Delphi Works of Ford Madox Ford (Illustrated) (19 page)

The old King and his son attended the council just as if nothing unusual had ever intervened between it and the last council they had held before they had been turned out. As for the Queen and Princess, they occupied themselves with choosing dresses for a grand ball that was to be given on the day after the morrow. So that the time was pretty well filled up until the evening; and as the Princess said she felt rather tired, she went out to take a walk on the sands by the sea. To tell the truth, she intended to see whether Wopole were not making preparations.

Now it so happened that the Prince, too, was going out to take an evening stroll, and so they went together; and as the town was rather full, they walked along the beach to get out of the way of the enthusiastic populace, who insisted on congratulating him on his good fortune. This is a habit of populaces, they are all fond of congratulating any one who is successful — but they never assist any one to success if they can help it. So they walked on for some time, and as the evening was approaching, turned back towards the harbour.

Now it happened that as they came round a bend of the shore they noticed a crowd assembled round one of the boats.

‘I wonder what the excitement is?’ said the Princess.

‘I don’t know, really, unless it’s some gigantic dog - fish, or perhaps they’ve found a scale of the sea- serpent. Shall we go and look at it?’

‘Yes, let us,’ said the Princess eagerly.

And so they went towards the crowd, who made way at their approach.

‘Why, it’s Wopole!’ said the Princess suddenly; and so it was.

‘What is he up to?’ asked the Prince of one of the bystanders.

‘I don’t know, your Majesty, only we saw him coming along bringing packages of things to his boat here, and we thought we’d come and see that he wasn’t up to mischief.’

The Prince then spoke to Wopole, who was looking angrily at him.

‘Well, Wopole,’ he said, ‘what are you up to now?’

‘I’m going to leave the country,’ said he angrily.

‘A good thing for the country,’ said several of the crowd. But the Prince said:

‘I’m sorry you’re going to leave us. However, I shall be glad to make you a small present before you go.’ And he felt in his coat, and after a moment’s search he drew out a minute pair of nail-scissors. ‘Perhaps these might be of some use to you. They’re very good for cutting threads of any kind. Good-day.’

And pretending not to notice his look of astonishment, he drew the Princess’s arm through his, and they walked off.

‘Why did you do that?’ asked the Princess, after they had got out of hearing.

The Prince laughed.

‘I thought it might surprise him a little,’ he said. ‘And they wouldn’t cut butter if they were heated, so he won’t do much harm with them.’

‘So you don’t mean to stop him?’ The Prince laughed.

‘No, no!’ he said; ‘why should I? He’ll never get to the moon.’

‘Then if you don’t stop him I shall go with him.’

‘I think he’ll take care that you don’t,’ retorted the Prince.

‘But he won’t be able to help himself.’

‘And why not?’

‘Because he won’t be able to see me.’

‘Nonsense!’

‘You may call it nonsense if you like. But do you remember some one who spoke to you last night in the square? You couldn’t see me then, and why should he stop me if he can’t see me?’

‘Good gracious! Was that you last night? How stupid of me not to recognise your voice! But you won’t go with him, will you?’

‘I shall, unless you stop him.’

‘But I promised not to stop him, and I can’t break my promise.’

‘Then I must go, that’s all. I can’t allow you and your father and mother to be killed because you’ve promised not to stop him.’

‘But, Ernalie, can’t I go instead?’

‘He wouldn’t take you, and you can’t make yourself invisible, you see.’

‘But all the same, you must not go; it’s absurd.’

‘Why?’

‘You may be drowned, or anything.’

‘If I’m drowned or anything Wo- pole will have to be drowned or anythinged too, so that you’ll be safe in any case.’

‘But I don’t want to be safe if you are drowned.’

‘What difference will it make to you if I’m drowned or not?’

‘Oh, Ernalie, you are too bad,’ he said earnestly. ‘Can’t you see I love you more than all the world?’

The Princess looked at him in utter astonishment.

‘You love me!’ she said, with her lips parted and the colour coming and going in her cheeks. ‘Why, whatever made you?’

And the Prince answered naturally: ‘Why, you did, of course.’

‘But you’ve not known me for more than two days.’

‘If I had known you only for two hours it would have been more than enough. You are the most beautiful girl I ever saw.’

‘Perhaps you’ve not seen many,’ said the Princess.

He took no notice of her flippant remark — he was very much in earnest.

‘I love you as much as the whole world, and a great deal besides. And don’t you love me a little in return?’

‘Well, to tell the truth, I never thought of it at all before; but now I come to think of it I do love you, and a very great deal too — if you don’t tease.’

