Chapter 10 Chapter 10 Calcifer's Hints of Promise to Sophie

Howl must have returned when Sophie and Mike left.While Sophie cooked breakfast on Calcifer's head, he emerged from the bathroom and sat gracefully in a chair, well-washed, radiant and scented with honeysuckle. "Dear Sophie," he said, "you're always so busy. You worked so hard yesterday that you didn't listen to my advice at all, did you? Why did you play a jigsaw puzzle with my best dress? Just asking kindly." .” "You glued it all together the other day," said Sophie. "I'm turning it over." "I can change it back," Hal said. "You've seen it before. If you tell me the size, I can give you a pair of seven-mile boots that fit you well. Brown calfskin maybe. It's amazing that someone can do it in one step." I walked ten and a half miles, but I still stepped on cow dung."

"Maybe it's bull dung," said Sophie. "You must have found it covered in swamp mud. People my age need a lot of exercise." "You're more nosy than I thought," said Hal, "because when I happened to look away from Letty's lovely face, I could have sworn to see your long nose sticking out of the corner of the house. " "Lady Fairfax is a family friend," said Sophie. "How did I know you were there?" "Your intuition, Sophie, is why," said Hal. "Nothing escapes you. If I'm after a girl who lives on an iceberg in the middle of the ocean, sooner or later—probably not sooner or later." ——I will look up and see you descending from the sky on a broomstick. In fact, I will be disappointed if I don’t see you now.”

"Did you go to the iceberg today?" Sophie shot back, "Judging from Letty's face yesterday, there is nothing worth your nostalgia there!" "You've misunderstood me, Sophie," said Howl.He sounded quite aggrieved.Sophie looked sideways suspiciously.Over the rubies dangling from his ears, his profile looked melancholy and regal. "It will be many years before I leave Letty," he said. "Today I am actually going to see the King again. Are you satisfied, Mrs. Big Nose?" Sophie didn't believe a word of it, though when Mike tried to ask about the enigmatic spell after breakfast, Howl waved him off and turned the red sign on the doorknob down.He apparently went to Kingsbury.Because of nothing to do, Mike also left.He said he might go to Cesare's too.

Sophie was left alone.She still couldn't really believe what Hal had said about Letty, but she'd misunderstood him before, and she'd only heard Mike and Calcifer's side story after all.Gathering up all the little blue triangles, she guiltily began to sew them back onto what was left of a silver fishnet.When someone knocked at the door, she was so startled that she thought it was another scarecrow. "The gates of Port Haven," Calcifer said, grinning purple at her. Then you should be fine.Sophie staggered to the door and opened it, blue sign down.Outside the door stood a cart horse.The young man of fifty or so who led him asked Mrs. Witch what she could do to keep the horse from shedding its shoes all day long.

"I'll figure it out," Sophie said.She staggered to the fireplace. "What should I do?" she asked softly. "Yellow powder, the fourth jar on the second shelf." Calcifer replied softly. "Those spells are mostly faith. Don't look unsure when you give them to him." So Sophie poured the yellow powder onto a square piece of paper like Mike did, rolled it up neatly, and walked back to the door with a waddle. "Here, young man," she said, "this one will stick to the shoe better than a hundred nails. Do you hear me, horse? You won't need a blacksmith next year. It's a penny all ,thanks."

What a busy day.Sophie had to put down her needlework and, with Calcifer's help, sold a sewer spell, a goat catcher, and a beer spell.The only thing that gave her a bit of a headache was a customer in Kingsbury who slammed on the door.Sophie let Red Label open the door, and at the door was a luxuriously dressed boy not much older than Mike, with a pale face and profuse sweat, rubbing his hands. "Madame Sorcerer, have mercy!" he said, "I have to fight tomorrow morning. Give me something to make sure I win. I'll pay whatever the price!" Sophie looked back at Calcifer, who grimaced, meaning there was no stock in store. "It's not fair," Sophie said seriously to the boy. "Besides, dueling is bad."

