Книга только для ознакомления
. There was no door, only a recessed arch-
way.
Abruptly, Phineas found himself inside the elabo-
rate palace. The first thing that struck him was that, if
possible, it looked larger inside than out, yet he was
certain he was seeing only a fraction of the building.
Way off in the distance above him, the inside of the
dome looked like a crystal-clear night sky, either from
black paint splashed with white to look like stars, or
from an absence of light so far from the large but shel-
tered windows. Still, the effect was the same, tranquil
and quiet and ice cold.
To either side of the dome, where the ceiling leveled
off, two softly circling stairways led to the floors
above. Phineas chose a staircase and began climbing.
The marble was smooth and moist in the darkness of
the palace, and Phineas was almost to the first-floor
landing when he heard a familiar voice echoing from
below him.
"Hellooo! Where are you going? Nobody up there
but some boring snobs from Balifor. They aren't
friends of yours, are they?"
Phineas leaned over the railing and looked to the
bottom of the stairs. There stood Trapspringer Fur-
rfoot, still dressed in his midnight-purple leggings and
cape, but with a bright orange shirt and a large, floppy
cap. The human flew back down the steps.
"Oh, it's you." Trapspringer cried upon seeing Phi-
neas's face. He took his hand and pumped it vigor-
ously. "How wonderful to see you! And how friendly
of you to come all this way for a visit!"
"You remember me?" asked Phineas, astounded
|
