The Box of Delights (11 page)

‘Hullo, Kay,’ the Mouse said.

‘I say,’ Kay said, ‘you know these underground places. Could I get to the
Prince Rupert’s Arms
underground?’

‘Why yes,’ the Mouse said, ‘but, of course, it’s a bit of what you might call a peradventure getting to the
Rupert’s Arms.
Parts of the way there are some
very terrible fellows that lie in wait.’

‘D’you mean cats and dogs?’ Kay asked.

‘Oh, no, no,’ said the Mouse, ‘but a party that has only come here lately. Of course,’ he said, sinking his voice, ‘I don’t say anything against them.
They’re awfully nice fellows and good citizens and all that, but they’ve been away a lot. They’ve got foreign ways that take some getting into.’

‘But, who are they?’ Kay said.

‘The chap who used to be cellarman here,’ the Mouse said: ‘I won’t mention names. He went away. He said he went as marine cellarman, but, if you ask me, he was on the
Spanish Main under the skull and crossbones. But, come along, Kay: I can fit you out with weapons.’

He led Kay along a little passage and unlocked a door labelled ‘Armoury.’

Inside the armoury were some little light suits of chain mail. The Mouse pitched one over to Kay and took one for himself.

‘You see, these will do for the body,’ the Mouse said. ‘That is, they will do up to a point. I expect you’d like a sword or something.’

He opened a cupboard in which there were some long shining rapiers made out of bodkins and darning needles. Someone had put them on to a whetstone and had given them edge and point.

‘You see, these are very good,’ the Mouse said, ‘if you have time to use them; but the things that go for us are so sudden. And remember, when I put my finger to my lips
that’ll mean that we are at the danger point.’

‘Tell me, before we start,’ Kay said, ‘what is the danger point?’

‘Well,’ the Mouse said, sinking his voice, ‘when that one whom we named came home from the Spanish Main, he did not come alone; no; he brought Benito’s crew with him, the
Wolves of the Gulf they call themselves: and they’re all there, drinking rum and plotting devilry. They’ve brought a reign of terror into what we call the Underworld. Oh, terrible
things go on; every night.’

‘Whereabouts are they usually?’ Kay asked.

‘The worst place is about two-thirds of the way there,’ the Mouse said, ‘in the old Powdering Cellar under William’s Vintry. We shall have to go right past it.’

‘Lead on, Macduff,’ Kay said. ‘If the worst comes to the worst, take my hand, for I think we shall be able to diddle them.’ He thought that by pressing the knob on the
Box he might be able ‘to go swift’ past any danger to which they came.

‘Now the best way is this way,’ the Mouse said.

Presently they reached the end of the Seekings cellar. Kay saw the barrels of cider and perry which they made in the orchard every year. The Mouse unlocked a little door out of the cellar into
an underground passage. Someone had started digging under the door here. There was a mass of earth and rock and a pile of pickaxes.

‘You see there,’ the Mouse said: ‘those pickaxes. Those Wolves of the Gulf that I told you of were up here last night. They were going to break into Seekings – you can
see how they dug – but then that one you named came up and said: “I’ll take you into Seekings by another way any time you like, but not yet,” he said. “There are two
cats in Seekings,” he said, “which are just Doomsday in Fur. One of them is called Nibbins and the other is called Twiddles and they both ought to have their heads sawed off. And my
advice is: don’t break into Seekings till we’ve poisoned both of them. That’s what.”’

‘And did they decide anything?’ Kay asked.

The Mouse began to tremble violently and turned quite white.

‘They did,’ the Mouse said. ‘They are going to poison the cats. I heard the whole plan.’

‘Well, what is it?’ Kay said. ‘Forewarned is forearmed.’

‘They said,’ the Mouse said, ‘they said “First, we’ll catch that Mouse when he comes along here and then we’ll bathe him good and rich in the ratsbane they
put down for us. Then we’ll make him run across the room the two cats sleep in. Then the cats will pounce and eat him and then they’ll die. That’s what.” And that’s
what they’re going to do.’

‘Well, we’ll see about that,’ Kay said.

‘Oh, but Master Kay, Master Kay!’ the Mouse said, ‘don’t tell them that I told you.’

‘Come now,’ Kay said, ‘and don’t be such a funk.’

