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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b0a2324 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50361 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50361) diff --git a/old/50361-0.txt b/old/50361-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 09d135d..0000000 --- a/old/50361-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6686 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Wet Magic, by E. Nesbit - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Wet Magic - -Author: E. Nesbit - -Illustrator: H. R. Millar - -Release Date: November 1, 2015 [eBook #50361] -[Most recently updated: September 26, 2023] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Greg Weeks and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -Revised by Richard Tonsing. - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WET MAGIC *** - - - - -_Wet Magic_ - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration: _The sea came pouring in._] - - - - - _Wet Magic_ - - E. NESBIT - WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. R. MILLAR - - - - - _Copyright © 1913 by E Nesbit_ - _Illustrations copyright © 1913 by H. R. Millar_ - - - - - _To - Dr. E. N. da C. Andrade_, - - FROM - E. NESBIT - - [Illustration] - - WELL HALL, - KENT - - - - -_Contents_ - - - CHAPTER I - SABRINA FAIR 1 - - CHAPTER II - THE CAPTIVE 13 - - CHAPTER III - THE RESCUE 30 - - CHAPTER IV - GRATITUDE 51 - - CHAPTER V - CONSEQUENCES 61 - - CHAPTER VI - THE MERMAID’S HOME 69 - - CHAPTER VII - THE SKIES ARE FALLING 84 - - CHAPTER VIII - THE WATER-WAR 101 - - CHAPTER IX - THE BOOK PEOPLE 116 - - CHAPTER X - THE UNDER FOLK 135 - - CHAPTER XI - THE PEACEMAKER 154 - - - CHAPTER XII - THE END 167 - - - - -_Illustrations_ - - - _The sea came pouring in._ _Frontispiece_ - - “_We die in captivity._” _26_ - - “_‘Translucent wave,’ indeed!_” _42_ - - “_The police._” _54_ - - _And disappeared entirely._ _59_ - - _She caught Kathleen in her arms._ _79_ - - _The golden door._ _82_ - - _The Swordfish Brigade._ _103_ - - _The First Dipsys._ _110_ - - _Book Hatefuls._ _122_ - - _Book Heroines._ _130_ - - _In the net._ _137_ - - _The Hall of Public Archives._ _149_ - - _The chargers of the Horse Marines._ _152_ - - - - -CHAPTER ONE - -_Sabrina Fair_ - - -THAT GOING TO THE SEASIDE was the very beginning of everything—only it -seemed as though it were going to be a beginning without an end, like -the roads on the Sussex downs which look like roads and then look like -paths, and then turn into sheep tracks, and then are just grass and -furze bushes and tottergrass and harebells and rabbits and chalk. - -The children had been counting the days to The Day. Bernard indeed had -made a calendar on a piece of cardboard that had once been the bottom -of the box in which his new white sandshoes came home. He marked the -divisions of the weeks quite neatly in red ink, and the days were -numbered in blue ink, and every day he crossed off one of those numbers -with a piece of green chalk he happened to have left out of a penny -box. Mavis had washed and ironed all the dolls’ clothes at least a -fortnight before The Day. This was thoughtful and farsighted of her, of -course, but it was a little trying to Kathleen, who was much younger -and who would have preferred to go on playing with her dolls in their -dirtier and more familiar state. - -“Well, if you do,” said Mavis, a little hot and cross from the ironing -board, “I’ll never wash anything for you again, not even your face.” - -Kathleen somehow felt as if she could bear that. - -“But mayn’t I have just one of the dolls” was, however, all she said, -“just the teeniest, weeniest one? Let me have Lord Edward. His head’s -half gone as it is, and I could dress him in a clean hanky and pretend -it was kilts.” - -Mavis could not object to this, because, of course, whatever else she -washed she didn’t wash hankies. So Lord Edward had his pale kilts, and -the other dolls were put away in a row in Mavis’s corner drawer. It was -after that that Mavis and Francis had long secret consultations—and -when the younger ones asked questions they were told, “It’s secrets. -You’ll know in good time.” This, of course, excited everyone very -much indeed—and it was rather a comedown when the good time came, and -the secret proved to be nothing more interesting than a large empty -aquarium which the two elders had clubbed their money together to buy, -for eight-and ninepence in the Old Kent Road. They staggered up the -front garden path with it, very hot and tired. - -“But what are you going to do with it?” Kathleen asked, as they all -stood around the nursery table looking at it. - -“Fill it with seawater,” Francis explained, “to put sea anemones in.” - -“Oh yes,” said Kathleen with enthusiasm, “and the crabs and starfish -and prawns and the yellow periwinkles—and all the common objects of the -seashore.” - -“We’ll stand it in the window,” Mavis added: “it’ll make the lodgings -look so distinguished.” - -“And then perhaps some great scientific gentleman, like Darwin or -Faraday, will see it as he goes by, and it will be such a joyous -surprise to him to come face-to-face with our jellyfish; he’ll offer -to teach Francis all about science for nothing—I see,” said Kathleen -hopefully. - -“But how will you get it to the seaside?” Bernard asked, leaning his -hands on the schoolroom table and breathing heavily into the aquarium, -so that its shining sides became dim and misty. “It’s much too big to -go in the boxes, you know.” - -“Then I’ll carry it,” said Francis, “it won’t be in the way at all—I -carried it home today.” - -“We had to take the bus, you know,” said truthful Mavis, “and then I -had to help you.” - -“I don’t believe they’ll let you take it at all,” said Bernard—if you -know anything of grown-ups you will know that Bernard proved to be -quite right. - -“Take an aquarium to the seaside—nonsense!” they said. And “What for?” -not waiting for the answer. “They,” just at present, was Aunt Enid. - -Francis had always been passionately fond of water. Even when he was -a baby he always stopped crying the moment they put him in the bath. -And he was the little boy who, at the age of four, was lost for three -hours and then brought home by the police who had found him sitting in -a horse trough in front of the Willing Mind, wet to the topmost hair of -his head, and quite happy, entertaining a circle of carters with pots -of beer in their hands. There was very little water in the horse trough -and the most talkative of the carters explained that, the kid being -that wet at the first start off, him and his mates thought he was as -safe in the trough as anywhere—the weather being what it was and all -them nasty motors and trams about. - -To Francis, passionately attracted as he was by water in all forms, -from the simple mud puddle to the complicated machinery by which your -bath supply is enabled to get out of order, it was a real tragedy that -he had never seen the sea. Something had always happened to prevent -it. Holidays had been spent in green countries where there were rivers -and wells and ponds, and waters deep and wide—but the water had been -fresh water, and the green grass had been on each side of it. One great -charm of the sea, as he had heard of it, was that it had nothing on the -other side “so far as eye could see.” There was a lot about the sea in -poetry, and Francis, curiously enough, liked poetry. - -The buying of the aquarium had been an attempt to make sure that, -having found the sea, he should not lose it again. He imagined the -aquarium fitted with a real rock in the middle, to which radiant sea -anemones clung and limpets stuck. There were to be yellow periwinkles -too, and seaweeds, and gold and silver fish (which don’t live in the -sea by the way, only Francis didn’t know this), flitting about in -radiant scaly splendor, among the shadows of the growing water plants. -He had thought it all out—how a cover might be made, very light, with -rubber in between, like a screw-top bottle, to keep the water in while -it traveled home in the guard’s van to the admiration of passengers and -porters at both stations. And now—he was not to be allowed to take it. - -He told Mavis, and she agreed with him that it was a shame. - -“But I’ll tell you what,” she said, for she was not one of those -comforters who just say, “I’m sorry,” and don’t try to help. She -generally thought of something that would make things at any rate just -a little better. “Let’s fill it with fresh water, and get some goldfish -and sand and weeds; and I’ll make Eliza promise to put ants’ eggs -in—that’s what they eat—and it’ll be something to break the dreadful -shock when we have to leave the sea and come home again.” - -Francis admitted that there was something in this and consented to fill -the aquarium with water from the bath. When this was done the aquarium -was so heavy that the combined efforts of all four children could not -begin to move it. - -“Never mind,” said Mavis, the consoler; “let’s empty it out again and -take it back to the common room, and then fill it by secret jugfuls, -carried separately, you know.” - -This might have been successful, but Aunt Enid met the first secret -jugful—and forbade the second. - -“Messing about,” she called it. “No, of course I shan’t allow you -to waste your money on fish.” And Mother was already at the seaside -getting the lodgings ready for them. Her last words had been— - -“Be sure you do exactly what Aunt Enid says.” So, of course, they had -to. Also Mother had said, “Don’t argue,” so they had not even the -melancholy satisfaction of telling Aunt Enid that she was quite wrong, -and that they were not messing about at all. - -Aunt Enid was not a real aunt, but just an old friend of Grandmamma’s, -with an aunt’s name and privileges and rather more than an aunt’s -authority. She was much older than a real aunt and not half so nice. -She was what is called “firm” with children, and no one ever called her -auntie. Just Aunt Enid. That will tell you in a moment. - -So there the aquarium was, dishearteningly dry—for even the few drops -left in it from its first filling dried up almost at once. - -Even in its unwatery state, however, the aquarium was beautiful. It had -not any of that ugly ironwork with red lead showing between the iron -and the glass which you may sometimes have noticed in the aquariums of -your friends. No, it was one solid thick piece of clear glass, faintly -green, and when you stooped down and looked through you could almost -fancy that there really was water in it. - -“Let’s put flowers in it,” Kathleen suggested, “and pretend they’re -anemones. Do let’s, Francis.” - -“I don’t care what you do,” said Francis. “I’m going to read _The Water -Babies_.” - -“Then we’ll do it, and make it a lovely surprise for you,” said -Kathleen cheerily. - -Francis sat down squarely with _The Water Babies_ flat before him on -the table, where also his elbows were, and the others, respecting his -sorrow, stole quietly away. Mavis just stepped back to say, “I say, -France, you don’t mind their putting flowers? It’s to please you, you -know.” - -“I tell you I don’t mind _anything_,” said Francis savagely. - -When the three had finished with it, the aquarium really looked rather -nice, and, if you stooped down and looked sideways through the glass, -like a real aquarium. - -Kathleen took some clinkers from the back of the rockery—“where they -won’t show,” she said—and Mavis induced these to stand up like an -arch in the middle of the glassy square. Tufts of long grass, rather -sparingly arranged, looked not unlike waterweed. Bernard begged from -the cook some of the fine silver sand which she uses to scrub the -kitchen tables and dressers with, and Mavis cut the thread of the -Australian shell necklace that Uncle Robert sent her last Christmas, so -that there should be real, shimmery, silvery shells on the sand. (This -was rather self-sacrificing of her, because she knew she would have to -put them all back again on their string, and you know what a bother -shells are to thread.) They shone delightfully through the glass. But -the great triumph was the sea anemones—pink and red and yellow—clinging -to the rocky arch just as though they were growing there. - -“Oh, lovely, lovely,” Kathleen cried, as Mavis fixed the last delicate -flesh-tinted crown. “Come and look, France.” - -“Not yet,” said Mavis, in a great hurry, and she tied the thread of the -necklace round a tin goldfish (out of the box with the duck and the -boat and the mackerel and the lobster and the magnet that makes them -all move about—you know) and hung it from the middle of the arch. It -looked just as though it were swimming—you hardly noticed the thread at -all. - -“_Now_, France,” she called. And Francis came slowly with his thumb in -_The Water Babies_. It was nearly dark by now, but Mavis had lighted -the four dollhouse candles in the gilt candlesticks and set them on the -table around the aquarium. - -“Look through the side,” she said; “isn’t it ripping?” - -“Why,” said Francis slowly, “you’ve got water in it—and real anemones! -Where on earth...?” - -“Not real,” said Mavis. “I wish they were; they’re only dahlias. But it -does look pretty, doesn’t it?” - -“It’s like Fairyland,” said Kathleen, and Bernard added, “I _am_ glad -you bought it.” - -“It just shows what it will be like when we _do_ get the sea -creatures,” said Mavis. “Oh, Francis, you do like it, don’t you?” - -“Oh, I like it all right,” he answered, pressing his nose against the -thick glass, “but I wanted it to be waving weeds and mysterious wetness -like the Sabrina picture.” - -The other three glanced at the picture which hung over the -mantelpiece—Sabrina and the water nymphs, drifting along among the -waterweeds and water lilies. There were words under the picture, and -Francis dreamily began to say them: - - “‘_Sabrina fair, - Listen where thou art sitting, - Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave - In twisted braids of Lillies knitting - The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair...._’” - -“Hullo—what was that?” he said in quite a different voice, and jumped -up. - -“What was what?” the others naturally asked. - -“Did you put something alive in there?” Francis asked. - -“Of course not,” said Mavis. “Why?” - -“Well, I saw something move, that’s all.” - -They all crowded around and peered over the glass walls. Nothing, of -course, but the sand and the grass and the shells, the clinkers and the -dahlias and the little suspended tin goldfish. - -“I expect the goldfish swung a bit,” said Bernard. “That’s what it must -have been.” - -“It didn’t look like that,” Francis answered. “It looked more like—” - -“Like what?” - -“I don’t know—get out of the light. Let’s have another squint.” - -He stooped down and looked again through the glass. - -“It’s not the goldfish,” he said. “That’s as quiet as a trout asleep. -No—I suppose it was a shadow or something.” - -“You might tell us what it looked like,” said Kathleen. - -“Was it like a rat?” Bernard asked with interest. - -“Not a bit. It was more like—” - -“Well, like what?” asked three aggravated voices. - -“Like Sabrina—only very, very tiny.” - -“A sort of doll—Sabrina,” said Kathleen, “how awfully jolly!” - -“It wasn’t at all like a doll, and it wasn’t jolly,” said Francis -shortly—“only I wish it would come again.” - -It didn’t, however. - -“I say,” said Mavis, struck by a new idea, “perhaps it’s a magic -aquarium.” - -“Let’s play it is,” suggested Kathleen—“let’s play it’s a magic glass -and we can see what we like in it. I see a fairy palace with gleaming -spires of crystal and silver.” - -“I see a football match, and our chaps winning,” said Bernard heavily, -joining in the new game. - -“Shut up,” said Francis. “That isn’t play. There was something.” - -“Suppose it is magic,” said Mavis again. - -“We’ve played magic so often, and nothing’s ever happened—even when we -made the fire of sweet-scented woods and eastern gums, and all that,” -said Bernard; “it’s much better to pretend right away. We always have -to in the end. Magic just wastes time. There isn’t any magic really, is -there, Mavis?” - -“Shut up, I tell you,” was the only answer of Francis, his nose now -once more flattened against the smooth green glass. - -Here Aunt Enid’s voice was heard on the landing outside, saying, -“Little ones—bed,” in no uncertain tones. - -The two grunted as it were in whispers, but there was no appeal against -Aunt Enid, and they went, their grunts growing feebler as they crossed -the room, and dying away in a despairing silence as they and Aunt Enid -met abruptly at the top of the stairs. - -“Shut the door,” said Francis, in a strained sort of voice. And -Mavis obeyed, even though he hadn’t said “please.” She really was an -excellent sister. Francis, in moments of weakness, had gone so far as -to admit that she wasn’t half bad. - -“I say,” she said when the click of the latch assured her that they -were alone, “how could it be magic? We never said any spell.” - -“No more we did,” said Francis, “unless—And besides, it’s all nonsense, -of course, about magic. It’s just a game we play, isn’t it?” - -“Yes, of course,” Mavis said doubtfully; “but what did you mean by -‘unless’?” - -“We weren’t saying any spells, were we?” - -“No, of course we weren’t—we weren’t saying anything—” - -“As it happens _I_ was.” - -“Was what? When?” - -“When it happened.” - -“What happened?” - -Will it be believed that Aunt Enid chose this moment for opening the -door just wide enough to say, “Mavis—bed.” And Mavis had to go. But as -she went she said again: “What happened?” - -“_It_,” said Francis, “whatever it was. I was saying....” - -“MAVIS!” called Aunt Enid. - -“Yes, Aunt Enid—you were saying _what_?” - -“I was saying, ‘_Sabrina fair_,’” said Francis, “do you think—but, -of course, it couldn’t have been—and all dry like that, no water or -anything.” - -“Perhaps magic _has_ to be dry,” said Mavis. “Coming, Aunt Enid! It -seems to be mostly burning things, and, of course, that wouldn’t do in -the water. What _did_ you see?” - -“It looked like Sabrina,” said Francis—“only tiny, tiny. Not -doll-small, you know, but live-small, like through the wrong end of a -telescope. I do wish you’d seen it.” - -“Say, ‘Sabrina fair’ again quick while I look.” - - “‘_Sabrina fair, - Listen where thou art sitting, - Under the—_’” - -“Oh, Mavis, it is—it did. There’s something there truly. Look!” - -“Where?” said Mavis. “I can’t see—oh, let me look.” - -“MAVIS!” called Aunt Enid very loud indeed; and Mavis tore herself away. - -“I must go,” she said. “Never mind, we’ll look again tomorrow. Oh, -France, if it _should_ be—magic, I mean—I’ll tell you what—” - -But she never told him what, for Aunt Enid swept in and swept -out, bearing Mavis away, as it were, in a whirlwind of impatient -exasperation, and, without seeming to stop to do it, blowing out the -four candles as she came and went. - -At the door she turned to say, “Good night, Francis. Your bath’s turned -on ready. Be sure you wash well behind your ears. We shan’t have much -time in the morning.” - -“But Mavis always bathes first,” said he. “I’m the eldest.” - -“Don’t argue, child, for goodness’ sake,” said Aunt Enid. “Mavis is -having the flat bath in my bedroom to save time. Come—no nonsense,” she -paused at the door to say. “Let me see you go. Right about face—quick -march!” - -And he had to. - -“If she must pretend to give orders like drill, she might at least -learn to say ‘’Bout turn!’” he reflected, struggling with his collar -stud in the steaming bathroom. “Never mind. I’ll get up early and see -if I can’t see it again.” - -And so he did—but early as he was, Aunt Enid and the servants were -earlier. The aquarium was empty—clear, clean, shining and quite empty. - -Aunt Enid could not understand why Francis ate so little breakfast. - -“What has she done with them?” he wondered later. - -“_I_ know,” said Bernard solemnly. “She told Esther to put them on the -kitchen fire—I only just saved my fish.” - -“And what about my shells?” asked Mavis in sudden fear. - -“Oh, she took those to take care of. Said you weren’t old enough to -take care of them yourself.” - -You will wonder why the children did not ask their Aunt Enid right -out what had become of the contents of the aquarium. Well, you don’t -know their Aunt Enid. And besides, even on that first morning, -before anything that really _was_ anything could be said to have -happened—for, after all, what Francis said he had seen might have been -just fancy—there was a sort of misty, curious, trembling feeling at -the hearts of Mavis and her brother which made them feel that they did -not want to talk about the aquarium and what had been in it to any -grown-up—and least of all to their Aunt Enid. - -And leaving the aquarium, that was the hardest thing of all. They -thought of telegraphing to Mother, to ask whether, after all, they -mightn’t bring it—but there was first the difficulty of wording a -telegram so that their mother would understand and not deem it insanity -or a practical joke—secondly, the fact that ten-pence half-penny, which -was all they had between them, would not cover the baldest statement of -the facts. - - _MRS DESMOND, - CARE OF MRS PEARCE, - EAST CLIFF VILLA, - LEWIS ROAD, - WEST BEACHFIELD-ON-SEA, SUSSEX_ - -alone would be eightpence—and the simplest appeal, such as “May we -bring aquarium please say yes wire reply” brought the whole thing -hopelessly beyond their means. - -“It’s no good,” said Francis hopelessly. “And, anyway,” said Kathleen, -“there wouldn’t be time to get an answer before we go.” - -No one had thought of this. It was a sort of backhanded consolation. - -“But think of coming back to it,” said Mavis: “it’ll be something -to live for, when we come back from the sea and everything else is -beastly.” - -And it was. - - - - -CHAPTER TWO - -_The Captive_ - - -THE DELICATE pinkish bloom of newness was on the wooden spades, the -slick smoothness of the painted pails showed neither scratch nor dent -on their green and scarlet surface—the shrimping nets were full and -fluffy as, once they and sand and water had met, they never could be -again. The pails and spades and nets formed the topmost layer of a -pile of luggage—you know the sort of thing, with the big boxes at the -bottom; and the carryall bulging with its wraps and mackers; the old -portmanteau that shows its striped lining through the crack and is so -useful for putting boots in; and the sponge bag, and all the little -things that get left out. You can almost always squeeze a ball or a -paint box or a box of chalks or any of those things—which grown-ups say -you won’t really want till you come back—into that old portmanteau—and -then when it’s being unpacked at the journey’s end the most that can -happen will be that someone will say, “I thought I told you not to -bring that,” and if you don’t answer back, that will be all. But most -likely in the agitation of unpacking and settling in, your tennis ball, -or pencil box, or whatever it is, will pass unnoticed. Of course, you -can’t shove an aquarium into the old portmanteau—nor a pair of rabbits, -nor a hedgehog—but anything in reason you can. - -The luggage that goes in the van is not much trouble—of course, it -has to be packed and to be strapped, and labeled and looked after at -the junction, but apart from that the big luggage behaves itself, -keeps itself to itself, and like your elder brothers at college never -occasions its friends a moment’s anxiety. It is the younger fry of the -luggage family, the things you have with you in the carriage that are -troublesome—the bundle of umbrellas and walking sticks, the golf clubs, -the rugs, the greatcoats, the basket of things to eat, the books you -are going to read in the train and as often as not you never look at -them, the newspapers that the grown-ups are tired of and yet don’t want -to throw away, their little bags or dispatch cases and suitcases and -card cases, and scarfs and gloves— - -The children were traveling under the care of Aunt Enid, who always had -far more of these tiresome odds and ends than Mother had—and it was at -the last moment, when the cab was almost to be expected to be there, -that Aunt Enid rushed out to the corner shop and returned with four new -spades, four new pails, and four new shrimping nets, and presented them -to the children just in time for them to be added to the heap of odds -and ends with which the cab was filled up. - -“I hope it’s not ungrateful,” said Mavis at the station as they -stood waiting by the luggage mound while Aunt Enid went to take the -tickets—“but why couldn’t she have bought them at Beachfield?” - -“Makes us look such babies,” said Francis, who would not be above using -a wooden spade at the proper time and place but did not care to be -branded in the face of all Waterloo Junction as one of those kids off -to the seaside with little spades and pails. - -Kathleen and Bernard were, however, young enough to derive a certain -pleasure from stroking the smooth, curved surface of the spades till -Aunt Enid came fussing back with the tickets and told them to put their -gloves on for goodness’ sake and try not to look like street children. - -I am sorry that the first thing you should hear about the children -should be that they did not care about their Aunt Enid, but this was -unfortunately the case. And if you think this was not nice of them I -can only remind you that you do not know their Aunt Enid. - -There was a short, sharp struggle with the porter, a flustered passage -along the platform and the children were safe in the carriage marked -“Reserved”—thrown into it, as it were, with all that small fry of -luggage which I have just described. Then Aunt Enid fussed off again to -exchange a few last home truths with the porter, and the children were -left. - -“We breathe again,” said Mavis. - -“Not yet we don’t,” said Francis, “there’ll be some more fuss as soon -as she comes back. I’d almost as soon not go to the sea as go with her.” - -“But you’ve never seen the sea,” Mavis reminded him. - -“I know,” said Francis, morosely, “but look at all this—” he indicated -the tangle of their possessions which littered seats and rack—“I do -wish—” - -He stopped, for a head appeared in the open doorway—in a round hat very -like Aunt Enid’s—but it was not Aunt Enid’s. The face under the hat was -a much younger, kinder one. - -“I’m afraid this carriage is reserved,” said the voice that belonged to -the face. - -“Yes,” said Kathleen, “but there’s lots of room if you like to come -too.” - -“I don’t know if the aunt we’re with would like it,” said the more -cautious Mavis. “We should, of course,” she added to meet the kind -smiling eyes that looked from under the hat that was like Aunt Enid’s. - -The lady said: “I’m an aunt too—I’m going to meet my nephew at the -junction. The train’s frightfully crowded.... If I were to talk to your -aunt ... perhaps on the strength of our common aunthood. The train will -start in a minute. I haven’t any luggage to be a bother—nothing but one -paper.”—she had indeed a folded newspaper in her hands. - -“Oh, do get in,” said Kathleen, dancing with anxiety, “I’m sure Aunt -Enid won’t mind,”—Kathleen was always hopeful—“suppose the train were -to start or anything!” - -“Well, if you think I may,” said the lady, and tossed her paper into -the corner in a lighthearted way which the children found charming. Her -pleasant face was rising in the oblong of the carriage doorway, her -foot was on the carriage step, when suddenly she retreated back and -down. It was almost as though someone pulled her off the carriage step. - -“Excuse me,” said a voice, “this carriage is reserved.” The pleasant -face of the lady disappeared and the—well, the face of Aunt Enid took -its place. The lady vanished. Aunt Enid trod on Kathleen’s foot, pushed -against Bernard’s waistcoat, sat down, partly on Mavis and partly on -Francis and said—“Of all the impertinence!” Then someone banged the -door—the train shivered and trembled and pulled itself together in the -way we all know so well—grunted, snorted, screamed, and was off. Aunt -Enid stood up arranging things on the rack, so that the children could -not even see if the nice lady had found a seat in the train. - -“Well—I do think—” Francis could not help saying. - -“Oh—do you?” said Aunt Enid, “I should never have thought it of you.” - -When she had arranged the things in the rack to her satisfaction she -pointed out a few little faults that she had noticed in the children -and settled down to read a book by Miss Marie Corelli. The children -looked miserably at each other. They could not understand why Mother -had placed them under the control of this most unpleasant mock aunt. - -There was a reason for it, of course. If your parents, who are -generally so kind and jolly, suddenly do a thing that you can’t -understand and can hardly bear, you may be quite sure they have a good -reason for it. The reason in this case was that Aunt Enid was the only -person who offered to take charge of the children at a time when all -the nice people who usually did it were having influenza. Also she was -an old friend of Granny’s. Granny’s taste in friends must have been -very odd, Francis decided, or else Aunt Enid must have changed a good -deal since she was young. And there she sat reading her dull book. The -children also had been provided with books—_Eric, or Little by Little_; -_Elsie, or Like a Little Candle_; _Brave Bessie_ and _Ingenious Isabel_ -had been dealt out as though they were cards for a game, before leaving -home. They had been a great bother to carry, and they were impossible -to read. Kathleen and Bernard presently preferred looking out of the -windows, and the two elder ones tried to read the paper left by the -lady, “looking over.” - -Now, that is just where it was, and really what all that has been -written before is about. If that lady hadn’t happened to look in at -their door, and if she hadn’t happened to leave the paper they would -never have seen it, because they weren’t the sort of children who read -papers except under extreme provocation. - -You will not find it easy to believe, and I myself can’t see why -it should have happened, but the very first word they saw in that -newspaper was Beachfield, and the second was On, and the third was -Sea, and the fifth was Mermaid. The fourth which came between Sea and -Mermaid was Alleged. - -“I say,” said Mavis, “let’s look.” - -“Don’t pull then, you can see all right,” said Francis, and this is -what they read together: - - -BEACHFIELD-ON-SEA—ALLEGED MERMAID. AMAZING STORY. - - “‘At this season of the year, which has come to be - designated the silly season, the public press is - deluged with puerile old-world stories of gigantic - gooseberries and enormous sea serpents. So that it is - quite in keeping with the weird traditions of this - time of the year to find a story of some wonder of the - deep, arising even at so well-known a watering place - as Beachfield. Close to an excellent golf course, and - surrounded by various beauty spots, with a thoroughly - revised water supply, a newly painted pier and three - rival Cinematograph Picture Palaces, Beachfield has - long been known as a rising _plage_ of exceptional - attractions, the quaint charm of its....’” - -“Hold on,” said Francis, “this isn’t about any old Mermaid.” - -“Oh, that’ll be further on,” said Mavis. “I expect they have to put -all that stuff in to be polite to Beachfield—let’s skip—‘agreeable -promenade, every modern convenience, while preserving its quaint....’ -What does quaint mean, and why do they keep on saying it?” - -“I don’t think it means anything,” said Francis, “it’s just a word -they use, like weird and dainty. You always see it in a newspaper. -Ah—got her. Here she is—‘The excitement may be better imagined than -described’—no, that’s about the Gymkhana—here we are: - - “‘Master Wilfred Wilson, the son of a well-known and - respected resident, arrived home yesterday evening in - tears. Inquiry elicited a statement that he had been - paddling in the rock pools, which are to be found in - such profusion under the West Cliff, when something - gently pinched his foot. He feared that it might be a - lobster, having read that these crustaceans sometimes - attack the unwary intruder, and he screamed. So far - his story, though unusual, contains nothing inherently - impossible. But when he went on to state that a noise - “like a lady speaking” told him not to cry, and that, - on looking down, he perceived that what held him was a - hand “coming from one of the rocks under water,” his - statement was naturally received with some incredulity. - It was not until a boating party returning from a - pleasure trip westward stated that they had seen a - curious sort of white seal with a dark tail darting - through the clear water below their boat that Master - Wilfred’s story obtained any measure of credence.’” - -(“What’s credence?” said Mavis. - -“Oh, never mind. It’s what you believe with, I think. Go on,” said -Francis.) - - “‘—of credence. Mr. Wilson, who seems to have urged an - early retirement to bed as a cure for telling stories - and getting his feet wet, allowed his son to rise and - conduct him to the scene of adventure. But Mr. Wilson, - though he even went to the length of paddling in some - of the pools, did not see or feel any hands nor hear - any noise, ladylike or otherwise. No doubt the seal - theory is the correct one. A white seal would be a - valuable acquisition to the town, and would, no doubt, - attract visitors. Several boats have gone out, some - with nets and some with lines. Mr. Carrerras, a visitor - from South America, has gone out with a lariat, which - in these latitudes is, of course, quite a novelty.’” - -“That’s all,” whispered Francis, and glanced at Aunt Enid. “I say—she’s -asleep.” He beckoned the others, and they screwed themselves along -to that end of the carriage farthest from the slumbering aunt. “Just -listen to this,” he said. Then in hoarse undertones he read all about -the Mermaid. - -“I say,” said Bernard, “I do hope it’s a seal. I’ve never seen a seal.” - -“I hope they _do_ catch it,” said Kathleen. “Fancy seeing a real live -Mermaid.” - -“If it’s a real live Mermaid I jolly well hope they don’t catch her,” -said Francis. - -“So do I,” said Mavis. “I’m certain she would die in captivity.” - -“But I’ll tell you what,” said Francis, “we’ll go and look for her, -first thing tomorrow. I suppose,” he added thoughtfully, “Sabrina was a -sort of Mermaid.” - -“She hasn’t a tail, you know,” Kathleen reminded him. - -“It isn’t the tail that makes the Mermaid,” Francis reminded her. “It’s -being able to live underwater. If it was the tail, then mackerels would -be Mermaids.” - -“And, of course, they’re not. _I_ see,” said Kathleen. - -“I wish,” said Bernard, “that she’d given us bows and arrows instead of -pails and spades, and then we could have gone seal-shooting—” - -“Or Mermaid-shooting,” said Kathleen. “Yes, that would have been -ripping.” - -Before Francis and Mavis could say how shocked they were at the idea of -shooting Mermaids, Aunt Enid woke up and took the newspaper away from -them, because newspapers are not fit reading for children. - -She was somehow the kind of person before whom you never talk about -anything that you really care for, and it was impossible therefore to -pursue either seals or Mermaids. It seemed best to read _Eric_ and the -rest of the books. It was uphill work. - -But the last two remarks of Bernard and Kathleen had sunk into the -minds of the two elder children. That was why, when they had reached -Beachfield and found Mother and rejoiced over her, and when Aunt Enid -had unexpectedly gone on by that same train to stay with her really -relations at Bournemouth, they did not say any more to the little -ones about Mermaids or seals, but just joined freely in the chorus of -pleasure at Aunt Enid’s departure. - -“I thought she was going to stay with us all the time,” said Kathleen. -“Oh, Mummy, I am so glad she isn’t.” - -“Why? Don’t you like Aunt Enid? Isn’t she kind?” - -All four thought of the spades and pails and shrimping nets, and of -_Eric_ and _Elsie_ and the other books—and all said: - -“Yes.” - -“Then what was it?” Mother asked. And they could not tell her. It is -sometimes awfully difficult to tell things to your mother, however much -you love her. The best Francis could do was: - -“Well—you see we’re not used to her.” - -And Kathleen said: “I don’t think perhaps she’s used to being an aunt. -But she was kind.” - -And Mother was wise and didn’t ask any more questions. Also she at once -abandoned an idea one had had of asking Aunt Enid to come and stay at -Beachfield for part of the holidays; and this was just as well, for if -Aunt Enid had not passed out of the story exactly when she did, there -would not have been any story to pass out of. And as she does now pass -out of the story I will say that she thought she was very kind, and -that she meant extremely well. - -There was a little whispering between Francis and Mavis just after tea, -and a little more just before bed, but it was tactfully done and the -unwhispered-to younger ones never noticed it. - -The lodgings were very nice—a little way out of the town—not a villa at -all as everyone had feared. I suppose the landlady thought it grander -to call it a villa, but it was really a house that had once been a mill -house, and was all made of a soft-colored gray wood with a red-tiled -roof, and at the back was the old mill, also gray and beautiful—not -used now for what it was built for—but just as a store for fishing nets -and wheelbarrows and old rabbit hutches and beehives and harnesses -and odds and ends, and the sack of food for the landlady’s chickens. -There was a great corn bin there too—that must have been in some big -stable—and some broken chairs and an old wooden cradle that hadn’t had -any babies in it since the landlady’s mother was a little girl. - -On any ordinary holiday the mill would have had all the charm of -a magic palace for the children, with its wonderful collection of -pleasant and unusual things to play with, but just now all their -thoughts were on Mermaids. And the two elder ones decided that they -would go out alone the first thing in the morning and look for the -Mermaid. - -Mavis woke Francis up very early indeed, and they got up and dressed -quite quietly, not washing, I am sorry to say, because water makes such -a noise when you pour it out. And I am afraid their hair was not very -thoroughly brushed either. There was not a soul stirring in the road as -they went out, unless you count the mill cat who had been out all night -and was creeping home very tired and dusty looking, and a yellowhammer -who sat on a tree a hundred yards down the road and repeated his name -over and over again in that conceited way yellowhammers have, until -they got close to him; and then he wagged his tail impudently at them -and flew on to the next tree where he began to talk about himself as -loudly as ever. - -This desire to find the Mermaid must have been wonderfully strong in -Francis, for it completely swallowed the longing of years—the longing -to see the sea. It had been too dark the night before to see anything -but the winking faces of the houses as the fly went past them. But now -as he and Mavis ran noiselessly down the sandy path in their rubber -shoes and turned the corner of the road, he saw a great pale-gray -something spread out in front of him, lit with points of red and gold -fire where the sun touched it. He stopped. - -“Mavis,” he said, in quite an odd voice, “that’s the sea.” - -“Yes,” she said and stopped too. - -“It isn’t a bit what I expected,” he said, and went on running. - -“Don’t you like it?” asked Mavis, running after him. - -“Oh—like,” said Francis, “it isn’t the sort of thing you _like_.” - -When they got down to the shore the sands and the pebbles were all wet -because the tide had just gone down, and there were the rocks and the -little rock pools, and the limpets, and whelks, and the little yellow -periwinkles looking like particularly fine Indian corn all scattered -among the red and the brown and the green seaweed. - -“Now, this _is_ jolly,” said Francis. “This is jolly if you like. I -almost wish we’d wakened the others. It doesn’t seem quite fair.” - -“Oh, they’ve seen it before,” Mavis said, quite truly, “and I don’t -think it’s any good going by fours to look for Mermaids, do you?” - -“Besides,” said Francis, saying what had been in their thoughts since -yesterday in the train, “Kathleen wanted to shoot Mermaids, and Bernard -thought it was seals, anyhow.” - -They had sat down and were hastily pulling off their shoes and -stockings. - -“Of course,” said he, “we shan’t find anything. It isn’t likely.” - -“Well,” she said, “for anything we jolly well know, they may have found -her already. Take care how you go over these rocks, they’re awfully -slippy.” - -“As if I didn’t know that,” said he, and ran across the narrow strip -of sand that divided rocks from shingle and set his foot for the first -time in The Sea. It was only a shallow little green and white rock -pool, but it was the sea all the same. - -“I say, isn’t it cold,” said Mavis, withdrawing pink and dripping toes; -“do mind how you go—” - -“As if I—” said Francis, again, and sat down suddenly and splashingly -in a large, clear sparkling pool. - -“Now, I suppose we’ve got to go home at once and you change,” said -Mavis, not without bitterness. - -“Nonsense,” said Francis, getting up with some difficulty and clinging -wetly to Mavis to steady himself. “I’m quite dry, almost.” - -“You know what colds are like,” said Mavis, “and staying indoors all -day, or perhaps bed, and mustard plasters and gruel with butter in -it. Oh, come along home, we should never have found the Mermaid. It’s -much too bright and light and everyday-ish for anything like magic to -happen. Come on home, do.” - -“Let’s just go out to the end of the rocks,” Francis urged, “just to -see what it’s like where the water gets deep and the seaweed goes -swish, swish, all long and lanky and grassy, like in the Sabrina -picture.” - -“Halfway then, not more,” said Mavis, firmly, “it’s dangerous—deep -outside—Mother said so.” - -And halfway they went, Mavis still cautious, and Francis, after his -wetting, almost showing off in his fine carelessness of whether he -went in again or not. It was very jolly. You know how soft and squeezy -the blobby kind of seaweed is to walk on, and how satin smooth is the -ribbon kind; how sharp are limpets, especially when they are covered -with barnacles, and how comparatively bearable to the foot are the pale -primrose-colored hemispheres of the periwinkle. - -“Now,” said Mavis, “come on back. We’ll run all the way as soon as we -get our shoes and stockings on for fear of colds.” - -“I almost wish we hadn’t come,” said Francis, turning with a face of -gloom. - -“You didn’t really think we should find a Mermaid, did you?” Mavis -asked, and laughed, though she was really annoyed with Francis for -getting wet and cutting short this exciting morning game. But she was a -good sister. - -“It’s all been so silly. Flopping into that pool, and talking and -rotting, and just walking out and in again. We ought to have come by -moonlight, and been very quiet and serious, and said— - - “‘_Sabrina fair, - Listen where thou art sitting—_’” - -“Ow—Hold on a minute. I’ve caught my foot in something.” - -Mavis stopped and took hold of her brother’s arm to steady him; and as -she did so both children plainly heard a voice that was not the voice -of either of them. It was the sweetest voice in the world they thought, -and it said: - -“Save her. We die in captivity.” - -Francis looked down and had a sort of sudden sight of something white -and brown and green that moved and went quickly down under the stone on -which Mavis was standing. There was nothing now holding his foot. - -“I say,” he said, on a deep breath of awe and wonder, “did you hear -that?” - -“Of course, I heard it.” - -“We couldn’t both have fancied it,” he said, “I wish it had told us who -to save, and where, and how—” - -“Whose do you think that voice was?” Mavis asked softly. - -“The Mermaid’s,” said Francis, “who else’s could it have been?” - -[Illustration: “_We die in captivity._”] - -“Then the magic’s really begun—” - -“Mermaids aren’t magic,” he said, “anymore than flying fishes or -giraffes are.” - -“But she came when you said ‘Sabrina fair,’” said Mavis. - -“Sabrina wasn’t a Mermaid,” said Francis firmly. “It’s no use trying -to join things on when they won’t. Come on, we may as well be getting -home.” - -“Mightn’t she be?” suggested Mavis. “A Mermaid, I mean. Like salmon -that live in rivers and go down to the sea.” - -“I say, I never thought of that. How simply ripping if it turned out -to be really Sabrina—wouldn’t it be? But which do you suppose could -be her—the one who spoke to us or the one she’s afraid will die in -captivity—the one she wants us to save.” - -They had reached the shore by now and Mavis looked up from turning her -brown stockings right way out to say: - -“I suppose we didn’t really both fancy it. Could we have? Isn’t there -some sort of scientific magic that makes people think the same things -as each other when it’s not true at all, like with Indian mango tricks? -Uncle Fred said so, you know, they call it ‘Tell-ee-something.’” - -“I’ll tell _you_ something,” said Francis, urgent with shoelace, “if we -keep on saying things weren’t when we know perfectly well they were, -we shall soon dish up any sort of chance of magic we may ever have -had. When do you find people in books going on like that? They just -say ‘This is magic!’ and behave as if it was. They don’t go pretending -they’re not sure. Why, no magic would stand it.” - -“Aunt Dorothea once told me that all magic was like Prince Rupert’s -drop,” Mavis owned: “if once you broke it there was nothing left but a -little dust.” - -“That’s just what I’m saying, isn’t it? We’ve always felt there was -magic right enough, haven’t we? Well, now we’ve come across it, don’t -let’s be silly and pretend. Let’s believe in it as hard as ever we -can. Mavis—shall we, eh? Believing in things makes them stronger. Aunt -Dorothea said that too—you remember.” - -They stood up in their shoes. - -“Shall we tell the others?” Mavis asked. - -“We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to. But they -won’t believe us. We shall have to be like Cassandra and not mind.” - -“I only wish I knew who it is we’ve got to save,” said Mavis. - -Francis had a very strong and perfect feeling that they would know this -all in good time. He could not have explained this, but he felt it. All -he said was, “Let’s run.” - -And they ran. - -Kathleen and Bernard met them at the gate, dancing with excitement and -impatience. - -“Where have you been?” they cried and “What on earth?” and “Why, you’re -all wet, France.” - -“Down to the sea—shut up, I know I am—” their elder brother came in and -passed up the path to the gate. - -“You might have called us,” said Kathleen in a -more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger sort of voice, “but anyhow you’ve lost -something by going out so early without us.” - -“Lost something. What?” - -“Hearing the great news,” said Bernard, and he added, “Aha!” - -“What news?” - -“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Bernard was naturally annoyed at having -been left out of the first expedition of the holidays. Anyone would -have. Even you or I. - -“Out with it,” said Francis, with a hand on Bernard’s ear. There -came a yell from Bernard and Mother’s voice from the window, saying, -“Children, children.” - -“All right, Mummy. Now, Bear—don’t be a young rotter. What’s the news?” - -“You’re hurting my ear,” was all Bernard’s rejoinder. - -“All right,” said Francis, “we’ve got some news too. But we won’t tell, -will we, Mavis?” - -“Oh _don’t_,” said Kathleen, “don’t let’s be sneaky, the very first day -too. It’s only that they’ve caught the Mermaid, and I’m afraid she’ll -die in captivity, like you said. What’s yours?” - -Francis had released Bernard’s ear and now he turned to Mavis. - -“So that’s it,” he said slowly—“who’s got her?” - -“The circus people. What’s your news?” asked Kathleen eagerly. - -“After brek,” said Francis. “Yes, Mother, half a sec! I apologize -about the ear, Bernard. We will tell you all. Oh, it’s quite different -from what you think. We meet and discuss the situation in the mill the -minute we’re free from brek. Agreed? Right! Yes, Mother, coming!” - -“Then there must,” Mavis whispered to Francis, “be two Mermaids. They -can’t both be Sabrina ... then which...?” - -“We’ve got to save one of them anyhow,” Francis answered with the light -of big adventure in his eye, “_they die in captivity_.” - - - - -CHAPTER THREE - -_The Rescue_ - - -THE GREAT QUESTION, of course, was—Would Mother take them to the -circus, or would she, if she wouldn’t herself take them, let them -go alone? She had once, in Buckinghamshire, allowed them to go to a -traveling menagerie, after exacting from them a promise that they were -not to touch any of the animals, and they had seen reason to regret -their promise when the showman offered to let them stroke his tame -performing wolf, who was so very like a collie. When they had said, -“No, thank you,” the showman had said, “Oh, frightened, are you? Run -along home to Mammy then!” and the bystanders had laughed in a most -insulting way. At a circus, of course, the horses and things aren’t -near enough for you to stroke them, so this time they might not be -asked to promise. If Mother came with them her presence, though -agreeable, would certainly add to the difficulties, already quite -enough—as even Mavis could not but see—of rescuing the Mermaid. But -suppose Mother didn’t come with them. - -“Suppose we have to promise we won’t touch any of the animals?” -suggested Cathay. “You can’t rescue a person without touching it.” - -“That’s just it,” said Mavis, “a Mermaid isn’t an animal. She’s a -person.” - -“But suppose it isn’t that sort of Mermaid,” said Bernard. “Suppose -it’s the sort that other people call seals, like it said in the paper.” - -“Well, it isn’t,” said Francis briefly, adding, “so there!” - -They were talking in the front garden, leaning over the green gate -while Mother upstairs unpacked the luggage that had been the mound with -spades on top only yesterday, at Waterloo. - -“Mavis!” Mother called through the open window. “I can only find—but -you’d better come up.” - -“I ought to offer to help Mother unpack,” said Mavis, and went walking -slowly. - -She came back after a little while, however, quickly running. - -“It’s all right,” she said. “Mother’s going to meet Daddy at the -Junction this afternoon and buy us sunbonnets. And we’re to take -our spades and go down to the sea till dinnertime—it’s roast rabbit -and apple dumps—I asked Mrs. Pearce—and we can go to the circus by -ourselves—and she never said a word about promise not to touch the -animals.” - -So off they went, down the white road where the yellowhammer was -talking about himself as usual on the tree just beyond wherever you -happened to be walking. And so to the beach. - -Now, it is very difficult to care much about a Mermaid you have never -seen or heard or touched. On the other hand, when once you have seen -one and touched one and heard one speak, you seem to care for very -little else. This was why when they got to the shore Kathleen and -Bernard began at once to dig the moat of a sandcastle, while the elder -ones walked up and down, dragging the new spades after them like some -new kind of tail, and talking, talking, talking till Kathleen said they -might help dig or the tide would be in before the castle was done. - -“You don’t know what a lark sandcastles are, France,” she added kindly, -“because you’ve never seen the sea before.” - -So then they all dug and piled and patted and made molds of their pails -to stand as towers to the castle and dug out dungeons and tunnels and -bridges, only the roof always gave way in the end unless you had beaten -the sand very tight beforehand. It was a glorious castle, though not -quite finished when the first thin flat wash of the sea reached it. -And then everyone worked twice as hard trying to keep the sea out till -all was hopeless, and then everyone crowded into the castle and the -sea washed it away bit by bit till there was only a shapeless island -left, and everyone was wet through and had to change every single thing -the minute they got home. You will know by that how much they enjoyed -themselves. - -After the roast rabbit and the apple dumplings Mother started on the -sunbonnet-and-meet-Daddy expedition. Francis went with her to the -station and returned a little sad. - -“I had to promise not to touch any of the animals,” he said. “And -perhaps a Mermaid _is_ an animal.” - -“Not if she can speak,” said Kathleen. “I say, don’t you think we ought -to wear our best things—I do. It’s more respectable to the wonders of -the deep. She’d like us to look beautiful.” - -“I’m not going to change for anybody,” said Bernard firmly. - -“All right, Bear,” said Mavis. “Only we will. Remember it’s magic.” - -“I say, France,” he said, “do you think we _ought_ to change?” - -“No, I don’t,” Francis answered. “I don’t believe Mermaids care a bit -what you’ve got on. You see, they don’t wear anything but tails and -hair and looking glasses themselves. If there’s any beautifulness to be -done they jolly well do it themselves. But I don’t say you wouldn’t be -better for washing your hands again, and you might as well try to get -_some_ of the sand out of your hair. It looks like the wrong end of a -broom as it is.” - -He himself went so far as to put on the blue necktie that Aunt Amy had -given him, and polished his silver watch chain on the inside of his -jacket. This helped to pass the time till the girls were ready. At -last this happened though they had put on their best things, and they -started. - -The yellowhammer went on about himself—he was never tired of the -subject. - -“It’s just as if that bird was making fun of us,” Bernard said. - -“I daresay it is a wild-goose step we’re taking,” said Kathleen; “but -the circus will be jolly, anyhow.” - -There is a piece of wasteland just beyond Beachfield on the least -agreeable side of that village—the side where the flat-faced shops are -and the yellow brick houses. At the nice end of Beachfield the shops -have little fat bow windows with greenish glass that you can hardly -see through. Here also are gaunt hoardings plastered with tattered, -ugly-colored posters, asking you in red to wear Ramsden’s Really Boots -or to Vote for Wilton Ashby in blue. Some of the corners of the posters -are always loose and flap dismally in the wind. There is always a good -deal of straw and torn paper and dust at this end of the village, and -bits of dirty rag, and old boots and tins are found under the hedges -where flowers ought to be. Also there are a great many nettles and -barbed wires instead of pleasant-colored fences. Don’t you sometimes -wonder who is to blame for all the uglification of places that might -be so pretty, and wish you could have a word with them and ask them -not to? Perhaps when these people were little nobody told them how -wrong it is to throw orange peel about, and the bits of paper off -chocolate, and the paper bag which once concealed your bun. And it is a -dreadful fact that the children who throw these things about are little -uglifiers, and they grow up to be perfect monsters of uglification, and -build hideous yellow brick cottages, and put up hoardings, and sell -Ramsden’s Really Boots (in red), and vote passionately for Wilton -Ashby (in blue), and care nothing for the fields that used to be green -and the hedges where once flowers used to grow. Some people like -this, and see nothing to hate in such ugly waste places as the one, -at the wrong end of the town, where the fair was being held on that -never-to-be-forgotten day when Francis, Mavis, Bernard and Kathleen set -out in their best clothes to rescue the Mermaid because Mermaids “die -in captivity.” - -The fair had none of those stalls and booths which old-fashioned -fairs used to have, where they sold toys, and gilt gingerbread, and -carters’ whips, and cups and saucers, and mutton pies, and dolls, and -china dogs, and shell boxes, and pincushions, and needle cases, and -penholders with views of the Isle of Wight and Winchester Cathedral -inside that you see so bright and plain when you put your eye close to -the little round hole at the top. - -The steam roundabouts were there—but hardly a lean back of their -spotted horses was covered by a rider. There were swings, but no one -happened to be swinging. There were no shows, no menagerie, no boxing -booth, no marionettes. No penny gaff with the spangled lady and the -fat man who beats the drum. Nor were there any stalls. There were -pink-and-white paper whips and bags of dust-colored minced paper—the -English substitute for _confetti_—there were little metal tubes of -dirty water to squirt in people’s faces, but except for the sale of -these crude instruments for making other people uncomfortable there was -not a stall in the fair. I give you my word, there was not a single -thing that you could buy—no gingerbread, no sweets, no crockery dogs, -not even a half-penny orange or a bag of nuts. Nor was there anything -to drink—not as much as a lemonade counter or a ginger beer stall. -The revelers were no doubt drinking elsewhere. A tomblike silence -reigned—a silence which all the steam roundabout’s hideous hootings -only emphasized. - -A very dirty-nosed boy, overhearing a hurried council, volunteered the -information that the circus had not yet opened. - -“Never mind,” they told each other—and turned to the sideshows. These -were all of one character—the arrangement by which you throw something -or roll something at something else, and if you hit the something you -get a prize—the sort of prize that is sold in Houndsditch at ninepence -a gross. - -Most of these arrangements are so ordered that to get a prize is -impossible. For instance, a peculiarly offensive row of masks with open -mouths in which pipes are set up. In the golden days of long ago if you -hit a pipe it broke—and you got a “prize” worth—I can’t do sums—put -it briefly at the hundred and forty-fourth part of ninepence. But the -children found that when their wooden ball struck the pipe it didn’t -break. They wondered why! Then, looking more closely, they saw that -the pipes were not of clay, but of painted wood. They could never be -broken—and the whole thing was a cruel mockery of hope. - -The coconut-shy was not what it used to be either. Once one threw -sticks, three shies a penny. Now it is a penny a shy, with light wooden -balls. You can win a coconut if you happen to hit one that is not glued -onto its support. If you really wish to win one of these unkindly -fruits it is well to stand and watch a little and not to aim at those -coconuts which, when they are hit, fail to fall off the sticks. Are -they glued on? One hopes not. But if they are, who can wonder or -reprove? It is hard to get a living, anyhow. - -There was one thing, though, that roused the children’s -resentment—chiefly, I think, because its owners were clean and did not -look half-starved, so there was no barrier of pity between them and -dislike—a sort of round table sloping up to its center. On this small -objects were arranged. For a penny you received two hoops. If you could -throw a hoop over an object that object was yours. None of the rustic -visitors to the fair could, it seemed, or cared to. It did not look -difficult, however. Nor was it. At the first shot a tiny candlestick -was encircled. Between pride and shame Mavis held out a hand. - -“Hard luck,” said one of the two young women, too clean to be pitied. -“Has to go flat on—see?” - -Francis tried again. This time the ring encircled a matchbox, “flat on.” - -“Hard luck,” said the lady again. - -“What’s the matter now?” the children asked, baffled. - -“Hoop has to be red side up,” said she. So she scored. Now they went -to the other side and had another penn’orth of hoops from the other -too clean young woman. And the same thing happened. Only on the second -winning she said: - -“Hard luck. Hoops have to be blue side up.” - -It was Bernard’s blood that was up. He determined to clear the board. - -“Blue side up, is it,” he said sternly, and took another penn’orth. -This time he brought down a tin pin tray and a little box which, I -hope, contained something. The girl hesitated and then handed over the -prizes. “Another penn’orth of hoops,” said Bernard, warming to the work. - -“Hard luck,” said she. “We don’t give more than two penn’orth to any -one party.” - -The prizes were not the kind of things you care to keep, even as -trophies of victory—especially when you have before you the business -of rescuing a Mermaid. The children gave their prizes to a small -female bystander and went to the shooting gallery. That, at least, -could have no nonsense about it. If you aimed at a bottle and hit it -it would break. No sordid self-seeking custodian could rob you of the -pleasant tinkling of the broken bottle. And even with a poor weapon -it is not impossible to aim at a bottle and hit it. This is true—but -at the shooting gallery the trouble was _not_ to hit the bottles. -There were so many of them and they were so near. The children got -thirteen tinkling smashes for their fourteen shots. The bottles were -hung fifteen feet away instead of thirty. Why? Space is not valuable at -the fair—can it be that the people of Sussex are such poor shots that -thirty feet is to them a prohibitive distance? - -They did not throw for coconuts, nor did they ride on the little horses -or pull themselves to dizzy heights in the swings. There was no heart -left in them for such adventures—and besides everyone in the fair, -saving themselves and the small female bystander and the hoop girls, -was dirtier than you would believe possible. I suppose Beachfield has -a water supply. But you would have doubted it if you had been at the -fair. They heard no laughter, no gay talk, no hearty give-and-take of -holiday jests. A dull heavy silence brooded over the place, and you -could hear that silence under the shallow insincere gaiety of the steam -roundabout. - -Laughter and song, music and good-fellowship, dancing and innocent -revelry, there were none of these at Beachfield Fair. For music -there was the steam roundabout’s echoes of the sordid musical comedy -of the year before the year before last—laughter there was not—nor -revelry—only the dirty guardians of the machines for getting your -pennies stood gloomily huddled, and a few groups of dejected girls -and little boys shivered in the cold wind that had come up with the -sunset. In that wind, too, danced the dust, the straw, the newspaper -and the chocolate wrappers. The only dancing there was. The big tent -that held the circus was at the top of the ground, and the people who -were busy among the ropes and pegs and between the bright vans resting -on their shafts seemed gayer and cleaner than the people who kept -the little arrangements for people not to win prizes at. And now the -circus at last was opened; the flap of the tent was pinned back, and -a gypsy-looking woman, with oily black ringlets and eyes like bright -black beads, came out at the side to take the money of those who wished -to see the circus. People were now strolling toward it in twos and -threes, and of these our four were the very first, and the gypsy woman -took four warm sixpences from their four hands. - -“Walk in, walk in, my little dears, and see the white elephant,” said -a stout, black-mustached man in evening dress—greenish it was and -shiny about the seams. He flourished a long whip as he spoke, and the -children stopped, although they had paid their sixpences, to hear what -they were to see when they did walk in. “The white elephant—tail, -trunk, and tusks all complete, sixpence only. See the Back Try A -or Camels, or Ships of the Arabs—heavy drinker when he gets the -chance—total abstainer while crossing the desert. Walk up, walk up. See -the Trained Wolves and Wolverines in their great National Dance with -the flags of all countries. Walk up, walk up, walk up. See the Educated -Seals and the Unique Lotus of the Heast in her famous bare-backed act, -riding three horses at once, the wonder and envy of royalty. Walk up -and see the very table Mermaid caught on your own coast only yesterday -as ever was.” - -“Thank you,” said Francis, “I think we will.” And the four went through -the opened canvas into the pleasant yellow dusty twilight which was -the inside of a squarish sort of tent, with an opening at the end, and -through that opening you could see the sawdust-covered ring of the -circus and benches all around it, and two men just finishing covering -the front benches with red cotton strips. - -“Where’s the Mermaid?” Mavis asked a little boy in tights and a -spangled cap. - -“In there,” he said, pointing to a little canvas door at the side of -the squarish tent. “I don’t advise you to touch her, though. Spiteful, -she is. Lashes out with her tail—splashed old Mother Lee all over water -she did—an’ dangerous too: our Bill ’e got ’is bone set out in his -wrist a-trying to hold on to her. An’ it’s thruppence extry to see her -close.” - -There are times, as we all know, when threepence extra is a baffling -obstacle—a cruel barrier to desire, but this was not, fortunately, such -a moment. The children had plenty of money, because Mother had given -them two half-crowns between them to spend as they liked. - -“Even then,” said Bernard, in allusion to the threepence extra, “we -shall have two bob left.” - -So Mavis, who was treasurer, paid over the extra threepences to a girl -with hair as fair and lank as hemp, and a face as brown and round as -a tea cake, who sat on a kitchen chair by the Mermaid door. Then one -by one they went in through the narrow opening, and at last there they -were alone in the little canvas room with a tank in it that held—well, -there was a large label, evidently written in a hurry, for the letters -were badly made and arranged quite crookedly, and this label declared: - - REAL LIVE MERMAID. - SAID TO BE FABULUS, BUT NOW TRUE. - CAUGHT HERE. - PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH. - DANGEROUS. - -The little Spangled Boy had followed them in and pointed to the last -word. - -“What I tell you?” he asked proudly. - -The children looked at each other. Nothing could be done with this -witness at hand. At least.... - -“Perhaps if it’s going to be magic,” Mavis whispered to Francis, -“outsiders wouldn’t notice. They don’t sometimes—I believe. Suppose you -just said a bit of ‘Sabrina’ to start the magic.” - -“Wouldn’t be safe,” Francis returned in the same low tones. “Suppose he -_wasn’t_ an outsider, and _did_ notice.” - -So there they stood helpless. What the label was hung on was a large -zinc tank—the kind that they have at the tops of houses for the water -supply—you must have seen one yourself often when the pipes burst in -frosty weather, and your father goes up into the roof of the house with -a candle and pail, and the water drips through the ceilings and the -plumber is sent for, and comes when it suits him. The tank was full -of water and at the bottom of it could be seen a mass of something -dark that looked as if it were partly browny-green fish and partly -greeny-brown seaweed. - -“Sabrina fair,” Francis suddenly whispered, “send him away.” - -And immediately a voice from outside called “Rube—Reuben—drat the boy, -where’s he got to?”—and the little spangled intruder had to go. - -“There, now,” said Mavis, “if _that_ isn’t magic!” Perhaps it was, but -still the dark fish-and-seaweed heap in the tank had not stirred. “Say -it all through,” said Mavis. - -“Yes, do,” said Bernard, “then we shall know for certain whether it’s a -seal or not.” - -So once again— - - “‘_Sabrina fair, - Listen where thou art sitting, - Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave_,’” - -He got no further. There was a heaving and stirring of the seaweed and -fish tail, something gleamed white, through the brown something white -parted the seaweed, two white hands parted it, and a face came to the -surface of the rather dirty water and—there was no doubt about it—spoke. - -“‘Translucent wave,’indeed!” was what the face said. “I wonder you’re -not ashamed to speak the invocation over a miserable cistern like this. -What do you want?” - -Brown hair and seaweed still veiled most of the face, but all the -children, who, after their first start back had pressed close to the -tank again, could see that the face looked exceedingly cross. - -“We want,” said Francis in a voice that would tremble though he told -himself again and again that he was not a baby and wasn’t going to -behave like one—“we want to help you.” - -“Help _me_? You?” She raised herself a little more in the tank and -looked contemptuously at them. “Why, don’t you know that I am mistress -of all water magic? I can raise a storm that will sweep away this -horrible place and my detestable captors and you with them, and carry -me on the back of a great wave down to the depths of the sea.” - -“Then why on earth don’t you?” Bernard asked. - -“Well, I was thinking about it,” she said, a little awkwardly, “when -you interrupted with your spells. Well, you’ve called and I’ve -answered—now tell me what I can do for you.” - -“We’ve told you,” said Mavis gently enough, though she was frightfully -disappointed that the Mermaid after having in the handsomest manner -turned out to be a Mermaid, should be such a very short-tempered one. -And when they had talked about her all day and paid the threepence each -extra to see her close, and put on their best white dresses too. “We’ve -told you—we want to help you. Another Sabrina in the sea told us to. -_She_ didn’t tell us anything about you being a magic-mistress. She -just said ‘they die in captivity.’” - -[Illustration: “_‘Translucent wave,’ indeed!_”] - -“Well, thank you for coming,” said the Mermaid. “If she really said -that it must be one of two things—either the sun is in the House of -Liber—which is impossible at this time of the year—or else the rope I -was caught with must be made of llama’s hair, and _that’s_ impossible -in these latitudes. Do you know anything about the rope they caught me -with?” - -“No,” said Bernard and Kathleen. But the others said, “It was a lariat.” - -“Ah,” said the Mermaid, “my worst fears are confirmed—But who could -have expected a lariat on these shores? But that must have been it. Now -I know why, though I have been on the point of working the magic of the -Great Storm at least five hundred times since my capture, some unseen -influence has always held me back.” - -“You mean,” said Bernard, “you feel that it wouldn’t work, so you -didn’t try.” - -A rattling, ripping sound outside, beginning softly, waxed louder and -louder so as almost to drown their voices. It was the drum, and it -announced the beginning of the circus. The Spangled Child put his head -in and said, “Hurry up or you’ll miss my Infant Prodigious Act on the -Horse with the Tambourines,” and took his head out again. - -“Oh, dear,” said Mavis, “and we haven’t arranged a single thing about -rescuing you.” - -“No more you have,” said the Mermaid carelessly. - -“Look here,” said Francis, “you do _want_ to be rescued, don’t you? - -“Of course I do,” replied the Mermaid impatiently, “now I know about -the llama rope. But I can’t walk even if they’d let me, and you -couldn’t carry me. Couldn’t you come at dead of night with a chariot—I -could lift myself into it with your aid—then you could drive swiftly -hence, and driving into the sea I could drop from the chariot and -escape while you swam ashore.” - -“I don’t believe we could—any of it,” said Bernard, “let alone swimming -ashore with horses and chariots. Why, Pharaoh himself couldn’t do that, -you know.” And even Mavis and Francis added helplessly, “I don’t see -how we’re to get a chariot,” and “do you think of some other way.” - -“I shall await you,” said the lady in the tank with perfect calmness, -“at dead of night.” - -With that she twisted the seaweed closely around her head and shoulders -and sank slowly to the bottom of the tank. And the children were left -staring blankly at each other, while in the circus tent music sounded -and the soft heavy pad-pad of hoofs on sawdust. - -“What shall we do?” Francis broke the silence. - -“Go and see the circus, of course,” said Bernard. - -“Of course we can talk about the chariot afterward,” Mavis admitted. - -“There’ll be lots of time to talk between now and dead of night,” said -Kathleen. “Come on, Bear.” - -And they went. - -There is nothing like a circus for making you forget your anxieties. -It is impossible to dwell on your troubles and difficulties when -performing dogs are displaying their accomplishments, and wolves -dancing their celebrated dance with the flags of all nations, and -the engaging lady who jumps through the paper hoops and comes down -miraculously on the flat back of the white horse, cannot but drive -dull care away, especially from the minds of the young. So that for an -hour and a half—it really was a good circus, and I can’t think how it -happened to be at Beachfield Fair at all—a solid slab of breathless -enjoyment was wedged in between the interview with the Mermaid and -the difficult task of procuring for her the chariot she wanted. But -when it was all over and they were part of a hot, tightly packed crowd -pouring out of the dusty tent into the sunshine, their responsibilities -came upon them with renewed force. - -“Wasn’t the clown ripping?” said Bernard, as they got free of the crowd. - -“I liked the riding-habit lady best, and the horse that went like that, -best,” said Kathleen, trying with small pale hands and brown shod legs -to give an example of a horse’s conduct during an exhibition of the -_haute école_. - -“Didn’t you think the elephant—” Mavis was beginning, when Francis -interrupted her. - -“About that chariot,” he said, and after that they talked of nothing -else. And whatever they said it always came to this in the end, that -they hadn’t got a chariot, and couldn’t get a chariot, and that anyhow -they didn’t suppose there was a chariot to be got, at any rate in -Beachfield. - -“It wouldn’t be any good, I suppose,” said Kathleen’s last and most -helpful suggestion—“be the slightest good saying ‘Sabrina fair’ to a -pumpkin?” - -“We haven’t got even a pumpkin,” Bernard reminded her, “let alone the -rats and mice and lizards that Cinderella had. No, that’s no good. But -I’ll tell you what.” He stopped short. They were near home now—it was -late afternoon, in the road where the talkative yellowhammer lived. -“What about a wheelbarrow?” - -“Not big enough,” said Francis. - -“There’s an extra big one in the mill,” said Bernard. “Now, look here. -I’m not any good at magic. But Uncle Tom said I was a born general. If -I tell you exactly what to do, will you two do it, and let Cathay and -me off going?” - -“Going to sneak out of it?” Francis asked bitterly. - -“It isn’t. It’s not my game at all, and I don’t want to play. And if I -do, the whole thing will be muffed—you know it will. I’m so unlucky. -You’d never get out at dead of night without me dropping a boot on the -stairs or sneezing—you know you wouldn’t.” - -Bernard took a sort of melancholy pride in being the kind of boy -who always gets caught. If you are that sort of boy, perhaps that’s -the best way to take it. And Francis could not deny that there was -something in what he said. He went on: “Then Kathleen’s my special -sister and I’m not going to have her dragged into a row. (“I want to,” -Kathleen put in ungratefully.) So will you and Mavis do it on your own -or not?” - -After some discussion, in which Kathleen was tactfully dealt with, it -was agreed that they would. Then Bernard unfolded his plan of campaign. - -“Directly we get home,” he said, “we’ll begin larking about with that -old wheelbarrow—giving each other rides, and so on, and when it’s time -to go in we’ll leave it at the far end of the field behind the old -sheep hut near the gate. Then it’ll be handy for you at dead of night. -You must take towels or something and tie around the wheel so that it -doesn’t make a row. You can sleep with my toy alarm under your pillow -and it won’t wake anyone but you. You get out through the dining room -window and in the same way. I’ll lend you my new knife, with three -blades and a corkscrew, if you’ll take care of it, to cut the canvas, -and go by the back lane that comes out behind where the circus is, but -if you took my advice you wouldn’t go at all. She’s not a nice Mermaid -at all. I’d rather have had a seal, any day. Hullo, there’s Daddy and -Mother. Come on.” - -They came on. - -The program sketched by Bernard was carried out without a hitch. -Everything went well, only Francis and Mavis were both astonished to -find themselves much more frightened than they had expected to be. Any -really great adventure like the rescuing of a Mermaid does always look -so very much more serious when you carry it out, at night, than it did -when you were planning it in the daytime. Also, though they knew they -were not doing anything wrong, they had an uncomfortable feeling that -Mother and Daddy might not agree with them on that point. And of course -they could not ask leave to go and rescue a Mermaid, with a chariot, -at dead of night. It is not the sort of thing you can ask leave to do, -somehow. And the more you explained your reasons the less grown-up -people would think you fit to conduct such an expedition. - -Francis lay down fully dressed, under his nightshirt. And Mavis under -hers wore her short blue skirt and jersey. The alarm, true to its -trust, went off into an ear-splitting whizz and bang under the pillow -of Francis, but no one else heard it. He crept cautiously into Mavis’s -room and wakened her, and as they crept down in stockinged feet not a -board creaked. The French window opened without noise, the wheelbarrow -was where they had left it, and they had fortunately brought quite -enough string to bind wads of towels and stockings to the tire of its -wheel. Also they had not forgotten the knife. - -The wheelbarrow was heavy and they rather shrank from imagining how -much heavier it would be when the discontented Mermaid was curled up in -it. However, they took it in turns, and got along all right by the back -lane that comes out above the waste ground where Beachfield holds its -fairs. - -“I hope the night’s dead enough,” Mavis whispered as the circus came in -sight, looking very white in the starlight, “it’s nearly two by now I -should think.” - -“Quite dead enough, if that’s all,” said Francis; “but suppose the -gypsies are awake? They do sit up to study astronomy to tell fortunes -with, don’t they? Suppose this is their astronomy night? I vote we -leave the barrow here and go and reconnoiter.” - -They did. Their sandshoes made no noise on the dewy grass, and treading -very carefully, on tiptoe, they came to the tent. Francis nearly -tumbled over a guy rope; he just saw it in time to avoid it. - -“If I’d been Bernard I should have come a beastly noisy cropper over -that,” he told himself. They crept around the tent till they came to -the little square bulge that marked the place where the tank was and -the seaweed and the Mermaid. - -“They die in captivity, they die in captivity, they die in captivity,” -Mavis kept repeating to herself, trying to keep up her courage by -reminding herself of the desperately urgent nature of the adventure. -“It’s a matter of life and death,” she told herself—“life and death.” - -And now they picked their way between the pegs and guy ropes and came -quite close to the canvas. Doubts of the strength and silence of the -knife possessed the trembling soul of Francis. Mavis’s heart was -beating so thickly that, as she said afterward, she could hardly hear -herself think. She scratched gently on the canvas, while Francis felt -for the knife with the three blades and the corkscrew. An answering -signal from the imprisoned Mermaid would, she felt, give her fresh -confidence. There was no answering scratch. Instead, a dark line -appeared to run up the canvas—it was an opening made by the two hands -of the Mermaid which held back the two halves of the tent side, cut -neatly from top to bottom. Her white face peered out. - -“Where is the chariot?” she asked in the softest of whispers, but -not too soft to carry to the children the feeling that she was, if -possible, crosser than ever. - -Francis was afraid to answer. He knew that his voice could never be -subdued to anything as soft as the voice that questioned him, a voice -like the sound of tiny waves on a summer night, like the whisper of -wheat when the wind passes through it on a summer morning. But he -pointed toward the lane where they had left the wheelbarrow and he and -Mavis crept away to fetch it. - -As they wheeled it down the waste place both felt how much they owed to -Bernard. But for his idea of muffling the wheel they could never have -got the clumsy great thing down that bumpy uneven slope. But as it was -they and the barrow stole toward the gypsy’s tent as silently as the -Arabs in the poem stole away with theirs, and they wheeled it close to -the riven tent side. Then Mavis scratched again, and again the tent -opened. - -“Have you any cords?” the soft voice whispered, and Francis pulled what -was left of the string from his pocket. - -She had made two holes in the tent side, and now passing the string -through these she tied back the flaps of the tent. - -“Now,” she said, raising herself in the tank and resting her hands on -its side. “You must both help—take hold of my tail and lift. Creep -in—one on each side.” - -It was a wet, sloppy, slippery, heavy business, and Mavis thought her -arms would break, but she kept saying: “Die in captivity,” and just as -she was feeling that she could not bear it another minute the strain -slackened and there was the Mermaid curled up in the barrow. - -“Now,” said the soft voice, “go—quickly.” - -It was all very well to say go quickly. It was as much as the two -children could do, with that barrow-load of dripping Mermaid, to go at -all. And very, very slowly they crept up the waste space. In the lane, -under cover of the tall hedges, they paused. - -“Go on,” said the Mermaid. - -“We can’t till we’ve rested a bit,” said Mavis, panting. “How did you -manage to get that canvas cut?” - -“My shell knife, of course,” said the person in the wheelbarrow. “We -always carry one in our hair, in case of sharks.” - -“I see,” said Francis, breathing heavily. - -“You had much better go on,” said the barrow’s occupant. “This chariot -is excessively uncomfortable and much too small. Besides, delays are -dangerous.” - -“We’ll go in half a sec,” said Francis, and Mavis added kindly: - -“You’re really quite safe now, you know.” - -“_You_ aren’t,” said the Mermaid. “I don’t know whether you realize -that I’m stolen property and that it will be extremely awkward for you -if you are caught with me.” - -“But we shan’t be caught with you,” said Mavis hopefully. - -“Everybody’s sound asleep,” said Francis. It was wonderful how brave -and confident they felt now that the deed was done. “It’s perfectly -safe—Oh, what’s that! Oh!” - -A hand had shot from the black shadow of the hedge and caught him by -the arm. - -“What is it, France? What is it?” said Mavis, who could not see what -was happening. - -“What is it—now what is it?” asked the Mermaid more crossly than she -had yet spoken. - -“_Who_ is it? Oh, who is it?” gasped Francis, writhing in the grip of -his invisible assailant. And from the dark shadow of the hedge came the -simple and terrible reply: - -“The police!” - - - - -CHAPTER FOUR - -_Gratitude_ - - -IT IS HARDLY POSSIBLE to imagine a situation less attractive than that -of Mavis and Francis—even the position of the Mermaid curled up in a -dry barrow and far from her native element was not exactly luxurious. -Still, she was no worse off than she had been when the lariat first -curled itself about her fishy extremity. But the children! They had -braved the terrors of night in an adventure of singular courage and -daring, they had carried out their desperate enterprise, the Mermaid -was rescued, and success seemed near—no further off than the sea -indeed, and that, in point of fact, was about a quarter of a mile away. -To be within a quarter of a mile of achievement, and then to have the -cup of victory dashed from your lips, the crown of victory torn from -your brow by—the police! - -It was indeed hard. And what was more, it was dangerous. - -“We shall pass the night in the cells,” thought Mavis, in agony; “and -whatever will Mother do when she finds we’re gone?” In her mind “the -cells” were underground dungeons, dark and damp and vaulted, where -toads and lizards crawled, and no daylight ever penetrated. That is -how dungeons are described in books about the Inquisition. - -When the voice from the bush had said “The police,” a stricken silence -followed. The mouth of Francis felt dry inside, just as if he had been -eating cracknels, he explained afterward, and he had to swallow nothing -before he could say: - -“What for?” - -“Let go his arm,” said Mavis to the hidden foe. “We won’t run away. -Really we won’t.” - -“You can’t,” said the Mermaid. “You can’t leave me.” - -“Leave go,” said Francis, wriggling. And then suddenly Mavis made a -dart at the clutching hand and caught it by the wrist and whispered -savagely: - -“It’s not a policeman at all. Come out of that bush—come out,” and -dragged. And something did come out of the bush. Something that -certainly was not a policeman. It was small and thin, whereas policemen -are almost always tall and stout. It did not wear the blue coats our -Roberts wear, but velveteen knickerbockers and a tweed jacket. It was, -in fact, a very small boy. - -Francis broke into a cackle of relief. - -“You little—animal,” he said. “What a fright you gave me.” - -“Animal yourself, if you come to that, let alone her and her tail,” the -boy answered; and Mavis thought his voice didn’t sound unfriendly. “My! -But I did take a rise out of you that time, eh? Ain’t she bit you yet, -nor yet strook you with that there mackerel-end of hers?” - -And then they recognized him. It was the little Spangled Boy. Only now, -of course, being off duty he was no more spangled than you and I are. - -“Whatever did you do it for?” Mavis asked crossly. “It was horrid of -you.” - -“It wasn’t only just a lark,” said the boy. “I cut around and listened -this afternoon when you was jawing, and I thought why not be in it? -Only I do sleep that heavy, what with the riding and the tumbling and -all. So I didn’t wake till you’d got her out and then I cut up along -ahind the hedge to be beforehand with you. An’ I was. It was a fair -cop, matey, eh?” - -“What are you going to do about it?” Francis asked flatly; “tell your -father?” But Mavis reflected that he didn’t seem to have told his -father yet, and perhaps wouldn’t. - -“Ain’t got no father,” said the Spangled Boy, “nor yet mother.” - -“If you are rested enough you’d better go on,” said the Mermaid. “I’m -getting dry through.” - -And Mavis understood that to her that was as bad as getting wet through -would be to us. - -“I’m so sorry,” she said gently, “but—” - -“I must say I think it’s very inconsiderate of you to keep me all this -time in the dry,” the Mermaid went on. “I really should have thought -that even _you_—” - -But Francis interrupted her. - -“What are you going to _do_?” he asked the Spangled Boy. And that -surprising child answered, spitting on his hands and rubbing them: - -“Do? Why, give a ’and with the barrer.” - -The Mermaid put out a white arm and touched him. - -“You are a hero,” she said. “I can recognize true nobility even under a -once-spangled exterior. You may kiss my hand.” - -“Well, of all the, ...” said Francis. - -“Shall I?” the boy asked, more of himself than of the others. - -“Do,” Mavis whispered. “Anything to keep her in a good temper.” - -So the Spangled Boy kissed the still dampish hand of the Lady from -the Sea, took the handles of the barrow and off they all went. - -[Illustration: “_The police._”] - -Mavis and Francis were too thankful for this unexpected help to ask any -questions, though they could not help wondering exactly what it felt -like to be a boy who did not mind stealing his own father’s Mermaid. It -was the boy himself who offered, at the next rest-halt, an explanation. - -“You see,” he said, “it’s like this here. This party in the barrow—” - -“I know you don’t mean it disrespectfully,” said the Mermaid, sweetly; -“but _not_ party—and _not_ a barrow.” - -“Lady,” suggested Mavis. - -“This lydy in the chariot, she’d been kidnapped—that’s how I look at -it. Same as what I was.” - -This was romance indeed; and Mavis recognized it and said: - -“You, kidnapped? I say!” - -“Yus,” said Spangles, “when I was a baby kid. Old Mother Romaine told -me, just afore she was took all down one side and never spoke no more.” - -“But why?” Mavis asked. “I never could understand in the books why -gypsies kidnapped babies. They always seem to have so many of their -own—far, far more than anyone could possibly want.” - -“Yes, indeed,” said the Mermaid, “they prodded at me with sticks—a -multitude of them.” - -“It wasn’t kids as was wanted,” said the boy, “it was revenge. That’s -what Mother Romaine said—my father he was a sort of Beak, so he give -George Lee eighteen months for poaching. An’ the day they took him the -church bells was ringing like mad, and George, as he was being took, he -said: ‘What’s all that row? It ain’t Sunday.’ And then they tells him -as how the bells was ringing ’cause him that was the Beak—my father, -you know—he’d got a son and hare. And that was me. You wouldn’t think -it to look at me,” he added, spitting pensively and taking up the -barrow handles, “but I’m a son and hare.” - -“And then what happened?” Mavis asked as they trudged on. - -“Oh, George—he done his time, and I was a kiddy then, year-and-a-half -old, all lace and ribbons and blue shoes made of glove-stuff, and -George pinched me, and it makes me breff short, wheeling and talking.” - -“Pause and rest, my spangled friend,” said the Mermaid in a voice of -honey, “and continue your thrilling narrative.” - -“There ain’t no more to it,” said the boy, “except that I got one of -the shoes. Old Mother Romaine ’ad kep’ it, and a little shirt like a -lady’s handkercher, with R. V. on it in needlework. She didn’t ever -tell me what part of the country my dad was Beak in. Said she’d tell -me next day. An’ then there wasn’t no next day for her—not fer telling -things in, there wasn’t.” - -He rubbed his sleeve across his eyes. - -“She wasn’t half a bad sort,” he explained. - -“Don’t cry,” said Mavis unwisely. - -“Cry? Me?” he answered scornfully. “I’ve got a cold in me ’ead. You -oughter know the difference between a cold in the head and sniveling. -You been to school, I lay?—they might have taught you that.” - -“I wonder the gypsies didn’t take the shoe and the shirt away from you?” - -“Nobody know’d I’d got ’em; I always kep’ ’em inside my shirt, wrapt -up in a bit of paper, and when I put on me tights I used to hide ’em. -I’m a-going to take the road one of these days, and find out who it was -lost a kid with blue shoes and shirt nine years come April.” - -“Then you’re ten and a half,” said Mavis. - -And the boy answered admiringly: - -“How do you do it in your head so quick, miss? Yes, that’s what I am.” - -Here the wheelbarrow resumed its rather bumpety progress, and nothing -more could be said till the next stoppage, which was at that spot where -the sea-front road swings around and down, and glides into the beach so -gently that you can hardly tell where one begins and the other ends. -It was much lighter there than up on the waste space. The moon was -just breaking through a fluffy white cloud and cast a trembling sort -of reflection on the sea. As they came down the slope all hands were -needed to steady the barrow, because as soon as she saw the sea the -Mermaid began to jump up and down like a small child at a Christmas -tree. - -“Oh, look!” she cried, “isn’t it beautiful? Isn’t it the only home in -the world?” - -“Not quite,” said the boy. - -“Ah!” said the lady in the barrow, “Of course you’re heir to one of -the—what is it...?” - -“‘Stately homes of England—how beautiful they stand,’” said Mavis. - -“Yes,” said the lady. “I knew by instinct that he was of noble birth.” - - _“‘I bid ye take care of the brat,’ said he, - ‘For he comes of a noble race,’”_ - - * * * * * - -Francis hummed. He was feeling a little cross and sore. He and Mavis -had had all the anxious trouble of the adventure, and now the Spangled -Boy was the only one the Mermaid was nice to. It was certainly hard. - -“But your stately home would not do for me at all,” she went on. “My -idea of home is all seaweed of coral and pearl—so cosy and delightful -and wet. Now—can you push the chariot to the water’s edge, or will you -carry me?” - -“Not much we won’t,” the Spangled Boy answered firmly. “We’ll push you -as far as we can, and then you’ll have to wriggle.” - -“I will do whatever you suggest,” she said amiably; “but what is this -wriggle of which you speak?” - -“Like a worm,” said Francis. - -“Or an eel,” said Mavis. - -“Nasty low things,” said the Mermaid; and the children never knew -whether she meant the worm and the eel, or the girl and the boy. - -“Now then. All together,” said the Spangled Child. And the barrow -bumped down to the very edge of the rocks. And at the very edge its -wheel caught in a chink and the barrow went sideways. Nobody could help -it, but the Mermaid was tumbled out of her chariot on to the seaweed. - -The seaweed was full and cushiony and soft, and she was not hurt at -all—but she was very angry. - -“You have been to school,” she said, “as my noble preserver reminds -you. You might have learned how not to upset chariots.” - -“It’s we who are your preservers,” Francis couldn’t help saying. - -“Of course you are,” she said coolly, “plain preservers. Not noble -ones. But I forgive you. You can’t help being common and clumsy. I -suppose it’s your nature—just as it’s his to be....” - -“Good-bye,” said Francis, firmly. - -“Not at all,” said the lady. “You must come with me in case there -are any places where I can’t exercise the elegant and vermiform -accomplishment you spoke about. Now, one on each side, and one behind, -and don’t walk on my tail. You can’t think how annoying it is to have -your tail walked on.” - -[Illustration: _And disappeared entirely._] - -“Oh, can’t I,” said Mavis. “I’ll tell you something. My mother has a -tail too.” - -“I _say_!” said Francis. - -But the Spangled Child understood. - -“She don’t wear it every day, though,” he said; and Mavis is almost -sure that he winked. Only it is so difficult to be sure about winks in -the starlight. - -“Your mother must be better born than I supposed,” said the Mermaid. -“Are you _quite_ sure about the tail?” - -“I’ve trodden on it often,” said Mavis—and then Francis saw. - -Wriggling and sliding and pushing herself along by her hands, and -helped now and then by the hands of the others, the Mermaid was at last -got to the edge of the water. - -“How glorious! In a moment I shall be quite wet,” she cried. - -In a moment everyone else was quite wet also—for with a movement that -was something between a squirm and a jump, she dropped from the edge -with a splashing flop. - -And disappeared entirely. - - - - -CHAPTER FIVE - -_Consequences_ - - -THE THREE CHILDREN looked at each other. - -“Well!” said Mavis. - -“I do think she’s ungrateful,” said Francis. - -“What did you expect?” asked the Spangled Child. - -They were all wet through. It was very late—they were very tired, and -the clouds were putting the moon to bed in a very great hurry. The -Mermaid was gone; the whole adventure was ended. - -There was nothing to do but to go home, and go to sleep, knowing that -when they woke the next morning it would be to a day in the course of -which they would have to explain their wet clothes to their parents. - -“Even _you_’ll have to do that,” Mavis reminded the Spangled Boy. - -He received her remark in what they afterward remembered to have been a -curiously deep silence. - -“I don’t know how on earth we _are_ to explain,” said Francis. “I -really don’t. Come on—let’s get home. No more adventures for me, thank -you. Bernard knew what he was talking about.” - -Mavis, very tired indeed, agreed. - -They had got over the beach by this time, recovered the wheelbarrow, -and trundled it up and along the road. At the corner the Spangled Boy -suddenly said: - -“Well then, so long, old sports,” and vanished down a side lane. - -The other two went on together—with the wheelbarrow, which, I may -remind you, was as wet as any of them. - -They went along by the hedge and the mill and up to the house. - -Suddenly Mavis clutched at her brother’s arm. - -“There’s a light,” she said, “in the house.” - -There certainly was, and the children experienced that terrible -empty sensation only too well known to all of us—the feeling of the -utterly-found-out. - -They could not be sure which window it was, but it was a downstairs -window, partly screened by ivy. A faint hope still buoyed up Francis -of getting up to bed unnoticed by whoever it was that had the light; -and he and his sister crept around to the window out of which they had -crept; but such a very long time ago it seemed. The window was shut. - -Francis suggested hiding in the mill and trying to creep in unobserved -later on, but Mavis said: - -“No. I’m too tired for anything. I’m too tired to _live_, I think. -Let’s go and get it over, and then we can go to bed and sleep, and -sleep, and sleep.” - -So they went and peeped in at the kitchen window, and there was no one -but Mrs. Pearce, and she had a fire lighted and was putting a big pot -on it. - -The children went to the back door and opened it. - -“You’re early, for sure,” said Mrs. Pearce, not turning. - -This seemed a bitter sarcasm. It was too much. Mavis answered it with -a sob. And at that Mrs. Pearce turned very quickly. - -“What to gracious!” she said—“whatever to gracious is the matter? -Where’ve you been?” She took Mavis by the shoulder. “Why, you’re all -sopping wet. You naughty, naughty little gell, you. Wait till I tell -your Ma—been shrimping I lay—or trying to—never asking when the tide -was right. And not a shrimp to show for it, I know, with the tide where -it is. You wait till we hear what your Ma’s got to say about it. And -look at my clean flags and you dripping all over ’em like a fortnight’s -wash in wet weather.” - -Mavis twisted a little in Mrs. Pearce’s grasp. “Oh, don’t scold us, -dear Mrs. Pearce,” she said, putting a wet arm up toward Mrs. Pearce’s -neck. “We _are_ so miserable.” - -“And so you deserve to be,” said Mrs. Pearce, smartly. “Here, young -chap, you go into the washhouse and get them things off, and drop -them outside the door, and have a good rub with the jack-towel; and -little miss can undress by the fire and put hern in this clean pail—and -I’ll pop up softlike and so as your Ma don’t hear, and bring you down -something dry.” - -A gleam of hope fell across the children’s hearts—a gleam wild and -watery as that which the moonlight had cast across the sea, into which -the Mermaid had disappeared. Perhaps after all Mrs. Pearce wasn’t going -to tell Mother. If she was, why should she pop up softlike? Perhaps she -would keep their secret. Perhaps she would dry their clothes. Perhaps, -after all, that impossible explanation would never have to be given. - -The kitchen was a pleasant place, with bright brasses and shining -crockery, and a round three-legged table with a clean cloth and -blue-and-white teacups on it. - -Mrs. Pearce came down with their nightgowns and the warm dressing gowns -that Aunt Enid had put in in spite of their expressed wishes. How glad -they were of them now! - -“There, that’s a bit more like,” said Mrs. Pearce; “here, don’t look -as if I was going to eat you, you little Peter Grievouses. I’ll hot up -some milk and here’s a morsel of bread and dripping to keep the cold -out. Lucky for you I was up—getting the boys’ breakfast ready. The -boats’ll be in directly. The boys will laugh when I tell them—laugh fit -to bust their selves they will.” - -“Oh, don’t tell,” said Mavis, “don’t, please don’t. Please, please -don’t.” - -“Well, I like that,” said Mrs. Pearce, pouring herself some tea from -a pot which, the children learned later, stood on the hob all day and -most of the night; “it’s the funniest piece I’ve heard this many a day. -Shrimping at high tide!” - -“I thought,” said Mavis, “perhaps you’d forgive us, and dry our -clothes, and not tell anybody.” - -“Oh, you did, did you?” said Mrs. Pearce. “Anything else—?” - -“No, nothing else, thank you,” said Mavis, “only I want to say thank -you for being so kind, and it isn’t high tide yet, and please we -haven’t done any harm to the barrow—but I’m afraid it’s rather wet, and -we oughtn’t to have taken it without asking, I know, but you were in -bed and—” - -“The barrow?” Mrs. Pearce repeated. “That great hulking barrow—you -took the barrow to bring the shrimps home in? No—I can’t keep it to -myself—that really I can’t—” she lay back in the armchair and shook -with silent laughter. - -The children looked at each other. It is not pleasant to be laughed at, -especially for something you have never done—but they both felt that -Mrs. Pearce would have laughed quite as much, or even more, if they had -told her what it really was they had wanted the barrow for. - -“Oh, don’t go on laughing,” said Mavis, creeping close to Mrs. Pearce, -“though you are a ducky darling not to be cross any more. And you won’t -tell, will you?” - -“Ah, well—I’ll let you off this time. But you’ll promise faithful never -to do it again, now, won’t you?” - -“We faithfully won’t ever,” said both children, earnestly. - -“Then off you go to your beds, and I’ll dry the things when your Ma’s -out. I’ll press ’em tomorrow morning while I’m waiting for the boys to -come in.” - -“You _are_ an angel,” said Mavis, embracing her. - -“More than you are then, you young limbs,” said Mrs. Pearce, returning -the embrace. “Now off you go, and get what sleep you can.” - -It was with a feeling that Fate had not, after all, been unduly harsh -with them that Mavis and Francis came down to a very late breakfast. - -“Your Ma and Pa’s gone off on their bikes,” said Mrs. Pearce, bringing -in the eggs and bacon, “won’t be back till dinner. So I let you have -your sleep out. The little ’uns had theirs three hours ago and out on -the sands. I told them to let you sleep, though I know they wanted to -hear how many shrimps you caught. I lay they expected a barrowful, same -as what you did.” - -“How did you know they knew we’d been out?” Francis asked. - -“Oh, the way they was being secret in corners, and looking the old -barrow all over was enough to make a cat laugh. Hurry up, now. I’ve got -the washing-up to do—and your things is well-nigh dry.” - -“You _are_ a darling,” said Mavis. “Suppose you’d been different, -whatever would have become of us?” - -“You’d a got your desserts—bed and bread and water, instead of this -nice egg and bacon and the sands to play on. So now you know,” said -Mrs. Pearce. - - * * * * * - -On the sands they found Kathleen and Bernard, and it really now, in -the bright warm sunshine, seemed almost worthwhile to have gone through -last night’s adventures, if only for the pleasure of telling the tale -of them to the two who had been safe and warm and dry in bed all the -time. - -“Though really,” said Mavis, when the tale was told, “sitting here and -seeing the tents and the children digging, and the ladies knitting, -and the gentlemen smoking and throwing stones, it does hardly seem as -though there _could_ be any magic. And yet, you know, there was.” - -“It’s like I told you about radium and things,” said Bernard. “Things -aren’t magic because they haven’t been found out yet. There’s always -been Mermaids, of course, only people didn’t know it.” - -“But she talks,” said Francis. - -“Why not?” said Bernard placidly. “Even parrots do that.” - -“But she talks English,” Mavis urged. - -“Well,” said Bernard, unmoved, “what would you have had her talk?” - -And so, in pretty sunshine, between blue sky and good sands, the -adventure of the Mermaid seemed to come to an end, to be now only as -a tale that is told. And when the four went slowly home to dinner all -were, I think, a little sad that this should be so. - -“Let’s go around and have a look at the empty barrow,” Mavis said; -“it’ll bring it all back to us, and remind us of what was in it, like -ladies’ gloves and troubadours.” - -The barrow was where they had left it, but it was not empty. A very -dirty piece of folded paper lay in it, addressed in penciled and -uncertain characters - - TO FRANCE - TO BE OPENED. - -Francis opened it and read aloud: - - “I went back and she came back and she wants you to - come back at ded of nite. - - RUBE.” - -“Well, I shan’t go,” said Francis. - -A voice from the bush by the gate made them all start. - -“Don’t let on you see me,” said the Spangled Boy, putting his head out -cautiously. - -“You seem very fond of hiding in bushes,” said Francis. - -“I am,” said the boy briefly. “Ain’t you going—to see her again, I -mean?” - -“No,” said Francis, “I’ve had enough dead of night to last me a long -time.” - -“You a-going, miss?” the boy asked. “No? You are a half-livered crew. -It’ll be only me, I suppose.” - -“You’re going, then?” - -“Well,” said the boy, “what do you think?” - -“I should go if I were you,” said Bernard impartially. - -“No, you wouldn’t; not if you were me,” said Francis. “You don’t know -how disagreeable she was. I’m fed up with her. And besides, we simply -_can’t_ get out at dead of night now. Mrs. Pearce’ll be on the lookout. -No—it’s no go.” - -“But you _must_ manage it somehow,” said Kathleen; “you can’t let it -drop like this. I shan’t believe it was magic at all if you do.” - -“If you were us, you’d have had enough of magic,” said Francis. “Why -don’t you go yourselves—you and Bernard.” - -“I’ve a good mind to,” said Bernard unexpectedly. “Only not in the -middle of the night, because of my being certain to drop my boots. -Would you come, Cathay?” - -“You know I wanted to before,” said Kathleen reproachfully. - -“But how?” the others asked. - -“Oh,” said Bernard, “we must think about that. I say, you chap, we must -get to our dinner. Will you be here after?” - -“Yes. I ain’t going to move from here. You might bring me a bit of grub -with you—I ain’t had a bite since yesterday teatime.” - -“I say,” said Francis kindly, “did they stop your grub to punish you -for getting wet?” - -“They didn’t know nothing about my getting wet,” he said darkly. “I -didn’t never go back to the tents. I’ve cut my lucky, I ’ave ’ooked it, -skedaddled, done a bunk, run away.” - -“And where are you going?” - -“_I_ dunno,” said the Spangled Boy. “I’m running _from_, not to.” - - - - -CHAPTER SIX - -_The Mermaid’s Home_ - - -THE PARENTS of Mavis, Francis, Kathleen and Bernard were extremely -sensible people. If they had not been, this story could never have -happened. They were as jolly as any father and mother you ever met, -but they were not always fussing and worrying about their children, -and they understood perfectly well that children do not care to be -absolutely always under the parental eye. So that, while there were -always plenty of good times in which the whole family took part, there -were also times when Father and Mother went off together and enjoyed -themselves in their own grown-up way, while the children enjoyed -themselves in theirs. It happened that on this particular afternoon -there was to be a concert at Lymington—Father and Mother were going. -The children were asked whether they would like to go, and replied with -equal courtesy and firmness. - -“Very well then,” said Mother, “you do whatever you like best. I should -play on the shore, I think, if I were you. Only don’t go around the -corner of the cliff, because that’s dangerous at high tide. It’s safe -so long as you’re within sight of the coast guards. Anyone have any -more pie? No—then I think I’ll run and dress.” - -“Mother,” said Kathleen suddenly, “may we take some pie and things to a -little boy who said he hadn’t had anything to eat since yesterday?” - -“Where is he?” Father asked. - -Kathleen blushed purple, but Mavis cautiously replied, “Outside. I’m -sure we shall be able to find him.” - -“Very well,” said Mother, “and you might ask Mrs. Pearce to give you -some bread and cheese as well. Now, I must simply fly.” - -“Cathay and I’ll help you, Mother,” said Mavis, and escaped the further -questioning she saw in her father’s eye. The boys had slipped away at -the first word of what seemed to be Kathleen’s amazing indiscretion -about the waiting Rube. - -“It was quite all right,” Kathleen argued later, as they went up the -field, carefully carrying a plate of plum pie and the bread and cheese -with not so much care and a certain bundle not carefully at all. “I -saw flying in Mother’s eye before I spoke. And if you _can_ ask leave -before you do a thing it’s always safer.” - -“And look here,” said Mavis. “If the Mermaid wants to see us we’ve only -got to go down and say ‘Sabrina fair,’ and she’s certain to turn up. If -it’s just seeing us she wants, and not another deadly night adventure.” - -Reuben did not eat with such pretty manners as yours, perhaps, but -there was no doubt about his enjoyment of the food they had brought, -though he only stopped eating for half a second, to answer, “Prime. -Thank you,” to Kathleen’s earnest inquiries. - -“Now,” said Francis when the last crumb of cheese had disappeared and -the last trace of plum juice had been licked from the spoon (a tin one, -because, as Mrs. Pearce very properly said, you never know)—“now, look -here. We’re going straight down to the shore to try and see her. And if -you like to come with us we can disguise you.” - -“What in?” Reuben asked. “I did disguise myself once in a false beard -and a green-colored mustache, but it didn’t take no one in for a -moment, not even the dogs.” - -“We thought,” said Mavis gently, “that perhaps the most complete -disguise for you would be girl’s clothes—because,” she added hastily to -dispel the thundercloud on Reuben’s brow—“because you’re such a manly -boy. Nobody would give vent to a moment’s suspicion. It would be so -very unlike _you_.” - -“G’a long—” said the Spangled Child, his dignity only half soothed. - -“And I’ve brought you some of my things and some sandshoes of France’s, -because, of course, mine are just kiddy shoes.” - -At that Reuben burst out laughing and then hummed: “‘Go, flatterer, go, -I’ll not trust to thy vow,’” quite musically. - -“Oh, do you know the ‘Gypsy Countess’? How jolly!” said Kathleen. - -“Old Mother Romaine knew a power of songs,” he said, suddenly grave. -“Come on, chuck us in the togs.” - -“You just take off your coat and come out and I’ll help you dress up,” -was Francis’s offer. - -“Best get a skirt over my kicksies first,” said Reuben, “case anyone -comes by and recognizes the gypsy child. Hand us in the silk attire -and jewels have to spare.” - -They pushed the blue serge skirt and jersey through the branches, which -he held apart. - -“Now the ’at,” he said, reaching a hand for it. But the hat was too -large for the opening in the bush, and he had to come out of it. The -moment he was out the girls crowned him with the big rush-hat, around -whose crown a blue scarf was twisted, and Francis and Bernard each -seizing a leg, adorned those legs with brown stockings and white -sandshoes. Reuben, the spangled runaway from the gypsy camp, stood up -among his new friends a rather awkward and quite presentable little -girl. - -“Now,” he said, looking down at his serge skirts with a queer smile, -“now we shan’t be long.” - -Nor were they. Thrusting the tin spoon and the pie plate and the -discarded boots of Reuben into the kind shelter of the bush they made -straight for the sea. - -When they got to that pleasant part of the shore which is smooth sand -and piled shingle, lying between low rocks and high cliffs, Bernard -stopped short. - -“Now, look here,” he said, “if Sabrina fair turns up trumps I don’t -mind going on with the adventure, but I won’t do it if Kathleen’s to be -in it.” - -“It’s not fair,” said Kathleen; “you said I might.” - -“Did I?” Bernard most handsomely referred the matter to the others. - -“Yes, you did,” said Francis shortly. Mavis said “Yes,” and Reuben -clinched the matter by saying, “Why, you up and asked her yourself if -she’d go along of you.” - -“All right,” said Bernard calmly. “Then I shan’t go myself. That’s all.” - -“Oh, bother,” said at least three of the five; and Kathleen said: “I -don’t see why I should always be out of everything.” - -“Well,” said Mavis impatiently, “after all, there’s no danger in -just trying to _see_ the Mermaid. You promise you won’t do anything -if Bernard says not—that’ll do, I suppose? Though why you should be -a slave to him just because he chooses to say you’re his particular -sister, I don’t see. Will _that_ do, Bear?” - -“I’ll promise _anything_,” said Kathleen, almost in tears, “if you’ll -only let me come with you all and see the Mermaid if she turns out to -be seeable.” - -So that was settled. - -Now came the question of where the magic words should be said. - -Mavis and Francis voted for the edge of the rocks where the words had -once already been so successfully spoken. Bernard said, “Why not here -where we are?” Kathleen said rather sadly that any place would do as -long as the Mermaid came when she was called. But Reuben, standing -sturdily in his girl’s clothes, said: - -“Look ’ere. When you’ve run away like what I have, least said soonest -mended, and out of sight’s out of mind. What about caves?” - -“Caves are too dry, except at high tide,” said Francis. “And then -they’re too wet. Much.” - -“Not all caves,” Reuben reminded him. “If we was to turn and go up by -the cliff path. There’s a cave up there. I hid in it t’other day. Quite -dry, except in one corner, and there it’s as wet as you want—a sort of -’orse trough in the rocks it looks like—only deep.” - -“Is it seawater?” Mavis asked anxiously. And Reuben said: - -“Bound to be, so near the sea and all.” - -But it wasn’t. For when they had climbed the cliff path and Reuben had -shown them where to turn aside from it, and had put aside the brambles -and furze that quite hid the cave’s mouth, Francis saw at once that the -water here could not be seawater. It was too far above the line which -the waves reached, even in the stormiest weather. - -“So it’s no use,” he explained. - -But the others said, “Oh, do let’s try, now we _are_ here,” and they -went on into the dusky twilight of the cave. - -It was a very pretty cave, not chalk, like the cliffs, but roofed and -walled with gray flints such as the houses and churches are built of -that you see on the downs near Brighton and Eastbourne. - -“This isn’t an accidental cave, you know,” said Bernard importantly; -“it’s built by the hand of man in distant ages, like Stonehenge and the -Cheesewring and Kit’s Coty House.” - -The cave was lighted from the entrance where the sunshine crept -faintly through the brambles. Their eyes soon grew used to the gloom -and they could see that the floor of the cave was of dry white sand, -and that along one end was a narrow dark pool of water. Ferns fringed -its edge and drooped their fronds to its smooth surface—a surface which -caught a gleam of light, and shone whitely; but the pool was very -still, and they felt somehow, without knowing why, very deep. - -“It’s no good, no earthly,” said Francis. - -“But it’s an awfully pretty cave,” said Mavis consolingly. “Thank you -for showing it to us, Reuben. And it’s jolly cool. Do let’s rest a -minute or two. I’m simply boiling, climbing that cliff path. We’ll go -down to the sea in a minute. Reuben could wait here if he felt safer.” - -“All right, squattez-vous,” said Bernard, and the children sat down at -the water’s edge, Reuben still very awkward in his girl’s clothes. - -It was very, very quiet. Only now and then one fat drop of water would -fall from the cave’s roof into that quiet pool and just move its -surface in a spreading circle. - -“It’s a ripping place for a hidey-hole,” said Bernard, “better than -that old bush of yours, anyhow. I don’t believe anybody knows of the -way in.” - -“_I_ don’t think anyone does, either,” said Reuben, “because there -wasn’t any way in till it fell in two days ago, when I was trying to -dig up a furze root.” - -“I should hide here if you want to hide,” said Bernard. - -“I mean to,” said Reuben. - -“Well, if you’re rested, let’s get on,” Francis said; but Kathleen -urged: - -“Do let’s say ‘Sabrina fair,’ first—just to try!” So they said it—all -but the Spangled Child who did not know it— - - “‘_Sabrina fair - Listen where thou art sitting - Under the glassie, cool...._’” - -There was a splash and a swirl in the pool, and there was the Mermaid -herself, sure enough. Their eyes had grown used to the dusk and they -could see her quite plainly, could see too that she was holding out her -arms to them and smiling so sweetly that it almost took their breath -away. - -“My cherished preservers,” she cried, “my dear, darling, kind, brave, -noble, unselfish dears!” - -“You’re talking to Reuben, in the plural, by mistake, I suppose,” said -Francis, a little bitterly. - -“To him, too, of course. But you two most of all,” she said, swishing -her tail around and leaning her hands on the edge of the pool. “I -_am_ so sorry I was so ungrateful the other night. I’ll tell you how -it was. It’s in your air. You see, coming out of the water we’re very -susceptible to aerial influences—and that sort of ungratefulness and, -what’s the word—?” - -“Snobbishness,” said Francis firmly. - -“Is that what you call it?