Lloyd Alexander - Vesper 03 by The Drackenberg Adventure

Author:The Drackenberg Adventure [Adventure, The Drackenberg]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2012-06-04T15:04:30+00:00

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Chapter 11

Vesper flung me the reins, for there was no stopping the horse now, and Zoltan jumped to his feet despite the lurching of the vardo. For all his inability to swim, he would surely have bravely tried to do so. But Vesper moved faster than the barossan. While I could do no more than let the horse make for dry ground, Vesper plunged after the screaming Mikalia.

The current had borne the child into the deepest eddies of the river. The Gypsies ran along the bank, and some even ventured hopelessly into the shallows. Vesper’s powerful strokes soon brought her within reach of Mikalia, who was choking and wailing at the same time. The terrified little girl so struggled, flailing her arms and legs, that I feared Vesper, strong swimmer though she was, might never bring her ashore.

The two of them bobbed and spun like a couple of corks. For an instant, both disappeared below the surface. But Vesper found her footing again and, with Mikalia clutched in her arms, stumbled up the sloping riverbank.

The cheering Gypsies crowded around them. Vesper gave the sobbing child into the abundant embrace of Rosika. Zoltan, assured that the girl was unharmed, his kumpania safe, and the horses equally so, beamed and swaggered about as if the whole enterprise had been his idea. Yet he did not neglect to give Vesper her full share of praise.

“You saved the life of a rom,” he cried, throwing his arms about Vesper. “A small rom, but that makes no difference. It is still a big debt.”

He took a gold chain and amulet from his neck. “Rawnie, I, Zoltan barossan, give you my prized possession. But even that is worth less than what you have done.”

Vesper, always becomingly modest on such occasions, admired the gift but did not wish to deprive Zoltan of a priceless heirloom.

“You must accept it,” the barossan insisted. “It is a matter of honor. Besides,” he added, “I have extras in the wagon.”

Mikalia, during this, had wiggled free of Rosika and went shyly to Vesper. The child hesitated, then, as Vesper grinned at her, suddenly ran to let herself be hugged, all the while bestowing a few dozen choomers on her rescuer.

At Zoltan’s order, Tibor rummaged out a candle and ancient knife from one of the vardos. The barossan thrust the blade into the ground and lit the candle.

“By fire and iron,” Zoltan declared, “what we agree here is binding on all the pralos, all our brethren. It was not your fault that you were born a gorgio, so we shall change that. From now on, we count you as one of us. You, too, lavengro,” he added. “For the sake of the rawnie, who has done us a great service.”

Whether it occurred to Zoltan that he would not have needed Vesper’s help if she had not entangled him in her plan to begin with, I do not know. But I doubted it. The dear girl has a way of turning things around, which can be confusing.

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