. Jimbo : a fantasy. s on it. I will. She took another long look round the room, and vii SPELL OF THE EMPTY HOUSE 97 then, in a still lower whisper, bent over him, andasked : Have you any pain ? Where ? he asked, remembering to be exact. Anywhere. He thought a moment. None, thank you. None at all—anywhere ? she insisted. * None at all—anywhere, he said with decision. She seemed disappointed. Never mind ; its a little soon yet, perhaps, shesaid. We must have patience. It will come intime. But I dont want any pain, he said, ratherruefully. You cant escape till it comes. I dont understand a bit w
. Jimbo : a fantasy. s on it. I will. She took another long look round the room, and vii SPELL OF THE EMPTY HOUSE 97 then, in a still lower whisper, bent over him, andasked : Have you any pain ? Where ? he asked, remembering to be exact. Anywhere. He thought a moment. None, thank you. None at all—anywhere ? she insisted. * None at all—anywhere, he said with decision. She seemed disappointed. Never mind ; its a little soon yet, perhaps, shesaid. We must have patience. It will come intime. But I dont want any pain, he said, ratherruefully. You cant escape till it comes. I dont understand a bit what you mean. Hebegan to feel alarmed at the notion of escape andpain going together. Youll understand later, though, she saidsoothingly, and it wont hurt very much. Thesooner the pain comes, the sooner we can try toescape. Nowhere can there be escape without it. And with that she left him, disappearing withoutanother word into the hole below the trap, andleaving him, disconsolate yet excited, alone inthe room. H. 99 CHAPTER VIII THE GALLERY OF ANCIENT MEMORIES With every one, of course, the measurement of timedepends largely upon the state of the emotions, butin Jimbos case it was curiously exaggerated. Thismay have been because he had no standard of memoryby which to test the succession of minutes ; but,whatever it was, the hours passed very quickly, andthe evening shadows were already darkening theroom when at length he got up from the mattressand went over to the window. Outside the high* elms were growing dim ; soonthe stars would be out in the sky. The afternoonhad passed away like magic, and the governess stillleft him alone ; he could not quite understand whyshe went away for such long periods. The darkness came down very swiftly, and it wasnight almost before he knew it. Yet he felt nodrowsiness, no desire to yawn and get under sheetsand blankets ; sleep was evidently out of thequestion, and the hours slipped away so rapidly lOI I02 JIMBO CHAP. that it made little
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