<p class="f1"><SPAN name="In_Which_the_Scientist_Arrives_in_Pursuit_of_the_Phoenix_and" id="In_Which_the_Scientist_Arrives_in_Pursuit_of_the_Phoenix_and"></SPAN>5: <i>In Which the Scientist<br/>
Arrives in Pursuit <br/>
of the Phoenix, and<br/>
There Are Alarums and<br/>
Excursions by Night</i></p>
<p>The lights downstairs were all on when David got home, and as soon as
he opened the front door he could tell that they had company.</p>
<p>He shouted, "I'm home!" and sneezed. The dust from the Gryffons' cave
still clung to him, tickling his nose.</p>
<p>"Well, here he is at last," said Dad's voice. "Come<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_62" id="Page_62"></SPAN></span> on in, David."
Then, as David walked into the living room, "Good heavens, Son, what's
happened to you?"</p>
<p>"Your <i>back</i>, David!" Mother said in a horrified voice. "Your poor
back! What <i>happened</i> to you?"</p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/image_064.jpg" width-obs="600" height-obs="542" alt="" /></div>
<p>David felt himself. The back of his shirt was ripped to tatters, and
there were three lines of caked blood across his shoulders. He
remembered now: it was the<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_63" id="Page_63"></SPAN></span> Gryffon that had tried to grab him as he
and the Phoenix made their escape. But he had promised the Phoenix to
keep its secret.</p>
<p>He stammered, "I—I had an accident."</p>
<p>"And dust all <i>over</i> you!" Mother went on.</p>
<p>"Well," said David desperately, "it was a <i>dusty</i> accident."</p>
<p>"It seems to have been very dusty indeed," said a third voice. There
was a loud sneeze.</p>
<p>David's father jumped up. "You gave me such a shock when you came in
that I almost forgot, David. We have a guest." And he introduced David
to a very tall, thin man with a bald head. His face and neck were
burnt red by the sun, and he had on a pair of thick glasses which made
his pale eyes look immense. For some reason David took an instant
dislike to him, but he shook hands politely and said, "How do you do?"</p>
<p>"David, eh?" said the man. "Well, well. Are you a good boy, David?"</p>
<p>Of all the stupid questions in the world, that was the one David hated
most. He clenched his teeth and looked the other way.</p>
<p>"David, dear," said Mother with an awkward laugh, "I think you'd
better go upstairs and wash and change."<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_64" id="Page_64"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>When David came into the living room again, the guest was talking
excitedly. "... completely unknown to man," he was saying. "It's the
discovery of the age. My name will be famous if I succeed in my
plans."</p>
<p>"How fascinating!" Mother said. "And to think of it happening right
here!"</p>
<p>"And it's huge," the guest said, "simply huge. And brilliantly
colored. For a scientist like myself, it's more than fascinating."</p>
<p>David was listening now. Scientist? <i>Scientist!</i> His heart missed a
beat, and he choked. Oh, no, it couldn't be <i>the</i> Scientist. <i>Or could
it?</i></p>
<p>"David here spends all his time up on the mountain," his father said.
"Maybe he's seen it."</p>
<p>The guest turned his big, pale, unpleasant eyes on David. "Well,
David," he said, "maybe you can help me. Now, have you seen anything
unusual on the mountain?"</p>
<p>"Unusual?" said David unsteadily. There was a pain in his chest from
the pounding of his heart.</p>
<p>"Yes, David," the guest went on, "unusual. So unusual that you
couldn't miss it: a very large bird with bright plumage."</p>
<p>The floor under David seemed to rock. It was true, then—it was
horribly true. This was the Scientist who<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_65" id="Page_65"></SPAN></span> had been chasing the
Phoenix. This was their enemy.</p>
<p>"Bird?" David dodged. "Wh-wh-why, there are lots of birds up there.
