After a time she heard a little pattering of feet in the distance, and
she hastily dried her eyes to see what was coming. It was the White
Rabbit returning, splendidly dressed, with a pair of white kid gloves
in one hand and a large fan in the other: he came trotting along in a
great hurry, muttering to himself as he came, “Oh! the Duchess, the
Duchess! Oh! won’t she be savage if I’ve kept her waiting!” Alice felt
so desperate that she was ready to ask help of any one; so, when the
Rabbit came near her, she began, in a low, timid voice, “If you please,
sir—” The Rabbit started violently, dropped the white kid gloves and
the fan, and skurried away into the darkness as hard as he could go.