Page:The strange experiences of Tina Malone.djvu/89

Rh coming close again, then growing fainter till she had drawn me with her right out to sea.

I called her Patapouf, the French fairy, and she seemed to float over the city and was always ready to help those who were in trouble and carry them out to sea away from the taunting voices. I called her the French fairy and she said:

"Then Bunty Blue is the Australian fairy."

Then would come children's voices saying formfrom [sic] somewhere in the distance:

"Bunty Blue! I can hear you speaking, Bunty Blue—Are you there?"

"Yes, I live in a garden, all among the stalks of the flowers," I would say. "And my horse is a beautiful blue butterfly."

The little voices would often catch and call to mine. They thought me a fairy I really think and I could hear their mothers telling them I was.

And then a sweet little Dutch voice in broken English.

First his mother from somewhere in the distance:

"Listen Hans! You hear that little fairy, Bunty Blue say something to you?"

"Where do you look for fairies, little boy?" I called.

Then would come in the little voice while I imagined him there, his little face full of listening wonder, while his mother watched him.

"She say 'Where you look for fairies, litter boy?'"

"You tell her, Hans."

But Hans was evidently listening for more evidence of the fairy.

"Watch the blue butterflies and they'll bring me to you some day," I said.

A listening pause, then:

"She say, 'Watch dose boo butterflies, she kom soon—I not see her mine farter."

I had so many friends in these underground passages, though I did not always know who they were.

One day I was going to a meeting at my club—I did not feel inclined to go and one of the voices said:

"Put on your things and go out—Go out—Get away from your rooms."

It said it so often that it gave me enough firmness to carry out my idea of going.

I was too early for the meeting and as I passed a picture show I saw—

"The Sins of Rozanne."

I went in to put in time and as I watched the picture I saw, to my surprise, that it was something like my case. An ayah threw her personality into that of her little charge and all her life this girl had a dual personality and had to