Herland Charlotte Perkins Gilman (ebook and pdf reader TXT) đ
- Author: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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Jeff was much impressed by it. We did not know then how small a part of their physical culture methods this really was, but found it agreeable to watch, and to take part in.
Oh yes, we took part all right! It wasnât absolutely compulsory, but we thought it better to please.
Terry was the strongest of us, though I was wiry and had good staying power, and Jeff was a great sprinter and hurdler, but I can tell you those old ladies gave us cards and spades. They ran like deer, by which I mean that they ran not as if it was a performance, but as if it was their natural gait. We remembered those fleeting girls of our first bright adventure, and concluded that it was.
They leaped like deer, too, with a quick folding motion of the legs, drawn up and turned to one side with a sidelong twist of the body. I remembered the sprawling spread-eagle way in which some of the fellows used to come over the lineâ âand tried to learn the trick. We did not easily catch up with these experts, however.
âNever thought Iâd live to be bossed by a lot of elderly lady acrobats,â Terry protested.
They had games, too, a good many of them, but we found them rather uninteresting at first. It was like two people playing solitaire to see who would get it first; more like a race or aâ âa competitive examination, than a real game with some fight in it.
I philosophized a bit over this and told Terry it argued against their having any men about. âThere isnât a man-size game in the lot,â I said.
âBut they are interestingâ âI like them,â Jeff objected, âand Iâm sure they are educational.â
âIâm sick and tired of being educated,â Terry protested. âFancy going to a dame schoolâ âat our age. I want to Get Out!â
But we could not get out, and we were being educated swiftly. Our special tutors rose rapidly in our esteem. They seemed of rather finer quality than the guards, though all were on terms of easy friendliness. Mine was named Somel, Jeffâs Zava, and Terryâs Moadine. We tried to generalize from the names, those of the guards, and of our three girls, but got nowhere.
âThey sound well enough, and theyâre mostly short, but thereâs no similarity of terminationâ âand no two alike. However, our acquaintance is limited as yet.â
There were many things we meant to askâ âas soon as we could talk well enough. Better teaching I never saw. From morning to night there was Somel, always on call except between two and four; always pleasant with a steady friendly kindness that I grew to enjoy very much. Jeff said Miss Zavaâ âhe would put on a title, though they apparently had noneâ âwas a darling, that she reminded him of his Aunt Esther at home; but Terry refused to be won, and rather jeered at his own companion, when we were alone.
âIâm sick of it!â he protested. âSick of the whole thing. Here we are cooped up as helpless as a bunch of three-year-old orphans, and being taught what they think is necessaryâ âwhether we like it or not. Confound their old-maid impudence!â
Nevertheless we were taught. They brought in a raised map of their country, beautifully made, and increased our knowledge of geographical terms; but when we inquired for information as to the country outside, they smilingly shook their heads.
They brought pictures, not only the engravings in the books but colored studies of plants and trees and flowers and birds. They brought tools and various small objectsâ âwe had plenty of âmaterialâ in our school.
If it had not been for Terry we would have been much more contented, but as the weeks ran into months he grew more and more irritable.
âDonât act like a bear with a sore head,â I begged him. âWeâre getting on finely. Every day we can understand them better, and pretty soon we can make a reasonable plea to be let outâ ââ
âLet out!â he stormed. âLet outâ âlike children kept after school. I want to Get Out, and Iâm going to. I want to find the men of this place and fight!â âor the girlsâ ââ
âGuess itâs the girls youâre most interested in,â Jeff commented. âWhat are you going to fight withâ âyour fists?â
âYesâ âor sticks and stonesâ âIâd just like to!â And Terry squared off and tapped Jeff softly on the jaw. âJust for instance,â he said.
âAnyhow,â he went on, âwe could get back to our machine and clear out.â
âIf itâs there,â I cautiously suggested.
âOh, donât croak, Van! If it isnât there, weâll find our way down somehowâ âthe boatâs there, I guess.â
It was hard on Terry, so hard that he finally persuaded us to consider a plan of escape. It was difficult, it was highly dangerous, but he declared that heâd go alone if we wouldnât go with him, and of course we couldnât think of that.
It appeared he had made a pretty careful study of the environment. From our end window that faced the point of the promontory we could get a fair idea of the stretch of wall, and the drop below. Also from the roof we could make out more, and even, in one place, glimpse a sort of path below the wall.
âItâs a question of three things,â he said. âRopes, agility, and not being seen.â
âThatâs the hardest part,â I urged, still hoping to dissuade him. âOne or another pair of eyes is on us every minute except at night.â
âTherefore we must do it at night,â he answered. âThatâs easy.â
âWeâve got to think that if they catch us we may not be so well treated afterward,â said Jeff.
âThatâs the business risk we must take. Iâm goingâ âif I break my neck.â There was no changing him.
The rope problem was not easy. Something strong enough to hold a man and long enough to let us down into the garden, and then down
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