier if we keep up the game it would have attracted attention if they had spent too much time in the vicinity of the big house so it happened that the next afternoon the great lady evidently drove out at an hour when they were not watching for her they were on their way to try if they could carry out their plan when as they walked together along the Rue Royale the rat suddenly touched Marco's elbow the carriage stands before the shop with lace in the windows he whispered hurriedly Marco saw and recognized it at once the owner had evidently gone into the shop to buy something this was a better chance than they had hoped for and when they approached the carriage itself they saw that there was another point in their favor inside were no less than three beautiful little pecanese spaniels that looked exactly alike they were all trying to look out of the window and were pushing against each other they were so perfect and so pretty that few people passed by without looking at them what better excuse could two boys have for lingering about a place they stopped and standing a little distance away began to look at and discuss them half at their excited little antics through the shop window Marco caught a glimpse of the great lady she does not look much interested she won't stay long he whispered and added a loud that little one is the master see how he pushes the others aside he's stronger than the other two though he is so small he could snap too said the rat she is coming now Marco and then laughed as if at the pecanese which catching sight of their mistress at the shop door began to leap and yelp for joy their mistress herself smiled and was smiling as Marco drew near her may we look at them madam he said in fringe and as she made an imiable gesture of acquiescence and moved toward the carriage with him he spoke a few words very low but very distinctly in Russian the lamp is lighted he said the rat was looking at her keenly but he did not see her face change at all what he noticed most throughout their journey was that each person to whom they gave the sign had complete control over his or her countenance if there were bystanders and never betrayed by any change of expression that the words meant anything unusual the great lady merely went on smiling only of the dogs allowing Marco and himself to look at them through the window of the carriage as the footman opened the door for her to enter they are beautiful little creatures Marco said lifting his cap and as the footman turned away he uttered his few Russian words once more and moved off without even glancing at the lady again that is one he said to the rat that night before they went to sleep and with a match he burned the scraps he had torn and put into his pocket End of Chapter 19 Chapter 20 of The Lost Prince This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Susan Umpleby The Lost Prince Francis Hodgson Burnett Chapter 20 Marco goes to the opera Their next journey was to Munich but the night before they left Paris an unexpected thing happened to reach the narrow staircase which led to their bedroom it was necessary to pass through the baker's shop itself The baker's wife was a friendly woman who liked the two boy lodgers who were so quiet and gave no trouble more than once she had given them a hot roll or so or a freshly baked little tartlet with fruit in the center When Marco came in this evening she greeted him with a nod and handed him a small parcel as he passed through This was left for you this afternoon she said I see you are making purchases for your journey my man and I are very sorry you are going Thank you madam we also are sorry Marco answered taking the parcel They are not large purchases you see but neither he nor the rat had bought anything at all though the ordinary looking little package was plainly addressed to him and bore the name of one of the big cheap shops it felt as if it contained something soft When he reached their bedroom the rat was gazing out of the window watching every living thing which passed in the street below He who had never seen anything but London was absorbed by the spell of Paris and was learning it by heart Something has been sent to us look at this said Marco The rat was at his side at once What is it? Where did it come from? They opened the package and at first sight saw only several pairs of quite common woolen socks As Marco took up the sock in the middle of the parcel he felt that there was something inside it something laid flat and carefully He put his hand in and drew out a number of five frank notes not new ones because new ones would have betrayed themselves by crackling These were old enough to be soft but there were enough of them to amount to a substantial sum It is in small notes because poor boys would have only small ones No one will be surprised when we change these the rat said Each of them believed the package had been sent by the great lady but it had been done so carefully that not the slightest clue was furnished To the rat part of the deep excitement of the game was the working out of the plans and methods of each person concerned He could not have slept without working out some scheme which might have been used in this case It thrilled him to contemplate the difficulties the great lady might have found herself obligated to overcome Perhaps he said after thinking it over for some time she went to a big common shop dressed as if she were an ordinary woman and bought the socks and pretended she was going to carry them home herself She would do that so that she could take them into some corner