Images Page #3

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We both need a rest.

The beginning.

"Long, long ago"...

wrote Ancient,

the wise historian...

...in big, slow, spidery writing...

"the most heavenly spirit

of the universe...

"tossed from her finger

like an emerald...

"the fair land of Umberny.

"Very far down through

the reaches of the sky...

"it fell...

"to sink into the heart

of the great continent.

"To Umberny's north lay Goll.

"To Umberny's south lay Gonn.

"To east and west...

"to east and west...

"a great many other lands lie...

"but none is as fair

as the land of the Umbs."

It's beautiful.

I love it here.

There's a covey of quail

down there.

Right down there,

between those trees.

Umbs, as you probably know...

...are very small people...

quarrelsome, peaceful,

jealous and kind...

...cowardly, brave,

happy and sad...

...as man-children have been

since the dawn of time.

They live in caves or little,

stone, conical houses...

wear thick, furry bearskins...

...hunt and fish and farm...

...and paint wonderful things

on the walls of their caves.

But one thing you can never

tell about an Umb is his age.

Some are born looking old...

...others you'd think

are 5 or 12...

...can very well turn out

to be 300.

And as nobody in Umberny

can count...

...nobody bothers a bit.

"I do believe...

I do believe I can begin"...

...the wise old historian

muttered...

...and he shuffled across

to a shelf stacked up...

with pieces of fresh bark...

...and pots and pots

of mammoth blood...

...shuffled back

with his fresh sheet...

...and dipped his quill again.

"In 59310,

here at the Umbs'...

"spring had fallen overnight...

"rushing from beyond

the ends of the Earth."

You don't mind

going down alone, do you?

- No.

- Light a fire.

I won't be long.

You've got the keys, don't you?

Cathryn.

Who's up there? Who is it?

Hugh.

Hugh?

Hugh?

Hugh, the chim...

Hugh, the chimney's on...

Cathryn?

Jesus Christ, Cathryn!

Open the flue!

You didn't open the flue!

Turn off the gas.

Turn it off!

Have you... Turn it off.

It's not off.

Wait. Here, Cat.

Let me... There.

Open the window.

Here, let me get that.

Jesus Christ.

Were you upstairs just now?

- What?

- Were you upstairs?

Of course not. Why?

Why did you ask me that?

I must be imagining things.

I just thought...

I heard somebody moving about.

It's impossible.

Hugh, I did hear something.

What are you trying to do...

smoke him out?

I heard something, anyway.

I'll have a look.

Maybe some animal got up there.

Cathryn.

Got him.

Got him.

What a chase...

down the hall...

...into the bathroom,

into the bedroom...

...then the linen closet.

That's where

I first saw the spoor.

A couple of elves

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