Tenterhooks | Page 7

the average man, although she had not as yet developed a
taste for coquetry, for which she had, however, many natural gifts. She
was much taken up by Bruce, by Archie and Dilly, and was fond of
losing herself in ideas and in books, and in various artistic movements
and fads in which her interest was cultivated and perhaps inspired by
Vincy. Vincy was her greatest friend and confidant. He was really a
great safety-valve, and she told him nearly every thought.
Still, Archie was, so far, her greatest interest. He was a particularly
pretty boy, and she was justified in thinking him rather unusual. At this
period he spent a considerable amount of his leisure time not only in
longing to see real animals, but in inventing and drawing pictures of
non-existent ones--horrible creatures, or quaint creatures, for which he
found the strangest names. He told Dilly about them, but Dilly was not
his audience--she was rather his confidante and literary adviser; or even
sometimes his collaborator. His public consisted principally of his
mother. It was a convention that Edith should be frightened, shocked

and horrified at the creatures of his imagination, while Dilly privately
revelled in their success. Miss Townsend, the governess, was rather
coldly ignored in this matter. She had a way of speaking of the animals
with a smile, as a nice occupation to keep the children quiet. She did
not understand.
'Please, Madam, would you kindly go into the nursery; Master Archie
wishes you to come and hear about the golden--something he's just
made up like,' said Dilly's nurse with an expression of resignation.
Edith jumped up at once.
'Oh dear! Tell Master Archie I'm coming.'
She ran into the nursery and found Archie and Dilly both looking rather
excited; Archie, fairly self-controlled, with a paper in his hand on
which was a rough sketch which he would not let her see, and hid
behind him.
'Mother,' Archie began in a low, solemn voice, rather slowly, 'the
golden quoribus is the most horrible animal, the most awful-looking
animal, you ever heard of in your life!'
'Oh-h-h! How awful!' said Edith, beginning to shiver. 'Wait a
moment--let me sit down quietly and hear about it.'
She sat down by the fire and clasped her hands, looking at him with a
terrified expression which was part of the ritual.
Dilly giggled, and put her thumb in her mouth, watching the effect with
widely opened eyes.
'Much more awful than the gazeka, of course, I suppose?' Edith said
rather rashly.
'Much,' said Dilly.
'(Be quiet, Dilly!) Mother!' he was reproachful, 'what do you mean?
The gazeka? Why--the gazeka's nothing at all--it's a rotten little animal.

It doesn't count. Besides, it isn't real--it never was real. Gazeka,
indeed!'
'Oh, I beg your pardon,' said Edith repentantly; 'do go on.'
'No... the golden quoribus is far-ar-r-r-r more frightening even than the
jilbery. Do you remember how awful that was? And much larger.'
'What! Worse than the jilbery! Oh, good gracious! How dreadful!
What's it like?'
'First of all--it's as long as from here to Brighton,' said Archie.
'A little longer,' said Dilly.
'(Shut up, miss!) As long. It's called the golden quoribus because it's
bright gold, except the bumps; and the bumps are green.'
'Bright green,' said Dilly.
'(Oh, will you hold your tongue, Dilly?) Green.'
'How terrible!... And what shape is it?'
'All pointed and sharp, and three-cornered.'
'Does it breathe fire?' asked Edith.
Archie smiled contemptuously.
'Breathe fire! Oh, Mother! Do you think it's a silly dragon in a fairy
story? Of course it doesn't. How can it breathe fire?'
'Sorry,' said Edith apologetically. 'Go on.'
'But, the peculiar thing about it, besides that it lives entirely on muffins
and mutton and the frightening part, I'm coming to now.' He became
emphatic, and spoke slowly. 'The golden quoribus has more claws than
any... other... animal... in the whole world!'

'Oh-h-h,' she shuddered.
'Yes,' said Archie solemnly. 'It has large claws coming out of its head.'
'Its head! Good gracious!'
'It has claws here and claws there; claws coming out of the eyes; and
claws coming out of the ears; and claws coming out of its shoulders;
and claws coming out of the forehead!'
Edith shivered with fright and held up her hands in front of her eyes to
ward off the picture.
'And claws coming out of the mouth,' said Archie, coming a step nearer
to her and raising his voice.
Edith jumped.
'And claws coming out of the hands, and claws coming out of the feet!'
'Yes,' said Dilly, wildly and recklessly and jumping up and down, 'and
claws on the ceiling, and claws on the floor, and claws all over the
world!'
With one violent slap she was sent sprawling.
Shrieks, sobs and tears filled the quiet nursery.
'I