FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137  
138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   >>   >|  
summoned to act on a jury. Come along and have yourselves impaled--I mean to say impannelled. A most important case, just going on for trial." "What is the nature of the case?" asked Lawrence, as they all came forward and sat down in a semicircle before Mrs Stoutley. "It han't got no natur--it's unnateral altogether," said the Captain, who had just heard it briefly stated by the Count. "Hallo! are you appointed public prosecutor?" demanded Lewis. "Yes, I am," retorted the Captain, "I've appinted myself public persecuter, Lord Advocate, Lord High Commissioner to the Woolsack, an' any other legal an' illegal character ye choose to name. So you clap a stopper on yer muzzle, youngster, while I state the case. Here is Mrs Stoutley, my lords, ladies, and gentlemen, who says that climbin', an' gaugin', and glaciers is foolish and useless. That's two counts which the Count here (nothin' personal meant) says the prisoner was guilty of. We'll go in an' win on the last count, for if these things ain't useless, d'ee see, they can't be foolish. Well, the question is, `Guilty or not guilty?'" "Guilty!" replied Mrs Stoutley, with an amused smile. "Hear! hear!" from Slingsby. "Silence in the Court!" from Lewis. "I'm afraid," said the Professor, "that our forms of legal procedure are somewhat irregular." "Never mind that, Professor," said the Captain, "you go ahead an' prove the prisoner wrong. Take the wind out of her sails if 'ee can." The Professor smiled blandly, and began in jest; but his enthusiastic spirit and love of abstract truth soon made him argue in earnest. "Oh, that's all very well," said Mrs Stoutley, interrupting him, "but what possible use can there be in knowing the rate of speed at which a glacier flows? What does it matter whether it flows six, or sixty, or six hundred feet in a day?" "Matter!" cried Lewis, before the Professor could reply, "why, it matters very much indeed. I can prove it. Our excellent guide Antoine told me of a man who fell into a crevasse high up on the Glacier des Bossons, and was of course lost; but about forty years afterwards the part of the glacier into which he fell had descended into the valley, and the body of the man was found--at least portions of it were found here and there. This, as you are all aware, is a well-known fact. Bear in mind, in connection with this, that all glaciers do not travel at the same rate, nor all parts of a glacier at an eq
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137  
138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Professor

 
Stoutley
 

Captain

 

glacier

 

glaciers

 

public

 
foolish
 
useless
 

Guilty

 

guilty


prisoner

 

knowing

 

interrupting

 

hundred

 

Matter

 
impannelled
 

matter

 
impaled
 

blandly

 

important


smiled

 

enthusiastic

 

earnest

 
spirit
 

abstract

 

summoned

 

portions

 

valley

 
descended
 

travel


connection

 

excellent

 
Antoine
 

matters

 

Bossons

 

Glacier

 
crevasse
 
muzzle
 

youngster

 

stopper


choose
 

gaugin

 

climbin

 

ladies

 

gentlemen

 

unnateral

 

character

 
retorted
 

briefly

 
demanded