| 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 |
| 1 | 65 | 130 | 195 | 260 |
|
way, but his voice was gone as well. Nearer, nearer! it was fearful! and
in another moment the houses were cracking like nuts and the blood of
the inhabitants squirting this way and that. The streets were black with
people running. Right under his wheels he saw the Young Lady in Grey. A
feeling of horror came upon Mr. Hoopdriver; he flung himself sideways
to descend, forgetting how high he was, and forthwith he began falling;
falling, falling.
He woke up, turned over, saw the new moon on the window, wondered a
little, and went to sleep again.
This second dream went back into the first somehow, and the other man
in brown came threatening and shouting towards him. He grew uglier and
uglier as he approached, and his expression was intolerably evil. He
came and looked close into Mr. Hoopdriver's eyes and then receded to an
incredible distance. His face seemed to be luminous. "MISS BEAUMONT," he
said, and splashed up a spray of suspicion. Some one began letting
off fireworks, chiefly Catherine wheels, down the shop, though Mr.
Hoopdriver knew it was against the rules. For it seemed that the place
they were in was a vast shop, and then Mr. Hoopdriver perceived that the
other man in brown was the shop-walker, differing from most shop-walkers
in the fact that he was lit from within as a Chinese lantern might be.
And the customer Mr. Hoopdriver was going to serve was the Young Lady
in Grey. Curious he hadn't noticed it before. She was in grey as
usual,--rationals,--and she had her bicycle leaning against the counter.
She smiled quite frankly at him, just as she had done when she had
6
0
Page
Quick Jump
|