Ralestone Luck - Andre Norton

THE RALESTONES COME HOME

"O

nce upon a time two brave princes and a beautiful princess set out to

make their fortunes-" began the dark-haired, dark-eyed boy by the

roadster.

"Royalty is out of fashion," corrected Ricky Ralestone somewhat indiffer-

ently. "Can’t you do better than that?" She gave her small, pert hat an ex-

asperated tweak which brought the unoffending bowl-shaped bit of white

felt into its proper position over her right eyebrow. "How long does it take

Rupert to ask a single simple question?"

Her brother Val watched the gas gage on the instrument board of the road-

ster fluctuate wildly as the attendant of the station shook the hose to speed

the flow of the last few drops. Five gallons-a dollar ten. Did he have that

much? He began to assemble various small hoards of change from different

pockets.

"Do you think we’re going to like this?" Ricky waved her hand vaguely in

a gesture which included a dilapidated hot-dog stand and a stretch of road

3 ANDRE NORTON

white-hot under the steady baking of the sun.

"Well, I think that Pirate’s Haven is slightly different from our present sur-

roundings. Where’s your proper pride? Not everyone can be classed among

the New Poor," Val observed judiciously.

"Nobility in the bread line." His sister sniffed with what she fondly believed

was the air of a Van Astor dowager.

"Nobility?"

"We never relinquished the title, did we? Rupert’s still the Marquess of

Lorne."

"After some two hundred years in America I am afraid that we would find

ourselves strangers in England. And Lorne crumbled to dust long ago."

"But he’s still Marquess of Lorne," she persisted.

"All right. And what does that make you?"

"Lady Richanda, of course, silly. Can’t you remember the wording of the

old charter? And you’re Viscount-"

"Wrong there," Val corrected her. "I’m only a lord, by courtesy, unless we

can bash Rupert on the head some dark night and chuck him into the bayou."

"Lord Valerius." She rolled it upon her tongue. "Marquess, Lady, and Lord

Val, out to seek their fortunes. Pity we can’t do it in the traditional family

way."

"But we can’t, you know," he protested laughingly. "I believe that piracy is

no longer looked upon with favor by the more solid members of any com-

munity. Though plank-walking is an idea to keep in mind when the bill

collectors start to draw in upon us."

"Here comes Rupert at last. Rupert," she raised her voice as their elder

brother opened the door by the driver’s seat, "shall we all go and be pirates?