Chapter XV. A Sound in a Dream

by Frances Hodgson Burnett

　　Marco slept peacefully for several hours. There was nothing toawaken him during that time. But at the end of it, his sleep waspenetrated by a definite sound. He had dreamed of hearing avoice at a distance, and, as he tried in his dream to hear whatit said, a brief metallic ringing sound awakened him outright.It was over by the time he was fully conscious, and at once herealized that the voice of his dream had been a real one, and wasspeaking still. It was the Lovely Person's voice, and she wasspeaking rapidly, as if she were in the greatest haste. She wasspeaking through the door."You will have to search for it," was all he heard. "I havenot a moment!" And, as he listened to her hurriedly departingfeet, there came to him with their hastening echoes the words,"You are too good for the cellar. I like you!"He sprang to the door and tried it, but it was still locked. Thefeet ran up the cellar steps and through the upper hall, and thefront door closed with a bang. The two people had gone away, asthey had threatened. The voice had been excited as well ashurried. Something had happened to frighten them, and they hadleft the house in great haste.Marco turned and stood with his back against the door. The cathad awakened and she was gazing at him with her green eyes. Shebegan to purr encouragingly. She really helped Marco to think.He was thinking with all his might and trying to remember."What did she come for? She came for something," he said tohimself. "What did she say? I only heard part of it, because Iwas asleep. The voice in the dream was part of it. The part Iheard was, `You will have to search for it. I have not amoment.' And as she ran down the passage, she called back, `Youare too good for the cellar. I like you.' " He said the wordsover and over again and tried to recall exactly how they hadsounded, and also to recall the voice which had seemed to be partof a dream but had been a real thing. Then he began to try hisfavorite experiment. As he often tried the experiment ofcommanding his mind to go to sleep, so he frequently experimentedon commanding it to work for him --to help him to remember, tounderstand, and to argue about things clearly."Reason this out for me," he said to it now, quite naturallyand calmly. "Show me what it means."What did she come for? It was certain that she was in too greata hurry to be able, without a reason, to spare the time to come.What was the reason? She had said she liked him. Then she camebecause she liked him. If she liked him, she came to dosomething which was not unfriendly. The only good thing shecould do for him was something which would help him to get out ofthe cellar. She had said twice that he was too good for thecellar. If he had been awake, he would have heard all she saidand have understood what she wanted him to do or meant to do forhim. He must not stop even to think of that. The first words hehad heard--what had they been? They had been less clear to himthan her last because he had heard them only as he was awakening.But he thought he was sure that they had been, "You will have tosearch for it." Search for it. For what? He thought andthought. What must he search for?He sat down on the floor of the cellar and held his head in hishands, pressing his eyes so hard that curious lights floatedbefore them."Tell me! Tell me!" he said to that part of his being whichthe Buddhist anchorite had said held all knowledge and could tella man everything if he called upon it in the right spirit.And in a few minutes, he recalled something which seemed so mucha part of his sleep that he had not been sure that he had notdreamed it. The ringing sound! He sprang up on his feet with alittle gasping shout. The ringing sound! It had been the ringof metal, striking as it fell. Anything made of metal might havesounded like that. She had thrown something made of metal intothe cellar. She had thrown it through the slit in the bricksnear the door. She liked him, and said he was too good for hisprison. She had thrown to him the only thing which could set himfree. She had thrown him the key of the cellar!For a few minutes the feelings which surged through him were sofull of strong excitement that they set his brain in a whirl. Heknew what his father would say--that would not do. If he was tothink, he must hold himself still and not let even joy overcomehim. The key was in the black little cellar, and he must find itin the dark. Even the woman who liked him enough to give him achance of freedom knew that she must not open the door and lethim out. There must be a delay. He would have to find the keyhimself, and it would be sure to take time. The chances werethat they would be at a safe enough distance before he could getout."I will kneel down and crawl on my hands and knees," he said."I will crawl back and forth and go over every inch of the floorwith my hands until I find it. If I go over every inch, I shallfind it."So he kneeled down and began to crawl, and the cat watched himand purred."We shall get out, Puss-cat," he said to her. "I told you weshould."He crawled from the door to the wall at the side of the shelves,and then he crawled back again. The key might be quite a smallone, and it was necessary that he should pass his hands overevery inch, as he had said. The difficulty was to be sure, inthe darkness, that he did not miss an inch. Sometimes he was notsure enough, and then he went over the ground again. He crawledbackward and forward, and he crawled forward and backward. Hecrawled crosswise and lengthwise, he crawled diagonally, and hecrawled round and round. But he did not find the key. If he hadhad only a little light, but he had none. He was so absorbed inhis search that he did not know he had been engaged in it forseveral hours, and that it was the middle of the night. But atlast he realized that he must stop for a rest, because his kneeswere beginning to feel bruised, and the skin of his hands wassore as a result of the rubbing on the flags. The cat and herkittens had gone to sleep and awakened again two or three times."But it is somewhere!" he said obstinately. "It is inside thecellar. I heard something fall which was made of metal. Thatwas the ringing sound which awakened me."When he stood up, he found his body ached and he was very tired.He stretched himself and exercised his arms and legs."I wonder how long I have been crawling about," he thought."But the key is in the cellar. It is in the cellar."He sat down near the cat and her family, and, laying his arm onthe shelf above her, rested his head on it. He began to think ofanother experiment."I am so tired, I believe I shall go to sleep again. `Thoughtwhich Knows All' "--he was quoting something the hermit had saidto Loristan in their midnight talk--"Thought which Knows All!Show me this little thing. Lead me to it when I awake."And he did fall asleep, sound and fast.He did not know that he slept all the rest of the night. But hedid. When he awakened, it was daylight in the streets, and themilk-carts were beginning to jingle about, and the early postmenwere knocking big double-knocks at front doors. The cat may haveheard the milk-carts, but the actual fact was that she herselfwas hungry and wanted to go in search of food. Just as Marcolifted his head from his arm and sat up, she jumped down from hershelf and went to the door. She had expected to find it ajar asit had been before. When she found it shut, she scratched at itand was disturbed to find this of no use. Because she knew Marcowas in the cellar, she felt she had a friend who would assisther, and she miauled appealingly.This reminded Marco of the key."I will when I have found it," he said. "It is inside thecellar."The cat miauled again, this time very anxiously indeed. Thekittens heard her and began to squirm and squeak piteously."Lead me to this little thing," said Marco, as if speaking toSomething in the darkness about him, and he got up.He put his hand out toward the kittens, and it touched somethinglying not far from them. It must have been lying near his elbowall night while he slept.It was the key! It had fallen upon the shelf, and not on thefloor at all.Marco picked it up and then stood still a moment. He made thesign of the cross.Then he found his way to the door and fumbled until he found thekeyhole and got the key into it. Then he turned it and pushedthe door open--and the cat ran out into the passage before him.