David and the Phoenix Read online

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  Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.

  DAVID

  and the

  PHOENIX

  _by Edward Ormondroyd_

  ILLUSTRATED BY JOAN RAYSOR

  Follett Publishing Company CHICAGO

  DAVID AND THE PHOENIX, by Edward Ormondroyd

  _Copyright 1957, by Edward Ormondroyd_

  * * * * *

  Contents

  1. _In Which David Goes Mountain Climbing, and a Mysterious Voice Is Overheard_ 9

  2. _In Which David Meets the Phoenix, and There Is a Change in Plans_ 19

  3. _In Which It Is Decided that David Should Have an Education, and an Experiment Is made_ 34

  4. _In Which David and the Phoenix Go To Visit the Gryffins, and a Great Danger Is Narrowly Averted_ 45

  5. _In Which the Scientist Arrives in Pursuit of the Phoenix, and There Are Alarums and Excursions by Night_ 61

  6. _In Which the Phoenix Has a Plan, and David and the Phoenix Call On a Sea Monster_ 79

  7. _In Which the Phoenix's Plan Is Carried Out, and There Are More Alarums and Excursions in the Night_ 99

  8. _In Which David and the Phoenix Visit a Banshee, and a Surprise Is Planted in the Enemy's Camp_ 115

  9. _In Which David and the Phoenix Call On a Faun, and a Lovely Afternoon Comes to a Strange End_ 138

  10. _In Which a Five Hundredth Birthday Is Celebrated, and the Phoenix Bows to Tradition_ 156

  * * * * *

  _For Shirley and Josh_

  * * * * *

  1: _In Which David Goes Mountain Climbing, and a Mysterious Voice IsOverheard_

  All the way there David had saved this moment for himself, strugglingnot to peek until the proper time came. When the car finally stopped,the rest of them got out stiffly and went into the new house. ButDavid walked slowly into the back yard with his eyes fixed on theground. For a whole minute he stood there, not daring to look up. Thenhe took a deep breath, clenched his hands tightly, and lifted hishead.

  There it was!--as Dad had described it, but infinitely more grand. Itswept upward from the valley floor, beautifully shaped and soaring, sotall that its misty blue peak could surely talk face to face with thestars. To David, who had never seen a mountain before, the sight wasalmost too much to bear. He felt so tight and shivery inside that hedidn't know whether he wanted to laugh, or cry, or both. And thereally wonderful thing about the mountain was the way it _looked_ athim. He was certain that it was smiling at him, like an old friend whohad been waiting for years to see him again. And when he closed hiseyes, he seemed to hear a voice which whispered, "Come along, then,and climb."

  It would be so easy to go! The back yard was hedged in (with part ofthe hedge growing right across the toes of the mountain), but therewas a hole in the privet large enough to crawl through. And justbeyond the hedge the mountainside awaited him, going up and up in onesmooth sweep until the green and tawny faded into hazy heights ofrock. It was waiting for him. "Come and climb," it whispered, "comeand climb."

  But there was a great deal to do first. They were going to move intothe new house. The moving van was standing out in front, the car mustbe unloaded. David would be needed to carry things. Regretfully, hewaved his hand at the peak and whispered, "It shouldn't takelong--I'll be back as soon as I can." Then he went around to the frontdoor to see what could be done about speeding things up.

  Inside, everything was in confusion. Dad was pushing chairs andtables around in an aimless way. Mother was saying, "They'll all haveto go out again; we forgot to put down the rug first." Aunt Amy wasmaking short dashes between the kitchen and the dining room, mutteringto herself. And Beckie was roaring in her crib because it was time forher bottle. David asked, "Can I do anything?"--hoping that the answerwould be no.

  "C'mere," Aunt Amy said, grabbing him by the arm. "Help me look forthat ironing board."

  When the ironing board was finally located, Mother had something forhim to do. And when he was finished with that, Dad called for hishelp. So the afternoon wore on without letup--and also without anysigns of progress in their moving. When David finally got a chance tosneak out for a breathing spell, he felt his heart sink. Somehow, inall the rush and confusion, the afternoon had disappeared. Already theevening sun was throwing shadows across the side of the mountain andtouching its peak with a ruddy blaze. It was too late now. He wouldhave to wait until morning before he could climb.

  As he gazed up miserably at the glowing summit, he thought he saw atiny speck soar out from it in a brief circle. Was it a bird of somesort, or just one of those dots that swim before your eyes when youstare too long at the sky? It almost seemed like the mountain wavingits hand, as if to say that it was quite all right for him to waituntil morning. He felt better then, and returned more cheerfully tothe moving.

