WE DECIDE TO WRITE TO UDO'S FATHER
"Now, my dear Princess," said Udo, as soon as they were alone. "Let
me know in what way I can help you."
"Oh, Prince Udo," said Hyacinth earnestly, "it _is_ so good of you to
have come. I feel that this--this little accident is really my fault
for having asked you here."
"Not at all, dear lady. It is the sort of little accident that might
have happened to anybody, anywhere. If I can still be of assistance
to you, pray inform me. Though my physical powers may not for the
moment be quite what they were, I flatter myself that my mental
capabilities are in no way diminished." He took another bite of his
sandwich and wagged his head wisely at her.
"Let's come over here," said Hyacinth.
She moved across to an old stone seat in the wall, Udo following with
the plate, and made room for him by her side. There is, of course, a
way of indicating to a gentleman that he may sit next to you on the
Chesterfield, and tell you what he has been doing in town lately, and
there is also another way of patting the sofa for Fido to jump up and
be-a-good-dog-and-lie-down-sir. Hyacinth achieved something very
tactful in between, and Udo jumped up gracefully.
"Now we can talk," said Hyacinth. "You noticed that lady, the
Countess Belvane, whom I presented to you?"
Udo nodded.
"What did you think of her?"
Udo was old enough to know what to say to that.
"I hardly looked at her," he said. And he added with a deep bow,
"Naturally when your Royal Highness--oh, I beg your pardon, are my
ears in your way?"
"It's all right," said Hyacinth, rearranging her hair. "Well, it was
because of that woman that I sent for you."
"But I can't marry her like this, your Royal Highness."
Hyacinth turned a startled face towards him. Udo perceived that he
had blundered. To hide his confusion he took another sandwich and ate
it very quickly.
"I want your help against her," said Hyacinth, a little distantly;
"she is plotting against me."
"Oh, your Royal Highness, now I see," said Udo, and he wagged his head
as much as to say, "You've come to the right man this time."
[Illustration: _"Now we can talk," said Hyacinth_]
"I don't trust her," said Hyacinth impressively.
"Well, now, Princess, I'm not surprised. I'll tell you something
about that woman."
"Oh, what?"
"Well, when I was announced just now, what happened? You, yourself,
Princess, were not unnaturally a little alarmed; those two little
girls were surprised and excited; but what of this Countess Belvane?
What did _she_ do?"
"What _did_ she do?"
"Nothing," said Udo impressively. "She was neither surprised nor
alarmed."
"Why, now I come to think of it, I don't believe she was."
"And yet," said Udo half pathetically, half proudly, "Princes don't
generally look like this. Now, why wasn't she surprised?"
Hyacinth looked bewildered.
"Did she know you were sending for me?" Udo went on.
"Yes."
"Because you had found out something about her?"
"Yes."
"Then depend upon it, _she's_ done it. _What_ a mind that woman must
have!"
"But how could she do it?" exclaimed Hyacinth. "Of course it's just
the sort of thing she _would_ do if she could."
Udo didn't answer. He was feeling rather annoyed with Belvane, and
had got off his seat and was trotting up and down so as not to show
his feelings before a lady.
"How _could_ she do it?" implored Hyacinth.
"Oh, she's in with some enchanter or somebody," said Udo impatiently
as he trotted past.
Suddenly he had an idea. He stopped in front of her.
"If only I were _sure_ I was a lion."
He tried to roar, exclaimed hastily that it was only a practice one,
and roared again. "No, I don't think I'm a lion after all," he
admitted sadly.
"Well," said Hyacinth, "we must think of a plan."
"We must think of a plan," said Udo, and he came and sat meekly beside
her again. He could conceal it from himself no longer that he was not
a lion. The fact depressed him.
"I suppose I have been weak," went on Hyacinth, "but ever since the
men went away she has been the ruling spirit of the country. I think
she is plotting against me; I _know_ she is robbing me. I asked you
here so that you could help me to find her out."
Udo nodded his head importantly.
"We must watch her," he announced.
"We must watch her," agreed Hyacinth. "It may take months----"
"Did you say months?" said Udo, turning to her excitedly.
"Yes, why?"
"Well, it's----" he gave a deprecating little cough. "I know it's
very silly of me but--oh, well, let's hope it will be all right."
"Why, whatever is the matter?"
Udo was decidedly embarrassed. He wriggled. He drew little circles
with his hind paw on the ground and he shot little coy glances at her.
"Well, I"--and he gave a little nervous giggle--"I have a sort of
uneasy feeling that I may be one of those animals"--he gave another
conscious little laugh--"that have to go to sleep all through the
winter. It would be very annoying--if I"--his paw became very busy
here--"if I had to dig a little hole in the ground, just when the plot
was thickening."
"Oh, but you won't," said Hyacinth, in distress.
They were both silent for a moment, thinking of the awful
possibilities. Udo's tail had fallen across Hyacinth's lap, and she
began to play with it absently.
"Anyway," she said hopefully, "it's only July now."
"Ye--es," said Udo. "I suppose I should get--er--busy about November.
We ought to find out something before then. First of all we'd
better---- Oh!" He started up in dismay. "I've just had a
_horrible_ thought. Don't I have to collect a little store of nuts
and things?"
"Surely----"
"I should have to start that pretty soon," said Udo thoughtfully.
