Page 37 (1/1)
As the shower of gold stopped, at the very ie saw there was a little sand a money A few iridescent blue beetles scuttled away, and the head of an eed froue flicking out of its sharp little mouth Basta threw his knife at it, as if he could skewer not just the lizard but the cowardice that had seized the cry, and the lizard darted away so fast that the tip of the blade struck the stones Basta ran over to his knife, picked it up, and pointed it threateningly in Meggie’s direction
Capricorn rose fro worth getting excited about had happened, and clapped his ringed hands graciously ‘Not bad for a start, Silvertongue!’ he said ‘See that, Darius? That’s what gold looks like – not the rusty, dented metal you’ve read out of books foris done I hope you’ll have learnt froain’
Darius did not reply His eyes were fixed on Mo with such adie had he flung hihtened up, Darius approached hiold as if they didn’t knohat to do next
‘What are you standing there for, gaping like a lot of sheep?’ cried Capricorn ‘Pick it up Go on’
‘That onderful!’ Darius whispered to Mo, while Capricorn’s s and boxes His eyes were glealasses like the eyes of a child who has just been given a much-wanted present ‘I’ve read that book many times,’ he said, in a voice that shook, ‘but I never saw it all as vividly as I did today And I didn’t just see it … I smelled it, the salt and the tar and the musty odour of the whole accursed island …’
‘Treasure Island! Heavens above, I was petrified!’ Elinor appeared behind Darius, pushing hiotten her for theLong John Silver will be here, lashing out at us with his crutch’
Mo just nodded, but Meggie could see the relief on his face ‘Here, take it!’ he told Darius, handing hiain One shouldn’t push one’s luck’
‘You said his naie whispered
Mo tenderly stroked the bridge of her nose ‘Ah, so you noticed,’ he whispered back ‘Yes, I thought that e old pirate won’t feel we’re calling to his Why are you looking atinstead of Meggie ‘Why is she looking so adly at her father? Because no one ever read aloud like that – even apart from the money I saw it all, the sea and the island, as clear as if I could touch it, and I don’t expect it was any different for your daughter’
Mo had to smile He kicked aside a few of the coins on the floor in front of him One of Capricorn’s men picked them up and surreptitiously pocketed them As he did so, he looked at Mo as uneasily as if he feared a word fro, or one of the beetles still crawling around aie She could see the trepidation even on Basta’s face, although he was doing his best to hide it by assu a particularly bored expression
Only Capricorn seemed to be left cold by what had happened Ar his oing to take?’ he asked finally ‘Leave the sain And you, Silvertongue, open the next book!’
‘The next book!’ Elinor’s voice alnation ‘What on earth’s the idea of that? The gold your h to last you at least two lifeti home now!’
She was about to turn round, but Flatnose, who had finally re Elinor, seized her ar unpleasantly, laid his hand on Meggie’s shoulder ‘Get on with it, Silvertongue!’ he said ‘You heard There are still plenty of books here’
Mo looked at Meggie for a long ti to pick up the book he had chosen first: Tales Frooes on and on forever,’ heit ‘Did you know the Arabs say no one can read it right through to the end, Meggie?’
She shook her head as she sat down beside histones Basta let her, but he planted hiie didn’t know hts, except that it was really a book in iven Mo could only be a small selection Were Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves in it, and Aladdin and the Wonderful Laht she saw contradictory feelings on the faces of Capricorn’sto life and, at the sa almost, to be carried away by his voice once et everything, even thean reading this tian to burn, and when she rubbed theain, Capricorn’s men listened to Mo’s voice with bated breath, as if they were turned to stone Capricorn alone seeic But his eyes showed that even he was spellbound They were fixed on Mo’s face, as un as the eyes of a snake His red suit made his pupils look evenscenting its prey But this time Mo disappointed him
The words offered up no riches, none of the treasure chests, pearls and swords set with precious stones that Mo’s voice conjured up, shining and sparkling, until Capricorn’selse slipped out of the pages, though, so, a creaturebetween the still sie was the only one to notice him All the others were too absorbed in the story Even Mo didn’t see him, far away as he was, somewhere in the sand and the wind as his eyes h the labyrinth of letters
The boy was soie The turban round his head was dirty, his eyes dark with fear in his brown face He blinked and rubbed the picture, the wrong place He looked round the church as if he had never seen such a building before, and how could he? There wouldn’t be any churches with spires in his story, or green hills like those he would see outside The robe he ent down to his brown feet, and in the diht of the church it shone blue as a patch of the sky
Meggie wondered: ill happen when they see hi for