and slip the money in Then as she wanted to have them sent from the shop perhaps she bought some other things and asked the people to deliver the packages to different places The socks were sent to us to other things to someone else She would go to a shop where no one knew her and no one would expect to see her and she would wear clothes which looked neither rich nor too poor He created the whole episode with all its details and explained them to Marco It fascinated him for the entire evening and he felt relieved after it and slept well Even before they had left London certain newspapers had swept out of existence the story of the descendant of the lost prince This had been done by derision and light handling by treating it as a romantic legend At first the rat had resented this bitterly but one day at a meal when he had been producing arguments to prove that the story must be a true one Laura Stan somehow checked him by his own silence If there is such a man he said after a pause it is well for him that his existence should not be believed in for some time at least The rat came to a dead stop He felt hot for a moment and then felt cold He saw a new idea all at once He had been making a mistake in tactics No more was said but when they were alone afterwards he poured himself forth to Marco I was a fool he cried out and I see it for myself Shall I tell you what I believe has been done? There is someone who has influence in England and who is a friend of Samavia They've got the newspapers to make fun of the story so that it won't be believed If it was believed both the Yarovich and the Moranovich would be on the lookout and the secret party would lose their chances What a fool I was not to think of it There is someone watching and working here who is a friend of Samavia But there is someone in Samavia who has begun to suspect that it might be true Marco answered If there were not I should not have been shut in the cellar Someone thought my father knew something The spies had orders to find out what it was Yes Yes, that's true too The rat answered anxiously We shall have to be very careful In the lining of the sleeve of Marco's coat there was a slit into which he could slip any small thing he wished to conceal and also wished to be able to reach without trouble In this he had carried the sketch of the lady which he had torn up in Paris When they walked in the streets of Munich the morning after their arrival he carried still another sketch It was the one picturing the genial looking old aristocrat Sly smile One of the things they had learned about this one was that his chief characteristic was his passion for music He was a patron of musicians and he spent much time in Munich because he loved its musical atmosphere and the earnestness of its opera-goers The military band plays in the Fertenhalle at midday When something very good is being played sometimes people stop their carriages so that they can listen There, said Marco It's a chance, said the Rat We mustn't lose anything like a chance The day was brilliant and sunny The people passing through the streets look comfortable and homely The mixture of old streets and modern ones of ancient corners and shops and houses of the day was picturesque and cheerful The Rat swinging through the crowd on his crutches was full of interest and exhilaration He had begun to grow and the change in his face and expression which had begun in London had become more noticeable He had been given his place and a work to do which entitled him to hold it No one could have suspected them of carrying a strange and vital secret with them as they strolled along together They seemed only two ordinary boys who looked in at shop windows and talked over their contents and who loitered with upturned faces in the shops before the ornate Gothic Rathauser to hear the eleven o'clock chimes play and see the painted figures of the king and queen watch from their balcony the passing before them of the automatic tournament procession with its trumpeters and tilting knights When the show was over and the automatic cock broke forth in his lusty farewell crow they laughed just as any other boys would have laughed Sometimes it would have been easy for the Rat to forget anything graver in the world than the new places and new wonders he was seeing as if he were a wandering minstrel in a story But in Samavia bloody battles were being fought and bloody plans were being wrought out and in anguished anxiety the secret party and the forgers of the sword waited breathlessly for the sign for which they had waited so long And inside the lining of Marco's coat was hidden the sketched face as the two unnoticed lads made their way to the Fertenhala to hear the band play and see who might chance to be among the audience Because the day was sunny and also because the band was playing a specially fine program the crowd in the square was larger than usual Several vehicles had stopped and among them were one or two which were not merely hired cabs but were the carriages of private persons One of them had evidently arrived early as it was drawn up in a good position when the boys reached the corner It was a big open carriage and a grand one luxuriously upholstered in green The footmen and coachmen wore green and silver liveries and seemed to know that people were looking at them in their master He was a stout, genial looking old aristocrat with a sly smile though as he listened to the music it almost forgot to be sly In the carriage with him were a young officer and a little boy and they also listened attentively Standing