But
she had always been so cross to him when he had spoken, that he thought
it better to let her speak first; and she was too proud to do that. She
would not even let him walk alongside of her, but always went slower
when he wanted to wait for her; so that at last he strode on alone. And
Alice followed. But by degrees the horror of silence grew upon her, and
she felt at last as if there was no one in the universe but herself.
The hall went on widening around her; their footsteps made no noise;
the silence grew so intense that it seemed on the point of taking
shape. At last she could bear it no longer. She ran after Richard, got
up with him, and laid hold of his arm.
He had been thinking for some time what an obstinate, disagreeable girl
Alice was, and wishing he had her safe home to be rid of her, when,
feeling a hand, and looking round, he saw that it was the disagreeable
girl. She soon began to be companionable after a fashion, for she began
to think, putting everything together, that Richard must have been
several times in Fairyland before now. "It is very strange," she said
to herself; "for he is quite a poor boy, I am sure of that. His arms
stick out beyond his jacket like the ribs of his mother's umbrella. And
to think of me wandering about Fairyland with _him_!"
The moment she touched his arm, they saw an arch of blackness before
them. They had walked straight to a door--not a very inviting one, for
it opened upon an utterly dark passage.
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