I will
linger, and look back; and at last I will surely see you coming, eager
and light-hearted, with all the South in your face!'
The voice died away and ceased as an insect's tiny trumpet dwindles
swiftly into silence; and the Water Rat, paralysed and staring, saw at
last but a distant speck on the white surface of the road.
Mechanically he rose and proceeded to repack the luncheon-basket,
carefully and without haste. Mechanically he returned home, gathered
together a few small necessaries and special treasures he was fond of,
and put them in a satchel; acting with slow deliberation, moving about
the room like a sleep-walker; listening ever with parted lips. He
swung the satchel over his shoulder, carefully selected a stout stick
for his wayfaring, and with no haste, but with no hesitation at all,
he stepped across the threshold just as the Mole appeared at the door.
'Why, where are you off to, Ratty?' asked the Mole in great surprise,
grasping him by the arm.
'Going South, with the rest of them,' murmured the Rat in a dreamy
monotone, never looking at him.
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