The Mouse led by all sorts of strange ways towards the
Rupert’s Arms
, along corridors, down steps, across forgotten cellars, behind a skirting-board, out on to somebody’s
backstairs, down into another person’s cellar, then along an old wall and then downstairs and downstairs again to a very damp, chilly cellar, where the floor and walls gleamed with salt
crystals and wept tears of moisture.

‘This is the Powdering Cellar,’ the Mouse said. ‘It’s here that we must look out.’

They stepped to one side from the Powdering Cellar and entered the thickness of the wall again. As they went on they found that it was becoming much warmer and, presently, it was hot.

‘What makes it hot?’ Kay whispered.

‘This is near the furnace of William’s Vintry,’ the Mouse whispered, ‘and it’s near here that they’ve got their quarters.’

As they turned a corner, a reek of strong tobacco filled the air, there came a noise of a chair being pushed back, glasses were pounded, a drunken voice squealed with joy that Old Rum-Chops was
going to sing . . . The Mouse put a warning paw on Kay’s arm. ‘They’re at it . . . just inside there,’ he whispered.

Indeed, just beyond them, the light fell into the corridor from an open door. From within the door there came cheers, mocking remarks of ‘Good Old Rum-Chops,’ ‘Sick him
Rum-Chops,’ and the pounding of hands upon a table: then a coarse voice said:

‘Pray silence now, gents, for the song.’

Kay and the Mouse paused, while within the room a most unpleasant voice broke into song. The singer may have been a little drunk, for he sometimes forgot his words and often forgot his tune, but
whenever this happened the other members of the company cheered and pounded the table. These were the words of the song:

‘Chorus gents, please. . .’

And the company broke out into the chorus:

The singer went on with his song:

‘Chorus gents, please . . .’

And the company shouted with drunken cheers and laughter:

They were going on with this disgusting ditty, but the company seemed so overcome by the beauty of the words and the sentiments that they all pushed back their chairs, rose to
their feet, snapped their clay pipes and started to repeat the chorus.

‘Quickly, while they sing,’ the Mouse whispered.

As they slipped past the open door Kay glanced in. Oh, what a terrible scene was within! There, gathered round a table, lurching, shouting, swaying and clutching at each other to keep their
balance, were the Wolves of the Gulf, all Benito’s crew, whom the Rat would have described as marine cellarmen. On the table round which they lurched and carrolled were the remnants of a
ham-bone without any dish, and a big bowl of rum punch. As Kay glanced, one of the ruffians fell forward with his head into the bowl. He splashed the rum over his head and another tried to set fire
to him with a candle, but was too unsteady in his aim. All these men wore sea-boots, rough red caps and red aprons. No words can describe the villainy of their faces, all bronzed with tropical
suns, purple with drink, scarlet with battle and bloated from evil living.

they cried. Then they drew their pistols and fired them at the ceiling, so that the plaster came down with a clatter.

The Mouse plucked Kay on along the corridor. They turned a corner. There in front of them, at the passage end, Kay saw the familiar figure of Rat, with a younger marine cellarman. Kay and the
Mouse slipped back so as not to be seen. They heard Rat saying:

‘Now here we are at the door. Now, nephew, remember what it was I told you. Don’t you be afraid of the gent: speak out.’

‘I ain’t afraid of no gent,’ the Rat’s nephew answered.

‘Well, that’s what,’ Rat said and, stooping down, he knocked at a little door.

‘What d’you knock for?’ the nephew asked.

‘To show respect to the great Abner Brown,’ the Rat answered.

Kay heard Abner’s silky voice say, ‘Come in.’ Rat and his nephew passed into the room and shut the door behind them.

‘Are we in the
Rupert’s Arms
?’ Kay asked.

‘Yes, this is the
Rupert’s Arms
,’ the Mouse said. ‘If you will step up here there is a place where you can see right into the room.’

He led Kay up a fallen wooden moulding to a ledge behind the panelling of the old room. There was a crack in the panelling through which Kay could see. There was Abner in a green silk quilted
dressing-gown, sitting at a table. Beside him was a rather stout, rosy-faced, but stupid-looking man whom Kay took to be the man Joe. Opposite Joe was the foxy-faced man. Opposite Abner was a lady,
whose figure and bearing seemed familiar. She turned her head a moment to light a cigarette at a taper burning beside her and Kay saw that it was indeed, as he had thought, one who had been his
governess: Sylvia Daisy Pouncer, a witch.