Sparrows and meadow larks and—and sparrows...."</p>
<p>"But nothing like a huge bird with bright feathers?"</p>
<p>Well, he would have to tell a lie. After all, it was for the Phoenix's
sake.</p>
<p>"No," said David.</p>
<p>"Ah," said the Scientist. But his cold eyes bored into David's for
another instant, plainly saying, "I'm not fooled, young man."</p>
<p>"It's odd," he continued, "that no one has seen it. But I have no
doubt it's somewhere here. I am going to begin my search as soon as my
equipment gets here."</p>
<p>"Tell us about it," said Mother politely.</p>
<p>"Well, I discovered it on the other side of the valley, you know,"
said the Scientist eagerly. "Quite by accident—I was really looking
for another species. Now, birds, you know, have fixed habits. If you
know those habits, you can predict just what they will do at any time.
This particular bird was a daytime creature, so I tried to watch it
between dawn and dusk. But it seemed to have a mind of its own—you
might almost say an intelligence. It avoided me in a very clever way,
and it<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_66" id="Page_66"></SPAN></span> avoided my traps also. Uncanny! So after several weeks I
decided to shoot it if I got the chance. Then suddenly it disappeared,
but I'm certain it came over to this side of the valley—"</p>
<p>There was no escape from the subject during dinner. The Scientist
could think and talk of nothing else. He described the merits of
deadfalls, snares, steel traps, and birdlime. He asked which they
thought would make the best bait, a rabbit, a beefsteak, a live lamb,
or carrion. He told them all about the new high-powered, long-range
rifle which he had ordered. And he vowed to them all that he would not
rest until the bird was either caught or killed "for the advancement
of human learning."</p>
<p>David listened with horror. The dinner before him went untouched. His
only thought was that now he would have to warn the Phoenix as soon as
possible. The Phoenix would go to South America after all, and his
education would end before it had even started. All because of this
hateful man! He fought to hold back his tears.</p>
<p>Dinner was over at last. David mumbled his excuses and ducked out of
the dining room, but Aunt Amy seized him firmly just as he thought he
had got away.</p>
<p>"Bedtime for you, David," she said firmly.</p>
<p>"Oh, Aunt Amy, please! I've got to—"<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_67" id="Page_67"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>"Upstairs, young man. You've had enough gallivanting around for one
day. You're all worn out."</p>
<p>"I'm <i>not</i>!" said David, struggling. "I feel fine. Look, I just <i>have</i>
to—"</p>
<p>It was useless. She marched him upstairs to his room and stood in the
doorway until he had undressed and put on his pajamas and got into
bed.</p>
<p>"Now," she said, "you go to sleep. The mountain will still be there in
the morning—unless there's a landslide. Good night." And she turned
out the light and shut the door.</p>
<p>This was awful! He could not sneak downstairs, because the stairs
could be seen from the living room. He could not climb out of his
window, because a rose arbor was directly beneath it, and he would be
ripped by the thorns. And Mother always came in to say good night
before she went to bed. If he was not there when she came in tonight,
there would be a lot of unpleasant explaining to do. The only thing,
then, was to wait until the Scientist went home and everyone was in
bed.</p>
<p>It was a maddening wait. The Scientist's voice went on and on like the
drone of an electric fan, interrupted only by an occasional murmur
from Mother or Dad. For a while David sat in bed twisting the sheets
in his hands;<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_68" id="Page_68"></SPAN></span> then he got up and paced the room in his bare feet. It
seemed to him that three or four whole nighttimes had passed before he
finally heard all three voices raised and talking at once.</p>
<p>The Scientist was going! Now they were saying good-by at the front
door ... now the door was being closed ... now there were footsteps on
the stairs. He jumped into bed just before Mother put her head in and
said, "Good night, dear." David murmured, pretending to be half
asleep. His door closed again. The light switches snapped, and there
was silence.</p>
<p>He waited another half hour to make sure everyone was asleep. As
quickly and silently as he could, he pulled on his clothes, crept out
of his room, and slid cautiously down the bannister. In the back yard
he put on his shoes, dived through the hedge, and started to race up
the mountainside.</p>
<p>Fortunately there was a nearly-full moon and no clouds in the sky. But
even with this light, it was not easy to keep to the trail. Several
times he lost his way, so that the trip took much longer than usual.
