1、 And the children would stop playing, to listen for a moment. They would look into each others eyes, to see if they had all heard. And each one saw in the eyes of the other two that they too had heard. It came whispering from the springs of the still-swaying rocking-horse, and even the horse, bendin
2、g his wooden, champing head, heard it. The big doll, sitting so pink and smirking in her new pram, could hear it quite plainly, and seemed to be smirking all the more self-consciously because of it. The foolish puppy, too, that took the place of the teddy-bear, he was looking so extraordinarily fool
3、ish for no other reason but that he heard the secret whisper all over the house:Yet nobody ever said it aloud. The whisper was everywhere, and therefore no one spoke it. Just as no one ever says:We are breathing! in spite of the fact that breath is coming and going all the time.Mother, said the boy
4、Paul one day, why dont we keep a car of our own? Why do we always use uncles, or else a taxi?Because were the poor members of the family, said the mother.But why are we, mother?Well-I suppose, she said slowly and bitterly, its because your father has no luck.The boy was silent for some time.Is luck
5、money, mother? he asked rather timidly.No, Paul. Not quite. Its what causes you to have money.Oh! said Paul vaguely. I thought when Uncle Oscar said filthy lucker, it meant money.Filthy lucre does mean money, said the mother. But its lucre, not luck.Then what is luck, mother?Its what causes you to h
6、ave money. If youre lucky you have money. Thats why its better to be born lucky than rich. If youre rich, you may lose your money. But if youre lucky, you will always get more money. Will you? And is father not lucky?Very unlucky, I should say, she said bitterly.The boy watched her with unsure eyes.
7、Why? he asked.I dont know. Nobody ever know why one person is lucky and another unlucky.Dont they? Nobody at all? Does nobody know?Perhaps God. But He never tells.He ought to, then. And arent you lucky either, mother?I cant be, if I married an unlucky husband.But by yourself, arent you?I used to thi
8、nk I was, before I married. Now I think I am very unlucky indeed.Well-never mind! Perhaps Im not really, she said.The child looked at her, to see if she meant it. But he saw, by the lines of her mouth, that she was only trying to hide something from him.Well, anyhow, he said stoutly, Im a lucky pers
9、on. said his mother, with a sudden laugh.He stared at her. He didnt even know why he had said it.God told me, he asserted,brazening it out.I hope He did, dear! she said, again with a laugh, but rather bitter.He did, mother!Excellent! said the mother, using one of her husbands exclamations.The boy sa
10、w she did not believe him; or, rather, that she paid no attention to his assertion. This angered him somewhat, and made him want to compel her attention.He went off by himself, vaguely, in a childish way, seeking for the clue to luck. Absorbed, taking no heed of other people, he went about with a so
11、rt of stealth, seeking inwardly for luck. He wanted luck, he wanted it, he wanted it. When the two girls were playing dolls in the nursery, he would sit on his big rocking-horse, charging madly into space, with a frenzy that made the little girls peer at him uneasily. Wildly the horse careered the w
12、aving dark hair of the boy tossed, his eyes had a strange glare in them. The little girls dared not speak to him.When he had ridden to the end of his made little journey, he climbed down and stood in front of his rocking-horse, staring fixedly into its lowered face. Its red mouth was slightly open,
13、its big eye was wide and glassy-bright.Now! he would silently command the snorting steed. Now, take me to where there is luck! Now take me!And he would slash the horse on the neck with the little whip he had asked Uncle Oscar for. He knew the horse could take him to where there was luck, if only he
14、forced it. So he would mount again, and start on his furious ride, hoping at last to get there. He knew he could get there.Youll break your horse, Paul! said the nurse.Hes always riding like that! I wish hed leave off ! said his elder sister Joan.But he only glared down on them in silence. Nurse gav
15、e him up. She could make nothing of him . Anyhow he was growing beyond her.One day his mother and his Uncle Oscar came in when he was on one of his furious rides. He did not speak to them. Hallo, you young jockey ! Riding a winner? said his uncle.Arent you growing too big for a rocking-horse? Youre
16、not a very little boy any longer, you know, said his mother.But Paul only gave a blue glare from his big, rather close-set eyes. He would speak to nobody when he was in full tilt . His mother watched him with an anxious expression on her face.At last he suddenly stopped forcing his horse into the me
17、chanical gallop, and slid down.Well, I got there! he announced fiercely, his blue eyes still flaring, and his sturdy long legs straddling apart.Where did you get to? asked his mother.Where I wanted to go, he flared back at her.Thats right, son! said Uncle Oscar. t you stop till you get there. Whats
18、the horses name?He doesnt have a name, said the boy.Gets on without all right? asked the uncle.Well, he has different names. He was called Sansovino last week.Sansovino, eh? Won the Ascot . How did you know his name?He always talks about horse-races with Bassett, said Joan.The uncle was delighted to
19、 find that his small nephew was posted with all the racing news. Bassett, the young gardener, who had been wounded in the left foot in the war and had got his present job through Oscar Cresswell whose batman he had been was a perfect blade of the turf. He lived in the racing events, and the small bo
20、y lived with him.Oscar Cresswell got it all from Bassett.Master Paul comes and asks me, so I cant do more than tell him, sir, said Bassett, his face terribly serious, as if he were speaking of religious matters.And does he ever put anything on a horse he fancies?Well-I dont want to give him away-hes
21、 a young sport, a fine sport, sir. Would you mind asking him himself? He sort of takes a pleasure in it, and perhaps hed feel I was giving him away, sir, if you dont mind.Bassett was serious as a church.The uncle went back to his nephew and took him off for a ride in the car. Say, Paul, old man, do
22、you ever put anything on a horse ? the uncle asked.The boy watched the handsome man closely.Why, do you think I oughtnt to? he parried.Not a bit of it. I thought perhaps you might give me a tip for the Lincoln.The car sped on into the country, going down to Uncle Oscars place in Hampshire.Honor bright? said the nephew.Honor bright, son! said the uncle.Well, then, Daffodil.Daffodil! I doubt it, sonny. What about Mirza?I only know the winner, said the boy. s Daffodil.Daffodil, eh?There was a pause. Daffodil was an obscure horse comparatively.Uncle!
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