—is most frightfully infectious, and your -air’s absolutely crammed with the germs of it. That’s why I was so -horrid. You do forgive me, don’t you, dears? And I was so selfish, -too—oh, horrid. But it’s all washed off now, in the nice clean sea, -and I’m as sorry as if it had been my fault, which it really and truly -wasn’t.” - -The children said all right, and she wasn’t to mind, and it didn’t -matter, and all the things you say when people say they are sorry, and -you cannot kiss them and say, “Right oh,” which is the natural answer -to such confessions. - -“It was very curious,” she said thoughtfully, “a most odd experience, -that little boy ... his having been born of people who had always been -rich, really seemed to me to be important. I assure you it did. Funny, -wasn’t it? And now I want you all to come home with me, and see where I -live.” - -She smiled radiantly at them, and they all said, “Thank you,” and -looked at each other rather blankly. - -“All our people will be unspeakably pleased to see you. We Mer-people -are not really ungrateful. You mustn’t think that,” she said pleadingly. - -She looked very kind, very friendly. But Francis thought of the -Lorelei. Just so kind and friendly must the Lady of the Rhine have -looked to the “sailor in a little skiff” whom he had disentangled -from Heine’s poem, last term, with the aid of the German dicker. By a -curious coincidence and the same hard means, Mavis had, only last term, -read of Undine, and she tried not to think that there was any lack of -soul in the Mermaid’s kind eyes. Kathleen who, by another coincidence, -had fed her fancy in English literature on the “Forsaken Merman” was -more at ease. - -“Do you mean down with you under the sea?” she asked— - - “‘_Where the sea snakes coil and twine, - Dry their mail and bask in the brine, - Where great whales go sailing by, - Sail and sail with unshut eye - Round the world for ever and aye?_’” - -“Well, it’s not exactly like that, really,” said the Mermaid; “but -you’ll see soon enough.” - -This had, in Bernard’s ears, a sinister ring. - -“Why,” he asked suddenly, “did you say you wanted to see us at dead of -night?” - -“It’s the usual time, isn’t it?” she asked, looking at him with -innocent surprise. “It is in all the stories. You know we have air -stories just as you have fairy stories and water stories—and the -rescuer almost always comes to the castle gate at dead of night, on a -coal-black steed or a dapple-gray, you know, or a red-roan steed of -might; but as there were four of you, besides me and my tail, I thought -it more considerate to suggest a chariot. Now, we really ought to be -going.” - -“Which way?” asked Bernard, and everyone held their breath to hear the -answer. - -“The way I came, of course,” she answered, “down here,” and she pointed -to the water that rippled around her. - -“Thank you so very, _very_ much,” said Mavis, in a voice which trembled -a little; “but I don’t know whether you’ve heard that people who -go down into the water like that—people like us—without tails, you -know—they get drowned.” - -“Not if they’re personally conducted,” said the Mermaid. “Of course we -can’t be responsible for trespassers, though even with them I don’t -think anything very dreadful has ever happened. Someone once told me a -story about Water Babies. Did you ever hear of that?” - -“Yes, but that was a made-up story,” said Bernard stolidly. - -“Yes, of course,” she agreed, “but a great deal of it’s quite true, all -the same. But you won’t grow fins and gills or anything like that. You -needn’t be afraid.” - -The children looked at each other, and then all looked at Francis. He -spoke. - -“Thank you,” he said. “Thank you very much, but we would rather -not—much rather.” - -“Oh, nonsense,” said the lady kindly. “Look here, it’s as easy as easy. -I give you each a lock of my hair,” she cut off the locks with her -shell knife as she spoke, long locks they were and soft. “Look here, -tie these round your necks—if I’d had a lock of human hair round my -neck I should never have suffered from the dryness as I did. And then -just jump in. Keep your eyes shut. It’s rather confusing if you don’t; -but there’s no danger.” - -The children took the locks of hair, but no one regarded them with any -confidence at all as lifesaving apparatus. They still hung back. - -“You really are silly,” said the sea lady indulgently. “Why did you -meddle with magic at all if you weren’t prepared to go through with -it? Why, this is one of the simplest forms of magic, and the safest. -Whatever would you have done if you had happened to call up a fire -spirit and had had to go down Vesuvius with a Salamander round your -little necks?” - -She laughed merrily at the thought. But her laugh sounded a little -angry too. - -“Come, don’t be foolish,” she said. “You’ll never have such a -chance again. And I feel that this air is full of your horrid human -microbes—distrust, suspicion, fear, anger, resentment—horrid little -germs. I don’t want to risk catching them. Come.” - -“No,” said Francis, and held out to her the lock of her hair; so did -Mavis and Bernard. But Kathleen had tied the lock of hair round her -neck, and she said: - -“I _should_ have liked to, but I promised Bernard I would not do -anything unless he said I might.” It was toward Kathleen that the -Mermaid turned, holding out a white hand for the lock. - -Kathleen bent over the water trying to untie it, and in one awful -instant the Mermaid had reared herself up in the water, caught Kathleen -in her long white arms, pulled her over the edge of the pool, and with -a bubbling splash disappeared with her beneath the dark water. - -[Illustration: _She caught Kathleen in her arms._] - -Mavis screamed and knew it; Francis and Bernard thought they did not -scream. It was the Spangled Child alone who said nothing. He had not -offered to give back the lock of soft hair. He, like Kathleen, had -knotted it round his neck; he now tied a further knot, stepped -forward, and spoke in tones which the other three thought the most -noble they had ever heard. - -“She give me the plum pie,” he said, and leaped into the water. - -He sank at once. And this, curiously enough, gave the others -confidence. If he had struggled—but no—he sank like a stone, or like a -diver who means diving and diving to the very bottom. - -“She’s my special sister,” said Bernard, and leaped. - -“If it’s magic it’s all right—and if it isn’t we couldn’t go back home -without her,” said Mavis hoarsely. And she and Francis took hands and -jumped together. - -It was not so difficult as it sounds. From the moment of Kathleen’s -disappearance the sense of magic—which is rather like very sleepy -comfort and sweet scent and sweet music that you just can’t hear the -tune of—had been growing stronger and stronger. And there are some -things so horrible that if you can bring yourself to face them you -simply _can’t_ believe that they’re true. It did not seem possible—when -they came quite close to the idea—that a Mermaid could really come and -talk so kindly and then drown the five children who had rescued her. - -“It’s all right,” Francis cried as they jumped. - -“I ...” He shut his mouth just in time, and down they went. - -You have probably dreamed that you were a perfect swimmer? You know -the delight of that dream-swimming, which is no effort at all, and yet -carries you as far and as fast as you choose. It was like that with -the children. The moment they touched the water they felt that they -belonged in it—that they were as much at home in water as in air. As -they sank beneath the water their feet went up and their heads went -down, and there they were swimming downward with long, steady, easy -strokes. It was like swimming down a well that presently widened to a -cavern. Suddenly Francis found that his head was above water. So was -Mavis’s. - -“All right so far,” she said, “but how are we going to get back?” - -“Oh, the magic will do that,” he answered, and swam faster. - -The cave was lighted by bars of phosphorescence placed like pillars -against the walls. The water was clear and deeply green and along -the sides of the stream were sea anemones and starfish of the most -beautiful forms and the most dazzling colors. The walls were of dark -squarish shapes, and here and there a white oblong, or a blue and a -red, and the roof was of mother-of-pearl which gleamed and glistened -in the pale golden radiance of the phosphorescent pillars. It was very -beautiful, and the mere pleasure of swimming so finely and easily swept -away almost their last fear. This, too, went when a voice far ahead -called: “Hurry up, France—Come on, Mavis,”—and the voice was the voice -of Kathleen. - -They hurried up, and they came on; and the gleaming soft light grew -brighter and brighter. It shone all along the way they had to go, -making a path of glory such as the moon makes across the sea on a -summer night. And presently they saw that this growing light was from -a great gate that barred the waterway in front of them. Five steps led -up to this gate, and sitting on it, waiting for them, were Kathleen, -Reuben, Bernard and the Mermaid. Only now she had no tail. It lay -beside her on the marble steps, just as your stockings lie when you -have taken them off; and there were her white feet sticking out from -under a dress of soft feathery red seaweed. - -They could see it was seaweed though it was woven into a wonderful -fabric. Bernard and Kathleen and the Spangled Boy had somehow got -seaweed dresses too, and the Spangled Boy was no longer dressed as a -girl; and looking down as they scrambled up the steps Mavis and Francis -saw that they, too, wore seaweed suits—“Very pretty, but how awkward to -go home in,” Mavis thought. - -[Illustration: _The golden door._] - -“Now,” said the Mer-lady, “forgive me for taking the plunge. I knew -you’d hesitate forever, and I was beginning to feel so cross! That’s -your dreadful atmosphere! Now, here we are at the door of our kingdom. -You do want to come in, don’t you? I can bring you as far as this -against your will, but not any farther. And you can’t come any farther -unless you trust me absolutely. Do you? Will you? Try!” - -“Yes,” said the children, all but Bernard, who said stoutly: - -“I don’t; but I’ll try to. I want to.” - -“If you want to, I think you _do_,” said she very kindly. “And now -I will tell you one thing. What you’re breathing isn’t air, and it -isn’t water. It’s something that both water people and air people can -breathe.” - -“The greatest common measure,” said Bernard. - -“A simple equation,” said Mavis. - -“Things which are equal to the same thing are equal to each other,” -said Francis; and the three looked at each other and wondered why they -had said such things. - -“Don’t worry,” said the lady, “it’s only the influence of the place. -This is the Cave of Learning, you know, very dark at the beginning and -getting lighter and lighter as you get nearer to the golden door. All -these rocks are made of books really, and they exude learning from -every crack. We cover them up with anemones and seaweed and pretty -things as well as we can, but the learning will leak out. Let us go -through the gate or you’ll all be talking Sanskrit before we know where -we are.” - -She opened the gate. A great flood of glorious sunlight met them, the -solace of green trees and the jeweled grace of bright blossoms. She -pulled them through the door, and shut it. - -“This is where we live,” she said. “Aren’t you glad you came?” - - - - -CHAPTER SEVEN - -_The Skies Are Falling_ - - -AS THE CHILDREN passed through the golden doors a sort of swollen -feeling which was beginning to make their heads quite uncomfortable -passed away, and left them with a curiously clear and comfortable -certainty that they were much cleverer than usual. - -“I _could_ do sums now, and no mistake,” Bernard whispered to Kathleen, -who replied to the effect that dates no longer presented the slightest -difficulty to her. - -Mavis and Francis felt as though they had never before known what it -was to have a clear brain. They followed the others through the golden -door, and then came Reuben, and the Mermaid came last. She had picked -up her discarded tail and was carrying it over her arm as you might a -shawl. She shut the gate, and its lock clicked sharply. - -“We have to be careful, you know,” she said, “because of the people in -the books. They are always trying to get out of the books that the cave -is made of; and some of them are very undesirable characters. There’s a -Mrs. Fairchild—we’ve had a great deal of trouble with her, and a person -called Mrs. Markham who makes everybody miserable, and a lot of people -who think they are being funny when they aren’t—dreadful.” - -The party was now walking along a smooth grassy path, between tall, -clipped box hedges—at least they looked like box hedges, but when Mavis -stroked the close face of one she found that it was not stiff box, but -soft seaweed. - -“Are we in the water or not?” said she, stopping suddenly. - -“That depends on what you mean by water. Water’s a thing human beings -can’t breathe, isn’t it? Well, you are breathing. So this can’t be -water.” - -“I see that,” said Mavis, “but the soft seaweed won’t stand up in air, -and it does in water.” - -“Oh, you’ve found out, have you?” said the Mermaid. “Well, then, -perhaps it is water. Only you see it can’t be. Everything’s like that -down here.” - -“Once you said you lived in water, and you wanted to be wet,” said -Mavis. - -“Mer-people aren’t responsible for what they say in your world. I told -you that, you know,” the Mermaid reminded them. - -Presently they came to a little coral bridge over a stream that flowed -still and deep. “But if what we’re in is water, what’s that?” said -Bernard, pointing down. - -“Ah, now you’re going too deep for me,” said the Mermaid, “at least if -I were to answer I should go too deep for you. Come on—we shall be too -late for the banquet.” - -“What do you have for the banquet?” Bernard asked; and the Mermaid -answered sweetly: “Things to eat.” - -“And to drink?” - -“It’s no use,” said she; “you can’t get at it that way. We drink—but -you wouldn’t understand.” - -Here the grassy road widened, and they came onto a terrace of -mother-of-pearl, very smooth and shining. Pearly steps led down from -it into the most beautiful garden you could invent if you tried for a -year and a day with all the loveliest pictures and the most learned -books on gardening to help you. But the odd thing about it was that -when they came to talk it over afterward they never could agree about -the shape of the beds, the direction of the walks, the kinds and colors -of the flowers, or indeed any single thing about it. But to each it -seemed and will always seem the most beautiful garden ever imagined or -invented. And everyone saw, beyond a distant belt of trees the shining -domes and minarets of very beautiful buildings, and far, far away there -was a sound of music, so far away that at first they could only hear -the music and not the tune. But soon that too was plain, and it was the -most beautiful tune in the world. - -“Crikey,” said Reuben, speaking suddenly and for the first time, “ain’t -it ’evingly neither. Not arf,” he added with decision. - -“Now,” said the Mermaid, as they neared the belt of trees, “you are -going to receive something.” - -“Oh, thank you,” said everybody, and no one liked to add: -“What?”—though that simple word trembled on every tongue. It slipped -off the tip of Reuben’s, indeed, at last, and the Mermaid answered: - -“An ovation.” - -“That’s something to do with eggs, I know,” said Kathleen. “Father was -saying so only the other day.” - -“There will be no eggs in this,” said the Mermaid, “and you may find -it a trifle heavy. But when it is over the fun begins. Don’t be -frightened, Kathleen—Mavis, don’t smooth your hair. Ugly untidiness is -impossible here. You are about to be publicly thanked by our Queen. -You’d rather not? You should have thought of that before. If you will -go about doing these noble deeds of rescue you must expect to be -thanked. Now, don’t forget to bow. And there’s nothing to be frightened -of.” - -They passed through the trees and came on a sort of open courtyard in -front of a palace of gleaming pearl and gold. There on a silver throne -sat the loveliest lady in the world. She wore a starry crown and a -gown of green, and golden shoes, and she smiled at them so kindly that -they forgot any fear they may have felt. The music ended on a note of -piercing sweetness and in the great hush that followed the children -felt themselves gently pushed forward to the foot of the throne. All -around was a great crowd, forming a circle about the pearly pavement on -which they stood. - -The Queen rose up in her place and reached toward them the end of her -scepter where shone a star like those that crowned her. - -“Welcome,” she said in a voice far sweeter than the music, “Welcome -to our Home. You have been kind, you have been brave, you have been -unselfish, and all my subjects do homage to you.” - -At the word the whole of that great crowd bent toward them like -bulrushes in the wind, and the Queen herself came down the steps of her -throne and held out her hands to the children. - -A choking feeling in their throats became almost unbearable as those -kind hands rested on one head after another. - -Then the crowd raised itself and stood upright, and someone called out -in a voice like a trumpet: - -“The children saved one of us—_We die in captivity_. Shout for the -children. Shout!” - -And a roar like the roar of wild waves breaking on rocks went up from -the great crowd that stood all about them. There was a fluttering of -flags or handkerchiefs—the children could not tell which—and then the -voice of their own Mermaid, saying: “There—that’s over. And now we -shall have the banquet. Shan’t we, Mamma?” - -“Yes, my daughter,” said the Queen. - -So the Mermaid they had rescued was a Queen’s daughter! - -“I didn’t know you were a Princess,” said Mavis, as they followed the -Queen along a corridor. - -“That’s why they have made such a fuss, I suppose,” said Bernard. - -“Oh, no, we should have given the ovation to anyone who had saved any -of us from captivity. We love giving ovations. Only we so seldom get -the chance, and even ordinary entertaining is difficult. People are -so prejudiced. We can hardly ever get anyone to come and visit us. I -shouldn’t have got you if you hadn’t happened to find that cave. It -would have been quite impossible for me to give Kathleen that clinging -embrace from shallow water. The cave water is so much more buoyant than -the sea. I daresay you noticed that.” - -Yes—they had. - -“May we sit next you at the banquet?” Kathleen asked suddenly, -“because, you know, it’s all rather strange to us.” - -“Of course, dear,” said the sea lady. - -“But,” said Bernard, “I’m awfully sorry, but I think we ought to go -home.” - -“Oh, don’t talk of it,” said the Mermaid. “Why, you’ve only just come.” - -Bernard muttered something about getting home in time to wash for tea. - -“There’ll be heaps of time,” said Francis impatiently; “don’t fuss and -spoil everything.” - -“I’m not fussing,” said Bernard, stolid as ever. “I never fuss. But I -think we ought to be thinking of getting home.” - -“Well, think about it then,” said Francis impatiently, and turned to -admire the clusters of scarlet flowers that hung from the pillars of -the gallery. - -The banquet was very magnificent, but they never could remember -afterward what it was that they ate out of the silver dishes and drank -out of the golden cups. They none of them forgot the footmen, however, -who were dressed in tight-fitting suits of silver scales, with silver -fingerless gloves, and a sort of helmet on that made them look less -like people than like fish, as Kathleen said. - -“But they _are_ fish,” said the Princess, opening her beautiful eyes; -“they’re the Salmoners, and the one behind Mother’s chair is the Grand -Salmoner. In your country I have heard there are Grand Almoners. We -have Grand Salmoners.” - -“Are all your servants fish?” Mavis asked. - -“Of course,” said the Princess, “but we don’t use servants much -except for state occasions. Most of our work is done by the lower -orders—electric eels, most of them. We get all the power for our -machinery from them.” - -“How do you do it?” Bernard asked, with a fleeting vision of being some -day known as the great man who discovered the commercial value of the -electricity obtainable from eels. - -“We keep a tank of them,” said she, “and you just turn a tap—they’re -connected up to people’s houses—and you connect them with your looms or -lathes or whatever you’re working. That sets up a continuous current -and the eels swim around and around in the current till the work’s -done. It’s beautifully simple.” - -“It’s simply beautiful,” said Mavis warmly. “I mean all this.” She -waved her hand to the row of white arches through which the green of -the garden and the blue of what looked like the sky showed plainly. -“And you live down here and do nothing but play all day long? How -lovely.” - -“You’d soon get tired of play if you did nothing else,” said Bernard -wisely. “At least I know I should. Did you ever make a steam engine?” -he asked the Princess. “That’s what I call work.” - -“It would be, to me,” she said, “but don’t you know that work is what -you have to do and don’t like doing? And play’s whatever you want to -do. Have some more Andrew Aromaticus.” - -She made a sign to a Salmoner, who approached with a great salver -of fruit. The company were seated by fours and fives and sixes at -little tables, such as you see in the dining rooms of the big hotels -where people feed who have motors. These little tables are good for -conversation. - -“Then what _do_ you do?” Kathleen asked. - -“Well, we have to keep all the rivers flowing, for one thing—the -earthly rivers, I mean—and to see to the rain and snow taps, and to -attend to the tides and whirlpools, and open the cages where the winds -are kept. Oh, it’s no easy business being a Princess in our country, I -can tell you, whatever it may be in yours. What do your Princesses do? -Do they open the wind cages?” - -“I ... I don’t know,” said the children. “I think they only open -bazaars.” - -“Mother says they work awfully hard, and they go and see people who are -ill in hospitals,” Kathleen was beginning, but at this moment the Queen -rose and so did everyone else. - -“Come,” said the Princess, “I must go and take my turn at -river-filling. Only Princesses can do the finest sort of work.” - -“What is the hardest thing you have to do?” Francis asked as they -walked out into the garden. - -“Keeping the sea out of our kingdom,” was the answer, “and fighting the -Under Folk. We kept the sea out by trying very hard with both hands, -inside our minds. And, of course, the sky helps.” - -“And how do you fight the Under Folk—and who are they?” Bernard wanted -to know. - -“Why, the thick-headed, heavy people who live in the deep sea.” - -“Different from you?” Kathleen asked. - -“My dear child!” - -“She means,” explained Mavis, “that we didn’t know there were any -other kind of people in the sea except your kind.” - -“You know much less about us than we do about you,” said the Princess. -“Of course there are different nations and tribes, and different -customs and dresses and everything. But there are two great divisions -down here besides us, the Thick-Heads and the Thin-Skins, and we have -to fight both of them. The Thin-Skins live near the surface of the -water, frivolous, silly things like nautiluses and flying fish, very -pleasant, but deceitful and light-minded. They are very treacherous. -The Thick-Heads live in the cold deep dark waters. They are desperate -people.” - -“Do you ever go down there?” - -The Princess shuddered. - -“No,” she said, “but we might have to. If the water ever came into our -kingdom they would attack us, and we should have to drive them out; -and then we should have to drive them right down to their own kingdom -again. It happened once, in my grandfather’s time.” - -“But how on earth,” asked Bernard, “did you ever get the water out -again?” - -“It wasn’t on earth, you know,” said the Princess, “and the Whales blew -a good deal of it out—the Grampuses did their best, but they don’t blow -hard enough. And the Octopuses finished the work by sucking the water -out with their suckers.” - -“Do you have cats here then?” asked Kathleen, whose attention had -wandered, and had only caught a word that sounded like Pussies. - -“Only Octopussies,” said the Princess, “but then they’re eight times as -pussy as your dry-land cats.” - -What Kathleen’s attention had wandered to was a tall lady standing on a -marble pedestal in the middle of a pool. She held a big vase over her -head, and from it poured a thin stream of water. This stream fell in -an arch right across the pool into a narrow channel cut in the marble -of the square in which they now stood, ran across the square, and -disappeared under a dark arch in the face of the rock. - -“There,” said the Princess, stopping. - -“What is it?” asked Reuben, who had been singularly silent. - -“This,” she said simply, “is the source of the Nile. And of all other -rivers. And it’s my turn now. I must not speak again till my term of -source-service is at an end. Do what you will. Go where you will. All -is yours. Only beware that you do not touch the sky. If once profane -hands touch the sky the whole heaven is overwhelmed.” - -She ran a few steps, jumped, and landed on the marble pedestal without -touching the lady who stood there already. Then, with the utmost -care, so that the curved arc of the water should not be slackened or -diverted, she took the vase in her hands and the other lady in her turn -leaped across the pool and stood beside the children and greeted them -kindly. - -“I am Maia. My sister has told me all you did for her,” she said; “it -was I who pinched your foot,” and as she spoke they knew the voice that -had said, among the seaweed-covered rocks at Beachfield: “Save her. We -die in captivity.” - -“What will you do?” she asked, “while my sister performs her -source-service?” - -“Wait, I suppose,” said Bernard. “You see we want to know about going -home.” - -“Didn’t you fix a time to be recalled?” asked Maia. And when they said -no, her beautiful smiling face suddenly looked grave. - -“With whom have you left the charge of speaking the spell of recall?” - -“I don’t know what you mean,” said Bernard. “What spell?” - -“The one which enabled me to speak to you that day in the shallows,” -said Maia. “Of course my sister explained to you that the spell which -enables us to come at your call is the only one by which you can -yourselves return.” - -“She didn’t,” said Mavis. - -“Ah, she is young and impulsive. But no doubt she arranged with someone -to speak the spell and recall you?” - -“No, she didn’t. She doesn’t know any land people except us. She told -me so,” said Kathleen. - -“Well, is the spell written anywhere?” Maia asked. - -“Under a picture” they told her, not knowing that it was also written -in the works of Mr. John Milton. - -“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to wait ’til someone happens to read what -is under the picture,” said Maia kindly. - -“But the house is locked up; there’s no one there to read anything,” -Bernard reminded them. - -There was a dismal silence. Then: - -“Perhaps burglars will break in and read it,” suggested Reuben kindly. -“Anyhow, what’s the use of kicking up a shine about it? _I_ can’t see -what you want to go back for. It’s a little bit of all right here, so -it is—I _don’t_ think. Plucky sight better than anything _I_ ever come -across. I’m a-goin’ to enjoy myself I am, and see all the sights. Miss, -there, said we might.” - -“Well spoken indeed,” said Maia, smiling at his earnest face. “That is -the true spirit of the explorer.” - -“But we’re not explorers,” said Mavis, a little crossly, for her; “and -we’re not so selfish as you think, either. Mother will be awfully -frightened if we’re not home to tea. She’ll think we’re drowned.” - -“Well, you _are_ drowned,” said Maia brightly. “At least that’s what I -believe you land people call it when you come down to us and neglect to -arrange to have the spell of return said for you.” - -“How horrible,” said Mavis. “Oh, Cathay,” and she clutched her sister -tightly. - -“But you needn’t _stay_ drowned,” said the Princess. “Someone’s sure -to say the spell somehow or other. I assure you that this is true; and -then you will go home with the speed of an eel.” - -They felt, somehow, in their bones that this was true, and it consoled -them a little. Things which you feel in your bones are most convincing. - -“But Mother,” said Mavis. - -“You don’t seem to know much about magic,” said Maia pityingly: “the -first principle of magic is that time spent in other worlds doesn’t -count in your own home. No, I see you don’t understand. In your home -it’s still the same time as it was when you dived into the well in the -cave.” - -“But that’s hours ago,” said Bernard; and she answered: - -“I know. But your time is not like our time at all.” - -“What’s the difference?” - -“I can’t explain,” said the Princess. “You can’t compare them any more -than you can compare a starlight and a starfish. They’re quite, quite -different. But the really important thing is that your Mother won’t be -anxious. So now why not enjoy yourselves?” - -And all this time the other Princess had been holding up the jar which -was the source of all the rivers in all the world. - -“Won’t she be very tired?” asked Reuben. - -“Yes, but suppose all the rivers dried up—and she had to know how -people were suffering—that would be something much harder to bear than -tiredness. Look in the pool and see what she is doing for the world.” - -They looked, and it was like a colored cinematograph; and the pictures -melted into one another like the old dissolving views that children -used to love so before cinematographs were thought of. - -They saw the Red Indians building their wigwams by the great rivers—and -the beavers building their dams across the little rivers; they saw -brown men setting their fish traps by the Nile, and brown girls sending -out little golden-lighted love-ships on the Ganges. They saw the -stormy splendor of the St. Lawrence, and the Medway’s pastoral peace. -Little streams dappled with sunlight and the shadow of green leaves, -and the dark and secret torrents that tear through the underworld -in caverns and hidden places. They saw women washing clothes in the -Seine, and boys sailing boats on the Serpentine. Naked savages dancing -in masks beside tropical streams overshadowed by strange trees and -flowers that we do not know—and men in flannels and girls in pink and -blue, punting in the backwaters of the Thames. They saw Niagara and the -Zambesi Falls; and all the time the surface of the pool was smooth as a -mirror and the arched stream that was the source of all they saw poured -ceaselessly over their heads and fell splashing softly into its little -marble channel. - -I don’t know how long they would have stayed leaning their elbows -on the cool parapet and looking down on the changing pictures, but -suddenly a trumpet sounded, drums beat, and everyone looked up. - -“It’s for the review,” said Maia, through the rattle of the drums. “Do -you care for soldiers?” - -“Rather,” said Bernard, “but I didn’t know you had soldiers.” - -“We’re very proud of our troops,” said the Princess. “I am Colonel of -the Lobster Battalion, and my sister commands the Crustacean Brigade; -but we’re not going on parade today.” - -The sound of drums was drawing nearer. “This way to the parade ground,” -said the Princess, leading the way. They looked at the review through a -big arch, and it was like looking into a very big aquarium. - -The first regiment they saw was, as it happened, the 23rd Lobsters. - -If you can imagine a Lobster as big as a Guardsman, and rather stouter, -you will have some idea of the splendid appearance of this regiment. -Only don’t forget that Lobsters in their natural regimentals are not -red. They wear a sort of steel-blue armor, and carry arms of dreadful -precision. They are terrible fellows, the 23rd, and they marched with -an air at once proud and confident. - -Then came the 16th Swordfish—in uniform of delicate silver, their drawn -swords displayed. - -The Queen’s Own Gurnards were magnificent in pink and silver, with real -helmets and spiked collars; and the Boy Scouts—“The Sea Urchins” as -they were familiarly called—were the last of the infantry. - -Then came Mer-men, mounted on Dolphins and Sea Horses, and the Cetacean -Regiments, riding on their whales. Each whale carried a squadron. - -“They look like great trams going by,” said Francis. And so they did. -The children remarked that while the infantry walked upright like -any other foot soldiers, the cavalry troops seemed to be, with their -mounts, suspended in the air about a foot from the ground. - -“And that shows it’s water,” said Bernard. - -“No, it doesn’t,” said Francis. - -“Well, a whale’s not a bird,” said Bernard. - -“And there are other things besides air and water,” said Francis. - -The Household Brigade was perhaps the handsomest. The Grand Salmoner -led his silvery soldiers, and the 100th Halibuts were evidently the -sort of troops to make the foes of anywhere “feel sorry they were born.” - -It was a glorious review, and when it was over the children found that -they had been quite forgetting their desire to get home. - -But as the back of the last Halibut vanished behind the seaweed trees -the desire came back with full force. Princess Maia had disappeared. -Their own Princess was, they supposed, still performing her -source-service. - -Suddenly everything seemed to have grown tiresome. - -“Oh, I do wish we could go home,” said Kathleen. “Couldn’t we just find -the door and go out?” - -“We might _look_ for the door,” said Bernard cautiously, “but I don’t -see how we could get up into the cave again.” - -“We can swim all right, you know,” Mavis reminded them. - -“I think it would be pretty low down to go without saying good-bye to -the Princesses,” said Francis. “Still, there’s no harm in _looking_ for -the door.” - -They did look for the door. And they did not find it. What they did -find was a wall—a great gray wall built of solid stones—above it -nothing could be seen but blue sky. - -“I do wonder what’s on the other side,” said Bernard; and someone, I -will not say which, said: “Let’s climb up and see.” - -It was easy to climb up, for the big stones had rough edges and so did -not fit very closely, and there was room for a toe here and a hand -there. In a minute or two they were all up, but they could not see down -on the other side because the wall was about eight feet thick. They -walked toward the other edge, and still they could not see down; quite -close to the edge, and still no seeing. - -“It isn’t sky at all,” said Bernard suddenly. “It’s a sort of dome—tin -I shouldn’t wonder, painted to look like sky.” - -“It can’t be,” said someone. - -“It is though,” said Bernard. - -“There couldn’t be one so big,” said someone else. - -“But there _is_,” said Bernard. - -And then someone—I will not tell you who—put out a hand, and, quite -forgetting the Princess’s warning, touched the sky. That hand felt -something as faint and thin as a bubble—and instantly this something -broke, and the sea came pouring into the Mer-people’s country. - -“Now you’ve done it,” said one of those whose hand it wasn’t. And -there was no doubt about it; the person who owned the hand _had_ done -it—and done it very thoroughly. It was plain enough now that what they -had been living in was not water, and that this was. The first rush -of it was terrible—but in less than a moment the whole kingdom was -flooded, and then the water became clear and quiet. - -The children found no difficulty in breathing, and it was as easy to -walk as it is on land in a high wind. They could not run, but they -walked as fast as they could to the place where they had left the -Princess pouring out the water for all the rivers in all the world. - -And as they went, one of them said, “Oh don’t, don’t tell it was me. -You don’t know what punishments they may have here.” - -The others said of course they wouldn’t tell. But the one who had -touched the sky felt that it was despised and disgraced. - -They found the pedestal, but what had been the pool was only part of -the enormous sea, and so was the little marble channel. - -The Princess was not there, and they began to look for her, more and -more anxious and wretched. - -“It’s all your fault,” said Francis to the guilty one who had broken -the sky by touching it; and Bernard said, “You shut up, can’t you?” - -It was a long time before they found their Princess, and when they did -find her they hardly knew her. She came swimming toward them, and she -was wearing her tail, and a cuirass and helmet of the most beautiful -mother-of-pearl—thin scales of it overlapping; and the crest on her -helmet was one great pearl, as big as a billiard ball. She carried -something over her arm. - -“Here you are,” she said. “I’ve been looking for you. The future is -full of danger. The water has got in.” - -“Yes, we noticed that,” said Bernard. - -And Mavis said: “Please, it was us. We touched the sky.” - -“Will they punish us?” asked Cathay. - -“There are no punishments here,” said the pearly Princess gravely, -“only the consequences of your action. Our great defense against the -Under Folk is that thin blue dome which you have broken. It can only be -broken from the inside. Our enemies were powerless to destroy it. But -now they may attack us at any moment. I am going to command my troops. -Will you come too?” - -“Rather,” said Reuben, and the others, somewhat less cordially, agreed. -They cheered up a little when the Princess went on. - -“It’s the only way to make you safe. There are four posts vacant -on my staff, and I have brought you the uniforms that go with the -appointments.” She unfolded five tails, and four little pearly coats -like her own, with round pearls for buttons, pearls as big as marbles. -“Put these on quickly,” she said, “they are enchanted coats, given by -Neptune himself to an ancestor of ours. By pressing the third button -from the top you can render yourself invisible. The third button below -that will make you visible again when you wish it, and the last button -of all will enable you to become intangible as well as invisible.” - -“Intangible?” said Cathay. - -“Unfeelable, so you’re quite safe.” - -“But there are only four coats,” said Francis. “That is so,” said the -Princess. “One of you will have to take its chance with the Boy Scouts. -Which is it to be?” - -Each of the children always said, and thought that it meant to say “I -will,” but somehow or other the person who spoke first was Reuben. -The instant the Princess had said “be,” Reuben shouted: “Me,” adding -however almost at once, “please.” - -“Right,” said the Princess kindly, “off with you! The Sea Urchins’ -barracks are behind that rock. Off with you! Here, don’t forget your -tail. It enables you to be as comfortable in the water as any fish.” - -Reuben took the tail and hastened away. - -“Now,” said the Princess. And they all began putting on their tails. It -was like putting both your feet into a very large stocking. Then came -the mail coats. - -“Don’t we have swords?” Francis asked, looking down at his slim and -silvery extremity. - -“Swords? In the Crustacean Brigade? Never forget, children, that you -belong to the Princess’s Own Oysters. Here are your weapons.” She -pointed to a heap of large oyster shells, as big as Roman shields. - -“See,” she said, “you hold them this way as a rule. A very powerful -spring is released when you hold them _that_ way.” - -“But what do you do with it?” Mavis asked. - -“Nip the feet of the enemy,” said the Princess, “and it holds on. Under -Folk have no tails. You wait till they are near a rock; then nip a -foe-man’s foot with your good weapon, laying the other end on the rock. -The oyster shell will at once attach itself to the rock and....” - -A terrible shout rang out, and the Princess stopped. - -“What is it; oh, what is it?” said the children. And the Princess -shuddered. - -Again that shout—the most terrible sound the children had ever heard. - -“What is it?” they said again. - -The Princess drew herself up, as if ashamed of her momentary weakness, -and said: - -“It is the war cry of the Under Folk.” - - - - -CHAPTER EIGHT - -_The Water-War_ - - -AFTER THE SOUND of that terrible shouting there came silence—that is, -there was silence where the children were, but all above they could -hear the rush and rustle of a quick arming. - -“The war cry of the People of the Depths,” said the Princess. - -“I suppose,” said Kathleen forlornly, “that if they’re so near as that -all is lost.” - -“Lost? No, indeed,” cried the Princess. “The People of the Depths are -very strong, but they are very heavy. They cannot rise up and come to -us from the water above. Before they can get in they must scale the -wall.” - -“But they will get over the wall—won’t they?” - -“Not while one of the Royal Halibuts still lives. The Halibuts have -manned the wall; they will keep back the foe. But they won’t attack -yet. They’ll send out their scouts and skirmishers. Till they approach, -the Crustacean Brigade can do nothing. It is a hard thing to watch a -fight in which you may not share. I must apologize for appointing you -to such an unsatisfactory position.” - -“Thank you, _we_ don’t mind,” said Cathay hastily. “What’s that?” - -It was a solid, gleaming sheet of silver that rose above them like a -great carpet—which split and tore itself into silver threads. - -“It is the Swordfish Brigade,” said the Princess. “We could swim up a -little and watch them, if you’re not afraid. You see, the first attack -will probably be delivered by one of their Shark regiments. The 7th -Sharks have a horrible reputation. But our brave Swordfish are a match -for them,” she added proudly. - -The Swordfish, who were slowly swimming to and fro above, seemed to -stiffen as though to meet some danger at present unseen by the others. -Then, with a swift, silent, terrible movement, the Sharks rushed on the -noble defenders of Merland. - -The Swordfish with their deadly weapons were ready—and next moment all -the water was a wild whirl of confused conflict. The Sharks fought with -a sort of harsh, rough courage, and the children, who had drawn away to -a little distance, could not help admiring their desperate onslaught. -But the Swordfish were more than their match. With more skill, and an -equally desperate gallantry, they met and repulsed the savage onslaught -of the Sharks. - -Shoals of large, calm Cod swept up from the depths, and began to -shoulder the dead Sharks sideways toward the water above the walls—the -dead Sharks and, alas! many a brave, dead Swordfish, too. For the -victory had not been a cheap one. - -The children could not help cheering as the victorious Swordfish -re-formed. - -“Pursuit is unnecessary,” said the Princess. “The Sharks have lost too -heavily to resume the attack.” - -A Shark in terror-stricken retreat passed close by her, and she clipped -its tail with her oyster shell. - -The Shark turned savagely, but the Princess with one tail-swish was -out of danger, pushing the children before her outspread arms, and the -Shark began to sink, still making vain efforts to pursue them. - -[Illustration: _The Swordfish Brigade._] - -“The shell will drag him down,” said the Princess; “and now I must go -and get a fresh shield. I wish I knew where the next attack would be -delivered.” - -They sank slowly through the water. - -“I wonder where Reuben is?” said Bernard. - -“Oh, he’s quite safe,” said the Princess. “The Boy Scouts don’t go -outside the walls—they just do a good turn for anybody who wants it, -you know—and help the kind Soles to look after the wounded.” - -They had reached the great flooded garden again and turned toward the -Palace, and as they went a Sea Urchin shell suddenly rose from behind -one of the clipped hedges—a Sea Urchin shell and behind it a long tail. - -The shell was raised, and the face under it was Reuben’s. - -“Hi, Princess!” he shouted. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. -We’ve been scouting. I got a lot of seaweed, and they thought I was -nothing _but_ seaweed; and so I got quite close to the enemy.” - -“It was very rash,” said the Princess severely. - -“The others don’t think so,” he said, a little hurt. “They began by -saying I was only an irregular Sea Urchin, because I’ve got this jolly -tail”—he gave it a merry wag—“and they called me Spatangus, and names -like that. But they’ve made me their General now—General Echinus. I’m a -regular now, and no mistake, and what I was going to say is the enemy -is going to attack the North Tower in force in half an hour.” - -“You good boy,” said the Princess. I do believe if it hadn’t been for -his Sea Urchin’s uniform she would have kissed him. “You’re splendid. -You’re a hero. If you could do it safely—there’s heaps of seaweed—could -you find out if there’s any danger from the Book People? You know—the -ones in the cave. It’s always been our fear that they might attack, -_too_: and if they did—well, I’d rather be the slave of a Shark than -of Mrs. Fairchild.” She gathered an armful of seaweed from the nearest -tree, and Reuben wrapped himself in it and drifted off—looking less -like a live Boy Scout than you could believe possible. - -The defenders of Merland, now acting on Reuben’s information, began to -mass themselves near the North Wall. - -“Now is our time,” said the Princess. “We must go along the tunnel, and -when we hear the sound of their heavy feet shaking the flow of ocean -we must make sallies, and fix our shell shields in their feet. Major, -rally your men.” - -A tall Merchild in the Crustacean uniform blew a clear note, and the -soldiers of the Crustacean Brigade, who having nothing particular to do -had been helping anyone and everyone as best they could, which is the -way in Merland, though not in Europe, gathered about their officers. - -When they were all drawn up before her, the Princess addressed her -troops. - -“My men,” she said, “we have been suddenly plunged into war. But it -has not found us unprepared. I am proud to think that my regiments are -ready to the last pearl button. And I know that every man among you -will be as proud as I am that our post is, as tradition tells us it has -always been, the post of danger. We shall go out into the depths of -the sea to fight the enemies of our dear country, and to lay down our -lives, if need be, for that country’s sake.” - -The soldiers answered by cheers, and the Princess led the way to one of -those little buildings, like Temples of Flora in old pictures, which -the children had noticed in the gardens. At the order given a sergeant -raised a great stone by a golden ring embedded in it and disclosed a -dark passage leading underground. - -A splendid captain of Cockles, six feet high if he was an inch, with a -sergeant and six men, led the way. Three Oyster officers followed, then -a company of Oysters, the advance guard. At the head of the main body -following were the Princess and her Staff. As they went the Princess -explained why the tunnel was so long and sloped so steeply. - -“You see,” she said, “the inside of our wall is only about ten feet -high, but it goes down on the other side for forty feet or more. It -is built on a hill. Now, I don’t want you to feel obliged to come out -and fight. You can stay inside and get the shields ready for us to -take. We shall keep on rushing back for fresh weapons. Of course the -tunnel’s much too narrow for the Under Folk to get in, but they have -their regiment of highly trained Sea Serpents, who, of course, can make -themselves thin and worm through anything.” - -“Cathay doesn’t like serpents,” said Mavis anxiously. - -“You needn’t be afraid,” said the Princess. “They’re dreadful cowards. -They know the passage is guarded by our Lobsters. They won’t come -within a mile of the entrance. But the main body of the enemy will have -to pass quite close. There’s a great sea mountain, and the only way -to our North Tower is in the narrow ravine between that mountain and -Merland.” - -The tunnel ended in a large rocky hall with the armory, hung with ten -thousand gleaming shields, on the one side, and the guardroom crowded -with enthusiastic Lobsters on the other. The entrance from the sea was -a short, narrow passage, in which stood two Lobsters in their beautiful -dark coats of mail. - -Since the moment when the blue sky that looked first so like sky -and then so like painted tin had, touched, confessed itself to be a -bubble—confessed, too, in the most practical way, by bursting and -letting the water into Merland—the children had been carried along by -the breathless rush of preparations for the invasion, and the world -they were now in had rapidly increased in reality, while their own -world, in which till today they had always lived, had been losing -reality at exactly the same rate as that by which the new world gained -it. So it was that when the Princess said: - -“You needn’t go out and attack the enemy unless you like,” they all -answered, in some astonishment: - -“But we _want_ to.” - -“That’s all right,” said the Princess. “I only wanted to see if they -were in working order.” - -“If what were?” - -“Your coats. They’re coats of valor, of course.” - -“I think I could be brave without a coat,” said Bernard, and began to -undo his pearl buttons. - -“Of course you could,” said the Princess. “In fact, you must be brave -to begin with, or the coat couldn’t work. It would be no good to a -coward. It just keeps your natural valor warm and your wits cool.” - -“It makes you braver,” said Kathleen suddenly. “At least I hope it’s -me—but I expect it’s the coat. Anyhow, I’m glad it does. Because I do -want to be brave. Oh, Princess!” - -“Well?” said the Princess, gravely, but not unkindly, “what is it?” - -Kathleen stood a moment, her hands twisting in each other and her eyes -downcast. Then in an instant she had unbuttoned and pulled off her coat -of pearly mail and thrown it at the Princess’s feet. - -“I’ll do it without the coat,” she said, and drew a long breath. - -The others looked on in silence, longing to help her, but knowing that -no one could help her now but herself. - -“It was me,” said Kathleen suddenly, and let go a deep breath of -relief. “It was me that touched the sky and let in the water; and I am -most frightfully sorry, and I know you’ll never forgive me. But—” - -“Quick,” said the Princess, picking up the coat, “get into your armor; -it’ll prevent your crying.” She hustled Kathleen into the coat and kept -her arms around her. “Brave girl,” she whispered. “I’m glad you did it -without the coat.” The other three thought it polite to turn away. “Of -course,” the Princess added, “I knew—but you didn’t know I knew.” - -“How did you know?” said Kathleen. - -“By your eyes,” said the Princess, with one last hug; “they’re quite -different now. Come, let us go to the gate and see if any of our Scouts -are signaling.” - -The two Lobster sentries presented claws as the Princess passed with -her Staff through the narrow arch and onto the sandy plain of the sea -bottom. The children were astonished to find that they could see quite -plain a long way through the water—as far as they could have seen in -air, and the view was very like one kind of land view. First, the -smooth flat sand dotted with copses of branching seaweed—then woods of -taller treelike weeds with rocks shelving up and up to a tall, rocky -mountain. This mountain sent out a spur, then ran along beside the -Merkingdom and joined the rock behind it; and it was along the narrow -gorge so formed that the Under Folk were expected to advance. There -were balls of seaweed floating in the air—at least, it really now had -grown to seem like air, though, of course, it was water—but no signs of -Scouts. - -Suddenly the balls of seaweed drew together and the Princess murmured, -“I thought so,” as they formed into orderly lines, sank to the ground, -and remained motionless for a moment, while one ball of seaweed stood -in front of them. - -“It’s the Boy Scouts,” she said. “Your Reuben is giving them their -orders.” - -It seemed that she was right, for next moment the balls of seaweed -drifted away in different directions, and the one who had stood before -them drifted straight to the arch where the Princess and the children -stood. It drifted in, pulled off its seaweed disguise, and was, in -effect, Reuben. - -“We’ve found out something more, your Highness,” he said, saluting the -Princess. “The vanguard are to be Sea Horses; you know, not the little -ones, but the great things they have in the depths.” - -“No use our attacking the horses,” said the Princess. “They’re as hard -as ice. Who rides them?” - -“The First Dipsys,” said Reuben. “They’re the young Under Folk who want -to cut a dash. They call them the Forlorn Hopers, for short.” - -“Have they got armor?” - -“No—that’s their swank. They’ve no armor but their natural scales. -Those look thick enough, though. I say, Princess, I suppose we Sea -Urchins are free to do exactly as we choose?” - -“Yes,” said the Princess, “unless orders are given.” - -“Well, then—my idea is that the Lobsters are the fellows to tackle the -Sea Horses. Hold on to their tails, see? They can’t hurt the Lobsters -because they can’t get at their own tails.” - -“But when the Lobsters let go?” said the Princess. - -“The Lobsters wouldn’t let go till they had driven back the enemy,” -said the Lobster Captain, saluting. “Your Highness, may I ask if you -propose to take this Urchin’s advice?” - -“Isn’t it good?” she asked. - -“Yes, your Highness,” the Lobster Captain answered, “but it’s -impertinent.” - -[Illustration: _The First Dipsys._] - -“I am the best judge of that,” said the Princess gently; “remember that -these are noble volunteers, who are fighting for us of their own free -will.” - -The Lobster saluted and was silent. - -“I cannot send the Lobsters,” said the Princess, “we need them to -protect the gate. But the Crabs—” - -“Ah, Highness, let us go,” pleaded the Lobster Captain. - -“The Crabs cannot keep the gate,” said the Princess kindly. “You know -they are not narrow enough. Francis, will you be my aide-de-camp and -take a message to the Queen?” - -“May I go, too?” asked Mavis. - -“Yes. But we must deliver a double assault. If the Crabs attack the -Horses, who will deal with the riders?” - -“I have an idea about that, too,” said Reuben. - -“If we could have some good heavy shoving regiment—and someone sharp to -finish them off. The Swordfish, perhaps?” - -“You are a born general,” the Princess said; “but you don’t quite -know our resources. The United Narwhals can do the shoving, as you -call it—and their horns are sharp and heavy. Now”—she took a smooth -white chalkstone from the seafloor, and a ready Lobster brought her a -sharpened haddock bone. She wrote quickly, scratching the letters deep -on the chalk. “Here,” she said, “take this to the Queen. You will find -her at Headquarters at the Palace yard. Tell her everything. I have -only asked for the two regiments; you must explain the rest. I don’t -suppose there’ll be any difficulty in getting through our lines, but, -if there should be, the password is ‘Glory’ and the countersign is ‘or -Death.’ And hurry, hurry, hurry for your lives!” - -Never before had Mavis and Francis felt anything like the glow of -excitement and importance which warmed them as they went up the long -tunnel to take the message to the Queen. - -“But where is the Palace?” Mavis said, and they stopped, looking at -each other. - -“I’ll show you, please,” said a little voice behind them. They turned -quickly to find a small, spruce, gentlemanly Mackerel at their heels. -“I’m one of the Guides,” it said. “I felt sure you’d need me. This -way, sir, please,” and it led the way across the gardens in and out -of the clumps of trees and between the seaweed hedges till they came -to the Palace. Rows and rows of soldiers surrounded it, all waiting -impatiently for the word of command that should send them to meet the -enemies of their country. - -“Glory,” said the gentlemanly Mackerel, as he passed the outposts. - -“Or Death,” replied the sentinel Sea Bream. - -The Queen was in the courtyard, in which the children had received -their ovation—so short a time ago, and yet how long it seemed. Then -the courtyard had been a scene of the calm and charming gaiety of a -nation at peace; now it was full of the ardent, intense inactivity of -waiting warriors. The Queen in her gleaming coral armor met them as -the password opened a way to her through the close-packed ranks of the -soldiers. She took the stone and read it, and with true royal kindness -she found time, even at such a moment, for a word of thanks to the -messengers. - -“See the Narwhals start,” she added, “and then back to your posts with -all speed. Tell your commanding officer that so far the Book People -have made no sign, but the golden gate is strongly defended by the -King’s Own Cod, and—” - -“I didn’t know there was a King,” said Francis. - -The Queen looked stern, and the Mackerel guide jerked Francis’s magic -coattail warningly and whispered “Hush!” - -“The King,” said the Queen quietly, “is no more. He was lost at sea.” - -When the splendid steady column of Narwhals had marched off to its -appointed place the children bowed to the Queen and went back to their -posts. - -“I’m sorry I said anything,” said Francis to the Mackerel, “but I -didn’t know. Besides, how can a Mer-king be lost at sea?” - -“Aren’t your Kings lost on land?” asked the Mackerel, “or if not Kings, -men quite as good? What about explorers?” - -“I see,” said Mavis; “and doesn’t anyone know what has become of him?” - -“No,” said the Mackerel; “he has been lost for a very long time. We -fear the worst. If he were alive he would have come back. We think the -Under Folk have him. They bewitch prisoners so that they forget who -they are. Of course, there’s the antidote. Every uniform is made with -a little antidote pocket just over the heart.” He put his fin inside -his scales and produced a little golden case, just like a skate’s egg. -“You’ve got them, too, of course,” he added. “If you are taken prisoner -swallow the contents at once.” - -“But if you forget who you are,” said Francis, “don’t you forget the -antidote?” - -“No charm,” the Mackerel assured him, “is strong enough to make one -forget one’s counter-charm.” - -And now they were back at the Lobster-guarded gate. The Princess ran to -meet them. - -“What a time you’ve been,” she said. “Is all well? Have the Narwhals -taken up their position?” - -Satisfied on this point, she led the children up a way long and steep -to a window in the wall whence they could look down on the ravine and -see the advance of the foe. The Narwhals were halted about halfway up -the ravine, where it widened to a sort of amphitheater. Here, among the -rocks, they lay in ambush, waiting for the advance of the foe. - -“If it hadn’t been for you, Reuben,” said the Princess, as they leaned -their elbows on the broad rocky ledge of the window, “they might easily -have stormed the North Tower—we should not have been ready—all our -strongest defenses were massed on the south side. It was there they -attacked last time, so the history books tell us.” - -And now a heavy, thundering sound, faint yet terrible, announced the -approach of the enemy—and far away across the sea plain something could -be seen moving. A ball of seaweed seemed to drift up the ravine. - -“A Sea Urchin gone to give the alarm,” said the Princess; “what -splendid things Boy Scouts are. We didn’t have them in the last war. -My dear father only invented them just before—” She paused and sighed. -“Look,” she said. - -The enemy’s heavy cavalry were moving in a solid mass toward -Merland—the great Sea Horses, twenty feet long, and their great riders, -who must have been eight or ten feet high, came more and more quickly, -heading to the ravine. The riders were the most terrible beings the -children had ever seen. Clothed from head to feet in closely fitting -scales, with large heads, large ears, large mouths and blunt noses and -large, blind-looking eyes, they sat each erect on his armored steed, -the long harpoons swaying lightly in their enormous hands. - -The Sea Horses quickened their pace—and a noise like a hoarse trumpet -rang out. - -“They are sounding the charge,” said the Princess; and as she spoke the -Under Folk charged at the ravine, in a determined, furious onrush. - -“Oh, no one can stand up against that—they can’t,” said Cathay, in -despair. - -From the window they could see right down onto the amphitheater, where -the Narwhals were concealed. - -On came the Sea Cavalry—so far unresisted—but as they neared the ambush -bunches of seaweed drifted in the faces of the riders. They floundered -and strove to push away the clinging stuff—and as they strove the -Narwhals made their sortie—drove their weight against the riders and -hurled them from their horses, and from the covers of the rocks the -Crabs advanced with an incredible speed and caught the tails of the -Sea Horses in their inexorable claws. The riders lay on the ground. -The horses were rearing and prancing with fear and pain as the clouds -of seaweed, each with a prickly Sea Urchin in it, flung themselves -against their faces. The riders stood up, fighting to the last; but the -harpoons were no match for the Narwhal’s horns. - -“Come away,” said the Princess. - -Already the Sea Horses, urged by the enormous Crabs, were retreating in -the wildest disorder, pursued by Narwhals and harassed by Sea Urchins. - -The Princess and the children went back to the Lobster sentries. - -“Repulsed,” said the Princess, “with heavy loss”—and the Lobsters -cheered. - -“How’s that, Princess?” said a ball of seaweed, uncurling itself at the -gate and presenting the familiar features of Reuben. - -“How is it?” she said. “It is Victory. And we owe it to you. But you’re -wounded?” - -“Only a scratch,” said Reuben; “harpoon just missed me.” - -“Oh, Reuben, you are a hero,” said Cathay. - -“Get along, you silly,” he answered gracefully. - - - - -CHAPTER NINE - -_The Book People_ - - -EVEN IN THE MIDST OF WAR there are intervals for refreshments. Our -own soldiers, no matter how fierce, must eat to live, and the same is -the case with the submarine regiments. The Crustacean Brigade took -advantage of the lull in hostilities which followed the defeat of the -Sea Horses to march back to the Palace and have a meal. A very plain -meal it was, too, and very different from the “Banquet of Ovations,” -as Cathay pointed out afterward. There were no prettily spread tables -decorated with bunches of seaweed, no plates or knives or forks. The -food was passed around by hand, and there was one drinking horn (a sea -cow’s horn) to every six soldiers. They all sat on the ground as you do -at a picnic, and the Queen came and spoke a few hurried words to them -when on her way to strengthen the defenses of the golden gate. And, -as I said, the food was plain. However, everyone had enough to eat, -which was the main thing. Baskets of provisions were sent down to the -Lobsters’ guardroom. - -“It is important,” said Princess Freia, “that our men should be on the -spot in case they are needed, and the same with the dinner. I shall go -down with the provisions and keep their hearts up.” - -“Yes, dear, do,” said the Princess Maia; “but don’t do anything rash. -No sorties now. You Lobsters are so terribly brave. But you know Mother -said you weren’t to. Ah me! War is a terrible thing! What a state the -rivers will get into with all this water going on, and the winds all -loose and doing as they like. It’s horrible to think about. It will -take ages to get things straight again.” - -(Her fears were only too well founded. All this happened last year—and -you know what a wet summer that was.) - -“I know, dear,” said Freia; “but I know now who broke the sky, and it -is very, very sorry—so we won’t rub it in, will we?” - -“I didn’t mean to,” said Maia, smiling kindly at the children, and went -off to encourage her Lobsters. - -“And now,” said Francis, when the meal was over, “what are we going to -do next?” - -“We can’t do anything but wait for news,” said the Princess. “Our -Scouts will let us know soon enough. I only hope the Book People won’t -attack us at the same time as the Under Folk. That’s always the danger.” - -“How could they get in?” Mavis asked. - -“Through the golden door,” said the Princess. “Of course they couldn’t -do anything if we hadn’t read the books they’re in. That’s the worst -of Education. We’ve all read such an awful lot, and that unlocks the -books and they can come out if anyone calls them. Even our fish are -intolerably well read—except the Porpoises, dear things, who never -could read anything. That’s why the golden door is guarded by them, of -course.” - -“If not having read things is useful,” said Mavis, “we’ve read almost -nothing. Couldn’t we help guard the door?” - -“The very thing,” said the Princess joyously; “for you possess the only -weapon that can be used against these people or against the authors -who created them. If you can truthfully say to them, ‘I never heard -of you,’ your words become a deadly sword that strikes at their most -sensitive spot.” - -“What spot?” asked Bernard. And the Princess answered, “Their vanity.” - -So the little party went toward the golden door and found it behind a -thick wall of Porpoises. Incessant cries came from beyond the gates, -and to every cry they answered like one Porpoise, “We never heard of -you. You can’t come in. You can’t come in. We never heard of you.” - -“We shan’t be any good here,” said Bernard, among the thick, rich -voices of the Porpoises. “They can keep anyone back.” - -“Yes,” said the Princess; “but if the Book Folk look through the gate -and see that they’re only Porpoises their wounded vanity will heal, and -they’ll come on as strongly as ever. Whereas if they did find human -beings who have never heard of them the wounds ought to be mortal. As -long as you are able truthfully to say that you don’t know them they -can’t get in.” - -“Reuben would be the person for this,” said Francis. “I don’t believe -he’s read _anything_!” - -“Well, we haven’t read much,” said Cathay comfortably; “at least, not -about nasty people.” - -“I wish I hadn’t,” sighed the Princess through the noise of the voices -outside the gate. “I know them all. You hear that cold squeak? That’s -Mrs. Fairchild. And that short, sharp, barking sound—that’s Aunt -Fortune. The sort of growl that goes on all the time is Mr. Murdstone, -and that icy voice is Rosamund’s mother—the one who was so hateful -about the purple jar.” - -“I’m afraid we know some of those,” said Mavis. - -“Then be careful not to say you don’t. There are heaps you don’t -know—John Knox and Machiavelli and Don Diego and Tippoo Sahib and -Sally Brass and—I _must_ go back. If anything should happen, fling your -arms round the nearest Porpoise and trust to luck. These Book People -can’t kill—they can only stupefy.” - -“But how do you know them all?” Mavis asked. “Do they often attack you?” - -“No, only when the sky falls. But they always howl outside the gate at -the full moon.” - -So saying she turned away and disappeared in the crowd of faithful -Porpoises. - -And outside the noise grew louder and the words more definite. - -“I am Mrs. Randolph. Let me in!” - -“I am good Mrs. Brown. Let me in!” - -“I am Eric, or Little by Little. I _will_ come in!” - -“I am Elsie, or Like a Little Candle. Let me in—let me in!” - -“I am Mrs. Markham.” - -“I am Mrs. Squeers.” - -“I am Uriah Heep.” - -“I am Montdidier.” - -“I am King John.” - -“I am Caliban.” - -“I am the Giant Blunderbore.” - -“I am the Dragon of Wantley.” - -And they all cried, again and again: “Let us in! Let me in! Let me in!” - -The strain of listening for the names and calling out “I don’t know -you!” when they didn’t, and saying nothing when they did, became almost -unbearable. It was like that horrid game with the corners of the -handkerchief, “Hold fast” and “Let loose,” and you have to remember to -do the opposite. Sooner or later an accident is bound to happen, and -the children felt a growing conviction that it would be sooner. - -“What will happen if they do get in?” Cathay asked a neighboring -Porpoise. - -“Can’t say, miss, I’m sure,” it answered. - -“But what will you do?” - -“Obstruct them in the execution of our duty,” it answered. “You see, -miss, they can’t kill; they can only stupefy, and they can’t stupefy -us, ’cause why? We’re that stupid already we can’t hold no more. That’s -why they trust us to defend the golden gate,” it added proudly. - -The babel of voices outside grew louder and thicker, and the task of -knowing when to say “I don’t know you,” and so wound the vanity of the -invaders, grew more and more difficult. At last the disaster, foreseen -for some time, with a growing plainness, came upon them. - -“I am the Great Seal,” said a thick, furry voice. - -“I don’t know you,” cried Cathay. - -“You do—he’s in history. James the Second dropped him in the Thames,” -said Francis. “Yes, you’ve done it again.” - -“Shut up,” said Bernard. - -The last two remarks were made in a deep silence, broken only by the -heavy breathing of the Porpoises. The voices behind the golden gate had -died down and ceased. The Porpoises massed their heavy bulk close to -the door. - -“Remember the Porpoises,” said Francis. “Don’t forget to hold on to a -Porpoise.” - -Four of these amiable if unintellectual creatures drew away from their -companions, and one came to the side of each child. - -Every eye was fixed on the golden door, and then slowly—very slowly, -the door began to open. As it opened it revealed the crowd that stood -without—cruel faces, stupid faces, crafty faces, sullen faces, angry -faces, not a single face that you ever could wish to see again. - -Then slowly, terribly, without words, the close ranks of the Book -People advanced. Mrs. Fairchild, Mrs. Markham, and Mrs. Barbauld led -the van. Closely following came the Dragon of Wantley, the Minotaur, -and the Little Man that Sintram knew. Then came Mr. Murdstone, neat in -a folded white neckcloth, and clothes as black as his whiskers. Miss -Murdstone was with him, every bead of her alight with gratified malice. -The children found that they knew, without being told, the name of each -foe now advancing on them. Paralyzed with terror, they watched the -slow and terrible advance. It was not till Eric, or Little by Little, -broke the silence with a whoop of joy and rushed upon them that they -remembered their own danger, and clutched the waiting Porpoises. Alas! -it was too late. Mrs. Markham had turned a frozen glare upon them, Mrs. -Fairchild had wagged an admonitory forefinger, wave on wave of sheer -stupidity swept over them, and next moment they lost consciousness -and sank, each with his faithful Porpoise, into the dreamless sleep -of the entirely unintelligent. In vain the main body of the Porpoises -hurled themselves against the intruders; their heroism was fruitless. -Overwhelmed by the heavy truisms wielded by the enemy, they turned and -fled in disorder, and the conquering army entered Merland. - -Francis was the first to recover consciousness. The Porpoise to which -he had clung was fanning him with its fin, and imploring him, for its -sake, to look up, to speak. - -“All right, old chap,” said Francis. “I must have fallen asleep. Where -are the others?” - -They were all there, and the devoted Porpoises quickly restored them to -consciousness. - -[Illustration: _Book Hatefuls._] - -The four children stood up and looked at each other. - -“I wish Reuben was here,” said Cathay. “He’d know what to do.” - -“He wouldn’t know any more than we do,” said Francis haughtily. - -“We _must_ do _something_,” said Mavis. “It’s our fault again.” - -“It’s mine,” said Cathay, “but I couldn’t help it.” - -“If you hadn’t, one of us would have,” said Bernard, seeking to -console. “I say, why do only the nasty people come out of the books?” - -“_I_ know that,” said his Porpoise, turning his black face eagerly -toward them. “The stupidest people can’t help knowing something. The -Under Folk get in and open the books—at least, they send the Bookworms -in to open them. And, of course, they only open the pages where the -enemies are quartered.” - -“Then—” said Bernard, looking at the golden gate, which swung open, its -lock hanging broken and useless. - -“Yes,” said Mavis, “we could, couldn’t we? Open the other books, we -mean!” She appealed to her Porpoise. - -“Yes,” it said, “perhaps you could. Human children can open books, I -believe. Porpoises can’t. And Mer-people can’t open the books in the -Cave of Learning, though they can unlock them. If they want to open -them they have to get them from the Public Mer Libraries. I can’t help -knowing that,” it added. The Porpoises seemed really ashamed of not -being thoroughly stupid. - -“Come on,” said Francis, “we’ll raise an army to fight these Book -People. Here’s something we can do that _isn’t_ mischief.” - -“You shut up,” said Bernard, and thumping Cathay on the back told her -to never mind. - -They went toward the golden gate. - -“I suppose all the nasty people are out of the books by now?” Mavis -asked her Porpoise, who followed her with the close fidelity of an -affectionate little dog. - -“_I_ don’t know,” it said, with some pride. “I’m stupid, I am. But I -can’t help knowing that no one can come out of books unless they’re -called. You’ve just got to tap on the back of the book and call the -name and then you open it, and the person comes out. At least, that’s -what the Bookworms do, and I don’t see why you should be different.” - -What _was_ different, it soon appeared, was the water in the stream -in the Cave of Learning, which was quite plainly still water in some -other sense than that in which what they were in was water. That is, -they could not walk in it; they had to swim. The cave seemed dark, -but enough light came from the golden gate to enable them to read the -titles of the books when they had pulled away the seaweed which covered -many of them. They had to hold on to the rocks—which were books—with -one hand, and clear away the seaweed with the other. - -You can guess the sort of books at which they knocked—Kingsley and -Shakespeare and Marryat and Dickens, Miss Alcott and Mrs. Ewing, Hans -Andersen and Stevenson, and Mayne Reid—and when they had knocked they -called the name of the hero whose help they desired, and “Will you help -us,” they asked, “to conquer the horrid Book People, and drive them -back to cover?” - -And not a hero but said, “Yes, indeed we will, with all our hearts.” - -And they climbed down out of the books, and swam up to the golden gate -and waited, talking with courage and dignity among themselves, while -the children went on knocking at the backs of books—which are books’ -front doors—and calling out more and more heroes to help in the fight. - -Quentin Durward and Laurie were the first to come out, then Hereward -and Amyas and Will Cary, David Copperfield, Rob Roy, Ivanhoe, Caesar -and Anthony, Coriolanus and Othello; but you can make the list for -yourselves. They came forth, all alive and splendid, with valor and the -longing to strike once more a blow for the good cause, as they had been -used to do in their old lives. - -“These are enough,” said Francis, at last. “We ought to leave some, in -case we want more help later.” - -You see for yourselves what a splendid company it was that swam -to the golden gate—there was no other way than swimming, except -for Perseus—and awaited the children. And when the children joined -them—rather nervous at the thought of the speeches they would have to -make to their newly recruited regiment—they found that there was no -need of speeches. The faithful Porpoises had not been too stupid to -explain the simple facts of danger and rescue. - -It was a proud moment for the children when they marched toward the -Palace at the head of the band of heroes whom they had pressed into the -service of the Merland. Between the clipped seaweed hedges they went, -and along the paths paved with pearl and marble, and so, at last, drew -near the Palace. They gave the watchword “Glory.” - -“Or Death,” said the sentry. And they passed on to the Queen. - -“We’ve brought a reinforcement,” said Francis, who had learned the word -from Quentin Durward as they came along. And the Queen gave one look at -her reinforcement’s faces and said simply: - -“We are saved.” - -The horrible Book People had not attacked the Palace; they had gone -furtively through the country killing stray fish and destroying any -beautiful thing they happened to find. For these people hate beauty -and happiness. They were now holding a meeting in the Palace gardens, -near the fountain where the Princesses had been wont to do their -source-service, and they were making speeches like mad. You could hear -the dull, flat murmur of them even from the Palace. They were the sort -of people who love the sound of their own silly voices. - -The newcomers were ranged in orderly ranks before the Queen, awaiting -her orders. It looked like a pageant or a fancy-dress parade. There -was St. George in his armor, and Joan of Arc in hers—heroes in plumed -hats and laced shirts, heroes in ruffs and doublets—brave gentlemen of -England, gallant gentlemen of France. For all the differences in their -dress, there was nothing motley about the band which stood before the -Queen. Varied as they were in dress and feature, they had one quality -in common, which marked them as one company. The same light of bravery -shone on them all, and became them like a fine uniform. - -“Will you,” the Queen asked of their leader—a pale, thin-faced man in -the dress of a Roman—“will you do just as you think best? I would not -presume,” she added, with a kind of proud humility, “to teach the game -of war to Caesar.” - -“Oh, Queen,” he answered, “these brave men and I will drive back the -intruders, but, having driven them back, we must ourselves return -through those dark doors which we passed when your young defenders -called our names. We will drive back the _men_—and by the look of them -’twill be an easy task. But Caesar wars not with women, and the women -on our side are few, though each, I doubt not, has the heart of a -lioness.” - -He turned toward Joan of Arc with a smile and she gave him back a smile -as bright as the sword she carried. - -“How many women are there among you?” the Queen asked, and Joan -answered: - -“Queen Boadicea and Torfrida and I are but three.” - -“But we three,” cried Torfrida, “are a match for three hundred of such -women as those. Give us but whips instead of swords, and we will drive -them like dogs to their red and blue cloth-bound kennels.” - -“I’m afraid,” said the Queen, “they’d overcome you by sheer weight. -You’ve no idea how heavy they are.” And then Kathleen covered herself -with glory by saying, “Well, but what about Amazons?” - -“The very thing,” said Caesar kindly. “Would you mind running back? -You’ll find them in the third book from the corner where the large -purple starfish is; you can’t mistake it.” - -The children tore off to the golden gate, rushed through it, and -swam to the spot where, unmistakably, the purplish starfish spread -its violet rays. They knocked on the book, and Cathay, by previous -arrangement, called out— - -“Come out, please, Queen of the Amazons, and bring all your fighting -ladies.” - -Then out came a very splendid lady in glorious golden armor. “You’d -better get some boats for us,” she said, standing straight and splendid -on a ledge of rock, “enough to reach from here to the gate, or a -bridge. There are all these things in Caesar’s books. I’m sure he -wouldn’t mind your calling them out. We must not swim, I know, because -of getting our bowstrings wet.” - -So Francis called out a bridge, and when it was not long enough to -reach the golden gate he called another. And then the Queen called her -ladies, and out came a procession, which seemed as though it would -never end, of tall and beautiful women armed and equipped for war. They -carried bows, and the children noticed that one side of their chests -was flatter than the other. And the procession went on and on, passing -along the bridge and through the golden gate, till Cathay grew quite -dizzy; and at last Mavis said, “Oh, your Majesty, do stop them. I’m -sure there are heaps, and we shall be too late if we wait for any more.” - -So the Queen stopped the procession and they went back to the Palace, -where the Queen of the Amazons greeted Joan of Arc and the other ladies -as though they were old acquaintances. - -In a few moments their plans were laid. I wish I could describe to you -the great fight between the Nice Book People and the others. But I -have not time, and besides, the children did not see all of it, so I -don’t see why _you_ should. It was fought out in the Palace gardens. -The armies were fairly evenly matched as to numbers, because the -Bookworms had let out a great many Barbarians, and these, though not so -unpleasant as Mr. Murdstone and Mrs. Fairchild, were quite bad enough. -The children were not allowed to join in the battle, which they would -dearly have liked to do. Only from a safe distance they heard the -sound of steel on steel, the whir of arrows, and the war cries of the -combatants. And presently a stream of fugitives darkened the pearly -pathways, and one could see the heroes with drawn swords following in -pursuit. - -And then, among those who were left, the shouts of war turned suddenly -to shouts of laughter, and the Merlish Queen herself moved toward the -battlefield. And as she drew near she, too, laughed. For, it would -seem, the Amazons had only shot their arrows at the men among their -foes—they had disdained to shoot the women, and so good was their aim -that not a single woman was wounded. Only, when the Book Hatefuls -had been driven back by the Book Heroes, the Book Heroines advanced -and, without more ado, fell on the remaining foes. They did not fight -them with swords or spears or arrows or the short, sharp knives they -wore—they simply picked up the screaming Bookwomen and carried them -back to the books where they belonged. Each Amazon caught up one of -the foe and, disregarding her screaming and scratching, carried her -back to the book where she belonged, pushed her in, and shut the door. - -Boadicea carried Mrs. Markham and her brown silk under one bare, -braceleted arm as though she had been a naughty child. Joan of Arc made -herself responsible for Aunt Fortune, and the Queen of the Amazons -made nothing of picking up Miss Murdstone, beads and all, and carrying -her in her arms like a baby. Torfrida’s was the hardest task. She had, -from the beginning, singled out Alftruda, her old and bitter enemy, and -the fight between them was a fierce one, though it was but a battle of -looks. Yet before long the fire in Torfrida’s great dark eyes seemed to -scorch her adversary, she shrank before it, and shrank and shrank till -at last she turned and crept back to her book and went in of her own -accord, and Torfrida shut the door. - -“But,” said Mavis, who had followed her, “don’t you live in the same -book?” - -Torfrida smiled. - -“Not quite,” she said. “That would be impossible. I live in a different -edition, where only the Nice People are alive. In hers it is the nasty -ones.” - -“And where is Hereward?” Cathay asked, before Mavis could stop her. “I -do love him, don’t you?” - -“Yes,” said Torfrida, “I love him. But he is not alive in the book -where I live. But he will be—he will be.” - -And smiling and sighing, she opened her book and went into it, and the -children went slowly back to the Palace. The fight was over, the Book -People had gone back into their books, and it was almost as though they -had never left them—not quite, for the children had seen the faces of -the heroes, and the books where these lived could never again now be -the same to them. All books, indeed, would now have an interest far -above any they had ever held before—for any of these people might be -found in any book. You never know. - -[Illustration: _Book Heroines._] - -The Princess Freia met them in the Palace courtyard, and clasped -their hands and called them the preservers of the country, which was -extremely pleasant. She also told them that a slight skirmish had been -fought on the Mussel-beds south of the city, and the foe had retreated. - -“But Reuben tells me,” she added—“that boy is really worth his -weight in pearls—that the main body are to attack at midnight. We -must sleep now, to be ready for the call of duty when it comes. Sure -you understand your duties? And the power of your buttons and your -antidotes? I might not have time to remind you later. You can sleep in -the armory—you must be awfully tired. You’ll be asleep before you can -say Jack Sprat.” - -So they lay down on the seaweed, heaped along one end of the Oysters’ -armory, and were instantly asleep. - -It may have been their natures, or it may have been the influence of -the magic coats. But whatever the cause, it is certain that they lay -down without fear, slept without dreams, and awoke without alarm when -an Oyster corporal touched their arms and whispered, “Now!” - -They were wide awake on the instant and started up, picking their -oyster shields from the ground beside them. - -“I feel just like a Roman soldier,” Cathay said. “Don’t you?” - -And the others owned that so far as they knew the feelings of a Roman -soldier, those feelings were their own. - -The shadows of the guardroom were changed and shifted and flung here -and there by the torches carried by the busy Oysters. Phosphorescent -fish these torches were, and gave out a moony light like that of the -pillars in the Cave of Learning. Outside the Lobster-guarded arch the -water showed darkly clear. Large phosphorescent fish were twined round -pillars of stone, rather like the fish you see on the lampposts on the -Thames Embankment, only in this case the fish were the lamps. So strong -was the illumination that you could see as clearly as you can on a -moonlit night on the downs, where there are no trees to steal the light -from the landscape and bury it in their thick branches. - -All was hurry and bustle. The Salmoners had sent a detachment to harass -the flank of the enemy, and the Sea Urchins, under the command of -Reuben, were ready in their seaweed disguises. - -There was a waiting time, and the children used it to practice with -their shells, using the thick stems of seaweed—thick as a man’s arm—to -represent the ankles of the invading force, and they were soon fairly -expert at the trick which was their duty. Francis had just nipped an -extra fat stalk and released it again by touching the secret spring -when the word went around, “Every man to his post!” - -The children proudly took up their post next to the Princess, and -hardly had they done so when a faint yet growing sound knocked gently -at their ears. It grew and grew and grew till it seemed to shake the -ground on which they stood, and the Princess murmured, “It is the tramp -of the army of the Under Folk. Now, be ready. We shall lurk among these -rocks. Hold your good oyster shell in readiness, and when you see a -foot near you clip it, and at the same time set down the base of the -shell on the rock. The trusty shell will do the rest.” - -“Yes, we know, thank you, dear Princess,” said Mavis. “Didn’t you see -us practicing?” - -But the Princess was not listening; she had enough to do to find cover -for her troops among the limpet-studded rocks. - -And now the tramp, tramp, tramp of the great army sounded nearer and -more near, and through the dimly lighted water the children could see -the great Deep Sea People advancing. - -Very terrible they were, big beyond man-size, more stalwart and more -finely knit than the Forlorn Hopers who had led the attack so happily -and gloriously frustrated by the Crabs, the Narwhals and the Sea -Urchins. As the advance guard drew near all the children stared, from -their places of concealment, at the faces of these terrible foes of the -happy Merland. Very strong the faces were, and, surprisingly, very, -very sad. They looked—Francis at least was able to see it—like strong -folk suffering proudly an almost intolerable injury—bearing, bravely, -an almost intolerable pain. - -“But I’m on the other side,” he told himself, to check a sudden rising -in his heart of—well, if it was not sympathy, what was it? - -And now the head of the advancing column was level with the Princess. -True to the old tradition which bids a commander lead and not to follow -his troops, she was the first to dart out and fix a shell to the heel -of the left-rank man. The children were next. Their practice bore its -fruit. There was no blunder, no mistake. Each oyster shell clipped -sharp and clean the attached ankle of an enemy; each oyster shell at -the same moment attached itself firmly to the rock, thus clinging to -his base in the most thorough and military way. A spring of joy and -triumph welled up in the children’s hearts. How easy it was to get the -better of these foolish Deep Sea Folk. A faint, kindly contempt floated -into the children’s minds for the Mer-people, who so dreaded and hated -these stupid giants. Why, there were fifty or sixty of them tied by the -leg already! It was as easy as— - -The pleasant nature of these reflections had kept our four rooted to -the spot. In the triumphant performance of one duty they failed to -remember the duty that should have followed. They stood there rejoicing -in their victory, when by all the rules of the Service they should have -rushed back to the armory for fresh weapons. - -The omission was fatal. Even as they stood there rejoicing in their -cleverness and boldness and in the helpless anger of the enemy, -something thin and string-like spread itself around them—their feet -caught in string, their fingers caught in string, string tweaked -their ears and flattened their noses—string confined their elbows and -confused their legs. The Lobster-guarded doorway seemed farther off—and -farther, and farther.... They turned their heads; they were following -backward, and against their will, a retreating enemy. - -“Oh, why didn’t we do what she said?” breathed Cathay. “Something’s -happened!” - -“I should think it had,” said Bernard. “We’re caught—in a net.” - -They were. And a tall Infantryman of the Under Folk was towing them -away from Merland as swiftly and as easily as a running child tows a -captive air balloon. - - - - -CHAPTER TEN - -_The Under Folk_ - - -THOSE OF US who have had the misfortune to be caught in a net in the -execution of our military duty, and to be dragged away by the enemy -with all the helpless buoyancy of captive balloons, will be able to -appreciate the sensations of the four children to whom this gloomy -catastrophe had occurred. - -The net was very strong—made of twisted fibrous filaments of seaweed. -All efforts to break it were vain, and they had, unfortunately, nothing -to cut it with. They had not even their oyster shells, the rough edges -of which might have done something to help, or at least would have been -useful weapons, and the discomfort of their position was extreme. They -were, as Cathay put it, “all mixed up with each other’s arms and legs,” -and it was very difficult and painful to sort themselves out without -hurting each other. - -“Let’s do it, one at a time,” said Mavis, after some minutes of severe -and unsuccessful struggle. “France first. Get right away, France, and -see if you can’t sit down on a piece of the net that isn’t covered with -_us_, and then Cathay can try.” - -It was excellent advice and when all four had followed it, it was found -possible to sit side by side on what may be called the floor of the -net, only the squeezing of the net walls tended to jerk one up from -one’s place if one wasn’t very careful. - -By the time the rearrangement was complete, and they were free to look -about them, the whole aspect of the world had changed. The world, for -one thing, was much darker, in itself that is, though the part of it -where the children were was much lighter than had been the sea where -they were first netted. It was a curious scene—rather like looking down -on London at night from the top of St. Paul’s. Some bright things, -like trams or omnibuses, were rushing along, and smaller lights, which -looked mighty like cabs and carriages, dotted the expanse of blackness -till, where they were thick set, the darkness disappeared in a blaze of -silvery light. - -Other light-bearers had rows of round lights like the portholes of -great liners. One came sweeping toward them, and a wild idea came -to Cathay that perhaps when ships sink they go on living and moving -underwater just as she and the others had done. Perhaps they do. -Anyhow, this was not one of them, for, as it came close, it was plainly -to be perceived as a vast fish with phosphorescent lights in rows along -its gigantic sides. It opened its jaws as it passed, and for an instant -everyone shut their eyes and felt that all was over. When the eyes -were opened again, the mighty fish was far away. Cathay, however, was -discovered to be in tears. - -“I wish we hadn’t come,” she said; and the others could not but feel -that there was something in what she said. They comforted her and -themselves as best they could by expressing a curious half-certainty -which they had that everything would be all right in the end. As I -said before, there are some things so horrible that if you can bring -yourself to face them you see at once that they can’t be true. The -barest idea of poetic justice—which we all believe in at the bottom -of our hearts—made it impossible to think that the children who had -nobly (they couldn’t help feeling it _was_ noble) defended their -friends, the Mer Folk, should have anything really dreadful happen to -them in consequence. And when Bernard talked about the fortunes of war -he did it in an unconvinced sort of way and Francis told him to shut up. - -[Illustration: _In the net._] - -“But what are we to do,” sniffed Cathay for the twentieth time, and all -the while the Infantryman was going steadily on, dragging the wretched -netful after him. - -“Press our pearl buttons,” suggested Francis hopefully. “Then we shall -be invisible and unfeelable and we can escape.” He fumbled with the -round marble-like pearl. - -“No, no,” said Bernard, catching at his hand, “don’t you see? If we -do, we may never get out of the net. If they can’t see us or feel us -they’ll think the net’s empty, and perhaps hang it up on a hook or put -it away in a box.” - -“And forget it while years roll by. _I_ see,” said Cathay. - -“But we can undo them the minute we’re there. Can’t we?” said Mavis. - -“Yes, of course,” said Bernard; but as a matter of fact they couldn’t. - -At last the Infantryman, after threading his way through streets of -enormous rocky palaces, passed through a colossal arch, and so into a -hall as big as St. Paul’s and Westminster Abbey into one. - -A crowd of Under Folk, who were seated on stone benches around rude -tables, eating strange luminous food, rose up, and cried, “What news?” - -“Four prisoners,” said the Infantryman. - -“Upper Folk,” the Colonel said; “and my orders are to deliver them to -the Queen herself.” - -He passed to the end of the hall and up a long wide flight of steps -made of something so green and clear that it was plainly either glass -or emerald, and I don’t think it could have been glass, because how -could they have made glass in the sea? There were lights below it which -shone through the green transparency so clear and lovely that Francis -said dreamily— - - “‘_Sabrina fair, - Listen where thou art sitting, - Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave_,’” - -and quite suddenly there was much less room in the net, and they were -being embraced all at once and with tears of relief and joy by the -Princess Freia—their own Mer Princess. - -“Oh, I _didn’t_ mean to—Princess dear, I _didn’t_,” said Francis. “It -was the emerald steps made me think of translucent.” - -“So they are,” she said, “but oh, if you knew what I’ve felt—you, our -guests, our knights-errant, our noble defenders—to be prisoners and -all of us safe. I did so hope you’d call me. And I’m so proud that you -didn’t—that you were brave enough not to call for me until you did it -by accident.” - -“We never thought of doing it,” said Mavis candidly, “but I hope we -shouldn’t have, if we _had_ thought of it.” - -“Why haven’t you pressed your pearl buttons?” she asked, and they told -her why. - -“Wise children,” she said, “but at any rate we must all use the charm -that prevents our losing our memories.” - -“I shan’t use mine,” said Cathay. “I don’t want to remember. If I -didn’t remember I should forget to be frightened. Do please let -me forget to remember.” She clung pleadingly to the Princess, who -whispered to Mavis, “Perhaps it would be best,” and they let Cathay -have her way. - -The others had only just time to swallow their charms before the -Infantryman threw the net onto a great table, which seemed to be cut -out of one vast diamond, and fell on his face on the ground. It was his -way of saluting his sovereign. - -“Prisoners, your Majesty,” he said when he had got up again. “Four of -the young of the Upper Folk—” and he turned to the net as he spoke, -and stopped short—“there’s someone else,” he said in an altered voice, -“someone as wasn’t there when we started, I’ll swear.” - -“Open the net,” said a strong, sweet voice, “and bid the prisoners -stand up that I may look upon them.” - -“They might escape, my love,” said another voice anxiously, “or perhaps -they bite.” - -“Submersia,” said the first voice, “do you and four of my women stand -ready. Take the prisoners one by one. Seize each a prisoner and hold -them, awaiting my royal pleasure.” - -The net was opened and large and strong hands took Bernard, who was -nearest the mouth of the net back, and held him gently but with extreme -firmness in an upright position on the table. None of them could stand -because of their tails. - -They saw before them, on a throne, a tall and splendid Queen, very -beautiful and very sad, and by her side a King (they knew the royalty -by their crowns), not so handsome as his wife, but still very different -from the uncouth, heavy Under Folk. And he looked sad too. They were -clad in robes of richest woven seaweed, sewn with jewels, and their -crowns were like dreams of magnificence. Their throne was of one clear -blood-bright ruby, and its canopy of green drooping seaweed was gemmed -with topazes and amethysts. The Queen rose and came down the steps of -the throne and whispered to her whom she had called Submersia, and she -in turn whispered to the four other large ladies who held, each, a -captive. - -And with a dreadful unanimity the five acted; with one dexterous -movement they took off the magic jackets, and with another they removed -the useful tails. The Princess and the four children stood upon the -table on their own ten feet. - -“What funny little things,” said the King, not unkindly. - -“Hush,” said the Queen, “perhaps they can understand what you say—and -at any rate that Mer-girl can.” - -The children were furious to hear their Princess so disrespectfully -spoken of. But she herself remained beautifully calm. - -“Now,” said the Queen, “before we destroy your memories, will you -answer questions?” - -“Some questions, yes—others, no,” said the Princess. - -“Are these human children?” - -“Yes.” - -“How do they come under the sea?” - -“Mer-magic. You wouldn’t understand,” said the Princess haughtily. - -“Were they fighting against us?” - -“Yes,” cried Bernard and Mavis before the Princess answered. - -“And lucky to do it,” Francis added. - -“If you will tell us the fighting strength of the Merlanders, your -tails and coats shall be restored to you and you shall go free. Will -you tell?” - -“Is it likely?” the Princess answered. “I am a Mer-woman, and a -Princess of the Royal House. Such do not betray their country.” - -“No, I suppose not,” said the Queen. And she paused a moment before she -said, “Administer the cup of forgetfulness.” - -The cup of forgetfulness was exceedingly pleasant. It tasted of toffee -and coconuts, and pineapple ices, and plum cake, and roast chicken, -with a faint underflavor of lavender, rose leaves and the very best -_eau de cologne_. - -The children had tasted cider-cup and champagne-cup at parties, and -had disliked both, but oblivion-cup was delicious. It was served in -a goblet of opal color, in dreamy pink and pearl—and green and blue -and gray—and the sides of the goblet were engraved with pictures of -beautiful people asleep. The goblet passed from hand to hand, and -when each had drunk enough the Lord High Cupbearer, a very handsome, -reserved-looking fish, laid a restraining touch on the goblet and, -taking it between his fins, handed it to the next drinker. So, one by -one, each took the draught. Kathleen was the last. - -The draught had no effect on four out of the five—but Kathleen changed -before their eyes, and though they had known that the draught of -oblivion would make her forget, it was terrible to see it do its fell -work. - -Mavis had her arm protectingly around Kathleen, and the moment the -draught had been swallowed Kathleen threw off that loving arm and drew -herself away. It hurt like a knife. Then she looked at her brothers and -sisters, and it is a very terrible thing when the eyes you love look at -you as though you were a stranger. - -Now, it had been agreed, while still the captives were in the net, that -all of them should pretend that the cup of oblivion had taken effect, -that they should just keep still and say nothing and look as stupid -as they could. But this coldness of her dear Cathay’s was more than -Mavis could bear, and no one had counted on it. So when Cathay looked -at Mavis as at a stranger whom she rather disliked, and drew away from -her arm, Mavis could not bear it, and cried out in heart-piercing -tones, “Oh, Cathay, darling, what is it? What’s the matter?” before the -Princess or the boys could stop her. And to make matters worse, both -boys said in a very loud, plain whisper, “Shut up, Mavis,” and only the -Princess kept enough presence of mind to go on saying nothing. - -Cathay turned and looked at her sister. - -“Cathay, darling,” Mavis said again, and stopped, for no one could go -on saying “darling” to anyone who looked at you as Cathay was looking. - -She turned her eyes away as Cathay looked toward the Queen—looked, and -went, to lean against the royal knee as though it had been her mother’s. - -“Dear little thing,” said the Queen; “see, it’s quite tame. I shall -keep it for a pet. Nice little pet then!” - -“You shan’t keep her,” cried Mavis, but again the Princess hushed her, -and the Queen treated her cry with contemptuous indifference. Cathay -snuggled against her new mistress. - -“As for the rest of you,” said the Queen, “it is evident from your -manner that the draught of oblivion has not yet taken effect on you. -So it is impossible for me to make presents of you to those prominent -members of the nobility, who are wanting pets, as I should otherwise -have done. We will try another draught tomorrow. In the meantime ... -the fetters, Jailer.” - -A tall sour-looking Under-man stepped forward. Hanging over his arm -were scaly tails, which at first sight of the children’s hearts leaped, -for they hoped they were their own. But no sooner were the tails fitted -on than they knew the bitter truth. - -“Yes,” said the Queen “they are false tails. You will not be able to -take them off, and you can neither swim nor walk with them. You can, -however, move along quite comfortably on the floor of the ocean. What’s -the matter?” she asked the Jailer. - -“None of the tails will fit this prisoner, your Majesty,” said the -Jailer. - -“I am a Princess of the reigning Mer House,” said Freia, “and your -false, degrading tails cannot cling to me.” - -“Oh, put them all in the lockup,” said the King, “as sullen a lot of -prisoners as ever I saw—what?” - -The lockup was a great building, broader at the top than at the bottom, -which seemed to be balanced on the sea floor, but really it was propped -up at both ends with great chunks of rock. The prisoners were taken -there in the net, and being dragged along in nets is so confusing, that -it was not till the Jailer had left them that they discovered that the -prison was really a ship—an enormous ship—which lay there, perfect in -every detail as on the day when it first left dock. The water did not -seem to have spoiled it at all. They were imprisoned in the saloon, -and, worn out with the varied emotions of the day, they lay down on the -comfortable red velvet cushions and went to sleep. Even Mavis felt that -Kathleen had found a friend in the Queen, and was in no danger. - -The Princess was the last to close her eyes. She looked long at the -sleeping children. - -“Oh, _why_ don’t they think of it?” she said, “and why mustn’t I tell -them?” - -There was no answer to either question, and presently she too slept. - -I must own that I share the Princess’s wonder that the children did not -spend the night in saying “Sabrina fair” over and over again. Because -of course each invocation would have been answered by an inhabitant of -Merland, and thus a small army could easily have been collected, the -Jailer overpowered and a rush made for freedom. - -I wish I had time to tell you all that happened to Kathleen, because -the daily life of a pampered lap-child to a reigning Queen is one that -you would find most interesting to read about. As interesting as your -Rover or Binkie would find it to read—if he could read—about the life -of one of Queen Alexandra’s Japanese Spaniels. But time is getting on, -and I must make a long story short. And anyhow you can never tell all -about everything, can you? - -The next day the Jailers brought food to the prison, as well as a -second draught of oblivion, which, of course, had no effect, and they -spent the day wondering how they could escape. In the evening the -Jailer’s son brought more food and more oblivion-cup, and he lingered -while they ate. He did not look at all unkind, and Francis ventured to -speak to him. - -“I say,” he said. - -“What do you say?” the Under-lad asked. - -“Are you forbidden to talk to us?” - -“No.” - -“Then do tell us what they will do with us.” - -“I do not know. But we shall have to know before long. The prisons are -filling up quickly—they will soon be quite full. Then we shall have to -let some of you out on what is called ticket-of-leave—that means with -your artificial tails on, which prevent you getting away, even if the -oblivion-cup doesn’t take effect.” - -“I say,” it was Bernard’s turn to ask. - -“What do you say?” - -“Why don’t the King and Queen go and fight, like the Mer Royal Family -do?” - -“Against the law,” said the Under-lad. “We took a King prisoner once, -and our people were afraid our King and Queen might be taken, so they -made that rule.” - -“What did you do with him—the prisoner King?” the Princess asked. - -“Put him in an Iswater,” said the lad, “a piece of water entirely -surrounded by land.” - -“I should like to see him,” said the Princess. - -“Nothing easier,” said the Under-lad, “as soon as you get your -tickets-of-leaves. It’s a good long passage to the lake—nearly all -water, of course, but lots of our young people go there three times -a week. Of course, he can’t be a King anymore now—but they made him -Professor of Conchology.” - -“And has he forgotten he was a _King_?” asked the Princess. - -“Of course: but he was so learned the oblivion-cup wasn’t deep enough -to make him forget everything: that’s why he’s a Professor.” - -“What was he King of?” the Princess asked anxiously. - -“He was King of the Barbarians,” said the Jailer’s son—and the Princess -sighed. - -“I thought it might have been my father,” she said, “he was lost at -sea, you know.” - -The Under-lad nodded sympathetically and went away. - -“He doesn’t seem such a bad sort,” said Mavis. - -“No,” said the Princess, “I can’t understand it. I thought all the -Under Folk were terrible fierce creatures, cruel and implacable.” - -“And they don’t seem so very different from us—except to look at,” said -Bernard. - -“I wonder,” said Mavis, “what the war began about?” - -“Oh—we’ve always been enemies,” said the Princess, carelessly. - -“Yes—but how did you begin being enemies?” - -“Oh, that,” said the Princess, “is lost in the mists of antiquity, -before the dawn of history and all that.” - -“Oh,” said Mavis. - -But when Ulfin came with the next meal—did I tell you that the Jailer’s -son’s name was Ulfin?