CHAPTER I THERE IS
NO ONE 3
LEFT When
Mary Lennox 2
was sent to
Misselthwaite Manor 4
to live with
everybody 6
said
she 2
was
the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen 60
.
It was true , too .
She 2
had a little thin face and a little thin body , thin light hair and a sour expression .
Her 2
hair was yellow , and
her 2
face was yellow because
she 2
had been born in
India 7
and had always been ill in one way or another .
had held a position under
the English Government 9
and had always been busy and ill
himself 8
, and
had been a great beauty who cared only to go to parties and amuse
herself 10
with
gay people 11
.
She 10
had not wanted
a little girl 56
at all , and when
Mary 2
was born
she 10
handed
her 2
over to the care of
an Ayah , who was made to understand that if
she 12
wished to please
the Mem Sahib 10
she 12
must keep
the child 2
out of sight as much as possible
12 .
So when
she 2
was
a sickly , fretful , ugly little baby 61
she 2
was kept out of the way , and when
she 2
became
a sickly , fretful , toddling thing 62
she 2
was kept out of the way also .
She 2
never remembered seeing familiarly anything but the dark faces of
and
the other native servants 13
, and as
they 13
always obeyed
her 2
and gave
her 2
her 2
own way in everything , because
the Mem Sahib 10
would be angry if
she 10
was disturbed by
her 2
crying , by the time
she 2
was six years old
she 2
was
as tyrannical and selfish a little pig as ever lived 63
.
The young English governess who came to teach
her 2
to read and write
14 disliked
her 2
so much that
she 14
gave up
her 14
place in three months , and when
other governesses 15
came to try to fill it
they 15
always went away in a shorter time than
the first one 14
.
So if
Mary 2
had not chosen to really want to know how to read books
she 2
would never have learned
her 2
letters at all .
One frightfully hot morning , when
she 2
was about nine years old ,
she 2
awakened feeling very cross , and
she 2
became crosser still when
she 2
saw that
the servant who stood by
her 2
bedside
0 was not
.
" Why did
you 0
come ? "
she 2
said to
the strange woman 0
.
"
I 2
will not let
you 0
stay .
Send
to
me 2
. "
The woman 0
looked frightened , but
she 0
only stammered that
the Ayah 12
could not come and when
Mary 2
threw
herself 2
into a passion and beat and kicked
her 2
,
she 0
looked only more frightened and repeated that it was not possible for
the Ayah 12
to come to
Missie Sahib 2
.
There was something mysterious in the air that morning .
Nothing was done in its regular order and
several of
the native servants 13
16 seemed missing , while those whom
Mary 2
saw slunk or hurried about with ashy and scared faces .
But
no one 17
would tell
her 2
anything and
did not come .
She 2
was actually left alone as the morning went on , and at last
she 2
wandered out into
the garden 18
and began to play by
herself 2
under a tree near
the veranda 19
.
She 2
pretended that
she 2
was making a flower-bed , and
she 2
stuck big scarlet hibiscus blossoms into little heaps of earth , all the time growing more and more angry and muttering to
herself 2
the things
she 2
would say and the names
she 2
would call
Saidie 12
when
she 12
returned .
" Pig !
Pig !
Daughter of Pigs 20
! "
she 2
said , because to call
a native 21
a pig is the worst insult of all .
She 2
was grinding
her 2
teeth and saying this over and over again when
she 2
heard
come out on
the veranda 19
with
some one 22
.
She 2
was with
a fair young man 22
and
they 23
stood talking together in low strange voices .
Mary knew
the fair young man who looked like
a boy 24
22 .
She 2
had heard that
he 22
was
a very young officer who had just come from
England 25
64 .
The child 2
stared at
him 22
, but
she 2
stared most at
.
She 2
always did this when
she 2
had a chance to see
her 10
, because
the Mem Sahib 10
--
Mary 2
used to call
her 10
that oftener than anything else -- was such
a tall , slim , pretty person 65
and wore such lovely clothes .
Her 10
hair was like curly silk and
she 10
had a delicate little nose which seemed to be disdaining things , and
she 10
had large laughing eyes .
All
her 10
clothes were thin and floating , and
Mary 2
said they were " full of lace . "
They looked fuller of lace than ever this morning , but
her 10
eyes were not laughing at all .
They were large and scared and lifted imploringly to
the fair boy officer 22
's face .
" Is it so very bad ?
Oh , is it ? "
Mary 2
heard
her 10
say .
" Awfully , "
the young man 22
answered in a trembling voice .
" Awfully ,
Mrs. Lennox 10
.
You 10
ought to have gone to
the hills 26
two weeks ago . "
The Mem Sahib 10
wrung
her 10
hands .
" Oh ,
I 10
know
I 10
ought ! "
she 10
cried .
"
I 10
only stayed to go to that silly dinner party .
What
a fool 66
I 10
was ! "
At that very moment such a loud sound of wailing broke out from
the servants 13
' quarters
27 that
she 10
clutched
the young man 22
's arm , and
Mary 2
stood shivering from head to foot .
The wailing grew wilder and wilder .
" What is it ?
What is it ? "
Mrs. Lennox 10
gasped .
"
Some one 28
has died , " answered
the boy officer 22
.