But he found the ledge at last, climbed over the final difficult rock,
and sat down to catch his breath. When he could speak, he called
softly:<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_69" id="Page_69"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>"Phoenix!"</p>
<p>There was no answer.</p>
<p>"Phoenix!" He pushed through the thicket to the other side of the
ledge. "<i>Phoenix!</i>"</p>
<p>The Phoenix was gone.</p>
<p>The tears that had been stopped up all evening could be held no
longer. David dropped to the ground, leaned his forehead against a
rock, and let them go. He had just remembered. As soon as they had
come back from the Gryffon adventure, the Phoenix had flown off on
some sort of business. And it had not said when it would return.</p>
<p>The tears cleared David's mind and made him feel better. Now what? He
began to think. If he stayed on the ledge all night, they might find
out at home and make a terrible fuss. But if he did not warn the
Phoenix before morning, the Scientist might creep up while the bird
was resting and trap it or shoot it. So he would have to warn the
Phoenix <i>and</i> return home. And the only way to do both these things
was to write the Phoenix a note.</p>
<p>But he had neither paper nor pencil.</p>
<p>A fine mess he had made of everything! Now he would have to go all the
way back home, write the note, come all the way back up to the ledge,
and then go home again.<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_70" id="Page_70"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>David trudged down the mountainside in a very low mood. Now that he
had a definite plan to work on, his fear was gone, but he felt that he
had been pretty stupid to rush off without thinking of everything
first. In his mind he could hear the Phoenix saying, "Look before you
leap, my boy," and other wise words of advice. And he had cried, too.
Lucky that no one had been there to see <i>that</i>.</p>
<hr style='width: 45%;' />
<p>As he approached the house he was surprised to see all the lights
ablaze and to hear his name being called. "Oh-oh," he thought,
"they've found out I've gone."</p>
<p>"Here I am!" he shouted, opening the door. "What's the matter?"</p>
<p>It was a strange sight which met him inside. Dad, in his gray pajamas,
was waving a revolver and making fierce noises. Mother, looking
frightened, had a shoe in one hand. Aunt Amy, with her hair in rags,
was also well-armed—with a big cast-iron frying pan. Beckie was
howling upstairs.</p>
<p>"David!" Mother cried. "Are you all right? Where have you been? Did he
hurt you?"</p>
<p>"Who?" said David. "I'm all right. What's the matter?"<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_71" id="Page_71"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>"The burglar!" said Mother excitedly. "He put his head in the window
and said '<i>pssssst!</i>'"</p>
<p>"I tell you, burglars don't say <i>pssssst</i>!" Dad said. "They try to
make as little noise as possible. Just let me catch him doing it
again!" he added, waving his pistol.</p>
<p>"Running around on that mountain at all hours of the night," Aunt Amy
grumbled, "with burglars and I don't know what-all loose in town!"</p>
<p>"And then we found that you were gone, and we thought he had stolen
you," Mother went on. "Where have you been?"</p>
<p>"I couldn't sleep," said David. "So I went for a walk."</p>
<p>"Well, thank heavens you're safe," said Mother.</p>
<p>"Hankering after that mountain all night," Aunt Amy muttered. "As if
he wasn't up there all day."</p>
<p>"Look here, Son," said Dad. "What do you know about this?"</p>
<p>"Honestly, Dad," said David, "I couldn't sleep. There's nothing wrong
with that. I can't help it if I can't sleep. So I took a walk. There's
nothing wrong with—"</p>
<p>"Oh, all right, all right," his father said. "I suppose it's just a
coincidence. Let's all get back to sleep. And, David, the next time
