should succeed. Perhaps the Queen was too involved with the great game to wonder how a naked, ownerless girling was going to cross seven Boardland squares without money, food or detailed directions. Or perhaps, being royalty, such mundane considerations had simply not occurred to her. Alice had been too overawed by her mistress’s presence to wonder if she could be as impractical and single-minded as any other Underlander. Well, it was meant to be a mad place.
But which way to go? Her ‘disguise’ had held up well so far, but perhaps it would not be a bad idea to leave the road and cut across country, where there was less chance of meeting people. So she set off over the rolling meadow towards the far woods.
An hour’s steady progress as best she could estimate without sun or watch, took Alice to the edge of the big wood without encountering any creature larger than a few perfectly ordinary non-talking rabbits. Away from the fields and village the land seemed almost deserted. It was what she had hoped for, but it was also disconcerting. There were few places in her own England where you could walk so far without crossing a road or at the least seeing an aircraft passing overhead. She looked up at the pearly bright sky, wondering how long she had until dark. If she could reach the barrier while it was still light she might scout out the next square before deciding where to make camp. The nights never got very cold so a simple shelter should serve. As for food there was usually something to be found. She would not risk mushrooms, but fruits were usually safe. Nuts and berries from hedgerows would keep her going, though she might begin to miss a proper meal after a few days. Dare she try stealing some if the opportunity arose? No, that did not feel right. Was it possible for an itinerant girling to pay her way as she went in the Boardland? But what would she pay with? she wondered, then smiled to herself. It was obvious what she would pay with. The idea of what she might have to do suddenly excited her. Well, that was being true to her nature, wasn’t it? It would be a challenge to avoid such situations, and even more of one to endure them when inescapable. Though she had to come back to Underland, there was no reason why she should not enjoy the adventure, with all rewards both dark and light.
She had begun well, crossing most of the first square in good time and without mishap. If she could use the same trick again then at this rate, allowing time for rests and finding food one way or another, the whole journey might take less than a week. Of course, as she had seen from the hilltop, some of the squares contained more land than others and so might take longer to cross, but hopefully this would average out.
The wood proper closed about her as she walked between the towering shafts of beach and oak, their canopies merging overhead so that only slivers of the sky remained visible. The leaf-littered ground between the great trunks was broken here and there by the dark glossy greens of holly trees and rhododendrons. Where pools of light did penetrate to the woodland floor, thick clumps of fern sprouted.
A small stream meandered between the trees over a bed of sand and stone. Alice put down her load, took a drink and splashed her face. The water was clear, cool and perfectly pure. Refreshed she continued on. Not far to go now, she told herself.
Then she came upon a distinct path worn into the ground. Beside it somebody had erected a sign crudely knocked together from scrap-wood. There were two boards on the post each pointing in the same direction. The top read, in roughly painted capitals: THIS WAY , and the one below it: NO, THIS WAY .
More Underland madness, she thought. But the path did lead in the direction she wanted to go, so she followed along it cautiously. She passed more signs: TOVES GO THIS WAY and then MOME RATHS A;SO . All pointed in the same direction. She recognised the names as belonging to fictitious
But which way to go? Her ‘disguise’ had held up well so far, but perhaps it would not be a bad idea to leave the road and cut across country, where there was less chance of meeting people. So she set off over the rolling meadow towards the far woods.
An hour’s steady progress as best she could estimate without sun or watch, took Alice to the edge of the big wood without encountering any creature larger than a few perfectly ordinary non-talking rabbits. Away from the fields and village the land seemed almost deserted. It was what she had hoped for, but it was also disconcerting. There were few places in her own England where you could walk so far without crossing a road or at the least seeing an aircraft passing overhead. She looked up at the pearly bright sky, wondering how long she had until dark. If she could reach the barrier while it was still light she might scout out the next square before deciding where to make camp. The nights never got very cold so a simple shelter should serve. As for food there was usually something to be found. She would not risk mushrooms, but fruits were usually safe. Nuts and berries from hedgerows would keep her going, though she might begin to miss a proper meal after a few days. Dare she try stealing some if the opportunity arose? No, that did not feel right. Was it possible for an itinerant girling to pay her way as she went in the Boardland? But what would she pay with? she wondered, then smiled to herself. It was obvious what she would pay with. The idea of what she might have to do suddenly excited her. Well, that was being true to her nature, wasn’t it? It would be a challenge to avoid such situations, and even more of one to endure them when inescapable. Though she had to come back to Underland, there was no reason why she should not enjoy the adventure, with all rewards both dark and light.
She had begun well, crossing most of the first square in good time and without mishap. If she could use the same trick again then at this rate, allowing time for rests and finding food one way or another, the whole journey might take less than a week. Of course, as she had seen from the hilltop, some of the squares contained more land than others and so might take longer to cross, but hopefully this would average out.
The wood proper closed about her as she walked between the towering shafts of beach and oak, their canopies merging overhead so that only slivers of the sky remained visible. The leaf-littered ground between the great trunks was broken here and there by the dark glossy greens of holly trees and rhododendrons. Where pools of light did penetrate to the woodland floor, thick clumps of fern sprouted.
A small stream meandered between the trees over a bed of sand and stone. Alice put down her load, took a drink and splashed her face. The water was clear, cool and perfectly pure. Refreshed she continued on. Not far to go now, she told herself.
Then she came upon a distinct path worn into the ground. Beside it somebody had erected a sign crudely knocked together from scrap-wood. There were two boards on the post each pointing in the same direction. The top read, in roughly painted capitals: THIS WAY , and the one below it: NO, THIS WAY .
More Underland madness, she thought. But the path did lead in the direction she wanted to go, so she followed along it cautiously. She passed more signs: TOVES GO THIS WAY and then MOME RATHS A;SO . All pointed in the same direction. She recognised the names as belonging to fictitious
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