The boy did not resist as Flatnose led him away. Apparently numb, he stumbled along as if he were still expecting to wake up. When would he realize this dream was never going to end?
When the door closed behind the two of them Capricorn returned to his chair. "Go on reading, Silvertongue," he said. "We still have a long day ahead of us. "
But Mo looked at the books lying at his feet and shook his head. "No, " he said. "You saw. It happened again. I'm tired. Be content with what I've brought you from Treasure Island. Those coins are worth a fortune. I want to go home, and I never want to set eyes on you again. " His voice sounded rougher than usual, as if it had read too many words aloud.
Capricorn looked at Mo appraisingly before turning his eyes to the bags and chests his men had filled with coins. He seemed to be working out how long their contents would keep him in comfort.
"Yes, you're right, " he said at last. "We'll go on tomorrow. Otherwise we might find a stinking camel turning up here next, or another half-starved boy. "
"Tomorrow?" Mo took a step toward him. "What do you mean? Aren't you satisfied yet? One of your men has disappeared already. Do you want to be the next?"
"I can live with the risk, " replied Capricorn, unimpressed. His men leaped to their feet as he rose from his chair and walked slowly down the altar steps. They stood there like schoolboys, although some of them were taller than Capricorn, hands clasped behind their backs as if at any moment he might inspect their fingernails for cleanliness. Meggie couldn't help remembering what Basta had said – how young he himself had been when he had joined Capricorn – and she wondered whether it was out of fear or admiration that the men bowed their heads.
Capricorn had stopped beside one of the bulging money bags. "Oh, I have a great many plans for you, Silvertongue, believe me, " he said, putting his hand into the sack and running the coins through his fingers. "Today was just a test. After all, I had to convince myself of your talents with my own eyes and ears, right? I can certainly use all this gold, but tomorrow you're going to read something else out of a book for me. "
He strolled over to the boxes that had contained the books that were now burnt to ashes, and reached into one. "Surprise!" he announced, smiling as he held up a single book. It didn't look at all like the copy Meggie and Elinor had brought him. It still had a brightly colored paper dust jacket with a picture that Meggie couldn't make out from a distance. "Oh yes, I still have one!" remarked Capricorn, scanning the uncomprehending faces with pleasure. "My own personal copy, you might say, and tomorrow, Silvertongue, you're going to read to me from it. As I was saying, I like this world of yours very much indeed, but there's a friend from the old days that I miss. I never let your substitute try his skill with my friend – I was afraid he might bring him here without a head or with only one leg. But now I have you, and you're a master of your art."
Mo was staring incredulously at the book in Capricorn's hand as if he expected it to dissolve into thin air at any moment.
"Have a rest, Silvertongue, " said Capricorn. "Spare your precious voice. You'll have plenty of time for that because I have to go away, and I won't be back till noon tomorrow. Take these three back to their quarters, " he told his men. "Give them enough to eat and some blankets for the night. Oh yes, and get Mortola to bring him tea. That kind of thing works wonders on a hoarse, tired voice. Didn't you always swear by tea sweetened with honey, Darius?" He turned inquiringly to his old reader, who simply nodded and looked sympathetically at Mo.
"Back to our quarters? Do you mean that hole where your man with the knife put us last night?" Elinor's cheeks were flushed red, whether in horror or indignation Meggie couldn't guess. "This is wrongful detention! No, worse – abduction! That's it, abduction. Are you aware how many years in jail you'd get for it?"
"Abduction!" Basta savored the word. "Sounds good to me. Really good. "
Capricorn gave him a smile. Then he looked Elinor up and down as if he were seeing her for the first time. "Basta, " he said, "is this lady of any use to us?"
"Not that I know of, " replied Basta, smiling like a child who has just been given permission to smash a toy. Elinor went pale and tried to step backward, but Cockerell barred her way and held her firmly.
"What do we generally do with useless things, Basta?" asked Capricorn quietly.
Basta went on smiling.
"Stop that!" Mo said angrily to Capricorn. "Stop frightening her at once, or I'm not reading you another word. "
With every appearance of indifference, Capricorn turned his back to him. And Basta kept smiling.
Meggie saw Elinor press a hand to her trembling lips and quickly went over to stand beside her. "She's not useless. She knows more about books than anyone else in the world!" she said, holding Elinor's other hand very tight.
Capricorn turned around. The look in his eyes made Meggie shudder, as if someone were running cold fingers down her spine. His eyelashes were as pale as cobwebs.
"Elinor definitely knows more stories with treasure in them than that spineless reader of yours!" Meggie stammered. "Definitely!"
Elinor squeezed Meggie's fingers hard. Her own hand was damp with sweat. "Yes. Absolutely, that's true, " she said huskily. "I'm sure I can think of several more. "
"Well, well, " was all Capricorn said, his curved lips tracing a smile. "We'll see. " Then he gave his men a signal, and they made Elinor, Meggie, and Mo file past the tables, past Capricorn's statue and the red columns, and out through the heavy door that groaned as they pushed it open.
Outside, beyond the shadow of the church on the village square, the sun shone down from a cloudless blue sky, and the air was filled with scents of summer. It was as if nothing unusual had happened.
19. GLOOMY PROSPECTS
The python dropped his head lightly for a moment on Mowgli's shoulders. "A brave heart and a courteous tongue, " said he. "They shall carry thee far through the jungle, manling. But now go hence quickly with thy friends. Go and sleep, for the moon sets, and what follows it is not well that thou shouldst see. "
Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book
They did indeed get enough to eat. Around noon a woman brought them bread and olives, and toward evening there was pasta smelling of fresh rosemary. But the food couldn't cut short the endless hours, anymore than full stomachs dispelled their fear of what the next day might bring. Perhaps not even a book would have done it, but there was no point thinking of that, since they had no books, only the blank walls and the locked door. At least a new lightbulb was hanging from the ceiling, so they didn't have to sit in the dark the whole time. Meggie kept looking at the crack under the door to see if night was falling yet. She imagined lizards sitting outside in the sun. She'd seen some in the square outside the church. Had the emerald-green lizard that scurried out of the heaps of coins found its way outside? And what had happened to the boy? Meggie saw his frightened expression whenever she closed her eyes.
She wondered whether the same thoughts were going through Mo's head. He had hardly said a word since they were locked up again, but had flopped down on the pile of straw and turned his face to the wall. Elinor was no more talkative. "How generous!" was all she had muttered when Cockerell had bolted the door after them. "Our host has graciously provided two more heaps of moldy straw." Then she had sat down in a corner, legs outstretched, and begun staring gloomily at her knees, then at the grubby wall.
"Mo," asked Meggie at last, when she could no longer stand the silence, "what do you think they're doing to the boy? And what kind of a friend are you supposed to read out of the book for Capricorn?"