you can't sleep, try counting sheep."<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_72" id="Page_72"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>Gradually the house calmed down. Beckie stopped wailing, Dad put away
his gun, good nights were said, the lights were turned off.</p>
<p>David knew that it would be at least an hour before he dared to move
again, and he would have to be doubly careful this time. And he was a
little nervous himself now about that burglar. What if he should meet
him when he went out again? He tried to forget about that by thinking
of what he would put in the note for the Phoenix.</p>
<p>He had got as far as "Dear Phoenix:" and was wondering how you spelled
"Phoenix," when there came a swish and a thump at his window, followed
by a cautious whisper:</p>
<p>"<i>Pssssst!</i>"</p>
<p>David felt his scalp prickle. "Wh-wh-who's that?" he quavered.</p>
<p>"Is that you, my boy?" whispered a familiar, guarded voice. "Ah, thank
heavens!"</p>
<p>And the Phoenix crawled through the window.</p>
<p>Weak with relief, David snapped on the bedside light. The Phoenix
presented a shocking sight. Its face was drawn with fatigue, and it
looked rather draggled. Its back sagged, its wings drooped to the
floor, and it walked with a limp.<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_73" id="Page_73"></SPAN></span></p>
<div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/image_075.jpg" width-obs="600" height-obs="417" alt="" /></div>
<p>"Oh, Phoenix, Phoenix!" David whispered. He jumped to support the bird
before it collapsed entirely.</p>
<p>"Ah, thank you, my boy," the Phoenix murmured. "Your bed, I presume?
May I? Thank you." The springs creaked under its weight as the Phoenix
gingerly lay down.</p>
<p>"What a night, my boy, <i>what</i> a night!" it sighed weakly, closing its
eyes.</p>
<p>"Oh, Phoenix, what happened? Can I do anything for you?" David
whispered.</p>
<p>"A damp, cooling cloth upon my forehead would be welcome, my boy,"
murmured the Phoenix. "Also a bit of nourishment."<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_74" id="Page_74"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>David slid down the bannister, got a handful of cookies and a glass of
milk, and dampened a dish towel. When he returned, the Phoenix was
fast asleep.</p>
<p>"Phoenix," he whispered, "wake up. Here's your—"</p>
<p>The Phoenix awoke with a violent start and stared wildly around the
room. "Trapped!" it muttered, making a frenzied effort to get off the
bed.</p>
<p>"Not so <i>loud</i>!" David whispered sharply. "It's me!"</p>
<p>Understanding dawned in the Phoenix's eyes, and it eased itself back
with a sigh. "Ah, you, my boy. You gave me quite a fright. I
thought—" But here the Phoenix caught sight of the milk and cookies
and sat up again.</p>
<p>"Ambrosia," it sighed reverently. "And nectar. You <i>are</i> a prince, my
dear fellow!" And the Phoenix reached out eagerly.</p>
<p>"Now, Phoenix," David whispered as he wrapped the wet towel around the
Phoenix's head, "what's happened?"</p>
<p>"Ah, that feels heavenly, my boy! (Munch munch.) What has happened?
(Munch munch. Gulp.) I was insulted, I accepted a challenge, and I
brilliantly maintained my honor. Let that be a lesson to you, my boy:
death before dishonor. Yes, in spite of my age, I—"</p>
<p>"But Phoenix, what <i>happened</i>?"<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_75" id="Page_75"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>"To be brief, then, my boy, for brevity is the soul of wit—although I am
not trying to be witty now; I am simply too worn out—Brevity—ah—where
was I?"</p>
<p>"I <i>think</i> you were telling me what happened to you tonight," David
said.</p>
<p>"Ah, yes, quite so! Well, I raced the Witch, to put it quite simply."</p>
<p>"Oh, Phoenix! Did you win?"</p>
<p>"She said that she would 'beat my tail feathers off,' did she not?