So they prolonged the stroll indefinitely, thinking nothing about the unpleasant walking that the heavy shingle afforded, or even that it was getting very dark, and that the air was chilly with the night and the sea-foam that the wind blew against them, so that it was after supper-time by a great deal when they arrived at the Palace once more. But all that he could say would not persuade her not to go with Wopole, although she was very sorry that she could not stop. But, as she said, it was no use stopping if her love died, and if any one was to die she would be the one. Wopole was sure to die with her, so the Prince would be safe at any rate. And although the King and Queen both tried to dissuade her it made no difference. She refused to promise not to go.

So on the next day they watched her carefully, though without hindering her going about.

The day went past just as the day before had done, and about the same time in the evening she asked the Prince to go down to the beach with her, and they went just as before. But all the while the Prince kept fast hold of her hand.

So they walked along the beach as the wind freshened, and they talked of all sorts of things, — it is not necessary to say what.

But the Princess noticed that the boat which Wopole had loaded with provisions was almost in the water, and Wopole and Mumkie were both standing talking by it So she drew the feather quietly out of her pocket, for you may be sure she had not forgotten to bring it. Suddenly she said:

‘Oh dear! my shoe’s full of sand. I must take it off and shake it out.’

‘Will you let me do it for you?’ said the Prince, who stepped easily into the trap.

‘Yes, you might, if it’s not too much trouble,’ she said. —

So he knelt down, and unlaced her shoe, took it off, and shook out the sand, and then put it on again for her. He was just getting up again when the Princess gave him a little push, so that he lost his balance altogether, and before he could recover himself she put the feather to her hair, and ran along the sands to the boat which Wopole and Mumkie were just about to launch.

She stepped over the back just before they reached it, and then she went at once to the front of the boat in order not to be in the way of Wopole when he got on board. In a moment the boat was dancing on the water, and Wopole sprang in over the stern. The boat shipped a good deal over the bows, and the Princess got rather wet. However, she was too excited to care much about a little water.

In a few moments Wopole had hauled up the sail, and the boat began to move through the dancing waters. Just at this moment Treblo reached the edge of the sea, and saw the boat well out of his power.

‘Come back!’ he cried to Wopole.

‘Don’t you!’ said Mumkie.

‘You needn’t be afraid!’ Wopole called as loud as he could. ‘I shan’t come back!’

‘But you’ve got the Princess on board!’

‘You bet!’ remarked Wopole with familiar vulgarity now he was out of the Prince’s reach.

The Princess thought it was her turn to say something, so she called:

‘Good-bye, Treblo, my love, goodbye!’

Wopole was naturally somewhat surprised at this voice that appeared to come from nowhere in particular.

‘I suppose she’s hanging in the water,’ he said to himself out loud.

‘I shan’t trouble to help her on board if she is. I shall just let her drown.’

‘How very good of you,’ remarked Ernalie sweetly.

Wopole looked surprised.

‘Sounds as if she was on board. However, she isn’t.’

And as the Princess thought it best to be quiet, he remained of the same opinion.

All the while the boat had been getting rapidly out of the bay, and the Princess thought they were quite safe from pursuit. But suddenly Wopole rose from his seat in the stern and let down the sail.

‘What on earth is he going to do?’ thought the Princess. ‘He can’t be going to stop.’

However, it was soon pretty clear what he was going to do, for she noticed he was steering towards a large vessel that lay near them.

The way that the sail had left on the boat was sufficient to carry them to the vessel, which the boat soon bumped against. Wopole now seemed to be coming forward; and as there was not room in the boat for her to slip past him, she jumped from the bow and managed to scramble on board the ship, although it was rather difficult, and boats have a habit of slipping away under any one who tries jumping off them.

However, she luckily managed it, and was soon safe on board.

She was followed almost immediately by Wopole, who didn’t find much difficulty in getting on board; in fact, he came so quickly that he almost fell on top of the Princess. However, she just managed to slip out of his way, and he did not notice her, as he was occupied in tying the boat- rope to a cleat.

He then went through various nautical exercises — such as boxing the compass, and shivering his timbers, and danging his lee-deadlights, and other things which it takes a sailor, or a nautical novel-writer, to understand. The effect of these operations was to make the sails run up, and then the vessel bent to the freshening gale and began to walk the waters like a thing of life — at least, as like a thing of life as a wet sheet and a flowing sea and a wind to follow after, but no legs, could make it walk.

Wopole had taken the helm by this time, and he was steering a course east by west, so that they stood — that is, they walked — straight out from the shore. Thus they sailed on for an hour or two till the moon began to show itself, and then Wopole altered the course so that they sailed straight towards her. It might be as well to explain that in those days a ship was only provided with two sails, and so one man could manage a pretty large ship; and as Wopole was a very strong man, it stands to reason that he could manage a rather large ship. So, you see, it was not altogether so impossible as it looks to sail for three weeks alone on the sea, although I own it would be somewhat difficult nowadays.