—Mavis asked him the same question. - -“I don’t know—little land-lady,” said Ulfin, “but I will find out—my -uncle is the Keeper of the National Archives, graven on tables of -stone, so many that no one can count them, but there are smaller tables -telling what is on the big ones—” he hesitated. “If I could get leave -to show you the Hall of the Archives, would you promise not to try to -escape?” - -They had now been shut up for two days and would have promised anything -in reason. - -“You see, the prisons are quite full now,” he said, “and I don’t see -why you shouldn’t be the first to get your leaves-tickets. I’ll ask my -father.” - -“I say!” said Mavis. - -“What do you say?” said Ulfin. - -“Do you know anything about my sister?” - -“The Queen’s new lap-child? Oh—she’s a great pet—her gold collar with -her name on it came home today. My cousin’s brother-in-law made it.” - -“The name—Kathleen?” said Mavis. - -“The name on the collar is Fido,” said Ulfin. - -The next day Ulfin brought their tickets-of-leaves, made of the leaves -of the tree of Liberty which grows at the bottom of the well where -Truth lies. - -“Don’t lose them,” he said, “and come with me.” They found it quite -possible to move along slowly on hands and tails, though they looked -rather like seals as they did so. - -He led them through the strange streets of massive passages, pointing -out the buildings, giving them their names as you might do if you were -showing the marvels of your own city to a stranger. - -“That’s the Astrologers’ Tower,” he said, pointing to a huge building -high above the others. “The wise men sit there and observe the stars.” - -“But you can’t see the stars down here.” - -“Oh, yes, we can. The tower is fitted up with tubes and mirrors and -water transparence apparatus. The wisest men in the country are -there—all but the Professor of Conchology. He’s the wisest of all. He -invented the nets that caught you—or rather, making nets was one of the -things that he had learned and couldn’t forget.” - -“But who thought of using them for catching prisoners?” - -“I did,” said Ulfin proudly, “I’m to have a glass medal for it.” - -“Do you have glass down here?” - -“A little comes down, you know. It is very precious. We engrave it. -That is the Library—millions of tables of stone—the Hall of Public -Joy is next to it—that garden is the mothers’ garden where they go to -rest while their children are at school—that’s one of our schools. And -here’s the Hall of Public Archives.” - -The Keeper of the Records received them with grave courtesy. The daily -services of Ulfin had accustomed the children to the appearance of the -Under Folk, and they no longer found their strange, mournful faces -terrifying, and the great hall where, on shelves cut out of the sheer -rock, were stored the graven tables of Underworld Records, was very -wonderful and impressive. - -“What is it you want to know?” said the Keeper, rolling away some of -the stones he had been showing them. “Ulfin said there was something -special.” - -“Why the war began?” said Francis. - -“Why the King and Queen are different?” said Mavis. - -“The war,” said the Keeper of the Records, “began exactly three million -five hundred and seventy-nine thousand three hundred and eight years -ago. An Under-man, getting off his Sea Horse in a hurry trod on the -tail of a sleeping Merman. He did not apologize because he was under -a vow not to speak for a year and a day. If the Mer-people had only -waited he would have explained, but they went to war at once, and, of -course, after that you couldn’t expect him to apologize. And the war -has gone on, off and on and on and off, ever since.” - -[Illustration: _The Hall of Public Archives._] - -“And won’t it ever stop?” asked Bernard. - -“Not till we apologize, which, of course, we can’t until _they_ find -out why the war began and that it wasn’t our fault.” - -“How awful!” said Mavis; “then it’s all really about nothing.” - -“Quite so,” said the Keeper, “what are your wars about? The other -question I shouldn’t answer only I know you’ll forget it when the -oblivion-cup begins to work. Ulfin tells me it hasn’t begun yet. Our -King and Queen are _imported_. We used to be a Republic, but Presidents -were so uppish and so grasping, and all their friends and relations -too; so we decided to be a Monarchy, and that all jealousies might be -taken away we imported the two handsomest Land Folk we could find. -They’ve been a great success, and as they have no relations we find it -much less expensive.” - -When the Keeper had thus kindly gratified the curiosity of the -prisoners the Princess said suddenly: - -“Couldn’t we learn Conchology?” - -And the Keeper said kindly, “Why not? It’s the Professor’s day -tomorrow.” - -“Couldn’t we go there today?” asked the Princess, “just to arrange -about times and terms and all that?” - -“If my Uncle says I may take you there,” said Ulfin, “I will, for I -have never known any pleasure so great as doing anything that you wish -will give me.” - -The Uncle looked a little anxious, but he said he thought there could -be no harm in calling on the Professor. So they went. The way was long -for people who were not seals by nature and were not yet compelled to -walk after the manner of those charming and intelligent animals. The -Mer Princess alone was at her ease. But when they passed a building, -as long as from here to the end of the Mile End Road, which Ulfin told -them was the Cavalry Barracks, a young Under-man leaned out of a window -and said: - -“What ho! Ulf.” - -“What ho! yourself,” said Ulfin, and approaching the window spoke in -whispers. Two minutes later the young Cavalry Officer who had leaned -out of the window gave an order, and almost at once some magnificent -Sea Horses, richly caparisoned, came out from under an arched gateway. -The three children were mounted on these, and the crowd which had -collected in the street seemed to find it most amusing to see people -in fetter-tails riding on the chargers of the Horse Marines. But their -laughter was not ill-natured. And the horses were indeed a boon to the -weary tails of the amateur seals. - -Riding along the bottom of the sea was a wonderful experience—but soon -the open country was left behind and they began to go up ways cut in -the heart of the rock—ways long and steep, and lighted, as all that -great Underworld was, with phosphorescent light. - -When they had been traveling for some hours and the children were -beginning to think that you could perhaps have too much even of such -an excellent thing as Sea Horse exercise, the phosphorescent lights -suddenly stopped, and yet the sea was not dark. There seemed to be a -light ahead, and it got stronger and stronger as they advanced, and -presently it streamed down on them from shallow water above their heads. - -“We leave the Sea Horses here,” said Ulfin, “they cannot live in the -air. Come.” - -They dismounted and swam up. At least Ulfin and the Princess swam and -the others held hands and were pulled by the two swimmers. Almost at -once their heads struck the surface of the water, and there they were, -on the verge of a rocky shore. They landed, and walked—if you can call -what seals do walking—across a ridge of land, then plunged into a -landlocked lake that lay beyond. - -[Illustration: _The chargers of the Horse Marines._] - -“This is the Iswater,” said Ulfin as they touched bottom, “and yonder -is the King.” And indeed a stately figure in long robes was coming -toward them. - -“But this,” said the Princess, trembling, “is just like our garden at -home, only smaller.” - -“It was made as it is,” said Ulfin, “by wish of the captive King. -Majesty is Majesty, be it never so conquered.” - -The advancing figure was now quite near them. It saluted them with -royal courtesy. - -“We wanted to know,” said Mavis, “please, your Majesty, if we might -have lessons from you.” - -The King answered, but the Princess did not hear. She was speaking with -Ulfin, apart. - -“Ulfin,” she said, “this captive King is my Father.” - -“Yes, Princess,” said Ulfin. - -“And he does not know me—” - -“He will,” said Ulfin strongly. - -“Did you know?” - -“Yes.” - -“But the people of your land will punish you for bringing us here, -if they find out that he is my Father and that you have brought us -together. They will kill you. Why did you do it, Ulfin?” - -“Because you wished it, Princess,” he said, “and because I would rather -die for you than live without you.” - - - - -CHAPTER ELEVEN - -_The Peacemaker_ - - -THE CHILDREN thought they had never seen a kinder face or more noble -bearing than that of the Professor of Conchology, but the Mer Princess -could not bear to look at him. She now felt what Mavis had felt when -Cathay failed to recognize her—the misery of being looked at without -recognition by the eyes that we know and love. She turned away, and -pretended to be looking at the leaves of the seaweed hedge while Mavis -and Francis were arranging to take lessons in Conchology three days a -week, from two to four. - -“You had better join a class,” said the Professor, “you will learn less -that way.” - -“But we want to learn,” said Mavis. - -And the Professor looked at her very searchingly and said, “Do you?” - -“Yes,” she said, “at least—” - -“Yes,” he said, “I quite understand. I am only an exiled Professor, -teaching Conchology to youthful aliens, but I retain some remnants of -the wisdom of my many years. I know that I am not what I seem, and that -you are not what you seem, and that your desire to learn my special -subject is not sincere and whole-hearted, but is merely, or mainly, the -cloak to some other design. Is it not so, my child?” - -No one answered. His question was so plainly addressed to the Princess. -And she must have felt the question, for she turned and said, “Yes, O -most wise King.” - -“I am no King,” said the Professor, “rather I am a weak child picking -up pebbles by the shore of an infinite sea of knowledge.” - -“You _are_,” the Princess was beginning impulsively, when Ulfin -interrupted her. - -“Lady, lady!” he said, “all will be lost! Can you not play your part -better than this? If you continue these indiscretions my head will -undoubtedly pay the forfeit. Not that I should for a moment grudge that -trifling service, but if my head is cut off you will be left without -a friend in this strange country, and I shall die with the annoying -consciousness that I shall no longer be able to serve you.” - -He whispered this into the Princess’s ear while the Professor of -Conchology looked on with mild surprise. - -“Your attendant,” he observed, “is eloquent but inaudible.” - -“I mean to be,” said Ulfin, with a sudden change of manner. “Look here, -sir, I don’t suppose you care what becomes of you.” - -“Not in the least,” said the Professor. - -“But I suppose you would be sorry if anything uncomfortable happened to -your new pupils?” - -“Yes,” said the Professor, and his eye dwelt on Freia. - -“Then please concentrate your powerful mind on being a Professor. Think -of nothing else. More depends on this than you can easily believe.” - -“Believing is easy,” said the Professor. “Tomorrow at two, I think you -said?” and with a grave salutation he turned his back on the company -and walked away through his garden. - -It was a thoughtful party that rode home on the borrowed chargers of -the Deep Sea Cavalry. No one spoke. The minds of all were busy with the -strange words of Ulfin, and even the least imaginative of them, which -in this case was Bernard, could not but think that Ulfin had in that -strange oddly shaped head of his, some plan for helping the prisoners, -to one of whom at least he was so obviously attached. He also was -silent, and the others could not help encouraging the hope that he was -maturing plans. - -They reached the many-windowed prison, gave up their tickets-of-leaves -and reentered it. It was not till they were in the saloon and the -evening was all but over that Bernard spoke of what was in every head. - -“Look here,” he said, “I think Ulfin means to help us to escape.” - -“Do you,” said Mavis. “I think he means to help us to something, but I -don’t somehow think it’s as simple as that.” - -“Nothing near,” said Francis simply. - -“But that’s all we want, isn’t it?” said Bernard. - -“It’s not all _I_ want,” said Mavis, finishing the last of a fine bunch -of sea-grapes, “what I want is to get the Mer King restored to his -sorrowing relations.” - -The Mer Princess pressed her hand affectionately. - -“So do I,” said Francis, “but I want something more than that even. I -want to stop this war. For always. So that there’ll never be any more -of it.” - -“But how can you,” said the Mer Princess, leaning her elbows on the -table, “there’s always been war; there always will be.” - -“Why?” asked Francis. - -“I don’t know; it’s Merman nature, I suppose.” - -“I don’t believe it,” said Francis earnestly, “not for a minute I -don’t. Why, don’t you see, all these people you’re at war with are -_nice_. Look how kind the Queen is to Cathay—look how kind Ulfin is to -us—and the Librarian, and the Keeper of the Archives, and the soldiers -who lent us the horses. They’re all as decent as they can stick, and -all the Mer-people are nice too—and then they all go killing each -other, and all those brave, jolly soldier fish too, just all about -nothing. I call it simply _rot_.” - -“But there always has been war I tell you,” said the Mer-Princess. -“People would get slack and silly and cowardly if there were no wars.” - -“If I were King,” said Francis, who was now thoroughly roused, “there -should never be any more wars. There are plenty of things to be brave -about without hurting other brave people—exploring and rescuing and -saving your comrades in mines and in fires and floods and things and—” -his eloquence suddenly gave way to a breathless shyness—“oh, well,” he -ended, “it’s no use gassing; you know what I mean.” - -“Yes,” said Mavis, “and oh, France—I think you’re right. But what can -we _do_?” - -“I shall ask to see the Queen of the Under Folk, and try to make her -see sense. She didn’t look an absolute duffer.” - -They all gasped at the glorious and simple daring of the idea. But the -Mer Princess said: - -“I know you’d do everything you could—but it’s very difficult to talk -to kings unless you’ve been accustomed to it. There are books in the -cave, _Straight Talks with Monarchs_, and _Kings I Have Spoken My Mind -To_, which might help you. But, unfortunately, we can’t get them. You -see, Kings start so much further than subjects do: they know such a lot -more. Why, even I—” - -“Then why won’t _you_ try talking to the Queen?” - -“I shouldn’t dare,” said Freia. “I’m only a girl-Princess. Oh, if only -my dear Father could talk to her. If he believed it possible that -war could cease ... _he_ could persuade anybody of anything. And, of -course, they would start on the same footing—both Monarchs, you know.” - -“I see: like belonging to the same club,” said Francis vaguely. - -“But, of course, as things are, my royal Father thinks of nothing but -shells—if only we could restore his memory....” - -“I say,” said Bernard suddenly, “does that Keep-your-Memory charm work -backward?” - -“Backward?” - -“I mean—is it any use taking it after you’ve swallowed your dose of -oblivion-cup? Is it a rester what’s its name as well as an antidote?” - -“Surely,” said the Princess, “it is a restorative; only we have no -charm to give my Father—they are not made in this country—and alas! we -cannot escape and go to our own kingdom and return with one.” - -“No need,” said Bernard, with growing excitement, “no need. Cathay’s -charm is there, in the inner pocket of her magic coat. If we could get -that, give the charm to your Father, and then get him an interview with -the Queen?” - -“But what about Cathay?” said Mavis. - -“If my Father’s memory were restored,” said the Princess, “his wisdom -would find us a way out of all our difficulties. To find Cathay’s coat: -that is what we have to do.” - -“Yes,” said Francis. “That’s all.” He spoke a little bitterly, for he -had really rather looked forward to that straight talk with the King, -and the others had not been as enthusiastic as he felt he had a right -to expect. - -“Let’s call Ulfin,” said the Princess, and they all scratched on the -door of polished bird’s-eye maple that separated their apartments from -the rest of the prison. The electric bells were out of order, so one -scratched instead of ringing. It was quite as easy. - -Ulfin came with all speed. - -“We’re holding a council,” said Freia, “and we want you to help. We -know you will.” - -“I know it,” said Ulfin, “tell me your needs—” - -And without more ado they told him all. - -“You trust me, Princess, I am proud,” he told her, but when he heard -Francis’s dream of universal peace he took the freckled paw of Francis -and laid his lips to it. And Francis, even in the midst of his pride -and embarrassment at this token, could not help noticing that the lips -of Ulfin were hard, like horn. - -“I kiss your hand,” said Ulfin, “because you give me back my honor, -which I was willing to lay down, with all else, for the Princess to -walk on to safety and escape. I would have helped you to find the -hidden coat—for her sake alone, and that would have been a sin against -my honor and my country—but now that I know it is to lead to peace, -which, warriors as we are, the whole nation passionately desires, then -I am acting as a true and honorable patriot. My only regret is that I -have one gift the less to lay at the feet of the Princess.” - -“Do you know where the coats are?” Mavis asked. - -“They are in the Foreign Curiosities Museum,” said Ulfin, “strongly -guarded: but the guards are the Horse Marines—whose officer lent you -your chargers today. He is my friend, and when I tell him what is -toward, he will help me. I only ask of you one promise in return. That -you will not seek to escape, or to return to your own country, except -by the free leave and license of our gracious Sovereigns.” - -The children easily promised—and they thought the promise would be -easily kept. - -“Then tomorrow,” said Ulfin, “shall begin the splendid Peace Plot which -shall hand our names down, haloed with glory, to remotest ages.” - -He looked kindly on them and went out. - -“He _is_ a dear, isn’t he?” said Mavis. - -“Yes, indeed,” said the Princess absently. - -And now next day the children, carrying their tickets-of-leaves, were -led to the great pearl and turquoise building, which was the Museum -of Foreign Curiosities. Many were the strange objects preserved -there—china and glass and books and land-things of all kinds, -taken from sunken ships. And all the things were under dome-shaped -cases, apparently of glass. The Curator of the Museum showed them -his treasures with pride, and explained them all wrong in the most -interesting way. - -“Those discs,” he said, pointing to the china plates, “are used in -games of skill. They are thrown from one hand to another, and if one -fails to catch them his head is broken.” - -An egg boiler, he explained, was a Land Queen’s jewel case, and four -egg-shaped emeralds had been fitted into it to show its use to the -vulgar. A silver ice pail was labeled: “Drinking Vessel of the Horses -of the Kings of Earth,” and a cigar case half full was called “Charm -case containing Evil Charms: probably Ancient Barbarian.” In fact it -was very like the museums you see on land. - -They were just coming to a large case containing something whitish and -labeled, “Very valuable indeed,” when a messenger came to tell the -Curator that a soldier was waiting with valuable curiosities taken as -loot from the enemy. - -“Excuse me one moment,” said the Curator, and left them. - -“_I_ arranged that,” said Ulfin, “quick, before he returns—take your -coats if you know any spell to remove the case.” - -The Princess laughed and laid her hand on the glassy dome, and lo! it -broke and disappeared as a bubble does when you touch it. - -“Magic,” whispered Ulfin. - -“Not magic,” said the Princess. “Your cases are only bubbles.” - -“And I never knew,” said Ulfin. - -“No,” said the Princess, “because you never dared to touch them.” - -The children were already busy pulling the coats off the ruby slab -where they lay. “Here’s Cathay’s,” whispered Mavis. - -The Princess snatched it and her own pearly coat which, in one quick -movement, she put on and buttoned over Cathay’s little folded coat, -holding this against her. “Quick,” she said, “put yours on, all of you. -Take your mer-tails on your arms.” - -They did. The soldiers at the end of the long hall had noticed the -movements and came charging up toward them. - -“Quick, quick!” said the Princess, “now—altogether. One, two, three. -Press your third buttons.” - -The children did, and the soldiers tearing up the hall to arrest the -breakers of the cases of the Museum—for by this time they could see -what had happened—almost fell over each other in their confusion. For -there, where a moment ago had been four children with fin-tail fetters, -was now empty space, and beside the rifled Museum case stood only Ulfin. - -And then an odd thing happened. Out of nowhere, as it seemed, a little -pearly coat appeared, hanging alone in air (water, of course, it was -really. Or was it?). It seemed to grow and to twine itself round Ulfin. - -“Put it on,” said a voice from invisibility, “put it on,” and Ulfin did -put it on. - -The soldiers were close upon him. “Press the third button,” cried the -Princess, and Ulfin did so. But as his right hand sought the button, -the foremost soldier caught his left arm with the bitter cry— - -“Traitor, I arrest you in the King’s name,” and though he could now not -see that he was holding anything, he could feel that he was, and he -held on. - -“The last button, Ulfin,” cried the voice of the unseen Princess, -“press the last button,” and next moment the soldier, breathless with -amazement and terror, was looking stupidly at his empty hand. Ulfin, as -well as the three children and the Princess, was not only invisible but -intangible, the soldiers could not see or feel anything. - -And what is more, neither could the Princess or the children or Ulfin. - -“Oh, where are you? Where am I?” cried Mavis. - -“Silence,” said the Princess, “we must keep together by our voices, but -that is dangerous. _A la porte!_” she added. How fortunate it was that -none of the soldiers understood French! - -As the five were invisible and intangible and as the soldiers were -neither, it was easy to avoid them and to get to the arched doorway. -The Princess got there first. There was no enemy near—all the soldiers -were crowding around the rifled Museum case, talking and wondering, the -soldier who had seized Ulfin explaining again and again how he had had -the caitiff by the arm, “as solid as solid, and then, all in a minute, -there was nothing—nothing at all,” and his comrades trying their best -to believe him. The Princess just waited, saying, “Are you there?” -every three seconds, as though she had been at the telephone. - -“Are you there?” said the Princess for the twenty-seventh time. And -then Ulfin said, “I am here, Princess.” - -“We must have connecting links,” she said—“bits of seaweed would do. If -you hold a piece of seaweed in your hand I will take hold of the other -end of it. We cannot feel the touch of each other’s hands, but we shall -feel the seaweed, and you will know, by its being drawn tight that I -have hold of the other end. Get some pieces for the children, too. Good -stout seaweed, such as you made the nets of with which you captured us.” - -“Ah, Princess,” he said, “how can I regret that enough? And yet how -can I regret it at all since it has brought you to me.” - -“Peace, foolish child,” said the Princess, and Ulfin’s heart leaped for -joy because, when a Princess calls a grown-up man “child,” it means -that she likes him more than a little, or else, of course, she would -not take such a liberty. “But the seaweed,” she added, “there is no -time to lose.” - -“I have some in my pocket,” said Ulfin, blushing, only she could not -see that. “They keep me busy making nets in my spare time—I always have -some string in my pocket.” - -A piece of stringy seaweed suddenly became visible as Ulfin took it out -of his invisible pocket, which, of course, had the property of making -its contents invisible too, so long as they remained in it. It floated -toward the Princess, who caught the end nearest to her and held it fast. - -“Where are you?” said a small voice. - -It was Mavis—and almost at once Francis and Bernard were there too. The -seaweed chain was explained to them, and they each held fast to their -ends of the seaweed links. So that when the soldiers, a little late in -the day, owing to the careful management of Ulfin’s friend, reached -the front door, there was nothing to be seen but four bits of seaweed -floating down the street, which, of course, was the sort of thing that -nobody could possibly notice unless they _knew_. - -The bits of seaweed went drifting to the Barracks, and no one noticed -that they floated on to the stables and that invisible hands loosed -the halters of five Sea Horses. The soldier who ought to have been -looking after the horses was deeply engaged in a game of Animal Grab -with a comrade. The cards were of narwhal ivory, very fine, indeed, and -jeweled on every pip. The invisible hands saddled the Sea Horses and -invisible forms sprang to the saddles, and urged the horses forward. - -The unfortunate Animal Grabber was roused from his game by the sight -of five retreating steeds—saddled and bridled indeed, but, as far as -he could see, riderless, and long before other horses could be got out -and saddled the fugitives were out of sight and pursuit was vain. Just -as before they went across country to the rock cut and then swam up, -holding by the linking seaweed. - -Because it was Tuesday and nearly two o’clock, the Professor of -Conchology was making ready to receive pupils, which he did in an arbor -of coral of various shades of pink, surrounded by specimen shells of -all the simpler species. He was alone in the garden, and as they neared -him, the Princess, the three children and Ulfin touched the necessary -buttons and became once more visible and tangible. - -“Ha,” said the Professor, but without surprise. “Magic. A very neat -trick, my dears, and excellently done.” - -“You need not remove your jacket,” he added to Ulfin, who was pulling -off his pearly coat. “The mental exercises in which we propose to -engage do not require gymnasium costume.” - -But Ulfin went on taking off his coat, and when it was off he handed -it to the Princess, who at once felt in its inner pocket, pulled out -a little golden case and held it toward the Professor. It has been -well said that no charm on earth—I mean underwater—is strong enough to -make one forget one’s antidote. The moment the Professor’s eye fell on -the little golden case, he held out his hand for it, and the Princess -gave it to him. He opened it, and without hesitation as without haste, -swallowed the charm. - -Next moment the Princess was clasped in his arms, and the moment after -that, still clasped there, was beginning a hurried explanation; but he -stopped her. - -“I know, my child, I know,” he said. “You have brought me the charm -which gives back to me my memory and makes a King of Merland out of -a Professor of Conchology. But why, oh why, did you not bring me my -coat—my pearly coat?” said the King, “it was in the case with the -others.” - -No one had thought of it, and everyone felt and looked exceedingly -silly, and no one spoke till Ulfin said, holding out the coat which the -Princess had given back to him— - -“You will have this coat, Majesty. I have no right to the magic -garments of your country.” - -“But,” said Francis, “you need the coat more than anybody. The King -shall have mine—I shan’t want it if you’ll let me go and ask for an -interview with the King of the Under Folk.” - -“No, have mine,” said Mavis—and “have mine,” said Bernard, and the -Princess said, “Of course my Father will have mine.” So they all -protested at once. But the King raised his hand, and there was silence, -and they saw that he no longer looked only a noble and learned -gentleman, but that he looked every inch a King. - -“Silence,” he said, “if anyone speaks with the King and Queen of this -land it is fitting that it should be I. See, we will go out by the back -door, so as to avoid the other pupils who will soon be arriving in -their thousands, for my Conchology Course is very popular. And as we -go, tell me who is this man of the Under Folk who seems to be one of -you”—(“I am the Princess’ servant,” Ulfin put in)—“and why you desire -to speak with the King of this land.” - -So they made great haste to go out by the back way so as not to meet -the Conchology students, and cautiously crept up to their horses—and, -of course, the biggest and best horse was given to the King to ride. -But when he saw how awkwardly their false tails adapted themselves to -the saddle he said, “My daughter, you can remove these fetters.” - -“How?” said she. “My shell knife won’t cut them.” - -“Bite through the strings of them with your little sharp teeth,” -said the King, “nothing but Princess teeth is sharp enough to cut -through them. No, my son—it is not degrading. A true Princess cannot -be degraded by anything that is for the good of her subjects and her -friends.” - -So the Mer Princess willingly bit through the strings of the false -tails—and everybody put on his or her proper tail again, with great -comfort and enjoyment—and they all swam toward the town. - -And as they went they heard a great noise of shouting, and saw parties -of Under Folk flying as if in fear. - -“I must make haste,” said the King, “and see to it that our Peace -Conference be not too late”—so they hurried on. - -And the noise grew louder and louder, and the crowds of flying Under -Folk thicker and fleeter, and by and by Ulfin made them stand back -under the arch of the Astrologers’ Tower to see what it was from which -they fled. And there, along the streets of the great city of the Under -Folk, came the flash of swords and the swirl of banners and the army of -the Mer Folk came along between the great buildings of their foes, and -on their helmets was the light of victory, and at their head, proud and -splendid, rode the Princess Maia and—Reuben. - -“Oh—Reuben, Reuben! We’re saved,” called Mavis, and would have darted -out, but Francis put his hand over her mouth. - -“Stop!” he said, “don’t you remember we promised not to escape without -the Queen’s permission? Quick, quick to the Palace, to make peace -before our armies can attack it.” - -“You speak well,” said the Mer King. And Ulfin said, “This is no time -for ceremony. Quick, quick, I will take you in by the tradesmen’s -entrance.” And, turning their backs on that splendid and victorious -procession, they marched to the back entrance of the royal Palace. - - - - -CHAPTER TWELVE - -_The End_ - - -THE QUEEN of the Under Folk sat with her husband on their second-best -throne, which was much more comfortable than their State one, though -not so handsome. Their sad faces were lighted up with pleasure as they -watched the gambols of their new pet, Fido, a dear little earth-child, -who was playing with a ball of soft pink seaweed, patting it, and -tossing it and running after it as prettily as any kitten. - -“Dear little Fido,” said the Queen, “come here then,” and Fido, who had -once been Cathay, came willingly to lean against the Queen’s knee and -be stroked and petted. - -“I have curious dreams sometimes,” said the Queen to the King, “dreams -so vivid that they are more like memories.” - -“Has it ever occurred to you,” said the King, “that we have no memories -of our childhood, of our youth—?” - -“I believe,” said the Queen slowly, “that we have tasted in our time of -the oblivion-cup. There is no one like us in this land. If we were born -here, why can we not remember our parents who must have been like us? -And dearest—the dream that comes to me most often is that we once had -a child and lost it—and that it was a child like us—” - -“Fido,” said the King in a low voice, “is like us.” And he, too, -stroked the head of Cathay, who had forgotten everything except that -she was Fido and bore the Queen’s name on her collar. “But if you -remember that we had a child it cannot be true—if we drank of the -oblivion-cup, that is, because, of course, that would make us forget -everything.” - -“It could not make a mother forget her child,” said the Queen, and with -the word caught up Fido-which-was-Cathay and kissed her. - -“Nice Queen,” purred Cathay-which-was-Fido, “I do love you.” - -“I am sure we had a child once,” said the Queen, hugging her, “and that -we have been made to forget.” - -Even as she spoke the hangings of cloth of gold, pieced together from -the spoil of lost galleons, rustled at the touch of someone outside. -The Queen dried her eyes, which needed it, and said, “Come in.” - -The arras was lifted and a tall figure entered. - -“Bless my soul,” said the King of the Under Folk, “it’s the Professor -of Conchology.” - -“No,” said the figure, advancing, “it is the King of the Mer-people. My -brother King, my sister Queen, I greet you.” - -“This is most irregular,” said the King. - -“Never mind, dear,” said the Queen, “let us hear what his Majesty has -to say.” - -“I say—Let there be peace between our people,” said the Mer-King. “For -countless ages these wars have been waged, for countless ages your -people and mine have suffered. Even the origin of the war is lost in -the mists of antiquity. Now I come to you, I, your prisoner—I was -given to drink of the cup of oblivion and forgot who I was and whence I -came. Now a counter-charm has given me back mind and memory. I come in -the name of my people. If we have wronged you, we ask your forgiveness. -If you have wronged us, we freely forgive you. Say: Shall it be -peace, and shall all the sons of the sea live as brothers in love and -kindliness for evermore? - -“Really,” said the King of the Under Folk, “I think it is not at all a -bad idea—but in confidence, and between Monarchs, I may tell you, sir, -that I suspect my mind is not what it was. You, sir, seem to possess a -truly royal grasp of your subject. My mind is so imperfect that I dare -not consult it. But my heart—” - -“Your heart says Yes,” said the Queen. “So does mine. But our troops -are besieging your city,” she said, “they will say that in asking for -peace you were paying the tribute of the vanquished.” - -“My people will not think this of me,” said the King of Merland, “nor -would your people think it of you. Let us join hands in peace and the -love of royal brethren.” - -“What a dreadful noise they are making outside,” said the King, and -indeed the noise of shouting and singing was now to be heard on every -side of the Palace. - -“If there was a balcony now where we could show ourselves,” suggested -the King of Merland. - -“The very thing,” said the Queen, catching up her pet -Fido-which-was-Cathay in her arms and leading the way to the great -curtained arch at the end of the hall. She drew back the swinging, -sweeping hangings of woven seaweed and stepped forth on the balcony—the -two Kings close behind her. But she stopped short and staggered back -a little, so that her husband had to put an arm about her to support -her, when her first glance showed her that the people who were shouting -outside the Palace were not, as she had supposed, Under Folk in some -unexpected though welcome transport of loyal enthusiasm, but ranks on -ranks of the enemy, the hated Mer Folk, all splendid and menacing in -the pomp and circumstance of glorious war. - -“It is the enemy!” gasped the Queen. - -“It is my people,” said the Mer King. “It is a beautiful thing in you, -dear Queen, that you agreed to peace, without terms, while you thought -you were victorious, and not because the legions of the Mer Folk were -thundering at your gates. May I speak for us?” - -They signed assent. And the Mer King stepped forward full into view of -the crowd in the street below. - -“My people,” he said in a voice loud, yet soft, and very, very -beautiful. And at the words the Mer Folk below looked up and recognized -their long-lost King, and a shout went up that you could have heard a -mile away. - -The King raised his hand for silence. - -“My people,” he said, “brave men of Merland—let there be peace, now and -forever, between us and our brave foes. The King and Queen of this land -agreed to make unconditional peace while they believed themselves to be -victorious. If victory has for today been with us, let us at least be -the equals of our foes in generosity as in valor.” - -Another shout rang out. And the King of the Under Folk stepped forward. - -“My people,” he said, and the Under Folk came quickly forward toward -him at the sound of his voice. “There shall be peace. Let these who -were your foes this morning be your guests tonight and your friends -and brothers for evermore. If we have wronged them, we beg them to -forgive us: if they have wronged us, we beg them to allow us to forgive -them.” (“Is that right?” he asked the Mer King in a hasty whisper, who -whispered back, “Admirable!”) “Now,” he went on, “cheer, Mer Folk and -Under Folk, for the splendid compact of Peace.” - -And they cheered. - -“Pardon, your Majesty”—it was Ulfin who spoke—“it was the stranger -Francis who first conceived the Peace Idea.” - -“True,” said the Mer King, “where is Francis?” - -But Francis was not to be found; it was only his name which was -presented to the people from the balcony. He himself kept his pearly -coat on and kept the invisibility button well pressed down, till the -crowd had dispersed to ring all the diving bells with which the towers -of the city were so handsomely fitted up, to hang the city with a -thousand seaweed flags, and to illuminate its every window and door and -pinnacle and buttress with more and more phosphorescent fish. In the -Palace was a banquet for the Kings and the Queen and the Princesses, -and the three children, and Cathay-who-was-Fido. Also Reuben was called -from the command of his Sea Urchins to be a guest at the royal table. -Princess Freia asked that an invitation might be sent to Ulfin—but -when the King’s Private Secretary, a very intelligent cuttlefish, had -got the invitation ready, handsomely written in his own ink, it was -discovered that no Ulfin was to be found to receive it. - -It was a glorious banquet. The only blot on its rapturous splendor was -the fact that Cathay still remained Fido, the Queen’s pet—and her eyes -were still those cold, unremembering eyes which her brothers and sister -could not bear to meet. Reuben sat at the right hand of the Queen, and -from the moment he took his place there he seemed to think of no one -else. He talked with her, sensibly and modestly, and Francis remarked -that during his stay in Merland Reuben had learned to talk as you do, -and not in the language of gypsy circus-people. The Commander-in-Chief -of the Forces of the Under Folk sat at the left hand of his King. -The King of the Mer Folk sat between his happy daughters, and the -children sat together between the Chief Astrologer and the Curator of -the Museum of Foreign Curiosities, who was more pleased to see them -again than he had ever expected to be, and much more friendly than -they had ever hoped to find him. Everyone was extremely happy, even -Fido-which-was-Cathay, who sat on the Queen’s lap and was fed with -delicacies from the Queen’s own plate. - -It was at about the middle of the feast, just after everybody had drunk -the health of the two Commanders-in-Chief, amid tempestuous applause, -that a serving-fish whispered behind his fin to the Under Folk Queen: - -“Certainly,” she said, “show him in.” - -And the person who was shown in was Ulfin, and he carried on his arm a -pearly coat and a scaly tail. He sank on one knee and held them up to -the Mer King, with only one doubtful deprecating glance at the Curator -of the Museum of Foreign Curiosities. - -The King took them, and feeling in the pocket of the coat drew out -three golden cases. - -“It is the royal prerogative to have three,” he said smilingly to the -Queen, “in case of accidents. May I ask your Majesty’s permission to -administer one of them to your Majesty’s little pet. I am sure you are -longing to restore her to her brothers and her sister.” - -The Queen could not but agree—though her heart was sore at losing -the little Fido-Kathleen, of whom she had grown so fond. But she was -hoping that Reuben would consent to let her adopt him, and be more -to her than many Fidos. She administered the charm herself, and the -moment Cathay had swallowed it the royal arms were loosened, and the -Queen expected her pet to fly to her brothers and sister. But to Cathay -it was as though only an instant had passed since she came into that -hall, a prisoner. So that when suddenly she saw her brothers and -sister honored guests at what was unmistakably a very grand and happy -festival, and found herself in the place of honor on the very lap of -the Queen, she only snuggled closer to that royal lady and called out -very loud and clear, “Hullo, Mavis! Here’s a jolly transformation -scene. That was a magic drink she gave us and it’s made everybody jolly -and friends—I am glad. You dear Queen,” she added, “it is nice of you -to nurse me.” - -So everybody was pleased: only Princess Freia looked sad and puzzled -and her eyes followed Ulfin as he bowed and made to retire from the -royal presence. He had almost reached the door when she spoke quickly -in the royal ear that was next to her. - -“Oh, Father,” she said, “don’t let him go like that. He ought to be at -the banquet. We couldn’t have done anything without him.” - -“True,” said the King, “but I thought he had been invited, and refused.” - -“Refused?” said the Princess, “oh, call him back!” - -“I’ll run if I may,” said Mavis, slipping out of her place and running -down the great hall. - -“If you’ll sit a little nearer to me, Father,” said Maia obligingly, -“the young man can sit between you and my sister.” - -So that is where Ulfin found himself, and that was where he had never -dared to hope to be. - -The banquet was a strange as well as a magnificent scene—because, of -course, the Mer-people were beautiful as the day, the five children -were quite as pretty as any five children have any need to be, and -the King and Queen of the Under Folk were as handsome as handsome. So -that all this handsomeness was a very curious contrast to the strange -heavy features of the Under Folk who now sat at table, so pleasant and -friendly, toasting their late enemies. - -The contrast between the Princess Freia and Ulfin was particularly -marked, for their heads bent near together as they talked. - -“Princess,” he was saying, “tomorrow you will go back to your kingdom, -and I shall never see you again.” - -The Princess could not think of anything to say, because it seemed to -her that what he said was true. - -“But,” he went on, “I shall be glad all my life to have known and loved -so dear and beautiful a Princess.” - -And again the Princess could think of nothing to say. - -“Princess,” he said, “tell me one thing. Do you know what I should say -to you if I were a Prince?” - -“Yes,” said Freia; “I know what you would say and I know what I should -answer, dear Ulfin, if you were only a commoner of Merland ... I mean, -you know, if your face were like ours. But since you are of the Under -Folk and I am a Mermaid, I can only say that I will never forget you, -and that I will never marry anyone else.” - -“Is it only my face then that prevents your marrying me?” he asked with -abrupt eagerness, and she answered gently, “Of course.” - -Then Ulfin sprang to his feet. “Your Majesties,” he cried, “and Lord -High Astrologer, has not the moment come when, since we are at a -banquet with friends, we may unmask?” - -The strangers exchanged wondering glances. - -The Sovereigns and the Astrologers made gestures of assent—then, with a -rustling and a rattling, helmets were unlaced and corselets unbuckled, -the Under Folk seemed to the Mer-people as though they were taking off -their very skins. But really what they took off was but their thick -scaly armor, and under it they were as softly and richly clad, and as -personable people as the Mer Folk themselves. - -“But,” said Maia, “how splendid! We thought you were always in -armor—that—that it grew on you, you know.” - -The Under Folk laughed jollily. “Of course it was always on -us—since—when you saw us, we were always at war.” - -“And you’re just like us!” said Freia to Ulfin. - -“There is no one like you,” he whispered back. Ulfin was now a handsome -dark-haired young man, and looked much more like a Prince than a great -many real Princes do. - -“Did you mean what you said just now?” the Princess whispered. And for -answer Ulfin dared to touch her hand with soft firm fingers. - -“Papa,” said Freia, “please may I marry Ulfin?” - -“By all means,” said the King, and immediately announced the -engagement, joining their hands and giving them his blessing in the -most businesslike way. - -Then said the Queen of the Under Folk: - -“Why should not these two reign over the Under Folk and let us two be -allowed to remember the things we have forgotten and go back to that -other life which I know we had somewhere—where we had a child.” - -“I think,” said Mavis, “that now everything’s settled so comfortably we -ought perhaps all of us to be thinking about getting home.” - -“I have only one charm left, unfortunately,” said the Mer King, “but if -your people will agree to your abdicating, I will divide it between you -with pleasure, dear King and Queen of the Under Folk; and I have reason -to believe that the half which you will each of you have, will be just -enough to counteract your memories of this place, and restore to you -all the memories of your other life.” - -“Could not Reuben go with us?” the Queen asked. - -“No,” said the Mer King, “but he shall follow you to earth, and that -speedily.” - -The Astrologer Royal, who had been whispering to Reuben, here -interposed. - -“It would be well, your Majesties,” he said, “if a small allowance of -the cup of oblivion were served out to these land children, so that -they may not remember their adventures here. It is not well for the -Earth People to know too much of the dwellers in the sea. There is a -sacred vessel which has long been preserved among the civic plate. I -propose that this vessel should be presented to our guests as a mark of -our esteem; that they shall bear it with them, and drink the contents -as soon as they set foot on their own shores.” - -He was at once sent to fetch the sacred vessel. It was a stone ginger -beer bottle. - -“I do really think we ought to go,” said Mavis again. - -There were farewells to be said—a very loving farewell to the -Princesses, a very friendly one to the fortunate Ulfin, and then a -little party left the Palace quietly and for the last time made the -journey to the quiet Iswater where the King of Merland had so long -professed Conchology. - -Arrived at this spot the King spoke to the King and Queen of the Under -Folk. - -“Swallow this charm,” he said, “in equal shares—then rise to the -surface of the lake and say the charm which I perceive the Earth -children have taught you as we came along. The rest will be easy and -beautiful. We shall never forget you, and your hearts will remember us, -though your minds must forget. Farewell.” - -The King and Queen rose through the waters and disappeared. - -Next moment a strong attraction like that which needles feel for -magnets drew the children from the side of the Mer King. They shut -their eyes, and when they opened them they were on dry land in a wood -by a lake—and Francis had a ginger beer bottle in his hand. The King -and Queen of the Under Folk must have said at once the charm to recall -the children to earth. - -“It works more slowly on land, the Astrologer said,” Reuben remarked. -“Before we drink and forget everything I want to tell you that I think -you’ve all been real bricks to me. And if you don’t mind, I’ll take off -these girls’ things.” - -He did, appearing in shirt and knickerbockers. - -“Good-bye,” he said, shaking hands with everyone. - -“But aren’t you coming home with us?” - -“No,” he said, “the Astrologer told me the first man and woman I should -see on land would be my long-lost Father and Mother, and I was to go -straight to them with my little shirt and my little shoe that I’ve kept -all this time, the ones that were mine when I was a stolen baby, and -they’d know me and I should belong to them. But I hope we’ll meet again -some day. Good-bye, and thank you. It was ripping being General of the -Sea Urchins.” - -With that they drank each a draught from the ginger beer bottle, and -then, making haste to act before the oblivion-cup should blot out with -other things the Astrologer’s advice, Reuben went out of the wood into -the sunshine and across a green turf. They saw him speak to a man and -a woman in blue bathing dresses who seemed to have been swimming in -the lake and now were resting on the marble steps that led down to it. -He held out the little shirt and the little shoe, and they held their -hands out to him. And as they turned the children saw that their faces -were the faces of the King and Queen of the Under Folk, only now not -sad anymore, but radiant with happiness, because they had found their -son again. - -“Of course,” said Francis, “there isn’t any time in the other world. I -expect they were swimming and just dived, and all that happened to them -just in the minute they were underwater.” - -“And Reuben is really their long-lost heir?” - -“They seemed to think so. I expect he’s exactly like an ancestor or -something, and you know how the Queen took to him from the first.” - -And then the oblivion-cup took effect—and they forgot, and forgot -forever, the wonderful world that they had known underseas, and Sabrina -fair and the circus and the Mermaid whom they had rescued. - -But Reuben, curiously enough, they did not forget: they went home to -tea with a pleasant story for their father and mother of a Spangled Boy -at the circus who had run away and found his father and mother. - -And two days after a motor stopped at their gate and Reuben got out. - -“I say,” he said, “I’ve found my father and mother, and we’ve come to -thank you for the plum pie and things. Did you ever get the plate and -spoon out of the bush? Come and see my father and mother,” he ended -proudly. - -The children went, and looked once more in the faces of the King and -Queen of the Under Folk, but now they did not know those faces, which -seemed to them only the faces of some very nice strangers. - -“I think Reuben’s jolly lucky, don’t you?” said Mavis. - -“Yes,” said Bernard. - -“So do I,” said Cathay. - -“I wish Aunt Enid had let me bring the aquarium,” said Francis. - -“Never mind,” said Mavis, “it will be something to live for when we -come back from the sea, and everything is beastly.” - -And it was. - - - _The End_ - - * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes: - - -The first chapter’s words were ALL CAPPED to match the rest of the -book’s format. Obvious punctuation errors were repaired. - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WET MAGIC *** - -***** This file should be named 50361-0.txt or 50361-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - https://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/3/6/50361/ - -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. 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Nesbit | Project Gutenberg</title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> -<style> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - .faux { - font-size: 0.5em; /*this font size could be anything */ - visibility: hidden;} - -p { - margin-top: .75em; - text-align: justify; - text-indent: 1.25em; - margin-bottom: .75em; -} - - .maintitle {font-size: 200%; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; text-indent: 0;} - .copyright {text-align: center; font-size: 70%; text-indent: 0;} - .author {font-size: 120%; text-align: center; text-indent: 0;} - div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} - .sig {margin-right: 10%; text-align: right;} - - - img {border: 0;} - - .unindent {margin-top: .75em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .75em; - text-indent: 0;} -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - clear: both; -} - -hr.tb {width: 45%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%} - - -/* Poetry */ -.poetry-container -{ - text-align: center; -} - -.poetry -{ - display: inline-block; - text-align: left; -} - -.poetry .stanza -{ - margin: 1em auto; -} - -.poetry .verse -{ - text-indent: -3em; - padding-left: 3em; -} - - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - text-indent: 0;} /* page numbers */ - - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -.center {text-align: center; text-indent: 0;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold; font-size: 90%; text-indent: 0;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -.figleft { - float: left; - clear: left; - margin-left: 0; - margin-bottom: 1em; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-right: 1em; - padding: 0; - text-align: center; -} - -.figright { - float: right; - clear: right; - margin-left: 1em; - margin-bottom: - 1em; - margin-top: 1em; - margin-right: 0; - padding: 0; - text-align: center; -} - -.x-ebookmaker - .chapter - { - page-break-before: always; - } - - h2.no-break - { - page-break-before: avoid; - padding-top: 0; - } - - .poetry - { - display: block; - margin-left: 1.5em; - } - - -.ph1, .ph2, .ph3, .ph4, .ph5 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: xx-large; margin: .67em auto; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } -.ph3 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } -.ph4,.ph5 { font-size: medium; margin: 1.12em auto; } -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2,h3 {page-break-before: avoid;} -.x-ebookmaker-drop {} -.big {font-size: x-large;} -.pre {white-space: pre;} -.cellpadding1 {padding: 1px;} -.tdleft {text-align: left;} -.tdcenter {text-align: center;} -.tdright {text-align: right;} -.valigntop {vertical-align: top;} -.valignbottom {vertical-align: bottom;} - </style> - </head> - <body> -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold;'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Wet Magic, by E. Nesbit</div> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Wet Magic</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: E. Nesbit</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Illustrator: H. R. Millar</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Release Date: November 1, 2015 [EBook #50361]<br> -[Most recently updated: September 26, 2023]</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Weeks and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net -<br>Revised by Richard Tonsing.</div> -<div style='margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WET MAGIC ***</div> - - - - -<div class="faux"><i>Wet Magic</i></div> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Created cover. This cover was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain."> -</div> -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - - - - -<h1 class="maintitle"><i>Wet Magic</i></h1> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 157px;"> -<img src="images/i-001.jpg" width="157" height="226" alt="brick house front"> -</div> - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 411px;"><a id="frontispiece"></a> -<img src="images/i-002.jpg" width="411" height="515" alt="Water pouring from sky; four children being doused"> -<div class="caption"><i>The sea came pouring in.</i></div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - - -<div class="maintitle"><i>Wet Magic</i></div> - -<div class="center"> -<span class="author"><span class="smcap">E. Nesbit</span></span><br> -<span class="smcap">With Illustrations by H. R. Millar</span><br> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<div class="copyright"> -<i>Copyright 1913 by E Nesbit</i><br> -<i>Illustrations copyright 1913 by H. R. Millar</i><br> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<div class="center"> -<i>To<br> -<span class='big'>Dr. E. N. da C. Andrade</span></i>,<br> -<br> -<small>FROM</small><br> -<span class="smcap">E. Nesbit</span><br> -<br> -<b><span class='big'>*</span></b><br> -<br> -<span class="smcap"><small>Well Hall,</small><br> -<small>Kent</small></span><br> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<h2><i>Contents</i></h2> - - - -<div class="center"> -<table> -<tr> -<td class='tdcenter' colspan='2'><br>CHAPTER I</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><span class="smcap">Sabrina Fair</span></td> -<td class='tdright'><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdcenter' colspan='2'><br>CHAPTER II</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><span class="smcap">The Captive</span></td> -<td class='tdright'><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdcenter' colspan='2'><br>CHAPTER III</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><span class="smcap">The Rescue</span></td> -<td class='tdright'><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdcenter' colspan='2'><br>CHAPTER IV</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><span class="smcap">Gratitude</span></td> -<td class='tdright'><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdcenter' colspan='2'><br>CHAPTER V</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><span class="smcap">Consequences</span></td> -<td class='tdright'><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdcenter' colspan='2'><br>CHAPTER VI</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><span class="smcap">The Mermaid’s Home</span></td> -<td class='tdright'><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdcenter' colspan='2'><br>CHAPTER VII</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><span class="smcap">The Skies Are Falling</span> </td> -<td class='tdright'><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdcenter' colspan='2'><br>CHAPTER VIII</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><span class="smcap">The Water-War</span></td> -<td class='tdright'><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdcenter' colspan='2'><br>CHAPTER IX</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><span class="smcap">The Book People</span></td> -<td class='tdright'><a href="#Page_116">116</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdcenter' colspan='2'><br>CHAPTER X</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><span class="smcap">The Under Folk</span></td> -<td class='tdright'><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdcenter' colspan='2'><br>CHAPTER XI</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><span class="smcap">The Peacemaker</span></td> -<td class='tdright'><a href="#Page_154">154</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdcenter' colspan='2'><br>CHAPTER XII</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><span class="smcap">The End</span></td> -<td class='tdright'><a href="#Page_167">167</a></td> -</tr> - -</table></div> - - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<h2><i>Illustrations</i></h2> - - - - -<div class="center"> -<table class='cellpadding1'> -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><i>The sea came pouring in.</i></td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#frontispiece">Frontispiece</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'>“<i>We die in captivity.</i>”</td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#Page_26">26</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'>“<i>‘Translucent wave,’ indeed!</i>”</td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#Page_42">42</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'>“<i>The police.</i>”</td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#Page_54">54</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><i>And disappeared entirely.</i></td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#Page_59">59</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><i>She caught Kathleen in her arms.</i></td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#Page_79">79</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><i>The golden door.</i></td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#Page_82">82</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><i>The Swordfish Brigade.</i></td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#Page_103">103</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><i>The First Dipsys.</i></td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#Page_110">110</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><i>Book Hatefuls.</i></td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#Page_122">122</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><i>Book Heroines.</i></td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#Page_130">130</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><i>In the net.</i></td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#Page_137">137</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><i>The Hall of Public Archives.</i></td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#Page_149">149</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td class='tdleft'><i>The chargers of the Horse Marines.</i> </td> -<td class='tdright'><i><a href="#Page_152">152</a></i></td> -</tr> -</table> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_ONE">CHAPTER ONE</a><br> - -<small><i>Sabrina Fair</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THAT going to the seaside was the very beginning of everything—only -it seemed as though it were going to be a beginning without -an end, like the roads on the Sussex downs which look like roads -and then look like paths, and then turn into sheep tracks, and -then are just grass and furze bushes and tottergrass and harebells -and rabbits and chalk.</p> - -<p>The children had been counting the days to The Day. Bernard -indeed had made a calendar on a piece of cardboard that had once -been the bottom of the box in which his new white sandshoes -came home. He marked the divisions of the weeks quite neatly in -red ink, and the days were numbered in blue ink, and every day -he crossed off one of those numbers with a piece of green chalk he -happened to have left out of a penny box. Mavis had washed and -ironed all the dolls’ clothes at least a fortnight before The Day. -This was thoughtful and farsighted of her, of course, but it was a -little trying to Kathleen, who was much younger and who would -have preferred to go on playing with her dolls in their dirtier and -more familiar state.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, if you do,” said Mavis, a little hot and cross from the -ironing board, “I’ll never wash anything for you again, not even -your face.”</p> - -<p>Kathleen somehow felt as if she could bear that.</p> - -<p>“But mayn’t I have just one of the dolls” was, however, all she -said, “just the teeniest, weeniest one? Let me have Lord Edward. -His head’s half gone as it is, and I could dress him in a clean hanky -and pretend it was kilts.”</p> - -<p>Mavis could not object to this, because, of course, whatever -else she washed she didn’t wash hankies. So Lord Edward had his -pale kilts, and the other dolls were put away in a row in Mavis’s -corner drawer. It was after that that Mavis and Francis had long -secret consultations—and when the younger ones asked questions -they were told, “It’s secrets. You’ll know in good time.” This, of -course, excited everyone very much indeed—and it was rather a -comedown when the good time came, and the secret proved to be -nothing more interesting than a large empty aquarium which the -two elders had clubbed their money together to buy, for eight-and -ninepence in the Old Kent Road. They staggered up the front garden -path with it, very hot and tired.</p> - -<p>“But what are you going to do with it?” Kathleen asked, as -they all stood around the nursery table looking at it.</p> - -<p>“Fill it with seawater,” Francis explained, “to put sea anemones -in.”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes,” said Kathleen with enthusiasm, “and the crabs and -starfish and prawns and the yellow periwinkles—and all the common -objects of the seashore.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll stand it in the window,” Mavis added: “it’ll make the -lodgings look so distinguished.”</p> - -<p>“And then perhaps some great scientific gentleman, like -Darwin or Faraday, will see it as he goes by, and it will be such a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> -joyous surprise to him to come face-to-face with our jellyfish; he’ll -offer to teach Francis all about science for nothing—I see,” said -Kathleen hopefully.</p> - -<p>“But how will you get it to the seaside?” Bernard asked, leaning -his hands on the schoolroom table and breathing heavily into -the aquarium, so that its shining sides became dim and misty. “It’s -much too big to go in the boxes, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Then I’ll carry it,” said Francis, “it won’t be in the way at -all—I carried it home today.”</p> - -<p>“We had to take the bus, you know,” said truthful Mavis, “and -then I had to help you.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe they’ll let you take it at all,” said Bernard—if -you know anything of grown-ups you will know that Bernard -proved to be quite right.</p> - -<p>“Take an aquarium to the seaside—nonsense!” they said. And -“What for?” not waiting for the answer. “They,” just at present, -was Aunt Enid.</p> - -<p>Francis had always been passionately fond of water. Even -when he was a baby he always stopped crying the moment they -put him in the bath. And he was the little boy who, at the age of -four, was lost for three hours and then brought home by the police -who had found him sitting in a horse trough in front of the -Willing Mind, wet to the topmost hair of his head, and quite -happy, entertaining a circle of carters with pots of beer in their -hands. There was very little water in the horse trough and the -most talkative of the carters explained that, the kid being that wet -at the first start off, him and his mates thought he was as safe in -the trough as anywhere—the weather being what it was and all -them nasty motors and trams about.</p> - -<p>To Francis, passionately attracted as he was by water in all -forms, from the simple mud puddle to the complicated machinery<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> -by which your bath supply is enabled to get out of order, it was -a real tragedy that he had never seen the sea. Something had -always happened to prevent it. Holidays had been spent in green -countries where there were rivers and wells and ponds, and waters -deep and wide—but the water had been fresh water, and the green -grass had been on each side of it. One great charm of the sea, as -he had heard of it, was that it had nothing on the other side “so -far as eye could see.” There was a lot about the sea in poetry, and -Francis, curiously enough, liked poetry.</p> - -<p>The buying of the aquarium had been an attempt to make -sure that, having found the sea, he should not lose it again. He -imagined the aquarium fitted with a real rock in the middle, to -which radiant sea anemones clung and limpets stuck. There were -to be yellow periwinkles too, and seaweeds, and gold and silver -fish (which don’t live in the sea by the way, only Francis didn’t -know this), flitting about in radiant scaly splendor, among the -shadows of the growing water plants. He had thought it all out—how -a cover might be made, very light, with rubber in between, -like a screw-top bottle, to keep the water in while it traveled home -in the guard’s van to the admiration of passengers and porters at -both stations. And now—he was not to be allowed to take it.</p> - -<p>He told Mavis, and she agreed with him that it was a shame.</p> - -<p>“But I’ll tell you what,” she said, for she was not one of those -comforters who just say, “I’m sorry,” and don’t try to help. She -generally thought of something that would make things at any -rate just a little better. “Let’s fill it with fresh water, and get some -goldfish and sand and weeds; and I’ll make Eliza promise to put -ants’ eggs in—that’s what they eat—and it’ll be something to -break the dreadful shock when we have to leave the sea and come -home again.”</p> - -<p>Francis admitted that there was something in this and consented -to fill the aquarium with water from the bath. When this<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> -was done the aquarium was so heavy that the combined efforts of -all four children could not begin to move it.</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” said Mavis, the consoler; “let’s empty it out -again and take it back to the common room, and then fill it by -secret jugfuls, carried separately, you know.”</p> - -<p>This might have been successful, but Aunt Enid met the first -secret jugful—and forbade the second.</p> - -<p>“Messing about,” she called it. “No, of course I shan’t allow -you to waste your money on fish.” And Mother was already at the -seaside getting the lodgings ready for them. Her last words had -been—</p> - -<p>“Be sure you do exactly what Aunt Enid says.” So, of course, -they had to. Also Mother had said, “Don’t argue,” so they had not -even the melancholy satisfaction of telling Aunt Enid that she was -quite wrong, and that they were not messing about at all.</p> - -<p>Aunt Enid was not a real aunt, but just an old friend of -Grandmamma’s, with an aunt’s name and privileges and rather -more than an aunt’s authority. She was much older than a real -aunt and not half so nice. She was what is called “firm” with children, -and no one ever called her auntie. Just Aunt Enid. That will -tell you in a moment.</p> - -<p>So there the aquarium was, dishearteningly dry—for even the -few drops left in it from its first filling dried up almost at once.</p> - -<p>Even in its unwatery state, however, the aquarium was beautiful. -It had not any of that ugly ironwork with red lead showing -between the iron and the glass which you may sometimes have -noticed in the aquariums of your friends. No, it was one solid -thick piece of clear glass, faintly green, and when you stooped -down and looked through you could almost fancy that there really -was water in it.</p> - -<p>“Let’s put flowers in it,” Kathleen suggested, “and pretend -they’re anemones. Do let’s, Francis.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I don’t care what you do,” said Francis. “I’m going to read -<i>The Water Babies</i>.”</p> - -<p>“Then we’ll do it, and make it a lovely surprise for you,” said -Kathleen cheerily.</p> - -<p>Francis sat down squarely with <i>The Water Babies</i> flat before -him on the table, where also his elbows were, and the others, -respecting his sorrow, stole quietly away. Mavis just stepped back -to say, “I say, France, you don’t mind their putting flowers? It’s to -please you, you know.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you I don’t mind <i>anything</i>,” said Francis savagely.</p> - -<p>When the three had finished with it, the aquarium really -looked rather nice, and, if you stooped down and looked sideways -through the glass, like a real aquarium.</p> - -<p>Kathleen took some clinkers from the back of the rockery—“where -they won’t show,” she said—and Mavis induced these to -stand up like an arch in the middle of the glassy square. Tufts of -long grass, rather sparingly arranged, looked not unlike waterweed. -Bernard begged from the cook some of the fine silver sand -which she uses to scrub the kitchen tables and dressers with, and -Mavis cut the thread of the Australian shell necklace that Uncle -Robert sent her last Christmas, so that there should be real, shimmery, -silvery shells on the sand. (This was rather self-sacrificing of -her, because she knew she would have to put them all back again -on their string, and you know what a bother shells are to thread.) -They shone delightfully through the glass. But the great triumph -was the sea anemones—pink and red and yellow—clinging to the -rocky arch just as though they were growing there.</p> - -<p>“Oh, lovely, lovely,” Kathleen cried, as Mavis fixed the last delicate -flesh-tinted crown. “Come and look, France.”</p> - -<p>“Not yet,” said Mavis, in a great hurry, and she tied the thread -of the necklace round a tin goldfish (out of the box with the duck -and the boat and the mackerel and the lobster and the magnet that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> -makes them all move about—you know) and hung it from the -middle of the arch. It looked just as though it were swimming—you -hardly noticed the thread at all.</p> - -<p>“<i>Now</i>, France,” she called. And Francis came slowly with his -thumb in <i>The Water Babies</i>. It was nearly dark by now, but Mavis -had lighted the four dollhouse candles in the gilt candlesticks and -set them on the table around the aquarium.</p> - -<p>“Look through the side,” she said; “isn’t it ripping?”</p> - -<p>“Why,” said Francis slowly, “you’ve got water in it—and real -anemones! Where on earth...?”</p> - -<p>“Not real,” said Mavis. “I wish they were; they’re only dahlias. -But it does look pretty, doesn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“It’s like Fairyland,” said Kathleen, and Bernard added, “I <i>am</i> -glad you bought it.”</p> - -<p>“It just shows what it will be like when we <i>do</i> get the sea creatures,” -said Mavis. “Oh, Francis, you do like it, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I like it all right,” he answered, pressing his nose against -the thick glass, “but I wanted it to be waving weeds and mysterious -wetness like the Sabrina picture.”</p> - -<p>The other three glanced at the picture which hung over the -mantelpiece—Sabrina and the water nymphs, drifting along -among the waterweeds and water lilies. There were words under -the picture, and Francis dreamily began to say them:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 3em;">“‘<i>Sabrina fair,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Listen where thou art sitting,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>In twisted braids of Lillies knitting</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair....</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Hullo—what was that?” he said in quite a different voice, and -jumped up.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p> - -<p>“What was what?” the others naturally asked.</p> - -<p>“Did you put something alive in there?” Francis asked.</p> - -<p>“Of course not,” said Mavis. “Why?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I saw something move, that’s all.”</p> - -<p>They all crowded around and peered over the glass walls. Nothing, -of course, but the sand and the grass and the shells, the clinkers -and the dahlias and the little suspended tin goldfish.</p> - -<p>“I expect the goldfish swung a bit,” said Bernard. “That’s what -it must have been.”</p> - -<p>“It didn’t look like that,” Francis answered. “It looked more -like—”</p> - -<p>“Like what?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know—get out of the light. Let’s have another -squint.”</p> - -<p>He stooped down and looked again through the glass.</p> - -<p>“It’s not the goldfish,” he said. “That’s as quiet as a trout -asleep. No—I suppose it was a shadow or something.”</p> - -<p>“You might tell us what it looked like,” said Kathleen.</p> - -<p>“Was it like a rat?” Bernard asked with interest.</p> - -<p>“Not a bit. It was more like—”</p> - -<p>“Well, like what?” asked three aggravated voices.</p> - -<p>“Like Sabrina—only very, very tiny.”</p> - -<p>“A sort of doll—Sabrina,” said Kathleen, “how awfully jolly!”</p> - -<p>“It wasn’t at all like a doll, and it wasn’t jolly,” said Francis -shortly—“only I wish it would come again.”</p> - -<p>It didn’t, however.</p> - -<p>“I say,” said Mavis, struck by a new idea, “perhaps it’s a magic -aquarium.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s play it is,” suggested Kathleen—“let’s play it’s a magic -glass and we can see what we like in it. I see a fairy palace with -gleaming spires of crystal and silver.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I see a football match, and our chaps winning,” said Bernard -heavily, joining in the new game.</p> - -<p>“Shut up,” said Francis. “That isn’t play. There was something.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose it is magic,” said Mavis again.</p> - -<p>“We’ve played magic so often, and nothing’s ever happened—even -when we made the fire of sweet-scented woods and eastern -gums, and all that,” said Bernard; “it’s much better to pretend -right away. We always have to in the end. Magic just wastes time. -There isn’t any magic really, is there, Mavis?”</p> - -<p>“Shut up, I tell you,” was the only answer of Francis, his nose -now once more flattened against the smooth green glass.</p> - -<p>Here Aunt Enid’s voice was heard on the landing outside, saying, -“Little ones—bed,” in no uncertain tones.</p> - -<p>The two grunted as it were in whispers, but there was no -appeal against Aunt Enid, and they went, their grunts growing -feebler as they crossed the room, and dying away in a despairing -silence as they and Aunt Enid met abruptly at the top of the stairs.</p> - -<p>“Shut the door,” said Francis, in a strained sort of voice. And -Mavis obeyed, even though he hadn’t said “please.” She really was -an excellent sister. Francis, in moments of weakness, had gone so -far as to admit that she wasn’t half bad.</p> - -<p>“I say,” she said when the click of the latch assured her that -they were alone, “how could it be magic? We never said any spell.”</p> - -<p>“No more we did,” said Francis, “unless—And besides, it’s all -nonsense, of course, about magic. It’s just a game we play, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course,” Mavis said doubtfully; “but what did you -mean by ‘unless’?”</p> - -<p>“We weren’t saying any spells, were we?”</p> - -<p>“No, of course we weren’t—we weren’t saying anything—”</p> - -<p>“As it happens <i>I</i> was.”</p> - -<p>“Was what? When?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p> - -<p>“When it happened.”</p> - -<p>“What happened?”</p> - -<p>Will it be believed that Aunt Enid chose this moment for -opening the door just wide enough to say, “Mavis—bed.” And -Mavis had to go. But as she went she said again: “What happened?”</p> - -<p>“<i>It</i>,” said Francis, “whatever it was. I was saying....”</p> - -<p>“MAVIS!” called Aunt Enid.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Aunt Enid—you were saying <i>what?</i>”</p> - -<p>“I was saying, ‘<i>Sabrina fair</i>,’” said Francis, “do you think—but, -of course, it couldn’t have been—and all dry like that, no -water or anything.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps magic <i>has</i> to be dry,” said Mavis. “Coming, Aunt -Enid! It seems to be mostly burning things, and, of course, that -wouldn’t do in the water. What <i>did</i> you see?”</p> - -<p>“It looked like Sabrina,” said Francis—“only tiny, tiny. Not -doll-small, you know, but live-small, like through the wrong end -of a telescope. I do wish you’d seen it.”</p> - -<p>“Say, ‘Sabrina fair’ again quick while I look.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 3em;">“‘<i>Sabrina fair,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Listen where thou art sitting,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Under the—</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Oh, Mavis, it is—it did. There’s something there truly. -Look!”</p> - -<p>“Where?” said Mavis. “I can’t see—oh, let me look.”</p> - -<p>“MAVIS!” called Aunt Enid very loud indeed; and Mavis tore -herself away.</p> - -<p>“I must go,” she said. “Never mind, we’ll look again tomorrow. -Oh, France, if it <i>should</i> be—magic, I mean—I’ll tell you -what—”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p> - -<p>But she never told him what, for Aunt Enid swept in and -swept out, bearing Mavis away, as it were, in a whirlwind of impatient -exasperation, and, without seeming to stop to do it, blowing -out the four candles as she came and went.</p> - -<p>At the door she turned to say, “Good night, Francis. Your -bath’s turned on ready. Be sure you wash well behind your ears. -We shan’t have much time in the morning.”</p> - -<p>“But Mavis always bathes first,” said he. “I’m the eldest.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t argue, child, for goodness’ sake,” said Aunt Enid. -“Mavis is having the flat bath in my bedroom to save time. -Come—no nonsense,” she paused at the door to say. “Let me see -you go. Right about face—quick march!”</p> - -<p>And he had to.</p> - -<p>“If she must pretend to give orders like drill, she might at least -learn to say ‘’Bout turn!’” he reflected, struggling with his collar -stud in the steaming bathroom. “Never mind. I’ll get up early and -see if I can’t see it again.”</p> - -<p>And so he did—but early as he was, Aunt Enid and the servants -were earlier. The aquarium was empty—clear, clean, shining -and quite empty.</p> - -<p>Aunt Enid could not understand why Francis ate so little -breakfast.</p> - -<p>“What has she done with them?” he wondered later.</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> know,” said Bernard solemnly. “She told Esther to put them -on the kitchen fire—I only just saved my fish.”</p> - -<p>“And what about my shells?” asked Mavis in sudden fear.</p> - -<p>“Oh, she took those to take care of. Said you weren’t old -enough to take care of them yourself.”</p> - -<p>You will wonder why the children did not ask their Aunt Enid -right out what had become of the contents of the aquarium. Well, -you don’t know their Aunt Enid. And besides, even on that first -morning, before anything that really <i>was</i> anything could be said to<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -have happened—for, after all, what Francis said he had seen might -have been just fancy—there was a sort of misty, curious, trembling -feeling at the hearts of Mavis and her brother which made them -feel that they did not want to talk about the aquarium and what -had been in it to any grown-up—and least of all to their Aunt -Enid.</p> - -<p>And leaving the aquarium, that was the hardest thing of all. -They thought of telegraphing to Mother, to ask whether, after all, -they mightn’t bring it—but there was first the difficulty of wording -a telegram so that their mother would understand and not -deem it insanity or a practical joke—secondly, the fact that ten-pence -half-penny, which was all they had between them, would -not cover the baldest statement of the facts.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><i>MRS DESMOND,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>CARE OF MRS PEARCE,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>EAST CLIFF VILLA,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>LEWIS ROAD,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>WEST BEACHFIELD-ON-SEA, SUSSEX</i></span></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="unindent">alone would be eightpence—and the simplest appeal, such as -“May we bring aquarium please say yes wire reply” brought the -whole thing hopelessly beyond their means.</p> - -<p>“It’s no good,” said Francis hopelessly. “And, anyway,” said -Kathleen, “there wouldn’t be time to get an answer before we go.”</p> - -<p>No one had thought of this. It was a sort of backhanded -consolation.</p> - -<p>“But think of coming back to it,” said Mavis: “it’ll be something -to live for, when we come back from the sea and everything -else is beastly.”</p> - -<p>And it was.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_TWO">CHAPTER TWO</a><br> - -<small><i>The Captive</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THE delicate pinkish bloom of newness was on the wooden -spades, the slick smoothness of the painted pails showed neither -scratch nor dent on their green and scarlet surface—the shrimping -nets were full and fluffy as, once they and sand and water had -met, they never could be again. The pails and spades and nets -formed the topmost layer of a pile of luggage—you know the sort -of thing, with the big boxes at the bottom; and the carryall -bulging with its wraps and mackers; the old portmanteau that -shows its striped lining through the crack and is so useful for putting -boots in; and the sponge bag, and all the little things that get -left out. You can almost always squeeze a ball or a paint box or a -box of chalks or any of those things—which grown-ups say you -won’t really want till you come back—into that old portmanteau—and -then when it’s being unpacked at the journey’s end the -most that can happen will be that someone will say, “I thought I -told you not to bring that,” and if you don’t answer back, that will -be all. But most likely in the agitation of unpacking and settling -in, your tennis ball, or pencil box, or whatever it is, will pass unnoticed.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -Of course, you can’t shove an aquarium into the old portmanteau—nor -a pair of rabbits, nor a hedgehog—but anything in -reason you can.</p> - -<p>The luggage that goes in the van is not much trouble—of -course, it has to be packed and to be strapped, and labeled and -looked after at the junction, but apart from that the big luggage -behaves itself, keeps itself to itself, and like your elder brothers at -college never occasions its friends a moment’s anxiety. It is the -younger fry of the luggage family, the things you have with you in -the carriage that are troublesome—the bundle of umbrellas and -walking sticks, the golf clubs, the rugs, the greatcoats, the basket -of things to eat, the books you are going to read in the train and -as often as not you never look at them, the newspapers that the -grown-ups are tired of and yet don’t want to throw away, their little -bags or dispatch cases and suitcases and card cases, and scarfs -and gloves—</p> - -<p>The children were traveling under the care of Aunt Enid, who -always had far more of these tiresome odds and ends than Mother -had—and it was at the last moment, when the cab was almost to -be expected to be there, that Aunt Enid rushed out to the corner -shop and returned with four new spades, four new pails, and four -new shrimping nets, and presented them to the children just in -time for them to be added to the heap of odds and ends with -which the cab was filled up.</p> - -<p>“I hope it’s not ungrateful,” said Mavis at the station as they -stood waiting by the luggage mound while Aunt Enid went to take -the tickets—“but why couldn’t she have bought them at -Beachfield?”</p> - -<p>“Makes us look such babies,” said Francis, who would not be -above using a wooden spade at the proper time and place but did -not care to be branded in the face of all Waterloo Junction as one -of those kids off to the seaside with little spades and pails.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p> - -<p>Kathleen and Bernard were, however, young enough to derive -a certain pleasure from stroking the smooth, curved surface of the -spades till Aunt Enid came fussing back with the tickets and told -them to put their gloves on for goodness’ sake and try not to look -like street children.</p> - -<p>I am sorry that the first thing you should hear about the children -should be that they did not care about their Aunt Enid, but -this was unfortunately the case. And if you think this was not nice -of them I can only remind you that you do not know their Aunt -Enid.</p> - -<p>There was a short, sharp struggle with the porter, a flustered -passage along the platform and the children were safe in the carriage -marked “Reserved”—thrown into it, as it were, with all that -small fry of luggage which I have just described. Then Aunt Enid -fussed off again to exchange a few last home truths with the porter, -and the children were left.</p> - -<p>“We breathe again,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Not yet we don’t,” said Francis, “there’ll be some more fuss as -soon as she comes back. I’d almost as soon not go to the sea as go -with her.”</p> - -<p>“But you’ve never seen the sea,” Mavis reminded him.</p> - -<p>“I know,” said Francis, morosely, “but look at all this—” he -indicated the tangle of their possessions which littered seats and -rack—“I do wish—”</p> - -<p>He stopped, for a head appeared in the open doorway—in a -round hat very like Aunt Enid’s—but it was not Aunt Enid’s. The -face under the hat was a much younger, kinder one.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid this carriage is reserved,” said the voice that -belonged to the face.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Kathleen, “but there’s lots of room if you like to -come too.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know if the aunt we’re with would like it,” said the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -more cautious Mavis. “We should, of course,” she added to meet -the kind smiling eyes that looked from under the hat that was like -Aunt Enid’s.</p> - -<p>The lady said: “I’m an aunt too—I’m going to meet my -nephew at the junction. The train’s frightfully crowded.... If I -were to talk to your aunt ... perhaps on the strength of our common -aunthood. The train will start in a minute. I haven’t any luggage -to be a bother—nothing but one paper.”—she had indeed a -folded newspaper in her hands.</p> - -<p>“Oh, do get in,” said Kathleen, dancing with anxiety, “I’m -sure Aunt Enid won’t mind,”—Kathleen was always hopeful—“suppose -the train were to start or anything!”</p> - -<p>“Well, if you think I may,” said the lady, and tossed her paper -into the corner in a lighthearted way which the children found -charming. Her pleasant face was rising in the oblong of the carriage -doorway, her foot was on the carriage step, when suddenly -she retreated back and down. It was almost as though someone -pulled her off the carriage step.</p> - -<p>“Excuse me,” said a voice, “this carriage is reserved.” The -pleasant face of the lady disappeared and the—well, the face of -Aunt Enid took its place. The lady vanished. Aunt Enid trod on -Kathleen’s foot, pushed against Bernard’s waistcoat, sat down, -partly on Mavis and partly on Francis and said—“Of all the -impertinence!” Then someone banged the door—the train shivered -and trembled and pulled itself together in the way we all -know so well—grunted, snorted, screamed, and was off. Aunt -Enid stood up arranging things on the rack, so that the children -could not even see if the nice lady had found a seat in the train.</p> - -<p>“Well—I do think—” Francis could not help saying.</p> - -<p>“Oh—do you?” said Aunt Enid, “I should never have thought -it of you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p> - -<p>When she had arranged the things in the rack to her satisfaction -she pointed out a few little faults that she had noticed in the -children and settled down to read a book by Miss Marie Corelli. -The children looked miserably at each other. They could not -understand why Mother had placed them under the control of -this most unpleasant mock aunt.</p> - -<p>There was a reason for it, of course. If your parents, who are -generally so kind and jolly, suddenly do a thing that you can’t -understand and can hardly bear, you may be quite sure they have -a good reason for it. The reason in this case was that Aunt Enid -was the only person who offered to take charge of the children at -a time when all the nice people who usually did it were having -influenza. Also she was an old friend of Granny’s. Granny’s taste -in friends must have been very odd, Francis decided, or else Aunt -Enid must have changed a good deal since she was young. And -there she sat reading her dull book. The children also had been -provided with books—<i>Eric, or Little by Little;</i> <i>Elsie, or Like a Little -Candle;</i> <i>Brave Bessie</i> and <i>Ingenious Isabel</i> had been dealt out as -though they were cards for a game, before leaving home. They had -been a great bother to carry, and they were impossible to read. -Kathleen and Bernard presently preferred looking out of the windows, -and the two elder ones tried to read the paper left by the -lady, “looking over.”</p> - -<p>Now, that is just where it was, and really what all that has been -written before is about. If that lady hadn’t happened to look in at -their door, and if she hadn’t happened to leave the paper they -would never have seen it, because they weren’t the sort of children -who read papers except under extreme provocation.</p> - -<p>You will not find it easy to believe, and I myself can’t see why -it should have happened, but the very first word they saw in that -newspaper was Beachfield, and the second was On, and the third<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -was Sea, and the fifth was Mermaid. The fourth which came -between Sea and Mermaid was Alleged.</p> - -<p>“I say,” said Mavis, “let’s look.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t pull then, you can see all right,” said Francis, and this -is what they read together:</p> - - -<p>BEACHFIELD-ON-SEA—ALLEGED MERMAID. -AMAZING STORY.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“‘At this season of the year, which has come to be designated -the silly season, the public press is deluged with puerile old-world -stories of gigantic gooseberries and enormous sea serpents. So that -it is quite in keeping with the weird traditions of this time of the -year to find a story of some wonder of the deep, arising even at so -well-known a watering place as Beachfield. Close to an excellent -golf course, and surrounded by various beauty spots, with a thoroughly -revised water supply, a newly painted pier and three rival -Cinematograph Picture Palaces, Beachfield has long been known -as a rising <i>plage</i> of exceptional attractions, the quaint charm of -its....’”</p></div> - -<p>“Hold on,” said Francis, “this isn’t about any old Mermaid.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’ll be further on,” said Mavis. “I expect they have to -put all that stuff in to be polite to Beachfield—let’s skip—‘agreeable -promenade, every modern convenience, while preserving its -quaint....’ What does quaint mean, and why do they keep on saying -it?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think it means anything,” said Francis, “it’s just a word -they use, like weird and dainty. You always see it in a newspaper. -Ah—got her. Here she is—‘The excitement may be better imagined -than described’—no, that’s about the Gymkhana—here we are:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“‘Master Wilfred Wilson, the son of a well-known and respected -resident, arrived home yesterday evening in tears. Inquiry -elicited a statement that he had been paddling in the rock pools, -which are to be found in such profusion under the West Cliff, -when something gently pinched his foot. He feared that it might -be a lobster, having read that these crustaceans sometimes attack -the unwary intruder, and he screamed. So far his story, though -unusual, contains nothing inherently impossible. But when he -went on to state that a noise “like a lady speaking” told him not -to cry, and that, on looking down, he perceived that what held -him was a hand “coming from one of the rocks under water,” his -statement was naturally received with some incredulity. It was not -until a boating party returning from a pleasure trip westward stated -that they had seen a curious sort of white seal with a dark tail -darting through the clear water below their boat that Master -Wilfred’s story obtained any measure of credence.’”</p></div> - -<p>(“What’s credence?” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Oh, never mind. It’s what you believe with, I think. Go on,” -said Francis.)</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“‘—of credence. Mr. Wilson, who seems to have urged an -early retirement to bed as a cure for telling stories and getting his -feet wet, allowed his son to rise and conduct him to the scene of -adventure. But Mr. Wilson, though he even went to the length of -paddling in some of the pools, did not see or feel any hands nor -hear any noise, ladylike or otherwise. No doubt the seal theory is -the correct one. A white seal would be a valuable acquisition to the -town, and would, no doubt, attract visitors. Several boats have -gone out, some with nets and some with lines. Mr. Carrerras, a -visitor from South America, has gone out with a lariat, which in -these latitudes is, of course, quite a novelty.’”</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p> - -<p>“That’s all,” whispered Francis, and glanced at Aunt Enid. “I -say—she’s asleep.” He beckoned the others, and they screwed -themselves along to that end of the carriage farthest from the -slumbering aunt. “Just listen to this,” he said. Then in hoarse -undertones he read all about the Mermaid.</p> - -<p>“I say,” said Bernard, “I do hope it’s a seal. I’ve never seen a -seal.”</p> - -<p>“I hope they <i>do</i> catch it,” said Kathleen. “Fancy seeing a real -live Mermaid.”</p> - -<p>“If it’s a real live Mermaid I jolly well hope they don’t catch -her,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“So do I,” said Mavis. “I’m certain she would die in captivity.”</p> - -<p>“But I’ll tell you what,” said Francis, “we’ll go and look for her, -first thing tomorrow. I suppose,” he added thoughtfully, “Sabrina -was a sort of Mermaid.”</p> - -<p>“She hasn’t a tail, you know,” Kathleen reminded him.