near the carriage door were several people who were plainly friends or acquaintances as they occasionally spoke to him Marco touched the rat's coat sleeve as the two boys approached It would not be easy to get near him, he said Let us go and stand as close to the carriage as we can get without pushing Perhaps we may hear someone say something about where he is going after the music is over Yes, there was no mistaking him He was the right man Each of them knew by heart the creases of his stout face and the sweep of his grey mustache But there was nothing noticeable in a boy looking for a moment at a piece of paper and Marco sauntered a few steps to a bit of space left bare by the crowd and took a last look at his sketch His rule was to make sure at the final moment The music was very good and the group about the carriage was evidently enthusiastic There was talk and praise and comment and the old aristocrat nodded his head repeatedly in applause The chancellor is music mad a looker on near the boys said to another At the opera every night in the serious affairs keep him away from nodding his old head and bursting his gloves with applauding when a good thing is done He ought to have led an orchestra or played a cello He is too big for first violin There was a group about the carriage to the last when the music came to an end and it drove away There had been no possible opportunity of passing close to it even had the presence of the young officer and the boy not presented Marco and the rat went on their way and passed by the Hoftheater and read the bills Tristan and Esolda was to be presented at night and a great singer would sing Esolda He will go to hear that both boys said at once He will be sure to go It was decided between them that Marco should go on his quest alone when night came One boy who hung around the entrance of the opera would be observed less than two People notice crutches more than they notice legs the rat said I'd better keep out of the way unless you need me My time hasn't come yet Even if it doesn't come at all I've been on duty I've gone with you and I've been ready That's what an aid to camp does He stayed at home and read such English papers as he could lay hands on and he drew plans and rethought battles on paper and he went to the opera Even if he had not known his way to the square near the place where the Hoftheater stood he could easily have found it by following the groups of people in the streets who all seemed walking in one direction There were students in their odd caps walking three or four abreast There were young couples and older ones and here and there whole families There were soldiers of all ages officers and privates and when talk was to be heard in passing it was always talk about music For some time Marco waited in the square and watched the carriages roll up and pass under the huge pillard portico to deposit their contents at the entrance and at once drive away in orderly sequence He must make sure that the grand carriage with the green and silver liveries rolled up with the rest If it came he would buy a cheap ticket and go inside It was rather late when it arrived People in Munich are not late for the opera if it can be helped and the coachman drove up hurriedly The green and silver footmen leaped to the ground and opened the carriage door almost before it stopped The chancellor got out looking less genial than usual because he was afraid that he might lose some of the overture A rosy cheeked girl and a white frock was with him and she was evidently trying to soothe him I do not think we are really late father she said Don't feel cross dear It will spoil the music for you This was not a time in which a man's attention could be attracted quietly Marco ran to get the ticket which would give him a place among the rows of young soldiers, artists male and female students and musicians who were willing to stand four or five deep throughout the performance of even the longest opera He knew that when he were in one of the few boxes which belonged only to the court the chancellor and his rosy cheeked daughter would be in the best seats in the front curve of the balcony which were the most desirable in the house He soon saw them They had secured the central places directly below the large royal box where two quiet princesses and their attendants were already seated When he found he was not too late to hear the overture the chancellor's face became more genial He settled himself down to an evening of enjoyment and evidently forgot everything else in the world Marco did not lose sight of him When the audience went out between acts to promenade in the corridors he might go also and there might be a chance to pass near to him in the crowd He watched him closely Sometimes his fine old face saddened at the beautiful woe of the music Sometimes it looked enraptured and it was always evident that every note reached his soul The pretty daughter who sat beside him was attentive but not so enthralled After the first act two glittering young officers appeared and made elegant and low bows drawing their heels together as they kissed her hand They looked sorry when they were obliged to return to their seats again After the second act the chancellor sat for a few minutes as if he were in a dream The people in the seats near him began to rise from their seats and file out into the corridors The young officers were to be seen rising also The rosy daughter leaned forward and touched her father's arm gently She wants him to take her out Marco thought He will take her because he is good-natured