"You know, I shouldn't be very handy at it. Climbing about after
nuts," he went on dreamily, "what a life for a----"
"Oh, don't!" pleaded Hyacinth. "Surely only squirrels do that?"
"Yes--yes. Now, if I were a squirrel. I should--may I have my tail
for a moment?"
"Oh, I'm so sorry," said Hyacinth, very much confused as she realised
the liberty she had been taking, and she handed his tail back to him.
"Not at all," said Udo.
He took it firmly in his right hand. "Now then," he said, "we shall
see. Watch this."
Sitting on his back legs he arched his tail over his head, and letting
go of it suddenly, began to nibble at a sandwich held in his two front
paws. . . .
A pretty picture for an artist.
But a bad model. The tail fell with a thud to the ground.
"There!" said Udo triumphantly. "That proves it. I'm _not_ a
squirrel."
"Oh, I'm so glad," said Hyacinth, completely convinced, as any one
would have been, by this demonstration.
"Yes, well, that's all right then. Now we can make our plans. First
of all we'd better----" He stopped suddenly, and Hyacinth saw that he
was gazing at his tail.
"Yes?" she said encouragingly.
He picked up his tail and held it out in front of him. There was a
large knot in the middle of it.
"Now, _what_ have I forgotten?" he said, rubbing his head
thoughtfully.
Poor Hyacinth!
"Oh, dear Prince Udo, I'm so sorry. I'm afraid I did that without
thinking."
Udo, the gallant gentleman, was not found wanting.
"A lover's knot," he said, with a graceful incli--no, he stopped in
time. But really, those ears of his made ordinary politeness quite
impossible.
"Oh, Udo," said Hyacinth impulsively, "if only I could help you to get
back to your proper form again."
"Yes, if only," said Udo, becoming practical again; "but how are we
going to do it? Just one more watercress sandwich," he said
apologetically; "they go with the ears so well."
"I shall threaten the Countess," said Hyacinth excitedly. "I shall
tell her that unless she makes the enchanter restore you to your
proper form, I shall put her in prison."
Udo was not listening. He had gone off into his own thoughts.
"Banana fritters _and_ watercress sandwiches," he was murmuring to
himself. "I suppose I must be the only animal of the kind in the
world."
"Of course," went on Hyacinth, half to herself, "she might get the
people on her side, the ones that she's bribed. And if she did----"
"That's all right, that's all right," said Udo grandly. "Leave her to
me. There's something about your watercress that inspires me to do
terrible deeds. I feel a new--whatever I am."
One gathers reluctantly from this speech that Udo had partaken too
freely.
"Of course," said Hyacinth, "I could write to my father, who might
send some of his men back, but I shouldn't like to do that. I
shouldn't like him to think that I had failed him."
"Extraordinary how I take to these things," said Udo, allowing himself
a little more room on the seat. "Perhaps I am a rabbit after all. I
wonder what I should look like behind wire netting." He took another
bite and went on, "I wonder what I should do if I saw a ferret. I
suppose you haven't got a ferret on you, Princess?"
"I beg your pardon, Prince? I'm afraid I was thinking of something
else. What did you say?"
"Nothing, nothing. One's thoughts run on." He put his hand out for
the plate, and discovered that it was empty. He settled himself more
comfortably, and seemed to be about to sink into slumber when his
attention was attracted suddenly by the knot in his tail. He picked
it up and began lazily to undo it. "I wish I could lash my tail," he
murmured; "mine seems to be one of the tails that don't lash." He
began very gingerly to feel the tip of it. "I wonder if I've got a
sting anywhere." He closed his eyes, muttering, "Sting Countess neck,
sting all over neck, sting lots stings," and fell peacefully asleep.
It was a disgraceful exhibition. Roger Scurvilegs tries to slur it
over; talks about the great heat of the sun, and the notorious effect
of even one or two watercress sandwiches on an empty--on a man who has
had nothing to eat for several days. This is to palter with the
facts. The effect of watercress sandwiches upon Udo's arrangements
(however furnished) we have all just seen for ourselves; but what
Roger neglects to lay stress upon is the fact that it was the effect
of twenty-one or twenty-two watercress sandwiches. There is no
denying that it was a disgraceful exhibition. If I had been there, I
should certainly have written to his father about it.
Hyacinth looked at him uneasily. Her first feeling was one of
sympathy. "Poor fellow," she thought, "he's had a hard time lately."
But it is a strain on the sympathy to gaze too long on a mixture of
lion, rabbit, and woolly lamb, particularly when the rabbit part has
its mouth open and is snoring gently.
Besides, what could she do with him? She had two of them on her hands
now: the Countess and the Prince. Belvane was in an even better
position than before. She could now employ Udo to help her in her
plots against the Princess. "Grant to me so and so, or I'll keep the
enchantment for ever on his Royal Highness." And what could a poor
girl do?
Well, she would have to come to some decision in the future.
Meanwhile the difficulties of the moment were enough. The most
obvious difficulty was his bedroom. Was it quite the sort of room he
wanted now? Hyacinth realised suddenly that to be hostess to such a
collection of animals as Udo was would require all the tact she
possessed. Perhaps he would tell her what he wanted when he woke up.
Better let him sleep peacefully now.
She looked at him, smiled in spite of herself, and went quickly down
into the Palace.