  It was long after dark before the moving van drove away. Beckiecrooned happily over her bottle, and the rest of them gathered in thekitchen for a late supper of sandwiches and canned soup. But Davidcould not eat until he had found the courage to ask one question:

  "May I climb the mountain tomorrow?"

  Aunt Amy muttered something about landslides, which were firmly fixedin her mind as the fate of people who climbed mountains. But Dad said,"I don't see why not, do you?" and looked to Mother for agreement.

  Mother said, "Well ... be very careful," in a doubtful tone, and thatwas that.

  * * * * *

  You never know what you will find when you climb a mountain, even ifyou have climbed them before--which, of course, David never had.Looking up from the foot of the mountain, he had thought that it was asmooth slope from bottom to top. But he was discovering as he climbedthat it was not smooth at all, but very much broken up. There wereterraces, ledges, knolls, ravines, and embankments, one afteranother. The exciting part of it was that each feature concealed theones above it. At the top of a rise would be an outcropping ofstrangely colored rock, invisible from below. Beyond the outcropping,a small stand of aspens would quiver in the breeze, their quicksilverleaves hiding a tiny meadow on the slope behind. And when the meadowhad been discovered, there would be a something else beyond. He was areal explorer now. When he got to the top, he thought, he would builda little tower of stones, the way explorers always do.

  But at the end of two hours' steady climbing, he was ready to admitthat he would never reach the peak that day. It still rose above hishead, seeming as far distant as ever. But he did not care now. It hadbeen a glorious climb, and the distance he had already covered was aconsiderable one. He looked back. The town looked like a model of atown, with little toy houses and different-colored roofs among thetrees that made a darker patch on the pattern of the valley floor. Themountains on the other side of the valley seemed like blue cloudsstretching out over the edge of the world. Even the peak could notgive him a better view than this.

  David gazed up the face of a scarp which rose like a cliff abovehim--a smooth, bare wall of rock that had halted his climb. Halfwayup the scarp was a dark horizontal line of bushes, something like ahedge. Ap
parently there was a ledge or shelf there, and he decided toclimb up to it before he returned home. To scale the rock face itselfwas impossible, however: there were no hand or foot holds. So heturned and made his way through the grass until he reached the end ofthe bare stone. Then he started upward again. It was hard work. Vinesclutched at his feet, and the close-set bushes seemed unwilling to lethim pass. He had one nasty slip, which might have been his last if hehad not grabbed a tough clump of weeds at the crucial instant.

  But, oh! it was worth it. He felt like shouting when at last hereached the ledge. Truly it was an enchanted place! It was a long,level strip of ground, several yards wide, carpeted with short grassand dandelions. Bushes grew along most of the outer edge. The inneredge was bounded by a second scarp--a wall of red stone with sparklingpoints of light imbedded in its smooth surface.

  David threw himself on the grass and rolled in it. It was warm andsoft and sweet-smelling; it soothed away the hurt of his achingmuscles and the sting of his scratches. He rolled over on his back andcushioned his head in his hands. The sky seemed to be slipping alongoverhead like a broad blue river. The breeze ruffled his hair andwhispered, the bushes murmured and gossiped to each other. Even thesunlight seemed to hum to him as it laid warm hands on his face.

  But there was another sound, which now and then rose above thesemurmurs. Then it would fade and be drowned out by the breeze. Hard tosay why, but it just did not seem to fit there. David propped himselfup on his elbows and listened more intently. The sound faded: he hadbeen imagining it. No, he had not been imagining it--there it wasagain. He sat up. Now he noticed that the ledge was divided by athicket which grew from the inner side to the outer. The noise,whatever it was, came from the other side of the thicket.

  David's curiosity was aroused, but it occurred to him that it might bewise to be cautious. The noise did not sound dangerous, but--well, hehad never been up a mountain before, and there was no telling what hemight find. He dropped into a crouch and crept silently up to thetangle of bushes. His heart began to pound, and he swallowed torelieve the dryness in his throat. The noise was much more distinctnow, and it sounded like--like--yes, not only sounded like, but_was_--someone talking to himself.

  Who could it possibly be? Well, there was only one way to find out.

  He dropped down on his stomach and carefully began to worm his wayunder the thicket. The branches grew very low, and the ground was fullof lumps and knobs which dug into him with every movement. There werevines, too, and some prickly things like thistles, which had to bepushed out of the way without allowing their leaves to rustle. Heprogressed by inches, pushing with his toes, pulling with his fingertips, wriggling with the rest of his body. At last he could see lightbreaking through the foliage in front of him--he was nearing the otherside. A bunch of leaves hung before his face. He hesitated, thenpushed them aside gently, slowly--and peered out.

  He thought his heart would stop.