He saw him recall himself from his dream with a smile and then he rose and after helping to arrange a silvery blue scarf around the girl's shoulders just as Marco skipped out of his fourth-row standing place It was a rather warm night and the corridors were full By the time Marco had reached the balcony floor the pair had issued from the little door and were temporarily lost in the moving numbers Marco quietly made his way among the crowd trying to look as if he belonged to somebody Once or twice his strong body and his dense black eyes and lashes made people glance at him but he was not the only boy who had been brought to the opera so he felt safe enough to stop at the foot of the stairs and watch those who went up and those who passed by Such a miscellaneous crowd as it was made up of good, unfashionable music lovers mixed here and there with grand people of the court and the gay world Suddenly he heard a low laugh and a moment later a hand lightly touched him Did he get out then? A soft voice said When he turned he felt his muscles stiffen He ceased to slouch and did not smile as he looked at the speaker What he felt was a wave of fierce and haughty anger It swept over him before he had time to control it A lovely person who seemed swathed in several shades of soft violet drapery was smiling at him with long, lovely eyes It was the woman who had trapped him into number 10, Brandon Terrace End of Chapter 20 Chapter 21 of The Lost Prince This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Susan Umpleby The Lost Prince by Francis Hodgson Burnett Chapter 21 Help Did it take you so long to find it? asked the lovely person with a smile Of course I knew you would find it in the end but we had to give ourselves time How long did it take? Marco removed himself from beneath a touch of her hand It was quietly done but there was a disdain in his young face which made her wince though she pretended to shrug her shoulders amusingly He refused to answer She laughed I refuse At that very moment he saw in the curve of the corridor the Chancellor and his daughter approaching slowly The two young officers were talking gaily to the girl They were on their way back to their box Was he going to lose them? Was he? The delicate hand was laid He felt that it grasped him firmly Naughty boy The soft voice said I am going to take you home with me If you struggle I shall tell these people that you are my bad boy who is here without permission What will you answer? My escort is coming down the staircase and will help me Do you see? And in fact there appeared in the crowd at the head of the staircase the figure of the man he remembered He did see A dampness broke out on the palms of his hands If she did this bold thing what could he say to those she told her lie to? How could he bring proof or explain who he was? And what story dare he tell? His protestations and struggles would merely amuse the lookers on who would see in them only the impotent rage of an insubordinate youngster There swept over him a wave of remembrance which brought back as if he were living through it again the moment when he had stood in the darkness of the wine cellar with his back against the door and heard the man walk away and leave him alone He felt again as he had done then but now he was in another land and far away from his father He could do nothing to help himself unless something showed him away He made no sound and the woman who held him saw only a flame leap under his dense black lashes But something within him called out It was as if he heard it It was that strong self the self that was Marco and it called It called as if it shouted Help! it called to that unknown stranger thing which had made worlds in which he and his father so often talked of and in whose power they so believed Help! The Chancellor was drawing nearer Perhaps Should he? You are too proud to kick and shout the voice went on and people would only laugh Do you see? The stairs were crowded and the man who was at the head of them could only move slowly but he had seen the boy Marco turned so that he could face his captor squarely as if he were going to say something he was not Even as he made the movement of turning the help he had called for came and he knew what he should do and he could do two things at once save himself and give his sign because the sign once given the Chancellor would understand He will be here in a moment He has recognized you the woman said As he glanced up the stairs the delicate grip of her hand consciously slackened Marco whirled away from her The bell rang which was to warn the audience that they must return to their seats and he saw the Chancellor hasten his pace A moment later the old aristocrat found himself amazingly looking down at the pale face of a breathless lad who spoke to him in German and in such a manner that he could not but pause and listen Sir he was saying The woman and violet at the foot of the stairs is a spy She trapped me once and she threatens to do it again Sir may I beg you to protect me He said it low and fast No one else could hear his words What? What? The Chancellor exclaimed and then drawing a step nearer and quite as low and rapidly but with perfect distinctness Marco uttered four words The lamp is lighted The help cry had been answered instantly Marco saw it at once in the old man's eyes not withstanding that he turned to look at the woman at the foot of the staircase as if she only concerned him What? What? He said again and made a movement toward her pulling his large mustache with a fierce hand Then Marco recognized