Kingdom Lost Read Free Page A

agreed. He was not imaginative; but a deserted ship, a hurricane, a baby, and an Oxford don struck him as making a pretty appalling combination.
    â€œHe found milk in tins, and afterwards he found there was a goat. And then we came to the island—I think it was three days after—Edward didn’t like talking about it very much. The ship stuck on the island, on the little beach I told you about. It jammed there, tight. There wasn’t anything on the island then—not anything to eat, except some sea-birds’ eggs. I am glad we didn’t have to live on sea-birds’ eggs, because they taste like bad fish. There were lots of things on the ship. Edward got them all off. And he planted the cocoanuts, and they grew. He said he couldn’t attempt to describe what he felt like when he saw the first little cocoanutshoot.”
    â€œWhere does the water come from?” asked Austin.
    â€œIt’s a very deep spring. There’s a hot one and a cold one. You can boil eggs in the hot one—Oh! Is that your ship?”
    They had reached the edge of the cliff. The yacht lay beneath them, motionless on the unmoving water. Valentine gazed with all her eyes, standing so near the dizzy edge that Austin instinctively put out a hand to steady her. At his touch the wild thing showed again; her sideways leap literally brought his heart into his mouth. One moment she was there with his hand just brushing her arm; the next she was a couple of yards away on the brink, leaning seawards, her eyes darkly startled and her colour high.
    â€œLook out!” he said, and in a flash she had gone farther still.
    â€œDon’t touch me! You mustn’t!”
    Austin found himself furious, partly because she had really frightened him.
    â€œI don’t want to touch you. I was afraid you’d fall.”
    She laughed then for the first time, a pretty laugh full of young scorn.
    â€œFall!” she said. “How silly!”
    â€œIt would be quite easy. You’d better be careful.”
    He saw her face change, whiten, her eyes cloud fearfully.
    She said, “Edward fell,” in a small whispering voice.
    Austin said, “Oh—”
    â€œThere’s a place we fish from. You have to climb down to it. He fell—into the sea.”
    â€œFor heaven’s sake come away from that edge!” said Austin, and saw her take a long breath.
    â€œ I shan’t fall,” she said.
    She looked again at the yacht, bending forwards.
    â€œI’ve never seen a ship. It looks so small! I thought they were bigger. Edward said—”
    â€œThis isn’t a ship—it’s a yacht. She belongs to a man called Barclay. I’m his secretary.”
    He looked down as he spoke, and could see Barclay’s deck chair with Barclay’s bulk spreading in it. It came to him that Barclay would certainly chaff his head off when he came back with his story. He had decided to suppress the hen; but he couldn’t very well suppress Miss Valentine Ryven.
    â€œIs he nice? Tell me about him.”
    â€œHe weighs fifteen stone, and he’s worth a lot of money. I wouldn’t mind having half of it.”
    â€œWhy doesn’t he give you some?” said Valentine.
    â€œHe does—he gives me two hundred a year to write his letters and put up with his manners.”
    â€œWhat a nice lot! Isn’t it?”
    He laughed angrily.
    â€œDidn’t Edward tell you about money?”
    â€œOf course he did. I can do pounds, shillings and pence, and francs, and marks, and dollars. Two hundred pounds is”—she screwed up her eyes and agonized in calculation—“is five thousand francs!” Her eyes opened triumphantly. “There!” she said. Then, a little more doubtfully, “That’s right, isn’t it?”
    With an overpowering shock, it came home to Austin that there stood a benighted young savage for whom the Great War had never been. She lived in