Gaal the Conqueror by John White Read Free Book Online Page A

over. That's why I
jumped up at you so much! I was so excited."
    John stared open-mouthed while the girl continued to talk.
Finally he said, "Stop! Do stop! I don't understand! You say you
are Eleanor? But you can't be! It doesn't make sense. You're too
old. And what in the world do you mean, you were so glad to
see me yesterday?"
    "Why, yesterday of course. Didn't he tell you?"
    "Yesterday? You mean in Canada?"
    "No, here. When we were digging for the treasure."
    "I never saw you!"
    "Of course you did. I was the black dog. Tell him, Authentio!"
    "I think we'd better all go out on to the ledge. Pontificater
is outside and will want to hear it all."

    As they trooped on to the ledge, John turned to the dragon,
his face a mask of perplexity. "What happened yesterday? This
girl says she's Eleanor-what's it all about?"
    Once again the dragon carefully cleared his long throat.
Then he said, "I scorched her. Burned her to a cinder. There
wasn't any singed dog-hair smell after all. She burned cleanly
to fine white ashes-and Eleanor is what came out of the ashes.
I must confess I never saw anything like it."
    John never moved. He stared first at the girl, then at the
dragon: shaking his head all the while. Once or twice he began
to speak, but each time changed his mind. Eventually he said,
"I-don't-believe it. Well, I do, but-" He continued to shake
his head.
    "Exactly." Pontificater said. "I had some misgivings myself
about the operation, and I must confess that I was relieved
when the young lady emerged. There was nothing at all in the
prophecy about her. Still, you never can tell how these things
will turn out."
    Once again John turned his head to Eleanor, then to the
dragon, then back again to Eleanor. "And you are Eleanorthe Eleanor MacFarland that disappeared from the lake?"
    He felt strangely excited and was half laughing with nervousness. "But you're different! I know you look like her, but you're
older."
    "Well, of course! It's over two years since you saw me."
    "Two years? It was only yesterday-well the night before last,
kind of."
    Eleanor frowned, and the dragon interrupted. "He only got
here yesterday, Eleanor," the dragon said. "Time apparently
plays queer tricks on these interexistence trips. The reasons are
obscure. But you will notice that he hasn't aged any since you
last saw him. For him it was only yesterday. For you it is more
than two years."
    As John thought of the way Eleanor moved and spoke, he knew she was the girl that he was seeking, the same girl who
had left her father's house in terror. Yet there was a difference
besides her age. She no longer cringed or avoided people. John
smiled at her and began to shake his head wordlessly. "Well,
I guess we can go back to Canada now. I hope my dad hasn't
been too worried. Two years must have seemed an awful long
time. But-how did you get to be a dog?"

    "It was a sorcerer's spell-a horrible sorcerer called Shagah.
He did it soon after I got here. I hated it-until I met Gaal.
Then it wasn't so bad." She sat down in the cave mouth, curling
her legs beneath her.
    "Shagah," John thought to himself. "Same guy as yesterday."
    "Like my dress?" Eleanor asked coyly. "That's what I was
wearing when I became human again. I've no idea what's happened to my jeans and stuff. I've never had a dress-leastwise
not since I was a little kid. And it seems funny to be twelve."
    "You'll be ten when you get back to Canada," John said.
"What did it feel like to be a dog? What did you do all that time?
How did you eat?"
    Eleanor paused a long time before answering. Then she said,
"Well, like I said, I hated it at first. But that's what I was-a
whipped dog. That's what Shagah said to me, `Henceforth be
what you are! Go!' And-and I turned into the dog you saw.
Well, not exactly the dog you saw.
    "At first I only sneaked around. I was scared of everybodyI mean everybody. I was scared of my own shadow. I always had
my tail between my legs. I didn't