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t the tail that makes the Mermaid,” Francis reminded -her. “It’s being able to live underwater. If it was the tail, then -mackerels would be Mermaids.”</p> - -<p>“And, of course, they’re not. <i>I</i> see,” said Kathleen.</p> - -<p>“I wish,” said Bernard, “that she’d given us bows and arrows -instead of pails and spades, and then we could have gone seal-shooting—”</p> - -<p>“Or Mermaid-shooting,” said Kathleen. “Yes, that would have -been ripping.”</p> - -<p>Before Francis and Mavis could say how shocked they were at -the idea of shooting Mermaids, Aunt Enid woke up and took the -newspaper away from them, because newspapers are not fit reading -for children.</p> - -<p>She was somehow the kind of person before whom you never -talk about anything that you really care for, and it was impossible<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -therefore to pursue either seals or Mermaids. It seemed best to -read <i>Eric</i> and the rest of the books. It was uphill work.</p> - -<p>But the last two remarks of Bernard and Kathleen had sunk -into the minds of the two elder children. That was why, when they -had reached Beachfield and found Mother and rejoiced over her, -and when Aunt Enid had unexpectedly gone on by that same train -to stay with her really relations at Bournemouth, they did not say -any more to the little ones about Mermaids or seals, but just -joined freely in the chorus of pleasure at Aunt Enid’s departure.</p> - -<p>“I thought she was going to stay with us all the time,” said -Kathleen. “Oh, Mummy, I am so glad she isn’t.”</p> - -<p>“Why? Don’t you like Aunt Enid? Isn’t she kind?”</p> - -<p>All four thought of the spades and pails and shrimping nets, -and of <i>Eric</i> and <i>Elsie</i> and the other books—and all said:</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Then what was it?” Mother asked. And they could not tell -her. It is sometimes awfully difficult to tell things to your mother, -however much you love her. The best Francis could do was:</p> - -<p>“Well—you see we’re not used to her.”</p> - -<p>And Kathleen said: “I don’t think perhaps she’s used to being -an aunt. But she was kind.”</p> - -<p>And Mother was wise and didn’t ask any more questions. Also -she at once abandoned an idea one had had of asking Aunt Enid -to come and stay at Beachfield for part of the holidays; and this -was just as well, for if Aunt Enid had not passed out of the story -exactly when she did, there would not have been any story to pass -out of. And as she does now pass out of the story I will say that -she thought she was very kind, and that she meant extremely well.</p> - -<p>There was a little whispering between Francis and Mavis just -after tea, and a little more just before bed, but it was tactfully done -and the unwhispered-to younger ones never noticed it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> - -<p>The lodgings were very nice—a little way out of the town—not -a villa at all as everyone had feared. I suppose the landlady -thought it grander to call it a villa, but it was really a house that -had once been a mill house, and was all made of a soft-colored -gray wood with a red-tiled roof, and at the back was the old mill, -also gray and beautiful—not used now for what it was built for—but -just as a store for fishing nets and wheelbarrows and old rabbit -hutches and beehives and harnesses and odds and ends, and -the sack of food for the landlady’s chickens. There was a great corn -bin there too—that must have been in some big stable—and some -broken chairs and an old wooden cradle that hadn’t had any babies -in it since the landlady’s mother was a little girl.</p> - -<p>On any ordinary holiday the mill would have had all the -charm of a magic palace for the children, with its wonderful collection -of pleasant and unusual things to play with, but just now -all their thoughts were on Mermaids. And the two elder ones -decided that they would go out alone the first thing in the morning -and look for the Mermaid.</p> - -<p>Mavis woke Francis up very early indeed, and they got up and -dressed quite quietly, not washing, I am sorry to say, because water -makes such a noise when you pour it out. And I am afraid their -hair was not very thoroughly brushed either. There was not a soul -stirring in the road as they went out, unless you count the mill cat -who had been out all night and was creeping home very tired and -dusty looking, and a yellowhammer who sat on a tree a hundred -yards down the road and repeated his name over and over again in -that conceited way yellowhammers have, until they got close to -him; and then he wagged his tail impudently at them and flew on -to the next tree where he began to talk about himself as loudly as -ever.</p> - -<p>This desire to find the Mermaid must have been wonderfully -strong in Francis, for it completely swallowed the longing of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -years—the longing to see the sea. It had been too dark the night -before to see anything but the winking faces of the houses as the -fly went past them. But now as he and Mavis ran noiselessly down -the sandy path in their rubber shoes and turned the corner of the -road, he saw a great pale-gray something spread out in front of -him, lit with points of red and gold fire where the sun touched it. -He stopped.</p> - -<p>“Mavis,” he said, in quite an odd voice, “that’s the sea.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she said and stopped too.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t a bit what I expected,” he said, and went on running.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you like it?” asked Mavis, running after him.</p> - -<p>“Oh—like,” said Francis, “it isn’t the sort of thing you <i>like</i>.”</p> - -<p>When they got down to the shore the sands and the pebbles -were all wet because the tide had just gone down, and there were -the rocks and the little rock pools, and the limpets, and whelks, -and the little yellow periwinkles looking like particularly fine -Indian corn all scattered among the red and the brown and the -green seaweed.</p> - -<p>“Now, this <i>is</i> jolly,” said Francis. “This is jolly if you like. I -almost wish we’d wakened the others. It doesn’t seem quite fair.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, they’ve seen it before,” Mavis said, quite truly, “and I -don’t think it’s any good going by fours to look for Mermaids, do -you?”</p> - -<p>“Besides,” said Francis, saying what had been in their thoughts -since yesterday in the train, “Kathleen wanted to shoot Mermaids, -and Bernard thought it was seals, anyhow.”</p> - -<p>They had sat down and were hastily pulling off their shoes and -stockings.</p> - -<p>“Of course,” said he, “we shan’t find anything. It isn’t likely.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” she said, “for anything we jolly well know, they may -have found her already. Take care how you go over these rocks, -they’re awfully slippy.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p> - -<p>“As if I didn’t know that,” said he, and ran across the narrow -strip of sand that divided rocks from shingle and set his foot for -the first time in The Sea. It was only a shallow little green and -white rock pool, but it was the sea all the same.</p> - -<p>“I say, isn’t it cold,” said Mavis, withdrawing pink and dripping -toes; “do mind how you go—”</p> - -<p>“As if I—” said Francis, again, and sat down suddenly and -splashingly in a large, clear sparkling pool.</p> - -<p>“Now, I suppose we’ve got to go home at once and you -change,” said Mavis, not without bitterness.</p> - -<p>“Nonsense,” said Francis, getting up with some difficulty and -clinging wetly to Mavis to steady himself. “I’m quite dry, almost.”</p> - -<p>“You know what colds are like,” said Mavis, “and staying -indoors all day, or perhaps bed, and mustard plasters and gruel -with butter in it. Oh, come along home, we should never have -found the Mermaid. It’s much too bright and light and everyday-ish -for anything like magic to happen. Come on home, do.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s just go out to the end of the rocks,” Francis urged, “just -to see what it’s like where the water gets deep and the seaweed goes -swish, swish, all long and lanky and grassy, like in the Sabrina picture.”</p> - -<p>“Halfway then, not more,” said Mavis, firmly, “it’s dangerous—deep -outside—Mother said so.”</p> - -<p>And halfway they went, Mavis still cautious, and Francis, after -his wetting, almost showing off in his fine carelessness of whether -he went in again or not. It was very jolly. You know how soft and -squeezy the blobby kind of seaweed is to walk on, and how satin -smooth is the ribbon kind; how sharp are limpets, especially when -they are covered with barnacles, and how comparatively bearable -to the foot are the pale primrose-colored hemispheres of the -periwinkle.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said Mavis, “come on back. We’ll run all the way as<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -soon as we get our shoes and stockings on for fear of colds.”</p> - -<p>“I almost wish we hadn’t come,” said Francis, turning with a -face of gloom.</p> - -<p>“You didn’t really think we should find a Mermaid, did you?” -Mavis asked, and laughed, though she was really annoyed with -Francis for getting wet and cutting short this exciting morning -game. But she was a good sister.</p> - -<p>“It’s all been so silly. Flopping into that pool, and talking and -rotting, and just walking out and in again. We ought to have come -by moonlight, and been very quiet and serious, and said—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“‘<i>Sabrina fair,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Listen where thou art sitting—</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Ow—Hold on a minute. I’ve caught my foot in something.”</p> - -<p>Mavis stopped and took hold of her brother’s arm to steady -him; and as she did so both children plainly heard a voice that was -not the voice of either of them. It was the sweetest voice in the -world they thought, and it said:</p> - -<p>“Save her. We die in captivity.”</p> - -<p>Francis looked down and had a sort of sudden sight of something -white and brown and green that moved and went quickly -down under the stone on which Mavis was standing. There was -nothing now holding his foot.</p> - -<p>“I say,” he said, on a deep breath of awe and wonder, “did you -hear that?”</p> - -<p>“Of course, I heard it.”</p> - -<p>“We couldn’t both have fancied it,” he said, “I wish it had told -us who to save, and where, and how—”</p> - -<p>“Whose do you think that voice was?” Mavis asked softly.</p> - -<p>“The Mermaid’s,” said Francis, “who else’s could it have -been?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 421px;"> -<img src="images/i-036.jpg" width="421" height="545" alt="Mavis holding on to Francis who is looking down at the arm reaching out of the water"> -<div class="caption">“<i>We die in captivity.</i>”</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Then the magic’s really begun—”</p> - -<p>“Mermaids aren’t magic,” he said, “anymore than flying fishes -or giraffes are.”</p> - -<p>“But she came when you said ‘Sabrina fair,’” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Sabrina wasn’t a Mermaid,” said Francis firmly. “It’s no use -trying to join things on when they won’t. Come on, we may as -well be getting home.”</p> - -<p>“Mightn’t she be?” suggested Mavis. “A Mermaid, I mean. -Like salmon that live in rivers and go down to the sea.”</p> - -<p>“I say, I never thought of that. How simply ripping if it turned -out to be really Sabrina—wouldn’t it be? But which do you suppose -could be her—the one who spoke to us or the one she’s afraid -will die in captivity—the one she wants us to save.”</p> - -<p>They had reached the shore by now and Mavis looked up from -turning her brown stockings right way out to say:</p> - -<p>“I suppose we didn’t really both fancy it. Could we have? Isn’t -there some sort of scientific magic that makes people think the -same things as each other when it’s not true at all, like with Indian -mango tricks? Uncle Fred said so, you know, they call it ‘Tell-ee-something.’”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell <i>you</i> something,” said Francis, urgent with shoelace, “if -we keep on saying things weren’t when we know perfectly well -they were, we shall soon dish up any sort of chance of magic we -may ever have had. When do you find people in books going on -like that? They just say ‘This is magic!’ and behave as if it was. -They don’t go pretending they’re not sure. Why, no magic would -stand it.”</p> - -<p>“Aunt Dorothea once told me that all magic was like Prince -Rupert’s drop,” Mavis owned: “if once you broke it there was -nothing left but a little dust.”</p> - -<p>“That’s just what I’m saying, isn’t it? We’ve always felt there -was magic right enough, haven’t we? Well, now we’ve come across<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -it, don’t let’s be silly and pretend. Let’s believe in it as hard as ever -we can. Mavis—shall we, eh? Believing in things makes them -stronger. Aunt Dorothea said that too—you remember.”</p> - -<p>They stood up in their shoes.</p> - -<p>“Shall we tell the others?” Mavis asked.</p> - -<p>“We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to. But -they won’t believe us. We shall have to be like Cassandra and not -mind.”</p> - -<p>“I only wish I knew who it is we’ve got to save,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>Francis had a very strong and perfect feeling that they would -know this all in good time. He could not have explained this, but -he felt it. All he said was, “Let’s run.”</p> - -<p>And they ran.</p> - -<p>Kathleen and Bernard met them at the gate, dancing with -excitement and impatience.</p> - -<p>“Where have you been?” they cried and “What on earth?” and -“Why, you’re all wet, France.”</p> - -<p>“Down to the sea—shut up, I know I am—” their elder -brother came in and passed up the path to the gate.</p> - -<p>“You might have called us,” said Kathleen in a more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger -sort of voice, “but anyhow you’ve lost something -by going out so early without us.”</p> - -<p>“Lost something. What?”</p> - -<p>“Hearing the great news,” said Bernard, and he added, “Aha!”</p> - -<p>“What news?”</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Bernard was naturally annoyed -at having been left out of the first expedition of the holidays. -Anyone would have. Even you or I.</p> - -<p>“Out with it,” said Francis, with a hand on Bernard’s ear. -There came a yell from Bernard and Mother’s voice from the window, -saying, “Children, children.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> - -<p>“All right, Mummy. Now, Bear—don’t be a young rotter. -What’s the news?”</p> - -<p>“You’re hurting my ear,” was all Bernard’s rejoinder.</p> - -<p>“All right,” said Francis, “we’ve got some news too. But we -won’t tell, will we, Mavis?”</p> - -<p>“Oh <i>don’t</i>,” said Kathleen, “don’t let’s be sneaky, the very first -day too. It’s only that they’ve caught the Mermaid, and I’m afraid -she’ll die in captivity, like you said. What’s yours?”</p> - -<p>Francis had released Bernard’s ear and now he turned to -Mavis.</p> - -<p>“So that’s it,” he said slowly—“who’s got her?”</p> - -<p>“The circus people. What’s your news?” asked Kathleen -eagerly.</p> - -<p>“After brek,” said Francis. “Yes, Mother, half a sec! I apologize -about the ear, Bernard. We will tell you all. Oh, it’s quite different -from what you think. We meet and discuss the situation in the -mill the minute we’re free from brek. Agreed? Right! Yes, Mother, -coming!”</p> - -<p>“Then there must,” Mavis whispered to Francis, “be two -Mermaids. They can’t both be Sabrina ... then which...?”</p> - -<p>“We’ve got to save one of them anyhow,” Francis answered -with the light of big adventure in his eye, “<i>they die in captivity</i>.”</p> - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_30">[30]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_THREE">CHAPTER THREE</a><br> - -<small><i>The Rescue</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THE great question, of course, was—Would Mother take -them to the circus, or would she, if she wouldn’t herself take them, -let them go alone? She had once, in Buckinghamshire, allowed -them to go to a traveling menagerie, after exacting from them a -promise that they were not to touch any of the animals, and they -had seen reason to regret their promise when the showman offered -to let them stroke his tame performing wolf, who was so very like -a collie. When they had said, “No, thank you,” the showman had -said, “Oh, frightened, are you? Run along home to Mammy -then!” and the bystanders had laughed in a most insulting way. At -a circus, of course, the horses and things aren’t near enough for -you to stroke them, so this time they might not be asked to promise. -If Mother came with them her presence, though agreeable, -would certainly add to the difficulties, already quite enough—as -even Mavis could not but see—of rescuing the Mermaid. But suppose -Mother didn’t come with them.</p> - -<p>“Suppose we have to promise we won’t touch any of the animals?” -suggested Cathay. “You can’t rescue a person without -touching it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p> - -<p>“That’s just it,” said Mavis, “a Mermaid isn’t an animal. She’s -a person.”</p> - -<p>“But suppose it isn’t that sort of Mermaid,” said Bernard. -“Suppose it’s the sort that other people call seals, like it said in the -paper.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it isn’t,” said Francis briefly, adding, “so there!”</p> - -<p>They were talking in the front garden, leaning over the green -gate while Mother upstairs unpacked the luggage that had been -the mound with spades on top only yesterday, at Waterloo.</p> - -<p>“Mavis!” Mother called through the open window. “I can only -find—but you’d better come up.”</p> - -<p>“I ought to offer to help Mother unpack,” said Mavis, and -went walking slowly.</p> - -<p>She came back after a little while, however, quickly running.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right,” she said. “Mother’s going to meet Daddy at the -Junction this afternoon and buy us sunbonnets. And we’re to take -our spades and go down to the sea till dinnertime—it’s roast rabbit -and apple dumps—I asked Mrs. Pearce—and we can go to the -circus by ourselves—and she never said a word about promise not -to touch the animals.”</p> - -<p>So off they went, down the white road where the yellowhammer -was talking about himself as usual on the tree just beyond -wherever you happened to be walking. And so to the beach.</p> - -<p>Now, it is very difficult to care much about a Mermaid you -have never seen or heard or touched. On the other hand, when -once you have seen one and touched one and heard one speak, you -seem to care for very little else. This was why when they got to the -shore Kathleen and Bernard began at once to dig the moat of a -sandcastle, while the elder ones walked up and down, dragging the -new spades after them like some new kind of tail, and talking, -talking, talking till Kathleen said they might help dig or the tide -would be in before the castle was done.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p> - -<p>“You don’t know what a lark sandcastles are, France,” she added -kindly, “because you’ve never seen the sea before.”</p> - -<p>So then they all dug and piled and patted and made molds of -their pails to stand as towers to the castle and dug out dungeons -and tunnels and bridges, only the roof always gave way in the end -unless you had beaten the sand very tight beforehand. It was a glorious -castle, though not quite finished when the first thin flat wash -of the sea reached it. And then everyone worked twice as hard trying -to keep the sea out till all was hopeless, and then everyone -crowded into the castle and the sea washed it away bit by bit till -there was only a shapeless island left, and everyone was wet -through and had to change every single thing the minute they got -home. You will know by that how much they enjoyed themselves.</p> - -<p>After the roast rabbit and the apple dumplings Mother started -on the sunbonnet-and-meet-Daddy expedition. Francis went with -her to the station and returned a little sad.</p> - -<p>“I had to promise not to touch any of the animals,” he said. -“And perhaps a Mermaid <i>is</i> an animal.”</p> - -<p>“Not if she can speak,” said Kathleen. “I say, don’t you think -we ought to wear our best things—I do. It’s more respectable to -the wonders of the deep. She’d like us to look beautiful.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not going to change for anybody,” said Bernard firmly.</p> - -<p>“All right, Bear,” said Mavis. “Only we will. Remember it’s -magic.”</p> - -<p>“I say, France,” he said, “do you think we <i>ought</i> to change?”</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t,” Francis answered. “I don’t believe Mermaids -care a bit what you’ve got on. You see, they don’t wear anything -but tails and hair and looking glasses themselves. If there’s any -beautifulness to be done they jolly well do it themselves. But I -don’t say you wouldn’t be better for washing your hands again, and -you might as well try to get <i>some</i> of the sand out of your hair. It -looks like the wrong end of a broom as it is.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p> - -<p>He himself went so far as to put on the blue necktie that Aunt -Amy had given him, and polished his silver watch chain on the -inside of his jacket. This helped to pass the time till the girls were -ready. At last this happened though they had put on their best -things, and they started.</p> - -<p>The yellowhammer went on about himself—he was never -tired of the subject.</p> - -<p>“It’s just as if that bird was making fun of us,” Bernard said.</p> - -<p>“I daresay it is a wild-goose step we’re taking,” said Kathleen; -“but the circus will be jolly, anyhow.”</p> - -<p>There is a piece of wasteland just beyond Beachfield on the -least agreeable side of that village—the side where the flat-faced -shops are and the yellow brick houses. At the nice end of -Beachfield the shops have little fat bow windows with greenish -glass that you can hardly see through. Here also are gaunt hoardings -plastered with tattered, ugly-colored posters, asking you in -red to wear Ramsden’s Really Boots or to Vote for Wilton Ashby -in blue. Some of the corners of the posters are always loose and -flap dismally in the wind. There is always a good deal of straw and -torn paper and dust at this end of the village, and bits of dirty rag, -and old boots and tins are found under the hedges where flowers -ought to be. Also there are a great many nettles and barbed wires -instead of pleasant-colored fences. Don’t you sometimes wonder -who is to blame for all the uglification of places that might be so -pretty, and wish you could have a word with them and ask them -not to? Perhaps when these people were little nobody told them -how wrong it is to throw orange peel about, and the bits of paper -off chocolate, and the paper bag which once concealed your bun. -And it is a dreadful fact that the children who throw these things -about are little uglifiers, and they grow up to be perfect monsters -of uglification, and build hideous yellow brick cottages, and put -up hoardings, and sell Ramsden’s Really Boots (in red), and vote<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -passionately for Wilton Ashby (in blue), and care nothing for the -fields that used to be green and the hedges where once flowers -used to grow. Some people like this, and see nothing to hate in -such ugly waste places as the one, at the wrong end of the town, -where the fair was being held on that never-to-be-forgotten day -when Francis, Mavis, Bernard and Kathleen set out in their best -clothes to rescue the Mermaid because Mermaids “die in captivity.”</p> - -<p>The fair had none of those stalls and booths which old-fashioned -fairs used to have, where they sold toys, and gilt gingerbread, -and carters’ whips, and cups and saucers, and mutton pies, -and dolls, and china dogs, and shell boxes, and pincushions, and -needle cases, and penholders with views of the Isle of Wight and -Winchester Cathedral inside that you see so bright and plain when -you put your eye close to the little round hole at the top.</p> - -<p>The steam roundabouts were there—but hardly a lean back of -their spotted horses was covered by a rider. There were swings, but -no one happened to be swinging. There were no shows, no -menagerie, no boxing booth, no marionettes. No penny gaff with -the spangled lady and the fat man who beats the drum. Nor were -there any stalls. There were pink-and-white paper whips and bags of -dust-colored minced paper—the English substitute for <i>confetti</i>—there -were little metal tubes of dirty water to squirt in people’s -faces, but except for the sale of these crude instruments for making -other people uncomfortable there was not a stall in the fair. I -give you my word, there was not a single thing that you could -buy—no gingerbread, no sweets, no crockery dogs, not even a -half-penny orange or a bag of nuts. Nor was there anything to -drink—not as much as a lemonade counter or a ginger beer stall. -The revelers were no doubt drinking elsewhere. A tomblike silence -reigned—a silence which all the steam roundabout’s hideous hootings -only emphasized.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p> - -<p>A very dirty-nosed boy, overhearing a hurried council, volunteered -the information that the circus had not yet opened.</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” they told each other—and turned to the sideshows. -These were all of one character—the arrangement by -which you throw something or roll something at something else, -and if you hit the something you get a prize—the sort of prize that -is sold in Houndsditch at ninepence a gross.</p> - -<p>Most of these arrangements are so ordered that to get a prize -is impossible. For instance, a peculiarly offensive row of masks -with open mouths in which pipes are set up. In the golden days of -long ago if you hit a pipe it broke—and you got a “prize” worth—I -can’t do sums—put it briefly at the hundred and forty-fourth part -of ninepence. But the children found that when their wooden ball -struck the pipe it didn’t break. They wondered why! Then, looking -more closely, they saw that the pipes were not of clay, but of -painted wood. They could never be broken—and the whole thing -was a cruel mockery of hope.</p> - -<p>The coconut-shy was not what it used to be either. Once one -threw sticks, three shies a penny. Now it is a penny a shy, with -light wooden balls. You can win a coconut if you happen to hit -one that is not glued onto its support. If you really wish to win -one of these unkindly fruits it is well to stand and watch a little -and not to aim at those coconuts which, when they are hit, fail to -fall off the sticks. Are they glued on? One hopes not. But if they -are, who can wonder or reprove? It is hard to get a living, anyhow.</p> - -<p>There was one thing, though, that roused the children’s resentment—chiefly, -I think, because its owners were clean and did not -look half-starved, so there was no barrier of pity between them -and dislike—a sort of round table sloping up to its center. On this -small objects were arranged. For a penny you received two hoops. -If you could throw a hoop over an object that object was yours. -None of the rustic visitors to the fair could, it seemed, or cared to.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -It did not look difficult, however. Nor was it. At the first shot a -tiny candlestick was encircled. Between pride and shame Mavis -held out a hand.</p> - -<p>“Hard luck,” said one of the two young women, too clean to -be pitied. “Has to go flat on—see?”</p> - -<p>Francis tried again. This time the ring encircled a matchbox, -“flat on.”</p> - -<p>“Hard luck,” said the lady again.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter now?” the children asked, baffled.</p> - -<p>“Hoop has to be red side up,” said she. So she scored. Now -they went to the other side and had another penn’orth of hoops -from the other too clean young woman. And the same thing -happened. Only on the second winning she said:</p> - -<p>“Hard luck. Hoops have to be blue side up.”</p> - -<p>It was Bernard’s blood that was up. He determined to clear the -board.</p> - -<p>“Blue side up, is it,” he said sternly, and took another penn’orth. -This time he brought down a tin pin tray and a little box -which, I hope, contained something. The girl hesitated and then -handed over the prizes. “Another penn’orth of hoops,” said -Bernard, warming to the work.</p> - -<p>“Hard luck,” said she. “We don’t give more than two penn’orth -to any one party.”</p> - -<p>The prizes were not the kind of things you care to keep, even -as trophies of victory—especially when you have before you the -business of rescuing a Mermaid. The children gave their prizes to -a small female bystander and went to the shooting gallery. That, -at least, could have no nonsense about it. If you aimed at a bottle -and hit it it would break. No sordid self-seeking custodian could -rob you of the pleasant tinkling of the broken bottle. And even -with a poor weapon it is not impossible to aim at a bottle and hit<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -it. This is true—but at the shooting gallery the trouble was <i>not</i> to -hit the bottles. There were so many of them and they were so near. -The children got thirteen tinkling smashes for their fourteen -shots. The bottles were hung fifteen feet away instead of thirty. -Why? Space is not valuable at the fair—can it be that the people -of Sussex are such poor shots that thirty feet is to them a prohibitive -distance?</p> - -<p>They did not throw for coconuts, nor did they ride on the little -horses or pull themselves to dizzy heights in the swings. There -was no heart left in them for such adventures—and besides everyone -in the fair, saving themselves and the small female bystander -and the hoop girls, was dirtier than you would believe possible. I -suppose Beachfield has a water supply. But you would have doubted -it if you had been at the fair. They heard no laughter, no gay -talk, no hearty give-and-take of holiday jests. A dull heavy silence -brooded over the place, and you could hear that silence under the -shallow insincere gaiety of the steam roundabout.</p> - -<p>Laughter and song, music and good-fellowship, dancing and -innocent revelry, there were none of these at Beachfield Fair. For -music there was the steam roundabout’s echoes of the sordid musical -comedy of the year before the year before last—laughter there -was not—nor revelry—only the dirty guardians of the machines -for getting your pennies stood gloomily huddled, and a few -groups of dejected girls and little boys shivered in the cold wind -that had come up with the sunset. In that wind, too, danced the -dust, the straw, the newspaper and the chocolate wrappers. The -only dancing there was. The big tent that held the circus was at -the top of the ground, and the people who were busy among the -ropes and pegs and between the bright vans resting on their shafts -seemed gayer and cleaner than the people who kept the little -arrangements for people not to win prizes at. And now the circus<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -at last was opened; the flap of the tent was pinned back, and a -gypsy-looking woman, with oily black ringlets and eyes like bright -black beads, came out at the side to take the money of those who -wished to see the circus. People were now strolling toward it in -twos and threes, and of these our four were the very first, and the -gypsy woman took four warm sixpences from their four hands.</p> - -<p>“Walk in, walk in, my little dears, and see the white elephant,” -said a stout, black-mustached man in evening dress—greenish it -was and shiny about the seams. He flourished a long whip as he -spoke, and the children stopped, although they had paid their sixpences, -to hear what they were to see when they did walk in. “The -white elephant—tail, trunk, and tusks all complete, sixpence only. -See the Back Try A or Camels, or Ships of the Arabs—heavy -drinker when he gets the chance—total abstainer while crossing -the desert. Walk up, walk up. See the Trained Wolves and -Wolverines in their great National Dance with the flags of all -countries. Walk up, walk up, walk up. See the Educated Seals and -the Unique Lotus of the Heast in her famous bare-backed act, riding -three horses at once, the wonder and envy of royalty. Walk up -and see the very table Mermaid caught on your own coast only -yesterday as ever was.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” said Francis, “I think we will.” And the four -went through the opened canvas into the pleasant yellow dusty -twilight which was the inside of a squarish sort of tent, with an -opening at the end, and through that opening you could see the -sawdust-covered ring of the circus and benches all around it, and -two men just finishing covering the front benches with red cotton -strips.</p> - -<p>“Where’s the Mermaid?” Mavis asked a little boy in tights and -a spangled cap.</p> - -<p>“In there,” he said, pointing to a little canvas door at the side<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -of the squarish tent. “I don’t advise you to touch her, though. -Spiteful, she is. Lashes out with her tail—splashed old Mother Lee -all over water she did—an’ dangerous too: our Bill ’e got ’is bone -set out in his wrist a-trying to hold on to her. An’ it’s thruppence -extry to see her close.”</p> - -<p>There are times, as we all know, when threepence extra is a -baffling obstacle—a cruel barrier to desire, but this was not, fortunately, -such a moment. The children had plenty of money, -because Mother had given them two half-crowns between them to -spend as they liked.</p> - -<p>“Even then,” said Bernard, in allusion to the threepence extra, -“we shall have two bob left.”</p> - -<p>So Mavis, who was treasurer, paid over the extra threepences -to a girl with hair as fair and lank as hemp, and a face as brown -and round as a tea cake, who sat on a kitchen chair by the Mermaid -door. Then one by one they went in through the narrow -opening, and at last there they were alone in the little canvas room -with a tank in it that held—well, there was a large label, evidently -written in a hurry, for the letters were badly made and arranged -quite crookedly, and this label declared:</p> - -<div class="center"> -<span class='big'>REAL LIVE MERMAID.</span><br> -SAID TO BE FABULUS, BUT NOW TRUE.<br> -CAUGHT HERE.<br> -PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH.<br> -DANGEROUS.<br> -</div> - -<p>The little Spangled Boy had followed them in and pointed to -the last word.</p> - -<p>“What I tell you?” he asked proudly.</p> - -<p>The children looked at each other. Nothing could be done -with this witness at hand. At least....</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Perhaps if it’s going to be magic,” Mavis whispered to -Francis, “outsiders wouldn’t notice. They don’t sometimes—I -believe. Suppose you just said a bit of ‘Sabrina’ to start the magic.”</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t be safe,” Francis returned in the same low tones. -“Suppose he <i>wasn’t</i> an outsider, and <i>did</i> notice.”</p> - -<p>So there they stood helpless. What the label was hung on was -a large zinc tank—the kind that they have at the tops of houses for -the water supply—you must have seen one yourself often when -the pipes burst in frosty weather, and your father goes up into the -roof of the house with a candle and pail, and the water drips -through the ceilings and the plumber is sent for, and comes when -it suits him. The tank was full of water and at the bottom of it -could be seen a mass of something dark that looked as if it were -partly browny-green fish and partly greeny-brown seaweed.</p> - -<p>“Sabrina fair,” Francis suddenly whispered, “send him away.”</p> - -<p>And immediately a voice from outside called “Rube—Reuben—drat -the boy, where’s he got to?”—and the little spangled -intruder had to go.</p> - -<p>“There, now,” said Mavis, “if <i>that</i> isn’t magic!” Perhaps it was, -but still the dark fish-and-seaweed heap in the tank had not -stirred. “Say it all through,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Yes, do,” said Bernard, “then we shall know for certain -whether it’s a seal or not.”</p> - -<p>So once again—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 3em;">“‘<i>Sabrina fair,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Listen where thou art sitting,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave,</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="unindent">He got no further. There was a heaving and stirring of the seaweed -and fish tail, something gleamed white, through the brown something<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -white parted the seaweed, two white hands parted it, and a -face came to the surface of the rather dirty water and—there was -no doubt about it—spoke.</p> - -<p>“‘Translucent wave,’indeed!” was what the face said. “I wonder -you’re not ashamed to speak the invocation over a miserable -cistern like this. What do you want?”</p> - -<p>Brown hair and seaweed still veiled most of the face, but all the -children, who, after their first start back had pressed close to the -tank again, could see that the face looked exceedingly cross.</p> - -<p>“We want,” said Francis in a voice that would tremble though -he told himself again and again that he was not a baby and wasn’t -going to behave like one—“we want to help you.”</p> - -<p>“Help <i>me?</i> You?” She raised herself a little more in the tank -and looked contemptuously at them. “Why, don’t you know that -I am mistress of all water magic? I can raise a storm that will sweep -away this horrible place and my detestable captors and you with -them, and carry me on the back of a great wave down to the -depths of the sea.”</p> - -<p>“Then why on earth don’t you?” Bernard asked.</p> - -<p>“Well, I was thinking about it,” she said, a little awkwardly, -“when you interrupted with your spells. Well, you’ve called and -I’ve answered—now tell me what I can do for you.”</p> - -<p>“We’ve told you,” said Mavis gently enough, though she was -frightfully disappointed that the Mermaid after having in the -handsomest manner turned out to be a Mermaid, should be such -a very short-tempered one. And when they had talked about her -all day and paid the threepence each extra to see her close, and put -on their best white dresses too. “We’ve told you—we want to help -you. Another Sabrina in the sea told us to. <i>She</i> didn’t tell us anything -about you being a magic-mistress. She just said ‘they die in -captivity.’”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 413px;"> -<img src="images/i-052.jpg" width="413" height="421" alt="Four chilcren looking down into box"> -<div class="caption">“<i>‘Translucent wave,’ indeed!</i>”</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_43">[43]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, thank you for coming,” said the Mermaid. “If she really -said that it must be one of two things—either the sun is in the -House of Liber—which is impossible at this time of the year—or -else the rope I was caught with must be made of llama’s hair, and -<i>that’s</i> impossible in these latitudes. Do you know anything about -the rope they caught me with?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Bernard and Kathleen. But the others said, “It was -a lariat.”</p> - -<p>“Ah,” said the Mermaid, “my worst fears are confirmed—But -who could have expected a lariat on these shores? But that must -have been it. Now I know why, though I have been on the point -of working the magic of the Great Storm at least five hundred -times since my capture, some unseen influence has always held me -back.”</p> - -<p>“You mean,” said Bernard, “you feel that it wouldn’t work, so -you didn’t try.”</p> - -<p>A rattling, ripping sound outside, beginning softly, waxed -louder and louder so as almost to drown their voices. It was the -drum, and it announced the beginning of the circus. The -Spangled Child put his head in and said, “Hurry up or you’ll miss -my Infant Prodigious Act on the Horse with the Tambourines,” -and took his head out again.</p> - -<p>“Oh, dear,” said Mavis, “and we haven’t arranged a single -thing about rescuing you.”</p> - -<p>“No more you have,” said the Mermaid carelessly.</p> - -<p>“Look here,” said Francis, “you do <i>want</i> to be rescued, don’t -you?</p> - -<p>“Of course I do,” replied the Mermaid impatiently, “now I -know about the llama rope. But I can’t walk even if they’d let me, -and you couldn’t carry me. Couldn’t you come at dead of night -with a chariot—I could lift myself into it with your aid—then you<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -could drive swiftly hence, and driving into the sea I could drop -from the chariot and escape while you swam ashore.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe we could—any of it,” said Bernard, “let alone -swimming ashore with horses and chariots. Why, Pharaoh himself -couldn’t do that, you know.” And even Mavis and Francis added -helplessly, “I don’t see how we’re to get a chariot,” and “do you -think of some other way.”</p> - -<p>“I shall await you,” said the lady in the tank with perfect -calmness, “at dead of night.”</p> - -<p>With that she twisted the seaweed closely around her head and -shoulders and sank slowly to the bottom of the tank. And the children -were left staring blankly at each other, while in the circus tent -music sounded and the soft heavy pad-pad of hoofs on sawdust.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do?” Francis broke the silence.</p> - -<p>“Go and see the circus, of course,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“Of course we can talk about the chariot afterward,” Mavis -admitted.</p> - -<p>“There’ll be lots of time to talk between now and dead of -night,” said Kathleen. “Come on, Bear.”</p> - -<p>And they went.</p> - -<p>There is nothing like a circus for making you forget your anxieties. -It is impossible to dwell on your troubles and difficulties -when performing dogs are displaying their accomplishments, and -wolves dancing their celebrated dance with the flags of all nations, -and the engaging lady who jumps through the paper hoops and -comes down miraculously on the flat back of the white horse, cannot -but drive dull care away, especially from the minds of the -young. So that for an hour and a half—it really was a good circus, -and I can’t think how it happened to be at Beachfield Fair at all—a -solid slab of breathless enjoyment was wedged in between the -interview with the Mermaid and the difficult task of procuring for<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -her the chariot she wanted. But when it was all over and they were -part of a hot, tightly packed crowd pouring out of the dusty tent -into the sunshine, their responsibilities came upon them with -renewed force.</p> - -<p>“Wasn’t the clown ripping?” said Bernard, as they got free of -the crowd.</p> - -<p>“I liked the riding-habit lady best, and the horse that went like -that, best,” said Kathleen, trying with small pale hands and brown -shod legs to give an example of a horse’s conduct during an exhibition -of the <i>haute école</i>.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t you think the elephant—” Mavis was beginning, -when Francis interrupted her.</p> - -<p>“About that chariot,” he said, and after that they talked of -nothing else. And whatever they said it always came to this in the -end, that they hadn’t got a chariot, and couldn’t get a chariot, and -that anyhow they didn’t suppose there was a chariot to be got, at -any rate in Beachfield.</p> - -<p>“It wouldn’t be any good, I suppose,” said Kathleen’s last and -most helpful suggestion—“be the slightest good saying ‘Sabrina -fair’ to a pumpkin?”</p> - -<p>“We haven’t got even a pumpkin,” Bernard reminded her, “let -alone the rats and mice and lizards that Cinderella had. No, that’s -no good. But I’ll tell you what.” He stopped short. They were near -home now—it was late afternoon, in the road where the talkative -yellowhammer lived. “What about a wheelbarrow?”</p> - -<p>“Not big enough,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“There’s an extra big one in the mill,” said Bernard. “Now, -look here. I’m not any good at magic. But Uncle Tom said I was a -born general. If I tell you exactly what to do, will you two do it, -and let Cathay and me off going?”</p> - -<p>“Going to sneak out of it?” Francis asked bitterly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p> - -<p>“It isn’t. It’s not my game at all, and I don’t want to play. And -if I do, the whole thing will be muffed—you know it will. I’m so -unlucky. You’d never get out at dead of night without me dropping -a boot on the stairs or sneezing—you know you wouldn’t.”</p> - -<p>Bernard took a sort of melancholy pride in being the kind of -boy who always gets caught. If you are that sort of boy, perhaps -that’s the best way to take it. And Francis could not deny that -there was something in what he said. He went on: “Then -Kathleen’s my special sister and I’m not going to have her dragged -into a row. (“I want to,” Kathleen put in ungratefully.) So will you -and Mavis do it on your own or not?”</p> - -<p>After some discussion, in which Kathleen was tactfully dealt -with, it was agreed that they would. Then Bernard unfolded his -plan of campaign.</p> - -<p>“Directly we get home,” he said, “we’ll begin larking about -with that old wheelbarrow—giving each other rides, and so on, -and when it’s time to go in we’ll leave it at the far end of the field -behind the old sheep hut near the gate. Then it’ll be handy for you -at dead of night. You must take towels or something and tie -around the wheel so that it doesn’t make a row. You can sleep with -my toy alarm under your pillow and it won’t wake anyone but -you. You get out through the dining room window and in the -same way. I’ll lend you my new knife, with three blades and a -corkscrew, if you’ll take care of it, to cut the canvas, and go by the -back lane that comes out behind where the circus is, but if you -took my advice you wouldn’t go at all. She’s not a nice Mermaid -at all. I’d rather have had a seal, any day. Hullo, there’s Daddy and -Mother. Come on.”</p> - -<p>They came on.</p> - -<p>The program sketched by Bernard was carried out without a -hitch. Everything went well, only Francis and Mavis were both<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -astonished to find themselves much more frightened than they -had expected to be. Any really great adventure like the rescuing of -a Mermaid does always look so very much more serious when you -carry it out, at night, than it did when you were planning it in the -daytime. Also, though they knew they were not doing anything -wrong, they had an uncomfortable feeling that Mother and -Daddy might not agree with them on that point. And of course -they could not ask leave to go and rescue a Mermaid, with a chariot, -at dead of night. It is not the sort of thing you can ask leave -to do, somehow. And the more you explained your reasons the less -grown-up people would think you fit to conduct such an expedition.</p> - -<p>Francis lay down fully dressed, under his nightshirt. And -Mavis under hers wore her short blue skirt and jersey. The alarm, -true to its trust, went off into an ear-splitting whizz and bang -under the pillow of Francis, but no one else heard it. He crept cautiously -into Mavis’s room and wakened her, and as they crept -down in stockinged feet not a board creaked. The French window -opened without noise, the wheelbarrow was where they had left it, -and they had fortunately brought quite enough string to bind -wads of towels and stockings to the tire of its wheel. Also they had -not forgotten the knife.</p> - -<p>The wheelbarrow was heavy and they rather shrank from -imagining how much heavier it would be when the discontented -Mermaid was curled up in it. However, they took it in turns, and -got along all right by the back lane that comes out above the waste -ground where Beachfield holds its fairs.</p> - -<p>“I hope the night’s dead enough,” Mavis whispered as the circus -came in sight, looking very white in the starlight, “it’s nearly -two by now I should think.”</p> - -<p>“Quite dead enough, if that’s all,” said Francis; “but suppose<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -the gypsies are awake? They do sit up to study astronomy to tell -fortunes with, don’t they? Suppose this is their astronomy night? I -vote we leave the barrow here and go and reconnoiter.”</p> - -<p>They did. Their sandshoes made no noise on the dewy grass, -and treading very carefully, on tiptoe, they came to the tent. -Francis nearly tumbled over a guy rope; he just saw it in time to -avoid it.</p> - -<p>“If I’d been Bernard I should have come a beastly noisy cropper -over that,” he told himself. They crept around the tent till they -came to the little square bulge that marked the place where the -tank was and the seaweed and the Mermaid.</p> - -<p>“They die in captivity, they die in captivity, they die in captivity,” -Mavis kept repeating to herself, trying to keep up her -courage by reminding herself of the desperately urgent nature of -the adventure. “It’s a matter of life and death,” she told herself—“life -and death.”</p> - -<p>And now they picked their way between the pegs and guy -ropes and came quite close to the canvas. Doubts of the strength -and silence of the knife possessed the trembling soul of Francis. -Mavis’s heart was beating so thickly that, as she said afterward, she -could hardly hear herself think. She scratched gently on the canvas, -while Francis felt for the knife with the three blades and the -corkscrew. An answering signal from the imprisoned Mermaid -would, she felt, give her fresh confidence. There was no answering -scratch. Instead, a dark line appeared to run up the canvas—it was -an opening made by the two hands of the Mermaid which held -back the two halves of the tent side, cut neatly from top to bottom. -Her white face peered out.</p> - -<p>“Where is the chariot?” she asked in the softest of whispers, -but not too soft to carry to the children the feeling that she was, -if possible, crosser than ever.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p> - -<p>Francis was afraid to answer. He knew that his voice could -never be subdued to anything as soft as the voice that questioned -him, a voice like the sound of tiny waves on a summer night, like -the whisper of wheat when the wind passes through it on a summer -morning. But he pointed toward the lane where they had left -the wheelbarrow and he and Mavis crept away to fetch it.</p> - -<p>As they wheeled it down the waste place both felt how much -they owed to Bernard. But for his idea of muffling the wheel they -could never have got the clumsy great thing down that bumpy -uneven slope. But as it was they and the barrow stole toward the -gypsy’s tent as silently as the Arabs in the poem stole away with -theirs, and they wheeled it close to the riven tent side. Then Mavis -scratched again, and again the tent opened.</p> - -<p>“Have you any cords?” the soft voice whispered, and Francis -pulled what was left of the string from his pocket.</p> - -<p>She had made two holes in the tent side, and now passing the -string through these she tied back the flaps of the tent.</p> - -<p>“Now,” she said, raising herself in the tank and resting her -hands on its side. “You must both help—take hold of my tail and -lift. Creep in—one on each side.”</p> - -<p>It was a wet, sloppy, slippery, heavy business, and Mavis thought -her arms would break, but she kept saying: “Die in captivity,” and -just as she was feeling that she could not bear it another minute -the strain slackened and there was the Mermaid curled up in the -barrow.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said the soft voice, “go—quickly.”</p> - -<p>It was all very well to say go quickly. It was as much as the two -children could do, with that barrow-load of dripping Mermaid, to -go at all. And very, very slowly they crept up the waste space. In -the lane, under cover of the tall hedges, they paused.</p> - -<p>“Go on,” said the Mermaid.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p> - -<p>“We can’t till we’ve rested a bit,” said Mavis, panting. “How -did you manage to get that canvas cut?”</p> - -<p>“My shell knife, of course,” said the person in the wheelbarrow. -“We always carry one in our hair, in case of sharks.”</p> - -<p>“I see,” said Francis, breathing heavily.</p> - -<p>“You had much better go on,” said the barrow’s occupant. -“This chariot is excessively uncomfortable and much too small. -Besides, delays are dangerous.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll go in half a sec,” said Francis, and Mavis added kindly:</p> - -<p>“You’re really quite safe now, you know.”</p> - -<p>“<i>You</i> aren’t,” said the Mermaid. “I don’t know whether you -realize that I’m stolen property and that it will be extremely awkward -for you if you are caught with me.”</p> - -<p>“But we shan’t be caught with you,” said Mavis hopefully.</p> - -<p>“Everybody’s sound asleep,” said Francis. It was wonderful -how brave and confident they felt now that the deed was done. -“It’s perfectly safe—Oh, what’s that! Oh!”</p> - -<p>A hand had shot from the black shadow of the hedge and -caught him by the arm.</p> - -<p>“What is it, France? What is it?” said Mavis, who could not see -what was happening.</p> - -<p>“What is it—now what is it?” asked the Mermaid more crossly -than she had yet spoken.</p> - -<p>“<i>Who</i> is it? Oh, who is it?” gasped Francis, writhing in the grip -of his invisible assailant. And from the dark shadow of the hedge -came the simple and terrible reply:</p> - -<p>“The police!”</p> - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_FOUR">CHAPTER FOUR</a><br> - -<small><i>Gratitude</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">IT is hardly possible to imagine a situation less attractive -than that of Mavis and Francis—even the position of the -Mermaid curled up in a dry barrow and far from her native element -was not exactly luxurious. Still, she was no worse off than -she had been when the lariat first curled itself about her fishy -extremity. But the children! They had braved the terrors of night -in an adventure of singular courage and daring, they had carried -out their desperate enterprise, the Mermaid was rescued, and success -seemed near—no further off than the sea indeed, and that, in -point of fact, was about a quarter of a mile away. To be within a -quarter of a mile of achievement, and then to have the cup of victory -dashed from your lips, the crown of victory torn from your -brow by—the police!</p> - -<p>It was indeed hard. And what was more, it was dangerous.</p> - -<p>“We shall pass the night in the cells,” thought Mavis, in -agony; “and whatever will Mother do when she finds we’re gone?” -In her mind “the cells” were underground dungeons, dark and -damp and vaulted, where toads and lizards crawled, and no daylight<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -ever penetrated. That is how dungeons are described in -books about the Inquisition.</p> - -<p>When the voice from the bush had said “The police,” a stricken -silence followed. The mouth of Francis felt dry inside, just as if -he had been eating cracknels, he explained afterward, and he had -to swallow nothing before he could say:</p> - -<p>“What for?”</p> - -<p>“Let go his arm,” said Mavis to the hidden foe. “We won’t run -away. Really we won’t.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t,” said the Mermaid. “You can’t leave me.”</p> - -<p>“Leave go,” said Francis, wriggling. And then suddenly Mavis -made a dart at the clutching hand and caught it by the wrist and -whispered savagely:</p> - -<p>“It’s not a policeman at all. Come out of that bush—come -out,” and dragged. And something did come out of the bush. -Something that certainly was not a policeman. It was small and -thin, whereas policemen are almost always tall and stout. It did -not wear the blue coats our Roberts wear, but velveteen knickerbockers -and a tweed jacket. It was, in fact, a very small boy.</p> - -<p>Francis broke into a cackle of relief.</p> - -<p>“You little—animal,” he said. “What a fright you gave me.”</p> - -<p>“Animal yourself, if you come to that, let alone her and her -tail,” the boy answered; and Mavis thought his voice didn’t sound -unfriendly. “My! But I did take a rise out of you that time, eh? -Ain’t she bit you yet, nor yet strook you with that there mackerel-end -of hers?”</p> - -<p>And then they recognized him. It was the little Spangled Boy. -Only now, of course, being off duty he was no more spangled than -you and I are.</p> - -<p>“Whatever did you do it for?” Mavis asked crossly. “It was horrid of -you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p> - -<p>“It wasn’t only just a lark,” said the boy. “I cut around and listened -this afternoon when you was jawing, and I thought why not -be in it? Only I do sleep that heavy, what with the riding and the -tumbling and all. So I didn’t wake till you’d got her out and then -I cut up along ahind the hedge to be beforehand with you. An’ I -was. It was a fair cop, matey, eh?”</p> - -<p>“What are you going to do about it?” Francis asked flatly; “tell -your father?” But Mavis reflected that he didn’t seem to have told -his father yet, and perhaps wouldn’t.</p> - -<p>“Ain’t got no father,” said the Spangled Boy, “nor yet mother.”</p> - -<p>“If you are rested enough you’d better go on,” said the -Mermaid. “I’m getting dry through.”</p> - -<p>And Mavis understood that to her that was as bad as getting -wet through would be to us.</p> - -<p>“I’m so sorry,” she said gently, “but—”</p> - -<p>“I must say I think it’s very inconsiderate of you to keep me all -this time in the dry,” the Mermaid went on. “I really should have -thought that even <i>you</i>—”</p> - -<p>But Francis interrupted her.</p> - -<p>“What are you going to <i>do?</i>” he asked the Spangled Boy. And -that surprising child answered, spitting on his hands and rubbing -them:</p> - -<p>“Do? Why, give a ’and with the barrer.”</p> - -<p>The Mermaid put out a white arm and touched him.</p> - -<p>“You are a hero,” she said. “I can recognize true nobility even -under a once-spangled exterior. You may kiss my hand.”</p> - -<p>“Well, of all the....” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“Shall I?” the boy asked, more of himself than of the others.</p> - -<p>“Do,” Mavis whispered. “Anything to keep her in a good -temper.”</p> - -<p>So the Spangled Boy kissed the still dampish hand of the Lady<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_54">[54]</a><br><a id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> -from the Sea, took the handles of the barrow and off they all went.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> -<img src="images/i-064.jpg" width="410" height="577" alt="arm reaches out of bushes and grabs Francis while the children are pushing cart with mermaid in it"> -<div class="caption">“<i>The police.</i>”</div> -</div> - -<p>Mavis and Francis were too thankful for this unexpected help -to ask any questions, though they could not help wondering exactly -what it felt like to be a boy who did not mind stealing his own -father’s Mermaid. It was the boy himself who offered, at the next -rest-halt, an explanation.</p> - -<p>“You see,” he said, “it’s like this here. This party in the barrow—”</p> - -<p>“I know you don’t mean it disrespectfully,” said the Mermaid, -sweetly; “but <i>not</i> party—and <i>not</i> a barrow.”</p> - -<p>“Lady,” suggested Mavis.</p> - -<p>“This lydy in the chariot, she’d been kidnapped—that’s how I -look at it. Same as what I was.”</p> - -<p>This was romance indeed; and Mavis recognized it and said:</p> - -<p>“You, kidnapped? I say!”</p> - -<p>“Yus,” said Spangles, “when I was a baby kid. Old Mother -Romaine told me, just afore she was took all down one side and -never spoke no more.”</p> - -<p>“But why?” Mavis asked. “I never could understand in the -books why gypsies kidnapped babies. They always seem to have so -many of their own—far, far more than anyone could possibly -want.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed,” said the Mermaid, “they prodded at me with -sticks—a multitude of them.”</p> - -<p>“It wasn’t kids as was wanted,” said the boy, “it was revenge. -That’s what Mother Romaine said—my father he was a sort of -Beak, so he give George Lee eighteen months for poaching. An’ -the day they took him the church bells was ringing like mad, and -George, as he was being took, he said: ‘What’s all that row? It ain’t -Sunday.’ And then they tells him as how the bells was ringing -’cause him that was the Beak—my father, you know—he’d got a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -son and hare. And that was me. You wouldn’t think it to look at -me,” he added, spitting pensively and taking up the barrow handles, -“but I’m a son and hare.”</p> - -<p>“And then what happened?” Mavis asked as they trudged on.</p> - -<p>“Oh, George—he done his time, and I was a kiddy then, year-and-a-half -old, all lace and ribbons and blue shoes made of glove-stuff, -and George pinched me, and it makes me breff short, wheeling -and talking.”</p> - -<p>“Pause and rest, my spangled friend,” said the Mermaid in a -voice of honey, “and continue your thrilling narrative.”</p> - -<p>“There ain’t no more to it,” said the boy, “except that I got one -of the shoes. Old Mother Romaine ’ad kep’ it, and a little shirt like -a lady’s handkercher, with R. V. on it in needlework. She didn’t -ever tell me what part of the country my dad was Beak in. Said -she’d tell me next day. An’ then there wasn’t no next day for her—not -fer telling things in, there wasn’t.”</p> - -<p>He rubbed his sleeve across his eyes.</p> - -<p>“She wasn’t half a bad sort,” he explained.</p> - -<p>“Don’t cry,” said Mavis unwisely.</p> - -<p>“Cry? Me?” he answered scornfully. “I’ve got a cold in me ’ead. -You oughter know the difference between a cold in the head and -sniveling. You been to school, I lay?—they might have taught you -that.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder the gypsies didn’t take the shoe and the shirt away -from you?”</p> - -<p>“Nobody know’d I’d got ’em; I always kep’ ’em inside my -shirt, wrapt up in a bit of paper, and when I put on me tights I -used to hide ’em. I’m a-going to take the road one of these days, -and find out who it was lost a kid with blue shoes and shirt nine -years come April.”</p> - -<p>“Then you’re ten and a half,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p> - -<p>And the boy answered admiringly:</p> - -<p>“How do you do it in your head so quick, miss? Yes, that’s -what I am.”</p> - -<p>Here the wheelbarrow resumed its rather bumpety progress, -and nothing more could be said till the next stoppage, which was -at that spot where the sea-front road swings around and down, -and glides into the beach so gently that you can hardly tell where -one begins and the other ends. It was much lighter there than up -on the waste space. The moon was just breaking through a fluffy -white cloud and cast a trembling sort of reflection on the sea. As -they came down the slope all hands were needed to steady the barrow, -because as soon as she saw the sea the Mermaid began to -jump up and down like a small child at a Christmas tree.</p> - -<p>“Oh, look!” she cried, “isn’t it beautiful? Isn’t it the only home -in the world?”</p> - -<p>“Not quite,” said the boy.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said the lady in the barrow, “Of course you’re heir to one -of the—what is it...?”</p> - -<p>“‘Stately homes of England—how beautiful they stand,’” said -Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the lady. “I knew by instinct that he was of noble -birth.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><i>“‘I bid ye take care of the brat,’ said he,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>‘For he comes of a noble race,’”</i></div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>Francis hummed. He was feeling a little cross and sore. He and -Mavis had had all the anxious trouble of the adventure, and now -the Spangled Boy was the only one the Mermaid was nice to. It -was certainly hard.</p> - -<p>“But your stately home would not do for me at all,” she went<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -on. “My idea of home is all seaweed of coral and pearl—so cosy -and delightful and wet. Now—can you push the chariot to the -water’s edge, or will you carry me?”</p> - -<p>“Not much we won’t,” the Spangled Boy answered firmly. -“We’ll push you as far as we can, and then you’ll have to wriggle.”</p> - -<p>“I will do whatever you suggest,” she said amiably; “but what -is this wriggle of which you speak?”</p> - -<p>“Like a worm,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“Or an eel,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Nasty low things,” said the Mermaid; and the children never -knew whether she meant the worm and the eel, or the girl and the -boy.</p> - -<p>“Now then. All together,” said the Spangled Child. And the -barrow bumped down to the very edge of the rocks. And at the -very edge its wheel caught in a chink and the barrow went sideways. -Nobody could help it, but the Mermaid was tumbled out of -her chariot on to the seaweed.</p> - -<p>The seaweed was full and cushiony and soft, and she was not -hurt at all—but she was very angry.</p> - -<p>“You have been to school,” she said, “as my noble preserver -reminds you. You might have learned how not to upset chariots.”</p> - -<p>“It’s we who are your preservers,” Francis couldn’t help saying.</p> - -<p>“Of course you are,” she said coolly, “plain preservers. Not -noble ones. But I forgive you. You can’t help being common and -clumsy. I suppose it’s your nature—just as it’s his to be....”</p> - -<p>“Good-bye,” said Francis, firmly.</p> - -<p>“Not at all,” said the lady. “You must come with me in case -there are any places where I can’t exercise the elegant and vermiform -accomplishment you spoke about. Now, one on each side, -and one behind, and don’t walk on my tail. You can’t think how -annoying it is to have your tail walked on.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 383px;"> -<img src="images/i-069.jpg" width="383" height="473" alt="children watching mermaid going back into the water"> -<div class="caption"><i>And disappeared entirely.</i></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Oh, can’t I,” said Mavis. “I’ll tell you something. My mother -has a tail too.”</p> - -<p>“I <i>say!</i>” said Francis.</p> - -<p>But the Spangled Child understood.</p> - -<p>“She don’t wear it every day, though,” he said; and Mavis is -almost sure that he winked. Only it is so difficult to be sure about -winks in the starlight.</p> - -<p>“Your mother must be better born than I supposed,” said the -Mermaid. “Are you <i>quite</i> sure about the tail?”</p> - -<p>“I’ve trodden on it often,” said Mavis—and then Francis saw.</p> - -<p>Wriggling and sliding and pushing herself along by her hands, -and helped now and then by the hands of the others, the Mermaid -was at last got to the edge of the water.</p> - -<p>“How glorious! In a moment I shall be quite wet,” she cried.</p> - -<p>In a moment everyone else was quite wet also—for with a -movement that was something between a squirm and a jump, she -dropped from the edge with a splashing flop.</p> - -<p>And disappeared entirely.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_FIVE">CHAPTER FIVE</a><br> - -<small><i>Consequences</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THE three children looked at each other.</p> - -<p>“Well!” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“I do think she’s ungrateful,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“What did you expect?” asked the Spangled Child.</p> - -<p>They were all wet through. It was very late—they were very -tired, and the clouds were putting the moon to bed in a very great -hurry. The Mermaid was gone; the whole adventure was ended.</p> - -<p>There was nothing to do but to go home, and go to sleep, -knowing that when they woke the next morning it would be to a -day in the course of which they would have to explain their wet -clothes to their parents.</p> - -<p>“Even <i>you</i>’ll have to do that,” Mavis reminded the Spangled -Boy.</p> - -<p>He received her remark in what they afterward remembered to -have been a curiously deep silence.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know how on earth we <i>are</i> to explain,” said Francis. “I -really don’t. Come on—let’s get home. No more adventures for -me, thank you. Bernard knew what he was talking about.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_62">[62]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mavis, very tired indeed, agreed.</p> - -<p>They had got over the beach by this time, recovered the wheelbarrow, -and trundled it up and along the road. At the corner the -Spangled Boy suddenly said:</p> - -<p>“Well then, so long, old sports,” and vanished down a side -lane.</p> - -<p>The other two went on together—with the wheelbarrow, -which, I may remind you, was as wet as any of them.</p> - -<p>They went along by the hedge and the mill and up to the -house.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Mavis clutched at her brother’s arm.</p> - -<p>“There’s a light,” she said, “in the house.”</p> - -<p>There certainly was, and the children experienced that terrible -empty sensation only too well known to all of us—the feeling of -the utterly-found-out.</p> - -<p>They could not be sure which window it was, but it was a -downstairs window, partly screened by ivy. A faint hope still -buoyed up Francis of getting up to bed unnoticed by whoever it -was that had the light; and he and his sister crept around to the -window out of which they had crept; but such a very long time -ago it seemed. The window was shut.</p> - -<p>Francis suggested hiding in the mill and trying to creep in -unobserved later on, but Mavis said:</p> - -<p>“No. I’m too tired for anything. I’m too tired to <i>live</i>, I think. -Let’s go and get it over, and then we can go to bed and sleep, and -sleep, and sleep.”</p> - -<p>So they went and peeped in at the kitchen window, and there -was no one but Mrs. Pearce, and she had a fire lighted and was -putting a big pot on it.</p> - -<p>The children went to the back door and opened it.</p> - -<p>“You’re early, for sure,” said Mrs. Pearce, not turning.</p> - -<p>This seemed a bitter sarcasm. It was too much. Mavis answered<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -it with a sob. And at that Mrs. Pearce turned very quickly.</p> - -<p>“What to gracious!” she said—“whatever to gracious is the -matter? Where’ve you been?” She took Mavis by the shoulder. -“Why, you’re all sopping wet. You naughty, naughty little gell, -you. Wait till I tell your Ma—been shrimping I lay—or trying -to—never asking when the tide was right. And not a shrimp to -show for it, I know, with the tide where it is. You wait till we hear -what your Ma’s got to say about it. And look at my clean flags and -you dripping all over ’em like a fortnight’s wash in wet weather.”</p> - -<p>Mavis twisted a little in Mrs. Pearce’s grasp. “Oh, don’t scold -us, dear Mrs. Pearce,” she said, putting a wet arm up toward Mrs. -Pearce’s neck. “We <i>are</i> so miserable.”</p> - -<p>“And so you deserve to be,” said Mrs. Pearce, smartly. “Here, -young chap, you go into the washhouse and get them things off, -and drop them outside the door, and have a good rub with the -jack-towel; and little miss can undress by the fire and put hern in -this clean pail—and I’ll pop up softlike and so as your Ma don’t -hear, and bring you down something dry.”</p> - -<p>A gleam of hope fell across the children’s hearts—a gleam wild -and watery as that which the moonlight had cast across the sea, -into which the Mermaid had disappeared. Perhaps after all Mrs. -Pearce wasn’t going to tell Mother. If she was, why should she pop -up softlike? Perhaps she would keep their secret. Perhaps she -would dry their clothes. Perhaps, after all, that impossible explanation -would never have to be given.</p> - -<p>The kitchen was a pleasant place, with bright brasses and shining -crockery, and a round three-legged table with a clean cloth and -blue-and-white teacups on it.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Pearce came down with their nightgowns and the warm -dressing gowns that Aunt Enid had put in in spite of their -expressed wishes. How glad they were of them now!</p> - -<p>“There, that’s a bit more like,” said Mrs. Pearce; “here, don’t<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -look as if I was going to eat you, you little Peter Grievouses. I’ll -hot up some milk and here’s a morsel of bread and dripping to -keep the cold out. Lucky for you I was up—getting the boys’ -breakfast ready. The boats’ll be in directly. The boys will laugh -when I tell them—laugh fit to bust their selves they will.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t tell,” said Mavis, “don’t, please don’t. Please, please -don’t.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I like that,” said Mrs. Pearce, pouring herself some tea -from a pot which, the children learned later, stood on the hob all -day and most of the night; “it’s the funniest piece I’ve heard this -many a day. Shrimping at high tide!”</p> - -<p>“I thought,” said Mavis, “perhaps you’d forgive us, and dry our -clothes, and not tell anybody.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you did, did you?” said Mrs. Pearce. “Anything else—?”</p> - -<p>“No, nothing else, thank you,” said Mavis, “only I want to say -thank you for being so kind, and it isn’t high tide yet, and please -we haven’t done any harm to the barrow—but I’m afraid it’s rather -wet, and we oughtn’t to have taken it without asking, I know, but -you were in bed and—”</p> - -<p>“The barrow?” Mrs. Pearce repeated. “That great hulking barrow—you -took the barrow to bring the shrimps home in? No—I -can’t keep it to myself—that really I can’t—” she lay back in the -armchair and shook with silent laughter.</p> - -<p>The children looked at each other. It is not pleasant to be -laughed at, especially for something you have never done—but -they both felt that Mrs. Pearce would have laughed quite as much, -or even more, if they had told her what it really was they had -wanted the barrow for.</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t go on laughing,” said Mavis, creeping close to Mrs. -Pearce, “though you are a ducky darling not to be cross any more. -And you won’t tell, will you?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Ah, well—I’ll let you off this time. But you’ll promise faithful -never to do it again, now, won’t you?”</p> - -<p>“We faithfully won’t ever,” said both children, earnestly.</p> - -<p>“Then off you go to your beds, and I’ll dry the things when -your Ma’s out. I’ll press ’em tomorrow morning while I’m waiting -for the boys to come in.”</p> - -<p>“You <i>are</i> an angel,” said Mavis, embracing her.</p> - -<p>“More than you are then, you young limbs,” said Mrs. Pearce, -returning the embrace. “Now off you go, and get what sleep you -can.”</p> - -<p>It was with a feeling that Fate had not, after all, been unduly -harsh with them that Mavis and Francis came down to a very late -breakfast.</p> - -<p>“Your Ma and Pa’s gone off on their bikes,” said Mrs. Pearce, -bringing in the eggs and bacon, “won’t be back till dinner. So I let -you have your sleep out. The little ’uns had theirs three hours ago -and out on the sands. I told them to let you sleep, though I know -they wanted to hear how many shrimps you caught. I lay they -expected a barrowful, same as what you did.”</p> - -<p>“How did you know they knew we’d been out?” Francis asked.</p> - -<p>“Oh, the way they was being secret in corners, and looking the -old barrow all over was enough to make a cat laugh. Hurry up, -now. I’ve got the washing-up to do—and your things is well-nigh -dry.”</p> - -<p>“You <i>are</i> a darling,” said Mavis. “Suppose you’d been different, -whatever would have become of us?”</p> - -<p>“You’d a got your desserts—bed and bread and water, instead -of this nice egg and bacon and the sands to play on. So now you -know,” said Mrs. Pearce.</p> - -<hr class="tb"> - -<p>On the sands they found Kathleen and Bernard, and it really<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> -now, in the bright warm sunshine, seemed almost worthwhile to -have gone through last night’s adventures, if only for the pleasure -of telling the tale of them to the two who had been safe and warm -and dry in bed all the time.</p> - -<p>“Though really,” said Mavis, when the tale was told, “sitting -here and seeing the tents and the children digging, and the ladies -knitting, and the gentlemen smoking and throwing stones, it does -hardly seem as though there <i>could</i> be any magic. And yet, you -know, there was.”</p> - -<p>“It’s like I told you about radium and things,” said Bernard. -“Things aren’t magic because they haven’t been found out yet. -There’s always been Mermaids, of course, only people didn’t know -it.”</p> - -<p>“But she talks,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“Why not?” said Bernard placidly. “Even parrots do that.”</p> - -<p>“But she talks English,” Mavis urged.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Bernard, unmoved, “what would you have had -her talk?”</p> - -<p>And so, in pretty sunshine, between blue sky and good sands, -the adventure of the Mermaid seemed to come to an end, to be -now only as a tale that is told. And when the four went slowly -home to dinner all were, I think, a little sad that this should be so.</p> - -<p>“Let’s go around and have a look at the empty barrow,” Mavis -said; “it’ll bring it all back to us, and remind us of what was in it, -like ladies’ gloves and troubadours.”</p> - -<p>The barrow was where they had left it, but it was not empty. -A very dirty piece of folded paper lay in it, addressed in penciled -and uncertain characters</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">To France</span></div> -<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">To Be Opened</span>.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_67">[67]</a></span></p> - -<p>Francis opened it and read aloud:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“I went back and she came back and she wants you to come -back at ded of nite.</p> - -<div class="sig"> -RUBE.”<br> -</div></div> - -<p>“Well, I shan’t go,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>A voice from the bush by the gate made them all start.</p> - -<p>“Don’t let on you see me,” said the Spangled Boy, putting his -head out cautiously.</p> - -<p>“You seem very fond of hiding in bushes,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“I am,” said the boy briefly. “Ain’t you going—to see her again, -I mean?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Francis, “I’ve had enough dead of night to last me -a long time.”</p> - -<p>“You a-going, miss?” the boy asked. “No? You are a half-livered -crew. It’ll be only me, I suppose.”</p> - -<p>“You’re going, then?”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the boy, “what do you think?”</p> - -<p>“I should go if I were you,” said Bernard impartially.</p> - -<p>“No, you wouldn’t; not if you were me,” said Francis. “You -don’t know how disagreeable she was. I’m fed up with her. And -besides, we simply <i>can’t</i> get out at dead of night now. Mrs. Pearce’ll -be on the lookout. No—it’s no go.”</p> - -<p>“But you <i>must</i> manage it somehow,” said Kathleen; “you can’t -let it drop like this. I shan’t believe it was magic at all if you do.”</p> - -<p>“If you were us, you’d have had enough of magic,” said -Francis. “Why don’t you go yourselves—you and Bernard.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve a good mind to,” said Bernard unexpectedly. “Only not -in the middle of the night, because of my being certain to drop my -boots. Would you come, Cathay?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p> - -<p>“You know I wanted to before,” said Kathleen reproachfully.</p> - -<p>“But how?” the others asked.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said Bernard, “we must think about that. I say, you -chap, we must get to our dinner. Will you be here after?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I ain’t going to move from here. You might bring me a -bit of grub with you—I ain’t had a bite since yesterday teatime.”</p> - -<p>“I say,” said Francis kindly, “did they stop your grub to -punish you for getting wet?”</p> - -<p>“They didn’t know nothing about my getting wet,” he said -darkly. “I didn’t never go back to the tents. I’ve cut my lucky, I ’ave -’ooked it, skedaddled, done a bunk, run away.”</p> - -<p>“And where are you going?”</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> dunno,” said the Spangled Boy. “I’m running <i>from</i>, not to.”</p> - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_SIX">CHAPTER SIX</a><br> - -<small><i>The Mermaid’s Home</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THE parents of Mavis, Francis, Kathleen and Bernard were -extremely sensible people. If they had not been, this story could -never have happened. They were as jolly as any father and -mother you ever met, but they were not always fussing and worrying -about their children, and they understood perfectly well that -children do not care to be absolutely always under the parental eye. So -that, while there were always plenty of good times in which the -whole family took part, there were also times when Father and -Mother went off together and enjoyed themselves in their own -grown-up way, while the children enjoyed themselves in theirs. It -happened that on this particular afternoon there was to be a concert -at Lymington—Father and Mother were going. The children -were asked whether they would like to go, and replied with equal -courtesy and firmness.</p> - -<p>“Very well then,” said Mother, “you do whatever you like best. -I should play on the shore, I think, if I were you. Only don’t go -around the corner of the cliff, because that’s dangerous at high -tide. It’s safe so long as you’re within sight of the coast guards. -Anyone have any more pie? No—then I think I’ll run and dress.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Mother,” said Kathleen suddenly, “may we take some pie and -things to a little boy who said he hadn’t had anything to eat since -yesterday?”</p> - -<p>“Where is he?” Father asked.</p> - -<p>Kathleen blushed purple, but Mavis cautiously replied, “Outside. -I’m sure we shall be able to find him.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said Mother, “and you might ask Mrs. Pearce to -give you some bread and cheese as well. Now, I must simply fly.”</p> - -<p>“Cathay and I’ll help you, Mother,” said Mavis, and escaped -the further questioning she saw in her father’s eye. The boys had -slipped away at the first word of what seemed to be Kathleen’s -amazing indiscretion about the waiting Rube.</p> - -<p>“It was quite all right,” Kathleen argued later, as they went up -the field, carefully carrying a plate of plum pie and the bread and -cheese with not so much care and a certain bundle not carefully at -all. “I saw flying in Mother’s eye before I spoke. And if you <i>can</i> ask -leave before you do a thing it’s always safer.”</p> - -<p>“And look here,” said Mavis. “If the Mermaid wants to see us -we’ve only got to go down and say ‘Sabrina fair,’ and she’s certain -to turn up. If it’s just seeing us she wants, and not another deadly -night adventure.”</p> - -<p>Reuben did not eat with such pretty manners as yours, perhaps, -but there was no doubt about his enjoyment of the food -they had brought, though he only stopped eating for half a second, -to answer, “Prime. Thank you,” to Kathleen’s earnest -inquiries.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said Francis when the last crumb of cheese had disappeared -and the last trace of plum juice had been licked from the -spoon (a tin one, because, as Mrs. Pearce very properly said, you -never know)—“now, look here. We’re going straight down to the -shore to try and see her. And if you like to come with us we can -disguise you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p> - -<p>“What in?” Reuben asked. “I did disguise myself once in a -false beard and a green-colored mustache, but it didn’t take no one -in for a moment, not even the dogs.”</p> - -<p>“We thought,” said Mavis gently, “that perhaps the most -complete disguise for you would be girl’s clothes—because,” she added -hastily to dispel the thundercloud on Reuben’s brow—“because -you’re such a manly boy. Nobody would give vent to a moment’s -suspicion. It would be so very unlike <i>you</i>.”</p> - -<p>“G’a long—” said the Spangled Child, his dignity only half -soothed.</p> - -<p>“And I’ve brought you some of my things and some sandshoes -of France’s, because, of course, mine are just kiddy shoes.”</p> - -<p>At that Reuben burst out laughing and then hummed: “‘Go, -flatterer, go, I’ll not trust to thy vow,’” quite musically.</p> - -<p>“Oh, do you know the ‘Gypsy Countess’? How jolly!” said -Kathleen.</p> - -<p>“Old Mother Romaine knew a power of songs,” he said, -suddenly grave. “Come on, chuck us in the togs.”</p> - -<p>“You just take off your coat and come out and I’ll help you -dress up,” was Francis’s offer.</p> - -<p>“Best get a skirt over my kicksies first,” said Reuben, “case anyone -comes by and recognizes the gypsy child. Hand us in the silk -attire and jewels have to spare.”</p> - -<p>They pushed the blue serge skirt and jersey through the -branches, which he held apart.</p> - -<p>“Now the ’at,” he said, reaching a hand for it. But the hat was -too large for the opening in the bush, and he had to come out of -it. The moment he was out the girls crowned him with the big -rush-hat, around whose crown a blue scarf was twisted, and -Francis and Bernard each seizing a leg, adorned those legs with -brown stockings and white sandshoes. Reuben, the spangled runaway -from the gypsy camp, stood up among his new friends a<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -rather awkward and quite presentable little girl.</p> - -<p>“Now,” he said, looking down at his serge skirts with a queer -smile, “now we shan’t be long.”</p> - -<p>Nor were they. Thrusting the tin spoon and the pie plate and -the discarded boots of Reuben into the kind shelter of the bush -they made straight for the sea.</p> - -<p>When they got to that pleasant part of the shore which is -smooth sand and piled shingle, lying between low rocks and high -cliffs, Bernard stopped short.</p> - -<p>“Now, look here,” he said, “if Sabrina fair turns up trumps I -don’t mind going on with the adventure, but I won’t do it if -Kathleen’s to be in it.”</p> - -<p>“It’s not fair,” said Kathleen; “you said I might.”</p> - -<p>“Did I?” Bernard most handsomely referred the matter to the -others.</p> - -<p>“Yes, you did,” said Francis shortly. Mavis said “Yes,” and -Reuben clinched the matter by saying, “Why, you up and asked -her yourself if she’d go along of you.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said Bernard calmly. “Then I shan’t go myself. -That’s all.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, bother,” said at least three of the five; and Kathleen said: -“I don’t see why I should always be out of everything.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Mavis impatiently, “after all, there’s no danger in -just trying to <i>see</i> the Mermaid. You promise you won’t do anything -if Bernard says not—that’ll do, I suppose? Though why you -should be a slave to him just because he chooses to say you’re his -particular sister, I don’t see. Will <i>that</i> do, Bear?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll promise <i>anything</i>,” said Kathleen, almost in tears, “if -you’ll only let me come with you all and see the Mermaid if she -turns out to be seeable.”</p> - -<p>So that was settled.</p> - -<p>Now came the question of where the magic words should be said.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mavis and Francis voted for the edge of the rocks where the -words had once already been so successfully spoken. Bernard said, -“Why not here where we are?” Kathleen said rather sadly that any -place would do as long as the Mermaid came when she was called. -But Reuben, standing sturdily in his girl’s clothes, said:</p> - -<p>“Look ’ere. When you’ve run away like what I have, least said -soonest mended, and out of sight’s out of mind. What about -caves?”</p> - -<p>“Caves are too dry, except at high tide,” said Francis. “And -then they’re too wet. Much.”</p> - -<p>“Not all caves,” Reuben reminded him. “If we was to turn and -go up by the cliff path. There’s a cave up there. I hid in it t’other -day. Quite dry, except in one corner, and there it’s as wet as you -want—a sort of ’orse trough in the rocks it looks like—only deep.”</p> - -<p>“Is it seawater?” Mavis asked anxiously. And Reuben said:</p> - -<p>“Bound to be, so near the sea and all.”</p> - -<p>But it wasn’t. For when they had climbed the cliff path and -Reuben had shown them where to turn aside from it, and had put -aside the brambles and furze that quite hid the cave’s mouth, -Francis saw at once that the water here could not be seawater. It -was too far above the line which the waves reached, even in the -stormiest weather.</p> - -<p>“So it’s no use,” he explained.</p> - -<p>But the others said, “Oh, do let’s try, now we <i>are</i> here,” and -they went on into the dusky twilight of the cave.</p> - -<p>It was a very pretty cave, not chalk, like the cliffs, but roofed -and walled with gray flints such as the houses and churches are -built of that you see on the downs near Brighton and Eastbourne.</p> - -<p>“This isn’t an accidental cave, you know,” said Bernard importantly; -“it’s built by the hand of man in distant ages, like -Stonehenge and the Cheesewring and Kit’s Coty House.”</p> - -<p>The cave was lighted from the entrance where the sunshine<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -crept faintly through the brambles. Their eyes soon grew used to -the gloom and they could see that the floor of the cave was of dry -white sand, and that along one end was a narrow dark pool of -water. Ferns fringed its edge and drooped their fronds to its -smooth surface—a surface which caught a gleam of light, and -shone whitely; but the pool was very still, and they felt somehow, -without knowing why, very deep.</p> - -<p>“It’s no good, no earthly,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“But it’s an awfully pretty cave,” said Mavis consolingly. -“Thank you for showing it to us, Reuben. And it’s jolly cool. Do -let’s rest a minute or two. I’m simply boiling, climbing that cliff -path. We’ll go down to the sea in a minute. Reuben could wait -here if he felt safer.”</p> - -<p>“All right, squattez-vous,” said Bernard, and the children sat -down at the water’s edge, Reuben still very awkward in his girl’s -clothes.</p> - -<p>It was very, very quiet. Only now and then one fat drop of -water would fall from the cave’s roof into that quiet pool and just -move its surface in a spreading circle.</p> - -<p>“It’s a ripping place for a hidey-hole,” said Bernard, “better -than that old bush of yours, anyhow. I don’t believe anybody -knows of the way in.”</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> don’t think anyone does, either,” said Reuben, “because -there wasn’t any way in till it fell in two days ago, when I was trying -to dig up a furze root.”</p> - -<p>“I should hide here if you want to hide,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“I mean to,” said Reuben.</p> - -<p>“Well, if you’re rested, let’s get on,” Francis said; but Kathleen -urged:</p> - -<p>“Do let’s say ‘Sabrina fair,’ first—just to try!” So they said it—all -but the Spangled Child who did not know it—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">“‘<i>Sabrina fair</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Listen where thou art sitting</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Under the glassie, cool....</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>There was a splash and a swirl in the pool, and there was the -Mermaid herself, sure enough. Their eyes had grown used to the -dusk and they could see her quite plainly, could see too that she -was holding out her arms to them and smiling so sweetly that it -almost took their breath away.</p> - -<p>“My cherished preservers,” she cried, “my dear, darling, kind, -brave, noble, unselfish dears!”</p> - -<p>“You’re talking to Reuben, in the plural, by mistake, I suppose,” -said Francis, a little bitterly.</p> - -<p>“To him, too, of course. But you two most of all,” she said, -swishing her tail around and leaning her hands on the edge of the -pool. “I <i>am</i> so sorry I was so ungrateful the other night. I’ll tell -you how it was. It’s in your air. You see, coming out of the water -we’re very susceptible to aerial influences—and that sort of -ungratefulness and, what’s the word—?”</p> - -<p>“Snobbishness,” said Francis firmly.</p> - -<p>“Is that what you call it?—is most frightfully infectious, and -your air’s absolutely crammed with the germs of it. That’s why -I was so horrid. You do forgive me, don’t you, dears? And I was -so selfish, too—oh, horrid. But it’s all washed off now, in the -nice clean sea, and I’m as sorry as if it had been my fault, which it -really and truly wasn’t.”</p> - -<p>The children said all right, and she wasn’t to mind, and it -didn’t matter, and all the things you say when people say they are -sorry, and you cannot kiss them and say, “Right oh,” which is the -natural answer to such confessions.</p> - -<p>“It was very curious,” she said thoughtfully, “a most odd experience, -that little boy ... his having been born of people who had<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -always been rich, really seemed to me to be important. I assure -you it did. Funny, wasn’t it? And now I want you all to come home -with me, and see where I live.”</p> - -<p>She smiled radiantly at them, and they all said, “Thank you,” -and looked at each other rather blankly.</p> - -<p>“All our people will be unspeakably pleased to see you. We -Mer-people are not really ungrateful. You mustn’t think that,” she -said pleadingly.</p> - -<p>She looked very kind, very friendly. But Francis thought of the -Lorelei. Just so kind and friendly must the Lady of the Rhine have -looked to the “sailor in a little skiff” whom he had disentangled -from Heine’s poem, last term, with the aid of the German dicker. -By a curious coincidence and the same hard means, Mavis had, -only last term, read of Undine, and she tried not to think that -there was any lack of soul in the Mermaid’s kind eyes. Kathleen -who, by another coincidence, had fed her fancy in English literature -on the “Forsaken Merman” was more at ease.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean down with you under the sea?” she asked—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“‘<i>Where the sea snakes coil and twine,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Dry their mail and bask in the brine,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Where great whales go sailing by,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Sail and sail with unshut eye</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Round the world for ever and aye?</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Well, it’s not exactly like that, really,” said the Mermaid; “but -you’ll see soon enough.”</p> - -<p>This had, in Bernard’s ears, a sinister ring.</p> - -<p>“Why,” he asked suddenly, “did you say you wanted to see us -at dead of night?”</p> - -<p>“It’s the usual time, isn’t it?” she asked, looking at him with -innocent surprise. “It is in all the stories. You know we have air<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> -stories just as you have fairy stories and water stories—and the rescuer -almost always comes to the castle gate at dead of night, on a -coal-black steed or a dapple-gray, you know, or a red-roan steed of -might; but as there were four of you, besides me and my tail, I -thought it more considerate to suggest a chariot. Now, we really -ought to be going.”</p> - -<p>“Which way?” asked Bernard, and everyone held their breath -to hear the answer.</p> - -<p>“The way I came, of course,” she answered, “down here,” and -she pointed to the water that rippled around her.</p> - -<p>“Thank you so very, <i>very</i> much,” said Mavis, in a voice which -trembled a little; “but I don’t know whether you’ve heard that people -who go down into the water like that—people like us—without -tails, you know—they get drowned.”</p> - -<p>“Not if they’re personally conducted,” said the Mermaid. “Of -course we can’t be responsible for trespassers, though even with -them I don’t think anything very dreadful has ever happened. -Someone once told me a story about Water Babies. Did you ever -hear of that?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but that was a made-up story,” said Bernard stolidly.</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course,” she agreed, “but a great deal of it’s quite true, -all the same. But you won’t grow fins and gills or anything like -that. You needn’t be afraid.”</p> - -<p>The children looked at each other, and then all looked at -Francis. He spoke.</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” he said. “Thank you very much, but we would -rather not—much rather.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, nonsense,” said the lady kindly. “Look here, it’s as easy -as easy. I give you each a lock of my hair,” she cut off the locks -with her shell knife as she spoke, long locks they were and soft. -“Look here, tie these round your necks—if I’d had a lock of -human hair round my neck I should never have suffered from the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> -dryness as I did. And then just jump in. Keep your eyes shut. It’s -rather confusing if you don’t; but there’s no danger.”</p> - -<p>The children took the locks of hair, but no one regarded them -with any confidence at all as lifesaving apparatus. They still hung -back.</p> - -<p>“You really are silly,” said the sea lady indulgently. “Why did -you meddle with magic at all if you weren’t prepared to go through -with it? Why, this is one of the simplest forms of magic, and the -safest. Whatever would you have done if you had happened to call -up a fire spirit and had had to go down Vesuvius with a -Salamander round your little necks?”</p> - -<p>She laughed merrily at the thought. But her laugh sounded a -little angry too.</p> - -<p>“Come, don’t be foolish,” she said. “You’ll never have such a -chance again. And I feel that this air is full of your horrid human -microbes—distrust, suspicion, fear, anger, resentment—horrid little -germs. I don’t want to risk catching them. Come.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Francis, and held out to her the lock of her hair; so -did Mavis and Bernard. But Kathleen had tied the lock of hair -round her neck, and she said:</p> - -<p>“I <i>should</i> have liked to, but I promised Bernard I would not do -anything unless he said I might.” It was toward Kathleen that the -Mermaid turned, holding out a white hand for the lock.</p> - -<p>Kathleen bent over the water trying to untie it, and in one -awful instant the Mermaid had reared herself up in the water, -caught Kathleen in her long white arms, pulled her over the edge -of the pool, and with a bubbling splash disappeared with her -beneath the dark water.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 415px;"> -<img src="images/i-089.jpg" width="415" height="474" alt="mermaid holding on to Kathleen"> -<div class="caption"><i>She caught Kathleen in her arms.</i></div> -</div> - -<p>Mavis screamed and knew it; Francis and Bernard thought -they did not scream. It was the Spangled Child alone who said -nothing. He had not offered to give back the lock of soft hair. He, -like Kathleen, had knotted it round his neck; he now tied a further<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_79">[79]</a><br><a id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> -knot, stepped forward, and spoke in tones which the other -three thought the most noble they had ever heard.</p> - -<p>“She give me the plum pie,” he said, and leaped into the water.</p> - -<p>He sank at once. And this, curiously enough, gave the others -confidence. If he had struggled—but no—he sank like a stone, or -like a diver who means diving and diving to the very bottom.</p> - -<p>“She’s my special sister,” said Bernard, and leaped.</p> - -<p>“If it’s magic it’s all right—and if it isn’t we couldn’t go back -home without her,” said Mavis hoarsely. And she and Francis took -hands and jumped together.</p> - -<p>It was not so difficult as it sounds. From the moment of -Kathleen’s disappearance the sense of magic—which is rather like -very sleepy comfort and sweet scent and sweet music that you just -can’t hear the tune of—had been growing stronger and stronger. -And there are some things so horrible that if you can bring yourself -to face them you simply <i>can’t</i> believe that they’re true. It did -not seem possible—when they came quite close to the idea—that -a Mermaid could really come and talk so kindly and then drown -the five children who had rescued her.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right,” Francis cried as they jumped.</p> - -<p>“I ...” He shut his mouth just in time, and down they went.</p> - -<p>You have probably dreamed that you were a perfect swimmer? -You know the delight of that dream-swimming, which is no -effort at all, and yet carries you as far and as fast as you choose. It -was like that with the children. The moment they touched the -water they felt that they belonged in it—that they were as much -at home in water as in air. As they sank beneath the water their -feet went up and their heads went down, and there they were -swimming downward with long, steady, easy strokes. It was like -swimming down a well that presently widened to a cavern. -Suddenly Francis found that his head was above water. So was -Mavis’s.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> - -<p>“All right so far,” she said, “but how are we going to get back?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, the magic will do that,” he answered, and swam faster.</p> - -<p>The cave was lighted by bars of phosphorescence placed like -pillars against the walls. The water was clear and deeply green and -along the sides of the stream were sea anemones and starfish of the -most beautiful forms and the most dazzling colors. The walls were -of dark squarish shapes, and here and there a white oblong, or a -blue and a red, and the roof was of mother-of-pearl which -gleamed and glistened in the pale golden radiance of the phosphorescent -pillars. It was very beautiful, and the mere pleasure of -swimming so finely and easily swept away almost their last fear. -This, too, went when a voice far ahead called: “Hurry up, -France—Come on, Mavis,”—and the voice was the voice of -Kathleen.</p> - -<p>They hurried up, and they came on; and the gleaming soft -light grew brighter and brighter. It shone all along the way they -had to go, making a path of glory such as the moon makes across -the sea on a summer night. And presently they saw that this growing -light was from a great gate that barred the waterway in front -of them. Five steps led up to this gate, and sitting on it, waiting -for them, were Kathleen, Reuben, Bernard and the Mermaid. -Only now she had no tail. It lay beside her on the marble steps, -just as your stockings lie when you have taken them off; and there -were her white feet sticking out from under a dress of soft feathery -red seaweed.</p> - -<p>They could see it was seaweed though it was woven into a -wonderful fabric. Bernard and Kathleen and the Spangled Boy -had somehow got seaweed dresses too, and the Spangled Boy was -no longer dressed as a girl; and looking down as they scrambled -up the steps Mavis and Francis saw that they, too, wore seaweed -suits—“Very pretty, but how awkward to go home in,” Mavis -thought.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 520px;"> -<img src="images/i-092.jpg" width="520" height="413" alt="children in water rushing toward Golden Door"> -<div class="caption"><p><i>The golden door.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Now,” said the Mer-lady, “forgive me for taking the plunge. -I knew you’d hesitate forever, and I was beginning to feel so cross! -That’s your dreadful atmosphere! Now, here we are at the door of -our kingdom. You do want to come in, don’t you? I can bring you -as far as this against your will, but not any farther. And you can’t -come any farther unless you trust me absolutely. Do you? Will -you? Try!”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the children, all but Bernard, who said stoutly:</p> - -<p>“I don’t; but I’ll try to. I want to.”</p> - -<p>“If you want to, I think you <i>do</i>,” said she very kindly. “And -now I will tell you one thing. What you’re breathing isn’t air, and -it isn’t water. It’s something that both water people and air people -can breathe.”</p> - -<p>“The greatest common measure,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“A simple equation,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Things which are equal to the same thing are equal to each -other,” said Francis; and the three looked at each other and wondered -why they had said such things.</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry,” said the lady, “it’s only the influence of the -place. This is the Cave of Learning, you know, very dark at the -beginning and getting lighter and lighter as you get nearer to the -golden door. All these rocks are made of books really, and they -exude learning from every crack. We cover them up with -anemones and seaweed and pretty things as well as we can, but the -learning will leak out. Let us go through the gate or you’ll all be -talking Sanskrit before we know where we are.”</p> - -<p>She opened the gate. A great flood of glorious sunlight met -them, the solace of green trees and the jeweled grace of bright -blossoms. She pulled them through the door, and shut it.</p> - -<p>“This is where we live,” she said. “Aren’t you glad you came?”</p> - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_SEVEN">CHAPTER SEVEN</a><br> - -<small><i>The Skies Are Falling</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">AS the children passed through the golden doors a sort of -swollen feeling which was beginning to make their heads quite -uncomfortable passed away, and left them with a curiously clear -and comfortable certainty that they were much cleverer than -usual.</p> - -<p>“I <i>could</i> do sums now, and no mistake,” Bernard whispered to -Kathleen, who replied to the effect that dates no longer presented -the slightest difficulty to her.</p> - -<p>Mavis and Francis felt as though they had never before known -what it was to have a clear brain. They followed the others through -the golden door, and then came Reuben, and the Mermaid came -last. She had picked up her discarded tail and was carrying it over -her arm as you might a shawl. She shut the gate, and its lock -clicked sharply.</p> - -<p>“We have to be careful, you know,” she said, “because of the -people in the books. They are always trying to get out of the books -that the cave is made of; and some of them are very undesirable -characters. There’s a Mrs. Fairchild—we’ve had a great deal of -trouble with her, and a person called Mrs. Markham who makes<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -everybody miserable, and a lot of people who think they are being -funny when they aren’t—dreadful.”