Campbell

Chapter 7

We went for a stroll in the garden after having some tea . James suddenly stopped walking and said , 'Deodar '.

I stared at him .

' A Deodar tree . I t ought to be be somewhere , ' he said and began striding towards the far end of the compound . Why did he abruptly think of a Deodar tree ?

A few seconds later I heard his voice exclaiming jubilantly , 'Yes , It's here ! Exactly where it was before . '

'Of course it's where it was before ,' I said . 'Would a tree go roaming about ? '

James shook his head impatiently . ' No , that is not what I meant . All I meant was that the tree is where I thought it might be .'

'But why did you suddenly think of a tree ? '

James stared at the trunk of the tree, frowning . Then he shook his head slowly and said , ' I can't remember that now . Something had brought me near the tree . I had done something here . A European . '

' European ? '

' Let's head back inside now and have dinner .' He suggested .

I nodded and we went back inside .

At the dining table , slowly in bits and pieces , James recalled the whole business about his doll .

It was not the usual kind of doll little girls played with . One of James ' s uncles had brought for him from Switzerland a twelve inch long figure of an old man , dressed in traditional Swiss style . Apparently , it was a very lifelike . Although it was not mechanized it was possible to bend and twist its limbs . Its face had a smile on it and , it wore a Swiss cap with a yellow feather sticking out from it . Its clothes especially in their little details , were perfect . Belt , buttons , ockets , collars , socks . There were even buckles on the shoes .

His uncle had jokingly told him , ' His name is Campbell .You must call him by his name otherwise he won't respond . '

James sipped some water from his glass then he said , ' I had a lot of toys when I was small . My parents gave me practically everything . But once I had Campbell , I forgot all my other toys . I played only with him . A time came when I begun to spend hours talking to him . Our conversation had to be one-sided , of course , but Campbell had such a funny smile on his lips and such a look in his eyes , that it seemed to me as though he could understand any word I said .

Sometimes , I wondered if he could actually converse with me if I could speak to him in German . Now it seems like a childish fantasy , but at that time it was all real to me . I had all the time in the world for Campbell . '

James fell silent .

I looked at my watch and realized it was 9 : 30 p.m .

I asked , ' What happened to the doll ? '