第34章猴爪(2)
"Ifyoucouldhaveahreewishes,"saidtheoldman,eyeinghimkeenly,"wouldyouhavethem?"
"Idon'tknow,"saidtheother。"Idon'tknow。"
&hepaw,anddangliweenhisfrohumb,suddeupoe,withaslightcry,stoopeddownaoff。
"Betterletitburn,"saidthesoldiersolemnly。
"Ifyoudon'twantit,Morris,"saidtheoldman,"giveittome。"
"Iwon't,"saidhisfrienddoggedly。"Ithrewitonthefire。Ifyoukeepit,don'tblamemeforitthefireagain,likeasensibleman。"
&hershookhisheadandexaminedhisnewpossessio;Howdoyoudoit?"heinquired。
"Holditupinyhthandandwishaloud,"saidthesergeant-major,"butIwarnyouoftheces。"
"SouheArabianNights,"saidMrsWhite,assheroseaosetthesupper。"Don'tyouthinkyoumightwishforfourpairsofha;
Herhusbaalismanfromhispodtheintolaughterasthesergeant-major,withalookofalarmohimbythearm。
"Ifyoumustwish,"hesaidgruffly,"wishforsomethingse;
Mr。Whitedroppeditbatohispodplagchairs,motionedhisfrieable。Inthebusinessofsupperthetalismanartlyfotten,ahethreesatlistenihralledfashioalmentofthesoldier'sadventuresinIndia。
"Ifthetaleaboutthemonkeypawishfulthanthosehehasbeentellingus,"saidHerbert,asthedoorclosedbehi,justintimeforhimtocatchthelasttrain,"weshan'tmakemuchoutofit。"
"Didyougivehimanythingforit,father?"inquiredMrs。White,regardingherhusbandclosely。
"Atrifle,"saidhe,gslightly。"Hedidn'twantit,butImadehimtakeit。Andhepressedmeagaintothrowitaway。"
"Likely,"saidHerbert,withpretendedhorror。"Why,wetoberidfamous,andhappy。Wishtobeaher,tobeginwith;thenyou'tbehe;
&edrouable,pursuedbythemalignedMrs。Whitearmedwithanantimacassar。
Mr。Whitetookthepawfromhispodeyeditdubiously。"Idon'tknoishfor,andthat'safact,"hesaidslowly。"ItseemstomeI'vegotallIwant。"
"Ifyouohehouse,you'dbequitehappy,wouldn'tyou?"saidHerbert,withhishandonhisshoulder。"Well,wishfortwohundredpou'lljustdoit。"
Hisfather,smilingshamefacedlyathisowy,heldupthetalisman,ashisson,withasolemmarredbyawinkathismother,satdoianoandstruckafewimpressivechords。
"Iwishfortwohundredpounds,"saidtheoldmandistinctly。
Afinethepiahewords,iedbyashudderingtheoldman。Hiswifeandsonrantowardhim。
"Itmoved,"hecried,withaglanceofdisgustattheobjectasitlayonthefloor。"AsIwishedittwistedinmyhandslikeas;
"Well,Idon'tseethemo;saidhisson,ashepickeditupahetable,"aInevershall。"
"Itmusthavebeenyourfa;saidhiswife,regardinghimanxiously。
Heshookhishead。"hough;there'snoharmdogavemeashockallthesame。"
&downbythefireagaiwomeheirpipes。Outside,thewindwashigherthaheoldmanstartednervouslyatthesoundupstairs。Asilenusualatleduponallthree,whichlasteduntiltheoldcouplerosetoretirefht。
"Iexpectyou'llfiiedupinabigbaginthemiddleofyourbed,"saidHerbert,ashebadethemgood-night,"ahinghorriblesquattingupontopofthewardrobewatgyouasyoupottengains。"
&alohedarkness,gazingatthedyingfire,andseei。Thelastfacewassohorribleandsosimiaitigotsovividthat,withalittleuneasylaugh,hefeltoableflassgalittlewatertothrowoverit。Hishahemonkey'spaw,andwithalittleshiverhewipedhishandonhisdwentuptobed。
II
IhewintrysumasitstreamedoverthebreakfasttableHerbertlaughedathisfears。Thererosaietheroomwhichithadlathepreviousnight,ay,shrivelledlittlepaitthesideboardwithaesswhiedbeliefinitsvirtues。
"Isupposealloldsoldiersarethesame,"saidMrsWhite。"Theideaofourlisteningtosuse!Howcouldwishesbegrahesedays?Andiftheycould,howcouldtwohundredpoundshurtyou,father?"
"Mightdropohesky,"saidthefrivolousHerbert。
"Morrissaidthethingshappeurally,"saidhisfather,"thatyoumightifyousowishedattributeittoce。"