The Stone Giant by James P. Blaylock Read Free Book Online

I payed for them was a pittance. And anyway, I don’t fancy myself a man of property anymore.’
    ‘You’re too good,’ said the dwarf, waving his hand at the marbles, ‘but you haven’t got any reason to be so generous.’
    ‘And you hadn’t any reason for your generous offer to speak to Mr Stover in the morning, had you?’
    Uncle Helstrom shrugged. ‘I’ll tell you what, lad. I’ll make you an offer. I admire your contempt for property –there is nothing more admirable, as far as I can see. But a man has to eat, hasn’t he? And a man doesn’t like to sleep on pine needles, does he? Because it doesn’t matter how much you mash the things down, there’s still a half dozen pricking you through your clothes all night long. And what’s this?’ he asked, pointing with his foot at the little earthen bowl of pickled fish that sat on a stone next to the pine-needle bed, ‘Dinner?’ He shook his head sadly. ‘It looks as if it might have been alive once, doesn’t it? What was it, fish? The goblins wouldn’t eat it, would they? No, sir, a man can give up property. Damn all property. But he can’t give up his health, can he? He can’t give up –what is it that he can’t give up? – the civilizing influences of a good meal and a glass of ale. Here, sir; here are enough gold pieces to see you through the winter. Keep the marbles against hard time. That’s what I advise. If you’re shrewd, you can do well with them. I’ll get by. I quite likely won’t see the end of my experiments anyway. I ... Hush, child,’ he said to Leta, who had begun to weep again, then he heaved a sigh, heavy with the weight of unexpressed weariness.
    ‘Take the marbles, for heaven’s sake!’ cried Escargot. ‘They just give me nightmares anyway. What in the world am
I
going to do with them, catch fish? I’ll just trade them away for trinkets. And this gold, sir, there’s really no need ...’
    ‘Of course there’s need. If I were down and out and came to you, what then? Would you give me a handful of gold and then take it back? No you would not. The gold has nothing to do with the marbles. It can’t have. The marbles can’t be valued so. They’re enchanted, I don’t mind saying. Money can’t buy enchantment – not that sort anyway. But I
will
take the marbles – on loan. Yes, I insist. There will be no discussion of it. You’ll have them back in a week. And in the meantime, as collateral, you’ll take this.’
    Uncle Helstrom reached into his cloak and pulled out a bag of his own, tied off at the top with a leather thong. ‘This, my boy, is a truth charm. If it’s the truth you need, this’ll give it to you. In spades.’
    Escargot took the bag from him and tugged at the thong, wondering what a truth charm might look like. He imagined windup chattering teeth of the sort you’d buy at a joke shop and leave on your wife’s pillow as a lark.
    ‘Don’t open it here,’ cried Uncle Helstrom, putting a hand on his wrist. ‘Avoid opening it at all. It’s very powerful magic that lies within that bag, and magic like that oughtn’t to be meddled with unless it’s desperately necessary. Do you grasp my meaning?’
    Escargot nodded, handing over the marbles and hanging the truth charm in its place. ‘Collateral isn’t at all necessary, actually, not between friends.’
    ‘I’m rather a businessman in my own way,’ said the dwarf shrewdly. ‘Business, as they say, is business, and friendship is another thing altogether. I’ve studied, my boy, in the school of regret.’ And with that he shook his head and gave Escargot a look – the look a teacher might favor a student with when he’s reached a really solid and weighty conclusion.
    ‘Are these the Smithers books?’ asked Leta, having regained her composure.
    ‘Yes they are. Take a look at the top copy –
The Man in the Moon.’
    ‘Ooh,’ said Leta, flipping it open to the frontispiece. ‘Here’s the page of manuscript laid in. And an inscription,