'Ohhhhh!' breathed Jimbo with a delicious shudder of giddiness. 'Let's
climb to the very tip and see all the trains and railway stations in
the world!'
'Wait till the moon comes up and puts the silver rivets in,' the
leader whispered. 'It'll be safer then. My weight, you know--'
'There she is!' interrupted Monkey with a start, 'and there's no such
thing as weight--'
For the moon that instant came up, it seemed with a rush, and the line
of distant Alps moved forward, blocked vividly against the silvery
curtain that she brought. Her sight ran instantly about the world.
Between the trees shot balls of yellowish white, unfolding like ribbon
as they rolled. They splashed the rocks and put shining pools in the
hollows among the moss. Spangles shone on Monkey's hair and eyes;
skins and faces all turned faintly radiant. The lake, like a huge
reflector, flashed its light up into the heavens. The moon laid a
coating of her ancient and transfiguring paint upon the enormous
structure, festooning the entire sky. 'She's put the silver rivets
in,' said Jimbo.
'Now we can go,' whispered Rogers, 'only, remember, it's a giddy
business, rather.'
All three went fluttering after it, floating, rising, falling, like
fish that explore a sunken vessel in their own transparent medium. The
elastic structure bore them easily as it swung along.
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