that a curious thing happened The lovely person saw the movement and the gray mustache for an instant her smile died away and she turned quite white so white that under the brilliant electric light she was almost green and scarcely looked lovely at all She made a sign to the man on the staircase and slipped through the crowd like an eel She was a slim and flexible creature and never was a disappearance more wonderful in its rapidity Between stout matrons and their thin or stout escorts the woman lost herself but always making toward the exit In two minutes there was no sight of her violet draperies to be seen She was gone and so evidently was her male companion It was plain to Marco that to follow the profession of a spy was not by any means a safe thing The chancellor recognized her She had recognized the chancellor who turned looking ferociously angry and spoke to one of the young officers She and the man with her are two of the most dangerous spies in Europe She is a Romanian and he is a Russian What they wanted of this innocent lad I don't pretend to know What did she threaten to Marco Marco was feeling rather cold and sick and had lost his healthy color for the moment She said she meant to take me home with her and would pretend I was her son who had come here without permission He answered She believes I know something I do not He made a hesitating but grateful bow The third act, sir I must not keep you Thank you Thank you The chancellor moved toward the entrance door of the balcony seats but he did it with his hand on Marco's shoulder See that he gets home safely He said to the younger of the two officers Send a messenger with him He is young to be attacked by creatures of that kind Polite young officers naturally obey the commands of chancellors and such dignitaries This one found without trouble a young private who marched with Marco through the deserted streets to his lodgings He was a stalled young Bavarian peasant and seemed to have no curiosity or even any interest in the reason for the command given him He was in fact thinking of his sweetheart who lived near Konigsky and who had skated with him on the frozen lake last winter He scarcely gave a glance to the school boy he was to escort He neither knew nor wondered why The rat had fallen asleep over his papers and lay with his head on his folded arms on the table But he was awakened by Marco's coming into the room and sat up blinking his eyes in the effort to get them open Did you see him? Near enough he drowsed Yes Marco answered I got near enough The rat set up right suddenly It's not been easy He exclaimed I'm sure something happened Something went wrong Something nearly went wrong Very nearly answered Marco But as he spoke he took the sketch of the Chancellor out of the slit in his sleeve and tore it and burned it with a match But I did get near enough and that's two They talked long before they went to sleep that night The rat grew pale as he listened to the story of the woman in violet I ought to have gone with you he said I see now an aid to camp must always be in attendance It would have been harder for her to manage two than one I must always be near to watch even if I am not close by you If you had not come back If you had not come back He struck his clenched hands together fiercely What should I have done When Marco turned toward him from the table near which he was standing he looked like his father You would have gone on with the game Just as far as you could he said You could not leave it in the places and the faces and the sign There is some money and when it was all gone you could have begged as we used to pretend we should We have not had to do it yet and it was best to save it for country places and villages But you could have done it if you were obliged to The game would have to go on The rat caught his thin chest as if he had been struck breathless You, he gasped Without you Yes, said Marco and we must think of it and plan in case anything like that should happen He stopped himself quite suddenly and sat down looking straight before him as if it's some far away thing he saw Nothing will happen He said, nothing can What are you thinking of The rat gulped because his breath had not quite come back Why will nothing happen? Because The boy spoke in an almost matter of fact tone in quite an unexalted tone at all events You see, I can always make a strong call as I did tonight Did you shout, the rat asked I didn't know you shouted I didn't I said nothing allowed but I, the myself that is in me Marco touched himself on the breast called out, help, help with all its strength and help came The rat regarded him dubiously What did it call to he asked to the power to the strength place to the thought that does things The Buddhist hermit told my father about it called it, the thought that thought the world A reluctant suspicion betrayed itself in the rat's eyes Do you mean you prayed, he inquired with a slight touch of disfavor Marco's eyes remained fixed upon him in vague thoughtfulness for a moment or so of pause I don't know he said it last Perhaps it's the same thing when you need something so much that you cry out loud for it but it's not words it's a strong thing without a name I called like that when I was shed in the wine cellar I remembered some of the things the old Buddhist told my father The rat moved restlessly The help came that time he admitted How did it come tonight In that thought which flashed into my mind almost the next second it came like lightning all at once I knew if I ran to the chancellor and said the woman was a