</p> - -<p>The party was now walking along a smooth grassy path, -between tall, clipped box hedges—at least they looked like box -hedges, but when Mavis stroked the close face of one she found -that it was not stiff box, but soft seaweed.</p> - -<p>“Are we in the water or not?” said she, stopping suddenly.</p> - -<p>“That depends on what you mean by water. Water’s a thing -human beings can’t breathe, isn’t it? Well, you are breathing. So -this can’t be water.”</p> - -<p>“I see that,” said Mavis, “but the soft seaweed won’t stand up -in air, and it does in water.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you’ve found out, have you?” said the Mermaid. “Well, -then, perhaps it is water. Only you see it can’t be. Everything’s like -that down here.”</p> - -<p>“Once you said you lived in water, and you wanted to be wet,” -said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Mer-people aren’t responsible for what they say in your -world. I told you that, you know,” the Mermaid reminded them.</p> - -<p>Presently they came to a little coral bridge over a stream that -flowed still and deep. “But if what we’re in is water, what’s that?” -said Bernard, pointing down.</p> - -<p>“Ah, now you’re going too deep for me,” said the Mermaid, “at -least if I were to answer I should go too deep for you. Come on—we -shall be too late for the banquet.”</p> - -<p>“What do you have for the banquet?” Bernard asked; and the -Mermaid answered sweetly: “Things to eat.”</p> - -<p>“And to drink?”</p> - -<p>“It’s no use,” said she; “you can’t get at it that way. We drink—but -you wouldn’t understand.”</p> - -<p>Here the grassy road widened, and they came onto a terrace of -mother-of-pearl, very smooth and shining. Pearly steps led down<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -from it into the most beautiful garden you could invent if you -tried for a year and a day with all the loveliest pictures and the -most learned books on gardening to help you. But the odd thing -about it was that when they came to talk it over afterward they -never could agree about the shape of the beds, the direction of the -walks, the kinds and colors of the flowers, or indeed any single -thing about it. But to each it seemed and will always seem the -most beautiful garden ever imagined or invented. And everyone -saw, beyond a distant belt of trees the shining domes and minarets -of very beautiful buildings, and far, far away there was a sound of -music, so far away that at first they could only hear the music and -not the tune. But soon that too was plain, and it was the most -beautiful tune in the world.</p> - -<p>“Crikey,” said Reuben, speaking suddenly and for the first -time, “ain’t it ’evingly neither. Not arf,” he added with decision.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said the Mermaid, as they neared the belt of trees, -“you are going to receive something.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, thank you,” said everybody, and no one liked to add: -“What?”—though that simple word trembled on every tongue. It -slipped off the tip of Reuben’s, indeed, at last, and the Mermaid -answered:</p> - -<p>“An ovation.”</p> - -<p>“That’s something to do with eggs, I know,” said Kathleen. -“Father was saying so only the other day.”</p> - -<p>“There will be no eggs in this,” said the Mermaid, “and you -may find it a trifle heavy. But when it is over the fun begins. Don’t -be frightened, Kathleen—Mavis, don’t smooth your hair. Ugly -untidiness is impossible here. You are about to be publicly thanked -by our Queen. You’d rather not? You should have thought of that -before. If you will go about doing these noble deeds of rescue you -must expect to be thanked. Now, don’t forget to bow. And there’s -nothing to be frightened of.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p> - -<p>They passed through the trees and came on a sort of open -courtyard in front of a palace of gleaming pearl and gold. There -on a silver throne sat the loveliest lady in the world. She wore a -starry crown and a gown of green, and golden shoes, and she -smiled at them so kindly that they forgot any fear they may have -felt. The music ended on a note of piercing sweetness and in the -great hush that followed the children felt themselves gently -pushed forward to the foot of the throne. All around was a great -crowd, forming a circle about the pearly pavement on which they -stood.</p> - -<p>The Queen rose up in her place and reached toward them the -end of her scepter where shone a star like those that crowned her.</p> - -<p>“Welcome,” she said in a voice far sweeter than the music, -“Welcome to our Home. You have been kind, you have been -brave, you have been unselfish, and all my subjects do homage to -you.”</p> - -<p>At the word the whole of that great crowd bent toward them -like bulrushes in the wind, and the Queen herself came down the -steps of her throne and held out her hands to the children.</p> - -<p>A choking feeling in their throats became almost unbearable -as those kind hands rested on one head after another.</p> - -<p>Then the crowd raised itself and stood upright, and someone -called out in a voice like a trumpet:</p> - -<p>“The children saved one of us—<i>We die in captivity</i>. Shout for -the children. Shout!”</p> - -<p>And a roar like the roar of wild waves breaking on rocks went -up from the great crowd that stood all about them. There was a -fluttering of flags or handkerchiefs—the children could not tell -which—and then the voice of their own Mermaid, saying: -“There—that’s over. And now we shall have the banquet. Shan’t -we, Mamma?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my daughter,” said the Queen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_88">[88]</a></span></p> - -<p>So the Mermaid they had rescued was a Queen’s daughter!</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know you were a Princess,” said Mavis, as they followed -the Queen along a corridor.</p> - -<p>“That’s why they have made such a fuss, I suppose,” said -Bernard.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, we should have given the ovation to anyone who had -saved any of us from captivity. We love giving ovations. Only we -so seldom get the chance, and even ordinary entertaining is difficult. -People are so prejudiced. We can hardly ever get anyone to -come and visit us. I shouldn’t have got you if you hadn’t happened -to find that cave. It would have been quite impossible for me to -give Kathleen that clinging embrace from shallow water. The cave -water is so much more buoyant than the sea. I daresay you noticed -that.”</p> - -<p>Yes—they had.</p> - -<p>“May we sit next you at the banquet?” Kathleen asked suddenly, -“because, you know, it’s all rather strange to us.”</p> - -<p>“Of course, dear,” said the sea lady.</p> - -<p>“But,” said Bernard, “I’m awfully sorry, but I think we ought -to go home.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t talk of it,” said the Mermaid. “Why, you’ve only -just come.”</p> - -<p>Bernard muttered something about getting home in time to -wash for tea.</p> - -<p>“There’ll be heaps of time,” said Francis impatiently; “don’t -fuss and spoil everything.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not fussing,” said Bernard, stolid as ever. “I never fuss. -But I think we ought to be thinking of getting home.”</p> - -<p>“Well, think about it then,” said Francis impatiently, and -turned to admire the clusters of scarlet flowers that hung from the -pillars of the gallery.</p> - -<p>The banquet was very magnificent, but they never could<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> -remember afterward what it was that they ate out of the silver -dishes and drank out of the golden cups. They none of them forgot -the footmen, however, who were dressed in tight-fitting suits -of silver scales, with silver fingerless gloves, and a sort of helmet on -that made them look less like people than like fish, as Kathleen -said.</p> - -<p>“But they <i>are</i> fish,” said the Princess, opening her beautiful -eyes; “they’re the Salmoners, and the one behind Mother’s chair is -the Grand Salmoner. In your country I have heard there are Grand -Almoners. We have Grand Salmoners.”</p> - -<p>“Are all your servants fish?” Mavis asked.</p> - -<p>“Of course,” said the Princess, “but we don’t use servants -much except for state occasions. Most of our work is done by the -lower orders—electric eels, most of them. We get all the power for -our machinery from them.”</p> - -<p>“How do you do it?” Bernard asked, with a fleeting vision of -being some day known as the great man who discovered the commercial -value of the electricity obtainable from eels.</p> - -<p>“We keep a tank of them,” said she, “and you just turn a tap—they’re -connected up to people’s houses—and you connect them -with your looms or lathes or whatever you’re working. That sets -up a continuous current and the eels swim around and around in -the current till the work’s done. It’s beautifully simple.”</p> - -<p>“It’s simply beautiful,” said Mavis warmly. “I mean all this.” -She waved her hand to the row of white arches through which the -green of the garden and the blue of what looked like the sky -showed plainly. “And you live down here and do nothing but play -all day long? How lovely.”</p> - -<p>“You’d soon get tired of play if you did nothing else,” said -Bernard wisely. “At least I know I should. Did you ever make a -steam engine?” he asked the Princess. “That’s what I call work.”</p> - -<p>“It would be, to me,” she said, “but don’t you know that work<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -is what you have to do and don’t like doing? And play’s whatever -you want to do. Have some more Andrew Aromaticus.”</p> - -<p>She made a sign to a Salmoner, who approached with a great -salver of fruit. The company were seated by fours and fives and -sixes at little tables, such as you see in the dining rooms of the big -hotels where people feed who have motors. These little tables are -good for conversation.</p> - -<p>“Then what <i>do</i> you do?” Kathleen asked.</p> - -<p>“Well, we have to keep all the rivers flowing, for one thing—the -earthly rivers, I mean—and to see to the rain and snow taps, -and to attend to the tides and whirlpools, and open the cages -where the winds are kept. Oh, it’s no easy business being a Princess -in our country, I can tell you, whatever it may be in yours. What -do your Princesses do? Do they open the wind cages?”</p> - -<p>“I ... I don’t know,” said the children. “I think they only open -bazaars.”</p> - -<p>“Mother says they work awfully hard, and they go and see -people who are ill in hospitals,” Kathleen was beginning, but at -this moment the Queen rose and so did everyone else.</p> - -<p>“Come,” said the Princess, “I must go and take my turn at -river-filling. Only Princesses can do the finest sort of work.”</p> - -<p>“What is the hardest thing you have to do?” Francis asked as -they walked out into the garden.</p> - -<p>“Keeping the sea out of our kingdom,” was the answer, “and -fighting the Under Folk. We kept the sea out by trying very hard -with both hands, inside our minds. And, of course, the sky helps.”</p> - -<p>“And how do you fight the Under Folk—and who are they?” -Bernard wanted to know.</p> - -<p>“Why, the thick-headed, heavy people who live in the deep sea.”</p> - -<p>“Different from you?” Kathleen asked.</p> - -<p>“My dear child!”</p> - -<p>“She means,” explained Mavis, “that we didn’t know there<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -were any other kind of people in the sea except your kind.”</p> - -<p>“You know much less about us than we do about you,” said -the Princess. “Of course there are different nations and tribes, and -different customs and dresses and everything. But there are two -great divisions down here besides us, the Thick-Heads and the -Thin-Skins, and we have to fight both of them. The Thin-Skins -live near the surface of the water, frivolous, silly things like nautiluses -and flying fish, very pleasant, but deceitful and light-minded. -They are very treacherous. The Thick-Heads live in the -cold deep dark waters. They are desperate people.”</p> - -<p>“Do you ever go down there?”</p> - -<p>The Princess shuddered.</p> - -<p>“No,” she said, “but we might have to. If the water ever came -into our kingdom they would attack us, and we should have to -drive them out; and then we should have to drive them right down -to their own kingdom again. It happened once, in my grandfather’s -time.”</p> - -<p>“But how on earth,” asked Bernard, “did you ever get the -water out again?”</p> - -<p>“It wasn’t on earth, you know,” said the Princess, “and the -Whales blew a good deal of it out—the Grampuses did their best, -but they don’t blow hard enough. And the Octopuses finished the -work by sucking the water out with their suckers.”</p> - -<p>“Do you have cats here then?” asked Kathleen, whose attention -had wandered, and had only caught a word that sounded like -Pussies.</p> - -<p>“Only Octopussies,” said the Princess, “but then they’re eight -times as pussy as your dry-land cats.”</p> - -<p>What Kathleen’s attention had wandered to was a tall lady -standing on a marble pedestal in the middle of a pool. She held a -big vase over her head, and from it poured a thin stream of water. -This stream fell in an arch right across the pool into a narrow<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -channel cut in the marble of the square in which they now stood, -ran across the square, and disappeared under a dark arch in the -face of the rock.</p> - -<p>“There,” said the Princess, stopping.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” asked Reuben, who had been singularly silent.</p> - -<p>“This,” she said simply, “is the source of the Nile. And of all -other rivers. And it’s my turn now. I must not speak again till my -term of source-service is at an end. Do what you will. Go where -you will. All is yours. Only beware that you do not touch the sky. -If once profane hands touch the sky the whole heaven is overwhelmed.”</p> - -<p>She ran a few steps, jumped, and landed on the marble -pedestal without touching the lady who stood there already. Then, -with the utmost care, so that the curved arc of the water should -not be slackened or diverted, she took the vase in her hands and -the other lady in her turn leaped across the pool and stood beside -the children and greeted them kindly.</p> - -<p>“I am Maia. My sister has told me all you did for her,” she -said; “it was I who pinched your foot,” and as she spoke they knew -the voice that had said, among the seaweed-covered rocks at -Beachfield: “Save her. We die in captivity.”</p> - -<p>“What will you do?” she asked, “while my sister performs her -source-service?”</p> - -<p>“Wait, I suppose,” said Bernard. “You see we want to know -about going home.”</p> - -<p>“Didn’t you fix a time to be recalled?” asked Maia. And when -they said no, her beautiful smiling face suddenly looked grave.</p> - -<p>“With whom have you left the charge of speaking the spell of -recall?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what you mean,” said Bernard. “What spell?”</p> - -<p>“The one which enabled me to speak to you that day in the -shallows,” said Maia. “Of course my sister explained to you that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -the spell which enables us to come at your call is the only one by -which you can yourselves return.”</p> - -<p>“She didn’t,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Ah, she is young and impulsive. But no doubt she arranged -with someone to speak the spell and recall you?”</p> - -<p>“No, she didn’t. She doesn’t know any land people except us. -She told me so,” said Kathleen.</p> - -<p>“Well, is the spell written anywhere?” Maia asked.</p> - -<p>“Under a picture” they told her, not knowing that it was also -written in the works of Mr. John Milton.</p> - -<p>“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to wait ’til someone happens to -read what is under the picture,” said Maia kindly.</p> - -<p>“But the house is locked up; there’s no one there to read anything,” -Bernard reminded them.</p> - -<p>There was a dismal silence. Then:</p> - -<p>“Perhaps burglars will break in and read it,” suggested Reuben -kindly. “Anyhow, what’s the use of kicking up a shine about it? <i>I</i> -can’t see what you want to go back for. It’s a little bit of all right -here, so it is—I <i>don’t</i> think. Plucky sight better than anything <i>I</i> -ever come across. I’m a-goin’ to enjoy myself I am, and see all the -sights. Miss, there, said we might.”</p> - -<p>“Well spoken indeed,” said Maia, smiling at his earnest face. -“That is the true spirit of the explorer.”</p> - -<p>“But we’re not explorers,” said Mavis, a little crossly, for her; -“and we’re not so selfish as you think, either. Mother will be awfully -frightened if we’re not home to tea. She’ll think we’re drowned.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you <i>are</i> drowned,” said Maia brightly. “At least that’s -what I believe you land people call it when you come down to us -and neglect to arrange to have the spell of return said for you.”</p> - -<p>“How horrible,” said Mavis. “Oh, Cathay,” and she clutched -her sister tightly.</p> - -<p>“But you needn’t <i>stay</i> drowned,” said the Princess. “Someone’s<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> -sure to say the spell somehow or other. I assure you that this is -true; and then you will go home with the speed of an eel.”</p> - -<p>They felt, somehow, in their bones that this was true, and it -consoled them a little. Things which you feel in your bones are -most convincing.</p> - -<p>“But Mother,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“You don’t seem to know much about magic,” said Maia pityingly: -“the first principle of magic is that time spent in other -worlds doesn’t count in your own home. No, I see you don’t -understand. In your home it’s still the same time as it was when -you dived into the well in the cave.”</p> - -<p>“But that’s hours ago,” said Bernard; and she answered:</p> - -<p>“I know. But your time is not like our time at all.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the difference?”</p> - -<p>“I can’t explain,” said the Princess. “You can’t compare them -any more than you can compare a starlight and a starfish. They’re -quite, quite different. But the really important thing is that your -Mother won’t be anxious. So now why not enjoy yourselves?”</p> - -<p>And all this time the other Princess had been holding up the -jar which was the source of all the rivers in all the world.</p> - -<p>“Won’t she be very tired?” asked Reuben.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but suppose all the rivers dried up—and she had to know -how people were suffering—that would be something much harder -to bear than tiredness. Look in the pool and see what she is doing -for the world.”</p> - -<p>They looked, and it was like a colored cinematograph; and the -pictures melted into one another like the old dissolving views that -children used to love so before cinematographs were thought of.</p> - -<p>They saw the Red Indians building their wigwams by the great -rivers—and the beavers building their dams across the little rivers; -they saw brown men setting their fish traps by the Nile, and -brown girls sending out little golden-lighted love-ships on the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -Ganges. They saw the stormy splendor of the St. Lawrence, and -the Medway’s pastoral peace. Little streams dappled with sunlight -and the shadow of green leaves, and the dark and secret torrents -that tear through the underworld in caverns and hidden places. -They saw women washing clothes in the Seine, and boys sailing -boats on the Serpentine. Naked savages dancing in masks beside -tropical streams overshadowed by strange trees and flowers that we -do not know—and men in flannels and girls in pink and blue, -punting in the backwaters of the Thames. They saw Niagara and -the Zambesi Falls; and all the time the surface of the pool was -smooth as a mirror and the arched stream that was the source of -all they saw poured ceaselessly over their heads and fell splashing -softly into its little marble channel.</p> - -<p>I don’t know how long they would have stayed leaning their -elbows on the cool parapet and looking down on the changing -pictures, but suddenly a trumpet sounded, drums beat, and everyone -looked up.</p> - -<p>“It’s for the review,” said Maia, through the rattle of the -drums. “Do you care for soldiers?”</p> - -<p>“Rather,” said Bernard, “but I didn’t know you had soldiers.”</p> - -<p>“We’re very proud of our troops,” said the Princess. “I am -Colonel of the Lobster Battalion, and my sister commands the -Crustacean Brigade; but we’re not going on parade today.”</p> - -<p>The sound of drums was drawing nearer. “This way to the -parade ground,” said the Princess, leading the way. They looked at -the review through a big arch, and it was like looking into a very -big aquarium.</p> - -<p>The first regiment they saw was, as it happened, the 23rd -Lobsters.</p> - -<p>If you can imagine a Lobster as big as a Guardsman, and -rather stouter, you will have some idea of the splendid appearance -of this regiment. Only don’t forget that Lobsters in their natural<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> -regimentals are not red. They wear a sort of steel-blue armor, and -carry arms of dreadful precision. They are terrible fellows, the -23rd, and they marched with an air at once proud and confident.</p> - -<p>Then came the 16th Swordfish—in uniform of delicate silver, -their drawn swords displayed.</p> - -<p>The Queen’s Own Gurnards were magnificent in pink and silver, -with real helmets and spiked collars; and the Boy Scouts—“The -Sea Urchins” as they were familiarly called—were the last of -the infantry.</p> - -<p>Then came Mer-men, mounted on Dolphins and Sea Horses, -and the Cetacean Regiments, riding on their whales. Each whale -carried a squadron.</p> - -<p>“They look like great trams going by,” said Francis. And so -they did. The children remarked that while the infantry walked -upright like any other foot soldiers, the cavalry troops seemed to -be, with their mounts, suspended in the air about a foot from the -ground.</p> - -<p>“And that shows it’s water,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“No, it doesn’t,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“Well, a whale’s not a bird,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“And there are other things besides air and water,” said -Francis.</p> - -<p>The Household Brigade was perhaps the handsomest. The -Grand Salmoner led his silvery soldiers, and the 100th Halibuts -were evidently the sort of troops to make the foes of anywhere -“feel sorry they were born.”</p> - -<p>It was a glorious review, and when it was over the children -found that they had been quite forgetting their desire to get home.</p> - -<p>But as the back of the last Halibut vanished behind the seaweed -trees the desire came back with full force. Princess Maia had -disappeared. Their own Princess was, they supposed, still performing -her source-service.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p> - -<p>Suddenly everything seemed to have grown tiresome.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I do wish we could go home,” said Kathleen. “Couldn’t -we just find the door and go out?”</p> - -<p>“We might <i>look</i> for the door,” said Bernard cautiously, “but I -don’t see how we could get up into the cave again.”</p> - -<p>“We can swim all right, you know,” Mavis reminded them.</p> - -<p>“I think it would be pretty low down to go without saying -good-bye to the Princesses,” said Francis. “Still, there’s no harm in -<i>looking</i> for the door.”</p> - -<p>They did look for the door. And they did not find it. What -they did find was a wall—a great gray wall built of solid stones—above -it nothing could be seen but blue sky.</p> - -<p>“I do wonder what’s on the other side,” said Bernard; and -someone, I will not say which, said: “Let’s climb up and see.”</p> - -<p>It was easy to climb up, for the big stones had rough edges and -so did not fit very closely, and there was room for a toe here and -a hand there. In a minute or two they were all up, but they could -not see down on the other side because the wall was about eight -feet thick. They walked toward the other edge, and still they could -not see down; quite close to the edge, and still no seeing.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t sky at all,” said Bernard suddenly. “It’s a sort of -dome—tin I shouldn’t wonder, painted to look like sky.”</p> - -<p>“It can’t be,” said someone.</p> - -<p>“It is though,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“There couldn’t be one so big,” said someone else.</p> - -<p>“But there <i>is</i>,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>And then someone—I will not tell you who—put out a hand, -and, quite forgetting the Princess’s warning, touched the sky. That -hand felt something as faint and thin as a bubble—and instantly -this something broke, and the sea came pouring into the Mer-people’s -country.</p> - -<p>“Now you’ve done it,” said one of those whose hand it wasn’t.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -And there was no doubt about it; the person who owned the hand -<i>had</i> done it—and done it very thoroughly. It was plain enough -now that what they had been living in was not water, and that this -was. The first rush of it was terrible—but in less than a moment -the whole kingdom was flooded, and then the water became clear -and quiet.</p> - -<p>The children found no difficulty in breathing, and it was as -easy to walk as it is on land in a high wind. They could not run, -but they walked as fast as they could to the place where they had -left the Princess pouring out the water for all the rivers in all the -world.</p> - -<p>And as they went, one of them said, “Oh don’t, don’t tell it was -me. You don’t know what punishments they may have here.”</p> - -<p>The others said of course they wouldn’t tell. But the one who -had touched the sky felt that it was despised and disgraced.</p> - -<p>They found the pedestal, but what had been the pool was only -part of the enormous sea, and so was the little marble channel.</p> - -<p>The Princess was not there, and they began to look for her, -more and more anxious and wretched.</p> - -<p>“It’s all your fault,” said Francis to the guilty one who had broken -the sky by touching it; and Bernard said, “You shut up, can’t -you?”</p> - -<p>It was a long time before they found their Princess, and when -they did find her they hardly knew her. She came swimming -toward them, and she was wearing her tail, and a cuirass and helmet -of the most beautiful mother-of-pearl—thin scales of it overlapping; -and the crest on her helmet was one great pearl, as big as -a billiard ball. She carried something over her arm.</p> - -<p>“Here you are,” she said. “I’ve been looking for you. The -future is full of danger. The water has got in.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we noticed that,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>And Mavis said: “Please, it was us. We touched the sky.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Will they punish us?” asked Cathay.</p> - -<p>“There are no punishments here,” said the pearly Princess -gravely, “only the consequences of your action. Our great defense -against the Under Folk is that thin blue dome which you have -broken. It can only be broken from the inside. Our enemies were -powerless to destroy it. But now they may attack us at any moment. -I am going to command my troops. Will you come too?”</p> - -<p>“Rather,” said Reuben, and the others, somewhat less cordially, -agreed. They cheered up a little when the Princess went on.</p> - -<p>“It’s the only way to make you safe. There are four posts vacant -on my staff, and I have brought you the uniforms that go with the -appointments.” She unfolded five tails, and four little pearly coats -like her own, with round pearls for buttons, pearls as big as marbles. -“Put these on quickly,” she said, “they are enchanted coats, -given by Neptune himself to an ancestor of ours. By pressing the -third button from the top you can render yourself invisible. The -third button below that will make you visible again when you wish -it, and the last button of all will enable you to become intangible -as well as invisible.”</p> - -<p>“Intangible?” said Cathay.</p> - -<p>“Unfeelable, so you’re quite safe.”</p> - -<p>“But there are only four coats,” said Francis. “That is so,” said -the Princess. “One of you will have to take its chance with the Boy -Scouts. Which is it to be?”</p> - -<p>Each of the children always said, and thought that it meant to -say “I will,” but somehow or other the person who spoke first was -Reuben. The instant the Princess had said “be,” Reuben shouted: -“Me,” adding however almost at once, “please.”</p> - -<p>“Right,” said the Princess kindly, “off with you! The Sea -Urchins’ barracks are behind that rock. Off with you! Here, don’t -forget your tail. It enables you to be as comfortable in the water as -any fish.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p> - -<p>Reuben took the tail and hastened away.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said the Princess. And they all began putting on their -tails. It was like putting both your feet into a very large stocking. -Then came the mail coats.</p> - -<p>“Don’t we have swords?” Francis asked, looking down at his -slim and silvery extremity.</p> - -<p>“Swords? In the Crustacean Brigade? Never forget, children, -that you belong to the Princess’s Own Oysters. Here are your -weapons.” She pointed to a heap of large oyster shells, as big as -Roman shields.</p> - -<p>“See,” she said, “you hold them this way as a rule. A very powerful -spring is released when you hold them <i>that</i> way.”</p> - -<p>“But what do you do with it?” Mavis asked.</p> - -<p>“Nip the feet of the enemy,” said the Princess, “and it holds -on. Under Folk have no tails. You wait till they are near a rock; -then nip a foe-man’s foot with your good weapon, laying the other -end on the rock. The oyster shell will at once attach itself to the -rock and....”</p> - -<p>A terrible shout rang out, and the Princess stopped.</p> - -<p>“What is it; oh, what is it?” said the children. And the Princess -shuddered.</p> - -<p>Again that shout—the most terrible sound the children had -ever heard.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” they said again.</p> - -<p>The Princess drew herself up, as if ashamed of her momentary -weakness, and said:</p> - -<p>“It is the war cry of the Under Folk.”</p> - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_101">[101]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_EIGHT">CHAPTER EIGHT</a><br> - -<small><i>The Water-War</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">AFTER the sound of that terrible shouting there came -silence—that is, there was silence where the children were, but all -above they could hear the rush and rustle of a quick arming.</p> - -<p>“The war cry of the People of the Depths,” said the Princess.</p> - -<p>“I suppose,” said Kathleen forlornly, “that if they’re so near as -that all is lost.”</p> - -<p>“Lost? No, indeed,” cried the Princess. “The People of the -Depths are very strong, but they are very heavy. They cannot rise -up and come to us from the water above. Before they can get in -they must scale the wall.”</p> - -<p>“But they will get over the wall—won’t they?”</p> - -<p>“Not while one of the Royal Halibuts still lives. The Halibuts -have manned the wall; they will keep back the foe. But they won’t -attack yet. They’ll send out their scouts and skirmishers. Till they -approach, the Crustacean Brigade can do nothing. It is a hard -thing to watch a fight in which you may not share. I must apologize -for appointing you to such an unsatisfactory position.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, <i>we</i> don’t mind,” said Cathay hastily. “What’s -that?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was a solid, gleaming sheet of silver that rose above them -like a great carpet—which split and tore itself into silver threads.</p> - -<p>“It is the Swordfish Brigade,” said the Princess. “We could -swim up a little and watch them, if you’re not afraid. You see, the -first attack will probably be delivered by one of their Shark regiments. -The 7th Sharks have a horrible reputation. But our brave -Swordfish are a match for them,” she added proudly.</p> - -<p>The Swordfish, who were slowly swimming to and fro above, -seemed to stiffen as though to meet some danger at present unseen -by the others. Then, with a swift, silent, terrible movement, the -Sharks rushed on the noble defenders of Merland.</p> - -<p>The Swordfish with their deadly weapons were ready—and -next moment all the water was a wild whirl of confused conflict. -The Sharks fought with a sort of harsh, rough courage, and the -children, who had drawn away to a little distance, could not help -admiring their desperate onslaught. But the Swordfish were more -than their match. With more skill, and an equally desperate gallantry, -they met and repulsed the savage onslaught of the Sharks.</p> - -<p>Shoals of large, calm Cod swept up from the depths, and -began to shoulder the dead Sharks sideways toward the water -above the walls—the dead Sharks and, alas! many a brave, dead -Swordfish, too. For the victory had not been a cheap one.</p> - -<p>The children could not help cheering as the victorious -Swordfish re-formed.</p> - -<p>“Pursuit is unnecessary,” said the Princess. “The Sharks have -lost too heavily to resume the attack.”</p> - -<p>A Shark in terror-stricken retreat passed close by her, and she -clipped its tail with her oyster shell.</p> - -<p>The Shark turned savagely, but the Princess with one tail-swish -was out of danger, pushing the children before her outspread -arms, and the Shark began to sink, still making vain efforts -to pursue them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 543px;"> -<img src="images/i-113.jpg" width="543" height="379" alt="many swordfish swimming"> -<div class="caption"><i>The Swordfish Brigade.</i></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p> - -<p>“The shell will drag him down,” said the Princess; “and now I -must go and get a fresh shield. I wish I knew where the next attack -would be delivered.”</p> - -<p>They sank slowly through the water.</p> - -<p>“I wonder where Reuben is?” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“Oh, he’s quite safe,” said the Princess. “The Boy Scouts don’t -go outside the walls—they just do a good turn for anybody who -wants it, you know—and help the kind Soles to look after the -wounded.”</p> - -<p>They had reached the great flooded garden again and turned -toward the Palace, and as they went a Sea Urchin shell suddenly -rose from behind one of the clipped hedges—a Sea Urchin shell -and behind it a long tail.</p> - -<p>The shell was raised, and the face under it was Reuben’s.</p> - -<p>“Hi, Princess!” he shouted. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. -We’ve been scouting. I got a lot of seaweed, and they -thought I was nothing <i>but</i> seaweed; and so I got quite close to the -enemy.”</p> - -<p>“It was very rash,” said the Princess severely.</p> - -<p>“The others don’t think so,” he said, a little hurt. “They began -by saying I was only an irregular Sea Urchin, because I’ve got this -jolly tail”—he gave it a merry wag—“and they called me -Spatangus, and names like that. But they’ve made me their -General now—General Echinus. I’m a regular now, and no mistake, -and what I was going to say is the enemy is going to attack -the North Tower in force in half an hour.”</p> - -<p>“You good boy,” said the Princess. I do believe if it hadn’t been -for his Sea Urchin’s uniform she would have kissed him. “You’re -splendid. You’re a hero. If you could do it safely—there’s heaps of -seaweed—could you find out if there’s any danger from the Book -People? You know—the ones in the cave. It’s always been our fear<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> -that they might attack, <i>too:</i> and if they did—well, I’d rather be the -slave of a Shark than of Mrs. Fairchild.” She gathered an armful of -seaweed from the nearest tree, and Reuben wrapped himself in it -and drifted off—looking less like a live Boy Scout than you could -believe possible.</p> - -<p>The defenders of Merland, now acting on Reuben’s information, -began to mass themselves near the North Wall.</p> - -<p>“Now is our time,” said the Princess. “We must go along the -tunnel, and when we hear the sound of their heavy feet shaking -the flow of ocean we must make sallies, and fix our shell shields in -their feet. Major, rally your men.”</p> - -<p>A tall Merchild in the Crustacean uniform blew a clear note, -and the soldiers of the Crustacean Brigade, who having nothing -particular to do had been helping anyone and everyone as best -they could, which is the way in Merland, though not in Europe, -gathered about their officers.</p> - -<p>When they were all drawn up before her, the Princess -addressed her troops.</p> - -<p>“My men,” she said, “we have been suddenly plunged into -war. But it has not found us unprepared. I am proud to think that -my regiments are ready to the last pearl button. And I know that -every man among you will be as proud as I am that our post is, as -tradition tells us it has always been, the post of danger. We shall -go out into the depths of the sea to fight the enemies of our dear -country, and to lay down our lives, if need be, for that country’s -sake.”</p> - -<p>The soldiers answered by cheers, and the Princess led the way -to one of those little buildings, like Temples of Flora in old pictures, -which the children had noticed in the gardens. At the order -given a sergeant raised a great stone by a golden ring embedded in -it and disclosed a dark passage leading underground.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p> - -<p>A splendid captain of Cockles, six feet high if he was an inch, -with a sergeant and six men, led the way. Three Oyster officers followed, -then a company of Oysters, the advance guard. At the head -of the main body following were the Princess and her Staff. As -they went the Princess explained why the tunnel was so long and -sloped so steeply.</p> - -<p>“You see,” she said, “the inside of our wall is only about ten -feet high, but it goes down on the other side for forty feet or more. -It is built on a hill. Now, I don’t want you to feel obliged to come -out and fight. You can stay inside and get the shields ready for us -to take. We shall keep on rushing back for fresh weapons. Of -course the tunnel’s much too narrow for the Under Folk to get in, -but they have their regiment of highly trained Sea Serpents, who, -of course, can make themselves thin and worm through anything.”</p> - -<p>“Cathay doesn’t like serpents,” said Mavis anxiously.</p> - -<p>“You needn’t be afraid,” said the Princess. “They’re dreadful -cowards. They know the passage is guarded by our Lobsters. They -won’t come within a mile of the entrance. But the main body of -the enemy will have to pass quite close. There’s a great sea mountain, -and the only way to our North Tower is in the narrow ravine -between that mountain and Merland.”</p> - -<p>The tunnel ended in a large rocky hall with the armory, hung -with ten thousand gleaming shields, on the one side, and the -guardroom crowded with enthusiastic Lobsters on the other. The -entrance from the sea was a short, narrow passage, in which stood -two Lobsters in their beautiful dark coats of mail.</p> - -<p>Since the moment when the blue sky that looked first so like -sky and then so like painted tin had, touched, confessed itself to -be a bubble—confessed, too, in the most practical way, by bursting -and letting the water into Merland—the children had been<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -carried along by the breathless rush of preparations for the invasion, -and the world they were now in had rapidly increased in reality, -while their own world, in which till today they had always -lived, had been losing reality at exactly the same rate as that by -which the new world gained it. So it was that when the Princess -said:</p> - -<p>“You needn’t go out and attack the enemy unless you like,” -they all answered, in some astonishment:</p> - -<p>“But we <i>want</i> to.”</p> - -<p>“That’s all right,” said the Princess. “I only wanted to see if -they were in working order.”</p> - -<p>“If what were?”</p> - -<p>“Your coats. They’re coats of valor, of course.”</p> - -<p>“I think I could be brave without a coat,” said Bernard, and -began to undo his pearl buttons.</p> - -<p>“Of course you could,” said the Princess. “In fact, you must be -brave to begin with, or the coat couldn’t work. It would be no -good to a coward. It just keeps your natural valor warm and your -wits cool.”</p> - -<p>“It makes you braver,” said Kathleen suddenly. “At least I hope -it’s me—but I expect it’s the coat. Anyhow, I’m glad it does. -Because I do want to be brave. Oh, Princess!”</p> - -<p>“Well?” said the Princess, gravely, but not unkindly, “what is it?”</p> - -<p>Kathleen stood a moment, her hands twisting in each other -and her eyes downcast. Then in an instant she had unbuttoned -and pulled off her coat of pearly mail and thrown it at the -Princess’s feet.</p> - -<p>“I’ll do it without the coat,” she said, and drew a long breath.</p> - -<p>The others looked on in silence, longing to help her, but -knowing that no one could help her now but herself.</p> - -<p>“It was me,” said Kathleen suddenly, and let go a deep breath<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -of relief. “It was me that touched the sky and let in the water; and -I am most frightfully sorry, and I know you’ll never forgive me. -But—”</p> - -<p>“Quick,” said the Princess, picking up the coat, “get into your -armor; it’ll prevent your crying.” She hustled Kathleen into the -coat and kept her arms around her. “Brave girl,” she whispered. -“I’m glad you did it without the coat.” The other three thought it -polite to turn away. “Of course,” the Princess added, “I knew—but -you didn’t know I knew.”</p> - -<p>“How did you know?” said Kathleen.</p> - -<p>“By your eyes,” said the Princess, with one last hug; “they’re -quite different now. Come, let us go to the gate and see if any of -our Scouts are signaling.”</p> - -<p>The two Lobster sentries presented claws as the Princess -passed with her Staff through the narrow arch and onto the sandy -plain of the sea bottom. The children were astonished to find that -they could see quite plain a long way through the water—as far as -they could have seen in air, and the view was very like one kind of -land view. First, the smooth flat sand dotted with copses of -branching seaweed—then woods of taller treelike weeds with -rocks shelving up and up to a tall, rocky mountain. This mountain -sent out a spur, then ran along beside the Merkingdom and -joined the rock behind it; and it was along the narrow gorge so -formed that the Under Folk were expected to advance. There were -balls of seaweed floating in the air—at least, it really now had -grown to seem like air, though, of course, it was water—but no -signs of Scouts.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the balls of seaweed drew together and the Princess -murmured, “I thought so,” as they formed into orderly lines, sank -to the ground, and remained motionless for a moment, while one -ball of seaweed stood in front of them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p> - -<p>“It’s the Boy Scouts,” she said. “Your Reuben is giving them -their orders.”</p> - -<p>It seemed that she was right, for next moment the balls of seaweed -drifted away in different directions, and the one who had -stood before them drifted straight to the arch where the Princess -and the children stood. It drifted in, pulled off its seaweed disguise, -and was, in effect, Reuben.</p> - -<p>“We’ve found out something more, your Highness,” he said, -saluting the Princess. “The vanguard are to be Sea Horses; you -know, not the little ones, but the great things they have in the -depths.”</p> - -<p>“No use our attacking the horses,” said the Princess. “They’re -as hard as ice. Who rides them?”</p> - -<p>“The First Dipsys,” said Reuben. “They’re the young Under -Folk who want to cut a dash. They call them the Forlorn Hopers, -for short.”</p> - -<p>“Have they got armor?”</p> - -<p>“No—that’s their swank. They’ve no armor but their natural -scales. Those look thick enough, though. I say, Princess, I suppose -we Sea Urchins are free to do exactly as we choose?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the Princess, “unless orders are given.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then—my idea is that the Lobsters are the fellows to -tackle the Sea Horses. Hold on to their tails, see? They can’t hurt -the Lobsters because they can’t get at their own tails.”</p> - -<p>“But when the Lobsters let go?” said the Princess.</p> - -<p>“The Lobsters wouldn’t let go till they had driven back the -enemy,” said the Lobster Captain, saluting. “Your Highness, may -I ask if you propose to take this Urchin’s advice?”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t it good?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes, your Highness,” the Lobster Captain answered, “but it’s -impertinent.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 472px;"> -<img src="images/i-120.jpg" width="472" height="382" alt="Sea-soldiers riding sea-horses"> -<div class="caption"><i>The First Dipsys.</i></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I am the best judge of that,” said the Princess gently; -“remember that these are noble volunteers, who are fighting for us -of their own free will.”</p> - -<p>The Lobster saluted and was silent.</p> - -<p>“I cannot send the Lobsters,” said the Princess, “we need them -to protect the gate. But the Crabs—”</p> - -<p>“Ah, Highness, let us go,” pleaded the Lobster Captain.</p> - -<p>“The Crabs cannot keep the gate,” said the Princess kindly. -“You know they are not narrow enough. Francis, will you be my -aide-de-camp and take a message to the Queen?”</p> - -<p>“May I go, too?” asked Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Yes. But we must deliver a double assault. If the Crabs attack -the Horses, who will deal with the riders?”</p> - -<p>“I have an idea about that, too,” said Reuben.</p> - -<p>“If we could have some good heavy shoving regiment—and -someone sharp to finish them off. The Swordfish, perhaps?”</p> - -<p>“You are a born general,” the Princess said; “but you don’t -quite know our resources. The United Narwhals can do the shoving, -as you call it—and their horns are sharp and heavy. Now”—she -took a smooth white chalkstone from the seafloor, and a ready -Lobster brought her a sharpened haddock bone. She wrote quickly, -scratching the letters deep on the chalk. “Here,” she said, “take -this to the Queen. You will find her at Headquarters at the Palace -yard. Tell her everything. I have only asked for the two regiments; -you must explain the rest. I don’t suppose there’ll be any difficulty -in getting through our lines, but, if there should be, the password -is ‘Glory’ and the countersign is ‘or Death.’ And hurry, hurry, -hurry for your lives!”</p> - -<p>Never before had Mavis and Francis felt anything like the glow -of excitement and importance which warmed them as they went -up the long tunnel to take the message to the Queen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p> - -<p>“But where is the Palace?” Mavis said, and they stopped, looking -at each other.</p> - -<p>“I’ll show you, please,” said a little voice behind them. They -turned quickly to find a small, spruce, gentlemanly Mackerel at -their heels. “I’m one of the Guides,” it said. “I felt sure you’d need -me. This way, sir, please,” and it led the way across the gardens in -and out of the clumps of trees and between the seaweed hedges till -they came to the Palace. Rows and rows of soldiers surrounded it, -all waiting impatiently for the word of command that should send -them to meet the enemies of their country.</p> - -<p>“Glory,” said the gentlemanly Mackerel, as he passed the outposts.</p> - -<p>“Or Death,” replied the sentinel Sea Bream.</p> - -<p>The Queen was in the courtyard, in which the children had -received their ovation—so short a time ago, and yet how long it -seemed. Then the courtyard had been a scene of the calm and -charming gaiety of a nation at peace; now it was full of the ardent, -intense inactivity of waiting warriors. The Queen in her gleaming -coral armor met them as the password opened a way to her -through the close-packed ranks of the soldiers. She took the stone -and read it, and with true royal kindness she found time, even at -such a moment, for a word of thanks to the messengers.</p> - -<p>“See the Narwhals start,” she added, “and then back to your -posts with all speed. Tell your commanding officer that so far the -Book People have made no sign, but the golden gate is strongly -defended by the King’s Own Cod, and—”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know there was a King,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>The Queen looked stern, and the Mackerel guide jerked -Francis’s magic coattail warningly and whispered “Hush!”</p> - -<p>“The King,” said the Queen quietly, “is no more. He was lost -at sea.”</p> - -<p>When the splendid steady column of Narwhals had marched<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> -off to its appointed place the children bowed to the Queen and -went back to their posts.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry I said anything,” said Francis to the Mackerel, “but -I didn’t know. Besides, how can a Mer-king be lost at sea?”</p> - -<p>“Aren’t your Kings lost on land?” asked the Mackerel, “or if -not Kings, men quite as good? What about explorers?”</p> - -<p>“I see,” said Mavis; “and doesn’t anyone know what has -become of him?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said the Mackerel; “he has been lost for a very long -time. We fear the worst. If he were alive he would have come back. -We think the Under Folk have him. They bewitch prisoners so -that they forget who they are. Of course, there’s the antidote. -Every uniform is made with a little antidote pocket just over the -heart.” He put his fin inside his scales and produced a little golden -case, just like a skate’s egg. “You’ve got them, too, of course,” -he added. “If you are taken prisoner swallow the contents at -once.”</p> - -<p>“But if you forget who you are,” said Francis, “don’t you forget -the antidote?”</p> - -<p>“No charm,” the Mackerel assured him, “is strong enough to -make one forget one’s counter-charm.”</p> - -<p>And now they were back at the Lobster-guarded gate. The -Princess ran to meet them.</p> - -<p>“What a time you’ve been,” she said. “Is all well? Have the -Narwhals taken up their position?”</p> - -<p>Satisfied on this point, she led the children up a way long and -steep to a window in the wall whence they could look down on -the ravine and see the advance of the foe. The Narwhals were halted -about halfway up the ravine, where it widened to a sort of -amphitheater. Here, among the rocks, they lay in ambush, waiting -for the advance of the foe.</p> - -<p>“If it hadn’t been for you, Reuben,” said the Princess, as they<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> -leaned their elbows on the broad rocky ledge of the window, “they -might easily have stormed the North Tower—we should not have -been ready—all our strongest defenses were massed on the south -side. It was there they attacked last time, so the history books tell -us.”</p> - -<p>And now a heavy, thundering sound, faint yet terrible, -announced the approach of the enemy—and far away across the -sea plain something could be seen moving. A ball of seaweed -seemed to drift up the ravine.</p> - -<p>“A Sea Urchin gone to give the alarm,” said the Princess; “what -splendid things Boy Scouts are. We didn’t have them in the last -war. My dear father only invented them just before—” She paused -and sighed. “Look,” she said.</p> - -<p>The enemy’s heavy cavalry were moving in a solid mass toward -Merland—the great Sea Horses, twenty feet long, and their great -riders, who must have been eight or ten feet high, came more and -more quickly, heading to the ravine. The riders were the most terrible -beings the children had ever seen. Clothed from head to feet -in closely fitting scales, with large heads, large ears, large mouths -and blunt noses and large, blind-looking eyes, they sat each erect -on his armored steed, the long harpoons swaying lightly in their -enormous hands.</p> - -<p>The Sea Horses quickened their pace—and a noise like a -hoarse trumpet rang out.</p> - -<p>“They are sounding the charge,” said the Princess; and as she -spoke the Under Folk charged at the ravine, in a determined, furious -onrush.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no one can stand up against that—they can’t,” said -Cathay, in despair.</p> - -<p>From the window they could see right down onto the amphitheater, -where the Narwhals were concealed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p> - -<p>On came the Sea Cavalry—so far unresisted—but as they -neared the ambush bunches of seaweed drifted in the faces of the -riders. They floundered and strove to push away the clinging -stuff—and as they strove the Narwhals made their sortie—drove -their weight against the riders and hurled them from their horses, -and from the covers of the rocks the Crabs advanced with an -incredible speed and caught the tails of the Sea Horses in their -inexorable claws. The riders lay on the ground. The horses were -rearing and prancing with fear and pain as the clouds of seaweed, -each with a prickly Sea Urchin in it, flung themselves against their -faces. The riders stood up, fighting to the last; but the harpoons -were no match for the Narwhal’s horns.</p> - -<p>“Come away,” said the Princess.</p> - -<p>Already the Sea Horses, urged by the enormous Crabs, were -retreating in the wildest disorder, pursued by Narwhals and -harassed by Sea Urchins.</p> - -<p>The Princess and the children went back to the Lobster sentries.</p> - -<p>“Repulsed,” said the Princess, “with heavy loss”—and the -Lobsters cheered.</p> - -<p>“How’s that, Princess?” said a ball of seaweed, uncurling itself -at the gate and presenting the familiar features of Reuben.</p> - -<p>“How is it?” she said. “It is Victory. And we owe it to you. But -you’re wounded?”</p> - -<p>“Only a scratch,” said Reuben; “harpoon just missed me.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Reuben, you are a hero,” said Cathay.</p> - -<p>“Get along, you silly,” he answered gracefully.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_NINE">CHAPTER NINE</a><br> - -<small><i>The Book People</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">EVEN in the midst of war there are intervals for refreshments. -Our own soldiers, no matter how fierce, must eat to live, -and the same is the case with the submarine regiments. The -Crustacean Brigade took advantage of the lull in hostilities which -followed the defeat of the Sea Horses to march back to the Palace -and have a meal. A very plain meal it was, too, and very different -from the “Banquet of Ovations,” as Cathay pointed out afterward. -There were no prettily spread tables decorated with bunches of -seaweed, no plates or knives or forks. The food was passed around -by hand, and there was one drinking horn (a sea cow’s horn) to -every six soldiers. They all sat on the ground as you do at a picnic, -and the Queen came and spoke a few hurried words to them when -on her way to strengthen the defenses of the golden gate. And, as -I said, the food was plain. However, everyone had enough to eat, -which was the main thing. Baskets of provisions were sent down -to the Lobsters’ guardroom.</p> - -<p>“It is important,” said Princess Freia, “that our men should be -on the spot in case they are needed, and the same with the dinner.<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -I shall go down with the provisions and keep their hearts up.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, dear, do,” said the Princess Maia; “but don’t do anything -rash. No sorties now. You Lobsters are so terribly brave. But you -know Mother said you weren’t to. Ah me! War is a terrible thing! -What a state the rivers will get into with all this water going on, -and the winds all loose and doing as they like. It’s horrible to think -about. It will take ages to get things straight again.”</p> - -<p>(Her fears were only too well founded. All this happened last -year—and you know what a wet summer that was.)</p> - -<p>“I know, dear,” said Freia; “but I know now who broke the sky, -and it is very, very sorry—so we won’t rub it in, will we?”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t mean to,” said Maia, smiling kindly at the children, -and went off to encourage her Lobsters.</p> - -<p>“And now,” said Francis, when the meal was over, “what are we -going to do next?”</p> - -<p>“We can’t do anything but wait for news,” said the Princess. -“Our Scouts will let us know soon enough. I only hope the Book -People won’t attack us at the same time as the Under Folk. That’s -always the danger.”</p> - -<p>“How could they get in?” Mavis asked.</p> - -<p>“Through the golden door,” said the Princess. “Of course they -couldn’t do anything if we hadn’t read the books they’re in. That’s -the worst of Education. We’ve all read such an awful lot, and that -unlocks the books and they can come out if anyone calls them. -Even our fish are intolerably well read—except the Porpoises, dear -things, who never could read anything. That’s why the golden -door is guarded by them, of course.”</p> - -<p>“If not having read things is useful,” said Mavis, “we’ve read -almost nothing. Couldn’t we help guard the door?”</p> - -<p>“The very thing,” said the Princess joyously; “for you possess -the only weapon that can be used against these people or against<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -the authors who created them. If you can truthfully say to them, -‘I never heard of you,’ your words become a deadly sword that -strikes at their most sensitive spot.”</p> - -<p>“What spot?” asked Bernard. And the Princess answered, -“Their vanity.”</p> - -<p>So the little party went toward the golden door and found it -behind a thick wall of Porpoises. Incessant cries came from -beyond the gates, and to every cry they answered like one -Porpoise, “We never heard of you. You can’t come in. You can’t -come in. We never heard of you.”</p> - -<p>“We shan’t be any good here,” said Bernard, among the thick, -rich voices of the Porpoises. “They can keep anyone back.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the Princess; “but if the Book Folk look through -the gate and see that they’re only Porpoises their wounded vanity -will heal, and they’ll come on as strongly as ever. Whereas if they -did find human beings who have never heard of them the wounds -ought to be mortal. As long as you are able truthfully to say that -you don’t know them they can’t get in.”</p> - -<p>“Reuben would be the person for this,” said Francis. “I don’t -believe he’s read <i>anything!</i>”</p> - -<p>“Well, we haven’t read much,” said Cathay comfortably; “at -least, not about nasty people.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I hadn’t,” sighed the Princess through the noise of the -voices outside the gate. “I know them all. You hear that cold -squeak? That’s Mrs. Fairchild. And that short, sharp, barking -sound—that’s Aunt Fortune. The sort of growl that goes on all the -time is Mr. Murdstone, and that icy voice is Rosamund’s mother—the -one who was so hateful about the purple jar.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid we know some of those,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Then be careful not to say you don’t. There are heaps you -don’t know—John Knox and Machiavelli and Don Diego and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> -Tippoo Sahib and Sally Brass and—I <i>must</i> go back. If anything -should happen, fling your arms round the nearest Porpoise -and trust to luck. These Book People can’t kill—they can only -stupefy.”</p> - -<p>“But how do you know them all?” Mavis asked. “Do they -often attack you?”</p> - -<p>“No, only when the sky falls. But they always howl outside the -gate at the full moon.”</p> - -<p>So saying she turned away and disappeared in the crowd of -faithful Porpoises.</p> - -<p>And outside the noise grew louder and the words more definite.</p> - -<p>“I am Mrs. Randolph. Let me in!”</p> - -<p>“I am good Mrs. Brown. Let me in!”</p> - -<p>“I am Eric, or Little by Little. I <i>will</i> come in!”</p> - -<p>“I am Elsie, or Like a Little Candle. Let me in—let me in!”</p> - -<p>“I am Mrs. Markham.”</p> - -<p>“I am Mrs. Squeers.”</p> - -<p>“I am Uriah Heep.”</p> - -<p>“I am Montdidier.”</p> - -<p>“I am King John.”</p> - -<p>“I am Caliban.”</p> - -<p>“I am the Giant Blunderbore.”</p> - -<p>“I am the Dragon of Wantley.”</p> - -<p>And they all cried, again and again: “Let us in! Let me in! Let -me in!”</p> - -<p>The strain of listening for the names and calling out “I don’t -know you!” when they didn’t, and saying nothing when they did, -became almost unbearable. It was like that horrid game with the -corners of the handkerchief, “Hold fast” and “Let loose,” and you -have to remember to do the opposite. Sooner or later an accident<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -is bound to happen, and the children felt a growing conviction -that it would be sooner.</p> - -<p>“What will happen if they do get in?” Cathay asked a neighboring -Porpoise.</p> - -<p>“Can’t say, miss, I’m sure,” it answered.</p> - -<p>“But what will you do?”</p> - -<p>“Obstruct them in the execution of our duty,” it answered. -“You see, miss, they can’t kill; they can only stupefy, and they can’t -stupefy us, ’cause why? We’re that stupid already we can’t hold no -more. That’s why they trust us to defend the golden gate,” it added -proudly.</p> - -<p>The babel of voices outside grew louder and thicker, and the -task of knowing when to say “I don’t know you,” and so wound -the vanity of the invaders, grew more and more difficult. At last -the disaster, foreseen for some time, with a growing plainness, -came upon them.</p> - -<p>“I am the Great Seal,” said a thick, furry voice.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know you,” cried Cathay.</p> - -<p>“You do—he’s in history. James the Second dropped him in -the Thames,” said Francis. “Yes, you’ve done it again.”</p> - -<p>“Shut up,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>The last two remarks were made in a deep silence, broken only -by the heavy breathing of the Porpoises. The voices behind the -golden gate had died down and ceased. The Porpoises massed -their heavy bulk close to the door.</p> - -<p>“Remember the Porpoises,” said Francis. “Don’t forget to hold -on to a Porpoise.”</p> - -<p>Four of these amiable if unintellectual creatures drew away -from their companions, and one came to the side of each child.</p> - -<p>Every eye was fixed on the golden door, and then slowly—very -slowly, the door began to open. As it opened it revealed the crowd<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -that stood without—cruel faces, stupid faces, crafty faces, sullen -faces, angry faces, not a single face that you ever could wish to see -again.</p> - -<p>Then slowly, terribly, without words, the close ranks of the -Book People advanced. Mrs. Fairchild, Mrs. Markham, and Mrs. -Barbauld led the van. Closely following came the Dragon of -Wantley, the Minotaur, and the Little Man that Sintram knew. -Then came Mr. Murdstone, neat in a folded white neckcloth, and -clothes as black as his whiskers. Miss Murdstone was with him, -every bead of her alight with gratified malice. The children found -that they knew, without being told, the name of each foe now -advancing on them. Paralyzed with terror, they watched the slow -and terrible advance. It was not till Eric, or Little by Little, broke -the silence with a whoop of joy and rushed upon them that they -remembered their own danger, and clutched the waiting -Porpoises. Alas! it was too late. Mrs. Markham had turned a frozen -glare upon them, Mrs. Fairchild had wagged an admonitory forefinger, -wave on wave of sheer stupidity swept over them, and next -moment they lost consciousness and sank, each with his faithful -Porpoise, into the dreamless sleep of the entirely unintelligent. In -vain the main body of the Porpoises hurled themselves against the -intruders; their heroism was fruitless. Overwhelmed by the heavy -truisms wielded by the enemy, they turned and fled in disorder, -and the conquering army entered Merland.</p> - -<p>Francis was the first to recover consciousness. The Porpoise to -which he had clung was fanning him with its fin, and imploring -him, for its sake, to look up, to speak.</p> - -<p>“All right, old chap,” said Francis. “I must have fallen asleep. -Where are the others?”</p> - -<p>They were all there, and the devoted Porpoises quickly -restored them to consciousness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 282px;"> -<img src="images/i-132.jpg" width="282" height="552" alt="Group of people coming through Golden Door"> -<div class="caption"><i>Book Hatefuls.</i></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p> - -<p>The four children stood up and looked at each other.</p> - -<p>“I wish Reuben was here,” said Cathay. “He’d know what to -do.”</p> - -<p>“He wouldn’t know any more than we do,” said Francis -haughtily.</p> - -<p>“We <i>must</i> do <i>something</i>,” said Mavis. “It’s our fault again.”</p> - -<p>“It’s mine,” said Cathay, “but I couldn’t help it.”</p> - -<p>“If you hadn’t, one of us would have,” said Bernard, seeking to -console. “I say, why do only the nasty people come out of the -books?”</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> know that,” said his Porpoise, turning his black face eagerly -toward them. “The stupidest people can’t help knowing something. -The Under Folk get in and open the books—at least, they -send the Bookworms in to open them. And, of course, they only -open the pages where the enemies are quartered.”</p> - -<p>“Then—” said Bernard, looking at the golden gate, which -swung open, its lock hanging broken and useless.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Mavis, “we could, couldn’t we? Open the other -books, we mean!” She appealed to her Porpoise.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” it said, “perhaps you could. Human children can open -books, I believe. Porpoises can’t. And Mer-people can’t open the -books in the Cave of Learning, though they can unlock them. If -they want to open them they have to get them from the Public -Mer Libraries. I can’t help knowing that,” it added. The Porpoises -seemed really ashamed of not being thoroughly stupid.</p> - -<p>“Come on,” said Francis, “we’ll raise an army to fight these -Book People. Here’s something we can do that <i>isn’t</i> mischief.”</p> - -<p>“You shut up,” said Bernard, and thumping Cathay on the -back told her to never mind.</p> - -<p>They went toward the golden gate.</p> - -<p>“I suppose all the nasty people are out of the books by<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -now?” Mavis asked her Porpoise, who followed her with the close -fidelity of an affectionate little dog.</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> don’t know,” it said, with some pride. “I’m stupid, I am. But -I can’t help knowing that no one can come out of books unless -they’re called. You’ve just got to tap on the back of the book and -call the name and then you open it, and the person comes out. At -least, that’s what the Bookworms do, and I don’t see why you -should be different.”</p> - -<p>What <i>was</i> different, it soon appeared, was the water in the -stream in the Cave of Learning, which was quite plainly still water -in some other sense than that in which what they were in was -water. That is, they could not walk in it; they had to swim. The -cave seemed dark, but enough light came from the golden gate to -enable them to read the titles of the books when they had pulled -away the seaweed which covered many of them. They had to hold -on to the rocks—which were books—with one hand, and clear -away the seaweed with the other.</p> - -<p>You can guess the sort of books at which they knocked—Kingsley -and Shakespeare and Marryat and Dickens, Miss Alcott -and Mrs. Ewing, Hans Andersen and Stevenson, and Mayne -Reid—and when they had knocked they called the name of the -hero whose help they desired, and “Will you help us,” they asked, -“to conquer the horrid Book People, and drive them back to -cover?”</p> - -<p>And not a hero but said, “Yes, indeed we will, with all our -hearts.”</p> - -<p>And they climbed down out of the books, and swam up to the -golden gate and waited, talking with courage and dignity among -themselves, while the children went on knocking at the backs of -books—which are books’ front doors—and calling out more and -more heroes to help in the fight.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> - -<p>Quentin Durward and Laurie were the first to come out, then -Hereward and Amyas and Will Cary, David Copperfield, Rob -Roy, Ivanhoe, Caesar and Anthony, Coriolanus and Othello; but -you can make the list for yourselves. They came forth, all alive and -splendid, with valor and the longing to strike once more a blow -for the good cause, as they had been used to do in their old lives.</p> - -<p>“These are enough,” said Francis, at last. “We ought to leave -some, in case we want more help later.”</p> - -<p>You see for yourselves what a splendid company it was that -swam to the golden gate—there was no other way than swimming, -except for Perseus—and awaited the children. And when -the children joined them—rather nervous at the thought of the -speeches they would have to make to their newly recruited regiment—they -found that there was no need of speeches. The faithful -Porpoises had not been too stupid to explain the simple facts -of danger and rescue.</p> - -<p>It was a proud moment for the children when they marched -toward the Palace at the head of the band of heroes whom they -had pressed into the service of the Merland. Between the clipped -seaweed hedges they went, and along the paths paved with pearl -and marble, and so, at last, drew near the Palace. They gave the -watchword “Glory.”</p> - -<p>“Or Death,” said the sentry. And they passed on to the Queen.</p> - -<p>“We’ve brought a reinforcement,” said Francis, who had -learned the word from Quentin Durward as they came along. And -the Queen gave one look at her reinforcement’s faces and said simply:</p> - -<p>“We are saved.”</p> - -<p>The horrible Book People had not attacked the Palace; they -had gone furtively through the country killing stray fish and -destroying any beautiful thing they happened to find. For these<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -people hate beauty and happiness. They were now holding a meeting -in the Palace gardens, near the fountain where the Princesses -had been wont to do their source-service, and they were making -speeches like mad. You could hear the dull, flat murmur of them -even from the Palace. They were the sort of people who love the -sound of their own silly voices.</p> - -<p>The newcomers were ranged in orderly ranks before the -Queen, awaiting her orders. It looked like a pageant or a fancy-dress -parade. There was St. George in his armor, and Joan of Arc -in hers—heroes in plumed hats and laced shirts, heroes in ruffs -and doublets—brave gentlemen of England, gallant gentlemen of -France. For all the differences in their dress, there was nothing -motley about the band which stood before the Queen. Varied as -they were in dress and feature, they had one quality in common, -which marked them as one company. The same light of bravery -shone on them all, and became them like a fine uniform.</p> - -<p>“Will you,” the Queen asked of their leader—a pale, thin-faced -man in the dress of a Roman—“will you do just as you think -best? I would not presume,” she added, with a kind of proud -humility, “to teach the game of war to Caesar.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Queen,” he answered, “these brave men and I will drive -back the intruders, but, having driven them back, we must ourselves -return through those dark doors which we passed when your -young defenders called our names. We will drive back the <i>men</i>—and -by the look of them ’twill be an easy task. But Caesar wars not -with women, and the women on our side are few, though each, I -doubt not, has the heart of a lioness.”</p> - -<p>He turned toward Joan of Arc with a smile and she gave him -back a smile as bright as the sword she carried.</p> - -<p>“How many women are there among you?” the Queen asked, -and Joan answered:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Queen Boadicea and Torfrida and I are but three.”</p> - -<p>“But we three,” cried Torfrida, “are a match for three hundred -of such women as those. Give us but whips instead of swords, and -we will drive them like dogs to their red and blue cloth-bound -kennels.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid,” said the Queen, “they’d overcome you by sheer -weight. You’ve no idea how heavy they are.” And then Kathleen -covered herself with glory by saying, “Well, but what about -Amazons?”</p> - -<p>“The very thing,” said Caesar kindly. “Would you mind running -back? You’ll find them in the third book from the corner -where the large purple starfish is; you can’t mistake it.”</p> - -<p>The children tore off to the golden gate, rushed through it, -and swam to the spot where, unmistakably, the purplish starfish -spread its violet rays. They knocked on the book, and Cathay, by -previous arrangement, called out—</p> - -<p>“Come out, please, Queen of the Amazons, and bring all your -fighting ladies.”</p> - -<p>Then out came a very splendid lady in glorious golden armor. -“You’d better get some boats for us,” she said, standing straight -and splendid on a ledge of rock, “enough to reach from here to the -gate, or a bridge. There are all these things in Caesar’s books. I’m -sure he wouldn’t mind your calling them out. We must not swim, -I know, because of getting our bowstrings wet.”</p> - -<p>So Francis called out a bridge, and when it was not long -enough to reach the golden gate he called another. And then the -Queen called her ladies, and out came a procession, which seemed -as though it would never end, of tall and beautiful women armed -and equipped for war. They carried bows, and the children -noticed that one side of their chests was flatter than the other. And -the procession went on and on, passing along the bridge and<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -through the golden gate, till Cathay grew quite dizzy; and at last -Mavis said, “Oh, your Majesty, do stop them. I’m sure there are -heaps, and we shall be too late if we wait for any more.”</p> - -<p>So the Queen stopped the procession and they went back to -the Palace, where the Queen of the Amazons greeted Joan of Arc -and the other ladies as though they were old acquaintances.</p> - -<p>In a few moments their plans were laid. I wish I could describe -to you the great fight between the Nice Book People and the others. -But I have not time, and besides, the children did not see all -of it, so I don’t see why <i>you</i> should. It was fought out in the Palace -gardens. The armies were fairly evenly matched as to numbers, -because the Bookworms had let out a great many Barbarians, and -these, though not so unpleasant as Mr. Murdstone and Mrs. -Fairchild, were quite bad enough. The children were not allowed -to join in the battle, which they would dearly have liked to do. -Only from a safe distance they heard the sound of steel on steel, -the whir of arrows, and the war cries of the combatants. And -presently a stream of fugitives darkened the pearly pathways, and -one could see the heroes with drawn swords following in pursuit.</p> - -<p>And then, among those who were left, the shouts of war -turned suddenly to shouts of laughter, and the Merlish Queen -herself moved toward the battlefield. And as she drew near she, -too, laughed. For, it would seem, the Amazons had only shot their -arrows at the men among their foes—they had disdained to shoot -the women, and so good was their aim that not a single woman -was wounded. Only, when the Book Hatefuls had been driven -back by the Book Heroes, the Book Heroines advanced and, -without more ado, fell on the remaining foes. They did not fight -them with swords or spears or arrows or the short, sharp knives -they wore—they simply picked up the screaming Bookwomen -and carried them back to the books where they belonged. Each<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -Amazon caught up one of the foe and, disregarding her screaming -and scratching, carried her back to the book where she belonged, -pushed her in, and shut the door.</p> - -<p>Boadicea carried Mrs. Markham and her brown silk under one -bare, braceleted arm as though she had been a naughty child. Joan -of Arc made herself responsible for Aunt Fortune, and the Queen -of the Amazons made nothing of picking up Miss Murdstone, -beads and all, and carrying her in her arms like a baby. Torfrida’s -was the hardest task. She had, from the beginning, singled out -Alftruda, her old and bitter enemy, and the fight between them -was a fierce one, though it was but a battle of looks. Yet before -long the fire in Torfrida’s great dark eyes seemed to scorch her -adversary, she shrank before it, and shrank and shrank till at last -she turned and crept back to her book and went in of her own -accord, and Torfrida shut the door.</p> - -<p>“But,” said Mavis, who had followed her, “don’t you live in the -same book?”</p> - -<p>Torfrida smiled.</p> - -<p>“Not quite,” she said. “That would be impossible. I live in a -different edition, where only the Nice People are alive. In hers it is -the nasty ones.”</p> - -<p>“And where is Hereward?” Cathay asked, before Mavis could -stop her. “I do love him, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Torfrida, “I love him. But he is not alive in the -book where I live. But he will be—he will be.”</p> - -<p>And smiling and sighing, she opened her book and went into -it, and the children went slowly back to the Palace. The fight was -over, the Book People had gone back into their books, and it was -almost as though they had never left them—not quite, for the -children had seen the faces of the heroes, and the books where -these lived could never again now be the same to them. All books,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_130">[130]</a><br><a id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -indeed, would now have an interest far above any they had ever -held before—for any of these people might be found in any book. -You never know.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 412px;"> -<img src="images/i-140.jpg" width="412" height="536" alt="Book Heroines carrying the Book Hatefuls off"> -<div class="caption"><i>Book Heroines.</i></div> -</div> - -<p>The Princess Freia met them in the Palace courtyard, and -clasped their hands and called them the preservers of the country, -which was extremely pleasant. She also told them that a slight -skirmish had been fought on the Mussel-beds south of the city, -and the foe had retreated.</p> - -<p>“But Reuben tells me,” she added—“that boy is really worth -his weight in pearls—that the main body are to attack at midnight. -We must sleep now, to be ready for the call of duty when it -comes. Sure you understand your duties? And the power of your -buttons and your antidotes? I might not have time to remind you -later. You can sleep in the armory—you must be awfully tired. -You’ll be asleep before you can say Jack Sprat.”</p> - -<p>So they lay down on the seaweed, heaped along one end of the -Oysters’ armory, and were instantly asleep.</p> - -<p>It may have been their natures, or it may have been the influence -of the magic coats. But whatever the cause, it is certain that -they lay down without fear, slept without dreams, and awoke -without alarm when an Oyster corporal touched their arms and -whispered, “Now!”</p> - -<p>They were wide awake on the instant and started up, picking -their oyster shields from the ground beside them.</p> - -<p>“I feel just like a Roman soldier,” Cathay said. “Don’t you?”</p> - -<p>And the others owned that so far as they knew the feelings of -a Roman soldier, those feelings were their own.</p> - -<p>The shadows of the guardroom were changed and shifted and -flung here and there by the torches carried by the busy Oysters. -Phosphorescent fish these torches were, and gave out a moony -light like that of the pillars in the Cave of Learning. Outside the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -Lobster-guarded arch the water showed darkly clear. Large phosphorescent -fish were twined round pillars of stone, rather like the -fish you see on the lampposts on the Thames Embankment, only -in this case the fish were the lamps. So strong was the illumination -that you could see as clearly as you can on a moonlit night on the -downs, where there are no trees to steal the light from the landscape -and bury it in their thick branches.</p> - -<p>All was hurry and bustle. The Salmoners had sent a detachment -to harass the flank of the enemy, and the Sea Urchins, under -the command of Reuben, were ready in their seaweed disguises.</p> - -<p>There was a waiting time, and the children used it to practice -with their shells, using the thick stems of seaweed—thick as a -man’s arm—to represent the ankles of the invading force, and they -were soon fairly expert at the trick which was their duty. Francis -had just nipped an extra fat stalk and released it again by touching -the secret spring when the word went around, “Every man to -his post!”</p> - -<p>The children proudly took up their post next to the Princess, -and hardly had they done so when a faint yet growing sound -knocked gently at their ears. It grew and grew and grew till it -seemed to shake the ground on which they stood, and the Princess -murmured, “It is the tramp of the army of the Under Folk. Now, -be ready. We shall lurk among these rocks. Hold your good oyster -shell in readiness, and when you see a foot near you clip it, and at -the same time set down the base of the shell on the rock. The -trusty shell will do the rest.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we know, thank you, dear Princess,” said Mavis. “Didn’t -you see us practicing?”</p> - -<p>But the Princess was not listening; she had enough to do to -find cover for her troops among the limpet-studded rocks.</p> - -<p>And now the tramp, tramp, tramp of the great army sounded<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -nearer and more near, and through the dimly lighted water the -children could see the great Deep Sea People advancing.</p> - -<p>Very terrible they were, big beyond man-size, more stalwart -and more finely knit than the Forlorn Hopers who had led the -attack so happily and gloriously frustrated by the Crabs, the -Narwhals and the Sea Urchins. As the advance guard drew near all -the children stared, from their places of concealment, at the faces -of these terrible foes of the happy Merland. Very strong the faces -were, and, surprisingly, very, very sad. They looked—Francis at -least was able to see it—like strong folk suffering proudly an -almost intolerable injury—bearing, bravely, an almost intolerable -pain.</p> - -<p>“But I’m on the other side,” he told himself, to check a sudden -rising in his heart of—well, if it was not sympathy, what was -it?</p> - -<p>And now the head of the advancing column was level with the -Princess. True to the old tradition which bids a commander lead -and not to follow his troops, she was the first to dart out and fix a -shell to the heel of the left-rank man. The children were next. -Their practice bore its fruit. There was no blunder, no mistake. -Each oyster shell clipped sharp and clean the attached ankle of an -enemy; each oyster shell at the same moment attached itself firmly -to the rock, thus clinging to his base in the most thorough and -military way. A spring of joy and triumph welled up in the children’s -hearts. How easy it was to get the better of these foolish -Deep Sea Folk. A faint, kindly contempt floated into the children’s -minds for the Mer-people, who so dreaded and hated these stupid -giants. Why, there were fifty or sixty of them tied by the leg -already! It was as easy as—</p> - -<p>The pleasant nature of these reflections had kept our four -rooted to the spot. In the triumphant performance of one duty<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> -they failed to remember the duty that should have followed. They -stood there rejoicing in their victory, when by all the rules of the -Service they should have rushed back to the armory for fresh -weapons.</p> - -<p>The omission was fatal. Even as they stood there rejoicing in -their cleverness and boldness and in the helpless anger of the -enemy, something thin and string-like spread itself around -them—their feet caught in string, their fingers caught in string, -string tweaked their ears and flattened their noses—string confined -their elbows and confused their legs. The Lobster-guarded -doorway seemed farther off—and farther, and farther.... They -turned their heads; they were following backward, and against -their will, a retreating enemy.</p> - -<p>“Oh, why didn’t we do what she said?” breathed Cathay. -“Something’s happened!”</p> - -<p>“I should think it had,” said Bernard. “We’re caught—in a -net.”</p> - -<p>They were. And a tall Infantryman of the Under Folk was -towing them away from Merland as swiftly and as easily as a running -child tows a captive air balloon.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_135">[135]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_TEN">CHAPTER TEN</a><br> - -<small><i>The Under Folk</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THOSE of us who have had the misfortune to be caught in a -net in the execution of our military duty, and to be dragged away -by the enemy with all the helpless buoyancy of captive balloons, -will be able to appreciate the sensations of the four children to -whom this gloomy catastrophe had occurred.</p> - -<p>The net was very strong—made of twisted fibrous filaments of -seaweed. All efforts to break it were vain, and they had, unfortunately, -nothing to cut it with. They had not even their oyster -shells, the rough edges of which might have done something to -help, or at least would have been useful weapons, and the discomfort -of their position was extreme. They were, as Cathay put -it, “all mixed up with each other’s arms and legs,” and it was very -difficult and painful to sort themselves out without hurting each -other.</p> - -<p>“Let’s do it, one at a time,” said Mavis, after some minutes of -severe and unsuccessful struggle. “France first. Get right away, -France, and see if you can’t sit down on a piece of the net that isn’t -covered with <i>us</i>, and then Cathay can try.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was excellent advice and when all four had followed it, it was -found possible to sit side by side on what may be called the floor -of the net, only the squeezing of the net walls tended to jerk one -up from one’s place if one wasn’t very careful.</p> - -<p>By the time the rearrangement was complete, and they were -free to look about them, the whole aspect of the world had -changed. The world, for one thing, was much darker, in itself that -is, though the part of it where the children were was much lighter -than had been the sea where they were first netted. It was a curious -scene—rather like looking down on London at night from the -top of St. Paul’s. Some bright things, like trams or omnibuses, -were rushing along, and smaller lights, which looked mighty like -cabs and carriages, dotted the expanse of blackness till, where they -were thick set, the darkness disappeared in a blaze of silvery light.</p> - -<p>Other light-bearers had rows of round lights like the portholes -of great liners. One came sweeping toward them, and a wild idea -came to Cathay that perhaps when ships sink they go on living -and moving underwater just as she and the others had done. -Perhaps they do. Anyhow, this was not one of them, for, as it came -close, it was plainly to be perceived as a vast fish with phosphorescent -lights in rows along its gigantic sides. It opened its jaws as -it passed, and for an instant everyone shut their eyes and felt that -all was over. When the eyes were opened again, the mighty fish -was far away. Cathay, however, was discovered to be in tears.</p> - -<p>“I wish we hadn’t come,” she said; and the others could not but -feel that there was something in what she said. They comforted -her and themselves as best they could by expressing a curious half-certainty -which they had that everything would be all right in the -end. As I said before, there are some things so horrible that if you -can bring yourself to face them you see at once that they can’t be -true. The barest idea of poetic justice—which we all believe in<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_137">[137]</a><br><a id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -at the bottom of our hearts—made it impossible to think that the -children who had nobly (they couldn’t help feeling it <i>was</i> noble) -defended their friends, the Mer Folk, should have anything really -dreadful happen to them in consequence. And when Bernard -talked about the fortunes of war he did it in an unconvinced sort -of way and Francis told him to shut up.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 561px;"> -<img src="images/i-147.jpg" width="561" height="289" alt="Children in net pulled by infantryman"> -<div class="caption"><i>In the net.</i></div> -</div> - -<p>“But what are we to do,” sniffed Cathay for the twentieth -time, and all the while the Infantryman was going steadily on, -dragging the wretched netful after him.</p> - -<p>“Press our pearl buttons,” suggested Francis hopefully. “Then -we shall be invisible and unfeelable and we can escape.” He fumbled -with the round marble-like pearl.</p> - -<p>“No, no,” said Bernard, catching at his hand, “don’t you see? -If we do, we may never get out of the net. If they can’t see us or -feel us they’ll think the net’s empty, and perhaps hang it up on a -hook or put it away in a box.”</p> - -<p>“And forget it while years roll by. <i>I</i> see,” said Cathay.</p> - -<p>“But we can undo them the minute we’re there. Can’t we?” -said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course,” said Bernard; but as a matter of fact they -couldn’t.</p> - -<p>At last the Infantryman, after threading his way through -streets of enormous rocky palaces, passed through a colossal arch, -and so into a hall as big as St. Paul’s and Westminster Abbey into -one.</p> - -<p>A crowd of Under Folk, who were seated on stone benches -around rude tables, eating strange luminous food, rose up, and -cried, “What news?”</p> - -<p>“Four prisoners,” said the Infantryman.</p> - -<p>“Upper Folk,” the Colonel said; “and my orders are to deliver -them to the Queen herself.”</p> - -<p>He passed to the end of the hall and up a long wide flight of<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -steps made of something so green and clear that it was plainly -either glass or emerald, and I don’t think it could have been glass, -because how could they have made glass in the sea? There were -lights below it which shone through the green transparency so -clear and lovely that Francis said dreamily—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 4em;">“‘<i>Sabrina fair,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Listen where thou art sitting,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave,</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="unindent">and quite suddenly there was much less room in the net, and they -were being embraced all at once and with tears of relief and joy by -the Princess Freia—their own Mer Princess.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I <i>didn’t</i> mean to—Princess dear, I <i>didn’t</i>,” said Francis. -“It was the emerald steps made me think of translucent.”</p> - -<p>“So they are,” she said, “but oh, if you knew what I’ve felt—you, -our guests, our knights-errant, our noble defenders—to be -prisoners and all of us safe. I did so hope you’d call me. And I’m -so proud that you didn’t—that you were brave enough not to call -for me until you did it by accident.”</p> - -<p>“We never thought of doing it,” said Mavis candidly, “but I -hope we shouldn’t have, if we <i>had</i> thought of it.”</p> - -<p>“Why haven’t you pressed your pearl buttons?” she asked, and -they told her why.</p> - -<p>“Wise children,” she said, “but at any rate we must all use the -charm that prevents our losing our memories.”</p> - -<p>“I shan’t use mine,” said Cathay. “I don’t want to remember. If -I didn’t remember I should forget to be frightened. Do please let -me forget to remember.” She clung pleadingly to the Princess, -who whispered to Mavis, “Perhaps it would be best,” and they let -Cathay have her way.</p> - -<p>The others had only just time to swallow their charms before<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -the Infantryman threw the net onto a great table, which seemed -to be cut out of one vast diamond, and fell on his face on the -ground. It was his way of saluting his sovereign.</p> - -<p>“Prisoners, your Majesty,” he said when he had got up again. -“Four of the young of the Upper Folk—” and he turned to the net -as he spoke, and stopped short—“there’s someone else,” he said in -an altered voice, “someone as wasn’t there when we started, I’ll -swear.”</p> - -<p>“Open the net,” said a strong, sweet voice, “and bid the prisoners -stand up that I may look upon them.”</p> - -<p>“They might escape, my love,” said another voice anxiously, -“or perhaps they bite.”</p> - -<p>“Submersia,” said the first voice, “do you and four of my -women stand ready. Take the prisoners one by one. Seize each a -prisoner and hold them, awaiting my royal pleasure.”</p> - -<p>The net was opened and large and strong hands took Bernard, -who was nearest the mouth of the net back, and held him gently -but with extreme firmness in an upright position on the table. -None of them could stand because of their tails.</p> - -<p>They saw before them, on a throne, a tall and splendid Queen, -very beautiful and very sad, and by her side a King (they knew the -royalty by their crowns), not so handsome as his wife, but still very -different from the uncouth, heavy Under Folk. And he looked sad -too. They were clad in robes of richest woven seaweed, sewn with -jewels, and their crowns were like dreams of magnificence. Their -throne was of one clear blood-bright ruby, and its canopy of green -drooping seaweed was gemmed with topazes and amethysts. The -Queen rose and came down the steps of the throne and whispered -to her whom she had called Submersia, and she in turn whispered -to the four other large ladies who held, each, a captive.</p> - -<p>And with a dreadful unanimity the five acted; with one dexterous<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> -movement they took off the magic jackets, and with another -they removed the useful tails. The Princess and the four children -stood upon the table on their own ten feet.</p> - -<p>“What funny little things,” said the King, not unkindly.</p> - -<p>“Hush,” said the Queen, “perhaps they can understand what -you say—and at any rate that Mer-girl can.”</p> - -<p>The children were furious to hear their Princess so disrespectfully -spoken of. But she herself remained beautifully calm.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said the Queen, “before we destroy your memories, -will you answer questions?”</p> - -<p>“Some questions, yes—others, no,” said the Princess.</p> - -<p>“Are these human children?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“How do they come under the sea?”</p> - -<p>“Mer-magic. You wouldn’t understand,” said the Princess -haughtily.</p> - -<p>“Were they fighting against us?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” cried Bernard and Mavis before the Princess answered.</p> - -<p>“And lucky to do it,” Francis added.</p> - -<p>“If you will tell us the fighting strength of the Merlanders, -your tails and coats shall be restored to you and you shall go free. -Will you tell?”</p> - -<p>“Is it likely?” the Princess answered. “I am a Mer-woman, and -a Princess of the Royal House. Such do not betray their country.”</p> - -<p>“No, I suppose not,” said the Queen. And she paused a -moment before she said, “Administer the cup of forgetfulness.”</p> - -<p>The cup of forgetfulness was exceedingly pleasant. It tasted of -toffee and coconuts, and pineapple ices, and plum cake, and roast -chicken, with a faint underflavor of lavender, rose leaves and the -very best <i>eau de cologne</i>.</p> - -<p>The children had tasted cider-cup and champagne-cup at parties,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -and had disliked both, but oblivion-cup was delicious. It was -served in a goblet of opal color, in dreamy pink and pearl—and -green and blue and gray—and the sides of the goblet were -engraved with pictures of beautiful people asleep. The goblet -passed from hand to hand, and when each had drunk enough the -Lord High Cupbearer, a very handsome, reserved-looking fish, -laid a restraining touch on the goblet and, taking it between his -fins, handed it to the next drinker. So, one by one, each took the -draught. Kathleen was the last.</p> - -<p>The draught had no effect on four out of the five—but -Kathleen changed before their eyes, and though they had known -that the draught of oblivion would make her forget, it was terrible -to see it do its fell work.</p> - -<p>Mavis had her arm protectingly around Kathleen, and the -moment the draught had been swallowed Kathleen threw off that -loving arm and drew herself away. It hurt like a knife. Then she -looked at her brothers and sisters, and it is a very terrible thing -when the eyes you love look at you as though you were a stranger.</p> - -<p>Now, it had been agreed, while still the captives were in the -net, that all of them should pretend that the cup of oblivion had -taken effect, that they should just keep still and say nothing and -look as stupid as they could. But this coldness of her dear Cathay’s -was more than Mavis could bear, and no one had counted on it. -So when Cathay looked at Mavis as at a stranger whom she rather -disliked, and drew away from her arm, Mavis could not bear it, -and cried out in heart-piercing tones, “Oh, Cathay, darling, what -is it? What’s the matter?” before the Princess or the boys could -stop her. And to make matters worse, both boys said in a very -loud, plain whisper, “Shut up, Mavis,” and only the Princess kept -enough presence of mind to go on saying nothing.</p> - -<p>Cathay turned and looked at her sister.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Cathay, darling,” Mavis said again, and stopped, for no one -could go on saying “darling” to anyone who looked at you as -Cathay was looking.</p> - -<p>She turned her eyes away as Cathay looked toward the -Queen—looked, and went, to lean against the royal knee as -though it had been her mother’s.</p> - -<p>“Dear little thing,” said the Queen; “see, it’s quite tame. I shall -keep it for a pet. Nice little pet then!”</p> - -<p>“You shan’t keep her,” cried Mavis, but again the Princess -hushed her, and the Queen treated her cry with contemptuous -indifference. Cathay snuggled against her new mistress.</p> - -<p>“As for the rest of you,” said the Queen, “it is evident from -your manner that the draught of oblivion has not yet taken effect -on you. So it is impossible for me to make presents of you to those -prominent members of the nobility, who are wanting pets, as I -should otherwise have done. We will try another draught tomorrow. -In the meantime ... the fetters, Jailer.”</p> - -<p>A tall sour-looking Under-man stepped forward. Hanging -over his arm were scaly tails, which at first sight of the children’s -hearts leaped, for they hoped they were their own. But no sooner -were the tails fitted on than they knew the bitter truth.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the Queen “they are false tails. You will not be able -to take them off, and you can neither swim nor walk with them. -You can, however, move along quite comfortably on the floor of -the ocean. What’s the matter?” she asked the Jailer.</p> - -<p>“None of the tails will fit this prisoner, your Majesty,” said the -Jailer.</p> - -<p>“I am a Princess of the reigning Mer House,” said Freia, “and -your false, degrading tails cannot cling to me.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, put them all in the lockup,” said the King, “as sullen a -lot of prisoners as ever I saw—what?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p> - -<p>The lockup was a great building, broader at the top than at the -bottom, which seemed to be balanced on the sea floor, but really -it was propped up at both ends with great chunks of rock. The -prisoners were taken there in the net, and being dragged along in -nets is so confusing, that it was not till the Jailer had left them that -they discovered that the prison was really a ship—an enormous -ship—which lay there, perfect in every detail as on the day when -it first left dock. The water did not seem to have spoiled it at all. -They were imprisoned in the saloon, and, worn out with the varied -emotions of the day, they lay down on the comfortable red velvet -cushions and went to sleep. Even Mavis felt that Kathleen had -found a friend in the Queen, and was in no danger.</p> - -<p>The Princess was the last to close her eyes. She looked long at -the sleeping children.</p> - -<p>“Oh, <i>why</i> don’t they think of it?” she said, “and why mustn’t I -tell them?”</p> - -<p>There was no answer to either question, and presently she too -slept.</p> - -<p>I must own that I share the Princess’s wonder that the children -did not spend the night in saying “Sabrina fair” over and over -again. Because of course each invocation would have been -answered by an inhabitant of Merland, and thus a small army -could easily have been collected, the Jailer overpowered and a rush -made for freedom.</p> - -<p>I wish I had time to tell you all that happened to Kathleen, -because the daily life of a pampered lap-child to a reigning Queen -is one that you would find most interesting to read about. As -interesting as your Rover or Binkie would find it to read—if he -could read—about the life of one of Queen Alexandra’s Japanese -Spaniels. But time is getting on, and I must make a long story short. -And anyhow you can never tell all about everything, can you?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p> - -<p>The next day the Jailers brought food to the prison, as well as -a second draught of oblivion, which, of course, had no effect, and -they spent the day wondering how they could escape. In the -evening the Jailer’s son brought more food and more oblivion-cup, -and he lingered while they ate. He did not look at all unkind, and -Francis ventured to speak to him.</p> - -<p>“I say,” he said.</p> - -<p>“What do you say?” the Under-lad asked.</p> - -<p>“Are you forbidden to talk to us?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Then do tell us what they will do with us.”</p> - -<p>“I do not know. But we shall have to know before long. The -prisons are filling up quickly—they will soon be quite full. Then -we shall have to let some of you out on what is called ticket-of-leave—that -means with your artificial tails on, which prevent you -getting away, even if the oblivion-cup doesn’t take effect.”</p> - -<p>“I say,” it was Bernard’s turn to ask.</p> - -<p>“What do you say?”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t the King and Queen go and fight, like the Mer -Royal Family do?”</p> - -<p>“Against the law,” said the Under-lad. “We took a King prisoner -once, and our people were afraid our King and Queen might -be taken, so they made that rule.”</p> - -<p>“What did you do with him—the prisoner King?” the Princess -asked.</p> - -<p>“Put him in an Iswater,” said the lad, “a piece of water entirely -surrounded by land.”</p> - -<p>“I should like to see him,” said the Princess.</p> - -<p>“Nothing easier,” said the Under-lad, “as soon as you get your -tickets-of-leaves. It’s a good long passage to the lake—nearly all -water, of course, but lots of our young people go there three times<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> -a week. Of course, he can’t be a King anymore now—but they -made him Professor of Conchology.”</p> - -<p>“And has he forgotten he was a <i>King?</i>” asked the Princess.</p> - -<p>“Of course: but he was so learned the oblivion-cup wasn’t deep -enough to make him forget everything: that’s why he’s a -Professor.”</p> - -<p>“What was he King of?” the Princess asked anxiously.</p> - -<p>“He was King of the Barbarians,” said the Jailer’s son—and the -Princess sighed.</p> - -<p>“I thought it might have been my father,” she said, “he was -lost at sea, you know.”</p> - -<p>The Under-lad nodded sympathetically and went away.</p> - -<p>“He doesn’t seem such a bad sort,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“No,” said the Princess, “I can’t understand it. I thought all the -Under Folk were terrible fierce creatures, cruel and implacable.”</p> - -<p>“And they don’t seem so very different from us—except to -look at,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“I wonder,” said Mavis, “what the war began about?”</p> - -<p>“Oh—we’ve always been enemies,” said the Princess, carelessly.</p> - -<p>“Yes—but how did you begin being enemies?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that,” said the Princess, “is lost in the mists of antiquity, -before the dawn of history and all that.”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>But when Ulfin came with the next meal—did I tell you that -the Jailer’s son’s name was Ulfin?—Mavis asked him the same -question.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know—little land-lady,” said Ulfin, “but I will find -out—my uncle is the Keeper of the National Archives, graven on -tables of stone, so many that no one can count them, but there are -smaller tables telling what is on the big ones—” he hesitated. “If I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -could get leave to show you the Hall of the Archives, would you -promise not to try to escape?”</p> - -<p>They had now been shut up for two days and would have -promised anything in reason.</p> - -<p>“You see, the prisons are quite full now,” he said, “and I don’t -see why you shouldn’t be the first to get your leaves-tickets. I’ll ask -my father.”</p> - -<p>“I say!” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“What do you say?” said Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“Do you know anything about my sister?”</p> - -<p>“The Queen’s new lap-child? Oh—she’s a great pet—her -gold collar with her name on it came home today. My cousin’s -brother-in-law made it.”</p> - -<p>“The name—Kathleen?” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“The name on the collar is Fido,” said Ulfin.</p> - -<p>The next day Ulfin brought their tickets-of-leaves, made of -the leaves of the tree of Liberty which grows at the bottom of the -well where Truth lies.</p> - -<p>“Don’t lose them,” he said, “and come with me.” They found -it quite possible to move along slowly on hands and tails, though -they looked rather like seals as they did so.