"Then just give me anything, so I'll have a fair chance!" said the boy desperately. Sophie studied him.He is small in size and clearly in a state of great fear.He had that hopeless look of someone who has failed at everything. "I'll figure it out," Sophie said.She staggered to the shelf and scanned the bottles.A red jar labeled paprika seems to work best.Sophie poured a decent amount of piles onto the slips of paper.She stood the skull beside her. "Because you must know more than I do," she murmured to it.The young man leaned anxiously against the door and watched.Sophie picked up a knife and, as mysteriously as possible, ran it across the paprika pile. "You'll have a fair fight," she murmured. "A fair fight! Understand?" She tightened the paper bag and staggered back to the door with it. "At the start of the duel, throw it in the air," she told the small young man, "and you'll have an equal chance with the other. After that, it's up to you whether you win or lose."

The little young man was very grateful and offered her a gold coin.Sophie refused, so he gave her twopence and went off whistling cheerfully. "I feel like a liar," she said, hiding the money under the hearthstones. "But I wish I could be there for the duel!" "Me too!" snapped Calcifer. "When are you going to free me so I can see that scene too?" "Wait until I get the slightest hint of this contract," Sophie said. "You might get it later today," Calcifer said. In the evening, Mike floated into the house.He looked around anxiously to make sure Hal didn't come home early, then walked over to the workbench, spread out his things and looked busy, singing happily.

"I'm jealous of how easy it is for you to walk long distances," said Sophie, sewing little blue triangles into the ragged silver netting. "Ma-how is my grandniece?" Mike happily left the workbench, sat down on a stool by the fireplace, and told her about the day's experience.Then he asked Sophie how she was doing.As a result, when Hal carried a bunch of packages and pushed the door open with his shoulder to enter the house, Mike didn't even look busy at all.He was rocking on the stool laughing because of the dueling spell. Hal turned back to close the door, leaning against the door miserable. "Look at you!" he said. "It's going to be a disaster. I'm your slave all day long. And none of you, not even Calcifer, has time to say hello!"

Mike stood up guiltily, and Calcifer said, "I never say hello." "What's wrong?" Sophie asked. "That's about it," said Hal. "At last someone pretended to notice me. You're very considerate, Sophie. Yes, something has happened. The king has officially sent me to his brother— And vehemently hinted that it would be best to kill the Witch of the Waste by the way--while you're all sitting here laughing!" Next, Hal seems likely to create green slime at any time.Sophie hastily put away her sewing. "I'm going to make some hot buttered toast," she said.

