Sebastian Darke: Prince of Fools Read Online Free PDF Page A

says, "Excuse me, do you mind if I throw your mutt a bit?" The second man says, "No, not at all!" So the first man picks up the mutt and throws him into the river.' Sebastian smiled and waited for a reaction but Cornelius just looked at him blankly.
     
'That's one of the better ones,' Max told him.
     
'Could the mutt swim?' asked Cornelius.
     
'Well, I . . . I don't know,' said Sebastian, somewhat confused by the question.
     
'You don't know? Well, you should know – you're the one telling the story.'
     
'But . . . it's a joke. Whether the mutt can swim or not has no relevance.'
     
'I beg to differ, sir. If the mutt can swim, it's an amusing tale. If not, it's a tragedy. The mutt will drown and his owner will be heartbroken. Hardly a laughing matter.'
     
'I hadn't really thought of it like that,' admitted Sebastian. He considered for a moment. 'Very well. The mutt can swim.'
     
Cornelius looked relieved and his baby face split into a grin. 'Ha ha, yes, very droll!'
     
'You think so?'
     
'Oh yes, once we'd cleared up the business about the mutt. Do you have any other stories?'
     
Some time passed as Sebastian fired off a series of jokes at Cornelius, but it was hard work. Cornelius always questioned some small detail, which held up the flow of the story. He laughed dutifully when they finally got to the end of each one, but it felt a bit like walking uphill in a gale, and Sebastian was relieved when the javralat was finally cooked. Cornelius split the sizzling carcass down the middle with his knife and the two of them fell to with a vengeance, tearing ravenously into the succulent flesh. After a little while Sebastian became aware of Max gazing at him hopefully.
     
'What?' he demanded.
     
'Let's have a bit,' pleaded Max.
     
'You? You can't eat this – you're a vegetarian!'
     
'I know, but I'm starving!'
     
'I can get you a bit more mulch if you like.'
     
Max shook his head. 'A delightful prospect, but nonetheless, I think I'll settle for a bit of javralat.'
     
Sebastian shrugged. He broke off a large hunk of hot meat and set it down in front of Max.
     
'I've seen everything now,' exclaimed Cornelius. 'A buffalope eating meat! Who'd have thought it?'
     
'Please don't tell anyone,' pleaded Max, as he tore strips of flesh from the bone with his blunt teeth. 'It's probably a hanging offence in Keladon!'
     
Sebastian and Cornelius threw back their heads and laughed at the guilty expression on his shaggy face.
     

CHAPTER 5
MYSTERIES

     
With the unfamiliar sensation of having a full stomach, Sebastian settled contentedly back to enjoy the warmth of the fire and the conversation. The clouds had rolled back and the moon rose steadily in the sky like a great ripe cheese veined with blue. Now Sebastian was even more aware of the great stretches of plain that lay all around them. When he turned his head to look, he could see across it for miles and he felt very small and insignificant camped out here in the midst of this unfamiliar landscape.
     
Cornelius had produced a clay pipe and he sat there, puffing out great clouds of fragrant smoke as he regaled them with stories of his adventures in the army – how he had fought his way across the known world and back again. If his stories were to be believed – and Sebastian was surprised to find that he was already beginning to trust the manling implicitly – then he had led an eventful life indeed.
     
'There's a whole world out there,' he told his two listeners, 'more than you would have dreamed possible. Travel in one direction for a long, long distance and eventually you come to a great stretch of water called "the ocean", which is further across than you can see even on a clear day. Cross that ocean on a ship and after many moons of travelling you will come to another land on the far side of the water, where the people look different and speak a language you cannot understand. And if you keep going in a straight line, do you know what happens?'
     
Cornelius