Free Elidor (Essential Modern Classics) by Alan Garner Page B

wide enough range of frequencies it’ll spoil TV and radio reception – and it’ll turn electric motors!”
    “Does that mean that as long as I’m looking after a stone I’ll not be able to use my transistor?” said Nicholas.
    “It depends what the range is,” said David. “But probably you won’t.”
    “It fits what happened when I went to collect them,” said Roland. “The GPO van, and all that static.”
    “The van makes sense,” said David. “But generators don’t generate static electricity. And if the Treasures are generators—”
    “There’s a lot of ‘if’ in this,” said Nicholas.
    “But we’ll have to do something quickly,” said Roland. “We can’t hide the Treasures for long. They’ll be found, and taken away from us. There’ll be another van looking for them this morning, I bet, unless we can stop the interference they’re causing.”
    “The only thing to do is to try and screen them,” said David. “If we put them in a metal box and bury them it should block out most of the interference, if the energy is anything like electricity – and it must be, even in Elidor.”
    “That’s what I said we should do at the start,” said Nicholas. “Dig a hole and bury ’em. Well, it’s a bit thick if I can’t listen to the radio. And anyway, we look so daft carting these things round – you and Roland playing soldiers with bits of iron and wood, and Helen at a doll’s tea party, and me – well, what am I doing looking after a lump of stone as if it was the crown jewels?”
    “But Malebron trusted us to look after them,” said Roland. “We can’t let him down. And Elidor—”
    “You give me the pip sometimes,” said Nicholas. “You really do. All right: I was as excited as you when it happened. But what is it once you’ve got used to the idea? Is it any better than our world? It’s all mud and dust and rock. It’s dead, finished. Malebron said so. And you should think about him a bit more, too. Did he care how we made out as long as he found his Treasures? He sent us trotting off into that Mound one after the other, but he didn’t go in himself. What right has he to expect us to spend the rest of our lives like – like broody hens?”
    “But you saw him,” said Roland. “How can you forget him if you’ve seen him?”
    Nicholas shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, well,” he said. “Well. Well, I didn’t say anything was wrong with him: he was just self-centred.”
    “Do stop arguing,” said Helen. “Honest, Roland, if David’s right, then what Nick wants to do is best even if you don’t like why he’s doing it.”
    “Now what’s all this noise?” said Mr Watson. The washing machine had covered his approach. “You know your mother’s got a bad head.”
    “Sorry, Dad,” said David. “Any luck?”
    “It’s very strange,” said Mr Watson, “but every singleelectrician says he’s been having calls all night, and no one can promise to come before this afternoon.”
    “So it wasn’t just us,” said David.
    “It’s intolerable,” said Mr Watson. “Your poor mother didn’t sleep a wink. I’m going round to the electricity office now to insist that they do something immediately. It can’t go on.”
    “Can we dig in the garden, please?” said Helen.
    “Yes: yes: anything you like,” said Mr Watson, “as long as you don’t disturb your mother. She’s dropped off.”
    “We’ll have to bury the Treasures,” said David as soon as their father had gone. “If they’ve been causing all this trouble, the electricity people or the post office will find them. It’s the only way, Roland.”
    “David and I’ll take first go at the digging,” said Nicholas. “We’ll have to make it deep, and Dad won’t think much of it if he comes back before we’ve finished.”
    Helen and Roland went upstairs and brought down four polythene bags to hold the Treasures. It was hard to squash all the air out of the bags so that they would take up as little space