"Is that all you do when disaster strikes?" Hal asked. "Make toast! No, don't get up. I've brought you a bunch of stuff from my trek, so at least you'll be politely interested. Here. ’ He unloaded a large stack of packages into Sophie's lap and handed another to Mike. Sophie unwrapped suspiciously: several pairs of silk stockings; two packages of fine linen petticoats, trimmed with ruffles, lace, and satin; a pair of dove-gray suede boots with elastic sides; and a gray moire silk dress in lace to match the shawl.Sophie held her breath and examined each one with a professional eye.Lace alone is worth a fortune.She strokes the silk of her dress, awed. Mike got a nice new velvet suit. "You must have spent every penny in your silk purse!" he said ungratefully. "I don't need that. You need new clothes yourself." Hal's boot caught on the remnant of the silver and blue suit, and he picked it up sadly.Sophie worked hard, but still looked more like rags than clothes. "How unselfish I am," he said, "I can't have you and Sophie going in rags to discredit me to the king. The king will think I haven't taken good care of my old mother. How is it, Sophie? Do the boots fit?" ?” Sophie regained her composure. "Are you out of kindness," she asked, "or out of cowardice? Thank you very much. I won't go." "It's a thankless job!" cried Hal, spreading his arms. "Green slime again! I'll have to move the castle thousands of miles away when it's done, and I'll never see cute Letty again!" Mike looked at Sophie pleadingly.Sophie glared.She was quite aware that the happiness of her two sisters depended on her consent to go to the king.There is also green slime. "You didn't ask me anything," she said. "You said I would go." Hal smiled. "You're going, aren't you?" "Okay. When do you want me to go?" Sophie asked. "Tomorrow afternoon," Hal said, "Mike can accompany you as a pager. The King is waiting for you." He sat down on the stool and began to explain, gravely and clearly, what Sophie might have to say.Sophie noticed that there was no sign of the green slime's emotions, and this time things were going as Howl wanted.She wanted to slap him very much. "I need you to be very subtle," Hal explained, "so that the king will continue to send me to do things like transport charms, but won't let me go to his brother. You have to tell him how I provoked him." The Witch of the Wasteland, how can I be your good son, but I hope you can grasp the propriety and let him understand that I am really useless." Howl explained it in considerable detail.Sophie hugged the package, trying to figure out all the details, though she couldn't help thinking that if I were king, I wouldn't understand what the old woman was trying to say. Meanwhile, Mike hovers over Hal, trying to ask him about that difficult spell.Hal kept coming up with new ideas and better details for dealing with the King.He waved Mike away, "This is not the time, Mike. It occurred to me, Sophie, that you might want to rehearse a little bit, so you don't have to be stage fright in the palace. We don't want you to make a fool of yourself. Not yet, Mike. So I Arrange for you to visit my mentor, Mrs. Pentstemton. She is very dignified. In some ways more dignified than abroad. Then you will be quite comfortable when you get to the palace." At this moment Sophie wished she hadn't said yes.When Howl finally greeted Mike, she was greatly relieved. "Okay, Mike. Your turn. What's up?" Mike waved a shiny gray piece of paper and explained hastily with displeasure that the spell was impossible. Hal was a little surprised when he heard that, but he still took the paper and spread it out, asking, "What's your problem?" He stared at it for a while.An eyebrow raised. "I took it as a riddle and tried to do what it said," Mike explained, "but Sophie and I couldn't catch the meteor—" "My God!" Hal yelled, then laughed, and bit his lip to restrain himself. "But, Mike, that's not the spell I left you. Where did you find it?" "On the workbench, in the pile Sophie has piled up around the skull," Mike said. "It's the only new spell, so I thought—" Hal jumped up and fiddled with the things on the workbench. "Sophie's in trouble again," he said.Stuff was flipped all over the place. "I should have thought of it! No, the spell that should be there is not there." He patted the brown polished skull of the skull thoughtfully. "You've done a good job, mate? I think you're from there. Guitar must be too. Uh--dear Sophie--" "What?" Sophie asked. "Nosy old fool, lawless Sophie," said Howl, "did you turn down the black mark on my doorknob and stick out your long nose, am I right?" "Only fingers." Sophie replied quite solemnly. "But you opened the door," Hal said, "and that thing Mike thought was a spell must have gotten in. Don't any of you notice it's not like a regular spell?" "Spells often look weird," Mike said. "What the hell is that?" Hal snorted. "'Guess what it is. Write your answer in verse'! O God!" and ran for the stairs. "I'll show you." He said as he stepped upstairs. "I don't think I was doing anything in the swamp all night yesterday," said Sophie.Mike nodded dejectedly.Sophie could see that he felt a fool. "It was my fault," she said. "I opened the door." "What's out there?" Mike asked with interest. But Hal rushed downstairs at this moment. "I still haven't found the book," he said.He looked depressed at the moment. "Mike, did you say you were out to catch meteors?" "Yes, but it got petrified and fell into the water and sank," said Mike. "Thank goodness!" Hal said. "It's a pity," said Sophie. "Unfortunately, isn't it?" said Hal, looking more despondent than ever. "Your idea, wasn't it? Sure! I could see you jumping around in the swamp, egging him on!" I tell you, it's the stupidest thing he's ever done. If he happens to catch that, it's more than a pity! You—" Calcifer swayed sleepily down the chimney. "Why all the fuss?" he demanded. "Didn't you catch one yourself?" "Yes, I—" Howl's glassy eyes turned to Calcifer.But he restrained himself, turned to Mike and said, "Mike, promise me you won't be making any more arrests." "I promise." Mike replied happily. "What are those sentences, if not spells?" Hal looked at the gray piece of paper in his hand. "It's called a 'poem'—I think that's what it is. But it's not all here, and I can't remember the rest." He stood there thinking, visibly worried as if struck by an idea. "I think the next line is the key," he said, "I'd better take it back and look at it—" He went to the door and turned the black label on the handle.Then there was a pause.He looked around at Mike and Sophie, both of whom were staring at the handle naturally. "Okay," he said, "I know it wouldn't be fair to Mike if I kept Sophie and she wouldn't be able to help her. Come along and I'll have everything under my watch." He opened the door and stepped into nothingness.Mike tripped over a stool as he hurried to follow.As Sophie jumped up, the package flew into the fireplace. "Be careful not to get sparks on it!" she said to Calcifer hastily. "Then you must promise to tell me what's out there," Calcifer said. "And you've been hinted." "Really?" Sophie said.She walked too hastily to notice.