spy it would startle him into listening to me and that then I could give him the sign and that when I gave him the sign he would know I was speaking the truth and would protect me It was a splendid thought the rat said and it was quick but it was you who thought of it all thinking is part of the big thought said Marco slowly it knows it knows and the outside part of us somehow broke the chain that linked us to it and we are always trying to mend the chain without knowing it that is what our thinking is trying to mend the chain but we shall find out how to do it sometime the old buddhist told my father so just as the son was rising from behind a high peak of the Himalayas then he added hastily I am only telling you what my father told me and he only told me what the old hermit told him does your father believe what he told him the rats bewilderment had become an eager and restless thing yes he believes it he always thought something like it himself that is why he is so calm and knows so well how to wait is that it breathed the rat is that why has he mended the chain and there was awe in his voice because of this one man to whom he felt any achievement was possible I believe he has said Marco don't you think so yourself he has done something the rat said he seemed to be thinking things over before he spoke again and then even more slowly than Marco if he could mend the chain he said almost in a whisper he could find out where the descendant of the lost prince is he would know what to do for samadhiya he ended the words with a start and his whole face glowed with a new amazed light perhaps he does know he cried if the help comes like thoughts as yours did perhaps his thought of letting us give the sign was part of it we just we two everyday boys are part of it the old Buddhist said began Marco look here broken the rat tell me the whole story I want to hear it it was because Laura Stan had heard it and listened and believed it that the rat had taken fire his imagination seized upon the idea as it would have seized on some theory of necromancy proof true and workable with his elbows on the table and his hands in his hair he leaned forward twisting a lock with restless fingers his breath quickened tell it he said I want to hear it all I shall have to tell it in my own words Marco said and it won't be as wonderful as it was when my father told it to me this is what I remember my father had gone through much pain and trouble a great load was upon him and he had been told he was going to die before his work was done he had gone to India because a man he was obliged to speak to had gone there to hunt and no one knew when he would return my father followed him for months from one wild place to another and when he found him the man would not hear or believe what he had come so far to say then he had jungle fever and almost died once the natives left him for dead in a bungalow in the forest and he heard the jackals howling round him all the night for all the hours he was only alive enough to be conscious of two things all the rest of him seemed gone from his body his thought knew that his work was unfinished and his body heard the jackals howl was the work for some media the rat put in quickly if he had died that night the descendant of the lost prince would never have been found never the rat bit his lips so hard and started from it when he was slowly coming alive again a native who had gone back and stayed to wait upon him told him that near the summit of a mountain about 50 miles away there was a ledge which jetted out into space and hung over the valley which was thousands of feet below on the ledge there was a hut in which there lived an ancient Buddhist who was a holy man as they called him and who had been there during time which had not been measured they said that their grandparents and great-grandparents had known of him though very few persons had ever seen him it was told that the most savage beast was tame before him they said that a man-eating tiger would stop to salute him and that a thirsty lioness would bring her welps to drink at the spring near his hut that was a lie promptly Marco neither laughed nor frowned how do we know he said it was a native story and it might be anything my father neither said it was true nor false he listened to all that was told him by natives they said that the holy man was the brother of the stars he knew all things passed and to come and could heal the sick most people especially those who had sinful thoughts were afraid to go near him I'd like to have seen the rat pondered aloud but he did not finish before my father was well he had made up his mind to travel to the ledge if he could he felt as if he must go he thought that if he were going to die the hermit might tell him some wise thing to do for some avia he might have given him a message to lead to the secret ones said the rat he was so weak when he set out on his journey that he wondered if he would reach the end of it part of the way he traveled by bullet cart and part he was carried by natives but at last the bearers came to a place more than halfway up the mountain and would go no further then they went back and left him to climb the rest of the way himself they had traveled slowly and he had got more strength but he was weak yet the forest was more wonderful than anything he had ever seen there were tropical trees with foliage like lace and some with huge leaves and some of them seemed to reach the sky sometimes he could barely see gleams of blue through them and vines swung down from their high branches and caught