Behold, my dear fellow—every tail feather intact!"</p>
<p>"Good for you, Phoenix! How did it go?"</p>
<p>"I found her somewhere over Scotland and accepted her challenge. We
jockeyed about for starting positions, and she insulted me by offering
me a handicap—which, of course, I refused. For several hundred miles
it was nip and tuck, as it were. Then, over Luxembourg, I put all my
energies into a magnificent sprint and won the race by three and a
half broom lengths. She claimed a foul and went off in a fit of sulks,
of course. (I never saw a Witch who was a good loser.) And I—well,
the fact is, my boy, that I am not as young as I used to be. I simply
<i>crawled</i> home."</p>
<p>"Oh, you poor Phoenix! But you won, though.<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_76" id="Page_76"></SPAN></span> Good for you, Phoenix.
I'm proud of you! I didn't like her at all."</p>
<p>"There you are—I had to win, for both of us. Now, as I wended my
weary way homeward, I realized that I should be too tired to go
traveling tomorrow. So I decided to tell you, in case you should want
to do something else during the day. But I did not know which house
was yours. I had to pick one at random. I thrust my head in a window
and uttered a cautious <i>pssssst</i>! Imagine my dismay when I was
answered by a piercing scream! I had to beat a hasty and undignified
retreat into a garage until all was peaceful again. Then I did the
same thing at the next house, and the next, with the same results."
The Phoenix sighed. "Would you believe it, my boy?—this is the fifth
house I tried. But I knew I was on the right track when I heard them
calling for you."</p>
<p>"Oh, so it was <i>you</i>," said David. "You almost frightened Mother to
death. She thought you were a burglar."</p>
<p>"My dear fellow, I am really sorry for having caused any
misunderstanding or fright," said the Phoenix apologetically. "It was
just that I wanted to tell you of my victory—that is, to tell you
that I should be indisposed tomorrow."</p>
<p>Then David recalled that he had something to say<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_77" id="Page_77"></SPAN></span> too. The shock of
remembering was such that he blurted out the news without thinking of
softening the blow.</p>
<p>"Phoenix, listen! The Scientist is here!"</p>
<p>The Phoenix sat up in bed with a jerk, and David barely suppressed its
startled exclamation by clamping a hand over its beak.</p>
<p>"It's not so bad yet," he whispered hurriedly, "because he's not sure
where you are, and he has to wait for his equipment to get here. But,
oh, Phoenix, now I suppose you'll go to South America after all, and I
won't have any more education."</p>
<p>The Phoenix leaped to its feet and struck a defiant pose. "My boy," it
said angrily, "you are mistaken. I refuse to be chased around any
longer. Even the lowly worm turns. Am I a mouse, or am I the Phoenix?
If that insufferable man wishes to pursue me further, if he cannot
mind his own business, then, by Jove, we shall meet him face to face
and FIGHT TO THE FINISH!"</p>
<p>Its voice, which had been getting louder and louder, ended in an
indignant squawk (its battle cry, as it explained later). David's
warning <i>ssh!</i> was too late. They heard rapid footsteps and the sound
of light switches snapping.</p>
<p>"Quick!" David said. "Out the window!"<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_78" id="Page_78"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>With a hasty "Farewell, my boy," the Phoenix plunged headlong toward
the window—and tripped over the sill. There was a resounding crash
outside as the bird landed on the rose arbor, a brief but furious
thrashing and muttering, and then the receding flurry of wings.</p>
<p>Dad burst into the room with his revolver, followed by Mother and Aunt
Amy (with two frying pans, this time).</p>
<p>"He stuck his head in the window and said <i>pssssst!</i> at me!" David
cried. "A big dark shape in the window!"</p>
<p>This time Dad telephoned the police. In no time at all, three carloads
of weary policemen were swarming over the house and yard, with guns
and flashlights drawn. It was the fifth—or was it the sixth?—call
they had received from the neighborhood that night, they explained.
There followed an hour of questions, arguments, and theories, during
which everyone became very excited. Everyone, that is, except
David—although he acted excited to avoid suspicion. But he was happy.
He had warned the Phoenix, the Phoenix was going to stay, and there
was nothing to worry about until tomorrow.</p>
<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_79" id="Page_79"></SPAN></span></p>
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />