find Wizard Wermacht at all likable. I most earnestly hope we see him no more than once a week.â
âNo such luck,â said Olga, who had her crumpled timetable out on her knee. âWeâve got him again straight after lunch. He does Herbal Studies, too.â
âAnd Elementary Ritual tomorrow,â Elda discovered, pinning down her timetable with her right talons while she managed her straw and her coffee with her left. âThatâs three times a week.â
Ruskin hauled his timetable out from under his mail and examined it glumly. âMore than that. He does Demonology and Dragonlore, too. Manâs all over the place. Two sessions a week on Basic Magic.â
âHeâs not likely to forget us, is he?â Lukin remarked, running his fingers over the smooth humps of the jewels in the golden notebook.
âMaybe heâs not vindictive,â Claudia suggested. âJust no sense of humor.â
âWant to bet?â grunted Ruskin. âLukin, may I see that notebook a moment?â
âSure,â said Lukin, handing it over. âI suppose, from his point of view, I was quite a trial to him, although he did seem to pick on people. Funny, though. When I first saw Wizard Corkoran, I thought he was the one I was going to hate. Stupid lightweight in silly clothes.â
âOh, I do agree!â said Olga. âSuch a poser!â
âBut he fades to nothing beside Wizard Wermacht.â Felim agreed. âNecktie and all.â
âOh, how can you talk like that about Wizard Corkoran!â Elda cried out. Her tail lashed the steps. âHeâs sweet ! I love him!â
They all stared at her. So did everyone else nearby. Eldaâs voice was strong. Claudia said cautiously, âAre you sure , Elda?â
âOf course Iâm sure! Iâm in love!â Elda said vehemently. âI want to pick him up and carry him about!â
They looked at her. They thought about Wizard Corkoran grasped in Eldaâs brawny, feathered arms, with his legs kicking and his tie trailing. Olga bit her lip. Lukin choked on his coffee, and Felim looked hard at the sky. Claudia, whose upbringing had forced her to think cautiously, remembered that Corkoran was a wizard and said, âPlease donât pick him up, Elda.â
âI wouldnât dare,â Elda said regretfully. âItâs just he does so remind me of my old teddy bear that Flo plays with now. But Iâll be good. Iâll sigh about him and look at him. I just donât want any of you criticizing him.â
âFair enough.â Ruskin agreed. âYou languish if you want. Thought is free. Here.â He passed the little notebook back to Lukin. âTake care of this. Itâs dwarf work. Old, too. Some kind of virtue in it that I donât know about. Treasure standard.â
âThen Iâd better give it back,â Lukin said guiltily to Olga.
She looked extremely haughty. âNot at all. It was a gift.â
TWO
A WEEK PASSED, WHICH seemed like a month to Corkoranâs new students. They learned and did so much. They went to lectures delivered by Myrna, Finn, and other wizards. They wandered bewildered in the library, looking for the books Corkoran had told them to read, and even found some of them. They rushed from place to place, taking volumes of notes during the day, and in the evenings tried to write essays. The days seem to stretch enormously, so that they even had spare time, in which they discovered various activities. Ruskin took up table tennis, quite fiendishly. Olga joined the Rowing Club, and got up at dawn every day to jog to the lake, from which she returned at breakfast time, ravenously hungry, looking more than ever like a hawk-faced queen, and so violently healthy that Claudia shuddered. Claudia was not good in the mornings. Her idea of a proper leisure activity was to join the University Choir, which met in the afternoons. Felim joined the
Elizabeth Amelia Barrington