2 - A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle
Author:Madeleine L'Engle [L'Engle, Madeleine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781417794058
Publisher: San Val
Published: 1973-01-01T00:00:00+00:00
SIX
The Real Mr. Jenkins
âCharles!â Meg cried.
All three Mr. Jenkinses held up warning hands, said simultaneously, âCharles Wallace Murry, what is it now?â
Charles Wallace looked with interest at the three men. âHello, whatâs this?â
Mr. Jenkins One said, âWhat are you doing with thatâthatââ
All three men were visibly fearful of Louise. There was no telling the ârealâ Mr. Jenkins by a variation in response to the snake. Louise reared her head, half closed her eyes, and made the strange, clacking, warning sound which Meg had heard the night before. Charles Wallace stroked her soothingly, and looked speculatively at the three men.
âWe were supposed to bring a small pet to school today, to share with the class.â
Meg thought,âGood for you, Charles, to think of Louise the Larger. If you terrified Mr. Jenkins, that would send you up a notch in the other kidsâ estimation. If thereâs one thing everybody in school agrees on, itâs that Mr. Jenkins is a retarded rodent.
Mr. Jenkins Three said severely, âYou know perfectly well that small pets were meant, Charles Wallace. Turtles or tropical fish or perhaps even a hamster.â
âOr a gerbil,â Mr. Jenkins Two added. âA gerbil would be acceptable.â
âWhy have you multiplied?â Charles Wallace asked. âI found one of you quite enough.â
Louise clacked again; it was a flesh-chilling sound.
Mr. Jenkins Three demanded, âWhy arenât you in class, Charles?â
âBecause the teacher told me to take Louise the Larger and go home. I really donât understand why. Louise is friendly and she wouldnât hurt anybody. Only the girls were scared of her. She lives in our stone wall by the twinsâ vegetable garden.â
Meg looked at Louise, at the hooded eyes, the wary position of the head, the warning twitching of the last few inches of her black tail. Blajeny had told them that Louise was a Teacher. Louise herself had certainly shown in the past twenty-four hours that she was more than an ordinary garden snake. Louise would knowâdid know, Meg was sureâthe real Mr. Jenkins. Swallowing her own shyness of all snakes, she reached out towards Charles Wallace. âLet me have Louise for a little while, please, Charles.â
But Proginoskes spoke in her mind. âNo, Meg. You have to do it yourself. You canât let Louise do it for you.â
All right. She accepted that. But perhaps Louise could still help.
Charles Wallace regarded his sister thoughtfully. Then he held out the arm around which Louiseâs lower half was coiled. The snake slithered sinuously to Meg. Her body felt cold, and tingled with electricity. Meg tried not to flinch.
âMr. Jenkins,â Meg said. âEach of you. One at a time. What are you going to do about Charles Wallace and Louise? Charles Wallace canât possibly walk home alone. Itâs too far. What are you going to do about Charles Wallace and school in general?â
Nobody volunteered an answer. All three folded their arms impassively across their chests.
âMr. Jenkins Three,â Meg said.
âAre you Naming me, Meg? Thatâs right.â
âIâm not Naming anybody yet. I want to know what youâre going to do.â
âI thought I had already told you.
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