Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. THE EXTRA DAY BY ALGERNON BLACKWOOD AUTHOR OF "THE CENTAUR," "A PRISONER IN FAIRYLAND," "INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES," ETC. New York 1915 Set up and electrotyped. Published September, 1915. Reprinted November, 1915. CONTENTS CHAPTER I THE MATERIAL II FANCY--SEED OF WONDER III DEATH OF A MERE FACT IV FACT--EDGED WITH FANCY V THE BIRTH OF WONDER VI THE GROWTH OF WONDER VII IMAGINATION WAKES VIII WHERE WONDER HIDES IX A PRIEST OF WONDER X FACT AND WONDER--CLASH XI JUDY'S PARTICULAR ADVENTURE XII TIM'S PARTICULAR ADVENTURE XIII TIME HESITATES XIV MARIA STIRS XV "A DAY WILL COME" XVI TIME HALTS XVII A DAY HAS COME XVIII TIME GOES ON AGAIN-- XIX --AS USUAL XX --BUT DIFFERENTLY! CHAPTER I THE MATERIAL Judy, Tim, and Maria were just little children. It was impossible to say exactly what their ages were, except that they were just the usual age, that Judy was the eldest, Maria the youngest, and that Tim, accordingly, came in between the two. Their father did his best for them; so did their mother; so did Aunt Emily, the latter's sister. It is impossible to say very much about these three either, except that they were just Father, Mother, and Aunt Emily. They were the Authorities-in-Chief, and they knew respectively everything there was to be known about such remote and difficult subjects as London and Money; Food, Health and Clothing; Conduct, Behaviour and Regulations, both general and particular. Into these three departments of activity the children, without realising that they did so, classed them neatly. Aunt Emily, besides the special duties assigned to her, was a living embodiment of No. While Father allowed and permitted, while Mother wobbled and hesitated, Aunt Emily shook her head with decision, and said distinctly No. She was too full of warnings, advice, and admonitions to get about much. She wore gold glasses, and had an elastic, pointed nose. From the children's point of view she must be classed as invalid. Somewhere, deep down inside them, they felt pity. The trio loved them according to their just deserts; they grasped that the Authorities did their best for them. This "best," moreover, was done in different ways. Father did it with love and tenderness, that is, he spoilt them; Mother with tenderness and love, that is, she felt them part of herself and did not like to hurt herself; Aunt Emily with affectionate and worthy desire to see them improve, that is, she trained them. Therefore they adored their father, loved their mother, and thought highly--from a distance preferably--of their aunt.