‘Come in, Rat,’ Abner said. ‘Who have you got with you?’

‘I make so bold as to present my nephew, Master Abner,’ Rat said. ‘Make a reverence to the gentleman.’

‘What’s your nephew’s name?’ Abner asked.

‘Oh, he answers to any name,’ Rat said; ‘Alf or Bert or any name. He ain’t earned a name better’n one of those.’

‘Now,’ Abner said, ‘what will you take, Rat?’

‘Well, since I’ve been marine cellarman,’ Rat said, ‘I can’t stand the climate like what I used. I do like a drop of rum. Not because I like it, it’s poison,
but without it I can’t stand the climate.’

‘A drop of rum for Rat,’ Abner said.

They gave Rat a tot of rum in a thimble. Rat wiped his lips with the back of his paw and said, ‘Happy days, gents!’ tossed it off and rubbed his chest. ‘That’s the
stuff,’ he said – ‘poison. I can feel it doing me good all the way down.’

‘Now Alf,’ the Rat said, when he judged that he would not receive any more rum, ‘stand there and tell the gentlemen what you seen last night.’

Alf Rat came forward and seemed much abashed at having to speak in company. Kay thought that he had seldom seen a more hardened young villain; he was pleased to see the brazen face now confused,
the eyes downcast, sweat starting from the brow, and the cheeks flushing and turning white by turns.

‘Speak up, Alf,’ Abner said. ‘What does he say, Rat?’

‘He says so many of you makes it worse than being tried, Mr Abner,’ Rat said.

‘Well, speak for him,’ Abner said.

‘Honoured company,’ Rat said, ‘my nephew, Alf, what is here, and doesn’t often stand in such company, went faithful to orders to the
Drop of Dew
, by Henry
Cockfarthings, at the hour of a quarter to five yesterday. He was told to keep an eye on One that you wot of, which was C.H., what keeps a Dog B. Danger of Dog my nephew Alf was in. But he
don’t flinch for that, no; he bides and looks. There is C.H. with Dog B. Presently in come Two that you wot of, a man with chains and a woman without chains. They talk a lot of foreign talk.
C.H. pulls out a Box thing, which they look at. He says, “The Wolves have come very close.” “Yes,” my nephew Alf thinks, “they’ve come closer than you
think.”’

‘Oh, I know all about this, you told me this last night,’ Abner said testily. ‘They agreed that the only way not guarded was out by Arthur’s Camp, and that this C.H.
could get away at dawn by Arthur’s Camp; well, we waited for him at dawn at Arthur’s Camp and got him. Tell me, Alf, when those three broke up, was the Box still in C.H.’s
possession?’

‘Ah, in his pocket,’ Alf said.

‘It was in his pocket?’

‘That’s where he put it.’

‘He didn’t slip it to either of the others?’

‘No, they said, “You keep it.”’

‘He didn’t hide it in the
Drop of Dew
?’

‘No,’ Alf said. ‘He asked them if he should, but they said “No.”’

‘Now listen,’ Abner said. ‘After this, you followed this C.H. all the way to Seekings House, never letting him out of your sight?’

‘Never once he let him out of his sight,’ the Rat said.

‘Let your nephew answer for himself,’ Abner said. ‘How close did you keep to him, Alf?’

‘I kept him in my sight,’ Alf said.

‘In spite of the Dog?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Could you see if he hid the Box on his way, or before he left the
Drop of Dew
?’

‘He had it in his pocket; he kept tapping his pocket to make sure it was there; all the way he tap his pocket.’

‘It was snowing hard: did the snow get in your eyes?’

‘No, sir.’

‘You must have very odd eyes,’ Abner growled.

‘And you’re sure,’ the man Joe said, ‘that on the way to Seekings he met nobody to whom he could have given the Box?’

‘I take my oath on Hamlet he didn’t,’ Alf said. ‘Not a soul did we pass, it being all snow, such as I never.’

At this point there was a pause. Kay saw Rat nudge his nephew, then nudge him again. At a third nudge the nephew said,

‘What d’you keep nudging me for?’

‘Tell the gent what I told you to tell him,’ Rat said. ‘There was another thing, if you please, gent, that my nephew had to tell you.’

‘What thing? What is it?’ Abner asked.