Fool on the Hill Read Online Free PDF

Harold Lazarus. What had he done to deserve such a monument? Or had his wife just had exceedingly bad taste?
    “What do you say, Harold?” George asked, crouching down beside the stone and taking out a notepad. “How’d you like to live forever?”
    He made a rough sketch of the gargoyle, softening the features so that it looked unlucky rather than fierce. Underneath the sketch he wrote: “ LAZARUS—HAS ADORING BUT TACKY WIFE. ” George had no idea what story might come out of it, but he would endeavor to give back some of Harold’s dignity.
    The other stone had no humor in it. It was set on the top of a small rise, and in comparison to the stones around it—expensive, tall things that looked like scale reproductions of the Washington Monument—it was hopelessly crude. It didn’t even have a definite shape, but appeared rather as if someone had started with a boulder and knocked bits and pieces off until it was small enough to be used as a marker. Likewise, the inscription had been chiseled in the roughest manner, but was still legible. George stared at it for a long time.
    HERE LIES ALMA RENAT JESSOP
    BORN APRIL 2 3, 1887
    DIED APRIL 2 3, 1887
    HER FATHER LOVED HER
    The sky continued to darken. The rain would not wait much longer, and George still wanted to visit a particular spot at the far north end of The ‘Yard. But for a few moments more he stood before the stone, studying its rough, hammer-hewn surface, until at last he understood.
    “You son of a bitch,” he whispered, awed. “You made it for her yourself.”
    VII.
    “This place is supposed to be dangerous, you know,” said Puck, trying to keep up with Zephyr as she weaved among the gravestones. They had landed the glider and plane back by the entrance to The Boneyard and begun following George on foot. Puck could no longer remember the reason for this, but reflected that it couldn’t have been an intelligent one. “It has rats in it.”

    “You’re not afraid of rats, are you?” Zephyr asked him.
    “No, of course not. Not if there are only a few of them, anyway. I know how to take care of myself.”
    Zephyr laughed for the first time since he’d been with her that day. “If you’re hinting that I don’t know how to take care of myself,” she said, “just remember who taught you fencing.”
    “Your Grandfather taught me. You were just a sparring partner.”
    “Yes, but you never beat me in practice, did you? Not once . . . oh, come on, Puck! If you insist on tagging after me at least try to run a little faster.”
    Puck grunted and tried to put on extra speed, but Zephyr moved extraordinarily quickly even without her glider. And Puck had a bigger load to carry—in addition to his sword, he also bore a needle-firing crossbow that seemed to gain weight with every step.
    “Listen, Zeph,” Puck wheezed, nearly tripping over a blade of grass. “I’ve been meaning to ask you . . .”
    “The answer is no, but what do you want?”
    “Well, Cobweb and I and a bunch of others were thinking of holding another Lab Animal Freedom Raid in a couple weeks, and I was wondering if you wanted to—”
    “No thank you,” Zephyr cut him off. “That’s just a big prank anyway, and you know it. Why don’t you ask Saffron Dey? I’m sure she’d love to go with you.”
    “Look, Zeph, Saffron . . . Saffron’s a hell of a nice sprite, and all, and I have to admit that I was a little taken with her for a while, but when you get right down to it, she’s not even in your class!”
    “You think so?” Totally disinterested.
    “I know so! Look, I’m really sorry if your feelings were hurt, but I can’t believe you’re still upset. . . .”
    “ Upset!? ” She threw a look back over her shoulder that would have curdled root beer. “ Upset! You were doing it with her in a display case, for God’s sake! How do you expect me to feel?”
    “So it was in a display case, so what? Nobody could see us! Nobody except Cobweb, of course, and he traded me