The Hollow Land by Jane Gardam

Author:Jane Gardam
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Europa
Published: 2014-11-18T16:00:00+00:00

“It is warmer,” said Bell later. They had passed Wild Boar, the railway bridge and the empty dog kennel, the school and the chapel, all dead and dark. “It must be because it’s snowing a bit.”

By Outhgill village it was snowing a lot. There was a light here and a light there in the looming dark. Bell knew someone at the shop, which wasn’t that far off if he could find it, he said. But then—the icicles. If they stopped now they wouldn’t get them home. Already they had a more slithery, softer sort of feel—like the road ahead.

“We’ll press on,” he said.

“My mother said to ring from Hell Gill phone box. Where’s Hell Gill phone box, Bell?”

“I think we’ve passed it,” said Bell. “Come on. We’re getting on. We’ve passed the place where she kept her goats and we’re nearly at the chapel.”

“We’re way past the chapel,” said Harry, “and the school.”

“Are we? I’m getting muddled.”

“Well, I seed a building.”

“Saw—”

“Saw a—Bell, I think we ought to go back. To the shop at Outhgill. It’s snowing like feathers.”

They turned to go back, gasping a bit into the snow, and found that the lights of the few cottages at Outhgill had disappeared. The night had fallen and the snow fluttered steadily and softly and determinedly down, silencing the whole world.

“This dale were cut off for six weeks in 1947,” said Bell. “My dad couldn’t go to school, all that time. Till Easter. They kept putting this place ont’ wireless—aerial photographs in the newspapers and prayers in churches.”

They rounded a bend, very slowly, and stood completely still—for the road was not there. Instead of it, a great sweeping drift of snow flowed across before them and looped up to the wall. But the wall had gone, too. As they stood, wiping over their faces every minute and peering at the drift, it grew dimmer and dimmer and the feathers flew so fast you could scarcely see between them.

“Well, they’ll come for us,” said Bell. “They’ll probably be on their way. From Nateby. They’ll have started.”

“Yes. If they can get through,” said Harry.

“Aye, if they can get through.”

A worse sort of cold had started to grow inside Harry and his legs, which had until now been stiff and numb, felt loose and floppy. “What shall we do, Bell?”

“Do? Well—” He felt very much older than Harry as Harry asked him. At the same time he felt very young indeed. He peered into the dark and his legs, too, began to feel odd. Then he said, “I think I can see a light.”

“Where?”

“Over there. Look. A lil’ flicker.”

“I can’t see it.”

“I can. Come on. Over off t’ road. Hold to the bike to keep together. Come on now and push. Fetch over here now away from that drift.”

The bike, with them behind it, careered over a hump and began to slide fast down a smooth snow slope to the level ground. Harry saw a light, too, and in a minute both of them heard the tinkle of a little stream which sometimes was the broad river at Wateryat Bottom.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.