"
You 22
did not say it had broken out among
. "
"
I 10
did not know ! "
the Mem Sahib 10
cried .
" Come with
me 10
!
Come with
me 10
! " and
she 10
turned and ran into
the house 1
.
After that , appalling things happened , and the mysteriousness of the morning was explained to
Mary 2
.
The cholera had broken out in its most fatal form and
people 42
were dying like flies .
The Ayah 12
had been taken ill in the night , and it was because
she 12
had just died that
the servants 13
had wailed in
the huts 27
.
Before the next day
three other servants 29
were dead and others had run away in terror .
There was panic on every side , and
dying people 30
in all
the bungalows 31
.
During the confusion and bewilderment of the second day
Mary 2
hid
herself 2
in
the nursery 32
and was forgotten by
everyone 33
.
Nobody 34
thought of
her 2
,
nobody 35
wanted
her 2
, and strange things happened of which
she 2
knew nothing .
Mary alternately cried and slept through the hours .
She 2
only knew that
people 42
were ill and that
she 2
heard mysterious and frightening sounds .
Once
she 2
crept into
the dining-room 36
and found
it 36
empty , though a partly finished meal was on the table and chairs and plates looked as if they had been hastily pushed back when
the diners 37
rose suddenly for some reason .
The child 2
ate some fruit and biscuits , and being thirsty
she 2
drank a glass of wine which stood nearly filled .
It was sweet , and
she 2
did not know how strong it was .
Very soon it made
her 2
intensely drowsy , and
she 2
went back to
and shut
herself 2
in again , frightened by cries
she 2
heard in
the huts 27
and by the hurrying sound of feet .
The wine made
her 2
so sleepy that
she 2
could scarcely keep
her 2
eyes open and
she 2
lay down on
her 2
bed and knew nothing more for a long time .
Many things happened during the hours in which
she 2
slept so heavily , but
she 2
was not disturbed by the wails and the sound of things being carried in and out of
the bungalow 1
.
When
she 2
awakened
she 2
lay and stared at the wall .
The house 1
was perfectly still .
She 2
had never known
it 1
to be so silent before .
She 2
heard neither voices nor footsteps , and wondered if
everybody 6
had got well of the cholera and all the trouble was over .
She 2
wondered also who would take care of
her 2
now
was dead .
There would be
a new Ayah 38
, and perhaps
she 38
would know some new stories .
Mary 2
had been rather tired of the old ones .
She 2
did not cry because
had died .
She 2
was not
an affectionate child 58
and had never cared much for
any one 39
.
The noise and hurrying about and wailing over the cholera had frightened
her 2
, and
she 2
had been angry because
no one 40
seemed to remember that
she 2
was alive .
Everyone 6
was too panic-stricken to think of
a little girl
no one 41
was fond of
2 .
When
people 42
had the cholera it seemed that
they 42
remembered nothing but
themselves 42
.
But if
everyone 6
had got well again , surely
some one 59
would remember and come to look for
her 2
.
But
no one 43
came , and as
she 2
lay waiting
the house 1
seemed to grow more and more silent .
She 2
heard something rustling on the matting and when
she 2
looked down
she 2
saw a little snake gliding along and watching
her 2
with eyes like jewels .
She 2
was not frightened , because he was a harmless little thing who would not hurt
her 2
and he seemed in a hurry to get out of
the room 32
.
He slipped under the door as
she 2
watched him .
" How queer and quiet it is , "
she 2
said .
" It sounds as if there were
no one 44
in
the bungalow 1
but
me 2
and the snake . "
Almost the next minute
she 2
heard footsteps in
the compound 45
, and then on
the veranda 19
.
They were
men 46
's footsteps , and
the men 46
entered
the bungalow 1
and talked in low voices .
No one 47
went to meet or speak to
them 46
and
they 46
seemed to open doors and look into
rooms 48
.
" What desolation ! "
she 2
heard one voice say .
"
That pretty , pretty woman 10
!
I 49
suppose
the child 2
, too .
I 49
heard there was
a child 50
, though
no one 51
ever saw
her 2
. "
Mary 2
was standing in the middle of
the nursery 32
when
they 46
opened the door a few minutes later .
She 2
looked
an ugly , cross little thing 67
and was frowning because
she 2
was beginning to be hungry and feel disgracefully neglected .
The first man who came in 52
was
a large officer
she 2
had once seen talking to
68 .
He 52
looked tired and troubled , but when
he 52
saw
her 2
he 52
was so startled that
he 2
almost jumped back .
"
Barney 53
! "
he 52
cried out .
" There is
a child 2
here 32
!
A child 2
alone !
In
a place like this 1
!
Mercy on
us 46
, who is
she 2
! "
"
I 2
am
Mary Lennox 2
, "
the little girl 2
said , drawing
herself 2
up stiffly .
She 2
thought
the man 52
was very rude to call
"
A place like this 54
! "
"
I 2
fell asleep when
everyone 6
had the cholera and
I 2
have only just wakened up .
Why does
nobody 55
come ? "
" It is
the child
no one 57
ever saw
2 ! " exclaimed
the man 52
, turning to
.
"
She 2
has actually been forgotten ! "