I see him, says Belle.
Saint Roley is spreadeagled in a bush at the bottom.
Where? says Gaius.
There, says Belle pointing. Wait! No! He's moving. Oh! Where did he go?
What puzzles me most, says Gaius, is that he took off without informing us that he was going. Terence, what do you know about this?
Nothing, says Terence. He'll be back in a minute.
Not unless one of us goes down to get him, says Belle. And the tide's turned, so it ought to be me.
Wait, says Gaius. If you're going down there, perhaps you could give him some....
Cheeses! says Jeanne Jugan. Hold your horses! I'll be right back.
She leaps onto her bicycle and heads back down the track to the Pointe de Grouin restaurant.
I was going to say instructions, says Gaius.
Should I wait? asks Belle. Most of the walkers are coming back up already. Just give me the instructions.
Tell him to keep it simple, says Gaius. No big words.
That's easy, says Belle. I'll go now. You can chuck down the cheeses.
She starts off down the path to the bottom.
Can I chuck down the cheeses? asks Terence.
If they materialise, says Gaius.
Meanwhile Jeanne Jugan has left her bicycle in the car park and entered the restaurant.
She marches straight through to the kitchen.
You! says Thierry.
Good. He remembers.
Any old cheeses? asks Jeanne.
For you, Jeanne, there are always old cheeses, says Thierry.
......
He had been spreadeagled and then disappeared.
This is what happened.
He came to himself. He wondered: How did I get here? Perhaps the witch spell was faulty. But what is the nature of witch spells? Is one still obliged to put in a personal effort? I didn't do that. What do I do now? Upwards or forwards?
Upwards or forwards.
He tries lateral thinking.
What about backwards?
He turns, and sees the mouth of the atmospheric grotto.
He takes a deep bird breath, and flutters in, followed by dangerous waves.
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