each other and matted together and there were hot scents and strange flowers and dazzling birds darted about and thick moss and little cascades bursting out the path grew narrower and steeper and the flower scents and the sultriness made it like walking in a hot house he heard rustlings in the undergrowth which might have been made by any kind of wild animal once he stepped across a deadly snake without seeing it but it was asleep and did not hurt him he knew the natives had been convinced that he would not reach the ledge but for some strange reason he believed he should he stopped and rested many times and he drank some milk he had brought in a canteen the higher he climbed the more wonderful everything was and a strange feeling began to fill him he said his body stopped being tired and began to feel very light and his load lifted itself from his heart as if it were not his load anymore but belonged to something stronger even some mavias seemed to be safe as he went higher and higher and looked down the abyss at the world below it appeared as if it were not real but only a dream he had wakened from only a dream the rat moved restlessly perhaps he was light-headed with the fever he suggested the fever had left him and the weakness had left him Marco answered it seemed as if he had never really been ill at all as if no one could be ill because things like that were only dreams just as the world was I wish I had been with him perhaps I could have thrown these away down into the abyss and the rat shook his crutches which rested against the table I feel as if I was climbing too go on Marco had become more absorbed than the rat he had lost himself in the memory of the story I felt that I was climbing when he told me he said I was breathing in the hot flower sense and pushing aside the big leaves and giant ferns there had been a rain and they were wet and shining with big drops like jewels that showered over him as he thrust his way through and under them and the stillness and the height the stillness and the height I can't make it real to you as he made it to me I can't I was there he took me and it was so high and so still and so beautiful that I could scarcely bear it but the truth was that with some vivid boy touch he had carried his hearer far the rat was deadly quiet even his eyes had not moved he spoke almost as if he were in a sort of trance it's real he said I'm there now as high as you go on go on I want to climb higher and Marco understanding went on the day was over and the stars were out when he reached the place where the ledge was he said he thought that during the last part of the climb he never looked on the earth at all the stars were so immense that he could not look away from them they seemed to be drawing him up and all overhead was like violet velvet and they hung there like great lamps of radiance can you see them you must see them my father saw them all night long they were part of the wonder I see them the rat answered with a trance like voice and without stirring and Marco knew he did and there with the huge stars watching it was the hut on the ledge and there was no one there the door was open and outside it was a low bench and a table of stone and on the table was a meal of dates and rice waiting far from the hut was a deep spring which ran away in a clear brook my father drank and bathed his face there then he went out on the ledge and sat down and waited with his face turned up to the stars he did not lie down and he thought he saw the stars all the time he waited he was sure he did not sleep he did not know how long he sat there alone but at last he drew his eyes away as if he had been commanded to do it and he was not alone anymore a yard or so away from him sat the holy man he knew it was the hermit because his eyes were different from any human eyes he had ever beheld they were as still as the night was and as deep as the shadows covering the world thousands of feet below and they had a far far look and a strange light was in them what did he say he said he only said rise my son I awaited thee go and eat the food I prepared for thee and then we will speak together he did not move or speak again until my father had eaten the meal he only sat across on the moss and let his eyes rest on the shadows over the abyss when my father went back he made a gesture which meant that he should sit near him then he sat still for several minutes and let his eyes rest on my father until he felt as if the light in them were set in the midst of his own body and his soul then he said I cannot tell thee all thou would know that I may not do he had a wonderful gentle voice like a deep soft bell but the work will be done thy life will set it on its way they sat through the whole night together and the stars hung quite near as if they listened and there were sounds in the bushes a stealthy patting feet which wandered about as if the owners of them listened too and the wonderful low peaceful voice of the holy man went on and on telling of wonders which seemed like miracles only the working of the law what is the law the rat broke in there were two my father wrote down and I learned them the first was the law of the one I'll try to say that and he covered his eyes and waited through a moment of silence it seemed to the rat as if the room held an extraordinary stillness listen came next this is it there are a myriad worlds there is but one thought out of which they grew its law is order which cannot swerve its creatures are free to choose only they can create disorder which in itself is pain and woe and hate