Read Online A Wild Ride Through The Night by Walter Moers - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Walter Moers
Ads: Link
endure such a wealth of visual impressions, he shut his eyes again. A sudden jolt, a squeal of metal on metal, someone said ‘Whoa!’, a siren blared, anchor chains rattled, and he came to an abrupt halt. Total silence fell.
GUSTAVE OPENED HIS eyes. He was on a rocky eminence overlooking a gloomy valley. Grey weeds sprouted among the barren stones, blighted trees brooded sadly on granite crags, thick layers of cloud overarched the entire landscape like a shroud. The sun had almost set, and shadows were beginning to steal across the valley.
‘My goodness,’ Gustave exclaimed. ‘Amazing, what Wanderlust Wine does to you!’ He emitted an involuntary burp.
‘I
beg
your pardon!’ said a voice from beneath him.
Looking down, he found that he was sitting astride Pancho Sansa, his talking horse. ‘How did
you
get here?’ he asked in amazement.
‘“How did
you
get here?”’ Pancho mimicked resentfully. ‘Is that all you can think of to say? How about: “Lord, am I glad you’re still alive!” or “How on earth did you manage to extricate yourself?” or something of the kind? Pah!’ He gave an offended snort.
Gustave felt ashamed. Of course he was genuinely glad to see Pancho unscathed after that frightful episode in the forest. He groped for the right words.
‘Lord, am I glad you’re still alive!’ he said eventually and rather unoriginally. ‘How on earth did you manage to extricate yourself?’ He forced a smile and gave the horse’s neck a clumsy pat.
‘Stop that!’ Still disgruntled, Pancho shook his hand off.
‘Now look here!’ said Gustave. ‘If anyone’s entitled to play the injured party, I reckon it’s me. You lured me into the forest and abandoned me to those evil spirits, don’t you remember? You even apologised to me.’
Pancho hung his head and sheepishly scuffed the ground with one hoof. At length he turned his head and gazed at Gustave with big, faithful eyes.
‘Will you forgive me?’ he said in a low voice.
No response. Pancho whinnied in embarrassment.
‘All right,’ Gustave said eventually. ‘I forgive you. But now, tell me how you escaped.’
‘No idea,’ Pancho blurted out. ‘It was like some terrible nightmare. I sank in deeper and deeper, and the ground closed over me. I’m going to suffocate, I thought, but I found I could breathe in spite of all the mud and stones around me. Then, quite suddenly, I felt as if I’d been fired from a cannon. Whoosh! I shot up through the darkness, right through the ground, like a shaft of lightning up a drainpipe. Higher and higher I went, and all at once the darkness lifted: my head emerged from the ground, followed by my neck and the whole of my body. Before I knew it, I was back on terra firma. The next thing that happened was, I noticed
you
sitting astride me once more.’
‘Strange things happen in the forest,’ mused Gustave.
‘We aren’t in the forest any longer,’ Pancho replied darkly. ‘This is the Valley of the Monsters, the land of eternal twilight. I’ve heard of the place. It’s never really daytime here. Twilight falls, then night, then twilight again, then night. Day refuses to illuminate this part of the world, so they say. The sun passes by, but only to set.’
Peering closely at the valley, Gustave made out a number of weird shapes. They seemed to be moving, but at this distance and in the fading light he couldn’t tell what they were.
‘Those are monsters,’ the horse whispered unasked. ‘The most monstrous monsters in existence.’
‘The most monstrous are just the kind I’m looking for,’ said Gustave, and he spurred Pancho down the hill and into the gloomy valley.
THE DESCENT TOOK quite a while because Pancho had to proceed slowly, selecting his footholds with care for fear of stumbling. Meanwhile, the moon had risen and was peeping through the clouds from time to time. Grey shapes of unnatural conformation, some with glowing eyes, would suddenly emerge from the darkness when its
GUSTAVE OPENED HIS eyes. He was on a rocky eminence overlooking a gloomy valley. Grey weeds sprouted among the barren stones, blighted trees brooded sadly on granite crags, thick layers of cloud overarched the entire landscape like a shroud. The sun had almost set, and shadows were beginning to steal across the valley.
‘My goodness,’ Gustave exclaimed. ‘Amazing, what Wanderlust Wine does to you!’ He emitted an involuntary burp.
‘I
beg
your pardon!’ said a voice from beneath him.
Looking down, he found that he was sitting astride Pancho Sansa, his talking horse. ‘How did
you
get here?’ he asked in amazement.
‘“How did
you
get here?”’ Pancho mimicked resentfully. ‘Is that all you can think of to say? How about: “Lord, am I glad you’re still alive!” or “How on earth did you manage to extricate yourself?” or something of the kind? Pah!’ He gave an offended snort.
Gustave felt ashamed. Of course he was genuinely glad to see Pancho unscathed after that frightful episode in the forest. He groped for the right words.
‘Lord, am I glad you’re still alive!’ he said eventually and rather unoriginally. ‘How on earth did you manage to extricate yourself?’ He forced a smile and gave the horse’s neck a clumsy pat.
‘Stop that!’ Still disgruntled, Pancho shook his hand off.
‘Now look here!’ said Gustave. ‘If anyone’s entitled to play the injured party, I reckon it’s me. You lured me into the forest and abandoned me to those evil spirits, don’t you remember? You even apologised to me.’
Pancho hung his head and sheepishly scuffed the ground with one hoof. At length he turned his head and gazed at Gustave with big, faithful eyes.
‘Will you forgive me?’ he said in a low voice.
No response. Pancho whinnied in embarrassment.
‘All right,’ Gustave said eventually. ‘I forgive you. But now, tell me how you escaped.’
‘No idea,’ Pancho blurted out. ‘It was like some terrible nightmare. I sank in deeper and deeper, and the ground closed over me. I’m going to suffocate, I thought, but I found I could breathe in spite of all the mud and stones around me. Then, quite suddenly, I felt as if I’d been fired from a cannon. Whoosh! I shot up through the darkness, right through the ground, like a shaft of lightning up a drainpipe. Higher and higher I went, and all at once the darkness lifted: my head emerged from the ground, followed by my neck and the whole of my body. Before I knew it, I was back on terra firma. The next thing that happened was, I noticed
you
sitting astride me once more.’
‘Strange things happen in the forest,’ mused Gustave.
‘We aren’t in the forest any longer,’ Pancho replied darkly. ‘This is the Valley of the Monsters, the land of eternal twilight. I’ve heard of the place. It’s never really daytime here. Twilight falls, then night, then twilight again, then night. Day refuses to illuminate this part of the world, so they say. The sun passes by, but only to set.’
Peering closely at the valley, Gustave made out a number of weird shapes. They seemed to be moving, but at this distance and in the fading light he couldn’t tell what they were.
‘Those are monsters,’ the horse whispered unasked. ‘The most monstrous monsters in existence.’
‘The most monstrous are just the kind I’m looking for,’ said Gustave, and he spurred Pancho down the hill and into the gloomy valley.
THE DESCENT TOOK quite a while because Pancho had to proceed slowly, selecting his footholds with care for fear of stumbling. Meanwhile, the moon had risen and was peeping through the clouds from time to time. Grey shapes of unnatural conformation, some with glowing eyes, would suddenly emerge from the darkness when its
Similar Books
