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Read Ebook: The Aab by Ludwig Edward W Terry W E Illustrator
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Ebook has 95 lines and 5685 words, and 2 pages
"It--it did hurt, Bob," she sighed, with a smile beginning to struggle through the clouded face.
"Ship ahoy!" came in a hearty shout, and with the steam just beginning to appear fairly from out of the funnel, the trouble was forgotten.
"Here's Pa come!" cried the boy, and he set off to run.
"Oh, Bob! please," came after him plaintively, and the Skipper turned and hurried back, to catch his sister's hand.
"Now then, fast as you can!" he panted. "I'll help you. Run!"
Before the two children had run far along the side of the lake, two figures appeared, coming along a path. The first, that of a handsome-looking officer in undress uniform; the other, that of a grim-looking sailor, carrying a basket in one hand and a couple of large brown-paper packages, tied together, in the other. But, he did not look quite grim, for somewhere about the middle of a great cocoanut-coloured beard his big white teeth could be seen, showing that he was smiling: and higher up still, just above the top of the beard, which was divided by a brown nose, two squeezed-up eyes were twinkling in the sunshine.
"Skipper, ahoy!" cried the officer, as the boy loosed his hold of his sister's hand, made a running jump, and was caught, hugged, and set down again. "Ah! my precious little woman," came next, and Dot was lifted from the ground, and her arms went round the Captain's neck, as she nestled to him and kissed him again and again.
"Why, hullo! little woman," he cried. "Wet face--tears--crying--had a tumble?"
"Oh, no, Papa dear; it was--it was only--"
She stopped short, and coloured.
"Only what, my darling?"
"It was I," said the Skipper, flushing, but speaking out very bravely. "I frightened her--pretended I was going to tumble into the water."
"But he didn't think it would frighten me, Pa dear," cried Dot earnestly, "or he wouldn't have done it. Would you, Bob?"
"Yes," said the boy stolidly. "Did it on purpose to frighten you."
"How dare you!" cried Captain Trevor sternly. "This is pretty discipline. Have I not always told you that a big boy ought to be kind to his sister?"
"Yes, Pa."
"And because he's strong and ugly, because he's going some day to be a man, he ought to watch over and protect her."
"Yes, Pa," said the boy, his lip quivering, as he stared past his father at the big sailor, who was scowling and shaking his head at him fiercely.
"Oh, no, Pa," cried the Skipper, that is to say, nearly cried the Skipper, for his voice sounded a little shaky; "that's not half so naughty as I could be if I tried."
The Skipper stared in wonder, for as he said this, the big sailor suddenly uttered a peculiar sound, swung himself round with the bag and parcels flying out, and stood with his back to him, upon one leg, lifting the other up and down, with the toe just touching the ground from time to time.
As for Captain Trevor, the Skipper saw that he had squeezed his lips together, wrinkled up his face, and frowned heavily.
"Oh! please, Pa dear," whispered Dot, tightening her arms round his neck, "don't be cross with poor Bob. He was very sorry. Weren't you, Bob?"
"Yes, I was sorry," said the boy repentantly, but without taking his eyes off the big sailor, whose leg was still going up and down like one of the engines on board his father's ship.
"But I must be angry with him, my darling," said the Captain gravely. "Bob knows better; if he does such things now and does not check them, he will grow into a bully, and disgrace himself."
This was said at the Skipper, whose face was very red, from his efforts to keep back his tears.
"Oh! Pa dear!" cried Dot.
"Hush! my darling," said the Captain. "Here, Jeffs!"
"Ay, ay, sir!" roaredf?"
No reply appeared in Monk's mind. He continued:
"Come closer. Look at me. You're hungry. You're too hungry to waste time calling the others."
The Aab came closer. It passed out of the shadow of the Devil's Egg. It came to within two feet of Monk. It crossed the small dune. Slowly, slowly, its legs labored through the thin sand. At last it stopped some six inches from Monk's face.
It appeared immense, like a lumbering, scaly giant from the planet's billion-year-ago past.
It rubbed its claws together, threateningly. Its black mouth opened, closed, opened, closed. Its needle tongue twisted like a silver snake.
Combined fear and hope hung over Monk like an omnipresent shower of fire and ice. Sweat dripped into his hot eyes, obscuring his vision.
He opened his mouth.
"Look," he said. "You are hungry." He wriggled his tongue as a fisherman would cast out bait.
An eternity passed. Monk's heart was a monstrous hammer pounding in the depths of his body and in the depths of the planet. The Aab was motionless save for the restless, uncertain moving and blinking of its eyes.
Then its forelegs lifted. It drew itself forward. One inch, two, three, four, five, six.
Monk beckoned the creature on with his wriggling, twisting tongue.
"That's it!" he telepathed. "Closer, closer!"
The Aab entered Monk's open mouth.
Monk chewed and spat and chewed and spat. He grimaced hideously. He coughed and choked. The Aab tasted like a combination of paprika and oil. He thought he was going to retch, but did not.
And it was over.
Monk breathed the cool air. His weary mind thought of the stupid white-bearded Martian and of his lovely daughter. He thought of what he was going to do to that idiot space rat, Stardust Luke.
His gaze traveled to the empty red desert where, in about four hours, Stardust's sandcar would appear. It shifted to the sacks of priceless Devil's Egg seed, and he began to chuckle.
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