Eva Ibbotson - The Abominables

Clarence got the brass compass that had been in the pocket of the Earl’s jacket. He wandered about with a blissful look on his face, saying, “’Ick-’ock, ’ick-’ock,” because he thought it was a watch. And from then on, whenever someone wanted to know the time, he always studied his compass with an important look on his face.

For Father, Lady Agatha had kept the Earl’s cigar case. It was very valuable — pure gold studded with rubies — and there was a moment of silence as the yetis took in this costly present.

Father took it in his huge, gentle hands. He turned it over, admired the workmanship and the glitter of the rubies. Then he handed it back to Lady Agatha.

“I don’t need a farewell present,” he said in his deep, serious voice.

“But—”

“I don’t need it,” Father went on, “because I’m not going away.”

Everyone looked at him, thunderstruck.

“Aren’t you going with us, Father?” asked Ambrose in a trembly voice.

Father shook his head. “A hundred years ago I brought the Lady Farlingham to this valley. She cared for my children, she gave us speech, she taught us everything she knew. If I left her now to die alone, I should bring shame forever to the name of yeti.”

When he had finished, there was a long and solemn silence. Then all the yetis slowly nodded their enormous heads. What Father had said was almost unbearably sad, but it was right .

“I’m not in the least afraid of dying,” said Lady Agatha briskly. “After all, everyone enjoys going to sleep. So why not going to sleep for good?”

But nothing could shift Father. He said he was staying with her, and anyone who wanted to move him from the valley was welcome to try. Since Father was far and away the strongest of all the yetis, that was the end of that.

But of course after that everybody began to cry again because Father was behaving so beautifully and because they would have to go without him and because Lady Agatha wasn’t going to live forever and ever, which was what Ambrose wanted her to do.

“Come, come,” said Lady Agatha, though she was secretly very moved by Father’s words, “this won’t do. Ambrose hasn’t had his present yet.”

Ambrose’s present was the most special one of all. It was one of the blue bedsocks that Lady Agatha had worn when she was carried away, and it still had a name tag inside saying: Agatha Emily Farlingham, Farley Towers, Hants.

“So when you arrive, Ambrose, and show them this sock, my family will know that you really come from me.”

“It’s like a sort of password,” said Con.

Ambrose was incredibly pleased. He tried the sock on his foot, but it would only cover three of his eight enormous toes. Then he tried it on his left ear, but it kept slipping off. So Lady Agatha braided a cord for him, like Lucy’s, and he wore the bedsock across his chest like a medal.

And then the dreaded moment could be postponed no longer. The yetis kissed Lady Agatha over and over again, they hugged Father, and they cried and cried till Con thought they would never get away. But at last they were ready, and with a stout stick to help Grandma, they made their way to the head of the valley.

Con could have sworn that Ambrose simply didn’t have any tears left. But just as he started the steep ascent up the scree, a last wail broke from him. “My yak! I never said good-bye to my yak!”

But Con knew that he had to be firm. “Look, Ambrose,” he said, “you don’t want to upset Hubert, do you? You know how sensitive he is.”

“He’ll think I don’t love him,” said Ambrose, and his brown eye, which felt things more than his blue one, began to fill up again.

But here the other yetis came to Con’s rescue. “Now, Ambrose,” said Grandma firmly, “you know that that animal hasn’t had a thought in his head since the day he was born.”

“And maybe when you’re safe at Farley Towers, you can send for him,” said Con.

“Really?” said Ambrose.

“Really,” said Con.

There was no more to say. They had come to the foot of the towering cliff wall that had protected the secret valley for thousands of years. Otto picked up Con, tucked him under his arm, and began swarming up the unclimbable rock face like an enormous hairy spider.

And then one by one the yetis filed in behind him and left forever the lovely valley of Nanvi Dar.

OR CON THE JOURNEY ACROSS THE HIGH PEAKSwas a dreadful one. As darkness fell, they came across the western shoulder of Nanvi Dar, and though Con rode on Uncle Otto’s shoulders, the thin air and biting wind were almost more than he could bear. For the yetis, of course, it was not much worse than an evening stroll, even though they were at times wading through waist-high snow, leaping over crevasses, or scrambling down hair-raising icefalls. Con burrowed as deep as he could into Uncle Otto’s thick coat and gritted his teeth.

Ambrose, on the other hand, had recovered from his sorrow about Hubert and was in high spirits.

“Will there be proper beds, like in ‘The Princess and the Pea’? What’s a suite? Is it sweet like fruit, or sweet like baby squirrels?”

Con was too stiff and frozen to answer.

But at last they were below the snow line and walking down a broad river valley, sheltered from the wind. Scrub and grassland gave way to majestic cedars and pines, and the lights of the hotel appeared, shining through the trees.

“Oh, oh, oh,” said Ambrose, “it’s like in a story!”

Otto lifted Con from his shoulders and placed him carefully on the ground.

“We will have to be very quiet,” said Con. “You must wait outside and stay out of sight until I have been in and talked to my sister.” Then he went on alone.

Ellen wasn’t really asleep. She had been a bit worried the night before, in spite of Con’s note. Now it was the middle of the second night, and she knew that in the morning she must raise the alarm and start expecting the worst.

So when her door opened silently and Con crept in, she was up in an instant.

“Thank goodness you’re back. I was getting really scared.”

“I’m fine. Just be quiet and listen to me.”

Con explained.

Some people, if they were told in the middle of the night that there were five Abominable Snowmen outside who needed to be smuggled into the bridal suite of a luxury hotel, might have asked a lot of questions or made a fuss. But Ellen was not some people.

“I’ll get the keys and wait for you up there,” said Ellen. “Are yetis very big?”

Con said yes, he could honestly say that they were on the large side.

“Then they’ll have to come up one by one. It’s going to take a while. I’ll wait for you up there.” And Ellen pulled on a dressing gown and went to get the keys. Con went back outside.

Yetis are absolute experts at being quiet. In the moonlight, five great shadows flitted across the perfectly mown lawn toward the hotel. The only sound was an almost inaudible “Sorry” from Lucy, who was feeling peckish after her walk and happened to pass a bed of Himalayan poppies.

“Right,” whispered Con. “Grandma can come first.” And while the others made themselves as small as possible, crouching against the wall, he led the way into the hotel.