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- Колин Маккалоу
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Father
Ralph
's
eyes
danced
as
he
surveyed
the
water
,
almost
a
shallow
pond
;
he
turned
to
the
child
whose
hand
he
had
kept
in
his
firmly
,
and
bent
down
to
her
with
a
special
tenderness
the
lady
could
not
mistake
,
for
it
had
been
entirely
lacking
in
his
civil
exchanges
with
her
.
"
I
wear
no
cloak
,
darling
Meggie
,
so
I
ca
n't
be
your
Sir
Walter
Raleigh
.
I
'm
sure
you
'll
excuse
me
,
my
dear
Miss
Carmichael
"
--
the
reins
were
passed
to
the
lady
--
"
but
I
ca
n't
permit
my
favorite
girl
to
muddy
her
shoes
,
now
can
I
?
"
He
picked
Meggie
up
and
tucked
her
easily
against
his
hip
,
leaving
Miss
Carmichael
to
collect
her
heavy
trailing
skirts
in
one
hand
,
the
reins
in
her
other
,
and
splash
her
way
across
unaided
.
The
sound
of
Frank
's
hoot
of
laugher
just
behind
them
did
n't
improve
her
temper
;
on
the
far
side
of
the
puddle
she
left
them
abruptly
.
"
I
do
believe
she
'd
kill
you
if
she
could
,
"
Frank
said
as
Father
Ralph
put
Meggie
down
.
He
was
fascinated
by
this
encounter
and
by
Father
Ralph
's
deliberate
cruelty
.
She
had
seemed
to
Frank
so
beautiful
and
so
haughty
that
no
man
could
gainsay
her
,
even
a
priest
,
yet
Father
Ralph
had
wantonly
set
out
to
shatter
her
faith
in
herself
,
in
that
heady
femininity
she
wielded
like
a
weapon
.
As
if
the
priest
hated
her
and
what
she
stood
for
,
Frank
thought
,
the
world
of
women
,
an
exquisite
mystery
he
had
never
had
the
opportunity
to
plumb
.
Smarting
from
his
mother
's
words
,
he
had
wanted
Miss
Carmichael
to
notice
him
,
the
oldest
son
of
Mary
Carson
's
heir
,
but
she
had
not
so
much
as
deigned
to
admit
he
existed
.
All
her
attention
had
been
focused
on
the
priest
,
a
being
sexless
and
emasculated
.
Even
if
he
was
tall
,
dark
and
handsome
.
"
Do
n't
worry
,
she
'll
be
back
for
more
of
the
same
,
"
said
Father
Ralph
cynically
.
"
She
's
rich
,
so
next
Sunday
she
'll
very
ostentatiously
put
a
ten-pound
note
in
the
plate
.
"
He
laughed
at
Frank
's
expression
.
"
I
'm
not
so
much
older
than
you
,
my
son
,
but
in
spite
of
my
calling
I
'm
a
very
worldly
fellow
.
Do
n't
hold
it
against
me
;
just
put
it
down
to
experience
.
"
They
had
left
the
riding
ring
behind
and
entered
the
amusement
part
of
the
grounds
.
To
Meggie
and
Frank
alike
it
was
enchantment
.
Father
Ralph
had
given
Meggie
five
whole
shillings
,
and
Frank
had
his
five
pounds
;
to
own
the
price
of
admission
to
all
those
enticing
booths
was
wonderful
.
Crowds
thronged
the
area
,
children
running
everywhere
,
gazing
wide-eyed
at
the
luridly
and
somewhat
inexpertly
painted
legends
fronting
tattered
tents
:
The
Fattest
Lady
in
the
World
;
Princess
Houri
the
Snake
Dancer
(
See
Her
Fan
the
Flames
of
a
Cobra
's
Rage
!
)
;
The
India
Rubber
Man
;
Goliath
the
World
's
Strongest
Man
;
Thetis
the
Mermaid
.
At
each
they
paid
their
pennies
and
watched
raptly
,
not
noticing
Thetis
's
sadly
tarnished
scales
or
the
toothless
smile
on
the
cobra
.
At
the
far
end
,
so
big
it
required
a
whole
side
for
itself
,
was
a
giant
marquee
with
a
high
boardwalk
along
its
front
,
a
curtainlike
frieze
of
painted
figures
stretching
behind
the
entire
length
of
the
board
bridge
,
menacing
the
crowd
.
A
man
with
a
megaphone
in
his
hand
was
shouting
to
the
gathering
people
.
"
Here
it
is
,
gents
,
Jimmy
Sharman
's
famous
boxing
troupe
!
Eight
of
the
world
's
greatest
prize
fighters
,
and
a
purse
to
be
won
by
any
chap
game
to
have
a
go
!
"
Women
and
girls
were
trickling
out
of
the
audience
as
fast
as
men
and
boys
came
from
every
direction
to
swell
it
,
clustering
thickly
beneath
the
boardwalk
.
As
solemnly
as
gladiators
parading
at
the
Circus
Maximus
,
eight
men
filed
onto
the
bridge
and
stood
,
bandaged
hands
on
hips
,
legs
apart
,
swaggering
at
the
admiring
oohs
of
the
crowd
.
Meggie
thought
they
were
wearing
underclothes
,
for
they
were
clad
in
long
black
tights
and
vests
with
closely
fitting
grey
trunks
from
waists
to
midthighs
.
On
their
chests
,
big
white
Roman
capitals
said
JIMMY
SHARMAN
'S
TROUPE
.
No
two
were
the
same
size
,
some
big
,
some
small
,
some
in
between
,
but
they
were
all
of
particularly
fine
physique
.
Chatting
and
laughing
to
each
other
in
an
offhand
manner
that
suggested
this
was
an
everyday
occurrence
,
they
flexed
their
muscles
and
tried
to
pretend
they
were
n't
enjoying
strutting
.
