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work
going on on the stage, but actually their thoughts were busy puzzling over
the mystery of what had happened to the Shaggy Man.
"Lady Cue will show you to your rooms, children," announced Queen
Curtain,
rising from her throne. The Lords and Ladies were putting away their tools
and sewing. A tall, thin, worried-looking woman, sewing basket on her
arm,
stepped down a short flight of stairs from the stage and smiled rather
absent-mindedly at Twink and Tom. "You will come with me, I think?" she
said hesitantly.
Twink and Tom looked at Twiffle, who nodded, and all three followed the
tall
lady, who was proceeding uncertainly up the aisle. Outside the theater,
Lady Cue led Twiffle and the children up a broad staircase leading to the
second floor of the castle. Here there was a long corridor, with smaller
corridors leading off of it, each with many doors opening into various
suites and rooms. Lady Cue had advanced only a short distance down the
main
corridor when she stopped uncertainly before a door and turned to her
charges. "This is a door," she said, "but do you think it is the right
one?"
"I'm sure we wouldn't know, Madame," replied Twiffle. "After all, you live
in this castle and should know all about it."
Lady Cue sighed. "Of course, of course. I forgot for the moment that you are
the strangers. Well, we shall have to do our best to find the right door."
"Haven't you been in any of these rooms?" asked Tom curiously.
"$$In&& them?" asked Lady Cue vaguely. "Oh, I must have, since I live here,
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r r
you know. Once inside the rooms I am sure I would be able to find my way
with no trouble. But outside them it is most confusing. How is one to know
what is $$inside&& when one is $$outside?&&" Lady Cue looked at them
beseechingly and wandered down the corridor to another door exactly like
the one she had just left. She stared at this one for several minutes, then
boldly opened it a crack and peered in. "Oh goodness! I beg your pardon,"
she said to someone in the room, hastily closing the door. "Well," she
said, "that's one that isn't the one. The First Knight of the Realm is in
there pressing his breeches for tonight's performance."
"The First Knight of the Realm presses his own clothes?" asked Twink.
"He does, he does," asserted Lady Cue, wagging her head. "I did it for him
once, but somehow the creases ran zigzag, and he looked like he was
corrugated. It is my opinion, though," Lady Cue added in a confidential
whisper, "that he wears a poor quality garment." Lady Cue turned and
started off down one of the smaller corridors. Twink, Tom and Twiffle
followed her, at which Lady Cue stopped and looked at them with a puzzled
expression. "Did you wish to see me?" she asked.
"You were taking us to our rooms," reminded Twiffle.
"I was?" exclaimed Lady Cue, greatly surprised. "Well, then you just show
me
where your rooms are, and I will be glad to take you to them."
"But you were supposed to show $$us&& to our rooms," said Tom.
"I was? Oh dear, this is confusing," said Lady Cue.
"Have you no idea where our rooms are, Madame?" asked Twiffle.
"I wouldn't say that," replied Lady Cue. "I did have a very good idea, but
it seems I mislaid it somewhere. There are so very many rooms, you know,
and any one of them might be yours, if only there weren't so many other
people in the castle. That's what we must be careful about, you know. I
don't think you would want to share rooms with someone else, would you,
maybe?"
All the time they were wandering from corridor to corridor while Lady Cue
became more and more unsure of her bearings. At last she stopped and
said
hopelessly, "You'll have to pardon me, my friends, but I am afraid I am
lost. I haven't the faintest idea where we are."
"What shall we do?" asked Twink.
"I have it," said Lady Cue. "I will pin my handkerchief to this door," and
she indicated a door opposite them, "so that we can't get more lost.
Whenever we pass this door with the handkerchief on it, we will know
exactly where we are."
"And where will that be?" asked Twiffle.
"Why, where the handkerchief is, of course," replied Lady Cue. With that,
Lady Cue reached in her pocket and pulled out a large linen napkin that
bore traces of food on it. "Oh dear," she exclaimed. "I seem to have picked
this up at luncheon. How thoughtless of me." She advanced to the door
and,
removing a large safety pin from the front of her dress, carefully pinned
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r r
the napkin to the door.
"Whose rooms are these?" asked Twiffle.
"I haven't the faintest idea," replied Lady Cue.
"Why not open the door and find out?" pursued Twiffle.
"Why not?" echoed Lady Cue as she turned the knob and pushed open the
door.
They all stepped inside. There was no sign of any occupants of the room.
The closets were all empty, and there were no personal articles about. The
suite consisted of a large, beautifully furnished living room with doors
leading to two comfortable bedrooms with baths.
"Why can't we use these rooms?" asked Twiffle.
"What a wonderful idea," exclaimed Lady Cue. "Then we won't have to hunt
any
longer for your rooms, because these will be your rooms. But are you sure
it's all right? It sounds much too simple." And with a worried look, the
poor lady started to take down the napkin from the door.
"No, no," said Twiffle. "Leave the napkin there. Then you will be able to
find us again. Remember now, just look for the napkin on the door and
you'll know which is our room."
Lady Cue nodded and extracted a large, old-fashioned watch from the
depths
of her sewing basket. She squinted at it, and said, "You have just one half
hour to prepare for dinner. I will call for you and take you to the, the
C4 oh yes, the dining room. That," she confided, "is where they are serving
dinner tonight." With that, the befuddled Lady Cue closed the door, only to
find she was still in the room. So she opened it, stepped outside, and then
carefully closed it again.
Twink, Tom and Twiffle, in spite of their troubles, burst out laughing. If
anything went right with the play tonight, they were sure it wouldn't be
due to Lady Cue's efforts. While Twiffle waited patiently, the children
bathed, scrubbed their faces and hands, and reappeared much refreshed [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]