A Star Looks Down Part 18

' If I get back at all, she told herself silently as she started up the cleft.

Dirk was far above her now and she wondered if she was a fool to follow him perhaps he was a born climber and quite fearless, in which case she would be doing more harm than good and terrifying herself to no purpose.

She climbed steadily and when she reached the plateau she made herself look down on the children and wave; the ground looked a long way away and it seemed to her that it would probably be Dirk who brought her down and not the other way round.

She drew a calming breath and started up the cliff face.

Dirk was nowhere to be seen, but there was a jutting point of rock ahead of her, he would be beyond that and hidden from her.

She clawed her way along, forcing herself to look ahead and not down, and trying not to think of having to climb down again.

There was a narrow ledge running round the spur, the cliff towering on one side of it, a steep slope, peppered with outcrops of rock, falling to the ground on the other.

She peeped at it fearfully, giddy with fright, her heart thumping so loudly that it almost deafened her, but not quite; she still heard Dirk's voice, quite close, coming from the other side of the spur and there was no defiance in it now.

"Beth--oh, Beth, I'm so glad you've come--I'm stuck and I feel sick.

' He added a great deal more, but it was in Dutch and she couldn't understand a word of it.

That makes two of us, she thought wryly, and said aloud in a strong cheerful voice: "Oh, I'm sure you're not stuck--can you come round to this side and we'll go down together.

' She lied brightly: "It's quite easy.

' "I can't.

' "Then hold on, and I'll come round.

' She had no idea afterwards how she did it, she was so terrified now that she was stiff with fear; if she had been on her own she would never have made the attempt; as it was, she found herself standing beside Dirk on an even narrower ledge which just disappeared into the rock face, so that there was nowhere to go even if she had been brave enough to attempt to do so.

Dirk was standing with his face to the cliff, holding on to its rough surface with desperate hands, and she got as near to him as she dared and slid an arm across his shoulders so that he was in its shelter; it was of no earthly use, but it might make him feel more secure.

"That's better," she spoke in a voice which she willed to be steady.

"We'll wait for a bit, shall we?

When we've got our breath we'll have a shot at getting back.

' "I can't.

' "Well, perhaps not, just at this moment, but later.

anyway, someone will be bound to see us and come and give us a hand.

' She could hear the occasional car going up or down the gorge below, and she imagined that she could hear the children calling too, but that would be fancy.

She hoped that they hadn't taken fright and gone tearing off in search of their uncle and mother and got lost--knocked down by a car, fallen over.

a stream of horrifying possibilities followed each other swiftly across her frightened mind, each one a little worse than the last, and when she told herself not to be a fool, that didn't help at all.

But there was nothing to be gained by working herself into a panic; they had been there for hours--well, minutes, at least, the profess or would surely have come in search of them by now.

"Oh, please do let him hurry.

' She had spoken out loud, and thinking about it later, it hadn't seemed in the least strange when he answered her.

His voice was cool and unhurried and came from the other side of the spur.

"My dear Miss Partridge, I'm being as quick as I can, but you really must make allowances for my age.

' Half of his vast person appeared round the spur and she could have cried with relief.

"Boy," commanded the profess or, 'take your hand from the rock and catch hold of mine.

Beth, make yourself small so that he can get between you and the cliff face can you do that?

' It was extraordinary, but she felt capable of doing anything at that moment and although she was still frightened she felt safe.

She did exactly as she had been told and Dirk inched himself past her and she heard the profess or telling him what to do, only since he spoke in Dutch, it made no sense to her, but whatever it was, it must have been successful, for very shortly afterwards he said: "Now your turn, my dear girl; take a good hold of my hand and edge towards me without turning round; it's quite easy going round the spur.

Take your time; I've got Dirk hanging on to my other hand.

' Her mind boggled at the picture this remark conjured up, but she obeyed him with a desperate calmness and found herself on the other side of the spur, squashed against him.

"Ah, splendid," boomed the profess or, still very cheerful.

"Now we can go back to the others.

' She wasn't sure how she managed that either, and she wondered once or twice how the profess or felt about it, for he had each of them by the hand and nothing to hold on to.

The little plateau looked like heaven when they reached it, but he didn't allow them to pause, going on down the gully, with Dirk, now that they were reasonably near the ground, gaining confidence at every step.

As for herself, she wanted to be sick.

On the ground at last, they were surrounded by the children, who obviously regarded the whole episode as a splendid joke and looked admiringly at Dirk, who now that he was safe was inclined to boast about his climb.

But his uncle cut him short and marshalled them into a tidy little party and started back towards the car, warning them, in a voice which brooked no disobedience, that they were to say nothing until he told them that they might, and in a much gentler voice he asked Beth if she felt all right, and when she nodded, not trusting herself to speak, he smiled very kindly at her.

"You're quite a girl," he told her, and tucked a hand under her elbow and kept it there, a very welcome support, until they reached the car.

The children didn't breath a word during the drive back, nor during their tea; indeed, they were quite subdued because their mother had developed a headache and had gone to her room to lie down, but the profess or was much as usual, only Beth noticed that he had very little to say to Dirk.

She wasn't surprised when she was asked to go to the profess or's study after the meal; he would want to know exactly what had happened besides, she wanted to thank him for rescuing them and this would be a splentlid opportunity to do so without an audience.

But once in the study, facing him across the desk, things were rather different; the face he turned to hers was kind and impersonal, as was his voice.

"Now, if I might have this afternoon's escapade explained to me?

' he invited.

He sounded courteous; prepared to be fair, and a stranger.

Beth studied him, trying to decide what to say.

Undoubtedly, Dirk would be punished if she gave him the full story; on the other hand the profess or wasn't a man to be fobbed off with a botched-up tale.

"There's nothing much to tell," she said at length.

"It was rather as Dirk told you.

' She wished she hadn't said that because he said at once, "Ah, yes--that jumbled account I was given on the way to the car.

It was the boy's fault, wasn't it?

Was he rude?

Disobedient?

He endangered your life as well as his own.

' His expression softened.

"You're not much of a climber, are you, little Partridge?

' Why did little Partridge sound like an endearment?

She answered him quietly: "No, I'm hopeless at anything like that.

I thought Dirk was pretty good.

Boys.

' "No red herrings, Elizabeth," his voice was blandly amused.

"You aren't going to tell me anything, are you?

Was it your fault?

' She considered this question carefully.

"No, I don't think so, if you mean was I being unreasonable or had-tempered or something, but I'd rather not say any more, and if you're going to punish Dirk, please don't--he had an awful fright.

' He ignored this.

"And you, Elizabeth, did you have an awful fright?

' "Ghastly--you see, I'm pure coward.

' She smiled at him.

"I thought you'd never come.

' He got up and came round the desk and bent to lift her chin with a compelling forefinger.

"But you knew that I would.

And you're not a coward; never that--loyal and bossy and soft-hearted and as obstinate as a mule when the occasion arises, and honest.

' He stood up, towering above her.

"Now I'm going to talk to young Dirk and then I shall go to his mother and give her an expurgated version of this afternoon's little adventure and I hope I may rely on you to back me up--and don't worry, I'll see that the children don't terrify her with their own highly coloured versions.

' She got up.

"How can you possibly stop them?

' "I shall bribe them.

' "But that's wrong!

' She was quite shocked.

"I know--I often do things which are wrong; don't you, dear girl?

Indeed, lately I have found myself doing and thinking a number of strange things--I expect it's something to do with my stars.

' "Stars?

' He nodded.

"You're a West Country woman--do you not remember: "A star looks down at me and says: Here am I and you.

Stand, each in our degree.

What do you mean to do?