and fear these they alone can bring forth the great one is a golden light it is not remote but near hold thyself within its glow and thou wilt behold all things clearly first with all thy breathing being know one thing that thine own thought when so thou standest is one with that which thought the worlds it guessed the rat my thought the things I think your thoughts boys thoughts anybody's thoughts you're giving me the jim jams he said it answered marco and it was then he spoke about the broken link and about the greatest books in the world that in all their different ways they were only saying over and over again one thing thousands of times just this thing hate not fear not love and he said that was order and when it was disturbed suffering came poverty and misery and catastrophe and wars wars the rat said sharply the world couldn't do without war and armies and defenses what about samavia my father asked him that and this is what he answered I learned that too let me think again and he waited as he had waited before then he lifted his head listen this is it out of the blackness of disorder and its outpouring of human misery there will arise the order which is peace when man learns that he is one with the thought which itself creates all beauty all power all splendor and all repose he will not fear that his brother can rob him of his heart's desire he will stand in the light and draw to himself his own draw to himself the rat said draw what he wants I don't believe it nobody does said Marco we don't know he said we stood in the dark of the night without stars and did not know that the broken chain swung just above us I don't believe it said the rat it's too big Marco did not say whether he only went on speaking my father listened until he felt as if he had stopped breathing just at the stillest of the stillness the Buddhist stopped speaking and there was a rustling of the undergrowth a few yards away as if something big was pushing its way through and there was the soft pad of feet the Buddhist turned his head and my father heard him saying softly come forth sister and a huge lepertice with two cubs walked out onto the ledge and came to him and threw herself down with a heavy lunge near his feet your father saw that cried out the rat you mean the old fellow knew something that made wild beasts afraid to touch him or anyone near him not afraid they knew he was their brother and that he was one with the law he had lived so long with the great thought that all darkness and fear had left him forever he had mended the chain the rat had reached deep waters he leaned forward his hands burrowing in his hair his face scowling and twisted his eyes boring into space he had climbed to the ledge at the mountaintop with the luminous immensity of the stars and he had looked down into the shadows filling the world thousands of feet below was there some remote deep in him from whose darkness a slow light was rising all that Loristan had said he knew must be true but the rest of it Marco got up and came over to him he looked like his father again if the descendant of the lost prince is brought back to rule Sumavia he will teach his people the law of the one it was for that the holy man taught my father until the dawn came who will teach the lost prince the new king when he has found the rat cried who will teach him the hermit said my father would he said he would also teach his son would teach his son and he would teach his and through such as they were the whole world would come to know the order and the law never had the rat look so strange and fierce a thing a whole world at peace no tactics no battles no slaughtered heroes no clash of arms and fame it made him feel sick and yet something said his chest heaving and your father would teach him that when he was found so that he could teach his sons your father believes in it yes Marco answered he said nothing but yes the rat threw himself forward on the table face downward then he said he must make me believe it he must teach me if he can they heard a clumping step upon the staircase and when it reached the landing it stopped at their door then there was a solid knock when Marco opened the door the young soldier who had escorted from the Hoftheater was standing outside he looked as uninterested and stall it as before he said you must have dropped it near your seat at the opera he said I was to give it into your own hands it is your purse after he had clumped down the staircase again Marco and the rat drew a quick breath at one in the same time I had no seat and I had no purse Marco said let us open it in it was a paper at the head of which were photographs of the lovely person and her companion beneath were a few lines which stated that they were the well-known spies Eugenia Karavna and Paul Barrel and that the bearer must be protected against them it was signed by the chief of police on a separate sheet was written the command carry this with you as protection that is help he said it would protect us even in another country the chancellor sent it but you made the strong call and it's here there was no street lamp to shine into their windows when they went at last to bed when the blind was drawn up they were nearer the sky than they had been in the Marley Brown Road the last thing each of them saw as he went to sleep was the stars and in their dreams they saw them grow larger and larger and hang like lamps of radiance against the violet velvet sky above a ledge of a Himalayan mountain where they listened to the sound of a low voice going on and on and on End of Chapter 21