</p> - -<p>He led them through the strange streets of massive passages, -pointing out the buildings, giving them their names as you might -do if you were showing the marvels of your own city to a stranger.</p> - -<p>“That’s the Astrologers’ Tower,” he said, pointing to a huge -building high above the others. “The wise men sit there and -observe the stars.”</p> - -<p>“But you can’t see the stars down here.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, we can. The tower is fitted up with tubes and mirrors -and water transparence apparatus. The wisest men in the -country are there—all but the Professor of Conchology. He’s the<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -wisest of all. He invented the nets that caught you—or rather, -making nets was one of the things that he had learned and -couldn’t forget.”</p> - -<p>“But who thought of using them for catching prisoners?”</p> - -<p>“I did,” said Ulfin proudly, “I’m to have a glass medal for it.”</p> - -<p>“Do you have glass down here?”</p> - -<p>“A little comes down, you know. It is very precious. We -engrave it. That is the Library—millions of tables of stone—the -Hall of Public Joy is next to it—that garden is the mothers’ garden -where they go to rest while their children are at school—that’s -one of our schools. And here’s the Hall of Public Archives.”</p> - -<p>The Keeper of the Records received them with grave courtesy. -The daily services of Ulfin had accustomed the children to the -appearance of the Under Folk, and they no longer found their -strange, mournful faces terrifying, and the great hall where, on -shelves cut out of the sheer rock, were stored the graven tables of -Underworld Records, was very wonderful and impressive.</p> - -<p>“What is it you want to know?” said the Keeper, rolling away -some of the stones he had been showing them. “Ulfin said there -was something special.”</p> - -<p>“Why the war began?” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“Why the King and Queen are different?” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“The war,” said the Keeper of the Records, “began exactly -three million five hundred and seventy-nine thousand three hundred -and eight years ago. An Under-man, getting off his Sea Horse -in a hurry trod on the tail of a sleeping Merman. He did not apologize -because he was under a vow not to speak for a year and a day. -If the Mer-people had only waited he would have explained, but -they went to war at once, and, of course, after that you couldn’t -expect him to apologize. And the war has gone on, off and on and -on and off, ever since.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_149">[149]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 423px;"> -<img src="images/i-159.jpg" width="423" height="542" alt="Mer-children following children with legs"> -<div class="caption"><i>The Hall of Public Archives.</i></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_150">[150]</a></span></p> - -<p>“And won’t it ever stop?” asked Bernard.</p> - -<p>“Not till we apologize, which, of course, we can’t until <i>they</i> -find out why the war began and that it wasn’t our fault.”</p> - -<p>“How awful!” said Mavis; “then it’s all really about nothing.”</p> - -<p>“Quite so,” said the Keeper, “what are your wars about? The -other question I shouldn’t answer only I know you’ll forget it -when the oblivion-cup begins to work. Ulfin tells me it hasn’t -begun yet. Our King and Queen are <i>imported</i>. We used to be a -Republic, but Presidents were so uppish and so grasping, and all -their friends and relations too; so we decided to be a Monarchy, -and that all jealousies might be taken away we imported the two -handsomest Land Folk we could find. They’ve been a great success, -and as they have no relations we find it much less expensive.”</p> - -<p>When the Keeper had thus kindly gratified the curiosity of the -prisoners the Princess said suddenly:</p> - -<p>“Couldn’t we learn Conchology?”</p> - -<p>And the Keeper said kindly, “Why not? It’s the Professor’s day -tomorrow.”</p> - -<p>“Couldn’t we go there today?” asked the Princess, “just to -arrange about times and terms and all that?”</p> - -<p>“If my Uncle says I may take you there,” said Ulfin, “I will, for -I have never known any pleasure so great as doing anything that -you wish will give me.”</p> - -<p>The Uncle looked a little anxious, but he said he thought there -could be no harm in calling on the Professor. So they went. The -way was long for people who were not seals by nature and were -not yet compelled to walk after the manner of those charming and -intelligent animals. The Mer Princess alone was at her ease. But -when they passed a building, as long as from here to the end of the -Mile End Road, which Ulfin told them was the Cavalry Barracks, -a young Under-man leaned out of a window and said:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p> - -<p>“What ho! Ulf.”</p> - -<p>“What ho! yourself,” said Ulfin, and approaching the window -spoke in whispers. Two minutes later the young Cavalry Officer -who had leaned out of the window gave an order, and almost at -once some magnificent Sea Horses, richly caparisoned, came out -from under an arched gateway. The three children were mounted -on these, and the crowd which had collected in the street seemed -to find it most amusing to see people in fetter-tails riding on the -chargers of the Horse Marines. But their laughter was not ill-natured. -And the horses were indeed a boon to the weary tails of -the amateur seals.</p> - -<p>Riding along the bottom of the sea was a wonderful experience—but -soon the open country was left behind and they began -to go up ways cut in the heart of the rock—ways long and steep, -and lighted, as all that great Underworld was, with phosphorescent -light.</p> - -<p>When they had been traveling for some hours and the children -were beginning to think that you could perhaps have too -much even of such an excellent thing as Sea Horse exercise, the -phosphorescent lights suddenly stopped, and yet the sea was not -dark. There seemed to be a light ahead, and it got stronger and -stronger as they advanced, and presently it streamed down on -them from shallow water above their heads.</p> - -<p>“We leave the Sea Horses here,” said Ulfin, “they cannot live -in the air. Come.”</p> - -<p>They dismounted and swam up. At least Ulfin and the Princess -swam and the others held hands and were pulled by the two swimmers. -Almost at once their heads struck the surface of the water, -and there they were, on the verge of a rocky shore. They landed, -and walked—if you can call what seals do walking—across a ridge -of land, then plunged into a landlocked lake that lay beyond.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 417px;"> -<img src="images/i-162.jpg" width="417" height="508" alt="People riding seahorses"> -<div class="caption"><i>The chargers of the Horse Marines.</i></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_153">[153]</a></span></p> - -<p>“This is the Iswater,” said Ulfin as they touched bottom, “and -yonder is the King.” And indeed a stately figure in long robes was -coming toward them.</p> - -<p>“But this,” said the Princess, trembling, “is just like our garden -at home, only smaller.”</p> - -<p>“It was made as it is,” said Ulfin, “by wish of the captive King. -Majesty is Majesty, be it never so conquered.”</p> - -<p>The advancing figure was now quite near them. It saluted -them with royal courtesy.</p> - -<p>“We wanted to know,” said Mavis, “please, your Majesty, if we -might have lessons from you.”</p> - -<p>The King answered, but the Princess did not hear. She was -speaking with Ulfin, apart.</p> - -<p>“Ulfin,” she said, “this captive King is my Father.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Princess,” said Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“And he does not know me—”</p> - -<p>“He will,” said Ulfin strongly.</p> - -<p>“Did you know?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“But the people of your land will punish you for bringing us -here, if they find out that he is my Father and that you have -brought us together. They will kill you. Why did you do it, Ulfin?”</p> - -<p>“Because you wished it, Princess,” he said, “and because I -would rather die for you than live without you.”</p> - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_154">[154]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_ELEVEN">CHAPTER ELEVEN</a><br> - -<small><i>The Peacemaker</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THE children thought they had never seen a kinder face or -more noble bearing than that of the Professor of Conchology, but -the Mer Princess could not bear to look at him. She now felt what -Mavis had felt when Cathay failed to recognize her—the misery of -being looked at without recognition by the eyes that we know and -love. She turned away, and pretended to be looking at the leaves -of the seaweed hedge while Mavis and Francis were arranging to -take lessons in Conchology three days a week, from two to four.</p> - -<p>“You had better join a class,” said the Professor, “you will learn -less that way.”</p> - -<p>“But we want to learn,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>And the Professor looked at her very searchingly and said, “Do -you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she said, “at least—”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” he said, “I quite understand. I am only an exiled -Professor, teaching Conchology to youthful aliens, but I retain -some remnants of the wisdom of my many years. I know that I am -not what I seem, and that you are not what you seem, and that<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> -your desire to learn my special subject is not sincere and whole-hearted, -but is merely, or mainly, the cloak to some other design. -Is it not so, my child?”</p> - -<p>No one answered. His question was so plainly addressed to the -Princess. And she must have felt the question, for she turned and -said, “Yes, O most wise King.”</p> - -<p>“I am no King,” said the Professor, “rather I am a weak child -picking up pebbles by the shore of an infinite sea of knowledge.”</p> - -<p>“You <i>are</i>,” the Princess was beginning impulsively, when Ulfin -interrupted her.</p> - -<p>“Lady, lady!” he said, “all will be lost! Can you not play your -part better than this? If you continue these indiscretions my head -will undoubtedly pay the forfeit. Not that I should for a moment -grudge that trifling service, but if my head is cut off you will be -left without a friend in this strange country, and I shall die with -the annoying consciousness that I shall no longer be able to serve -you.”</p> - -<p>He whispered this into the Princess’s ear while the Professor of -Conchology looked on with mild surprise.</p> - -<p>“Your attendant,” he observed, “is eloquent but inaudible.”</p> - -<p>“I mean to be,” said Ulfin, with a sudden change of manner. -“Look here, sir, I don’t suppose you care what becomes of you.”</p> - -<p>“Not in the least,” said the Professor.</p> - -<p>“But I suppose you would be sorry if anything uncomfortable -happened to your new pupils?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the Professor, and his eye dwelt on Freia.</p> - -<p>“Then please concentrate your powerful mind on being a -Professor. Think of nothing else. More depends on this than you -can easily believe.”</p> - -<p>“Believing is easy,” said the Professor. “Tomorrow at two, I -think you said?” and with a grave salutation he turned his back on<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> -the company and walked away through his garden.</p> - -<p>It was a thoughtful party that rode home on the borrowed -chargers of the Deep Sea Cavalry. No one spoke. The minds of all -were busy with the strange words of Ulfin, and even the least -imaginative of them, which in this case was Bernard, could not -but think that Ulfin had in that strange oddly shaped head of his, -some plan for helping the prisoners, to one of whom at least he -was so obviously attached. He also was silent, and the others could -not help encouraging the hope that he was maturing plans.</p> - -<p>They reached the many-windowed prison, gave up their tickets-of-leaves -and reentered it. It was not till they were in the saloon -and the evening was all but over that Bernard spoke of what was -in every head.</p> - -<p>“Look here,” he said, “I think Ulfin means to help us to -escape.”</p> - -<p>“Do you,” said Mavis. “I think he means to help us to something, -but I don’t somehow think it’s as simple as that.”</p> - -<p>“Nothing near,” said Francis simply.</p> - -<p>“But that’s all we want, isn’t it?” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“It’s not all <i>I</i> want,” said Mavis, finishing the last of a fine -bunch of sea-grapes, “what I want is to get the Mer King restored -to his sorrowing relations.”</p> - -<p>The Mer Princess pressed her hand affectionately.</p> - -<p>“So do I,” said Francis, “but I want something more than that -even. I want to stop this war. For always. So that there’ll never be -any more of it.”</p> - -<p>“But how can you,” said the Mer Princess, leaning her elbows -on the table, “there’s always been war; there always will be.”</p> - -<p>“Why?” asked Francis.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know; it’s Merman nature, I suppose.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe it,” said Francis earnestly, “not for a minute I<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -don’t. Why, don’t you see, all these people you’re at war with are -<i>nice</i>. Look how kind the Queen is to Cathay—look how kind -Ulfin is to us—and the Librarian, and the Keeper of the Archives, -and the soldiers who lent us the horses. They’re all as decent as -they can stick, and all the Mer-people are nice too—and then they -all go killing each other, and all those brave, jolly soldier fish too, -just all about nothing. I call it simply <i>rot</i>.”</p> - -<p>“But there always has been war I tell you,” said the Mer-Princess. -“People would get slack and silly and cowardly if there -were no wars.”</p> - -<p>“If I were King,” said Francis, who was now thoroughly -roused, “there should never be any more wars. There are plenty of -things to be brave about without hurting other brave people—exploring -and rescuing and saving your comrades in mines and in -fires and floods and things and—” his eloquence suddenly gave -way to a breathless shyness—“oh, well,” he ended, “it’s no use -gassing; you know what I mean.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Mavis, “and oh, France—I think you’re right. But -what can we <i>do?</i>”</p> - -<p>“I shall ask to see the Queen of the Under Folk, and try to -make her see sense. She didn’t look an absolute duffer.”</p> - -<p>They all gasped at the glorious and simple daring of the idea. -But the Mer Princess said:</p> - -<p>“I know you’d do everything you could—but it’s very difficult -to talk to kings unless you’ve been accustomed to it. There are -books in the cave, <i>Straight Talks with Monarchs</i>, and <i>Kings I Have -Spoken My Mind To</i>, which might help you. But, unfortunately, -we can’t get them. You see, Kings start so much further than subjects -do: they know such a lot more. Why, even I—”</p> - -<p>“Then why won’t <i>you</i> try talking to the Queen?”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t dare,” said Freia. “I’m only a girl-Princess. Oh, if -only my dear Father could talk to her. If he believed it possible<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -that war could cease ... <i>he</i> could persuade anybody of anything. -And, of course, they would start on the same footing—both -Monarchs, you know.”</p> - -<p>“I see: like belonging to the same club,” said Francis vaguely.</p> - -<p>“But, of course, as things are, my royal Father thinks of nothing -but shells—if only we could restore his memory....”</p> - -<p>“I say,” said Bernard suddenly, “does that Keep-your-Memory -charm work backward?”</p> - -<p>“Backward?”</p> - -<p>“I mean—is it any use taking it after you’ve swallowed your -dose of oblivion-cup? Is it a rester what’s its name as well as an -antidote?”</p> - -<p>“Surely,” said the Princess, “it is a restorative; only we have no -charm to give my Father—they are not made in this country—and -alas! we cannot escape and go to our own kingdom and return -with one.”</p> - -<p>“No need,” said Bernard, with growing excitement, “no need. -Cathay’s charm is there, in the inner pocket of her magic coat. If -we could get that, give the charm to your Father, and then get him -an interview with the Queen?”</p> - -<p>“But what about Cathay?” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“If my Father’s memory were restored,” said the Princess, “his -wisdom would find us a way out of all our difficulties. To find -Cathay’s coat: that is what we have to do.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Francis. “That’s all.” He spoke a little bitterly, for -he had really rather looked forward to that straight talk with the -King, and the others had not been as enthusiastic as he felt he had -a right to expect.</p> - -<p>“Let’s call Ulfin,” said the Princess, and they all scratched on -the door of polished bird’s-eye maple that separated their apartments -from the rest of the prison. The electric bells were out of -order, so one scratched instead of ringing. It was quite as easy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p> - -<p>Ulfin came with all speed.</p> - -<p>“We’re holding a council,” said Freia, “and we want you to -help. We know you will.”</p> - -<p>“I know it,” said Ulfin, “tell me your needs—”</p> - -<p>And without more ado they told him all.</p> - -<p>“You trust me, Princess, I am proud,” he told her, but when -he heard Francis’s dream of universal peace he took the freckled -paw of Francis and laid his lips to it. And Francis, even in the -midst of his pride and embarrassment at this token, could not -help noticing that the lips of Ulfin were hard, like horn.</p> - -<p>“I kiss your hand,” said Ulfin, “because you give me back my -honor, which I was willing to lay down, with all else, for the -Princess to walk on to safety and escape. I would have helped you -to find the hidden coat—for her sake alone, and that would have -been a sin against my honor and my country—but now that I -know it is to lead to peace, which, warriors as we are, the whole -nation passionately desires, then I am acting as a true and honorable -patriot. My only regret is that I have one gift the less to lay at -the feet of the Princess.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know where the coats are?” Mavis asked.</p> - -<p>“They are in the Foreign Curiosities Museum,” said Ulfin, -“strongly guarded: but the guards are the Horse Marines—whose -officer lent you your chargers today. He is my friend, and when I -tell him what is toward, he will help me. I only ask of you one -promise in return. That you will not seek to escape, or to return -to your own country, except by the free leave and license of our -gracious Sovereigns.”</p> - -<p>The children easily promised—and they thought the promise -would be easily kept.</p> - -<p>“Then tomorrow,” said Ulfin, “shall begin the splendid Peace -Plot which shall hand our names down, haloed with glory, to -remotest ages.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_160">[160]</a></span></p> - -<p>He looked kindly on them and went out.</p> - -<p>“He <i>is</i> a dear, isn’t he?” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed,” said the Princess absently.</p> - -<p>And now next day the children, carrying their tickets-of-leaves, -were led to the great pearl and turquoise building, which -was the Museum of Foreign Curiosities. Many were the strange -objects preserved there—china and glass and books and land-things -of all kinds, taken from sunken ships. And all the things -were under dome-shaped cases, apparently of glass. The Curator -of the Museum showed them his treasures with pride, and -explained them all wrong in the most interesting way.</p> - -<p>“Those discs,” he said, pointing to the china plates, “are used -in games of skill. They are thrown from one hand to another, and -if one fails to catch them his head is broken.”</p> - -<p>An egg boiler, he explained, was a Land Queen’s jewel case, -and four egg-shaped emeralds had been fitted into it to show its -use to the vulgar. A silver ice pail was labeled: “Drinking Vessel of -the Horses of the Kings of Earth,” and a cigar case half full was -called “Charm case containing Evil Charms: probably Ancient -Barbarian.” In fact it was very like the museums you see on land.</p> - -<p>They were just coming to a large case containing something -whitish and labeled, “Very valuable indeed,” when a messenger -came to tell the Curator that a soldier was waiting with valuable -curiosities taken as loot from the enemy.</p> - -<p>“Excuse me one moment,” said the Curator, and left them.</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> arranged that,” said Ulfin, “quick, before he returns—take -your coats if you know any spell to remove the case.”</p> - -<p>The Princess laughed and laid her hand on the glassy dome, -and lo! it broke and disappeared as a bubble does when you touch -it.</p> - -<p>“Magic,” whispered Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“Not magic,” said the Princess. “Your cases are only bubbles.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p> - -<p>“And I never knew,” said Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“No,” said the Princess, “because you never dared to touch -them.”</p> - -<p>The children were already busy pulling the coats off the ruby -slab where they lay. “Here’s Cathay’s,” whispered Mavis.</p> - -<p>The Princess snatched it and her own pearly coat which, in -one quick movement, she put on and buttoned over Cathay’s little -folded coat, holding this against her. “Quick,” she said, “put -yours on, all of you. Take your mer-tails on your arms.”</p> - -<p>They did. The soldiers at the end of the long hall had noticed -the movements and came charging up toward them.</p> - -<p>“Quick, quick!” said the Princess, “now—altogether. One, -two, three. Press your third buttons.”</p> - -<p>The children did, and the soldiers tearing up the hall to arrest -the breakers of the cases of the Museum—for by this time they -could see what had happened—almost fell over each other in their -confusion. For there, where a moment ago had been four children -with fin-tail fetters, was now empty space, and beside the rifled -Museum case stood only Ulfin.</p> - -<p>And then an odd thing happened. Out of nowhere, as it -seemed, a little pearly coat appeared, hanging alone in air (water, -of course, it was really. Or was it?). It seemed to grow and to twine -itself round Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“Put it on,” said a voice from invisibility, “put it on,” and -Ulfin did put it on.</p> - -<p>The soldiers were close upon him. “Press the third button,” -cried the Princess, and Ulfin did so. But as his right hand sought -the button, the foremost soldier caught his left arm with the bitter -cry—</p> - -<p>“Traitor, I arrest you in the King’s name,” and though he -could now not see that he was holding anything, he could feel that -he was, and he held on.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p> - -<p>“The last button, Ulfin,” cried the voice of the unseen -Princess, “press the last button,” and next moment the soldier, -breathless with amazement and terror, was looking stupidly at his -empty hand. Ulfin, as well as the three children and the Princess, -was not only invisible but intangible, the soldiers could not see or -feel anything.</p> - -<p>And what is more, neither could the Princess or the children -or Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“Oh, where are you? Where am I?” cried Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Silence,” said the Princess, “we must keep together by our -voices, but that is dangerous. <i>A la porte!</i>” she added. How fortunate -it was that none of the soldiers understood French!</p> - -<p>As the five were invisible and intangible and as the soldiers -were neither, it was easy to avoid them and to get to the arched -doorway. The Princess got there first. There was no enemy near—all -the soldiers were crowding around the rifled Museum case, -talking and wondering, the soldier who had seized Ulfin explaining -again and again how he had had the caitiff by the arm, “as -solid as solid, and then, all in a minute, there was nothing—nothing -at all,” and his comrades trying their best to believe him. The -Princess just waited, saying, “Are you there?” every three seconds, -as though she had been at the telephone.</p> - -<p>“Are you there?” said the Princess for the twenty-seventh time. -And then Ulfin said, “I am here, Princess.”</p> - -<p>“We must have connecting links,” she said—“bits of seaweed -would do. If you hold a piece of seaweed in your hand I will take -hold of the other end of it. We cannot feel the touch of each -other’s hands, but we shall feel the seaweed, and you will know, by -its being drawn tight that I have hold of the other end. Get some -pieces for the children, too. Good stout seaweed, such as you -made the nets of with which you captured us.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, Princess,” he said, “how can I regret that enough? And<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -yet how can I regret it at all since it has brought you to me.”</p> - -<p>“Peace, foolish child,” said the Princess, and Ulfin’s heart -leaped for joy because, when a Princess calls a grown-up man -“child,” it means that she likes him more than a little, or else, of -course, she would not take such a liberty. “But the seaweed,” she -added, “there is no time to lose.”</p> - -<p>“I have some in my pocket,” said Ulfin, blushing, only she -could not see that. “They keep me busy making nets in my spare -time—I always have some string in my pocket.”</p> - -<p>A piece of stringy seaweed suddenly became visible as Ulfin -took it out of his invisible pocket, which, of course, had the property -of making its contents invisible too, so long as they remained -in it. It floated toward the Princess, who caught the end nearest to -her and held it fast.</p> - -<p>“Where are you?” said a small voice.</p> - -<p>It was Mavis—and almost at once Francis and Bernard were -there too. The seaweed chain was explained to them, and they -each held fast to their ends of the seaweed links. So that when the -soldiers, a little late in the day, owing to the careful management -of Ulfin’s friend, reached the front door, there was nothing to be -seen but four bits of seaweed floating down the street, which, of -course, was the sort of thing that nobody could possibly notice -unless they <i>knew</i>.</p> - -<p>The bits of seaweed went drifting to the Barracks, and no one -noticed that they floated on to the stables and that invisible hands -loosed the halters of five Sea Horses. The soldier who ought to -have been looking after the horses was deeply engaged in a game -of Animal Grab with a comrade. The cards were of narwhal ivory, -very fine, indeed, and jeweled on every pip. The invisible hands -saddled the Sea Horses and invisible forms sprang to the saddles, -and urged the horses forward.</p> - -<p>The unfortunate Animal Grabber was roused from his game<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -by the sight of five retreating steeds—saddled and bridled indeed, -but, as far as he could see, riderless, and long before other horses -could be got out and saddled the fugitives were out of sight and -pursuit was vain. Just as before they went across country to the -rock cut and then swam up, holding by the linking seaweed.</p> - -<p>Because it was Tuesday and nearly two o’clock, the Professor -of Conchology was making ready to receive pupils, which he did -in an arbor of coral of various shades of pink, surrounded by specimen -shells of all the simpler species. He was alone in the garden, -and as they neared him, the Princess, the three children and Ulfin -touched the necessary buttons and became once more visible and -tangible.</p> - -<p>“Ha,” said the Professor, but without surprise. “Magic. A very -neat trick, my dears, and excellently done.”</p> - -<p>“You need not remove your jacket,” he added to Ulfin, who -was pulling off his pearly coat. “The mental exercises in which we -propose to engage do not require gymnasium costume.”</p> - -<p>But Ulfin went on taking off his coat, and when it was off he -handed it to the Princess, who at once felt in its inner pocket, -pulled out a little golden case and held it toward the Professor. It -has been well said that no charm on earth—I mean underwater—is -strong enough to make one forget one’s antidote. The moment -the Professor’s eye fell on the little golden case, he held out his -hand for it, and the Princess gave it to him. He opened it, and -without hesitation as without haste, swallowed the charm.</p> - -<p>Next moment the Princess was clasped in his arms, and the -moment after that, still clasped there, was beginning a hurried -explanation; but he stopped her.</p> - -<p>“I know, my child, I know,” he said. “You have brought me -the charm which gives back to me my memory and makes a King -of Merland out of a Professor of Conchology. But why, oh why,<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -did you not bring me my coat—my pearly coat?” said the King, -“it was in the case with the others.”</p> - -<p>No one had thought of it, and everyone felt and looked -exceedingly silly, and no one spoke till Ulfin said, holding out the -coat which the Princess had given back to him—</p> - -<p>“You will have this coat, Majesty. I have no right to the magic -garments of your country.”</p> - -<p>“But,” said Francis, “you need the coat more than anybody. -The King shall have mine—I shan’t want it if you’ll let me go and -ask for an interview with the King of the Under Folk.”</p> - -<p>“No, have mine,” said Mavis—and “have mine,” said Bernard, -and the Princess said, “Of course my Father will have mine.” So -they all protested at once. But the King raised his hand, and there -was silence, and they saw that he no longer looked only a noble -and learned gentleman, but that he looked every inch a King.</p> - -<p>“Silence,” he said, “if anyone speaks with the King and Queen -of this land it is fitting that it should be I. See, we will go out by -the back door, so as to avoid the other pupils who will soon be -arriving in their thousands, for my Conchology Course is very -popular. And as we go, tell me who is this man of the Under Folk -who seems to be one of you”—(“I am the Princess’ servant,” Ulfin -put in)—“and why you desire to speak with the King of this land.”</p> - -<p>So they made great haste to go out by the back way so as not -to meet the Conchology students, and cautiously crept up to their -horses—and, of course, the biggest and best horse was given to the -King to ride. But when he saw how awkwardly their false tails -adapted themselves to the saddle he said, “My daughter, you can -remove these fetters.”</p> - -<p>“How?” said she. “My shell knife won’t cut them.”</p> - -<p>“Bite through the strings of them with your little sharp teeth,” -said the King, “nothing but Princess teeth is sharp enough to cut<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -through them. No, my son—it is not degrading. A true Princess -cannot be degraded by anything that is for the good of her subjects -and her friends.”</p> - -<p>So the Mer Princess willingly bit through the strings of the -false tails—and everybody put on his or her proper tail again, with -great comfort and enjoyment—and they all swam toward the -town.</p> - -<p>And as they went they heard a great noise of shouting, and saw -parties of Under Folk flying as if in fear.</p> - -<p>“I must make haste,” said the King, “and see to it that our -Peace Conference be not too late”—so they hurried on.</p> - -<p>And the noise grew louder and louder, and the crowds of flying -Under Folk thicker and fleeter, and by and by Ulfin made -them stand back under the arch of the Astrologers’ Tower to see -what it was from which they fled. And there, along the streets of -the great city of the Under Folk, came the flash of swords and the -swirl of banners and the army of the Mer Folk came along -between the great buildings of their foes, and on their helmets was -the light of victory, and at their head, proud and splendid, rode -the Princess Maia and—Reuben.</p> - -<p>“Oh—Reuben, Reuben! We’re saved,” called Mavis, and -would have darted out, but Francis put his hand over her mouth.</p> - -<p>“Stop!” he said, “don’t you remember we promised not to -escape without the Queen’s permission? Quick, quick to the -Palace, to make peace before our armies can attack it.”</p> - -<p>“You speak well,” said the Mer King. And Ulfin said, “This is -no time for ceremony. Quick, quick, I will take you in by the -tradesmen’s entrance.” And, turning their backs on that splendid -and victorious procession, they marched to the back entrance of -the royal Palace.</p> - -<hr class="chap"> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_167">[167]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a id="CHAPTER_TWELVE">CHAPTER TWELVE</a><br> - -<small><i>The End</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THE Queen of the Under Folk sat with her husband on their -second-best throne, which was much more comfortable than their -State one, though not so handsome. Their sad faces were lighted -up with pleasure as they watched the gambols of their new pet, -Fido, a dear little earth-child, who was playing with a ball of soft -pink seaweed, patting it, and tossing it and running after it as prettily -as any kitten.</p> - -<p>“Dear little Fido,” said the Queen, “come here then,” and -Fido, who had once been Cathay, came willingly to lean against -the Queen’s knee and be stroked and petted.</p> - -<p>“I have curious dreams sometimes,” said the Queen to the -King, “dreams so vivid that they are more like memories.”</p> - -<p>“Has it ever occurred to you,” said the King, “that we have no -memories of our childhood, of our youth—?”</p> - -<p>“I believe,” said the Queen slowly, “that we have tasted in our -time of the oblivion-cup. There is no one like us in this land. If we -were born here, why can we not remember our parents who must -have been like us? And dearest—the dream that comes to me most<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> -often is that we once had a child and lost it—and that it was a -child like us—”</p> - -<p>“Fido,” said the King in a low voice, “is like us.” And he, too, -stroked the head of Cathay, who had forgotten everything except -that she was Fido and bore the Queen’s name on her collar. “But -if you remember that we had a child it cannot be true—if we -drank of the oblivion-cup, that is, because, of course, that would -make us forget everything.”</p> - -<p>“It could not make a mother forget her child,” said the Queen, -and with the word caught up Fido-which-was-Cathay and kissed -her.</p> - -<p>“Nice Queen,” purred Cathay-which-was-Fido, “I do love -you.”</p> - -<p>“I am sure we had a child once,” said the Queen, hugging her, -“and that we have been made to forget.”</p> - -<p>Even as she spoke the hangings of cloth of gold, pieced together -from the spoil of lost galleons, rustled at the touch of someone -outside. The Queen dried her eyes, which needed it, and said, -“Come in.”</p> - -<p>The arras was lifted and a tall figure entered.</p> - -<p>“Bless my soul,” said the King of the Under Folk, “it’s the -Professor of Conchology.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said the figure, advancing, “it is the King of the Mer-people. -My brother King, my sister Queen, I greet you.”</p> - -<p>“This is most irregular,” said the King.</p> - -<p>“Never mind, dear,” said the Queen, “let us hear what his -Majesty has to say.”</p> - -<p>“I say—Let there be peace between our people,” said the Mer-King. -“For countless ages these wars have been waged, for countless -ages your people and mine have suffered. Even the origin of -the war is lost in the mists of antiquity. Now I come to you, I, your<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> -prisoner—I was given to drink of the cup of oblivion and forgot -who I was and whence I came. Now a counter-charm has given me -back mind and memory. I come in the name of my people. If we -have wronged you, we ask your forgiveness. If you have wronged -us, we freely forgive you. Say: Shall it be peace, and shall all the -sons of the sea live as brothers in love and kindliness for evermore?</p> - -<p>“Really,” said the King of the Under Folk, “I think it is not at -all a bad idea—but in confidence, and between Monarchs, I may -tell you, sir, that I suspect my mind is not what it was. You, sir, -seem to possess a truly royal grasp of your subject. My mind is so -imperfect that I dare not consult it. But my heart—”</p> - -<p>“Your heart says Yes,” said the Queen. “So does mine. But our -troops are besieging your city,” she said, “they will say that in asking -for peace you were paying the tribute of the vanquished.”</p> - -<p>“My people will not think this of me,” said the King of -Merland, “nor would your people think it of you. Let us join -hands in peace and the love of royal brethren.”</p> - -<p>“What a dreadful noise they are making outside,” said the -King, and indeed the noise of shouting and singing was now to be -heard on every side of the Palace.</p> - -<p>“If there was a balcony now where we could show ourselves,” -suggested the King of Merland.</p> - -<p>“The very thing,” said the Queen, catching up her pet Fido-which-was-Cathay -in her arms and leading the way to the great -curtained arch at the end of the hall. She drew back the swinging, -sweeping hangings of woven seaweed and stepped forth on the -balcony—the two Kings close behind her. But she stopped short -and staggered back a little, so that her husband had to put an arm -about her to support her, when her first glance showed her that -the people who were shouting outside the Palace were not, as she<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -had supposed, Under Folk in some unexpected though welcome -transport of loyal enthusiasm, but ranks on ranks of the enemy, -the hated Mer Folk, all splendid and menacing in the pomp and -circumstance of glorious war.</p> - -<p>“It is the enemy!” gasped the Queen.</p> - -<p>“It is my people,” said the Mer King. “It is a beautiful thing in -you, dear Queen, that you agreed to peace, without terms, while -you thought you were victorious, and not because the legions of -the Mer Folk were thundering at your gates. May I speak for us?”</p> - -<p>They signed assent. And the Mer King stepped forward full -into view of the crowd in the street below.</p> - -<p>“My people,” he said in a voice loud, yet soft, and very, very -beautiful. And at the words the Mer Folk below looked up and -recognized their long-lost King, and a shout went up that you -could have heard a mile away.</p> - -<p>The King raised his hand for silence.</p> - -<p>“My people,” he said, “brave men of Merland—let there be -peace, now and forever, between us and our brave foes. The King -and Queen of this land agreed to make unconditional peace while -they believed themselves to be victorious. If victory has for today -been with us, let us at least be the equals of our foes in generosity -as in valor.”</p> - -<p>Another shout rang out. And the King of the Under Folk -stepped forward.</p> - -<p>“My people,” he said, and the Under Folk came quickly forward -toward him at the sound of his voice. “There shall be peace. -Let these who were your foes this morning be your guests tonight -and your friends and brothers for evermore. If we have wronged -them, we beg them to forgive us: if they have wronged us, we beg -them to allow us to forgive them.” (“Is that right?” he asked the -Mer King in a hasty whisper, who whispered back, “Admirable!”)<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -“Now,” he went on, “cheer, Mer Folk and Under Folk, for the -splendid compact of Peace.”</p> - -<p>And they cheered.</p> - -<p>“Pardon, your Majesty”—it was Ulfin who spoke—“it was the -stranger Francis who first conceived the Peace Idea.”</p> - -<p>“True,” said the Mer King, “where is Francis?”</p> - -<p>But Francis was not to be found; it was only his name which -was presented to the people from the balcony. He himself kept his -pearly coat on and kept the invisibility button well pressed down, -till the crowd had dispersed to ring all the diving bells with which -the towers of the city were so handsomely fitted up, to hang the -city with a thousand seaweed flags, and to illuminate its every window -and door and pinnacle and buttress with more and more -phosphorescent fish. In the Palace was a banquet for the Kings and -the Queen and the Princesses, and the three children, and Cathay-who-was-Fido. -Also Reuben was called from the command of his -Sea Urchins to be a guest at the royal table. Princess Freia asked -that an invitation might be sent to Ulfin—but when the King’s -Private Secretary, a very intelligent cuttlefish, had got the invitation -ready, handsomely written in his own ink, it was discovered -that no Ulfin was to be found to receive it.</p> - -<p>It was a glorious banquet. The only blot on its rapturous -splendor was the fact that Cathay still remained Fido, the Queen’s -pet—and her eyes were still those cold, unremembering eyes -which her brothers and sister could not bear to meet. Reuben sat -at the right hand of the Queen, and from the moment he took his -place there he seemed to think of no one else. He talked with her, -sensibly and modestly, and Francis remarked that during his stay -in Merland Reuben had learned to talk as you do, and not in the -language of gypsy circus-people. The Commander-in-Chief of the -Forces of the Under Folk sat at the left hand of his King. The King<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> -of the Mer Folk sat between his happy daughters, and the children -sat together between the Chief Astrologer and the Curator of the -Museum of Foreign Curiosities, who was more pleased to see -them again than he had ever expected to be, and much more -friendly than they had ever hoped to find him. Everyone was -extremely happy, even Fido-which-was-Cathay, who sat on the -Queen’s lap and was fed with delicacies from the Queen’s own -plate.</p> - -<p>It was at about the middle of the feast, just after everybody -had drunk the health of the two Commanders-in-Chief, amid -tempestuous applause, that a serving-fish whispered behind his fin -to the Under Folk Queen:</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” she said, “show him in.”</p> - -<p>And the person who was shown in was Ulfin, and he carried -on his arm a pearly coat and a scaly tail. He sank on one knee and -held them up to the Mer King, with only one doubtful deprecating -glance at the Curator of the Museum of Foreign Curiosities.</p> - -<p>The King took them, and feeling in the pocket of the coat -drew out three golden cases.</p> - -<p>“It is the royal prerogative to have three,” he said smilingly to -the Queen, “in case of accidents. May I ask your Majesty’s permission -to administer one of them to your Majesty’s little pet. I -am sure you are longing to restore her to her brothers and her sister.”</p> - -<p>The Queen could not but agree—though her heart was sore at -losing the little Fido-Kathleen, of whom she had grown so fond. -But she was hoping that Reuben would consent to let her adopt -him, and be more to her than many Fidos. She administered the -charm herself, and the moment Cathay had swallowed it the royal -arms were loosened, and the Queen expected her pet to fly to her -brothers and sister. But to Cathay it was as though only an instant -had passed since she came into that hall, a prisoner. So that when<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> -suddenly she saw her brothers and sister honored guests at what -was unmistakably a very grand and happy festival, and found herself -in the place of honor on the very lap of the Queen, she only -snuggled closer to that royal lady and called out very loud and -clear, “Hullo, Mavis! Here’s a jolly transformation scene. That was -a magic drink she gave us and it’s made everybody jolly and -friends—I am glad. You dear Queen,” she added, “it is nice of you -to nurse me.”</p> - -<p>So everybody was pleased: only Princess Freia looked sad and -puzzled and her eyes followed Ulfin as he bowed and made to -retire from the royal presence. He had almost reached the door -when she spoke quickly in the royal ear that was next to her.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Father,” she said, “don’t let him go like that. He ought to -be at the banquet. We couldn’t have done anything without him.”</p> - -<p>“True,” said the King, “but I thought he had been invited, and -refused.”</p> - -<p>“Refused?” said the Princess, “oh, call him back!”</p> - -<p>“I’ll run if I may,” said Mavis, slipping out of her place and -running down the great hall.</p> - -<p>“If you’ll sit a little nearer to me, Father,” said Maia obligingly, -“the young man can sit between you and my sister.”</p> - -<p>So that is where Ulfin found himself, and that was where he -had never dared to hope to be.</p> - -<p>The banquet was a strange as well as a magnificent scene—because, -of course, the Mer-people were beautiful as the day, the -five children were quite as pretty as any five children have any -need to be, and the King and Queen of the Under Folk were as -handsome as handsome. So that all this handsomeness was a very -curious contrast to the strange heavy features of the Under Folk -who now sat at table, so pleasant and friendly, toasting their late -enemies.</p> - -<p>The contrast between the Princess Freia and Ulfin was particularly<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> -marked, for their heads bent near together as they talked.</p> - -<p>“Princess,” he was saying, “tomorrow you will go back to your -kingdom, and I shall never see you again.”</p> - -<p>The Princess could not think of anything to say, because it -seemed to her that what he said was true.</p> - -<p>“But,” he went on, “I shall be glad all my life to have known -and loved so dear and beautiful a Princess.”</p> - -<p>And again the Princess could think of nothing to say.</p> - -<p>“Princess,” he said, “tell me one thing. Do you know what I -should say to you if I were a Prince?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Freia; “I know what you would say and I know what -I should answer, dear Ulfin, if you were only a commoner of -Merland ... I mean, you know, if your face were like ours. But since -you are of the Under Folk and I am a Mermaid, I can only say that -I will never forget you, and that I will never marry anyone else.”</p> - -<p>“Is it only my face then that prevents your marrying me?” he -asked with abrupt eagerness, and she answered gently, “Of -course.”</p> - -<p>Then Ulfin sprang to his feet. “Your Majesties,” he cried, “and -Lord High Astrologer, has not the moment come when, since we -are at a banquet with friends, we may unmask?”</p> - -<p>The strangers exchanged wondering glances.</p> - -<p>The Sovereigns and the Astrologers made gestures of assent—then, -with a rustling and a rattling, helmets were unlaced and -corselets unbuckled, the Under Folk seemed to the Mer-people as -though they were taking off their very skins. But really what they -took off was but their thick scaly armor, and under it they were as -softly and richly clad, and as personable people as the Mer Folk -themselves.</p> - -<p>“But,” said Maia, “how splendid! We thought you were always -in armor—that—that it grew on you, you know.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Under Folk laughed jollily. “Of course it was always on -us—since—when you saw us, we were always at war.”</p> - -<p>“And you’re just like us!” said Freia to Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“There is no one like you,” he whispered back. Ulfin was now -a handsome dark-haired young man, and looked much more like -a Prince than a great many real Princes do.</p> - -<p>“Did you mean what you said just now?” the Princess whispered. -And for answer Ulfin dared to touch her hand with soft -firm fingers.</p> - -<p>“Papa,” said Freia, “please may I marry Ulfin?”</p> - -<p>“By all means,” said the King, and immediately announced -the engagement, joining their hands and giving them his blessing -in the most businesslike way.</p> - -<p>Then said the Queen of the Under Folk:</p> - -<p>“Why should not these two reign over the Under Folk and let -us two be allowed to remember the things we have forgotten and -go back to that other life which I know we had somewhere—where -we had a child.”</p> - -<p>“I think,” said Mavis, “that now everything’s settled so comfortably -we ought perhaps all of us to be thinking about getting -home.”</p> - -<p>“I have only one charm left, unfortunately,” said the Mer -King, “but if your people will agree to your abdicating, I will -divide it between you with pleasure, dear King and Queen of the -Under Folk; and I have reason to believe that the half which you -will each of you have, will be just enough to counteract your -memories of this place, and restore to you all the memories of your -other life.”</p> - -<p>“Could not Reuben go with us?” the Queen asked.</p> - -<p>“No,” said the Mer King, “but he shall follow you to earth, -and that speedily.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Astrologer Royal, who had been whispering to Reuben, -here interposed.</p> - -<p>“It would be well, your Majesties,” he said, “if a small -allowance of the cup of oblivion were served out to these land children, -so that they may not remember their adventures here. It is -not well for the Earth People to know too much of the dwellers in -the sea. There is a sacred vessel which has long been preserved -among the civic plate. I propose that this vessel should be presented -to our guests as a mark of our esteem; that they shall bear -it with them, and drink the contents as soon as they set foot on -their own shores.”</p> - -<p>He was at once sent to fetch the sacred vessel. It was a stone -ginger beer bottle.</p> - -<p>“I do really think we ought to go,” said Mavis again.</p> - -<p>There were farewells to be said—a very loving farewell to the -Princesses, a very friendly one to the fortunate Ulfin, and then a -little party left the Palace quietly and for the last time made the -journey to the quiet Iswater where the King of Merland had so -long professed Conchology.</p> - -<p>Arrived at this spot the King spoke to the King and Queen of -the Under Folk.</p> - -<p>“Swallow this charm,” he said, “in equal shares—then rise to -the surface of the lake and say the charm which I perceive the -Earth children have taught you as we came along. The rest will be -easy and beautiful. We shall never forget you, and your hearts will -remember us, though your minds must forget. Farewell.”</p> - -<p>The King and Queen rose through the waters and disappeared.</p> - -<p>Next moment a strong attraction like that which needles feel -for magnets drew the children from the side of the Mer King. -They shut their eyes, and when they opened them they were on -dry land in a wood by a lake—and Francis had a ginger beer bottle<span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -in his hand. The King and Queen of the Under Folk must have -said at once the charm to recall the children to earth.</p> - -<p>“It works more slowly on land, the Astrologer said,” Reuben -remarked. “Before we drink and forget everything I want to tell -you that I think you’ve all been real bricks to me. And if you don’t -mind, I’ll take off these girls’ things.”</p> - -<p>He did, appearing in shirt and knickerbockers.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye,” he said, shaking hands with everyone.</p> - -<p>“But aren’t you coming home with us?”</p> - -<p>“No,” he said, “the Astrologer told me the first man and woman -I should see on land would be my long-lost Father and -Mother, and I was to go straight to them with my little shirt -and my little shoe that I’ve kept all this time, the ones that were -mine when I was a stolen baby, and they’d know me and I should -belong to them. But I hope we’ll meet again some day. Good-bye, -and thank you. It was ripping being General of the Sea Urchins.”</p> - -<p>With that they drank each a draught from the ginger beer bottle, -and then, making haste to act before the oblivion-cup should -blot out with other things the Astrologer’s advice, Reuben went -out of the wood into the sunshine and across a green turf. They -saw him speak to a man and a woman in blue bathing dresses who -seemed to have been swimming in the lake and now were resting -on the marble steps that led down to it. He held out the little shirt -and the little shoe, and they held their hands out to him. And as -they turned the children saw that their faces were the faces of the -King and Queen of the Under Folk, only now not sad anymore, -but radiant with happiness, because they had found their son -again.</p> - -<p>“Of course,” said Francis, “there isn’t any time in the other -world. I expect they were swimming and just dived, and all that -happened to them just in the minute they were underwater.”</p> - -<p>“And Reuben is really their long-lost heir?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_178">[178]</a></span></p> - -<p>“They seemed to think so. I expect he’s exactly like an ancestor -or something, and you know how the Queen took to him from -the first.”</p> - -<p>And then the oblivion-cup took effect—and they forgot, and -forgot forever, the wonderful world that they had known underseas, -and Sabrina fair and the circus and the Mermaid whom they -had rescued.</p> - -<p>But Reuben, curiously enough, they did not forget: they went -home to tea with a pleasant story for their father and mother of a -Spangled Boy at the circus who had run away and found his father -and mother.</p> - -<p>And two days after a motor stopped at their gate and Reuben -got out.</p> - -<p>“I say,” he said, “I’ve found my father and mother, and we’ve -come to thank you for the plum pie and things. Did you ever get -the plate and spoon out of the bush? Come and see my father and -mother,” he ended proudly.</p> - -<p>The children went, and looked once more in the faces of the -King and Queen of the Under Folk, but now they did not know -those faces, which seemed to them only the faces of some very nice -strangers.</p> - -<p>“I think Reuben’s jolly lucky, don’t you?” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“So do I,” said Cathay.</p> - -<p>“I wish Aunt Enid had let me bring the aquarium,” said -Francis.</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” said Mavis, “it will be something to live for -when we come back from the sea, and everything is beastly.”</p> - -<p>And it was.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<i>The End</i><br> -</p> - - - - -<div style='display:block;margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WET MAGIC ***</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This file should be named 50361-h.htm or 50361-h.zip</div> -<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in https://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/3/6/50361/</div> - -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Nesbit - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Wet Magic - -Author: E. Nesbit - -Illustrator: H. R. Millar - -Release Date: November 1, 2015 [EBook #50361] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WET MAGIC *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - -_Wet Magic_ - -[Illustration] - - - - -[Illustration: _The sea came pouring in._] - - - - - _Wet Magic_ - - E. NESBIT - WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. R. MILLAR - - - - - _Copyright © 1913 by E Nesbit_ - _Illustrations copyright © 1913 by H. R. Millar_ - - - - - _To - Dr. E. N. da C. Andrade_, - - FROM - E. NESBIT - - [Illustration] - - WELL HALL, - KENT - - - - -_Contents_ - - - CHAPTER I - SABRINA FAIR 1 - - CHAPTER II - THE CAPTIVE 13 - - CHAPTER III - THE RESCUE 30 - - CHAPTER IV - GRATITUDE 51 - - CHAPTER V - CONSEQUENCES 61 - - CHAPTER VI - THE MERMAID’S HOME 69 - - CHAPTER VII - THE SKIES ARE FALLING 84 - - CHAPTER VIII - THE WATER-WAR 101 - - CHAPTER IX - THE BOOK PEOPLE 116 - - CHAPTER X - THE UNDER FOLK 135 - - CHAPTER XI - THE PEACEMAKER 154 - - - CHAPTER XII - THE END 167 - - - - -_Illustrations_ - - - _The sea came pouring in._ _Frontispiece_ - - “_We die in captivity._” _26_ - - “_‘Translucent wave,’ indeed!_” _42_ - - “_The police._” _54_ - - _And disappeared entirely._ _59_ - - _She caught Kathleen in her arms._ _79_ - - _The golden door._ _82_ - - _The Swordfish Brigade._ _103_ - - _The First Dipsys._ _110_ - - _Book Hatefuls._ _122_ - - _Book Heroines._ _130_ - - _In the net._ _137_ - - _The Hall of Public Archives._ _149_ - - _The chargers of the Horse Marines._ _152_ - - - - -CHAPTER ONE - -_Sabrina Fair_ - - -THAT GOING TO THE SEASIDE was the very beginning of everything—only it -seemed as though it were going to be a beginning without an end, like -the roads on the Sussex downs which look like roads and then look like -paths, and then turn into sheep tracks, and then are just grass and -furze bushes and tottergrass and harebells and rabbits and chalk. - -The children had been counting the days to The Day. Bernard indeed had -made a calendar on a piece of cardboard that had once been the bottom -of the box in which his new white sandshoes came home. He marked the -divisions of the weeks quite neatly in red ink, and the days were -numbered in blue ink, and every day he crossed off one of those numbers -with a piece of green chalk he happened to have left out of a penny -box. Mavis had washed and ironed all the dolls’ clothes at least a -fortnight before The Day. This was thoughtful and farsighted of her, of -course, but it was a little trying to Kathleen, who was much younger -and who would have preferred to go on playing with her dolls in their -dirtier and more familiar state. - -“Well, if you do,” said Mavis, a little hot and cross from the ironing -board, “I’ll never wash anything for you again, not even your face.” - -Kathleen somehow felt as if she could bear that. - -“But mayn’t I have just one of the dolls” was, however, all she said, -“just the teeniest, weeniest one? Let me have Lord Edward. His head’s -half gone as it is, and I could dress him in a clean hanky and pretend -it was kilts.” - -Mavis could not object to this, because, of course, whatever else she -washed she didn’t wash hankies. So Lord Edward had his pale kilts, and -the other dolls were put away in a row in Mavis’s corner drawer. It was -after that that Mavis and Francis had long secret consultations—and -when the younger ones asked questions they were told, “It’s secrets. -You’ll know in good time.” This, of course, excited everyone very -much indeed—and it was rather a comedown when the good time came, and -the secret proved to be nothing more interesting than a large empty -aquarium which the two elders had clubbed their money together to buy, -for eight-and ninepence in the Old Kent Road. They staggered up the -front garden path with it, very hot and tired. - -“But what are you going to do with it?” Kathleen asked, as they all -stood around the nursery table looking at it. - -“Fill it with seawater,” Francis explained, “to put sea anemones in.” - -“Oh yes,” said Kathleen with enthusiasm, “and the crabs and starfish -and prawns and the yellow periwinkles—and all the common objects of the -seashore.” - -“We’ll stand it in the window,” Mavis added: “it’ll make the lodgings -look so distinguished.” - -“And then perhaps some great scientific gentleman, like Darwin or -Faraday, will see it as he goes by, and it will be such a joyous -surprise to him to come face-to-face with our jellyfish; he’ll offer -to teach Francis all about science for nothing—I see,” said Kathleen -hopefully. - -“But how will you get it to the seaside?” Bernard asked, leaning his -hands on the schoolroom table and breathing heavily into the aquarium, -so that its shining sides became dim and misty. “It’s much too big to -go in the boxes, you know.” - -“Then I’ll carry it,” said Francis, “it won’t be in the way at all—I -carried it home today.” - -“We had to take the bus, you know,” said truthful Mavis, “and then I -had to help you.” - -“I don’t believe they’ll let you take it at all,” said Bernard—if you -know anything of grown-ups you will know that Bernard proved to be -quite right. - -“Take an aquarium to the seaside—nonsense!” they said. And “What for?” -not waiting for the answer. “They,” just at present, was Aunt Enid. - -Francis had always been passionately fond of water. Even when he was -a baby he always stopped crying the moment they put him in the bath. -And he was the little boy who, at the age of four, was lost for three -hours and then brought home by the police who had found him sitting in -a horse trough in front of the Willing Mind, wet to the topmost hair of -his head, and quite happy, entertaining a circle of carters with pots -of beer in their hands. There was very little water in the horse trough -and the most talkative of the carters explained that, the kid being -that wet at the first start off, him and his mates thought he was as -safe in the trough as anywhere—the weather being what it was and all -them nasty motors and trams about. - -To Francis, passionately attracted as he was by water in all forms, -from the simple mud puddle to the complicated machinery by which your -bath supply is enabled to get out of order, it was a real tragedy that -he had never seen the sea. Something had always happened to prevent -it. Holidays had been spent in green countries where there were rivers -and wells and ponds, and waters deep and wide—but the water had been -fresh water, and the green grass had been on each side of it. One great -charm of the sea, as he had heard of it, was that it had nothing on the -other side “so far as eye could see.” There was a lot about the sea in -poetry, and Francis, curiously enough, liked poetry. - -The buying of the aquarium had been an attempt to make sure that, -having found the sea, he should not lose it again. He imagined the -aquarium fitted with a real rock in the middle, to which radiant sea -anemones clung and limpets stuck. There were to be yellow periwinkles -too, and seaweeds, and gold and silver fish (which don’t live in the -sea by the way, only Francis didn’t know this), flitting about in -radiant scaly splendor, among the shadows of the growing water plants. -He had thought it all out—how a cover might be made, very light, with -rubber in between, like a screw-top bottle, to keep the water in while -it traveled home in the guard’s van to the admiration of passengers and -porters at both stations. And now—he was not to be allowed to take it. - -He told Mavis, and she agreed with him that it was a shame. - -“But I’ll tell you what,” she said, for she was not one of those -comforters who just say, “I’m sorry,” and don’t try to help. She -generally thought of something that would make things at any rate just -a little better. “Let’s fill it with fresh water, and get some goldfish -and sand and weeds; and I’ll make Eliza promise to put ants’ eggs -in—that’s what they eat—and it’ll be something to break the dreadful -shock when we have to leave the sea and come home again.” - -Francis admitted that there was something in this and consented to fill -the aquarium with water from the bath. When this was done the aquarium -was so heavy that the combined efforts of all four children could not -begin to move it. - -“Never mind,” said Mavis, the consoler; “let’s empty it out again and -take it back to the common room, and then fill it by secret jugfuls, -carried separately, you know.” - -This might have been successful, but Aunt Enid met the first secret -jugful—and forbade the second. - -“Messing about,” she called it. “No, of course I shan’t allow you -to waste your money on fish.” And Mother was already at the seaside -getting the lodgings ready for them. Her last words had been— - -“Be sure you do exactly what Aunt Enid says.” So, of course, they had -to. Also Mother had said, “Don’t argue,” so they had not even the -melancholy satisfaction of telling Aunt Enid that she was quite wrong, -and that they were not messing about at all. - -Aunt Enid was not a real aunt, but just an old friend of Grandmamma’s, -with an aunt’s name and privileges and rather more than an aunt’s -authority. She was much older than a real aunt and not half so nice. -She was what is called “firm” with children, and no one ever called her -auntie. Just Aunt Enid. That will tell you in a moment. - -So there the aquarium was, dishearteningly dry—for even the few drops -left in it from its first filling dried up almost at once. - -Even in its unwatery state, however, the aquarium was beautiful. It had -not any of that ugly ironwork with red lead showing between the iron -and the glass which you may sometimes have noticed in the aquariums of -your friends. No, it was one solid thick piece of clear glass, faintly -green, and when you stooped down and looked through you could almost -fancy that there really was water in it. - -“Let’s put flowers in it,” Kathleen suggested, “and pretend they’re -anemones. Do let’s, Francis.” - -“I don’t care what you do,” said Francis. “I’m going to read _The Water -Babies_.” - -“Then we’ll do it, and make it a lovely surprise for you,” said -Kathleen cheerily. - -Francis sat down squarely with _The Water Babies_ flat before him on -the table, where also his elbows were, and the others, respecting his -sorrow, stole quietly away. Mavis just stepped back to say, “I say, -France, you don’t mind their putting flowers? It’s to please you, you -know.” - -“I tell you I don’t mind _anything_,” said Francis savagely. - -When the three had finished with it, the aquarium really looked rather -nice, and, if you stooped down and looked sideways through the glass, -like a real aquarium. - -Kathleen took some clinkers from the back of the rockery—“where they -won’t show,” she said—and Mavis induced these to stand up like an -arch in the middle of the glassy square. Tufts of long grass, rather -sparingly arranged, looked not unlike waterweed. Bernard begged from -the cook some of the fine silver sand which she uses to scrub the -kitchen tables and dressers with, and Mavis cut the thread of the -Australian shell necklace that Uncle Robert sent her last Christmas, so -that there should be real, shimmery, silvery shells on the sand. (This -was rather self-sacrificing of her, because she knew she would have to -put them all back again on their string, and you know what a bother -shells are to thread.) They shone delightfully through the glass. But -the great triumph was the sea anemones—pink and red and yellow—clinging -to the rocky arch just as though they were growing there. - -“Oh, lovely, lovely,” Kathleen cried, as Mavis fixed the last delicate -flesh-tinted crown. “Come and look, France.” - -“Not yet,” said Mavis, in a great hurry, and she tied the thread of the -necklace round a tin goldfish (out of the box with the duck and the -boat and the mackerel and the lobster and the magnet that makes them -all move about—you know) and hung it from the middle of the arch. It -looked just as though it were swimming—you hardly noticed the thread at -all. - -“_Now_, France,” she called. And Francis came slowly with his thumb in -_The Water Babies_. It was nearly dark by now, but Mavis had lighted -the four dollhouse candles in the gilt candlesticks and set them on the -table around the aquarium. - -“Look through the side,” she said; “isn’t it ripping?” - -“Why,” said Francis slowly, “you’ve got water in it—and real anemones! -Where on earth...?” - -“Not real,” said Mavis. “I wish they were; they’re only dahlias. But it -does look pretty, doesn’t it?” - -“It’s like Fairyland,” said Kathleen, and Bernard added, “I _am_ glad -you bought it.” - -“It just shows what it will be like when we _do_ get the sea -creatures,” said Mavis. “Oh, Francis, you do like it, don’t you?” - -“Oh, I like it all right,” he answered, pressing his nose against the -thick glass, “but I wanted it to be waving weeds and mysterious wetness -like the Sabrina picture.” - -The other three glanced at the picture which hung over the -mantelpiece—Sabrina and the water nymphs, drifting along among the -waterweeds and water lilies. There were words under the picture, and -Francis dreamily began to say them: - - “‘_Sabrina fair, - Listen where thou art sitting, - Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave - In twisted braids of Lillies knitting - The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair...._’” - -“Hullo—what was that?” he said in quite a different voice, and jumped -up. - -“What was what?” the others naturally asked. - -“Did you put something alive in there?” Francis asked. - -“Of course not,” said Mavis. “Why?” - -“Well, I saw something move, that’s all.” - -They all crowded around and peered over the glass walls. Nothing, of -course, but the sand and the grass and the shells, the clinkers and the -dahlias and the little suspended tin goldfish. - -“I expect the goldfish swung a bit,” said Bernard. “That’s what it must -have been.” - -“It didn’t look like that,” Francis answered. “It looked more like—” - -“Like what?” - -“I don’t know—get out of the light. Let’s have another squint.” - -He stooped down and looked again through the glass. - -“It’s not the goldfish,” he said. “That’s as quiet as a trout asleep. -No—I suppose it was a shadow or something.” - -“You might tell us what it looked like,” said Kathleen. - -“Was it like a rat?” Bernard asked with interest. - -“Not a bit. It was more like—” - -“Well, like what?” asked three aggravated voices. - -“Like Sabrina—only very, very tiny.” - -“A sort of doll—Sabrina,” said Kathleen, “how awfully jolly!” - -“It wasn’t at all like a doll, and it wasn’t jolly,” said Francis -shortly—“only I wish it would come again.” - -It didn’t, however. - -“I say,” said Mavis, struck by a new idea, “perhaps it’s a magic -aquarium.” - -“Let’s play it is,” suggested Kathleen—“let’s play it’s a magic glass -and we can see what we like in it. I see a fairy palace with gleaming -spires of crystal and silver.” - -“I see a football match, and our chaps winning,” said Bernard heavily, -joining in the new game. - -“Shut up,” said Francis. “That isn’t play. There was something.” - -“Suppose it is magic,” said Mavis again. - -“We’ve played magic so often, and nothing’s ever happened—even when we -made the fire of sweet-scented woods and eastern gums, and all that,” -said Bernard; “it’s much better to pretend right away. We always have -to in the end. Magic just wastes time. There isn’t any magic really, is -there, Mavis?” - -“Shut up, I tell you,” was the only answer of Francis, his nose now -once more flattened against the smooth green glass. - -Here Aunt Enid’s voice was heard on the landing outside, saying, -“Little ones—bed,” in no uncertain tones. - -The two grunted as it were in whispers, but there was no appeal against -Aunt Enid, and they went, their grunts growing feebler as they crossed -the room, and dying away in a despairing silence as they and Aunt Enid -met abruptly at the top of the stairs. - -“Shut the door,” said Francis, in a strained sort of voice. And -Mavis obeyed, even though he hadn’t said “please.” She really was an -excellent sister. Francis, in moments of weakness, had gone so far as -to admit that she wasn’t half bad. - -“I say,” she said when the click of the latch assured her that they -were alone, “how could it be magic? We never said any spell.” - -“No more we did,” said Francis, “unless—And besides, it’s all nonsense, -of course, about magic. It’s just a game we play, isn’t it?” - -“Yes, of course,” Mavis said doubtfully; “but what did you mean by -‘unless’?” - -“We weren’t saying any spells, were we?” - -“No, of course we weren’t—we weren’t saying anything—” - -“As it happens _I_ was.” - -“Was what? When?” - -“When it happened.” - -“What happened?” - -Will it be believed that Aunt Enid chose this moment for opening the -door just wide enough to say, “Mavis—bed.” And Mavis had to go. But as -she went she said again: “What happened?” - -“_It_,” said Francis, “whatever it was. I was saying....” - -“MAVIS!” called Aunt Enid. - -“Yes, Aunt Enid—you were saying _what_?” - -“I was saying, ‘_Sabrina fair_,’” said Francis, “do you think—but, -of course, it couldn’t have been—and all dry like that, no water or -anything.” - -“Perhaps magic _has_ to be dry,” said Mavis. “Coming, Aunt Enid! It -seems to be mostly burning things, and, of course, that wouldn’t do in -the water. What _did_ you see?” - -“It looked like Sabrina,” said Francis—“only tiny, tiny. Not -doll-small, you know, but live-small, like through the wrong end of a -telescope. I do wish you’d seen it.” - -“Say, ‘Sabrina fair’ again quick while I look.” - - “‘_Sabrina fair, - Listen where thou art sitting, - Under the—_’” - -“Oh, Mavis, it is—it did. There’s something there truly. Look!” - -“Where?” said Mavis. “I can’t see—oh, let me look.” - -“MAVIS!” called Aunt Enid very loud indeed; and Mavis tore herself away. - -“I must go,” she said. “Never mind, we’ll look again tomorrow. Oh, -France, if it _should_ be—magic, I mean—I’ll tell you what—” - -But she never told him what, for Aunt Enid swept in and swept -out, bearing Mavis away, as it were, in a whirlwind of impatient -exasperation, and, without seeming to stop to do it, blowing out the -four candles as she came and went. - -At the door she turned to say, “Good night, Francis. Your bath’s turned -on ready. Be sure you wash well behind your ears. We shan’t have much -time in the morning.” - -“But Mavis always bathes first,” said he. “I’m the eldest.” - -“Don’t argue, child, for goodness’ sake,” said Aunt Enid. “Mavis is -having the flat bath in my bedroom to save time. Come—no nonsense,” she -paused at the door to say. “Let me see you go. Right about face—quick -march!” - -And he had to. - -“If she must pretend to give orders like drill, she might at least -learn to say ‘’Bout turn!’” he reflected, struggling with his collar -stud in the steaming bathroom. “Never mind. I’ll get up early and see -if I can’t see it again.” - -And so he did—but early as he was, Aunt Enid and the servants were -earlier. The aquarium was empty—clear, clean, shining and quite empty. - -Aunt Enid could not understand why Francis ate so little breakfast. - -“What has she done with them?” he wondered later. - -“_I_ know,” said Bernard solemnly. “She told Esther to put them on the -kitchen fire—I only just saved my fish.” - -“And what about my shells?” asked Mavis in sudden fear. - -“Oh, she took those to take care of. Said you weren’t old enough to -take care of them yourself.” - -You will wonder why the children did not ask their Aunt Enid right -out what had become of the contents of the aquarium. Well, you don’t -know their Aunt Enid. And besides, even on that first morning, -before anything that really _was_ anything could be said to have -happened—for, after all, what Francis said he had seen might have been -just fancy—there was a sort of misty, curious, trembling feeling at -the hearts of Mavis and her brother which made them feel that they did -not want to talk about the aquarium and what had been in it to any -grown-up—and least of all to their Aunt Enid. - -And leaving the aquarium, that was the hardest thing of all. They -thought of telegraphing to Mother, to ask whether, after all, they -mightn’t bring it—but there was first the difficulty of wording a -telegram so that their mother would understand and not deem it insanity -or a practical joke—secondly, the fact that ten-pence half-penny, which -was all they had between them, would not cover the baldest statement of -the facts. - - _MRS DESMOND, - CARE OF MRS PEARCE, - EAST CLIFF VILLA, - LEWIS ROAD, - WEST BEACHFIELD-ON-SEA, SUSSEX_ - -alone would be eightpence—and the simplest appeal, such as “May we -bring aquarium please say yes wire reply” brought the whole thing -hopelessly beyond their means. - -“It’s no good,” said Francis hopelessly. “And, anyway,” said Kathleen, -“there wouldn’t be time to get an answer before we go.” - -No one had thought of this. It was a sort of backhanded consolation. - -“But think of coming back to it,” said Mavis: “it’ll be something -to live for, when we come back from the sea and everything else is -beastly.” - -And it was. - - - - -CHAPTER TWO - -_The Captive_ - - -THE DELICATE pinkish bloom of newness was on the wooden spades, the -slick smoothness of the painted pails showed neither scratch nor dent -on their green and scarlet surface—the shrimping nets were full and -fluffy as, once they and sand and water had met, they never could be -again. The pails and spades and nets formed the topmost layer of a -pile of luggage—you know the sort of thing, with the big boxes at the -bottom; and the carryall bulging with its wraps and mackers; the old -portmanteau that shows its striped lining through the crack and is so -useful for putting boots in; and the sponge bag, and all the little -things that get left out. You can almost always squeeze a ball or a -paint box or a box of chalks or any of those things—which grown-ups say -you won’t really want till you come back—into that old portmanteau—and -then when it’s being unpacked at the journey’s end the most that can -happen will be that someone will say, “I thought I told you not to -bring that,” and if you don’t answer back, that will be all. But most -likely in the agitation of unpacking and settling in, your tennis ball, -or pencil box, or whatever it is, will pass unnoticed. Of course, you -can’t shove an aquarium into the old portmanteau—nor a pair of rabbits, -nor a hedgehog—but anything in reason you can. - -The luggage that goes in the van is not much trouble—of course, it -has to be packed and to be strapped, and labeled and looked after at -the junction, but apart from that the big luggage behaves itself, -keeps itself to itself, and like your elder brothers at college never -occasions its friends a moment’s anxiety. It is the younger fry of the -luggage family, the things you have with you in the carriage that are -troublesome—the bundle of umbrellas and walking sticks, the golf clubs, -the rugs, the greatcoats, the basket of things to eat, the books you -are going to read in the train and as often as not you never look at -them, the newspapers that the grown-ups are tired of and yet don’t want -to throw away, their little bags or dispatch cases and suitcases and -card cases, and scarfs and gloves— - -The children were traveling under the care of Aunt Enid, who always had -far more of these tiresome odds and ends than Mother had—and it was at -the last moment, when the cab was almost to be expected to be there, -that Aunt Enid rushed out to the corner shop and returned with four new -spades, four new pails, and four new shrimping nets, and presented them -to the children just in time for them to be added to the heap of odds -and ends with which the cab was filled up. - -“I hope it’s not ungrateful,” said Mavis at the station as they -stood waiting by the luggage mound while Aunt Enid went to take the -tickets—“but why couldn’t she have bought them at Beachfield?” - -“Makes us look such babies,” said Francis, who would not be above using -a wooden spade at the proper time and place but did not care to be -branded in the face of all Waterloo Junction as one of those kids off -to the seaside with little spades and pails. - -Kathleen and Bernard were, however, young enough to derive a certain -pleasure from stroking the smooth, curved surface of the spades till -Aunt Enid came fussing back with the tickets and told them to put their -gloves on for goodness’ sake and try not to look like street children. - -I am sorry that the first thing you should hear about the children -should be that they did not care about their Aunt Enid, but this was -unfortunately the case. And if you think this was not nice of them I -can only remind you that you do not know their Aunt Enid. - -There was a short, sharp struggle with the porter, a flustered passage -along the platform and the children were safe in the carriage marked -“Reserved”—thrown into it, as it were, with all that small fry of -luggage which I have just described. Then Aunt Enid fussed off again to -exchange a few last home truths with the porter, and the children were -left. - -“We breathe again,” said Mavis. - -“Not yet we don’t,” said Francis, “there’ll be some more fuss as soon -as she comes back. I’d almost as soon not go to the sea as go with her.” - -“But you’ve never seen the sea,” Mavis reminded him. - -“I know,” said Francis, morosely, “but look at all this—” he indicated -the tangle of their possessions which littered seats and rack—“I do -wish—” - -He stopped, for a head appeared in the open doorway—in a round hat very -like Aunt Enid’s—but it was not Aunt Enid’s. The face under the hat was -a much younger, kinder one. - -“I’m afraid this carriage is reserved,” said the voice that belonged to -the face. - -“Yes,” said Kathleen, “but there’s lots of room if you like to come -too.” - -“I don’t know if the aunt we’re with would like it,” said the more -cautious Mavis. “We should, of course,” she added to meet the kind -smiling eyes that looked from under the hat that was like Aunt Enid’s. - -The lady said: “I’m an aunt too—I’m going to meet my nephew at the -junction. The train’s frightfully crowded.... If I were to talk to your -aunt ... perhaps on the strength of our common aunthood. The train will -start in a minute. I haven’t any luggage to be a bother—nothing but one -paper.”—she had indeed a folded newspaper in her hands. - -“Oh, do get in,” said Kathleen, dancing with anxiety, “I’m sure Aunt -Enid won’t mind,”—Kathleen was always hopeful—“suppose the train were -to start or anything!” - -“Well, if you think I may,” said the lady, and tossed her paper into -the corner in a lighthearted way which the children found charming. Her -pleasant face was rising in the oblong of the carriage doorway, her -foot was on the carriage step, when suddenly she retreated back and -down. It was almost as though someone pulled her off the carriage step. - -“Excuse me,” said a voice, “this carriage is reserved.” The pleasant -face of the lady disappeared and the—well, the face of Aunt Enid took -its place. The lady vanished. Aunt Enid trod on Kathleen’s foot, pushed -against Bernard’s waistcoat, sat down, partly on Mavis and partly on -Francis and said—“Of all the impertinence!” Then someone banged the -door—the train shivered and trembled and pulled itself together in the -way we all know so well—grunted, snorted, screamed, and was off. Aunt -Enid stood up arranging things on the rack, so that the children could -not even see if the nice lady had found a seat in the train. - -“Well—I do think—” Francis could not help saying. - -“Oh—do you?” said Aunt Enid, “I should never have thought it of you.” - -When she had arranged the things in the rack to her satisfaction she -pointed out a few little faults that she had noticed in the children -and settled down to read a book by Miss Marie Corelli. The children -looked miserably at each other. They could not understand why Mother -had placed them under the control of this most unpleasant mock aunt. - -There was a reason for it, of course. If your parents, who are -generally so kind and jolly, suddenly do a thing that you can’t -understand and can hardly bear, you may be quite sure they have a good -reason for it. The reason in this case was that Aunt Enid was the only -person who offered to take charge of the children at a time when all -the nice people who usually did it were having influenza. Also she was -an old friend of Granny’s. Granny’s taste in friends must have been -very odd, Francis decided, or else Aunt Enid must have changed a good -deal since she was young. And there she sat reading her dull book. The -children also had been provided with books—_Eric, or Little by Little_; -_Elsie, or Like a Little Candle_; _Brave Bessie_ and _Ingenious Isabel_ -had been dealt out as though they were cards for a game, before leaving -home. They had been a great bother to carry, and they were impossible -to read. Kathleen and Bernard presently preferred looking out of the -windows, and the two elder ones tried to read the paper left by the -lady, “looking over.” - -Now, that is just where it was, and really what all that has been -written before is about. If that lady hadn’t happened to look in at -their door, and if she hadn’t happened to leave the paper they would -never have seen it, because they weren’t the sort of children who read -papers except under extreme provocation. - -You will not find it easy to believe, and I myself can’t see why -it should have happened, but the very first word they saw in that -newspaper was Beachfield, and the second was On, and the third was -Sea, and the fifth was Mermaid. The fourth which came between Sea and -Mermaid was Alleged. - -“I say,” said Mavis, “let’s look.” - -“Don’t pull then, you can see all right,” said Francis, and this is -what they read together: - - -BEACHFIELD-ON-SEA—ALLEGED MERMAID. AMAZING STORY. - - “‘At this season of the year, which has come to be - designated the silly season, the public press is - deluged with puerile old-world stories of gigantic - gooseberries and enormous sea serpents. So that it is - quite in keeping with the weird traditions of this - time of the year to find a story of some wonder of the - deep, arising even at so well-known a watering place - as Beachfield. Close to an excellent golf course, and - surrounded by various beauty spots, with a thoroughly - revised water supply, a newly painted pier and three - rival Cinematograph Picture Palaces, Beachfield has - long been known as a rising _plage_ of exceptional - attractions, the quaint charm of its....’” - -“Hold on,” said Francis, “this isn’t about any old Mermaid.” - -“Oh, that’ll be further on,” said Mavis. “I expect they have to put -all that stuff in to be polite to Beachfield—let’s skip—‘agreeable -promenade, every modern convenience, while preserving its quaint....’ -What does quaint mean, and why do they keep on saying it?” - -“I don’t think it means anything,” said Francis, “it’s just a word -they use, like weird and dainty. You always see it in a newspaper. -Ah—got her. Here she is—‘The excitement may be better imagined than -described’—no, that’s about the Gymkhana—here we are: - - “‘Master Wilfred Wilson, the son of a well-known and - respected resident, arrived home yesterday evening in - tears. Inquiry elicited a statement that he had been - paddling in the rock pools, which are to be found in - such profusion under the West Cliff, when something - gently pinched his foot. He feared that it might be a - lobster, having read that these crustaceans sometimes - attack the unwary intruder, and he screamed. So far - his story, though unusual, contains nothing inherently - impossible. But when he went on to state that a noise - “like a lady speaking” told him not to cry, and that, - on looking down, he perceived that what held him was a - hand “coming from one of the rocks under water,” his - statement was naturally received with some incredulity. - It was not until a boating party returning from a - pleasure trip westward stated that they had seen a - curious sort of white seal with a dark tail darting - through the clear water below their boat that Master - Wilfred’s story obtained any measure of credence.’” - -(“What’s credence?” said Mavis. - -“Oh, never mind. It’s what you believe with, I think. Go on,” said -Francis.) - - “‘—of credence. Mr. Wilson, who seems to have urged an - early retirement to bed as a cure for telling stories - and getting his feet wet, allowed his son to rise and - conduct him to the scene of adventure. But Mr. Wilson, - though he even went to the length of paddling in some - of the pools, did not see or feel any hands nor hear - any noise, ladylike or otherwise. No doubt the seal - theory is the correct one. A white seal would be a - valuable acquisition to the town, and would, no doubt, - attract visitors. Several boats have gone out, some - with nets and some with lines. Mr. Carrerras, a visitor - from South America, has gone out with a lariat, which - in these latitudes is, of course, quite a novelty.’” - -“That’s all,” whispered Francis, and glanced at Aunt Enid. “I say—she’s -asleep.” He beckoned the others, and they screwed themselves along -to that end of the carriage farthest from the slumbering aunt. “Just -listen to this,” he said. Then in hoarse undertones he read all about -the Mermaid. - -“I say,” said Bernard, “I do hope it’s a seal. I’ve never seen a seal.” - -“I hope they _do_ catch it,” said Kathleen. “Fancy seeing a real live -Mermaid.” - -“If it’s a real live Mermaid I jolly well hope they don’t catch her,” -said Francis. - -“So do I,” said Mavis. “I’m certain she would die in captivity.” - -“But I’ll tell you what,” said Francis, “we’ll go and look for her, -first thing tomorrow. I suppose,” he added thoughtfully, “Sabrina was a -sort of Mermaid.” - -“She hasn’t a tail, you know,” Kathleen reminded him. - -“It isn’t the tail that makes the Mermaid,” Francis reminded her. “It’s -being able to live underwater. If it was the tail, then mackerels would -be Mermaids.” - -“And, of course, they’re not. _I_ see,” said Kathleen. - -“I wish,” said Bernard, “that she’d given us bows and arrows instead of -pails and spades, and then we could have gone seal-shooting—” - -“Or Mermaid-shooting,” said Kathleen. “Yes, that would have been -ripping.” - -Before Francis and Mavis could say how shocked they were at the idea of -shooting Mermaids, Aunt Enid woke up and took the newspaper away from -them, because newspapers are not fit reading for children. - -She was somehow the kind of person before whom you never talk about -anything that you really care for, and it was impossible therefore to -pursue either seals or Mermaids. It seemed best to read _Eric_ and the -rest of the books. It was uphill work. - -But the last two remarks of Bernard and Kathleen had sunk into the -minds of the two elder children. That was why, when they had reached -Beachfield and found Mother and rejoiced over her, and when Aunt Enid -had unexpectedly gone on by that same train to stay with her really -relations at Bournemouth, they did not say any more to the little -ones about Mermaids or seals, but just joined freely in the chorus of -pleasure at Aunt Enid’s departure. - -“I thought she was going to stay with us all the time,” said Kathleen. -“Oh, Mummy, I am so glad she isn’t.” - -“Why? Don’t you like Aunt Enid? Isn’t she kind?” - -All four thought of the spades and pails and shrimping nets, and of -_Eric_ and _Elsie_ and the other books—and all said: - -“Yes.” - -“Then what was it?” Mother asked. And they could not tell her. It is -sometimes awfully difficult to tell things to your mother, however much -you love her. The best Francis could do was: - -“Well—you see we’re not used to her.” - -And Kathleen said: “I don’t think perhaps she’s used to being an aunt. -But she was kind.” - -And Mother was wise and didn’t ask any more questions. Also she at once -abandoned an idea one had had of asking Aunt Enid to come and stay at -Beachfield for part of the holidays; and this was just as well, for if -Aunt Enid had not passed out of the story exactly when she did, there -would not have been any story to pass out of. And as she does now pass -out of the story I will say that she thought she was very kind, and -that she meant extremely well. - -There was a little whispering between Francis and Mavis just after tea, -and a little more just before bed, but it was tactfully done and the -unwhispered-to younger ones never noticed it. - -The lodgings were very nice—a little way out of the town—not a villa at -all as everyone had feared. I suppose the landlady thought it grander -to call it a villa, but it was really a house that had once been a mill -house, and was all made of a soft-colored gray wood with a red-tiled -roof, and at the back was the old mill, also gray and beautiful—not -used now for what it was built for—but just as a store for fishing nets -and wheelbarrows and old rabbit hutches and beehives and harnesses -and odds and ends, and the sack of food for the landlady’s chickens. -There was a great corn bin there too—that must have been in some big -stable—and some broken chairs and an old wooden cradle that hadn’t had -any babies in it since the landlady’s mother was a little girl. - -On any ordinary holiday the mill would have had all the charm of -a magic palace for the children, with its wonderful collection of -pleasant and unusual things to play with, but just now all their -thoughts were on Mermaids. And the two elder ones decided that they -would go out alone the first thing in the morning and look for the -Mermaid. - -Mavis woke Francis up very early indeed, and they got up and dressed -quite quietly, not washing, I am sorry to say, because water makes such -a noise when you pour it out. And I am afraid their hair was not very -thoroughly brushed either. There was not a soul stirring in the road as -they went out, unless you count the mill cat who had been out all night -and was creeping home very tired and dusty looking, and a yellowhammer -who sat on a tree a hundred yards down the road and repeated his name -over and over again in that conceited way yellowhammers have, until -they got close to him; and then he wagged his tail impudently at them -and flew on to the next tree where he began to talk about himself as -loudly as ever. - -This desire to find the Mermaid must have been wonderfully strong in -Francis, for it completely swallowed the longing of years—the longing -to see the sea. It had been too dark the night before to see anything -but the winking faces of the houses as the fly went past them. But now -as he and Mavis ran noiselessly down the sandy path in their rubber -shoes and turned the corner of the road, he saw a great pale-gray -something spread out in front of him, lit with points of red and gold -fire where the sun touched it. He stopped. - -“Mavis,” he said, in quite an odd voice, “that’s the sea.” - -“Yes,” she said and stopped too. - -“It isn’t a bit what I expected,” he said, and went on running. - -“Don’t you like it?” asked Mavis, running after him. - -“Oh—like,” said Francis, “it isn’t the sort of thing you _like_.” - -When they got down to the shore the sands and the pebbles were all wet -because the tide had just gone down, and there were the rocks and the -little rock pools, and the limpets, and whelks, and the little yellow -periwinkles looking like particularly fine Indian corn all scattered -among the red and the brown and the green seaweed. - -“Now, this _is_ jolly,” said Francis. “This is jolly if you like. I -almost wish we’d wakened the others. It doesn’t seem quite fair.” - -“Oh, they’ve seen it before,” Mavis said, quite truly, “and I don’t -think it’s any good going by fours to look for Mermaids, do you?” - -“Besides,” said Francis, saying what had been in their thoughts since -yesterday in the train, “Kathleen wanted to shoot Mermaids, and Bernard -thought it was seals, anyhow.” - -They had sat down and were hastily pulling off their shoes and -stockings. - -“Of course,” said he, “we shan’t find anything. It isn’t likely.” - -“Well,” she said, “for anything we jolly well know, they may have found -her already. Take care how you go over these rocks, they’re awfully -slippy.” - -“As if I didn’t know that,” said he, and ran across the narrow strip -of sand that divided rocks from shingle and set his foot for the first -time in The Sea. It was only a shallow little green and white rock -pool, but it was the sea all the same. - -“I say, isn’t it cold,” said Mavis, withdrawing pink and dripping toes; -“do mind how you go—” - -“As if I—” said Francis, again, and sat down suddenly and splashingly -in a large, clear sparkling pool. - -“Now, I suppose we’ve got to go home at once and you change,” said -Mavis, not without bitterness. - -“Nonsense,” said Francis, getting up with some difficulty and clinging -wetly to Mavis to steady himself. “I’m quite dry, almost.” - -“You know what colds are like,” said Mavis, “and staying indoors all -day, or perhaps bed, and mustard plasters and gruel with butter in -it. Oh, come along home, we should never have found the Mermaid. It’s -much too bright and light and everyday-ish for anything like magic to -happen. Come on home, do.” - -“Let’s just go out to the end of the rocks,” Francis urged, “just to -see what it’s like where the water gets deep and the seaweed goes -swish, swish, all long and lanky and grassy, like in the Sabrina -picture.” - -“Halfway then, not more,” said Mavis, firmly, “it’s dangerous—deep -outside—Mother said so.” - -And halfway they went, Mavis still cautious, and Francis, after his -wetting, almost showing off in his fine carelessness of whether he -went in again or not. It was very jolly. You know how soft and squeezy -the blobby kind of seaweed is to walk on, and how satin smooth is the -ribbon kind; how sharp are limpets, especially when they are covered -with barnacles, and how comparatively bearable to the foot are the pale -primrose-colored hemispheres of the periwinkle. - -“Now,” said Mavis, “come on back. We’ll run all the way as soon as we -get our shoes and stockings on for fear of colds.” - -“I almost wish we hadn’t come,” said Francis, turning with a face of -gloom. - -“You didn’t really think we should find a Mermaid, did you?” Mavis -asked, and laughed, though she was really annoyed with Francis for -getting wet and cutting short this exciting morning game. But she was a -good sister. - -“It’s all been so silly. Flopping into that pool, and talking and -rotting, and just walking out and in again. We ought to have come by -moonlight, and been very quiet and serious, and said— - - “‘_Sabrina fair, - Listen where thou art sitting—_’” - -“Ow—Hold on a minute. I’ve caught my foot in something.” - -Mavis stopped and took hold of her brother’s arm to steady him; and as -she did so both children plainly heard a voice that was not the voice -of either of them. It was the sweetest voice in the world they thought, -and it said: - -“Save her. We die in captivity.” - -Francis looked down and had a sort of sudden sight of something white -and brown and green that moved and went quickly down under the stone on -which Mavis was standing. There was nothing now holding his foot. - -“I say,” he said, on a deep breath of awe and wonder, “did you hear -that?” - -“Of course, I heard it.” - -“We couldn’t both have fancied it,” he said, “I wish it had told us who -to save, and where, and how—” - -“Whose do you think that voice was?” Mavis asked softly. - -“The Mermaid’s,” said Francis, “who else’s could it have been?” - -[Illustration: “_We die in captivity._”] - -“Then the magic’s really begun—” - -“Mermaids aren’t magic,” he said, “anymore than flying fishes or -giraffes are.” - -“But she came when you said ‘Sabrina fair,’” said Mavis. - -“Sabrina wasn’t a Mermaid,” said Francis firmly. “It’s no use trying -to join things on when they won’t. Come on, we may as well be getting -home.” - -“Mightn’t she be?” suggested Mavis. “A Mermaid, I mean. Like salmon -that live in rivers and go down to the sea.” - -“I say, I never thought of that. How simply ripping if it turned out -to be really Sabrina—wouldn’t it be? But which do you suppose could -be her—the one who spoke to us or the one she’s afraid will die in -captivity—the one she wants us to save.” - -They had reached the shore by now and Mavis looked up from turning her -brown stockings right way out to say: - -“I suppose we didn’t really both fancy it. Could we have? Isn’t there -some sort of scientific magic that makes people think the same things -as each other when it’s not true at all, like with Indian mango tricks? -Uncle Fred said so, you know, they call it ‘Tell-ee-something.’” - -“I’ll tell _you_ something,” said Francis, urgent with shoelace, “if we -keep on saying things weren’t when we know perfectly well they were, -we shall soon dish up any sort of chance of magic we may ever have -had. When do you find people in books going on like that? They just -say ‘This is magic!’ and behave as if it was. They don’t go pretending -they’re not sure. Why, no magic would stand it.” - -“Aunt Dorothea once told me that all magic was like Prince Rupert’s -drop,” Mavis owned: “if once you broke it there was nothing left but a -little dust.” - -“That’s just what I’m saying, isn’t it? We’ve always felt there was -magic right enough, haven’t we? Well, now we’ve come across it, don’t -let’s be silly and pretend. Let’s believe in it as hard as ever we -can. Mavis—shall we, eh? Believing in things makes them stronger. Aunt -Dorothea said that too—you remember.” - -They stood up in their shoes. - -“Shall we tell the others?” Mavis asked. - -“We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to. But they -won’t believe us. We shall have to be like Cassandra and not mind.” - -“I only wish I knew who it is we’ve got to save,” said Mavis. - -Francis had a very strong and perfect feeling that they would know this -all in good time. He could not have explained this, but he felt it. All -he said was, “Let’s run.” - -And they ran. - -Kathleen and Bernard met them at the gate, dancing with excitement and -impatience. - -“Where have you been?” they cried and “What on earth?” and “Why, you’re -all wet, France.” - -“Down to the sea—shut up, I know I am—” their elder brother came in and -passed up the path to the gate. - -“You might have called us,” said Kathleen in a -more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger sort of voice, “but anyhow you’ve lost -something by going out so early without us.” - -“Lost something. What?” - -“Hearing the great news,” said Bernard, and he added, “Aha!” - -“What news?” - -“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Bernard was naturally annoyed at having -been left out of the first expedition of the holidays. Anyone would -have. Even you or I. - -“Out with it,” said Francis, with a hand on Bernard’s ear. There -came a yell from Bernard and Mother’s voice from the window, saying, -“Children, children.” - -“All right, Mummy. Now, Bear—don’t be a young rotter. What’s the news?” - -“You’re hurting my ear,” was all Bernard’s rejoinder. - -“All right,” said Francis, “we’ve got some news too. But we won’t tell, -will we, Mavis?” - -“Oh _don’t_,” said Kathleen, “don’t let’s be sneaky, the very first day -too. It’s only that they’ve caught the Mermaid, and I’m afraid she’ll -die in captivity, like you said. What’s yours?” - -Francis had released Bernard’s ear and now he turned to Mavis. - -“So that’s it,” he said slowly—“who’s got her?” - -“The circus people. What’s your news?” asked Kathleen eagerly. - -“After brek,” said Francis. “Yes, Mother, half a sec! I apologize -about the ear, Bernard. We will tell you all. Oh, it’s quite different -from what you think. We meet and discuss the situation in the mill the -minute we’re free from brek. Agreed? Right! Yes, Mother, coming!” - -“Then there must,” Mavis whispered to Francis, “be two Mermaids. They -can’t both be Sabrina ... then which...?” - -“We’ve got to save one of them anyhow,” Francis answered with the light -of big adventure in his eye, “_they die in captivity_.” - - - - -CHAPTER THREE - -_The Rescue_ - - -THE GREAT QUESTION, of course, was—Would Mother take them to the -circus, or would she, if she wouldn’t herself take them, let them -go alone? She had once, in Buckinghamshire, allowed them to go to a -traveling menagerie, after exacting from them a promise that they were -not to touch any of the animals, and they had seen reason to regret -their promise when the showman offered to let them stroke his tame -performing wolf, who was so very like a collie. When they had said, -“No, thank you,” the showman had said, “Oh, frightened, are you? Run -along home to Mammy then!” and the bystanders had laughed in a most -insulting way. At a circus, of course, the horses and things aren’t -near enough for you to stroke them, so this time they might not be -asked to promise. If Mother came with them her presence, though -agreeable, would certainly add to the difficulties, already quite -enough—as even Mavis could not but see—of rescuing the Mermaid. But -suppose Mother didn’t come with them. - -“Suppose we have to promise we won’t touch any of the animals?” -suggested Cathay. “You can’t rescue a person without touching it.” - -“That’s just it,” said Mavis, “a Mermaid isn’t an animal. She’s a -person.” - -“But suppose it isn’t that sort of Mermaid,” said Bernard. “Suppose -it’s the sort that other people call seals, like it said in the paper.” - -“Well, it isn’t,” said Francis briefly, adding, “so there!” - -They were talking in the front garden, leaning over the green gate -while Mother upstairs unpacked the luggage that had been the mound with -spades on top only yesterday, at Waterloo. - -“Mavis!” Mother called through the open window. “I can only find—but -you’d better come up.” - -“I ought to offer to help Mother unpack,” said Mavis, and went walking -slowly. - -She came back after a little while, however, quickly running. - -“It’s all right,” she said. “Mother’s going to meet Daddy at the -Junction this afternoon and buy us sunbonnets. And we’re to take -our spades and go down to the sea till dinnertime—it’s roast rabbit -and apple dumps—I asked Mrs. Pearce—and we can go to the circus by -ourselves—and she never said a word about promise not to touch the -animals.” - -So off they went, down the white road where the yellowhammer was -talking about himself as usual on the tree just beyond wherever you -happened to be walking. And so to the beach. - -Now, it is very difficult to care much about a Mermaid you have never -seen or heard or touched. On the other hand, when once you have seen -one and touched one and heard one speak, you seem to care for very -little else. This was why when they got to the shore Kathleen and -Bernard began at once to dig the moat of a sandcastle, while the elder -ones walked up and down, dragging the new spades after them like some -new kind of tail, and talking, talking, talking till Kathleen said they -might help dig or the tide would be in before the castle was done. - -“You don’t know what a lark sandcastles are, France,” she added kindly, -“because you’ve never seen the sea before.” - -So then they all dug and piled and patted and made molds of their pails -to stand as towers to the castle and dug out dungeons and tunnels and -bridges, only the roof always gave way in the end unless you had beaten -the sand very tight beforehand. It was a glorious castle, though not -quite finished when the first thin flat wash of the sea reached it. -And then everyone worked twice as hard trying to keep the sea out till -all was hopeless, and then everyone crowded into the castle and the -sea washed it away bit by bit till there was only a shapeless island -left, and everyone was wet through and had to change every single thing -the minute they got home. You will know by that how much they enjoyed -themselves. - -After the roast rabbit and the apple dumplings Mother started on the -sunbonnet-and-meet-Daddy expedition. Francis went with her to the -station and returned a little sad. - -“I had to promise not to touch any of the animals,” he said. “And -perhaps a Mermaid _is_ an animal.” - -“Not if she can speak,” said Kathleen. “I say, don’t you think we ought -to wear our best things—I do. It’s more respectable to the wonders of -the deep. She’d like us to look beautiful.” - -“I’m not going to change for anybody,” said Bernard firmly. - -“All right, Bear,” said Mavis. “Only we will. Remember it’s magic.” - -“I say, France,” he said, “do you think we _ought_ to change?” - -“No, I don’t,” Francis answered. “I don’t believe Mermaids care a bit -what you’ve got on. You see, they don’t wear anything but tails and -hair and looking glasses themselves. If there’s any beautifulness to be -done they jolly well do it themselves. But I don’t say you wouldn’t be -better for washing your hands again, and you might as well try to get -_some_ of the sand out of your hair. It looks like the wrong end of a -broom as it is.” - -He himself went so far as to put on the blue necktie that Aunt Amy had -given him, and polished his silver watch chain on the inside of his -jacket. This helped to pass the time till the girls were ready. At -last this happened though they had put on their best things, and they -started. - -The yellowhammer went on about himself—he was never tired of the -subject. - -“It’s just as if that bird was making fun of us,” Bernard said. - -“I daresay it is a wild-goose step we’re taking,” said Kathleen; “but -the circus will be jolly, anyhow.” - -There is a piece of wasteland just beyond Beachfield on the least -agreeable side of that village—the side where the flat-faced shops are -and the yellow brick houses. At the nice end of Beachfield the shops -have little fat bow windows with greenish glass that you can hardly -see through. Here also are gaunt hoardings plastered with tattered, -ugly-colored posters, asking you in red to wear Ramsden’s Really Boots -or to Vote for Wilton Ashby in blue. Some of the corners of the posters -are always loose and flap dismally in the wind. There is always a good -deal of straw and torn paper and dust at this end of the village, and -bits of dirty rag, and old boots and tins are found under the hedges -where flowers ought to be. Also there are a great many nettles and -barbed wires instead of pleasant-colored fences. Don’t you sometimes -wonder who is to blame for all the uglification of places that might -be so pretty, and wish you could have a word with them and ask them -not to? Perhaps when these people were little nobody told them how -wrong it is to throw orange peel about, and the bits of paper off -chocolate, and the paper bag which once concealed your bun. And it is a -dreadful fact that the children who throw these things about are little -uglifiers, and they grow up to be perfect monsters of uglification, and -build hideous yellow brick cottages, and put up hoardings, and sell -Ramsden’s Really Boots (in red), and vote passionately for Wilton -Ashby (in blue), and care nothing for the fields that used to be green -and the hedges where once flowers used to grow. Some people like -this, and see nothing to hate in such ugly waste places as the one, -at the wrong end of the town, where the fair was being held on that -never-to-be-forgotten day when Francis, Mavis, Bernard and Kathleen set -out in their best clothes to rescue the Mermaid because Mermaids “die -in captivity.” - -The fair had none of those stalls and booths which old-fashioned -fairs used to have, where they sold toys, and gilt gingerbread, and -carters’ whips, and cups and saucers, and mutton pies, and dolls, and -china dogs, and shell boxes, and pincushions, and needle cases, and -penholders with views of the Isle of Wight and Winchester Cathedral -inside that you see so bright and plain when you put your eye close to -the little round hole at the top. - -The steam roundabouts were there—but hardly a lean back of their -spotted horses was covered by a rider. There were swings, but no one -happened to be swinging. There were no shows, no menagerie, no boxing -booth, no marionettes. No penny gaff with the spangled lady and the -fat man who beats the drum. Nor were there any stalls. There were -pink-and-white paper whips and bags of dust-colored minced paper—the -English substitute for _confetti_—there were little metal tubes of -dirty water to squirt in people’s faces, but except for the sale of -these crude instruments for making other people uncomfortable there was -not a stall in the fair. I give you my word, there was not a single -thing that you could buy—no gingerbread, no sweets, no crockery dogs, -not even a half-penny orange or a bag of nuts. Nor was there anything -to drink—not as much as a lemonade counter or a ginger beer stall. -The revelers were no doubt drinking elsewhere. A tomblike silence -reigned—a silence which all the steam roundabout’s hideous hootings -only emphasized. - -A very dirty-nosed boy, overhearing a hurried council, volunteered the -information that the circus had not yet opened. - -“Never mind,” they told each other—and turned to the sideshows. These -were all of one character—the arrangement by which you throw something -or roll something at something else, and if you hit the something you -get a prize—the sort of prize that is sold in Houndsditch at ninepence -a gross. - -Most of these arrangements are so ordered that to get a prize is -impossible. For instance, a peculiarly offensive row of masks with open -mouths in which pipes are set up. In the golden days of long ago if you -hit a pipe it broke—and you got a “prize” worth—I can’t do sums—put -it briefly at the hundred and forty-fourth part of ninepence. But the -children found that when their wooden ball struck the pipe it didn’t -break. They wondered why! Then, looking more closely, they saw that -the pipes were not of clay, but of painted wood. They could never be -broken—and the whole thing was a cruel mockery of hope. - -The coconut-shy was not what it used to be either. Once one threw -sticks, three shies a penny. Now it is a penny a shy, with light wooden -balls. You can win a coconut if you happen to hit one that is not glued -onto its support. If you really wish to win one of these unkindly -fruits it is well to stand and watch a little and not to aim at those -coconuts which, when they are hit, fail to fall off the sticks. Are -they glued on? One hopes not. But if they are, who can wonder or -reprove? It is hard to get a living, anyhow. - -There was one thing, though, that roused the children’s -resentment—chiefly, I think, because its owners were clean and did not -look half-starved, so there was no barrier of pity between them and -dislike—a sort of round table sloping up to its center. On this small -objects were arranged. For a penny you received two hoops. If you could -throw a hoop over an object that object was yours. None of the rustic -visitors to the fair could, it seemed, or cared to. It did not look -difficult, however. Nor was it. At the first shot a tiny candlestick -was encircled. Between pride and shame Mavis held out a hand. - -“Hard luck,” said one of the two young women, too clean to be pitied. -“Has to go flat on—see?” - -Francis tried again. This time the ring encircled a matchbox, “flat on.” - -“Hard luck,” said the lady again. - -“What’s the matter now?” the children asked, baffled. - -“Hoop has to be red side up,” said she. So she scored. Now they went -to the other side and had another penn’orth of hoops from the other -too clean young woman. And the same thing happened. Only on the second -winning she said: - -“Hard luck. Hoops have to be blue side up.” - -It was Bernard’s blood that was up. He determined to clear the board. - -“Blue side up, is it,” he said sternly, and took another penn’orth. -This time he brought down a tin pin tray and a little box which, I -hope, contained something. The girl hesitated and then handed over the -prizes. “Another penn’orth of hoops,” said Bernard, warming to the work. - -“Hard luck,” said she. “We don’t give more than two penn’orth to any -one party.” - -The prizes were not the kind of things you care to keep, even as -trophies of victory—especially when you have before you the business -of rescuing a Mermaid. The children gave their prizes to a small -female bystander and went to the shooting gallery. That, at least, -could have no nonsense about it. If you aimed at a bottle and hit it -it would break. No sordid self-seeking custodian could rob you of the -pleasant tinkling of the broken bottle. And even with a poor weapon -it is not impossible to aim at a bottle and hit it. This is true—but -at the shooting gallery the trouble was _not_ to hit the bottles. -There were so many of them and they were so near. The children got -thirteen tinkling smashes for their fourteen shots. The bottles were -hung fifteen feet away instead of thirty. Why? Space is not valuable at -the fair—can it be that the people of Sussex are such poor shots that -thirty feet is to them a prohibitive distance? - -They did not throw for coconuts, nor did they ride on the little horses -or pull themselves to dizzy heights in the swings. There was no heart -left in them for such adventures—and besides everyone in the fair, -saving themselves and the small female bystander and the hoop girls, -was dirtier than you would believe possible. I suppose Beachfield has -a water supply. But you would have doubted it if you had been at the -fair. They heard no laughter, no gay talk, no hearty give-and-take of -holiday jests. A dull heavy silence brooded over the place, and you -could hear that silence under the shallow insincere gaiety of the steam -roundabout. - -Laughter and song, music and good-fellowship, dancing and innocent -revelry, there were none of these at Beachfield Fair. For music -there was the steam roundabout’s echoes of the sordid musical comedy -of the year before the year before last—laughter there was not—nor -revelry—only the dirty guardians of the machines for getting your -pennies stood gloomily huddled, and a few groups of dejected girls -and little boys shivered in the cold wind that had come up with the -sunset. In that wind, too, danced the dust, the straw, the newspaper -and the chocolate wrappers. The only dancing there was. The big tent -that held the circus was at the top of the ground, and the people who -were busy among the ropes and pegs and between the bright vans resting -on their shafts seemed gayer and cleaner than the people who kept -the little arrangements for people not to win prizes at. And now the -circus at last was opened; the flap of the tent was pinned back, and -a gypsy-looking woman, with oily black ringlets and eyes like bright -black beads, came out at the side to take the money of those who wished -to see the circus. People were now strolling toward it in twos and -threes, and of these our four were the very first, and the gypsy woman -took four warm sixpences from their four hands. - -“Walk in, walk in, my little dears, and see the white elephant,” said -a stout, black-mustached man in evening dress—greenish it was and -shiny about the seams. He flourished a long whip as he spoke, and the -children stopped, although they had paid their sixpences, to hear what -they were to see when they did walk in. “The white elephant—tail, -trunk, and tusks all complete, sixpence only. See the Back Try A -or Camels, or Ships of the Arabs—heavy drinker when he gets the -chance—total abstainer while crossing the desert. Walk up, walk up. See -the Trained Wolves and Wolverines in their great National Dance with -the flags of all countries. Walk up, walk up, walk up. See the Educated -Seals and the Unique Lotus of the Heast in her famous bare-backed act, -riding three horses at once, the wonder and envy of royalty. Walk up -and see the very table Mermaid caught on your own coast only yesterday -as ever was.” - -“Thank you,” said Francis, “I think we will.” And the four went through -the opened canvas into the pleasant yellow dusty twilight which was -the inside of a squarish sort of tent, with an opening at the end, and -through that opening you could see the sawdust-covered ring of the -circus and benches all around it, and two men just finishing covering -the front benches with red cotton strips. - -“Where’s the Mermaid?” Mavis asked a little boy in tights and a -spangled cap. - -“In there,” he said, pointing to a little canvas door at the side of -the squarish tent. “I don’t advise you to touch her, though. Spiteful, -she is. Lashes out with her tail—splashed old Mother Lee all over water -she did—an’ dangerous too: our Bill ’e got ’is bone set out in his -wrist a-trying to hold on to her. An’ it’s thruppence extry to see her -close.” - -There are times, as we all know, when threepence extra is a baffling -obstacle—a cruel barrier to desire, but this was not, fortunately, such -a moment. The children had plenty of money, because Mother had given -them two half-crowns between them to spend as they liked. - -“Even then,” said Bernard, in allusion to the threepence extra, “we -shall have two bob left.” - -So Mavis, who was treasurer, paid over the extra threepences to a girl -with hair as fair and lank as hemp, and a face as brown and round as -a tea cake, who sat on a kitchen chair by the Mermaid door. Then one -by one they went in through the narrow opening, and at last there they -were alone in the little canvas room with a tank in it that held—well, -there was a large label, evidently written in a hurry, for the letters -were badly made and arranged quite crookedly, and this label declared: - - REAL LIVE MERMAID. - SAID TO BE FABULUS, BUT NOW TRUE. - CAUGHT HERE. - PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH. - DANGEROUS. - -The little Spangled Boy had followed them in and pointed to the last -word. - -“What I tell you?” he asked proudly. - -The children looked at each other. Nothing could be done with this -witness at hand. At least.... - -“Perhaps if it’s going to be magic,” Mavis whispered to Francis, -“outsiders wouldn’t notice. They don’t sometimes—I believe. Suppose you -just said a bit of ‘Sabrina’ to start the magic.” - -“Wouldn’t be safe,” Francis returned in the same low tones. “Suppose he -_wasn’t_ an outsider, and _did_ notice.” - -So there they stood helpless. What the label was hung on was a large -zinc tank—the kind that they have at the tops of houses for the water -supply—you must have seen one yourself often when the pipes burst in -frosty weather, and your father goes up into the roof of the house with -a candle and pail, and the water drips through the ceilings and the -plumber is sent for, and comes when it suits him. The tank was full -of water and at the bottom of it could be seen a mass of something -dark that looked as if it were partly browny-green fish and partly -greeny-brown seaweed. - -“Sabrina fair,” Francis suddenly whispered, “send him away.” - -And immediately a voice from outside called “Rube—Reuben—drat the boy, -where’s he got to?”—and the little spangled intruder had to go. - -“There, now,” said Mavis, “if _that_ isn’t magic!” Perhaps it was, but -still the dark fish-and-seaweed heap in the tank had not stirred. “Say -it all through,” said Mavis. - -“Yes, do,” said Bernard, “then we shall know for certain whether it’s a -seal or not.” - -So once again— - - “‘_Sabrina fair, - Listen where thou art sitting, - Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave,_’” - -He got no further. There was a heaving and stirring of the seaweed and -fish tail, something gleamed white, through the brown something white -parted the seaweed, two white hands parted it, and a face came to the -surface of the rather dirty water and—there was no doubt about it—spoke. - -“‘Translucent wave,’indeed!” was what the face said. “I wonder you’re -not ashamed to speak the invocation over a miserable cistern like this. -What do you want?” - -Brown hair and seaweed still veiled most of the face, but all the -children, who, after their first start back had pressed close to the -tank again, could see that the face looked exceedingly cross. - -“We want,” said Francis in a voice that would tremble though he told -himself again and again that he was not a baby and wasn’t going to -behave like one—“we want to help you.” - -“Help _me_? You?” She raised herself a little more in the tank and -looked contemptuously at them. “Why, don’t you know that I am mistress -of all water magic? I can raise a storm that will sweep away this -horrible place and my detestable captors and you with them, and carry -me on the back of a great wave down to the depths of the sea.” - -“Then why on earth don’t you?” Bernard asked. - -“Well, I was thinking about it,” she said, a little awkwardly, “when -you interrupted with your spells. Well, you’ve called and I’ve -answered—now tell me what I can do for you.” - -“We’ve told you,” said Mavis gently enough, though she was frightfully -disappointed that the Mermaid after having in the handsomest manner -turned out to be a Mermaid, should be such a very short-tempered one. -And when they had talked about her all day and paid the threepence each -extra to see her close, and put on their best white dresses too. “We’ve -told you—we want to help you. Another Sabrina in the sea told us to. -_She_ didn’t tell us anything about you being a magic-mistress. She -just said ‘they die in captivity.’” - -[Illustration: “_‘Translucent wave,’ indeed!_”] - -“Well, thank you for coming,” said the Mermaid. “If she really said -that it must be one of two things—either the sun is in the House of -Liber—which is impossible at this time of the year—or else the rope I -was caught with must be made of llama’s hair, and _that’s_ impossible -in these latitudes. Do you know anything about the rope they caught me -with?” - -“No,” said Bernard and Kathleen. But the others said, “It was a lariat.” - -“Ah,” said the Mermaid, “my worst fears are confirmed—But who could -have expected a lariat on these shores? But that must have been it. Now -I know why, though I have been on the point of working the magic of the -Great Storm at least five hundred times since my capture, some unseen -influence has always held me back.” - -“You mean,” said Bernard, “you feel that it wouldn’t work, so you -didn’t try.” - -A rattling, ripping sound outside, beginning softly, waxed louder and -louder so as almost to drown their voices. It was the drum, and it -announced the beginning of the circus. The Spangled Child put his head -in and said, “Hurry up or you’ll miss my Infant Prodigious Act on the -Horse with the Tambourines,” and took his head out again. - -“Oh, dear,” said Mavis, “and we haven’t arranged a single thing about -rescuing you.” - -“No more you have,” said the Mermaid carelessly. - -“Look here,” said Francis, “you do _want_ to be rescued, don’t you? - -“Of course I do,” replied the Mermaid impatiently, “now I know about -the llama rope. But I can’t walk even if they’d let me, and you -couldn’t carry me. Couldn’t you come at dead of night with a chariot—I -could lift myself into it with your aid—then you could drive swiftly -hence, and driving into the sea I could drop from the chariot and -escape while you swam ashore.” - -“I don’t believe we could—any of it,” said Bernard, “let alone swimming -ashore with horses and chariots. Why, Pharaoh himself couldn’t do that, -you know.” And even Mavis and Francis added helplessly, “I don’t see -how we’re to get a chariot,” and “do you think of some other way.” - -“I shall await you,” said the lady in the tank with perfect calmness, -“at dead of night.” - -With that she twisted the seaweed closely around her head and shoulders -and sank slowly to the bottom of the tank. And the children were left -staring blankly at each other, while in the circus tent music sounded -and the soft heavy pad-pad of hoofs on sawdust. - -“What shall we do?” Francis broke the silence. - -“Go and see the circus, of course,” said Bernard. - -“Of course we can talk about the chariot afterward,” Mavis admitted. - -“There’ll be lots of time to talk between now and dead of night,” said -Kathleen. “Come on, Bear.” - -And they went. - -There is nothing like a circus for making you forget your anxieties. -It is impossible to dwell on your troubles and difficulties when -performing dogs are displaying their accomplishments, and wolves -dancing their celebrated dance with the flags of all nations, and -the engaging lady who jumps through the paper hoops and comes down -miraculously on the flat back of the white horse, cannot but drive -dull care away, especially from the minds of the young. So that for an -hour and a half—it really was a good circus, and I can’t think how it -happened to be at Beachfield Fair at all—a solid slab of breathless -enjoyment was wedged in between the interview with the Mermaid and -the difficult task of procuring for her the chariot she wanted. But -when it was all over and they were part of a hot, tightly packed crowd -pouring out of the dusty tent into the sunshine, their responsibilities -came upon them with renewed force. - -“Wasn’t the clown ripping?” said Bernard, as they got free of the crowd. - -“I liked the riding-habit lady best, and the horse that went like that, -best,” said Kathleen, trying with small pale hands and brown shod legs -to give an example of a horse’s conduct during an exhibition of the -_haute école_. - -“Didn’t you think the elephant—” Mavis was beginning, when Francis -interrupted her. - -“About that chariot,” he said, and after that they talked of nothing -else. And whatever they said it always came to this in the end, that -they hadn’t got a chariot, and couldn’t get a chariot, and that anyhow -they didn’t suppose there was a chariot to be got, at any rate in -Beachfield. - -“It wouldn’t be any good, I suppose,” said Kathleen’s last and most -helpful suggestion—“be the slightest good saying ‘Sabrina fair’ to a -pumpkin?” - -“We haven’t got even a pumpkin,” Bernard reminded her, “let alone the -rats and mice and lizards that Cinderella had. No, that’s no good. But -I’ll tell you what.” He stopped short. They were near home now—it was -late afternoon, in the road where the talkative yellowhammer lived. -“What about a wheelbarrow?” - -“Not big enough,” said Francis. - -“There’s an extra big one in the mill,” said Bernard. “Now, look here. -I’m not any good at magic. But Uncle Tom said I was a born general. If -I tell you exactly what to do, will you two do it, and let Cathay and -me off going?” - -“Going to sneak out of it?” Francis asked bitterly. - -“It isn’t. It’s not my game at all, and I don’t want to play. And if I -do, the whole thing will be muffed—you know it will. I’m so unlucky. -You’d never get out at dead of night without me dropping a boot on the -stairs or sneezing—you know you wouldn’t.” - -Bernard took a sort of melancholy pride in being the kind of boy -who always gets caught. If you are that sort of boy, perhaps that’s -the best way to take it. And Francis could not deny that there was -something in what he said. He went on: “Then Kathleen’s my special -sister and I’m not going to have her dragged into a row. (“I want to,” -Kathleen put in ungratefully.) So will you and Mavis do it on your own -or not?” - -After some discussion, in which Kathleen was tactfully dealt with, it -was agreed that they would. Then Bernard unfolded his plan of campaign. - -“Directly we get home,” he said, “we’ll begin larking about with that -old wheelbarrow—giving each other rides, and so on, and when it’s time -to go in we’ll leave it at the far end of the field behind the old -sheep hut near the gate. Then it’ll be handy for you at dead of night. -You must take towels or something and tie around the wheel so that it -doesn’t make a row. You can sleep with my toy alarm under your pillow -and it won’t wake anyone but you. You get out through the dining room -window and in the same way. I’ll lend you my new knife, with three -blades and a corkscrew, if you’ll take care of it, to cut the canvas, -and go by the back lane that comes out behind where the circus is, but -if you took my advice you wouldn’t go at all. She’s not a nice Mermaid -at all. I’d rather have had a seal, any day. Hullo, there’s Daddy and -Mother. Come on.” - -They came on. - -The program sketched by Bernard was carried out without a hitch. -Everything went well, only Francis and Mavis were both astonished to -find themselves much more frightened than they had expected to be. Any -really great adventure like the rescuing of a Mermaid does always look -so very much more serious when you carry it out, at night, than it did -when you were planning it in the daytime. Also, though they knew they -were not doing anything wrong, they had an uncomfortable feeling that -Mother and Daddy might not agree with them on that point. And of course -they could not ask leave to go and rescue a Mermaid, with a chariot, -at dead of night. It is not the sort of thing you can ask leave to do, -somehow. And the more you explained your reasons the less grown-up -people would think you fit to conduct such an expedition. - -Francis lay down fully dressed, under his nightshirt. And Mavis under -hers wore her short blue skirt and jersey. The alarm, true to its -trust, went off into an ear-splitting whizz and bang under the pillow -of Francis, but no one else heard it. He crept cautiously into Mavis’s -room and wakened her, and as they crept down in stockinged feet not a -board creaked. The French window opened without noise, the wheelbarrow -was where they had left it, and they had fortunately brought quite -enough string to bind wads of towels and stockings to the tire of its -wheel. Also they had not forgotten the knife. - -The wheelbarrow was heavy and they rather shrank from imagining how -much heavier it would be when the discontented Mermaid was curled up in -it. However, they took it in turns, and got along all right by the back -lane that comes out above the waste ground where Beachfield holds its -fairs. - -“I hope the night’s dead enough,” Mavis whispered as the circus came in -sight, looking very white in the starlight, “it’s nearly two by now I -should think.” - -“Quite dead enough, if that’s all,” said Francis; “but suppose the -gypsies are awake? They do sit up to study astronomy to tell fortunes -with, don’t they? Suppose this is their astronomy night? I vote we -leave the barrow here and go and reconnoiter.” - -They did. Their sandshoes made no noise on the dewy grass, and treading -very carefully, on tiptoe, they came to the tent. Francis nearly -tumbled over a guy rope; he just saw it in time to avoid it. - -“If I’d been Bernard I should have come a beastly noisy cropper over -that,” he told himself. They crept around the tent till they came to -the little square bulge that marked the place where the tank was and -the seaweed and the Mermaid. - -“They die in captivity, they die in captivity, they die in captivity,” -Mavis kept repeating to herself, trying to keep up her courage by -reminding herself of the desperately urgent nature of the adventure. -“It’s a matter of life and death,” she told herself—“life and death.” - -And now they picked their way between the pegs and guy ropes and came -quite close to the canvas. Doubts of the strength and silence of the -knife possessed the trembling soul of Francis. Mavis’s heart was -beating so thickly that, as she said afterward, she could hardly hear -herself think. She scratched gently on the canvas, while Francis felt -for the knife with the three blades and the corkscrew. An answering -signal from the imprisoned Mermaid would, she felt, give her fresh -confidence. There was no answering scratch. Instead, a dark line -appeared to run up the canvas—it was an opening made by the two hands -of the Mermaid which held back the two halves of the tent side, cut -neatly from top to bottom. Her white face peered out. - -“Where is the chariot?” she asked in the softest of whispers, but -not too soft to carry to the children the feeling that she was, if -possible, crosser than ever. - -Francis was afraid to answer. He knew that his voice could never be -subdued to anything as soft as the voice that questioned him, a voice -like the sound of tiny waves on a summer night, like the whisper of -wheat when the wind passes through it on a summer morning. But he -pointed toward the lane where they had left the wheelbarrow and he and -Mavis crept away to fetch it. - -As they wheeled it down the waste place both felt how much they owed to -Bernard. But for his idea of muffling the wheel they could never have -got the clumsy great thing down that bumpy uneven slope. But as it was -they and the barrow stole toward the gypsy’s tent as silently as the -Arabs in the poem stole away with theirs, and they wheeled it close to -the riven tent side. Then Mavis scratched again, and again the tent -opened. - -“Have you any cords?” the soft voice whispered, and Francis pulled what -was left of the string from his pocket. - -She had made two holes in the tent side, and now passing the string -through these she tied back the flaps of the tent. - -“Now,” she said, raising herself in the tank and resting her hands on -its side. “You must both help—take hold of my tail and lift. Creep -in—one on each side.” - -It was a wet, sloppy, slippery, heavy business, and Mavis thought her -arms would break, but she kept saying: “Die in captivity,” and just as -she was feeling that she could not bear it another minute the strain -slackened and there was the Mermaid curled up in the barrow. - -“Now,” said the soft voice, “go—quickly.” - -It was all very well to say go quickly. It was as much as the two -children could do, with that barrow-load of dripping Mermaid, to go at -all. And very, very slowly they crept up the waste space. In the lane, -under cover of the tall hedges, they paused. - -“Go on,” said the Mermaid. - -“We can’t till we’ve rested a bit,” said Mavis, panting. “How did you -manage to get that canvas cut?” - -“My shell knife, of course,” said the person in the wheelbarrow. “We -always carry one in our hair, in case of sharks.” - -“I see,” said Francis, breathing heavily. - -“You had much better go on,” said the barrow’s occupant. “This chariot -is excessively uncomfortable and much too small. Besides, delays are -dangerous.” - -“We’ll go in half a sec,” said Francis, and Mavis added kindly: - -“You’re really quite safe now, you know.” - -“_You_ aren’t,” said the Mermaid. “I don’t know whether you realize -that I’m stolen property and that it will be extremely awkward for you -if you are caught with me.” - -“But we shan’t be caught with you,” said Mavis hopefully. - -“Everybody’s sound asleep,” said Francis. It was wonderful how brave -and confident they felt now that the deed was done. “It’s perfectly -safe—Oh, what’s that! Oh!” - -A hand had shot from the black shadow of the hedge and caught him by -the arm. - -“What is it, France? What is it?” said Mavis, who could not see what -was happening. - -“What is it—now what is it?” asked the Mermaid more crossly than she -had yet spoken. - -“_Who_ is it? Oh, who is it?” gasped Francis, writhing in the grip of -his invisible assailant. And from the dark shadow of the hedge came the -simple and terrible reply: - -“The police!” - - - - -CHAPTER FOUR - -_Gratitude_ - - -IT IS HARDLY POSSIBLE to imagine a situation less attractive than that -of Mavis and Francis—even the position of the Mermaid curled up in a -dry barrow and far from her native element was not exactly luxurious. -Still, she was no worse off than she had been when the lariat first -curled itself about her fishy extremity. But the children! They had -braved the terrors of night in an adventure of singular courage and -daring, they had carried out their desperate enterprise, the Mermaid -was rescued, and success seemed near—no further off than the sea -indeed, and that, in point of fact, was about a quarter of a mile away. -To be within a quarter of a mile of achievement, and then to have the -cup of victory dashed from your lips, the crown of victory torn from -your brow by—the police! - -It was indeed hard. And what was more, it was dangerous. - -“We shall pass the night in the cells,” thought Mavis, in agony; “and -whatever will Mother do when she finds we’re gone?” In her mind “the -cells” were underground dungeons, dark and damp and vaulted, where -toads and lizards crawled, and no daylight ever penetrated. That is -how dungeons are described in books about the Inquisition. - -When the voice from the bush had said “The police,” a stricken silence -followed. The mouth of Francis felt dry inside, just as if he had been -eating cracknels, he explained afterward, and he had to swallow nothing -before he could say: - -“What for?” - -“Let go his arm,” said Mavis to the hidden foe. “We won’t run away. -Really we won’t.” - -“You can’t,” said the Mermaid. “You can’t leave me.” - -“Leave go,” said Francis, wriggling. And then suddenly Mavis made a -dart at the clutching hand and caught it by the wrist and whispered -savagely: - -“It’s not a policeman at all. Come out of that bush—come out,” and -dragged. And something did come out of the bush. Something that -certainly was not a policeman. It was small and thin, whereas policemen -are almost always tall and stout. It did not wear the blue coats our -Roberts wear, but velveteen knickerbockers and a tweed jacket. It was, -in fact, a very small boy. - -Francis broke into a cackle of relief. - -“You little—animal,” he said. “What a fright you gave me.” - -“Animal yourself, if you come to that, let alone her and her tail,” the -boy answered; and Mavis thought his voice didn’t sound unfriendly. “My! -But I did take a rise out of you that time, eh? Ain’t she bit you yet, -nor yet strook you with that there mackerel-end of hers?” - -And then they recognized him. It was the little Spangled Boy. Only now, -of course, being off duty he was no more spangled than you and I are. - -“Whatever did you do it for?” Mavis asked crossly. “It was horrid of -you.” - -“It wasn’t only just a lark,” said the boy. “I cut around and listened -this afternoon when you was jawing, and I thought why not be in it? -Only I do sleep that heavy, what with the riding and the tumbling and -all. So I didn’t wake till you’d got her out and then I cut up along -ahind the hedge to be beforehand with you. An’ I was. It was a fair -cop, matey, eh?” - -“What are you going to do about it?” Francis asked flatly; “tell your -father?” But Mavis reflected that he didn’t seem to have told his -father yet, and perhaps wouldn’t. - -“Ain’t got no father,” said the Spangled Boy, “nor yet mother.” - -“If you are rested enough you’d better go on,” said the Mermaid. “I’m -getting dry through.” - -And Mavis understood that to her that was as bad as getting wet through -would be to us. - -“I’m so sorry,” she said gently, “but—” - -“I must say I think it’s very inconsiderate of you to keep me all this -time in the dry,” the Mermaid went on. “I really should have thought -that even _you_—” - -But Francis interrupted her. - -“What are you going to _do_?” he asked the Spangled Boy. And that -surprising child answered, spitting on his hands and rubbing them: - -“Do? Why, give a ’and with the barrer.” - -The Mermaid put out a white arm and touched him. - -“You are a hero,” she said. “I can recognize true nobility even under a -once-spangled exterior. You may kiss my hand.” - -“Well, of all the....” said Francis. - -“Shall I?” the boy asked, more of himself than of the others. - -“Do,” Mavis whispered. “Anything to keep her in a good temper.” - -So the Spangled Boy kissed the still dampish hand of the Lady from -the Sea, took the handles of the barrow and off they all went. - -[Illustration: “_The police._”] - -Mavis and Francis were too thankful for this unexpected help to ask any -questions, though they could not help wondering exactly what it felt -like to be a boy who did not mind stealing his own father’s Mermaid. It -was the boy himself who offered, at the next rest-halt, an explanation. - -“You see,” he said, “it’s like this here. This party in the barrow—” - -“I know you don’t mean it disrespectfully,” said the Mermaid, sweetly; -“but _not_ party—and _not_ a barrow.” - -“Lady,” suggested Mavis. - -“This lydy in the chariot, she’d been kidnapped—that’s how I look at -it. Same as what I was.” - -This was romance indeed; and Mavis recognized it and said: - -“You, kidnapped? I say!” - -“Yus,” said Spangles, “when I was a baby kid. Old Mother Romaine told -me, just afore she was took all down one side and never spoke no more.” - -“But why?” Mavis asked. “I never could understand in the books why -gypsies kidnapped babies. They always seem to have so many of their -own—far, far more than anyone could possibly want.” - -“Yes, indeed,” said the Mermaid, “they prodded at me with sticks—a -multitude of them.” - -“It wasn’t kids as was wanted,” said the boy, “it was revenge. That’s -what Mother Romaine said—my father he was a sort of Beak, so he give -George Lee eighteen months for poaching. An’ the day they took him the -church bells was ringing like mad, and George, as he was being took, he -said: ‘What’s all that row? It ain’t Sunday.’ And then they tells him -as how the bells was ringing ’cause him that was the Beak—my father, -you know—he’d got a son and hare. And that was me. You wouldn’t think -it to look at me,” he added, spitting pensively and taking up the -barrow handles, “but I’m a son and hare.” - -“And then what happened?” Mavis asked as they trudged on. - -“Oh, George—he done his time, and I was a kiddy then, year-and-a-half -old, all lace and ribbons and blue shoes made of glove-stuff, and -George pinched me, and it makes me breff short, wheeling and talking.” - -“Pause and rest, my spangled friend,” said the Mermaid in a voice of -honey, “and continue your thrilling narrative.” - -“There ain’t no more to it,” said the boy, “except that I got one of -the shoes. Old Mother Romaine ’ad kep’ it, and a little shirt like a -lady’s handkercher, with R. V. on it in needlework. She didn’t ever -tell me what part of the country my dad was Beak in. Said she’d tell -me next day. An’ then there wasn’t no next day for her—not fer telling -things in, there wasn’t.” - -He rubbed his sleeve across his eyes. - -“She wasn’t half a bad sort,” he explained. - -“Don’t cry,” said Mavis unwisely. - -“Cry? Me?” he answered scornfully. “I’ve got a cold in me ’ead. You -oughter know the difference between a cold in the head and sniveling. -You been to school, I lay?—they might have taught you that.” - -“I wonder the gypsies didn’t take the shoe and the shirt away from you?” - -“Nobody know’d I’d got ’em; I always kep’ ’em inside my shirt, wrapt -up in a bit of paper, and when I put on me tights I used to hide ’em. -I’m a-going to take the road one of these days, and find out who it was -lost a kid with blue shoes and shirt nine years come April.” - -“Then you’re ten and a half,” said Mavis. - -And the boy answered admiringly: - -“How do you do it in your head so quick, miss? Yes, that’s what I am.” - -Here the wheelbarrow resumed its rather bumpety progress, and nothing -more could be said till the next stoppage, which was at that spot where -the sea-front road swings around and down, and glides into the beach so -gently that you can hardly tell where one begins and the other ends. -It was much lighter there than up on the waste space. The moon was -just breaking through a fluffy white cloud and cast a trembling sort -of reflection on the sea. As they came down the slope all hands were -needed to steady the barrow, because as soon as she saw the sea the -Mermaid began to jump up and down like a small child at a Christmas -tree. - -“Oh, look!” she cried, “isn’t it beautiful? Isn’t it the only home in -the world?” - -“Not quite,” said the boy. - -“Ah!” said the lady in the barrow, “Of course you’re heir to one of -the—what is it...?” - -“‘Stately homes of England—how beautiful they stand,’” said Mavis. - -“Yes,” said the lady. “I knew by instinct that he was of noble birth.” - - _“‘I bid ye take care of the brat,’ said he, - ‘For he comes of a noble race,’”_ - - * * * * * - -Francis hummed. He was feeling a little cross and sore. He and Mavis -had had all the anxious trouble of the adventure, and now the Spangled -Boy was the only one the Mermaid was nice to. It was certainly hard. - -“But your stately home would not do for me at all,” she went on. “My -idea of home is all seaweed of coral and pearl—so cosy and delightful -and wet. Now—can you push the chariot to the water’s edge, or will you -carry me?” - -“Not much we won’t,” the Spangled Boy answered firmly. “We’ll push you -as far as we can, and then you’ll have to wriggle.” - -“I will do whatever you suggest,” she said amiably; “but what is this -wriggle of which you speak?” - -“Like a worm,” said Francis. - -“Or an eel,” said Mavis. - -“Nasty low things,” said the Mermaid; and the children never knew -whether she meant the worm and the eel, or the girl and the boy. - -“Now then. All together,” said the Spangled Child. And the barrow -bumped down to the very edge of the rocks. And at the very edge its -wheel caught in a chink and the barrow went sideways. Nobody could help -it, but the Mermaid was tumbled out of her chariot on to the seaweed. - -The seaweed was full and cushiony and soft, and she was not hurt at -all—but she was very angry. - -“You have been to school,” she said, “as my noble preserver reminds -you. You might have learned how not to upset chariots.” - -“It’s we who are your preservers,” Francis couldn’t help saying. - -“Of course you are,” she said coolly, “plain preservers. Not noble -ones. But I forgive you. You can’t help being common and clumsy. I -suppose it’s your nature—just as it’s his to be....” - -“Good-bye,” said Francis, firmly. - -“Not at all,” said the lady. “You must come with me in case there -are any places where I can’t exercise the elegant and vermiform -accomplishment you spoke about. Now, one on each side, and one behind, -and don’t walk on my tail. You can’t think how annoying it is to have -your tail walked on.” - -[Illustration: _And disappeared entirely._] - -“Oh, can’t I,” said Mavis. “I’ll tell you something. My mother has a -tail too.” - -“I _say_!” said Francis. - -But the Spangled Child understood. - -“She don’t wear it every day, though,” he said; and Mavis is almost -sure that he winked. Only it is so difficult to be sure about winks in -the starlight. - -“Your mother must be better born than I supposed,” said the Mermaid. -“Are you _quite_ sure about the tail?” - -“I’ve trodden on it often,” said Mavis—and then Francis saw. - -Wriggling and sliding and pushing herself along by her hands, and -helped now and then by the hands of the others, the Mermaid was at last -got to the edge of the water. - -“How glorious! In a moment I shall be quite wet,” she cried. - -In a moment everyone else was quite wet also—for with a movement that -was something between a squirm and a jump, she dropped from the edge -with a splashing flop. - -And disappeared entirely. - - - - -CHAPTER FIVE - -_Consequences_ - - -THE THREE CHILDREN looked at each other. - -“Well!” said Mavis. - -“I do think she’s ungrateful,” said Francis. - -“What did you expect?” asked the Spangled Child. - -They were all wet through. It was very late—they were very tired, and -the clouds were putting the moon to bed in a very great hurry. The -Mermaid was gone; the whole adventure was ended. - -There was nothing to do but to go home, and go to sleep, knowing that -when they woke the next morning it would be to a day in the course of -which they would have to explain their wet clothes to their parents. - -“Even _you_’ll have to do that,” Mavis reminded the Spangled Boy. - -He received her remark in what they afterward remembered to have been a -curiously deep silence. - -“I don’t know how on earth we _are_ to explain,” said Francis. “I -really don’t. Come on—let’s get home. No more adventures for me, thank -you. Bernard knew what he was talking about.” - -Mavis, very tired indeed, agreed. - -They had got over the beach by this time, recovered the wheelbarrow, -and trundled it up and along the road. At the corner the Spangled Boy -suddenly said: - -“Well then, so long, old sports,” and vanished down a side lane. - -The other two went on together—with the wheelbarrow, which, I may -remind you, was as wet as any of them. - -They went along by the hedge and the mill and up to the house. - -Suddenly Mavis clutched at her brother’s arm. - -“There’s a light,” she said, “in the house.” - -There certainly was, and the children experienced that terrible -empty sensation only too well known to all of us—the feeling of the -utterly-found-out. - -They could not be sure which window it was, but it was a downstairs -window, partly screened by ivy. A faint hope still buoyed up Francis -of getting up to bed unnoticed by whoever it was that had the light; -and he and his sister crept around to the window out of which they had -crept; but such a very long time ago it seemed. The window was shut. - -Francis suggested hiding in the mill and trying to creep in unobserved -later on, but Mavis said: - -“No. I’m too tired for anything. I’m too tired to _live_, I think. -Let’s go and get it over, and then we can go to bed and sleep, and -sleep, and sleep.” - -So they went and peeped in at the kitchen window, and there was no one -but Mrs. Pearce, and she had a fire lighted and was putting a big pot -on it. - -The children went to the back door and opened it. - -“You’re early, for sure,” said Mrs. Pearce, not turning. - -This seemed a bitter sarcasm. It was too much. Mavis answered it with -a sob. And at that Mrs. Pearce turned very quickly. - -“What to gracious!” she said—“whatever to gracious is the matter? -Where’ve you been?” She took Mavis by the shoulder. “Why, you’re all -sopping wet. You naughty, naughty little gell, you. Wait till I tell -your Ma—been shrimping I lay—or trying to—never asking when the tide -was right. And not a shrimp to show for it, I know, with the tide where -it is. You wait till we hear what your Ma’s got to say about it. And -look at my clean flags and you dripping all over ’em like a fortnight’s -wash in wet weather.” - -Mavis twisted a little in Mrs. Pearce’s grasp. “Oh, don’t scold us, -dear Mrs. Pearce,” she said, putting a wet arm up toward Mrs. Pearce’s -neck. “We _are_ so miserable.” - -“And so you deserve to be,” said Mrs. Pearce, smartly. “Here, young -chap, you go into the washhouse and get them things off, and drop -them outside the door, and have a good rub with the jack-towel; and -little miss can undress by the fire and put hern in this clean pail—and -I’ll pop up softlike and so as your Ma don’t hear, and bring you down -something dry.” - -A gleam of hope fell across the children’s hearts—a gleam wild and -watery as that which the moonlight had cast across the sea, into which -the Mermaid had disappeared. Perhaps after all Mrs. Pearce wasn’t going -to tell Mother. If she was, why should she pop up softlike? Perhaps she -would keep their secret. Perhaps she would dry their clothes. Perhaps, -after all, that impossible explanation would never have to be given. - -The kitchen was a pleasant place, with bright brasses and shining -crockery, and a round three-legged table with a clean cloth and -blue-and-white teacups on it. - -Mrs. Pearce came down with their nightgowns and the warm dressing gowns -that Aunt Enid had put in in spite of their expressed wishes. How glad -they were of them now! - -“There, that’s a bit more like,” said Mrs. Pearce; “here, don’t look -as if I was going to eat you, you little Peter Grievouses. I’ll hot up -some milk and here’s a morsel of bread and dripping to keep the cold -out. Lucky for you I was up—getting the boys’ breakfast ready. The -boats’ll be in directly. The boys will laugh when I tell them—laugh fit -to bust their selves they will.” - -“Oh, don’t tell,” said Mavis, “don’t, please don’t. Please, please -don’t.” - -“Well, I like that,” said Mrs. Pearce, pouring herself some tea from -a pot which, the children learned later, stood on the hob all day and -most of the night; “it’s the funniest piece I’ve heard this many a day. -Shrimping at high tide!” - -“I thought,” said Mavis, “perhaps you’d forgive us, and dry our -clothes, and not tell anybody.” - -“Oh, you did, did you?” said Mrs. Pearce. “Anything else—?” - -“No, nothing else, thank you,” said Mavis, “only I want to say thank -you for being so kind, and it isn’t high tide yet, and please we -haven’t done any harm to the barrow—but I’m afraid it’s rather wet, and -we oughtn’t to have taken it without asking, I know, but you were in -bed and—” - -“The barrow?” Mrs. Pearce repeated. “That great hulking barrow—you -took the barrow to bring the shrimps home in? No—I can’t keep it to -myself—that really I can’t—” she lay back in the armchair and shook -with silent laughter. - -The children looked at each other. It is not pleasant to be laughed at, -especially for something you have never done—but they both felt that -Mrs. Pearce would have laughed quite as much, or even more, if they had -told her what it really was they had wanted the barrow for. - -“Oh, don’t go on laughing,” said Mavis, creeping close to Mrs. Pearce, -“though you are a ducky darling not to be cross any more. And you won’t -tell, will you?” - -“Ah, well—I’ll let you off this time. But you’ll promise faithful never -to do it again, now, won’t you?” - -“We faithfully won’t ever,” said both children, earnestly. - -“Then off you go to your beds, and I’ll dry the things when your Ma’s -out. I’ll press ’em tomorrow morning while I’m waiting for the boys to -come in.” - -“You _are_ an angel,” said Mavis, embracing her. - -“More than you are then, you young limbs,” said Mrs. Pearce, returning -the embrace. “Now off you go, and get what sleep you can.” - -It was with a feeling that Fate had not, after all, been unduly harsh -with them that Mavis and Francis came down to a very late breakfast. - -“Your Ma and Pa’s gone off on their bikes,” said Mrs. Pearce, bringing -in the eggs and bacon, “won’t be back till dinner. So I let you have -your sleep out. The little ’uns had theirs three hours ago and out on -the sands. I told them to let you sleep, though I know they wanted to -hear how many shrimps you caught. I lay they expected a barrowful, same -as what you did.” - -“How did you know they knew we’d been out?” Francis asked. - -“Oh, the way they was being secret in corners, and looking the old -barrow all over was enough to make a cat laugh. Hurry up, now. I’ve got -the washing-up to do—and your things is well-nigh dry.” - -“You _are_ a darling,” said Mavis. “Suppose you’d been different, -whatever would have become of us?” - -“You’d a got your desserts—bed and bread and water, instead of this -nice egg and bacon and the sands to play on. So now you know,” said -Mrs. Pearce. - - * * * * * - -On the sands they found Kathleen and Bernard, and it really now, in -the bright warm sunshine, seemed almost worthwhile to have gone through -last night’s adventures, if only for the pleasure of telling the tale -of them to the two who had been safe and warm and dry in bed all the -time. - -“Though really,” said Mavis, when the tale was told, “sitting here and -seeing the tents and the children digging, and the ladies knitting, -and the gentlemen smoking and throwing stones, it does hardly seem as -though there _could_ be any magic. And yet, you know, there was.” - -“It’s like I told you about radium and things,” said Bernard. “Things -aren’t magic because they haven’t been found out yet. There’s always -been Mermaids, of course, only people didn’t know it.” - -“But she talks,” said Francis. - -“Why not?” said Bernard placidly. “Even parrots do that.” - -“But she talks English,” Mavis urged. - -“Well,” said Bernard, unmoved, “what would you have had her talk?” - -And so, in pretty sunshine, between blue sky and good sands, the -adventure of the Mermaid seemed to come to an end, to be now only as -a tale that is told. And when the four went slowly home to dinner all -were, I think, a little sad that this should be so. - -“Let’s go around and have a look at the empty barrow,” Mavis said; -“it’ll bring it all back to us, and remind us of what was in it, like -ladies’ gloves and troubadours.” - -The barrow was where they had left it, but it was not empty. A very -dirty piece of folded paper lay in it, addressed in penciled and -uncertain characters - - TO FRANCE - TO BE OPENED. - -Francis opened it and read aloud: - - “I went back and she came back and she wants you to - come back at ded of nite. - - RUBE.” - -“Well, I shan’t go,” said Francis. - -A voice from the bush by the gate made them all start. - -“Don’t let on you see me,” said the Spangled Boy, putting his head out -cautiously. - -“You seem very fond of hiding in bushes,” said Francis. - -“I am,” said the boy briefly. “Ain’t you going—to see her again, I -mean?” - -“No,” said Francis, “I’ve had enough dead of night to last me a long -time.” - -“You a-going, miss?” the boy asked. “No? You are a half-livered crew. -It’ll be only me, I suppose.” - -“You’re going, then?” - -“Well,” said the boy, “what do you think?” - -“I should go if I were you,” said Bernard impartially. - -“No, you wouldn’t; not if you were me,” said Francis. “You don’t know -how disagreeable she was. I’m fed up with her. And besides, we simply -_can’t_ get out at dead of night now. Mrs. Pearce’ll be on the lookout. -No—it’s no go.” - -“But you _must_ manage it somehow,” said Kathleen; “you can’t let it -drop like this. I shan’t believe it was magic at all if you do.” - -“If you were us, you’d have had enough of magic,” said Francis. “Why -don’t you go yourselves—you and Bernard.” - -“I’ve a good mind to,” said Bernard unexpectedly. “Only not in the -middle of the night, because of my being certain to drop my boots. -Would you come, Cathay?” - -“You know I wanted to before,” said Kathleen reproachfully. - -“But how?” the others asked. - -“Oh,” said Bernard, “we must think about that. I say, you chap, we must -get to our dinner. Will you be here after?” - -“Yes. I ain’t going to move from here. You might bring me a bit of grub -with you—I ain’t had a bite since yesterday teatime.” - -“I say,” said Francis kindly, “did they stop your grub to punish you -for getting wet?” - -“They didn’t know nothing about my getting wet,” he said darkly. “I -didn’t never go back to the tents. I’ve cut my lucky, I ’ave ’ooked it, -skedaddled, done a bunk, run away.” - -“And where are you going?” - -“_I_ dunno,” said the Spangled Boy. “I’m running _from_, not to.” - - - - -CHAPTER SIX - -_The Mermaid’s Home_ - - -THE PARENTS of Mavis, Francis, Kathleen and Bernard were extremely -sensible people. If they had not been, this story could never have -happened. They were as jolly as any father and mother you ever met, -but they were not always fussing and worrying about their children, -and they understood perfectly well that children do not care to be -absolutely always under the parental eye. So that, while there were -always plenty of good times in which the whole family took part, there -were also times when Father and Mother went off together and enjoyed -themselves in their own grown-up way, while the children enjoyed -themselves in theirs. It happened that on this particular afternoon -there was to be a concert at Lymington—Father and Mother were going. -The children were asked whether they would like to go, and replied with -equal courtesy and firmness. - -“Very well then,” said Mother, “you do whatever you like best. I should -play on the shore, I think, if I were you. Only don’t go around the -corner of the cliff, because that’s dangerous at high tide. It’s safe -so long as you’re within sight of the coast guards. Anyone have any -more pie? No—then I think I’ll run and dress.” - -“Mother,” said Kathleen suddenly, “may we take some pie and things to a -little boy who said he hadn’t had anything to eat since yesterday?” - -“Where is he?” Father asked. - -Kathleen blushed purple, but Mavis cautiously replied, “Outside. I’m -sure we shall be able to find him.” - -“Very well,” said Mother, “and you might ask Mrs. Pearce to give you -some bread and cheese as well. Now, I must simply fly.” - -“Cathay and I’ll help you, Mother,” said Mavis, and escaped the further -questioning she saw in her father’s eye. The boys had slipped away at -the first word of what seemed to be Kathleen’s amazing indiscretion -about the waiting Rube. - -“It was quite all right,” Kathleen argued later, as they went up the -field, carefully carrying a plate of plum pie and the bread and cheese -with not so much care and a certain bundle not carefully at all. “I -saw flying in Mother’s eye before I spoke. And if you _can_ ask leave -before you do a thing it’s always safer.” - -“And look here,” said Mavis. “If the Mermaid wants to see us we’ve only -got to go down and say ‘Sabrina fair,’ and she’s certain to turn up. If -it’s just seeing us she wants, and not another deadly night adventure.” - -Reuben did not eat with such pretty manners as yours, perhaps, but -there was no doubt about his enjoyment of the food they had brought, -though he only stopped eating for half a second, to answer, “Prime. -Thank you,” to Kathleen’s earnest inquiries. - -“Now,” said Francis when the last crumb of cheese had disappeared and -the last trace of plum juice had been licked from the spoon (a tin one, -because, as Mrs. Pearce very properly said, you never know)—“now, look -here. We’re going straight down to the shore to try and see her. And if -you like to come with us we can disguise you.” - -“What in?” Reuben asked. “I did disguise myself once in a false beard -and a green-colored mustache, but it didn’t take no one in for a -moment, not even the dogs.” - -“We thought,” said Mavis gently, “that perhaps the most complete -disguise for you would be girl’s clothes—because,” she added hastily to -dispel the thundercloud on Reuben’s brow—“because you’re such a manly -boy. Nobody would give vent to a moment’s suspicion. It would be so -very unlike _you_.” - -“G’a long—” said the Spangled Child, his dignity only half soothed. - -“And I’ve brought you some of my things and some sandshoes of France’s, -because, of course, mine are just kiddy shoes.” - -At that Reuben burst out laughing and then hummed: “‘Go, flatterer, go, -I’ll not trust to thy vow,’” quite musically. - -“Oh, do you know the ‘Gypsy Countess’? How jolly!” said Kathleen. - -“Old Mother Romaine knew a power of songs,” he said, suddenly grave. -“Come on, chuck us in the togs.” - -“You just take off your coat and come out and I’ll help you dress up,” -was Francis’s offer. - -“Best get a skirt over my kicksies first,” said Reuben, “case anyone -comes by and recognizes the gypsy cheild. Hand us in the silk attire -and jewels have to spare.” - -They pushed the blue serge skirt and jersey through the branches, which -he held apart. - -“Now the ’at,” he said, reaching a hand for it. But the hat was too -large for the opening in the bush, and he had to come out of it. The -moment he was out the girls crowned him with the big rush-hat, around -whose crown a blue scarf was twisted, and Francis and Bernard each -seizing a leg, adorned those legs with brown stockings and white -sandshoes. Reuben, the spangled runaway from the gypsy camp, stood up -among his new friends a rather awkward and quite presentable little -girl. - -“Now,” he said, looking down at his serge skirts with a queer smile, -“now we shan’t be long.” - -Nor were they. Thrusting the tin spoon and the pie plate and the -discarded boots of Reuben into the kind shelter of the bush they made -straight for the sea. - -When they got to that pleasant part of the shore which is smooth sand -and piled shingle, lying between low rocks and high cliffs, Bernard -stopped short. - -“Now, look here,” he said, “if Sabrina fair turns up trumps I don’t -mind going on with the adventure, but I won’t do it if Kathleen’s to be -in it.” - -“It’s not fair,” said Kathleen; “you said I might.” - -“Did I?” Bernard most handsomely referred the matter to the others. - -“Yes, you did,” said Francis shortly. Mavis said “Yes,” and Reuben -clinched the matter by saying, “Why, you up and asked her yourself if -she’d go along of you.” - -“All right,” said Bernard calmly. “Then I shan’t go myself. That’s all.” - -“Oh, bother,” said at least three of the five; and Kathleen said: “I -don’t see why I should always be out of everything.” - -“Well,” said Mavis impatiently, “after all, there’s no danger in -just trying to _see_ the Mermaid. You promise you won’t do anything -if Bernard says not—that’ll do, I suppose? Though why you should be -a slave to him just because he chooses to say you’re his particular -sister, I don’t see. Will _that_ do, Bear?” - -“I’ll promise _anything_,” said Kathleen, almost in tears, “if you’ll -only let me come with you all and see the Mermaid if she turns out to -be seeable.” - -So that was settled. - -Now came the question of where the magic words should be said. - -Mavis and Francis voted for the edge of the rocks where the words had -once already been so successfully spoken. Bernard said, “Why not here -where we are?” Kathleen said rather sadly that any place would do as -long as the Mermaid came when she was called. But Reuben, standing -sturdily in his girl’s clothes, said: - -“Look ’ere. When you’ve run away like what I have, least said soonest -mended, and out of sight’s out of mind. What about caves?” - -“Caves are too dry, except at high tide,” said Francis. “And then -they’re too wet. Much.” - -“Not all caves,” Reuben reminded him. “If we was to turn and go up by -the cliff path. There’s a cave up there. I hid in it t’other day. Quite -dry, except in one corner, and there it’s as wet as you want—a sort of -’orse trough in the rocks it looks like—only deep.” - -“Is it seawater?” Mavis asked anxiously. And Reuben said: - -“Bound to be, so near the sea and all.” - -But it wasn’t. For when they had climbed the cliff path and Reuben had -shown them where to turn aside from it, and had put aside the brambles -and furze that quite hid the cave’s mouth, Francis saw at once that the -water here could not be seawater. It was too far above the line which -the waves reached, even in the stormiest weather. - -“So it’s no use,” he explained. - -But the others said, “Oh, do let’s try, now we _are_ here,” and they -went on into the dusky twilight of the cave. - -It was a very pretty cave, not chalk, like the cliffs, but roofed and -walled with gray flints such as the houses and churches are built of -that you see on the downs near Brighton and Eastbourne. - -“This isn’t an accidental cave, you know,” said Bernard importantly; -“it’s built by the hand of man in distant ages, like Stonehenge and the -Cheesewring and Kit’s Coty House.” - -The cave was lighted from the entrance where the sunshine crept -faintly through the brambles. Their eyes soon grew used to the gloom -and they could see that the floor of the cave was of dry white sand, -and that along one end was a narrow dark pool of water. Ferns fringed -its edge and drooped their fronds to its smooth surface—a surface which -caught a gleam of light, and shone whitely; but the pool was very -still, and they felt somehow, without knowing why, very deep. - -“It’s no good, no earthly,” said Francis. - -“But it’s an awfully pretty cave,” said Mavis consolingly. “Thank you -for showing it to us, Reuben. And it’s jolly cool. Do let’s rest a -minute or two. I’m simply boiling, climbing that cliff path. We’ll go -down to the sea in a minute. Reuben could wait here if he felt safer.” - -“All right, squattez-vous,” said Bernard, and the children sat down at -the water’s edge, Reuben still very awkward in his girl’s clothes. - -It was very, very quiet. Only now and then one fat drop of water would -fall from the cave’s roof into that quiet pool and just move its -surface in a spreading circle. - -“It’s a ripping place for a hidey-hole,” said Bernard, “better than -that old bush of yours, anyhow. I don’t believe anybody knows of the -way in.” - -“_I_ don’t think anyone does, either,” said Reuben, “because there -wasn’t any way in till it fell in two days ago, when I was trying to -dig up a furze root.” - -“I should hide here if you want to hide,” said Bernard. - -“I mean to,” said Reuben. - -“Well, if you’re rested, let’s get on,” Francis said; but Kathleen -urged: - -“Do let’s say ‘Sabrina fair,’ first—just to try!” So they said it—all -but the Spangled Child who did not know it— - - “‘_Sabrina fair - Listen where thou art sitting - Under the glassie, cool...._’” - -There was a splash and a swirl in the pool, and there was the Mermaid -herself, sure enough. Their eyes had grown used to the dusk and they -could see her quite plainly, could see too that she was holding out her -arms to them and smiling so sweetly that it almost took their breath -away. - -“My cherished preservers,” she cried, “my dear, darling, kind, brave, -noble, unselfish dears!” - -“You’re talking to Reuben, in the plural, by mistake, I suppose,” said -Francis, a little bitterly. - -“To him, too, of course. But you two most of all,” she said, swishing -her tail around and leaning her hands on the edge of the pool. “I -_am_ so sorry I was so ungrateful the other night. I’ll tell you how -it was. It’s in your air. You see, coming out of the water we’re very -susceptible to aerial influences—and that sort of ungratefulness and, -what’s the word—?” - -“Snobbishness,” said Francis firmly. - -“Is that what you call it?—is most frightfully infectious, and your -air’s absolutely crammed with the germs of it. That’s why I was so -horrid. You do forgive me, don’t you, dears? And I was so selfish, -too—oh, horrid. But it’s all washed off now, in the nice clean sea, -and I’m as sorry as if it had been my fault, which it really and truly -wasn’t.” - -The children said all right, and she wasn’t to mind, and it didn’t -matter, and all the things you say when people say they are sorry, and -you cannot kiss them and say, “Right oh,” which is the natural answer -to such confessions. - -“It was very curious,” she said thoughtfully, “a most odd experience, -that little boy ... his having been born of people who had always been -rich, really seemed to me to be important. I assure you it did. Funny, -wasn’t it? And now I want you all to come home with me, and see where I -live.” - -She smiled radiantly at them, and they all said, “Thank you,” and -looked at each other rather blankly. - -“All our people will be unspeakably pleased to see you. We Mer-people -are not really ungrateful. You mustn’t think that,” she said pleadingly. - -She looked very kind, very friendly. But Francis thought of the -Lorelei. Just so kind and friendly must the Lady of the Rhine have -looked to the “sailor in a little skiff” whom he had disentangled -from Heine’s poem, last term, with the aid of the German dicker. By a -curious coincidence and the same hard means, Mavis had, only last term, -read of Undine, and she tried not to think that there was any lack of -soul in the Mermaid’s kind eyes. Kathleen who, by another coincidence, -had fed her fancy in English literature on the “Forsaken Merman” was -more at ease. - -“Do you mean down with you under the sea?” she asked— - - “‘_Where the sea snakes coil and twine, - Dry their mail and bask in the brine, - Where great whales go sailing by, - Sail and sail with unshut eye - Round the world for ever and aye?_’” - -“Well, it’s not exactly like that, really,” said the Mermaid; “but -you’ll see soon enough.” - -This had, in Bernard’s ears, a sinister ring. - -“Why,” he asked suddenly, “did you say you wanted to see us at dead of -night?” - -“It’s the usual time, isn’t it?” she asked, looking at him with -innocent surprise. “It is in all the stories. You know we have air -stories just as you have fairy stories and water stories—and the -rescuer almost always comes to the castle gate at dead of night, on a -coal-black steed or a dapple-gray, you know, or a red-roan steed of -might; but as there were four of you, besides me and my tail, I thought -it more considerate to suggest a chariot. Now, we really ought to be -going.” - -“Which way?” asked Bernard, and everyone held their breath to hear the -answer. - -“The way I came, of course,” she answered, “down here,” and she pointed -to the water that rippled around her. - -“Thank you so very, _very_ much,” said Mavis, in a voice which trembled -a little; “but I don’t know whether you’ve heard that people who -go down into the water like that—people like us—without tails, you -know—they get drowned.” - -“Not if they’re personally conducted,” said the Mermaid. “Of course we -can’t be responsible for trespassers, though even with them I don’t -think anything very dreadful has ever happened. Someone once told me a -story about Water Babies. Did you ever hear of that?” - -“Yes, but that was a made-up story,” said Bernard stolidly. - -“Yes, of course,” she agreed, “but a great deal of it’s quite true, all -the same. But you won’t grow fins and gills or anything like that. You -needn’t be afraid.” - -The children looked at each other, and then all looked at Francis. He -spoke. - -“Thank you,” he said. “Thank you very much, but we would rather -not—much rather.” - -“Oh, nonsense,” said the lady kindly. “Look here, it’s as easy as easy. -I give you each a lock of my hair,” she cut off the locks with her -shell knife as she spoke, long locks they were and soft. “Look here, -tie these round your necks—if I’d had a lock of human hair round my -neck I should never have suffered from the dryness as I did. And then -just jump in. Keep your eyes shut. It’s rather confusing if you don’t; -but there’s no danger.” - -The children took the locks of hair, but no one regarded them with any -confidence at all as lifesaving apparatus. They still hung back. - -“You really are silly,” said the sea lady indulgently. “Why did you -meddle with magic at all if you weren’t prepared to go through with -it? Why, this is one of the simplest forms of magic, and the safest. -Whatever would you have done if you had happened to call up a fire -spirit and had had to go down Vesuvius with a Salamander round your -little necks?” - -She laughed merrily at the thought. But her laugh sounded a little -angry too. - -“Come, don’t be foolish,” she said. “You’ll never have such a -chance again. And I feel that this air is full of your horrid human -microbes—distrust, suspicion, fear, anger, resentment—horrid little -germs. I don’t want to risk catching them. Come.” - -“No,” said Francis, and held out to her the lock of her hair; so did -Mavis and Bernard. But Kathleen had tied the lock of hair round her -neck, and she said: - -“I _should_ have liked to, but I promised Bernard I would not do -anything unless he said I might.” It was toward Kathleen that the -Mermaid turned, holding out a white hand for the lock. - -Kathleen bent over the water trying to untie it, and in one awful -instant the Mermaid had reared herself up in the water, caught Kathleen -in her long white arms, pulled her over the edge of the pool, and with -a bubbling splash disappeared with her beneath the dark water. - -[Illustration: _She caught Kathleen in her arms._] - -Mavis screamed and knew it; Francis and Bernard thought they did not -scream. It was the Spangled Child alone who said nothing. He had not -offered to give back the lock of soft hair. He, like Kathleen, had -knotted it round his neck; he now tied a further knot, stepped -forward, and spoke in tones which the other three thought the most -noble they had ever heard. - -“She give me the plum pie,” he said, and leaped into the water. - -He sank at once. And this, curiously enough, gave the others -confidence. If he had struggled—but no—he sank like a stone, or like a -diver who means diving and diving to the very bottom. - -“She’s my special sister,” said Bernard, and leaped. - -“If it’s magic it’s all right—and if it isn’t we couldn’t go back home -without her,” said Mavis hoarsely. And she and Francis took hands and -jumped together. - -It was not so difficult as it sounds. From the moment of Kathleen’s -disappearance the sense of magic—which is rather like very sleepy -comfort and sweet scent and sweet music that you just can’t hear the -tune of—had been growing stronger and stronger. And there are some -things so horrible that if you can bring yourself to face them you -simply _can’t_ believe that they’re true. It did not seem possible—when -they came quite close to the idea—that a Mermaid could really come and -talk so kindly and then drown the five children who had rescued her. - -“It’s all right,” Francis cried as they jumped. - -“I ...” He shut his mouth just in time, and down they went. - -You have probably dreamed that you were a perfect swimmer? You know -the delight of that dream-swimming, which is no effort at all, and yet -carries you as far and as fast as you choose. It was like that with -the children. The moment they touched the water they felt that they -belonged in it—that they were as much at home in water as in air. As -they sank beneath the water their feet went up and their heads went -down, and there they were swimming downward with long, steady, easy -strokes. It was like swimming down a well that presently widened to a -cavern. Suddenly Francis found that his head was above water. So was -Mavis’s. - -“All right so far,” she said, “but how are we going to get back?” - -“Oh, the magic will do that,” he answered, and swam faster. - -The cave was lighted by bars of phosphorescence placed like pillars -against the walls. The water was clear and deeply green and along -the sides of the stream were sea anemones and starfish of the most -beautiful forms and the most dazzling colors. The walls were of dark -squarish shapes, and here and there a white oblong, or a blue and a -red, and the roof was of mother-of-pearl which gleamed and glistened -in the pale golden radiance of the phosphorescent pillars. It was very -beautiful, and the mere pleasure of swimming so finely and easily swept -away almost their last fear. This, too, went when a voice far ahead -called: “Hurry up, France—Come on, Mavis,”—and the voice was the voice -of Kathleen. - -They hurried up, and they came on; and the gleaming soft light grew -brighter and brighter. It shone all along the way they had to go, -making a path of glory such as the moon makes across the sea on a -summer night. And presently they saw that this growing light was from -a great gate that barred the waterway in front of them. Five steps led -up to this gate, and sitting on it, waiting for them, were Kathleen, -Reuben, Bernard and the Mermaid. Only now she had no tail. It lay -beside her on the marble steps, just as your stockings lie when you -have taken them off; and there were her white feet sticking out from -under a dress of soft feathery red seaweed. - -They could see it was seaweed though it was woven into a wonderful -fabric. Bernard and Kathleen and the Spangled Boy had somehow got -seaweed dresses too, and the Spangled Boy was no longer dressed as a -girl; and looking down as they scrambled up the steps Mavis and Francis -saw that they, too, wore seaweed suits—“Very pretty, but how awkward to -go home in,” Mavis thought. - -[Illustration: _The golden door._] - -“Now,” said the Mer-lady, “forgive me for taking the plunge. I knew -you’d hesitate forever, and I was beginning to feel so cross! That’s -your dreadful atmosphere! Now, here we are at the door of our kingdom. -You do want to come in, don’t you? I can bring you as far as this -against your will, but not any farther. And you can’t come any farther -unless you trust me absolutely. Do you? Will you? Try!” - -“Yes,” said the children, all but Bernard, who said stoutly: - -“I don’t; but I’ll try to. I want to.” - -“If you want to, I think you _do_,” said she very kindly. “And now -I will tell you one thing. What you’re breathing isn’t air, and it -isn’t water. It’s something that both water people and air people can -breathe.” - -“The greatest common measure,” said Bernard. - -“A simple equation,” said Mavis. - -“Things which are equal to the same thing are equal to each other,” -said Francis; and the three looked at each other and wondered why they -had said such things. - -“Don’t worry,” said the lady, “it’s only the influence of the place. -This is the Cave of Learning, you know, very dark at the beginning and -getting lighter and lighter as you get nearer to the golden door. All -these rocks are made of books really, and they exude learning from -every crack. We cover them up with anemones and seaweed and pretty -things as well as we can, but the learning will leak out. Let us go -through the gate or you’ll all be talking Sanskrit before we know where -we are.” - -She opened the gate. A great flood of glorious sunlight met them, the -solace of green trees and the jeweled grace of bright blossoms. She -pulled them through the door, and shut it. - -“This is where we live,” she said. “Aren’t you glad you came?” - - - - -CHAPTER SEVEN - -_The Skies Are Falling_ - - -AS THE CHILDREN passed through the golden doors a sort of swollen -feeling which was beginning to make their heads quite uncomfortable -passed away, and left them with a curiously clear and comfortable -certainty that they were much cleverer than usual. - -“I _could_ do sums now, and no mistake,” Bernard whispered to Kathleen, -who replied to the effect that dates no longer presented the slightest -difficulty to her. - -Mavis and Francis felt as though they had never before known what it -was to have a clear brain. They followed the others through the golden -door, and then came Reuben, and the Mermaid came last. She had picked -up her discarded tail and was carrying it over her arm as you might a -shawl. She shut the gate, and its lock clicked sharply. - -“We have to be careful, you know,” she said, “because of the people in -the books. They are always trying to get out of the books that the cave -is made of; and some of them are very undesirable characters. There’s a -Mrs. Fairchild—we’ve had a great deal of trouble with her, and a person -called Mrs. Markham who makes everybody miserable, and a lot of people -who think they are being funny when they aren’t—dreadful.” - -The party was now walking along a smooth grassy path, between tall, -clipped box hedges—at least they looked like box hedges, but when Mavis -stroked the close face of one she found that it was not stiff box, but -soft seaweed. - -“Are we in the water or not?” said she, stopping suddenly. - -“That depends on what you mean by water. Water’s a thing human beings -can’t breathe, isn’t it? Well, you are breathing. So this can’t be -water.” - -“I see that,” said Mavis, “but the soft seaweed won’t stand up in air, -and it does in water.” - -“Oh, you’ve found out, have you?” said the Mermaid. “Well, then, -perhaps it is water. Only you see it can’t be. Everything’s like that -down here.” - -“Once you said you lived in water, and you wanted to be wet,” said -Mavis. - -“Mer-people aren’t responsible for what they say in your world. I told -you that, you know,” the Mermaid reminded them. - -Presently they came to a little coral bridge over a stream that flowed -still and deep. “But if what we’re in is water, what’s that?” said -Bernard, pointing down. - -“Ah, now you’re going too deep for me,” said the Mermaid, “at least if -I were to answer I should go too deep for you. Come on—we shall be too -late for the banquet.” - -“What do you have for the banquet?” Bernard asked; and the Mermaid -answered sweetly: “Things to eat.” - -“And to drink?” - -“It’s no use,” said she; “you can’t get at it that way. We drink—but -you wouldn’t understand.” - -Here the grassy road widened, and they came onto a terrace of -mother-of-pearl, very smooth and shining. Pearly steps led down from -it into the most beautiful garden you could invent if you tried for a -year and a day with all the loveliest pictures and the most learned -books on gardening to help you. But the odd thing about it was that -when they came to talk it over afterward they never could agree about -the shape of the beds, the direction of the walks, the kinds and colors -of the flowers, or indeed any single thing about it. But to each it -seemed and will always seem the most beautiful garden ever imagined or -invented. And everyone saw, beyond a distant belt of trees the shining -domes and minarets of very beautiful buildings, and far, far away there -was a sound of music, so far away that at first they could only hear -the music and not the tune. But soon that too was plain, and it was the -most beautiful tune in the world. - -“Crikey,” said Reuben, speaking suddenly and for the first time, “ain’t -it ’evingly neither. Not arf,” he added with decision. - -“Now,” said the Mermaid, as they neared the belt of trees, “you are -going to receive something.” - -“Oh, thank you,” said everybody, and no one liked to add: -“What?”—though that simple word trembled on every tongue. It slipped -off the tip of Reuben’s, indeed, at last, and the Mermaid answered: - -“An ovation.” - -“That’s something to do with eggs, I know,” said Kathleen. “Father was -saying so only the other day.” - -“There will be no eggs in this,” said the Mermaid, “and you may find -it a trifle heavy. But when it is over the fun begins. Don’t be -frightened, Kathleen—Mavis, don’t smooth your hair. Ugly untidiness is -impossible here. You are about to be publicly thanked by our Queen. -You’d rather not? You should have thought of that before. If you will -go about doing these noble deeds of rescue you must expect to be -thanked. Now, don’t forget to bow. And there’s nothing to be frightened -of.” - -They passed through the trees and came on a sort of open courtyard in -front of a palace of gleaming pearl and gold. There on a silver throne -sat the loveliest lady in the world. She wore a starry crown and a -gown of green, and golden shoes, and she smiled at them so kindly that -they forgot any fear they may have felt. The music ended on a note of -piercing sweetness and in the great hush that followed the children -felt themselves gently pushed forward to the foot of the throne. All -around was a great crowd, forming a circle about the pearly pavement on -which they stood. - -The Queen rose up in her place and reached toward them the end of her -scepter where shone a star like those that crowned her. - -“Welcome,” she said in a voice far sweeter than the music, “Welcome -to our Home. You have been kind, you have been brave, you have been -unselfish, and all my subjects do homage to you.” - -At the word the whole of that great crowd bent toward them like -bulrushes in the wind, and the Queen herself came down the steps of her -throne and held out her hands to the children. - -A choking feeling in their throats became almost unbearable as those -kind hands rested on one head after another. - -Then the crowd raised itself and stood upright, and someone called out -in a voice like a trumpet: - -“The children saved one of us—_We die in captivity_. Shout for the -children. Shout!” - -And a roar like the roar of wild waves breaking on rocks went up from -the great crowd that stood all about them. There was a fluttering of -flags or handkerchiefs—the children could not tell which—and then the -voice of their own Mermaid, saying: “There—that’s over. And now we -shall have the banquet. Shan’t we, Mamma?” - -“Yes, my daughter,” said the Queen. - -So the Mermaid they had rescued was a Queen’s daughter! - -“I didn’t know you were a Princess,” said Mavis, as they followed the -Queen along a corridor. - -“That’s why they have made such a fuss, I suppose,” said Bernard. - -“Oh, no, we should have given the ovation to anyone who had saved any -of us from captivity. We love giving ovations. Only we so seldom get -the chance, and even ordinary entertaining is difficult. People are -so prejudiced. We can hardly ever get anyone to come and visit us. I -shouldn’t have got you if you hadn’t happened to find that cave. It -would have been quite impossible for me to give Kathleen that clinging -embrace from shallow water. The cave water is so much more buoyant than -the sea. I daresay you noticed that.” - -Yes—they had. - -“May we sit next you at the banquet?” Kathleen asked suddenly, -“because, you know, it’s all rather strange to us.” - -“Of course, dear,” said the sea lady. - -“But,” said Bernard, “I’m awfully sorry, but I think we ought to go -home.” - -“Oh, don’t talk of it,” said the Mermaid. “Why, you’ve only just come.” - -Bernard muttered something about getting home in time to wash for tea. - -“There’ll be heaps of time,” said Francis impatiently; “don’t fuss and -spoil everything.” - -“I’m not fussing,” said Bernard, stolid as ever. “I never fuss. But I -think we ought to be thinking of getting home.” - -“Well, think about it then,” said Francis impatiently, and turned to -admire the clusters of scarlet flowers that hung from the pillars of -the gallery. - -The banquet was very magnificent, but they never could remember -afterward what it was that they ate out of the silver dishes and drank -out of the golden cups. They none of them forgot the footmen, however, -who were dressed in tight-fitting suits of silver scales, with silver -fingerless gloves, and a sort of helmet on that made them look less -like people than like fish, as Kathleen said. - -“But they _are_ fish,” said the Princess, opening her beautiful eyes; -“they’re the Salmoners, and the one behind Mother’s chair is the Grand -Salmoner. In your country I have heard there are Grand Almoners. We -have Grand Salmoners.” - -“Are all your servants fish?” Mavis asked. - -“Of course,” said the Princess, “but we don’t use servants much -except for state occasions. Most of our work is done by the lower -orders—electric eels, most of them. We get all the power for our -machinery from them.” - -“How do you do it?” Bernard asked, with a fleeting vision of being some -day known as the great man who discovered the commercial value of the -electricity obtainable from eels. - -“We keep a tank of them,” said she, “and you just turn a tap—they’re -connected up to people’s houses—and you connect them with your looms or -lathes or whatever you’re working. That sets up a continuous current -and the eels swim around and around in the current till the work’s -done. It’s beautifully simple.” - -“It’s simply beautiful,” said Mavis warmly. “I mean all this.” She -waved her hand to the row of white arches through which the green of -the garden and the blue of what looked like the sky showed plainly. -“And you live down here and do nothing but play all day long? How -lovely.” - -“You’d soon get tired of play if you did nothing else,” said Bernard -wisely. “At least I know I should. Did you ever make a steam engine?” -he asked the Princess. “That’s what I call work.” - -“It would be, to me,” she said, “but don’t you know that work is what -you have to do and don’t like doing? And play’s whatever you want to -do. Have some more Andrew Aromaticus.” - -She made a sign to a Salmoner, who approached with a great salver -of fruit. The company were seated by fours and fives and sixes at -little tables, such as you see in the dining rooms of the big hotels -where people feed who have motors. These little tables are good for -conversation. - -“Then what _do_ you do?” Kathleen asked. - -“Well, we have to keep all the rivers flowing, for one thing—the -earthly rivers, I mean—and to see to the rain and snow taps, and to -attend to the tides and whirlpools, and open the cages where the winds -are kept. Oh, it’s no easy business being a Princess in our country, I -can tell you, whatever it may be in yours. What do your Princesses do? -Do they open the wind cages?” - -“I ... I don’t know,” said the children. “I think they only open -bazaars.” - -“Mother says they work awfully hard, and they go and see people who are -ill in hospitals,” Kathleen was beginning, but at this moment the Queen -rose and so did everyone else. - -“Come,” said the Princess, “I must go and take my turn at -river-filling. Only Princesses can do the finest sort of work.” - -“What is the hardest thing you have to do?” Francis asked as they -walked out into the garden. - -“Keeping the sea out of our kingdom,” was the answer, “and fighting the -Under Folk. We kept the sea out by trying very hard with both hands, -inside our minds. And, of course, the sky helps.” - -“And how do you fight the Under Folk—and who are they?” Bernard wanted -to know. - -“Why, the thick-headed, heavy people who live in the deep sea.” - -“Different from you?” Kathleen asked. - -“My dear child!” - -“She means,” explained Mavis, “that we didn’t know there were any -other kind of people in the sea except your kind.” - -“You know much less about us than we do about you,” said the Princess. -“Of course there are different nations and tribes, and different -customs and dresses and everything. But there are two great divisions -down here besides us, the Thick-Heads and the Thin-Skins, and we have -to fight both of them. The Thin-Skins live near the surface of the -water, frivolous, silly things like nautiluses and flying fish, very -pleasant, but deceitful and light-minded. They are very treacherous. -The Thick-Heads live in the cold deep dark waters. They are desperate -people.” - -“Do you ever go down there?” - -The Princess shuddered. - -“No,” she said, “but we might have to. If the water ever came into our -kingdom they would attack us, and we should have to drive them out; -and then we should have to drive them right down to their own kingdom -again. It happened once, in my grandfather’s time.” - -“But how on earth,” asked Bernard, “did you ever get the water out -again?” - -“It wasn’t on earth, you know,” said the Princess, “and the Whales blew -a good deal of it out—the Grampuses did their best, but they don’t blow -hard enough. And the Octopuses finished the work by sucking the water -out with their suckers.” - -“Do you have cats here then?” asked Kathleen, whose attention had -wandered, and had only caught a word that sounded like Pussies. - -“Only Octopussies,” said the Princess, “but then they’re eight times as -pussy as your dry-land cats.” - -What Kathleen’s attention had wandered to was a tall lady standing on a -marble pedestal in the middle of a pool. She held a big vase over her -head, and from it poured a thin stream of water. This stream fell in -an arch right across the pool into a narrow channel cut in the marble -of the square in which they now stood, ran across the square, and -disappeared under a dark arch in the face of the rock. - -“There,” said the Princess, stopping. - -“What is it?” asked Reuben, who had been singularly silent. - -“This,” she said simply, “is the source of the Nile. And of all other -rivers. And it’s my turn now. I must not speak again till my term of -source-service is at an end. Do what you will. Go where you will. All -is yours. Only beware that you do not touch the sky. If once profane -hands touch the sky the whole heaven is overwhelmed.” - -She ran a few steps, jumped, and landed on the marble pedestal without -touching the lady who stood there already. Then, with the utmost -care, so that the curved arc of the water should not be slackened or -diverted, she took the vase in her hands and the other lady in her turn -leaped across the pool and stood beside the children and greeted them -kindly. - -“I am Maia. My sister has told me all you did for her,” she said; “it -was I who pinched your foot,” and as she spoke they knew the voice that -had said, among the seaweed-covered rocks at Beachfield: “Save her. We -die in captivity.” - -“What will you do?” she asked, “while my sister performs her -source-service?” - -“Wait, I suppose,” said Bernard. “You see we want to know about going -home.” - -“Didn’t you fix a time to be recalled?” asked Maia. And when they said -no, her beautiful smiling face suddenly looked grave. - -“With whom have you left the charge of speaking the spell of recall?” - -“I don’t know what you mean,” said Bernard. “What spell?” - -“The one which enabled me to speak to you that day in the shallows,” -said Maia. “Of course my sister explained to you that the spell which -enables us to come at your call is the only one by which you can -yourselves return.” - -“She didn’t,” said Mavis. - -“Ah, she is young and impulsive. But no doubt she arranged with someone -to speak the spell and recall you?” - -“No, she didn’t. She doesn’t know any land people except us. She told -me so,” said Kathleen. - -“Well, is the spell written anywhere?” Maia asked. - -“Under a picture” they told her, not knowing that it was also written -in the works of Mr. John Milton. - -“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to wait ’til someone happens to read what -is under the picture,” said Maia kindly. - -“But the house is locked up; there’s no one there to read anything,” -Bernard reminded them. - -There was a dismal silence. Then: - -“Perhaps burglars will break in and read it,” suggested Reuben kindly. -“Anyhow, what’s the use of kicking up a shine about it? _I_ can’t see -what you want to go back for. It’s a little bit of all right here, so -it is—I _don’t_ think. Plucky sight better than anything _I_ ever come -across. I’m a-goin’ to enjoy myself I am, and see all the sights. Miss, -there, said we might.” - -“Well spoken indeed,” said Maia, smiling at his earnest face. “That is -the true spirit of the explorer.” - -“But we’re not explorers,” said Mavis, a little crossly, for her; “and -we’re not so selfish as you think, either. Mother will be awfully -frightened if we’re not home to tea. She’ll think we’re drowned.” - -“Well, you _are_ drowned,” said Maia brightly. “At least that’s what I -believe you land people call it when you come down to us and neglect to -arrange to have the spell of return said for you.” - -“How horrible,” said Mavis. “Oh, Cathay,” and she clutched her sister -tightly. - -“But you needn’t _stay_ drowned,” said the Princess. “Someone’s sure -to say the spell somehow or other. I assure you that this is true; and -then you will go home with the speed of an eel.” - -They felt, somehow, in their bones that this was true, and it consoled -them a little. Things which you feel in your bones are most convincing. - -“But Mother,” said Mavis. - -“You don’t seem to know much about magic,” said Maia pityingly: “the -first principle of magic is that time spent in other worlds doesn’t -count in your own home. No, I see you don’t understand. In your home -it’s still the same time as it was when you dived into the well in the -cave.” - -“But that’s hours ago,” said Bernard; and she answered: - -“I know. But your time is not like our time at all.” - -“What’s the difference?” - -“I can’t explain,” said the Princess. “You can’t compare them any more -than you can compare a starlight and a starfish. They’re quite, quite -different. But the really important thing is that your Mother won’t be -anxious. So now why not enjoy yourselves?” - -And all this time the other Princess had been holding up the jar which -was the source of all the rivers in all the world. - -“Won’t she be very tired?” asked Reuben. - -“Yes, but suppose all the rivers dried up—and she had to know how -people were suffering—that would be something much harder to bear than -tiredness. Look in the pool and see what she is doing for the world.” - -They looked, and it was like a colored cinematograph; and the pictures -melted into one another like the old dissolving views that children -used to love so before cinematographs were thought of. - -They saw the Red Indians building their wigwams by the great rivers—and -the beavers building their dams across the little rivers; they saw -brown men setting their fish traps by the Nile, and brown girls sending -out little golden-lighted love-ships on the Ganges. They saw the -stormy splendor of the St. Lawrence, and the Medway’s pastoral peace. -Little streams dappled with sunlight and the shadow of green leaves, -and the dark and secret torrents that tear through the underworld -in caverns and hidden places. They saw women washing clothes in the -Seine, and boys sailing boats on the Serpentine. Naked savages dancing -in masks beside tropical streams overshadowed by strange trees and -flowers that we do not know—and men in flannels and girls in pink and -blue, punting in the backwaters of the Thames. They saw Niagara and the -Zambesi Falls; and all the time the surface of the pool was smooth as a -mirror and the arched stream that was the source of all they saw poured -ceaselessly over their heads and fell splashing softly into its little -marble channel. - -I don’t know how long they would have stayed leaning their elbows -on the cool parapet and looking down on the changing pictures, but -suddenly a trumpet sounded, drums beat, and everyone looked up. - -“It’s for the review,” said Maia, through the rattle of the drums. “Do -you care for soldiers?” - -“Rather,” said Bernard, “but I didn’t know you had soldiers.” - -“We’re very proud of our troops,” said the Princess. “I am Colonel of -the Lobster Battalion, and my sister commands the Crustacean Brigade; -but we’re not going on parade today.” - -The sound of drums was drawing nearer. “This way to the parade ground,” -said the Princess, leading the way. They looked at the review through a -big arch, and it was like looking into a very big aquarium. - -The first regiment they saw was, as it happened, the 23rd Lobsters. - -If you can imagine a Lobster as big as a Guardsman, and rather stouter, -you will have some idea of the splendid appearance of this regiment. -Only don’t forget that Lobsters in their natural regimentals are not -red. They wear a sort of steel-blue armor, and carry arms of dreadful -precision. They are terrible fellows, the 23rd, and they marched with -an air at once proud and confident. - -Then came the 16th Swordfish—in uniform of delicate silver, their drawn -swords displayed. - -The Queen’s Own Gurnards were magnificent in pink and silver, with real -helmets and spiked collars; and the Boy Scouts—“The Sea Urchins” as -they were familiarly called—were the last of the infantry. - -Then came Mer-men, mounted on Dolphins and Sea Horses, and the Cetacean -Regiments, riding on their whales. Each whale carried a squadron. - -“They look like great trams going by,” said Francis. And so they did. -The children remarked that while the infantry walked upright like -any other foot soldiers, the cavalry troops seemed to be, with their -mounts, suspended in the air about a foot from the ground. - -“And that shows it’s water,” said Bernard. - -“No, it doesn’t,” said Francis. - -“Well, a whale’s not a bird,” said Bernard. - -“And there are other things besides air and water,” said Francis. - -The Household Brigade was perhaps the handsomest. The Grand Salmoner -led his silvery soldiers, and the 100th Halibuts were evidently the -sort of troops to make the foes of anywhere “feel sorry they were born.” - -It was a glorious review, and when it was over the children found that -they had been quite forgetting their desire to get home. - -But as the back of the last Halibut vanished behind the seaweed trees -the desire came back with full force. Princess Maia had disappeared. -Their own Princess was, they supposed, still performing her -source-service. - -Suddenly everything seemed to have grown tiresome. - -“Oh, I do wish we could go home,” said Kathleen. “Couldn’t we just find -the door and go out?” - -“We might _look_ for the door,” said Bernard cautiously, “but I don’t -see how we could get up into the cave again.” - -“We can swim all right, you know,” Mavis reminded them. - -“I think it would be pretty low down to go without saying good-bye to -the Princesses,” said Francis. “Still, there’s no harm in _looking_ for -the door.” - -They did look for the door. And they did not find it. What they did -find was a wall—a great gray wall built of solid stones—above it -nothing could be seen but blue sky. - -“I do wonder what’s on the other side,” said Bernard; and someone, I -will not say which, said: “Let’s climb up and see.” - -It was easy to climb up, for the big stones had rough edges and so did -not fit very closely, and there was room for a toe here and a hand -there. In a minute or two they were all up, but they could not see down -on the other side because the wall was about eight feet thick. They -walked toward the other edge, and still they could not see down; quite -close to the edge, and still no seeing. - -“It isn’t sky at all,” said Bernard suddenly. “It’s a sort of dome—tin -I shouldn’t wonder, painted to look like sky.” - -“It can’t be,” said someone. - -“It is though,” said Bernard. - -“There couldn’t be one so big,” said someone else. - -“But there _is_,” said Bernard. - -And then someone—I will not tell you who—put out a hand, and, quite -forgetting the Princess’s warning, touched the sky. That hand felt -something as faint and thin as a bubble—and instantly this something -broke, and the sea came pouring into the Mer-people’s country. - -“Now you’ve done it,” said one of those whose hand it wasn’t. And -there was no doubt about it; the person who owned the hand _had_ done -it—and done it very thoroughly. It was plain enough now that what they -had been living in was not water, and that this was. The first rush -of it was terrible—but in less than a moment the whole kingdom was -flooded, and then the water became clear and quiet. - -The children found no difficulty in breathing, and it was as easy to -walk as it is on land in a high wind. They could not run, but they -walked as fast as they could to the place where they had left the -Princess pouring out the water for all the rivers in all the world. - -And as they went, one of them said, “Oh don’t, don’t tell it was me. -You don’t know what punishments they may have here.” - -The others said of course they wouldn’t tell. But the one who had -touched the sky felt that it was despised and disgraced. - -They found the pedestal, but what had been the pool was only part of -the enormous sea, and so was the little marble channel. - -The Princess was not there, and they began to look for her, more and -more anxious and wretched. - -“It’s all your fault,” said Francis to the guilty one who had broken -the sky by touching it; and Bernard said, “You shut up, can’t you?” - -It was a long time before they found their Princess, and when they did -find her they hardly knew her. She came swimming toward them, and she -was wearing her tail, and a cuirass and helmet of the most beautiful -mother-of-pearl—thin scales of it overlapping; and the crest on her -helmet was one great pearl, as big as a billiard ball. She carried -something over her arm. - -“Here you are,” she said. “I’ve been looking for you. The future is -full of danger. The water has got in.” - -“Yes, we noticed that,” said Bernard. - -And Mavis said: “Please, it was us. We touched the sky.” - -“Will they punish us?” asked Cathay. - -“There are no punishments here,” said the pearly Princess gravely, -“only the consequences of your action. Our great defense against the -Under Folk is that thin blue dome which you have broken. It can only be -broken from the inside. Our enemies were powerless to destroy it. But -now they may attack us at any moment. I am going to command my troops. -Will you come too?” - -“Rather,” said Reuben, and the others, somewhat less cordially, agreed. -They cheered up a little when the Princess went on. - -“It’s the only way to make you safe. There are four posts vacant -on my staff, and I have brought you the uniforms that go with the -appointments.” She unfolded five tails, and four little pearly coats -like her own, with round pearls for buttons, pearls as big as marbles. -“Put these on quickly,” she said, “they are enchanted coats, given by -Neptune himself to an ancestor of ours. By pressing the third button -from the top you can render yourself invisible. The third button below -that will make you visible again when you wish it, and the last button -of all will enable you to become intangible as well as invisible.” - -“Intangible?” said Cathay. - -“Unfeelable, so you’re quite safe.” - -“But there are only four coats,” said Francis. “That is so,” said the -Princess. “One of you will have to take its chance with the Boy Scouts. -Which is it to be?” - -Each of the children always said, and thought that it meant to say “I -will,” but somehow or other the person who spoke first was Reuben. -The instant the Princess had said “be,” Reuben shouted: “Me,” adding -however almost at once, “please.” - -“Right,” said the Princess kindly, “off with you! The Sea Urchins’ -barracks are behind that rock. Off with you! Here, don’t forget your -tail. It enables you to be as comfortable in the water as any fish.” - -Reuben took the tail and hastened away. - -“Now,” said the Princess. And they all began putting on their tails. It -was like putting both your feet into a very large stocking. Then came -the mail coats. - -“Don’t we have swords?” Francis asked, looking down at his slim and -silvery extremity. - -“Swords? In the Crustacean Brigade? Never forget, children, that you -belong to the Princess’s Own Oysters. Here are your weapons.” She -pointed to a heap of large oyster shells, as big as Roman shields. - -“See,” she said, “you hold them this way as a rule. A very powerful -spring is released when you hold them _that_ way.” - -“But what do you do with it?” Mavis asked. - -“Nip the feet of the enemy,” said the Princess, “and it holds on. Under -Folk have no tails. You wait till they are near a rock; then nip a -foe-man’s foot with your good weapon, laying the other end on the rock. -The oyster shell will at once attach itself to the rock and....” - -A terrible shout rang out, and the Princess stopped. - -“What is it; oh, what is it?” said the children. And the Princess -shuddered. - -Again that shout—the most terrible sound the children had ever heard. - -“What is it?” they said again. - -The Princess drew herself up, as if ashamed of her momentary weakness, -and said: - -“It is the war cry of the Under Folk.” - - - - -CHAPTER EIGHT - -_The Water-War_ - - -AFTER THE SOUND of that terrible shouting there came silence—that is, -there was silence where the children were, but all above they could -hear the rush and rustle of a quick arming. - -“The war cry of the People of the Depths,” said the Princess. - -“I suppose,” said Kathleen forlornly, “that if they’re so near as that -all is lost.” - -“Lost? No, indeed,” cried the Princess. “The People of the Depths are -very strong, but they are very heavy. They cannot rise up and come to -us from the water above. Before they can get in they must scale the -wall.” - -“But they will get over the wall—won’t they?” - -“Not while one of the Royal Halibuts still lives. The Halibuts have -manned the wall; they will keep back the foe. But they won’t attack -yet. They’ll send out their scouts and skirmishers. Till they approach, -the Crustacean Brigade can do nothing. It is a hard thing to watch a -fight in which you may not share. I must apologize for appointing you -to such an unsatisfactory position.” - -“Thank you, _we_ don’t mind,” said Cathay hastily. “What’s that?” - -It was a solid, gleaming sheet of silver that rose above them like a -great carpet—which split and tore itself into silver threads. - -“It is the Swordfish Brigade,” said the Princess. “We could swim up a -little and watch them, if you’re not afraid. You see, the first attack -will probably be delivered by one of their Shark regiments. The 7th -Sharks have a horrible reputation. But our brave Swordfish are a match -for them,” she added proudly. - -The Swordfish, who were slowly swimming to and fro above, seemed to -stiffen as though to meet some danger at present unseen by the others. -Then, with a swift, silent, terrible movement, the Sharks rushed on the -noble defenders of Merland. - -The Swordfish with their deadly weapons were ready—and next moment all -the water was a wild whirl of confused conflict. The Sharks fought with -a sort of harsh, rough courage, and the children, who had drawn away to -a little distance, could not help admiring their desperate onslaught. -But the Swordfish were more than their match. With more skill, and an -equally desperate gallantry, they met and repulsed the savage onslaught -of the Sharks. - -Shoals of large, calm Cod swept up from the depths, and began to -shoulder the dead Sharks sideways toward the water above the walls—the -dead Sharks and, alas! many a brave, dead Swordfish, too. For the -victory had not been a cheap one. - -The children could not help cheering as the victorious Swordfish -re-formed. - -“Pursuit is unnecessary,” said the Princess. “The Sharks have lost too -heavily to resume the attack.” - -A Shark in terror-stricken retreat passed close by her, and she clipped -its tail with her oyster shell. - -The Shark turned savagely, but the Princess with one tail-swish was -out of danger, pushing the children before her outspread arms, and the -Shark began to sink, still making vain efforts to pursue them. - -[Illustration: _The Swordfish Brigade._] - -“The shell will drag him down,” said the Princess; “and now I must go -and get a fresh shield. I wish I knew where the next attack would be -delivered.” - -They sank slowly through the water. - -“I wonder where Reuben is?” said Bernard. - -“Oh, he’s quite safe,” said the Princess. “The Boy Scouts don’t go -outside the walls—they just do a good turn for anybody who wants it, -you know—and help the kind Soles to look after the wounded.” - -They had reached the great flooded garden again and turned toward the -Palace, and as they went a Sea Urchin shell suddenly rose from behind -one of the clipped hedges—a Sea Urchin shell and behind it a long tail. - -The shell was raised, and the face under it was Reuben’s. - -“Hi, Princess!” he shouted. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. -We’ve been scouting. I got a lot of seaweed, and they thought I was -nothing _but_ seaweed; and so I got quite close to the enemy.” - -“It was very rash,” said the Princess severely. - -“The others don’t think so,” he said, a little hurt. “They began by -saying I was only an irregular Sea Urchin, because I’ve got this jolly -tail”—he gave it a merry wag—“and they called me Spatangus, and names -like that. But they’ve made me their General now—General Echinus. I’m a -regular now, and no mistake, and what I was going to say is the enemy -is going to attack the North Tower in force in half an hour.” - -“You good boy,” said the Princess. I do believe if it hadn’t been for -his Sea Urchin’s uniform she would have kissed him. “You’re splendid. -You’re a hero. If you could do it safely—there’s heaps of seaweed—could -you find out if there’s any danger from the Book People? You know—the -ones in the cave. It’s always been our fear that they might attack, -_too_: and if they did—well, I’d rather be the slave of a Shark than -of Mrs. Fairchild.” She gathered an armful of seaweed from the nearest -tree, and Reuben wrapped himself in it and drifted off—looking less -like a live Boy Scout than you could believe possible. - -The defenders of Merland, now acting on Reuben’s information, began to -mass themselves near the North Wall. - -“Now is our time,” said the Princess. “We must go along the tunnel, and -when we hear the sound of their heavy feet shaking the flow of ocean -we must make sallies, and fix our shell shields in their feet. Major, -rally your men.” - -A tall Merchild in the Crustacean uniform blew a clear note, and the -soldiers of the Crustacean Brigade, who having nothing particular to do -had been helping anyone and everyone as best they could, which is the -way in Merland, though not in Europe, gathered about their officers. - -When they were all drawn up before her, the Princess addressed her -troops. - -“My men,” she said, “we have been suddenly plunged into war. But it -has not found us unprepared. I am proud to think that my regiments are -ready to the last pearl button. And I know that every man among you -will be as proud as I am that our post is, as tradition tells us it has -always been, the post of danger. We shall go out into the depths of -the sea to fight the enemies of our dear country, and to lay down our -lives, if need be, for that country’s sake.” - -The soldiers answered by cheers, and the Princess led the way to one of -those little buildings, like Temples of Flora in old pictures, which -the children had noticed in the gardens. At the order given a sergeant -raised a great stone by a golden ring embedded in it and disclosed a -dark passage leading underground. - -A splendid captain of Cockles, six feet high if he was an inch, with a -sergeant and six men, led the way. Three Oyster officers followed, then -a company of Oysters, the advance guard. At the head of the main body -following were the Princess and her Staff. As they went the Princess -explained why the tunnel was so long and sloped so steeply. - -“You see,” she said, “the inside of our wall is only about ten feet -high, but it goes down on the other side for forty feet or more. It -is built on a hill. Now, I don’t want you to feel obliged to come out -and fight. You can stay inside and get the shields ready for us to -take. We shall keep on rushing back for fresh weapons. Of course the -tunnel’s much too narrow for the Under Folk to get in, but they have -their regiment of highly trained Sea Serpents, who, of course, can make -themselves thin and worm through anything.” - -“Cathay doesn’t like serpents,” said Mavis anxiously. - -“You needn’t be afraid,” said the Princess. “They’re dreadful cowards. -They know the passage is guarded by our Lobsters. They won’t come -within a mile of the entrance. But the main body of the enemy will have -to pass quite close. There’s a great sea mountain, and the only way -to our North Tower is in the narrow ravine between that mountain and -Merland.” - -The tunnel ended in a large rocky hall with the armory, hung with ten -thousand gleaming shields, on the one side, and the guardroom crowded -with enthusiastic Lobsters on the other. The entrance from the sea was -a short, narrow passage, in which stood two Lobsters in their beautiful -dark coats of mail. - -Since the moment when the blue sky that looked first so like sky -and then so like painted tin had, touched, confessed itself to be a -bubble—confessed, too, in the most practical way, by bursting and -letting the water into Merland—the children had been carried along by -the breathless rush of preparations for the invasion, and the world -they were now in had rapidly increased in reality, while their own -world, in which till today they had always lived, had been losing -reality at exactly the same rate as that by which the new world gained -it. So it was that when the Princess said: - -“You needn’t go out and attack the enemy unless you like,” they all -answered, in some astonishment: - -“But we _want_ to.” - -“That’s all right,” said the Princess. “I only wanted to see if they -were in working order.” - -“If what were?” - -“Your coats. They’re coats of valor, of course.” - -“I think I could be brave without a coat,” said Bernard, and began to -undo his pearl buttons. - -“Of course you could,” said the Princess. “In fact, you must be brave -to begin with, or the coat couldn’t work. It would be no good to a -coward. It just keeps your natural valor warm and your wits cool.” - -“It makes you braver,” said Kathleen suddenly. “At least I hope it’s -me—but I expect it’s the coat. Anyhow, I’m glad it does. Because I do -want to be brave. Oh, Princess!” - -“Well?” said the Princess, gravely, but not unkindly, “what is it?” - -Kathleen stood a moment, her hands twisting in each other and her eyes -downcast. Then in an instant she had unbuttoned and pulled off her coat -of pearly mail and thrown it at the Princess’s feet. - -“I’ll do it without the coat,” she said, and drew a long breath. - -The others looked on in silence, longing to help her, but knowing that -no one could help her now but herself. - -“It was me,” said Kathleen suddenly, and let go a deep breath of -relief. “It was me that touched the sky and let in the water; and I am -most frightfully sorry, and I know you’ll never forgive me. But—” - -“Quick,” said the Princess, picking up the coat, “get into your armor; -it’ll prevent your crying.” She hustled Kathleen into the coat and kept -her arms around her. “Brave girl,” she whispered. “I’m glad you did it -without the coat.” The other three thought it polite to turn away. “Of -course,” the Princess added, “I knew—but you didn’t know I knew.” - -“How did you know?” said Kathleen. - -“By your eyes,” said the Princess, with one last hug; “they’re quite -different now. Come, let us go to the gate and see if any of our Scouts -are signaling.” - -The two Lobster sentries presented claws as the Princess passed with -her Staff through the narrow arch and onto the sandy plain of the sea -bottom. The children were astonished to find that they could see quite -plain a long way through the water—as far as they could have seen in -air, and the view was very like one kind of land view. First, the -smooth flat sand dotted with copses of branching seaweed—then woods of -taller treelike weeds with rocks shelving up and up to a tall, rocky -mountain. This mountain sent out a spur, then ran along beside the -Merkingdom and joined the rock behind it; and it was along the narrow -gorge so formed that the Under Folk were expected to advance. There -were balls of seaweed floating in the air—at least, it really now had -grown to seem like air, though, of course, it was water—but no signs of -Scouts. - -Suddenly the balls of seaweed drew together and the Princess murmured, -“I thought so,” as they formed into orderly lines, sank to the ground, -and remained motionless for a moment, while one ball of seaweed stood -in front of them. - -“It’s the Boy Scouts,” she said. “Your Reuben is giving them their -orders.” - -It seemed that she was right, for next moment the balls of seaweed -drifted away in different directions, and the one who had stood before -them drifted straight to the arch where the Princess and the children -stood. It drifted in, pulled off its seaweed disguise, and was, in -effect, Reuben. - -“We’ve found out something more, your Highness,” he said, saluting the -Princess. “The vanguard are to be Sea Horses; you know, not the little -ones, but the great things they have in the depths.” - -“No use our attacking the horses,” said the Princess. “They’re as hard -as ice. Who rides them?” - -“The First Dipsys,” said Reuben. “They’re the young Under Folk who want -to cut a dash. They call them the Forlorn Hopers, for short.” - -“Have they got armor?” - -“No—that’s their swank. They’ve no armor but their natural scales. -Those look thick enough, though. I say, Princess, I suppose we Sea -Urchins are free to do exactly as we choose?” - -“Yes,” said the Princess, “unless orders are given.” - -“Well, then—my idea is that the Lobsters are the fellows to tackle the -Sea Horses. Hold on to their tails, see? They can’t hurt the Lobsters -because they can’t get at their own tails.” - -“But when the Lobsters let go?” said the Princess. - -“The Lobsters wouldn’t let go till they had driven back the enemy,” -said the Lobster Captain, saluting. “Your Highness, may I ask if you -propose to take this Urchin’s advice?” - -“Isn’t it good?” she asked. - -“Yes, your Highness,” the Lobster Captain answered, “but it’s -impertinent.” - -[Illustration: _The First Dipsys._] - -“I am the best judge of that,” said the Princess gently; “remember that -these are noble volunteers, who are fighting for us of their own free -will.” - -The Lobster saluted and was silent. - -“I cannot send the Lobsters,” said the Princess, “we need them to -protect the gate. But the Crabs—” - -“Ah, Highness, let us go,” pleaded the Lobster Captain. - -“The Crabs cannot keep the gate,” said the Princess kindly. “You know -they are not narrow enough. Francis, will you be my aide-de-camp and -take a message to the Queen?” - -“May I go, too?” asked Mavis. - -“Yes. But we must deliver a double assault. If the Crabs attack the -Horses, who will deal with the riders?” - -“I have an idea about that, too,” said Reuben. - -“If we could have some good heavy shoving regiment—and someone sharp to -finish them off. The Swordfish, perhaps?” - -“You are a born general,” the Princess said; “but you don’t quite -know our resources. The United Narwhals can do the shoving, as you -call it—and their horns are sharp and heavy. Now”—she took a smooth -white chalkstone from the seafloor, and a ready Lobster brought her a -sharpened haddock bone. She wrote quickly, scratching the letters deep -on the chalk. “Here,” she said, “take this to the Queen. You will find -her at Headquarters at the Palace yard. Tell her everything. I have -only asked for the two regiments; you must explain the rest. I don’t -suppose there’ll be any difficulty in getting through our lines, but, -if there should be, the password is ‘Glory’ and the countersign is ‘or -Death.’ And hurry, hurry, hurry for your lives!” - -Never before had Mavis and Francis felt anything like the glow of -excitement and importance which warmed them as they went up the long -tunnel to take the message to the Queen. - -“But where is the Palace?” Mavis said, and they stopped, looking at -each other. - -“I’ll show you, please,” said a little voice behind them. They turned -quickly to find a small, spruce, gentlemanly Mackerel at their heels. -“I’m one of the Guides,” it said. “I felt sure you’d need me. This -way, sir, please,” and it led the way across the gardens in and out -of the clumps of trees and between the seaweed hedges till they came -to the Palace. Rows and rows of soldiers surrounded it, all waiting -impatiently for the word of command that should send them to meet the -enemies of their country. - -“Glory,” said the gentlemanly Mackerel, as he passed the outposts. - -“Or Death,” replied the sentinel Sea Bream. - -The Queen was in the courtyard, in which the children had received -their ovation—so short a time ago, and yet how long it seemed. Then -the courtyard had been a scene of the calm and charming gaiety of a -nation at peace; now it was full of the ardent, intense inactivity of -waiting warriors. The Queen in her gleaming coral armor met them as -the password opened a way to her through the close-packed ranks of the -soldiers. She took the stone and read it, and with true royal kindness -she found time, even at such a moment, for a word of thanks to the -messengers. - -“See the Narwhals start,” she added, “and then back to your posts with -all speed. Tell your commanding officer that so far the Book People -have made no sign, but the golden gate is strongly defended by the -King’s Own Cod, and—” - -“I didn’t know there was a King,” said Francis. - -The Queen looked stern, and the Mackerel guide jerked Francis’s magic -coattail warningly and whispered “Hush!” - -“The King,” said the Queen quietly, “is no more. He was lost at sea.” - -When the splendid steady column of Narwhals had marched off to its -appointed place the children bowed to the Queen and went back to their -posts. - -“I’m sorry I said anything,” said Francis to the Mackerel, “but I -didn’t know. Besides, how can a Mer-king be lost at sea?” - -“Aren’t your Kings lost on land?” asked the Mackerel, “or if not Kings, -men quite as good? What about explorers?” - -“I see,” said Mavis; “and doesn’t anyone know what has become of him?” - -“No,” said the Mackerel; “he has been lost for a very long time. We -fear the worst. If he were alive he would have come back. We think the -Under Folk have him. They bewitch prisoners so that they forget who -they are. Of course, there’s the antidote. Every uniform is made with -a little antidote pocket just over the heart.” He put his fin inside -his scales and produced a little golden case, just like a skate’s egg. -“You’ve got them, too, of course,” he added. “If you are taken prisoner -swallow the contents at once.” - -“But if you forget who you are,” said Francis, “don’t you forget the -antidote?” - -“No charm,” the Mackerel assured him, “is strong enough to make one -forget one’s counter-charm.” - -And now they were back at the Lobster-guarded gate. The Princess ran to -meet them. - -“What a time you’ve been,” she said. “Is all well? Have the Narwhals -taken up their position?” - -Satisfied on this point, she led the children up a way long and steep -to a window in the wall whence they could look down on the ravine and -see the advance of the foe. The Narwhals were halted about halfway up -the ravine, where it widened to a sort of amphitheater. Here, among the -rocks, they lay in ambush, waiting for the advance of the foe. - -“If it hadn’t been for you, Reuben,” said the Princess, as they leaned -their elbows on the broad rocky ledge of the window, “they might easily -have stormed the North Tower—we should not have been ready—all our -strongest defenses were massed on the south side. It was there they -attacked last time, so the history books tell us.” - -And now a heavy, thundering sound, faint yet terrible, announced the -approach of the enemy—and far away across the sea plain something could -be seen moving. A ball of seaweed seemed to drift up the ravine. - -“A Sea Urchin gone to give the alarm,” said the Princess; “what -splendid things Boy Scouts are. We didn’t have them in the last war. -My dear father only invented them just before—” She paused and sighed. -“Look,” she said. - -The enemy’s heavy cavalry were moving in a solid mass toward -Merland—the great Sea Horses, twenty feet long, and their great riders, -who must have been eight or ten feet high, came more and more quickly, -heading to the ravine. The riders were the most terrible beings the -children had ever seen. Clothed from head to feet in closely fitting -scales, with large heads, large ears, large mouths and blunt noses and -large, blind-looking eyes, they sat each erect on his armored steed, -the long harpoons swaying lightly in their enormous hands. - -The Sea Horses quickened their pace—and a noise like a hoarse trumpet -rang out. - -“They are sounding the charge,” said the Princess; and as she spoke the -Under Folk charged at the ravine, in a determined, furious onrush. - -“Oh, no one can stand up against that—they can’t,” said Cathay, in -despair. - -From the window they could see right down onto the amphitheater, where -the Narwhals were concealed. - -On came the Sea Cavalry—so far unresisted—but as they neared the ambush -bunches of seaweed drifted in the faces of the riders. They floundered -and strove to push away the clinging stuff—and as they strove the -Narwhals made their sortie—drove their weight against the riders and -hurled them from their horses, and from the covers of the rocks the -Crabs advanced with an incredible speed and caught the tails of the -Sea Horses in their inexorable claws. The riders lay on the ground. -The horses were rearing and prancing with fear and pain as the clouds -of seaweed, each with a prickly Sea Urchin in it, flung themselves -against their faces. The riders stood up, fighting to the last; but the -harpoons were no match for the Narwhal’s horns. - -“Come away,” said the Princess. - -Already the Sea Horses, urged by the enormous Crabs, were retreating in -the wildest disorder, pursued by Narwhals and harassed by Sea Urchins. - -The Princess and the children went back to the Lobster sentries. - -“Repulsed,” said the Princess, “with heavy loss”—and the Lobsters -cheered. - -“How’s that, Princess?” said a ball of seaweed, uncurling itself at the -gate and presenting the familiar features of Reuben. - -“How is it?” she said. “It is Victory. And we owe it to you. But you’re -wounded?” - -“Only a scratch,” said Reuben; “harpoon just missed me.” - -“Oh, Reuben, you are a hero,” said Cathay. - -“Get along, you silly,” he answered gracefully. - - - - -CHAPTER NINE - -_The Book People_ - - -EVEN IN THE MIDST OF WAR there are intervals for refreshments. Our -own soldiers, no matter how fierce, must eat to live, and the same is -the case with the submarine regiments. The Crustacean Brigade took -advantage of the lull in hostilities which followed the defeat of the -Sea Horses to march back to the Palace and have a meal. A very plain -meal it was, too, and very different from the “Banquet of Ovations,” -as Cathay pointed out afterward. There were no prettily spread tables -decorated with bunches of seaweed, no plates or knives or forks. The -food was passed around by hand, and there was one drinking horn (a sea -cow’s horn) to every six soldiers. They all sat on the ground as you do -at a picnic, and the Queen came and spoke a few hurried words to them -when on her way to strengthen the defenses of the golden gate. And, -as I said, the food was plain. However, everyone had enough to eat, -which was the main thing. Baskets of provisions were sent down to the -Lobsters’ guardroom. - -“It is important,” said Princess Freia, “that our men should be on the -spot in case they are needed, and the same with the dinner. I shall go -down with the provisions and keep their hearts up.” - -“Yes, dear, do,” said the Princess Maia; “but don’t do anything rash. -No sorties now. You Lobsters are so terribly brave. But you know Mother -said you weren’t to. Ah me! War is a terrible thing! What a state the -rivers will get into with all this water going on, and the winds all -loose and doing as they like. It’s horrible to think about. It will -take ages to get things straight again.” - -(Her fears were only too well founded. All this happened last year—and -you know what a wet summer that was.) - -“I know, dear,” said Freia; “but I know now who broke the sky, and it -is very, very sorry—so we won’t rub it in, will we?” - -“I didn’t mean to,” said Maia, smiling kindly at the children, and went -off to encourage her Lobsters. - -“And now,” said Francis, when the meal was over, “what are we going to -do next?” - -“We can’t do anything but wait for news,” said the Princess. “Our -Scouts will let us know soon enough. I only hope the Book People won’t -attack us at the same time as the Under Folk. That’s always the danger.” - -“How could they get in?” Mavis asked. - -“Through the golden door,” said the Princess. “Of course they couldn’t -do anything if we hadn’t read the books they’re in. That’s the worst -of Education. We’ve all read such an awful lot, and that unlocks the -books and they can come out if anyone calls them. Even our fish are -intolerably well read—except the Porpoises, dear things, who never -could read anything. That’s why the golden door is guarded by them, of -course.” - -“If not having read things is useful,” said Mavis, “we’ve read almost -nothing. Couldn’t we help guard the door?” - -“The very thing,” said the Princess joyously; “for you possess the only -weapon that can be used against these people or against the authors -who created them. If you can truthfully say to them, ‘I never heard -of you,’ your words become a deadly sword that strikes at their most -sensitive spot.” - -“What spot?” asked Bernard. And the Princess answered, “Their vanity.” - -So the little party went toward the golden door and found it behind a -thick wall of Porpoises. Incessant cries came from beyond the gates, -and to every cry they answered like one Porpoise, “We never heard of -you. You can’t come in. You can’t come in. We never heard of you.” - -“We shan’t be any good here,” said Bernard, among the thick, rich -voices of the Porpoises. “They can keep anyone back.” - -“Yes,” said the Princess; “but if the Book Folk look through the gate -and see that they’re only Porpoises their wounded vanity will heal, and -they’ll come on as strongly as ever. Whereas if they did find human -beings who have never heard of them the wounds ought to be mortal. As -long as you are able truthfully to say that you don’t know them they -can’t get in.” - -“Reuben would be the person for this,” said Francis. “I don’t believe -he’s read _anything_!” - -“Well, we haven’t read much,” said Cathay comfortably; “at least, not -about nasty people.” - -“I wish I hadn’t,” sighed the Princess through the noise of the voices -outside the gate. “I know them all. You hear that cold squeak? That’s -Mrs. Fairchild. And that short, sharp, barking sound—that’s Aunt -Fortune. The sort of growl that goes on all the time is Mr. Murdstone, -and that icy voice is Rosamund’s mother—the one who was so hateful -about the purple jar.” - -“I’m afraid we know some of those,” said Mavis. - -“Then be careful not to say you don’t. There are heaps you don’t -know—John Knox and Machiavelli and Don Diego and Tippoo Sahib and -Sally Brass and—I _must_ go back. If anything should happen, fling your -arms round the nearest Porpoise and trust to luck. These Book People -can’t kill—they can only stupefy.” - -“But how do you know them all?” Mavis asked. “Do they often attack you?” - -“No, only when the sky falls. But they always howl outside the gate at -the full moon.” - -So saying she turned away and disappeared in the crowd of faithful -Porpoises. - -And outside the noise grew louder and the words more definite. - -“I am Mrs. Randolph. Let me in!” - -“I am good Mrs. Brown. Let me in!” - -“I am Eric, or Little by Little. I _will_ come in!” - -“I am Elsie, or Like a Little Candle. Let me in—let me in!” - -“I am Mrs. Markham.” - -“I am Mrs. Squeers.” - -“I am Uriah Heep.” - -“I am Montdidier.” - -“I am King John.” - -“I am Caliban.” - -“I am the Giant Blunderbore.” - -“I am the Dragon of Wantley.” - -And they all cried, again and again: “Let us in! Let me in! Let me in!” - -The strain of listening for the names and calling out “I don’t know -you!” when they didn’t, and saying nothing when they did, became almost -unbearable. It was like that horrid game with the corners of the -handkerchief, “Hold fast” and “Let loose,” and you have to remember to -do the opposite. Sooner or later an accident is bound to happen, and -the children felt a growing conviction that it would be sooner. - -“What will happen if they do get in?” Cathay asked a neighboring -Porpoise. - -“Can’t say, miss, I’m sure,” it answered. - -“But what will you do?” - -“Obstruct them in the execution of our duty,” it answered. “You see, -miss, they can’t kill; they can only stupefy, and they can’t stupefy -us, ’cause why? We’re that stupid already we can’t hold no more. That’s -why they trust us to defend the golden gate,” it added proudly. - -The babel of voices outside grew louder and thicker, and the task of -knowing when to say “I don’t know you,” and so wound the vanity of the -invaders, grew more and more difficult. At last the disaster, foreseen -for some time, with a growing plainness, came upon them. - -“I am the Great Seal,” said a thick, furry voice. - -“I don’t know you,” cried Cathay. - -“You do—he’s in history. James the Second dropped him in the Thames,” -said Francis. “Yes, you’ve done it again.” - -“Shut up,” said Bernard. - -The last two remarks were made in a deep silence, broken only by the -heavy breathing of the Porpoises. The voices behind the golden gate had -died down and ceased. The Porpoises massed their heavy bulk close to -the door. - -“Remember the Porpoises,” said Francis. “Don’t forget to hold on to a -Porpoise.” - -Four of these amiable if unintellectual creatures drew away from their -companions, and one came to the side of each child. - -Every eye was fixed on the golden door, and then slowly—very slowly, -the door began to open. As it opened it revealed the crowd that stood -without—cruel faces, stupid faces, crafty faces, sullen faces, angry -faces, not a single face that you ever could wish to see again. - -Then slowly, terribly, without words, the close ranks of the Book -People advanced. Mrs. Fairchild, Mrs. Markham, and Mrs. Barbauld led -the van. Closely following came the Dragon of Wantley, the Minotaur, -and the Little Man that Sintram knew. Then came Mr. Murdstone, neat in -a folded white neckcloth, and clothes as black as his whiskers. Miss -Murdstone was with him, every bead of her alight with gratified malice. -The children found that they knew, without being told, the name of each -foe now advancing on them. Paralyzed with terror, they watched the -slow and terrible advance. It was not till Eric, or Little by Little, -broke the silence with a whoop of joy and rushed upon them that they -remembered their own danger, and clutched the waiting Porpoises. Alas! -it was too late. Mrs. Markham had turned a frozen glare upon them, Mrs. -Fairchild had wagged an admonitory forefinger, wave on wave of sheer -stupidity swept over them, and next moment they lost consciousness -and sank, each with his faithful Porpoise, into the dreamless sleep -of the entirely unintelligent. In vain the main body of the Porpoises -hurled themselves against the intruders; their heroism was fruitless. -Overwhelmed by the heavy truisms wielded by the enemy, they turned and -fled in disorder, and the conquering army entered Merland. - -Francis was the first to recover consciousness. The Porpoise to which -he had clung was fanning him with its fin, and imploring him, for its -sake, to look up, to speak. - -“All right, old chap,” said Francis. “I must have fallen asleep. Where -are the others?” - -They were all there, and the devoted Porpoises quickly restored them to -consciousness. - -[Illustration: _Book Hatefuls._] - -The four children stood up and looked at each other. - -“I wish Reuben was here,” said Cathay. “He’d know what to do.” - -“He wouldn’t know any more than we do,” said Francis haughtily. - -“We _must_ do _something_,” said Mavis. “It’s our fault again.” - -“It’s mine,” said Cathay, “but I couldn’t help it.” - -“If you hadn’t, one of us would have,” said Bernard, seeking to -console. “I say, why do only the nasty people come out of the books?” - -“_I_ know that,” said his Porpoise, turning his black face eagerly -toward them. “The stupidest people can’t help knowing something. The -Under Folk get in and open the books—at least, they send the Bookworms -in to open them. And, of course, they only open the pages where the -enemies are quartered.” - -“Then—” said Bernard, looking at the golden gate, which swung open, its -lock hanging broken and useless. - -“Yes,” said Mavis, “we could, couldn’t we? Open the other books, we -mean!” She appealed to her Porpoise. - -“Yes,” it said, “perhaps you could. Human children can open books, I -believe. Porpoises can’t. And Mer-people can’t open the books in the -Cave of Learning, though they can unlock them. If they want to open -them they have to get them from the Public Mer Libraries. I can’t help -knowing that,” it added. The Porpoises seemed really ashamed of not -being thoroughly stupid. - -“Come on,” said Francis, “we’ll raise an army to fight these Book -People. Here’s something we can do that _isn’t_ mischief.” - -“You shut up,” said Bernard, and thumping Cathay on the back told her -to never mind. - -They went toward the golden gate. - -“I suppose all the nasty people are out of the books by now?” Mavis -asked her Porpoise, who followed her with the close fidelity of an -affectionate little dog. - -“_I_ don’t know,” it said, with some pride. “I’m stupid, I am. But I -can’t help knowing that no one can come out of books unless they’re -called. You’ve just got to tap on the back of the book and call the -name and then you open it, and the person comes out. At least, that’s -what the Bookworms do, and I don’t see why you should be different.” - -What _was_ different, it soon appeared, was the water in the stream -in the Cave of Learning, which was quite plainly still water in some -other sense than that in which what they were in was water. That is, -they could not walk in it; they had to swim. The cave seemed dark, -but enough light came from the golden gate to enable them to read the -titles of the books when they had pulled away the seaweed which covered -many of them. They had to hold on to the rocks—which were books—with -one hand, and clear away the seaweed with the other. - -You can guess the sort of books at which they knocked—Kingsley and -Shakespeare and Marryat and Dickens, Miss Alcott and Mrs. Ewing, Hans -Andersen and Stevenson, and Mayne Reid—and when they had knocked they -called the name of the hero whose help they desired, and “Will you help -us,” they asked, “to conquer the horrid Book People, and drive them -back to cover?” - -And not a hero but said, “Yes, indeed we will, with all our hearts.” - -And they climbed down out of the books, and swam up to the golden gate -and waited, talking with courage and dignity among themselves, while -the children went on knocking at the backs of books—which are books’ -front doors—and calling out more and more heroes to help in the fight. - -Quentin Durward and Laurie were the first to come out, then Hereward -and Amyas and Will Cary, David Copperfield, Rob Roy, Ivanhoe, Caesar -and Anthony, Coriolanus and Othello; but you can make the list for -yourselves. They came forth, all alive and splendid, with valor and the -longing to strike once more a blow for the good cause, as they had been -used to do in their old lives. - -“These are enough,” said Francis, at last. “We ought to leave some, in -case we want more help later.” - -You see for yourselves what a splendid company it was that swam -to the golden gate—there was no other way than swimming, except -for Perseus—and awaited the children. And when the children joined -them—rather nervous at the thought of the speeches they would have to -make to their newly recruited regiment—they found that there was no -need of speeches. The faithful Porpoises had not been too stupid to -explain the simple facts of danger and rescue. - -It was a proud moment for the children when they marched toward the -Palace at the head of the band of heroes whom they had pressed into the -service of the Merland. Between the clipped seaweed hedges they went, -and along the paths paved with pearl and marble, and so, at last, drew -near the Palace. They gave the watchword “Glory.” - -“Or Death,” said the sentry. And they passed on to the Queen. - -“We’ve brought a reinforcement,” said Francis, who had learned the word -from Quentin Durward as they came along. And the Queen gave one look at -her reinforcement’s faces and said simply: - -“We are saved.” - -The horrible Book People had not attacked the Palace; they had gone -furtively through the country killing stray fish and destroying any -beautiful thing they happened to find. For these people hate beauty -and happiness. They were now holding a meeting in the Palace gardens, -near the fountain where the Princesses had been wont to do their -source-service, and they were making speeches like mad. You could hear -the dull, flat murmur of them even from the Palace. They were the sort -of people who love the sound of their own silly voices. - -The newcomers were ranged in orderly ranks before the Queen, awaiting -her orders. It looked like a pageant or a fancy-dress parade. There -was St. George in his armor, and Joan of Arc in hers—heroes in plumed -hats and laced shirts, heroes in ruffs and doublets—brave gentlemen of -England, gallant gentlemen of France. For all the differences in their -dress, there was nothing motley about the band which stood before the -Queen. Varied as they were in dress and feature, they had one quality -in common, which marked them as one company. The same light of bravery -shone on them all, and became them like a fine uniform. - -“Will you,” the Queen asked of their leader—a pale, thin-faced man in -the dress of a Roman—“will you do just as you think best? I would not -presume,” she added, with a kind of proud humility, “to teach the game -of war to Caesar.” - -“Oh, Queen,” he answered, “these brave men and I will drive back the -intruders, but, having driven them back, we must ourselves return -through those dark doors which we passed when your young defenders -called our names. We will drive back the _men_—and by the look of them -’twill be an easy task. But Caesar wars not with women, and the women -on our side are few, though each, I doubt not, has the heart of a -lioness.” - -He turned toward Joan of Arc with a smile and she gave him back a smile -as bright as the sword she carried. - -“How many women are there among you?” the Queen asked, and Joan -answered: - -“Queen Boadicea and Torfrida and I are but three.” - -“But we three,” cried Torfrida, “are a match for three hundred of such -women as those. Give us but whips instead of swords, and we will drive -them like dogs to their red and blue cloth-bound kennels.” - -“I’m afraid,” said the Queen, “they’d overcome you by sheer weight. -You’ve no idea how heavy they are.” And then Kathleen covered herself -with glory by saying, “Well, but what about Amazons?” - -“The very thing,” said Caesar kindly. “Would you mind running back? -You’ll find them in the third book from the corner where the large -purple starfish is; you can’t mistake it.” - -The children tore off to the golden gate, rushed through it, and -swam to the spot where, unmistakably, the purplish starfish spread -its violet rays. They knocked on the book, and Cathay, by previous -arrangement, called out— - -“Come out, please, Queen of the Amazons, and bring all your fighting -ladies.” - -Then out came a very splendid lady in glorious golden armor. “You’d -better get some boats for us,” she said, standing straight and splendid -on a ledge of rock, “enough to reach from here to the gate, or a -bridge. There are all these things in Caesar’s books. I’m sure he -wouldn’t mind your calling them out. We must not swim, I know, because -of getting our bowstrings wet.” - -So Francis called out a bridge, and when it was not long enough to -reach the golden gate he called another. And then the Queen called her -ladies, and out came a procession, which seemed as though it would -never end, of tall and beautiful women armed and equipped for war. They -carried bows, and the children noticed that one side of their chests -was flatter than the other. And the procession went on and on, passing -along the bridge and through the golden gate, till Cathay grew quite -dizzy; and at last Mavis said, “Oh, your Majesty, do stop them. I’m -sure there are heaps, and we shall be too late if we wait for any more.” - -So the Queen stopped the procession and they went back to the Palace, -where the Queen of the Amazons greeted Joan of Arc and the other ladies -as though they were old acquaintances. - -In a few moments their plans were laid. I wish I could describe to you -the great fight between the Nice Book People and the others. But I -have not time, and besides, the children did not see all of it, so I -don’t see why _you_ should. It was fought out in the Palace gardens. -The armies were fairly evenly matched as to numbers, because the -Bookworms had let out a great many Barbarians, and these, though not so -unpleasant as Mr. Murdstone and Mrs. Fairchild, were quite bad enough. -The children were not allowed to join in the battle, which they would -dearly have liked to do. Only from a safe distance they heard the -sound of steel on steel, the whir of arrows, and the war cries of the -combatants. And presently a stream of fugitives darkened the pearly -pathways, and one could see the heroes with drawn swords following in -pursuit. - -And then, among those who were left, the shouts of war turned suddenly -to shouts of laughter, and the Merlish Queen herself moved toward the -battlefield. And as she drew near she, too, laughed. For, it would -seem, the Amazons had only shot their arrows at the men among their -foes—they had disdained to shoot the women, and so good was their aim -that not a single woman was wounded. Only, when the Book Hatefuls -had been driven back by the Book Heroes, the Book Heroines advanced -and, without more ado, fell on the remaining foes. They did not fight -them with swords or spears or arrows or the short, sharp knives they -wore—they simply picked up the screaming Bookwomen and carried them -back to the books where they belonged. Each Amazon caught up one of -the foe and, disregarding her screaming and scratching, carried her -back to the book where she belonged, pushed her in, and shut the door. - -Boadicea carried Mrs. Markham and her brown silk under one bare, -braceleted arm as though she had been a naughty child. Joan of Arc made -herself responsible for Aunt Fortune, and the Queen of the Amazons -made nothing of picking up Miss Murdstone, beads and all, and carrying -her in her arms like a baby. Torfrida’s was the hardest task. She had, -from the beginning, singled out Alftruda, her old and bitter enemy, and -the fight between them was a fierce one, though it was but a battle of -looks. Yet before long the fire in Torfrida’s great dark eyes seemed to -scorch her adversary, she shrank before it, and shrank and shrank till -at last she turned and crept back to her book and went in of her own -accord, and Torfrida shut the door. - -“But,” said Mavis, who had followed her, “don’t you live in the same -book?” - -Torfrida smiled. - -“Not quite,” she said. “That would be impossible. I live in a different -edition, where only the Nice People are alive. In hers it is the nasty -ones.” - -“And where is Hereward?” Cathay asked, before Mavis could stop her. “I -do love him, don’t you?” - -“Yes,” said Torfrida, “I love him. But he is not alive in the book -where I live. But he will be—he will be.” - -And smiling and sighing, she opened her book and went into it, and the -children went slowly back to the Palace. The fight was over, the Book -People had gone back into their books, and it was almost as though they -had never left them—not quite, for the children had seen the faces of -the heroes, and the books where these lived could never again now be -the same to them. All books, indeed, would now have an interest far -above any they had ever held before—for any of these people might be -found in any book. You never know. - -[Illustration: _Book Heroines._] - -The Princess Freia met them in the Palace courtyard, and clasped -their hands and called them the preservers of the country, which was -extremely pleasant. She also told them that a slight skirmish had been -fought on the Mussel-beds south of the city, and the foe had retreated. - -“But Reuben tells me,” she added—“that boy is really worth his -weight in pearls—that the main body are to attack at midnight. We -must sleep now, to be ready for the call of duty when it comes. Sure -you understand your duties? And the power of your buttons and your -antidotes? I might not have time to remind you later. You can sleep in -the armory—you must be awfully tired. You’ll be asleep before you can -say Jack Sprat.” - -So they lay down on the seaweed, heaped along one end of the Oysters’ -armory, and were instantly asleep. - -It may have been their natures, or it may have been the influence of -the magic coats. But whatever the cause, it is certain that they lay -down without fear, slept without dreams, and awoke without alarm when -an Oyster corporal touched their arms and whispered, “Now!” - -They were wide awake on the instant and started up, picking their -oyster shields from the ground beside them. - -“I feel just like a Roman soldier,” Cathay said. “Don’t you?” - -And the others owned that so far as they knew the feelings of a Roman -soldier, those feelings were their own. - -The shadows of the guardroom were changed and shifted and flung here -and there by the torches carried by the busy Oysters. Phosphorescent -fish these torches were, and gave out a moony light like that of the -pillars in the Cave of Learning. Outside the Lobster-guarded arch the -water showed darkly clear. Large phosphorescent fish were twined round -pillars of stone, rather like the fish you see on the lampposts on the -Thames Embankment, only in this case the fish were the lamps. So strong -was the illumination that you could see as clearly as you can on a -moonlit night on the downs, where there are no trees to steal the light -from the landscape and bury it in their thick branches. - -All was hurry and bustle. The Salmoners had sent a detachment to harass -the flank of the enemy, and the Sea Urchins, under the command of -Reuben, were ready in their seaweed disguises. - -There was a waiting time, and the children used it to practice with -their shells, using the thick stems of seaweed—thick as a man’s arm—to -represent the ankles of the invading force, and they were soon fairly -expert at the trick which was their duty. Francis had just nipped an -extra fat stalk and released it again by touching the secret spring -when the word went around, “Every man to his post!” - -The children proudly took up their post next to the Princess, and -hardly had they done so when a faint yet growing sound knocked gently -at their ears. It grew and grew and grew till it seemed to shake the -ground on which they stood, and the Princess murmured, “It is the tramp -of the army of the Under Folk. Now, be ready. We shall lurk among these -rocks. Hold your good oyster shell in readiness, and when you see a -foot near you clip it, and at the same time set down the base of the -shell on the rock. The trusty shell will do the rest.” - -“Yes, we know, thank you, dear Princess,” said Mavis. “Didn’t you see -us practicing?” - -But the Princess was not listening; she had enough to do to find cover -for her troops among the limpet-studded rocks. - -And now the tramp, tramp, tramp of the great army sounded nearer and -more near, and through the dimly lighted water the children could see -the great Deep Sea People advancing. - -Very terrible they were, big beyond man-size, more stalwart and more -finely knit than the Forlorn Hopers who had led the attack so happily -and gloriously frustrated by the Crabs, the Narwhals and the Sea -Urchins. As the advance guard drew near all the children stared, from -their places of concealment, at the faces of these terrible foes of the -happy Merland. Very strong the faces were, and, surprisingly, very, -very sad. They looked—Francis at least was able to see it—like strong -folk suffering proudly an almost intolerable injury—bearing, bravely, -an almost intolerable pain. - -“But I’m on the other side,” he told himself, to check a sudden rising -in his heart of—well, if it was not sympathy, what was it? - -And now the head of the advancing column was level with the Princess. -True to the old tradition which bids a commander lead and not to follow -his troops, she was the first to dart out and fix a shell to the heel -of the left-rank man. The children were next. Their practice bore its -fruit. There was no blunder, no mistake. Each oyster shell clipped -sharp and clean the attached ankle of an enemy; each oyster shell at -the same moment attached itself firmly to the rock, thus clinging to -his base in the most thorough and military way. A spring of joy and -triumph welled up in the children’s hearts. How easy it was to get the -better of these foolish Deep Sea Folk. A faint, kindly contempt floated -into the children’s minds for the Mer-people, who so dreaded and hated -these stupid giants. Why, there were fifty or sixty of them tied by the -leg already! It was as easy as— - -The pleasant nature of these reflections had kept our four rooted to -the spot. In the triumphant performance of one duty they failed to -remember the duty that should have followed. They stood there rejoicing -in their victory, when by all the rules of the Service they should have -rushed back to the armory for fresh weapons. - -The omission was fatal. Even as they stood there rejoicing in their -cleverness and boldness and in the helpless anger of the enemy, -something thin and string-like spread itself around them—their feet -caught in string, their fingers caught in string, string tweaked -their ears and flattened their noses—string confined their elbows and -confused their legs. The Lobster-guarded doorway seemed farther off—and -farther, and farther.... They turned their heads; they were following -backward, and against their will, a retreating enemy. - -“Oh, why didn’t we do what she said?” breathed Cathay. “Something’s -happened!” - -“I should think it had,” said Bernard. “We’re caught—in a net.” - -They were. And a tall Infantryman of the Under Folk was towing them -away from Merland as swiftly and as easily as a running child tows a -captive air balloon. - - - - -CHAPTER TEN - -_The Under Folk_ - - -THOSE OF US who have had the misfortune to be caught in a net in the -execution of our military duty, and to be dragged away by the enemy -with all the helpless buoyancy of captive balloons, will be able to -appreciate the sensations of the four children to whom this gloomy -catastrophe had occurred. - -The net was very strong—made of twisted fibrous filaments of seaweed. -All efforts to break it were vain, and they had, unfortunately, nothing -to cut it with. They had not even their oyster shells, the rough edges -of which might have done something to help, or at least would have been -useful weapons, and the discomfort of their position was extreme. They -were, as Cathay put it, “all mixed up with each other’s arms and legs,” -and it was very difficult and painful to sort themselves out without -hurting each other. - -“Let’s do it, one at a time,” said Mavis, after some minutes of severe -and unsuccessful struggle. “France first. Get right away, France, and -see if you can’t sit down on a piece of the net that isn’t covered with -_us_, and then Cathay can try.” - -It was excellent advice and when all four had followed it, it was found -possible to sit side by side on what may be called the floor of the -net, only the squeezing of the net walls tended to jerk one up from -one’s place if one wasn’t very careful. - -By the time the rearrangement was complete, and they were free to look -about them, the whole aspect of the world had changed. The world, for -one thing, was much darker, in itself that is, though the part of it -where the children were was much lighter than had been the sea where -they were first netted. It was a curious scene—rather like looking down -on London at night from the top of St. Paul’s. Some bright things, -like trams or omnibuses, were rushing along, and smaller lights, which -looked mighty like cabs and carriages, dotted the expanse of blackness -till, where they were thick set, the darkness disappeared in a blaze of -silvery light. - -Other light-bearers had rows of round lights like the portholes of -great liners. One came sweeping toward them, and a wild idea came -to Cathay that perhaps when ships sink they go on living and moving -underwater just as she and the others had done. Perhaps they do. -Anyhow, this was not one of them, for, as it came close, it was plainly -to be perceived as a vast fish with phosphorescent lights in rows along -its gigantic sides. It opened its jaws as it passed, and for an instant -everyone shut their eyes and felt that all was over. When the eyes -were opened again, the mighty fish was far away. Cathay, however, was -discovered to be in tears. - -“I wish we hadn’t come,” she said; and the others could not but feel -that there was something in what she said. They comforted her and -themselves as best they could by expressing a curious half-certainty -which they had that everything would be all right in the end. As I -said before, there are some things so horrible that if you can bring -yourself to face them you see at once that they can’t be true. The -barest idea of poetic justice—which we all believe in at the bottom -of our hearts—made it impossible to think that the children who had -nobly (they couldn’t help feeling it _was_ noble) defended their -friends, the Mer Folk, should have anything really dreadful happen to -them in consequence. And when Bernard talked about the fortunes of war -he did it in an unconvinced sort of way and Francis told him to shut up. - -[Illustration: _In the net._] - -“But what are we to do,” sniffed Cathay for the twentieth time, and all -the while the Infantryman was going steadily on, dragging the wretched -netful after him. - -“Press our pearl buttons,” suggested Francis hopefully. “Then we shall -be invisible and unfeelable and we can escape.” He fumbled with the -round marble-like pearl. - -“No, no,” said Bernard, catching at his hand, “don’t you see? If we -do, we may never get out of the net. If they can’t see us or feel us -they’ll think the net’s empty, and perhaps hang it up on a hook or put -it away in a box.” - -“And forget it while years roll by. _I_ see,” said Cathay. - -“But we can undo them the minute we’re there. Can’t we?” said Mavis. - -“Yes, of course,” said Bernard; but as a matter of fact they couldn’t. - -At last the Infantryman, after threading his way through streets of -enormous rocky palaces, passed through a colossal arch, and so into a -hall as big as St. Paul’s and Westminster Abbey into one. - -A crowd of Under Folk, who were seated on stone benches around rude -tables, eating strange luminous food, rose up, and cried, “What news?” - -“Four prisoners,” said the Infantryman. - -“Upper Folk,” the Colonel said; “and my orders are to deliver them to -the Queen herself.” - -He passed to the end of the hall and up a long wide flight of steps -made of something so green and clear that it was plainly either glass -or emerald, and I don’t think it could have been glass, because how -could they have made glass in the sea? There were lights below it which -shone through the green transparency so clear and lovely that Francis -said dreamily— - - “‘_Sabrina fair, - Listen where thou art sitting, - Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave,_’” - -and quite suddenly there was much less room in the net, and they were -being embraced all at once and with tears of relief and joy by the -Princess Freia—their own Mer Princess. - -“Oh, I _didn’t_ mean to—Princess dear, I _didn’t_,” said Francis. “It -was the emerald steps made me think of translucent.” - -“So they are,” she said, “but oh, if you knew what I’ve felt—you, our -guests, our knights-errant, our noble defenders—to be prisoners and -all of us safe. I did so hope you’d call me. And I’m so proud that you -didn’t—that you were brave enough not to call for me until you did it -by accident.” - -“We never thought of doing it,” said Mavis candidly, “but I hope we -shouldn’t have, if we _had_ thought of it.” - -“Why haven’t you pressed your pearl buttons?” she asked, and they told -her why. - -“Wise children,” she said, “but at any rate we must all use the charm -that prevents our losing our memories.” - -“I shan’t use mine,” said Cathay. “I don’t want to remember. If I -didn’t remember I should forget to be frightened. Do please let -me forget to remember.” She clung pleadingly to the Princess, who -whispered to Mavis, “Perhaps it would be best,” and they let Cathay -have her way. - -The others had only just time to swallow their charms before the -Infantryman threw the net onto a great table, which seemed to be cut -out of one vast diamond, and fell on his face on the ground. It was his -way of saluting his sovereign. - -“Prisoners, your Majesty,” he said when he had got up again. “Four of -the young of the Upper Folk—” and he turned to the net as he spoke, -and stopped short—“there’s someone else,” he said in an altered voice, -“someone as wasn’t there when we started, I’ll swear.” - -“Open the net,” said a strong, sweet voice, “and bid the prisoners -stand up that I may look upon them.” - -“They might escape, my love,” said another voice anxiously, “or perhaps -they bite.” - -“Submersia,” said the first voice, “do you and four of my women stand -ready. Take the prisoners one by one. Seize each a prisoner and hold -them, awaiting my royal pleasure.” - -The net was opened and large and strong hands took Bernard, who was -nearest the mouth of the net back, and held him gently but with extreme -firmness in an upright position on the table. None of them could stand -because of their tails. - -They saw before them, on a throne, a tall and splendid Queen, very -beautiful and very sad, and by her side a King (they knew the royalty -by their crowns), not so handsome as his wife, but still very different -from the uncouth, heavy Under Folk. And he looked sad too. They were -clad in robes of richest woven seaweed, sewn with jewels, and their -crowns were like dreams of magnificence. Their throne was of one clear -blood-bright ruby, and its canopy of green drooping seaweed was gemmed -with topazes and amethysts. The Queen rose and came down the steps of -the throne and whispered to her whom she had called Submersia, and she -in turn whispered to the four other large ladies who held, each, a -captive. - -And with a dreadful unanimity the five acted; with one dexterous -movement they took off the magic jackets, and with another they removed -the useful tails. The Princess and the four children stood upon the -table on their own ten feet. - -“What funny little things,” said the King, not unkindly. - -“Hush,” said the Queen, “perhaps they can understand what you say—and -at any rate that Mer-girl can.” - -The children were furious to hear their Princess so disrespectfully -spoken of. But she herself remained beautifully calm. - -“Now,” said the Queen, “before we destroy your memories, will you -answer questions?” - -“Some questions, yes—others, no,” said the Princess. - -“Are these human children?” - -“Yes.” - -“How do they come under the sea?” - -“Mer-magic. You wouldn’t understand,” said the Princess haughtily. - -“Were they fighting against us?” - -“Yes,” cried Bernard and Mavis before the Princess answered. - -“And lucky to do it,” Francis added. - -“If you will tell us the fighting strength of the Merlanders, your -tails and coats shall be restored to you and you shall go free. Will -you tell?” - -“Is it likely?” the Princess answered. “I am a Mer-woman, and a -Princess of the Royal House. Such do not betray their country.” - -“No, I suppose not,” said the Queen. And she paused a moment before she -said, “Administer the cup of forgetfulness.” - -The cup of forgetfulness was exceedingly pleasant. It tasted of toffee -and coconuts, and pineapple ices, and plum cake, and roast chicken, -with a faint underflavor of lavender, rose leaves and the very best -_eau de cologne_. - -The children had tasted cider-cup and champagne-cup at parties, and -had disliked both, but oblivion-cup was delicious. It was served in -a goblet of opal color, in dreamy pink and pearl—and green and blue -and gray—and the sides of the goblet were engraved with pictures of -beautiful people asleep. The goblet passed from hand to hand, and -when each had drunk enough the Lord High Cupbearer, a very handsome, -reserved-looking fish, laid a restraining touch on the goblet and, -taking it between his fins, handed it to the next drinker. So, one by -one, each took the draught. Kathleen was the last. - -The draught had no effect on four out of the five—but Kathleen changed -before their eyes, and though they had known that the draught of -oblivion would make her forget, it was terrible to see it do its fell -work. - -Mavis had her arm protectingly around Kathleen, and the moment the -draught had been swallowed Kathleen threw off that loving arm and drew -herself away. It hurt like a knife. Then she looked at her brothers and -sisters, and it is a very terrible thing when the eyes you love look at -you as though you were a stranger. - -Now, it had been agreed, while still the captives were in the net, that -all of them should pretend that the cup of oblivion had taken effect, -that they should just keep still and say nothing and look as stupid -as they could. But this coldness of her dear Cathay’s was more than -Mavis could bear, and no one had counted on it. So when Cathay looked -at Mavis as at a stranger whom she rather disliked, and drew away from -her arm, Mavis could not bear it, and cried out in heart-piercing -tones, “Oh, Cathay, darling, what is it? What’s the matter?” before the -Princess or the boys could stop her. And to make matters worse, both -boys said in a very loud, plain whisper, “Shut up, Mavis,” and only the -Princess kept enough presence of mind to go on saying nothing. - -Cathay turned and looked at her sister. - -“Cathay, darling,” Mavis said again, and stopped, for no one could go -on saying “darling” to anyone who looked at you as Cathay was looking. - -She turned her eyes away as Cathay looked toward the Queen—looked, and -went, to lean against the royal knee as though it had been her mother’s. - -“Dear little thing,” said the Queen; “see, it’s quite tame. I shall -keep it for a pet. Nice little pet then!” - -“You shan’t keep her,” cried Mavis, but again the Princess hushed her, -and the Queen treated her cry with contemptuous indifference. Cathay -snuggled against her new mistress. - -“As for the rest of you,” said the Queen, “it is evident from your -manner that the draught of oblivion has not yet taken effect on you. -So it is impossible for me to make presents of you to those prominent -members of the nobility, who are wanting pets, as I should otherwise -have done. We will try another draught tomorrow. In the meantime ... -the fetters, Jailer.” - -A tall sour-looking Under-man stepped forward. Hanging over his arm -were scaly tails, which at first sight of the children’s hearts leaped, -for they hoped they were their own. But no sooner were the tails fitted -on than they knew the bitter truth. - -“Yes,” said the Queen “they are false tails. You will not be able to -take them off, and you can neither swim nor walk with them. You can, -however, move along quite comfortably on the floor of the ocean. What’s -the matter?” she asked the Jailer. - -“None of the tails will fit this prisoner, your Majesty,” said the -Jailer. - -“I am a Princess of the reigning Mer House,” said Freia, “and your -false, degrading tails cannot cling to me.” - -“Oh, put them all in the lockup,” said the King, “as sullen a lot of -prisoners as ever I saw—what?” - -The lockup was a great building, broader at the top than at the bottom, -which seemed to be balanced on the sea floor, but really it was propped -up at both ends with great chunks of rock. The prisoners were taken -there in the net, and being dragged along in nets is so confusing, that -it was not till the Jailer had left them that they discovered that the -prison was really a ship—an enormous ship—which lay there, perfect in -every detail as on the day when it first left dock. The water did not -seem to have spoiled it at all. They were imprisoned in the saloon, -and, worn out with the varied emotions of the day, they lay down on the -comfortable red velvet cushions and went to sleep. Even Mavis felt that -Kathleen had found a friend in the Queen, and was in no danger. - -The Princess was the last to close her eyes. She looked long at the -sleeping children. - -“Oh, _why_ don’t they think of it?” she said, “and why mustn’t I tell -them?” - -There was no answer to either question, and presently she too slept. - -I must own that I share the Princess’s wonder that the children did not -spend the night in saying “Sabrina fair” over and over again. Because -of course each invocation would have been answered by an inhabitant of -Merland, and thus a small army could easily have been collected, the -Jailer overpowered and a rush made for freedom. - -I wish I had time to tell you all that happened to Kathleen, because -the daily life of a pampered lap-child to a reigning Queen is one that -you would find most interesting to read about. As interesting as your -Rover or Binkie would find it to read—if he could read—about the life -of one of Queen Alexandra’s Japanese Spaniels. But time is getting on, -and I must make a long story short. And anyhow you can never tell all -about everything, can you? - -The next day the Jailers brought food to the prison, as well as a -second draught of oblivion, which, of course, had no effect, and they -spent the day wondering how they could escape. In the evening the -Jailer’s son brought more food and more oblivion-cup, and he lingered -while they ate. He did not look at all unkind, and Francis ventured to -speak to him. - -“I say,” he said. - -“What do you say?” the Under-lad asked. - -“Are you forbidden to talk to us?” - -“No.” - -“Then do tell us what they will do with us.” - -“I do not know. But we shall have to know before long. The prisons are -filling up quickly—they will soon be quite full. Then we shall have to -let some of you out on what is called ticket-of-leave—that means with -your artificial tails on, which prevent you getting away, even if the -oblivion-cup doesn’t take effect.” - -“I say,” it was Bernard’s turn to ask. - -“What do you say?” - -“Why don’t the King and Queen go and fight, like the Mer Royal Family -do?” - -“Against the law,” said the Under-lad. “We took a King prisoner once, -and our people were afraid our King and Queen might be taken, so they -made that rule.” - -“What did you do with him—the prisoner King?” the Princess asked. - -“Put him in an Iswater,” said the lad, “a piece of water entirely -surrounded by land.” - -“I should like to see him,” said the Princess. - -“Nothing easier,” said the Under-lad, “as soon as you get your -tickets-of-leaves. It’s a good long passage to the lake—nearly all -water, of course, but lots of our young people go there three times -a week. Of course, he can’t be a King anymore now—but they made him -Professor of Conchology.” - -“And has he forgotten he was a _King_?” asked the Princess. - -“Of course: but he was so learned the oblivion-cup wasn’t deep enough -to make him forget everything: that’s why he’s a Professor.” - -“What was he King of?” the Princess asked anxiously. - -“He was King of the Barbarians,” said the Jailer’s son—and the Princess -sighed. - -“I thought it might have been my father,” she said, “he was lost at -sea, you know.” - -The Under-lad nodded sympathetically and went away. - -“He doesn’t seem such a bad sort,” said Mavis. - -“No,” said the Princess, “I can’t understand it. I thought all the -Under Folk were terrible fierce creatures, cruel and implacable.” - -“And they don’t seem so very different from us—except to look at,” said -Bernard. - -“I wonder,” said Mavis, “what the war began about?” - -“Oh—we’ve always been enemies,” said the Princess, carelessly. - -“Yes—but how did you begin being enemies?” - -“Oh, that,” said the Princess, “is lost in the mists of antiquity, -before the dawn of history and all that.” - -“Oh,” said Mavis. - -But when Ulfin came with the next meal—did I tell you that the Jailer’s -son’s name was Ulfin?—Mavis asked him the same question. - -“I don’t know—little land-lady,” said Ulfin, “but I will find out—my -uncle is the Keeper of the National Archives, graven on tables of -stone, so many that no one can count them, but there are smaller tables -telling what is on the big ones—” he hesitated. “If I could get leave -to show you the Hall of the Archives, would you promise not to try to -escape?” - -They had now been shut up for two days and would have promised anything -in reason. - -“You see, the prisons are quite full now,” he said, “and I don’t see -why you shouldn’t be the first to get your leaves-tickets. I’ll ask my -father.” - -“I say!” said Mavis. - -“What do you say?” said Ulfin. - -“Do you know anything about my sister?” - -“The Queen’s new lap-child? Oh—she’s a great pet—her gold collar with -her name on it came home today. My cousin’s brother-in-law made it.” - -“The name—Kathleen?” said Mavis. - -“The name on the collar is Fido,” said Ulfin. - -The next day Ulfin brought their tickets-of-leaves, made of the leaves -of the tree of Liberty which grows at the bottom of the well where -Truth lies. - -“Don’t lose them,” he said, “and come with me.” They found it quite -possible to move along slowly on hands and tails, though they looked -rather like seals as they did so. - -He led them through the strange streets of massive passages, pointing -out the buildings, giving them their names as you might do if you were -showing the marvels of your own city to a stranger. - -“That’s the Astrologers’ Tower,” he said, pointing to a huge building -high above the others. “The wise men sit there and observe the stars.” - -“But you can’t see the stars down here.” - -“Oh, yes, we can. The tower is fitted up with tubes and mirrors and -water transparence apparatus. The wisest men in the country are -there—all but the Professor of Conchology. He’s the wisest of all. He -invented the nets that caught you—or rather, making nets was one of the -things that he had learned and couldn’t forget.” - -“But who thought of using them for catching prisoners?” - -“I did,” said Ulfin proudly, “I’m to have a glass medal for it.” - -“Do you have glass down here?” - -“A little comes down, you know. It is very precious. We engrave it. -That is the Library—millions of tables of stone—the Hall of Public -Joy is next to it—that garden is the mothers’ garden where they go to -rest while their children are at school—that’s one of our schools. And -here’s the Hall of Public Archives.” - -The Keeper of the Records received them with grave courtesy. The daily -services of Ulfin had accustomed the children to the appearance of the -Under Folk, and they no longer found their strange, mournful faces -terrifying, and the great hall where, on shelves cut out of the sheer -rock, were stored the graven tables of Underworld Records, was very -wonderful and impressive. - -“What is it you want to know?” said the Keeper, rolling away some of -the stones he had been showing them. “Ulfin said there was something -special.” - -“Why the war began?” said Francis. - -“Why the King and Queen are different?” said Mavis. - -“The war,” said the Keeper of the Records, “began exactly three million -five hundred and seventy-nine thousand three hundred and eight years -ago. An Under-man, getting off his Sea Horse in a hurry trod on the -tail of a sleeping Merman. He did not apologize because he was under -a vow not to speak for a year and a day. If the Mer-people had only -waited he would have explained, but they went to war at once, and, of -course, after that you couldn’t expect him to apologize. And the war -has gone on, off and on and on and off, ever since.” - -[Illustration: _The Hall of Public Archives._] - -“And won’t it ever stop?” asked Bernard. - -“Not till we apologize, which, of course, we can’t until _they_ find -out why the war began and that it wasn’t our fault.” - -“How awful!” said Mavis; “then it’s all really about nothing.” - -“Quite so,” said the Keeper, “what are your wars about? The other -question I shouldn’t answer only I know you’ll forget it when the -oblivion-cup begins to work. Ulfin tells me it hasn’t begun yet. Our -King and Queen are _imported_. We used to be a Republic, but Presidents -were so uppish and so grasping, and all their friends and relations -too; so we decided to be a Monarchy, and that all jealousies might be -taken away we imported the two handsomest Land Folk we could find. -They’ve been a great success, and as they have no relations we find it -much less expensive.” - -When the Keeper had thus kindly gratified the curiosity of the -prisoners the Princess said suddenly: - -“Couldn’t we learn Conchology?” - -And the Keeper said kindly, “Why not? It’s the Professor’s day -tomorrow.” - -“Couldn’t we go there today?” asked the Princess, “just to arrange -about times and terms and all that?” - -“If my Uncle says I may take you there,” said Ulfin, “I will, for I -have never known any pleasure so great as doing anything that you wish -will give me.” - -The Uncle looked a little anxious, but he said he thought there could -be no harm in calling on the Professor. So they went. The way was long -for people who were not seals by nature and were not yet compelled to -walk after the manner of those charming and intelligent animals. The -Mer Princess alone was at her ease. But when they passed a building, -as long as from here to the end of the Mile End Road, which Ulfin told -them was the Cavalry Barracks, a young Under-man leaned out of a window -and said: - -“What ho! Ulf.” - -“What ho! yourself,” said Ulfin, and approaching the window spoke in -whispers. Two minutes later the young Cavalry Officer who had leaned -out of the window gave an order, and almost at once some magnificent -Sea Horses, richly caparisoned, came out from under an arched gateway. -The three children were mounted on these, and the crowd which had -collected in the street seemed to find it most amusing to see people -in fetter-tails riding on the chargers of the Horse Marines. But their -laughter was not ill-natured. And the horses were indeed a boon to the -weary tails of the amateur seals. - -Riding along the bottom of the sea was a wonderful experience—but soon -the open country was left behind and they began to go up ways cut in -the heart of the rock—ways long and steep, and lighted, as all that -great Underworld was, with phosphorescent light. - -When they had been traveling for some hours and the children were -beginning to think that you could perhaps have too much even of such -an excellent thing as Sea Horse exercise, the phosphorescent lights -suddenly stopped, and yet the sea was not dark. There seemed to be a -light ahead, and it got stronger and stronger as they advanced, and -presently it streamed down on them from shallow water above their heads. - -“We leave the Sea Horses here,” said Ulfin, “they cannot live in the -air. Come.” - -They dismounted and swam up. At least Ulfin and the Princess swam and -the others held hands and were pulled by the two swimmers. Almost at -once their heads struck the surface of the water, and there they were, -on the verge of a rocky shore. They landed, and walked—if you can call -what seals do walking—across a ridge of land, then plunged into a -landlocked lake that lay beyond. - -[Illustration: _The chargers of the Horse Marines._] - -“This is the Iswater,” said Ulfin as they touched bottom, “and yonder -is the King.” And indeed a stately figure in long robes was coming -toward them. - -“But this,” said the Princess, trembling, “is just like our garden at -home, only smaller.” - -“It was made as it is,” said Ulfin, “by wish of the captive King. -Majesty is Majesty, be it never so conquered.” - -The advancing figure was now quite near them. It saluted them with -royal courtesy. - -“We wanted to know,” said Mavis, “please, your Majesty, if we might -have lessons from you.” - -The King answered, but the Princess did not hear. She was speaking with -Ulfin, apart. - -“Ulfin,” she said, “this captive King is my Father.” - -“Yes, Princess,” said Ulfin. - -“And he does not know me—” - -“He will,” said Ulfin strongly. - -“Did you know?” - -“Yes.” - -“But the people of your land will punish you for bringing us here, -if they find out that he is my Father and that you have brought us -together. They will kill you. Why did you do it, Ulfin?” - -“Because you wished it, Princess,” he said, “and because I would rather -die for you than live without you.” - - - - -CHAPTER ELEVEN - -_The Peacemaker_ - - -THE CHILDREN thought they had never seen a kinder face or more noble -bearing than that of the Professor of Conchology, but the Mer Princess -could not bear to look at him. She now felt what Mavis had felt when -Cathay failed to recognize her—the misery of being looked at without -recognition by the eyes that we know and love. She turned away, and -pretended to be looking at the leaves of the seaweed hedge while Mavis -and Francis were arranging to take lessons in Conchology three days a -week, from two to four. - -“You had better join a class,” said the Professor, “you will learn less -that way.” - -“But we want to learn,” said Mavis. - -And the Professor looked at her very searchingly and said, “Do you?” - -“Yes,” she said, “at least—” - -“Yes,” he said, “I quite understand. I am only an exiled Professor, -teaching Conchology to youthful aliens, but I retain some remnants of -the wisdom of my many years. I know that I am not what I seem, and that -you are not what you seem, and that your desire to learn my special -subject is not sincere and whole-hearted, but is merely, or mainly, the -cloak to some other design. Is it not so, my child?” - -No one answered. His question was so plainly addressed to the Princess. -And she must have felt the question, for she turned and said, “Yes, O -most wise King.” - -“I am no King,” said the Professor, “rather I am a weak child picking -up pebbles by the shore of an infinite sea of knowledge.” - -“You _are_,” the Princess was beginning impulsively, when Ulfin -interrupted her. - -“Lady, lady!” he said, “all will be lost! Can you not play your part -better than this? If you continue these indiscretions my head will -undoubtedly pay the forfeit. Not that I should for a moment grudge that -trifling service, but if my head is cut off you will be left without -a friend in this strange country, and I shall die with the annoying -consciousness that I shall no longer be able to serve you.” - -He whispered this into the Princess’s ear while the Professor of -Conchology looked on with mild surprise. - -“Your attendant,” he observed, “is eloquent but inaudible.” - -“I mean to be,” said Ulfin, with a sudden change of manner. “Look here, -sir, I don’t suppose you care what becomes of you.” - -“Not in the least,” said the Professor. - -“But I suppose you would be sorry if anything uncomfortable happened to -your new pupils?” - -“Yes,” said the Professor, and his eye dwelt on Freia. - -“Then please concentrate your powerful mind on being a Professor. Think -of nothing else. More depends on this than you can easily believe.” - -“Believing is easy,” said the Professor. “Tomorrow at two, I think you -said?” and with a grave salutation he turned his back on the company -and walked away through his garden. - -It was a thoughtful party that rode home on the borrowed chargers of -the Deep Sea Cavalry. No one spoke. The minds of all were busy with the -strange words of Ulfin, and even the least imaginative of them, which -in this case was Bernard, could not but think that Ulfin had in that -strange oddly shaped head of his, some plan for helping the prisoners, -to one of whom at least he was so obviously attached. He also was -silent, and the others could not help encouraging the hope that he was -maturing plans. - -They reached the many-windowed prison, gave up their tickets-of-leaves -and reentered it. It was not till they were in the saloon and the -evening was all but over that Bernard spoke of what was in every head. - -“Look here,” he said, “I think Ulfin means to help us to escape.” - -“Do you,” said Mavis. “I think he means to help us to something, but I -don’t somehow think it’s as simple as that.” - -“Nothing near,” said Francis simply. - -“But that’s all we want, isn’t it?” said Bernard. - -“It’s not all _I_ want,” said Mavis, finishing the last of a fine bunch -of sea-grapes, “what I want is to get the Mer King restored to his -sorrowing relations.” - -The Mer Princess pressed her hand affectionately. - -“So do I,” said Francis, “but I want something more than that even. I -want to stop this war. For always. So that there’ll never be any more -of it.” - -“But how can you,” said the Mer Princess, leaning her elbows on the -table, “there’s always been war; there always will be.” - -“Why?” asked Francis. - -“I don’t know; it’s Merman nature, I suppose.” - -“I don’t believe it,” said Francis earnestly, “not for a minute I -don’t. Why, don’t you see, all these people you’re at war with are -_nice_. Look how kind the Queen is to Cathay—look how kind Ulfin is to -us—and the Librarian, and the Keeper of the Archives, and the soldiers -who lent us the horses. They’re all as decent as they can stick, and -all the Mer-people are nice too—and then they all go killing each -other, and all those brave, jolly soldier fish too, just all about -nothing. I call it simply _rot_.” - -“But there always has been war I tell you,” said the Mer-Princess. -“People would get slack and silly and cowardly if there were no wars.” - -“If I were King,” said Francis, who was now thoroughly roused, “there -should never be any more wars. There are plenty of things to be brave -about without hurting other brave people—exploring and rescuing and -saving your comrades in mines and in fires and floods and things and—” -his eloquence suddenly gave way to a breathless shyness—“oh, well,” he -ended, “it’s no use gassing; you know what I mean.” - -“Yes,” said Mavis, “and oh, France—I think you’re right. But what can -we _do_?” - -“I shall ask to see the Queen of the Under Folk, and try to make her -see sense. She didn’t look an absolute duffer.” - -They all gasped at the glorious and simple daring of the idea. But the -Mer Princess said: - -“I know you’d do everything you could—but it’s very difficult to talk -to kings unless you’ve been accustomed to it. There are books in the -cave, _Straight Talks with Monarchs_, and _Kings I Have Spoken My Mind -To_, which might help you. But, unfortunately, we can’t get them. You -see, Kings start so much further than subjects do: they know such a lot -more. Why, even I—” - -“Then why won’t _you_ try talking to the Queen?” - -“I shouldn’t dare,” said Freia. “I’m only a girl-Princess. Oh, if only -my dear Father could talk to her. If he believed it possible that -war could cease ... _he_ could persuade anybody of anything. And, of -course, they would start on the same footing—both Monarchs, you know.” - -“I see: like belonging to the same club,” said Francis vaguely. - -“But, of course, as things are, my royal Father thinks of nothing but -shells—if only we could restore his memory....” - -“I say,” said Bernard suddenly, “does that Keep-your-Memory charm work -backward?” - -“Backward?” - -“I mean—is it any use taking it after you’ve swallowed your dose of -oblivion-cup? Is it a rester what’s its name as well as an antidote?” - -“Surely,” said the Princess, “it is a restorative; only we have no -charm to give my Father—they are not made in this country—and alas! we -cannot escape and go to our own kingdom and return with one.” - -“No need,” said Bernard, with growing excitement, “no need. Cathay’s -charm is there, in the inner pocket of her magic coat. If we could get -that, give the charm to your Father, and then get him an interview with -the Queen?” - -“But what about Cathay?” said Mavis. - -“If my Father’s memory were restored,” said the Princess, “his wisdom -would find us a way out of all our difficulties. To find Cathay’s coat: -that is what we have to do.” - -“Yes,” said Francis. “That’s all.” He spoke a little bitterly, for he -had really rather looked forward to that straight talk with the King, -and the others had not been as enthusiastic as he felt he had a right -to expect. - -“Let’s call Ulfin,” said the Princess, and they all scratched on the -door of polished bird’s-eye maple that separated their apartments from -the rest of the prison. The electric bells were out of order, so one -scratched instead of ringing. It was quite as easy. - -Ulfin came with all speed. - -“We’re holding a council,” said Freia, “and we want you to help. We -know you will.” - -“I know it,” said Ulfin, “tell me your needs—” - -And without more ado they told him all. - -“You trust me, Princess, I am proud,” he told her, but when he heard -Francis’s dream of universal peace he took the freckled paw of Francis -and laid his lips to it. And Francis, even in the midst of his pride -and embarrassment at this token, could not help noticing that the lips -of Ulfin were hard, like horn. - -“I kiss your hand,” said Ulfin, “because you give me back my honor, -which I was willing to lay down, with all else, for the Princess to -walk on to safety and escape. I would have helped you to find the -hidden coat—for her sake alone, and that would have been a sin against -my honor and my country—but now that I know it is to lead to peace, -which, warriors as we are, the whole nation passionately desires, then -I am acting as a true and honorable patriot. My only regret is that I -have one gift the less to lay at the feet of the Princess.” - -“Do you know where the coats are?” Mavis asked. - -“They are in the Foreign Curiosities Museum,” said Ulfin, “strongly -guarded: but the guards are the Horse Marines—whose officer lent you -your chargers today. He is my friend, and when I tell him what is -toward, he will help me. I only ask of you one promise in return. That -you will not seek to escape, or to return to your own country, except -by the free leave and license of our gracious Sovereigns.” - -The children easily promised—and they thought the promise would be -easily kept. - -“Then tomorrow,” said Ulfin, “shall begin the splendid Peace Plot which -shall hand our names down, haloed with glory, to remotest ages.” - -He looked kindly on them and went out. - -“He _is_ a dear, isn’t he?” said Mavis. - -“Yes, indeed,” said the Princess absently. - -And now next day the children, carrying their tickets-of-leaves, were -led to the great pearl and turquoise building, which was the Museum -of Foreign Curiosities. Many were the strange objects preserved -there—china and glass and books and land-things of all kinds, -taken from sunken ships. And all the things were under dome-shaped -cases, apparently of glass. The Curator of the Museum showed them -his treasures with pride, and explained them all wrong in the most -interesting way. - -“Those discs,” he said, pointing to the china plates, “are used in -games of skill. They are thrown from one hand to another, and if one -fails to catch them his head is broken.” - -An egg boiler, he explained, was a Land Queen’s jewel case, and four -egg-shaped emeralds had been fitted into it to show its use to the -vulgar. A silver ice pail was labeled: “Drinking Vessel of the Horses -of the Kings of Earth,” and a cigar case half full was called “Charm -case containing Evil Charms: probably Ancient Barbarian.” In fact it -was very like the museums you see on land. - -They were just coming to a large case containing something whitish and -labeled, “Very valuable indeed,” when a messenger came to tell the -Curator that a soldier was waiting with valuable curiosities taken as -loot from the enemy. - -“Excuse me one moment,” said the Curator, and left them. - -“_I_ arranged that,” said Ulfin, “quick, before he returns—take your -coats if you know any spell to remove the case.” - -The Princess laughed and laid her hand on the glassy dome, and lo! it -broke and disappeared as a bubble does when you touch it. - -“Magic,” whispered Ulfin. - -“Not magic,” said the Princess. “Your cases are only bubbles.” - -“And I never knew,” said Ulfin. - -“No,” said the Princess, “because you never dared to touch them.” - -The children were already busy pulling the coats off the ruby slab -where they lay. “Here’s Cathay’s,” whispered Mavis. - -The Princess snatched it and her own pearly coat which, in one quick -movement, she put on and buttoned over Cathay’s little folded coat, -holding this against her. “Quick,” she said, “put yours on, all of you. -Take your mer-tails on your arms.” - -They did. The soldiers at the end of the long hall had noticed the -movements and came charging up toward them. - -“Quick, quick!” said the Princess, “now—altogether. One, two, three. -Press your third buttons.” - -The children did, and the soldiers tearing up the hall to arrest the -breakers of the cases of the Museum—for by this time they could see -what had happened—almost fell over each other in their confusion. For -there, where a moment ago had been four children with fin-tail fetters, -was now empty space, and beside the rifled Museum case stood only Ulfin. - -And then an odd thing happened. Out of nowhere, as it seemed, a little -pearly coat appeared, hanging alone in air (water, of course, it was -really. Or was it?). It seemed to grow and to twine itself round Ulfin. - -“Put it on,” said a voice from invisibility, “put it on,” and Ulfin did -put it on. - -The soldiers were close upon him. “Press the third button,” cried the -Princess, and Ulfin did so. But as his right hand sought the button, -the foremost soldier caught his left arm with the bitter cry— - -“Traitor, I arrest you in the King’s name,” and though he could now not -see that he was holding anything, he could feel that he was, and he -held on. - -“The last button, Ulfin,” cried the voice of the unseen Princess, -“press the last button,” and next moment the soldier, breathless with -amazement and terror, was looking stupidly at his empty hand. Ulfin, as -well as the three children and the Princess, was not only invisible but -intangible, the soldiers could not see or feel anything. - -And what is more, neither could the Princess or the children or Ulfin. - -“Oh, where are you? Where am I?” cried Mavis. - -“Silence,” said the Princess, “we must keep together by our voices, but -that is dangerous. _A la porte!_” she added. How fortunate it was that -none of the soldiers understood French! - -As the five were invisible and intangible and as the soldiers were -neither, it was easy to avoid them and to get to the arched doorway. -The Princess got there first. There was no enemy near—all the soldiers -were crowding around the rifled Museum case, talking and wondering, the -soldier who had seized Ulfin explaining again and again how he had had -the caitiff by the arm, “as solid as solid, and then, all in a minute, -there was nothing—nothing at all,” and his comrades trying their best -to believe him. The Princess just waited, saying, “Are you there?” -every three seconds, as though she had been at the telephone. - -“Are you there?” said the Princess for the twenty-seventh time. And -then Ulfin said, “I am here, Princess.” - -“We must have connecting links,” she said—“bits of seaweed would do. If -you hold a piece of seaweed in your hand I will take hold of the other -end of it. We cannot feel the touch of each other’s hands, but we shall -feel the seaweed, and you will know, by its being drawn tight that I -have hold of the other end. Get some pieces for the children, too. Good -stout seaweed, such as you made the nets of with which you captured us.” - -“Ah, Princess,” he said, “how can I regret that enough? And yet how -can I regret it at all since it has brought you to me.” - -“Peace, foolish child,” said the Princess, and Ulfin’s heart leaped for -joy because, when a Princess calls a grown-up man “child,” it means -that she likes him more than a little, or else, of course, she would -not take such a liberty. “But the seaweed,” she added, “there is no -time to lose.” - -“I have some in my pocket,” said Ulfin, blushing, only she could not -see that. “They keep me busy making nets in my spare time—I always have -some string in my pocket.” - -A piece of stringy seaweed suddenly became visible as Ulfin took it out -of his invisible pocket, which, of course, had the property of making -its contents invisible too, so long as they remained in it. It floated -toward the Princess, who caught the end nearest to her and held it fast. - -“Where are you?” said a small voice. - -It was Mavis—and almost at once Francis and Bernard were there too. The -seaweed chain was explained to them, and they each held fast to their -ends of the seaweed links. So that when the soldiers, a little late in -the day, owing to the careful management of Ulfin’s friend, reached -the front door, there was nothing to be seen but four bits of seaweed -floating down the street, which, of course, was the sort of thing that -nobody could possibly notice unless they _knew_. - -The bits of seaweed went drifting to the Barracks, and no one noticed -that they floated on to the stables and that invisible hands loosed -the halters of five Sea Horses. The soldier who ought to have been -looking after the horses was deeply engaged in a game of Animal Grab -with a comrade. The cards were of narwhal ivory, very fine, indeed, and -jeweled on every pip. The invisible hands saddled the Sea Horses and -invisible forms sprang to the saddles, and urged the horses forward. - -The unfortunate Animal Grabber was roused from his game by the sight -of five retreating steeds—saddled and bridled indeed, but, as far as -he could see, riderless, and long before other horses could be got out -and saddled the fugitives were out of sight and pursuit was vain. Just -as before they went across country to the rock cut and then swam up, -holding by the linking seaweed. - -Because it was Tuesday and nearly two o’clock, the Professor of -Conchology was making ready to receive pupils, which he did in an arbor -of coral of various shades of pink, surrounded by specimen shells of -all the simpler species. He was alone in the garden, and as they neared -him, the Princess, the three children and Ulfin touched the necessary -buttons and became once more visible and tangible. - -“Ha,” said the Professor, but without surprise. “Magic. A very neat -trick, my dears, and excellently done.” - -“You need not remove your jacket,” he added to Ulfin, who was pulling -off his pearly coat. “The mental exercises in which we propose to -engage do not require gymnasium costume.” - -But Ulfin went on taking off his coat, and when it was off he handed -it to the Princess, who at once felt in its inner pocket, pulled out -a little golden case and held it toward the Professor. It has been -well said that no charm on earth—I mean underwater—is strong enough to -make one forget one’s antidote. The moment the Professor’s eye fell on -the little golden case, he held out his hand for it, and the Princess -gave it to him. He opened it, and without hesitation as without haste, -swallowed the charm. - -Next moment the Princess was clasped in his arms, and the moment after -that, still clasped there, was beginning a hurried explanation; but he -stopped her. - -“I know, my child, I know,” he said. “You have brought me the charm -which gives back to me my memory and makes a King of Merland out of -a Professor of Conchology. But why, oh why, did you not bring me my -coat—my pearly coat?” said the King, “it was in the case with the -others.” - -No one had thought of it, and everyone felt and looked exceedingly -silly, and no one spoke till Ulfin said, holding out the coat which the -Princess had given back to him— - -“You will have this coat, Majesty. I have no right to the magic -garments of your country.” - -“But,” said Francis, “you need the coat more than anybody. The King -shall have mine—I shan’t want it if you’ll let me go and ask for an -interview with the King of the Under Folk.” - -“No, have mine,” said Mavis—and “have mine,” said Bernard, and the -Princess said, “Of course my Father will have mine.” So they all -protested at once. But the King raised his hand, and there was silence, -and they saw that he no longer looked only a noble and learned -gentleman, but that he looked every inch a King. - -“Silence,” he said, “if anyone speaks with the King and Queen of this -land it is fitting that it should be I. See, we will go out by the back -door, so as to avoid the other pupils who will soon be arriving in -their thousands, for my Conchology Course is very popular. And as we -go, tell me who is this man of the Under Folk who seems to be one of -you”—(“I am the Princess’ servant,” Ulfin put in)—“and why you desire -to speak with the King of this land.” - -So they made great haste to go out by the back way so as not to meet -the Conchology students, and cautiously crept up to their horses—and, -of course, the biggest and best horse was given to the King to ride. -But when he saw how awkwardly their false tails adapted themselves to -the saddle he said, “My daughter, you can remove these fetters.” - -“How?” said she. “My shell knife won’t cut them.” - -“Bite through the strings of them with your little sharp teeth,” -said the King, “nothing but Princess teeth is sharp enough to cut -through them. No, my son—it is not degrading. A true Princess cannot -be degraded by anything that is for the good of her subjects and her -friends.” - -So the Mer Princess willingly bit through the strings of the false -tails—and everybody put on his or her proper tail again, with great -comfort and enjoyment—and they all swam toward the town. - -And as they went they heard a great noise of shouting, and saw parties -of Under Folk flying as if in fear. - -“I must make haste,” said the King, “and see to it that our Peace -Conference be not too late”—so they hurried on. - -And the noise grew louder and louder, and the crowds of flying Under -Folk thicker and fleeter, and by and by Ulfin made them stand back -under the arch of the Astrologers’ Tower to see what it was from which -they fled. And there, along the streets of the great city of the Under -Folk, came the flash of swords and the swirl of banners and the army of -the Mer Folk came along between the great buildings of their foes, and -on their helmets was the light of victory, and at their head, proud and -splendid, rode the Princess Maia and—Reuben. - -“Oh—Reuben, Reuben! We’re saved,” called Mavis, and would have darted -out, but Francis put his hand over her mouth. - -“Stop!” he said, “don’t you remember we promised not to escape without -the Queen’s permission? Quick, quick to the Palace, to make peace -before our armies can attack it.” - -“You speak well,” said the Mer King. And Ulfin said, “This is no time -for ceremony. Quick, quick, I will take you in by the tradesmen’s -entrance.” And, turning their backs on that splendid and victorious -procession, they marched to the back entrance of the royal Palace. - - - - -CHAPTER TWELVE - -_The End_ - - -THE QUEEN of the Under Folk sat with her husband on their second-best -throne, which was much more comfortable than their State one, though -not so handsome. Their sad faces were lighted up with pleasure as they -watched the gambols of their new pet, Fido, a dear little earth-child, -who was playing with a ball of soft pink seaweed, patting it, and -tossing it and running after it as prettily as any kitten. - -“Dear little Fido,” said the Queen, “come here then,” and Fido, who had -once been Cathay, came willingly to lean against the Queen’s knee and -be stroked and petted. - -“I have curious dreams sometimes,” said the Queen to the King, “dreams -so vivid that they are more like memories.” - -“Has it ever occurred to you,” said the King, “that we have no memories -of our childhood, of our youth—?” - -“I believe,” said the Queen slowly, “that we have tasted in our time of -the oblivion-cup. There is no one like us in this land. If we were born -here, why can we not remember our parents who must have been like us? -And dearest—the dream that comes to me most often is that we once had -a child and lost it—and that it was a child like us—” - -“Fido,” said the King in a low voice, “is like us.” And he, too, -stroked the head of Cathay, who had forgotten everything except that -she was Fido and bore the Queen’s name on her collar. “But if you -remember that we had a child it cannot be true—if we drank of the -oblivion-cup, that is, because, of course, that would make us forget -everything.” - -“It could not make a mother forget her child,” said the Queen, and with -the word caught up Fido-which-was-Cathay and kissed her. - -“Nice Queen,” purred Cathay-which-was-Fido, “I do love you.” - -“I am sure we had a child once,” said the Queen, hugging her, “and that -we have been made to forget.” - -Even as she spoke the hangings of cloth of gold, pieced together from -the spoil of lost galleons, rustled at the touch of someone outside. -The Queen dried her eyes, which needed it, and said, “Come in.” - -The arras was lifted and a tall figure entered. - -“Bless my soul,” said the King of the Under Folk, “it’s the Professor -of Conchology.” - -“No,” said the figure, advancing, “it is the King of the Mer-people. My -brother King, my sister Queen, I greet you.” - -“This is most irregular,” said the King. - -“Never mind, dear,” said the Queen, “let us hear what his Majesty has -to say.” - -“I say—Let there be peace between our people,” said the Mer-King. “For -countless ages these wars have been waged, for countless ages your -people and mine have suffered. Even the origin of the war is lost in -the mists of antiquity. Now I come to you, I, your prisoner—I was -given to drink of the cup of oblivion and forgot who I was and whence I -came. Now a counter-charm has given me back mind and memory. I come in -the name of my people. If we have wronged you, we ask your forgiveness. -If you have wronged us, we freely forgive you. Say: Shall it be -peace, and shall all the sons of the sea live as brothers in love and -kindliness for evermore? - -“Really,” said the King of the Under Folk, “I think it is not at all a -bad idea—but in confidence, and between Monarchs, I may tell you, sir, -that I suspect my mind is not what it was. You, sir, seem to possess a -truly royal grasp of your subject. My mind is so imperfect that I dare -not consult it. But my heart—” - -“Your heart says Yes,” said the Queen. “So does mine. But our troops -are besieging your city,” she said, “they will say that in asking for -peace you were paying the tribute of the vanquished.” - -“My people will not think this of me,” said the King of Merland, “nor -would your people think it of you. Let us join hands in peace and the -love of royal brethren.” - -“What a dreadful noise they are making outside,” said the King, and -indeed the noise of shouting and singing was now to be heard on every -side of the Palace. - -“If there was a balcony now where we could show ourselves,” suggested -the King of Merland. - -“The very thing,” said the Queen, catching up her pet -Fido-which-was-Cathay in her arms and leading the way to the great -curtained arch at the end of the hall. She drew back the swinging, -sweeping hangings of woven seaweed and stepped forth on the balcony—the -two Kings close behind her. But she stopped short and staggered back -a little, so that her husband had to put an arm about her to support -her, when her first glance showed her that the people who were shouting -outside the Palace were not, as she had supposed, Under Folk in some -unexpected though welcome transport of loyal enthusiasm, but ranks on -ranks of the enemy, the hated Mer Folk, all splendid and menacing in -the pomp and circumstance of glorious war. - -“It is the enemy!” gasped the Queen. - -“It is my people,” said the Mer King. “It is a beautiful thing in you, -dear Queen, that you agreed to peace, without terms, while you thought -you were victorious, and not because the legions of the Mer Folk were -thundering at your gates. May I speak for us?” - -They signed assent. And the Mer King stepped forward full into view of -the crowd in the street below. - -“My people,” he said in a voice loud, yet soft, and very, very -beautiful. And at the words the Mer Folk below looked up and recognized -their long-lost King, and a shout went up that you could have heard a -mile away. - -The King raised his hand for silence. - -“My people,” he said, “brave men of Merland—let there be peace, now and -forever, between us and our brave foes. The King and Queen of this land -agreed to make unconditional peace while they believed themselves to be -victorious. If victory has for today been with us, let us at least be -the equals of our foes in generosity as in valor.” - -Another shout rang out. And the King of the Under Folk stepped forward. - -“My people,” he said, and the Under Folk came quickly forward toward -him at the sound of his voice. “There shall be peace. Let these who -were your foes this morning be your guests tonight and your friends -and brothers for evermore. If we have wronged them, we beg them to -forgive us: if they have wronged us, we beg them to allow us to forgive -them.” (“Is that right?” he asked the Mer King in a hasty whisper, who -whispered back, “Admirable!”) “Now,” he went on, “cheer, Mer Folk and -Under Folk, for the splendid compact of Peace.” - -And they cheered. - -“Pardon, your Majesty”—it was Ulfin who spoke—“it was the stranger -Francis who first conceived the Peace Idea.” - -“True,” said the Mer King, “where is Francis?” - -But Francis was not to be found; it was only his name which was -presented to the people from the balcony. He himself kept his pearly -coat on and kept the invisibility button well pressed down, till the -crowd had dispersed to ring all the diving bells with which the towers -of the city were so handsomely fitted up, to hang the city with a -thousand seaweed flags, and to illuminate its every window and door and -pinnacle and buttress with more and more phosphorescent fish. In the -Palace was a banquet for the Kings and the Queen and the Princesses, -and the three children, and Cathay-who-was-Fido. Also Reuben was called -from the command of his Sea Urchins to be a guest at the royal table. -Princess Freia asked that an invitation might be sent to Ulfin—but -when the King’s Private Secretary, a very intelligent cuttlefish, had -got the invitation ready, handsomely written in his own ink, it was -discovered that no Ulfin was to be found to receive it. - -It was a glorious banquet. The only blot on its rapturous splendor was -the fact that Cathay still remained Fido, the Queen’s pet—and her eyes -were still those cold, unremembering eyes which her brothers and sister -could not bear to meet. Reuben sat at the right hand of the Queen, and -from the moment he took his place there he seemed to think of no one -else. He talked with her, sensibly and modestly, and Francis remarked -that during his stay in Merland Reuben had learned to talk as you do, -and not in the language of gypsy circus-people. The Commander-in-Chief -of the Forces of the Under Folk sat at the left hand of his King. -The King of the Mer Folk sat between his happy daughters, and the -children sat together between the Chief Astrologer and the Curator of -the Museum of Foreign Curiosities, who was more pleased to see them -again than he had ever expected to be, and much more friendly than -they had ever hoped to find him. Everyone was extremely happy, even -Fido-which-was-Cathay, who sat on the Queen’s lap and was fed with -delicacies from the Queen’s own plate. - -It was at about the middle of the feast, just after everybody had drunk -the health of the two Commanders-in-Chief, amid tempestuous applause, -that a serving-fish whispered behind his fin to the Under Folk Queen: - -“Certainly,” she said, “show him in.” - -And the person who was shown in was Ulfin, and he carried on his arm a -pearly coat and a scaly tail. He sank on one knee and held them up to -the Mer King, with only one doubtful deprecating glance at the Curator -of the Museum of Foreign Curiosities. - -The King took them, and feeling in the pocket of the coat drew out -three golden cases. - -“It is the royal prerogative to have three,” he said smilingly to the -Queen, “in case of accidents. May I ask your Majesty’s permission to -administer one of them to your Majesty’s little pet. I am sure you are -longing to restore her to her brothers and her sister.” - -The Queen could not but agree—though her heart was sore at losing -the little Fido-Kathleen, of whom she had grown so fond. But she was -hoping that Reuben would consent to let her adopt him, and be more -to her than many Fidos. She administered the charm herself, and the -moment Cathay had swallowed it the royal arms were loosened, and the -Queen expected her pet to fly to her brothers and sister. But to Cathay -it was as though only an instant had passed since she came into that -hall, a prisoner. So that when suddenly she saw her brothers and -sister honored guests at what was unmistakably a very grand and happy -festival, and found herself in the place of honor on the very lap of -the Queen, she only snuggled closer to that royal lady and called out -very loud and clear, “Hullo, Mavis! Here’s a jolly transformation -scene. That was a magic drink she gave us and it’s made everybody jolly -and friends—I am glad. You dear Queen,” she added, “it is nice of you -to nurse me.” - -So everybody was pleased: only Princess Freia looked sad and puzzled -and her eyes followed Ulfin as he bowed and made to retire from the -royal presence. He had almost reached the door when she spoke quickly -in the royal ear that was next to her. - -“Oh, Father,” she said, “don’t let him go like that. He ought to be at -the banquet. We couldn’t have done anything without him.” - -“True,” said the King, “but I thought he had been invited, and refused.” - -“Refused?” said the Princess, “oh, call him back!” - -“I’ll run if I may,” said Mavis, slipping out of her place and running -down the great hall. - -“If you’ll sit a little nearer to me, Father,” said Maia obligingly, -“the young man can sit between you and my sister.” - -So that is where Ulfin found himself, and that was where he had never -dared to hope to be. - -The banquet was a strange as well as a magnificent scene—because, of -course, the Mer-people were beautiful as the day, the five children -were quite as pretty as any five children have any need to be, and -the King and Queen of the Under Folk were as handsome as handsome. So -that all this handsomeness was a very curious contrast to the strange -heavy features of the Under Folk who now sat at table, so pleasant and -friendly, toasting their late enemies. - -The contrast between the Princess Freia and Ulfin was particularly -marked, for their heads bent near together as they talked. - -“Princess,” he was saying, “tomorrow you will go back to your kingdom, -and I shall never see you again.” - -The Princess could not think of anything to say, because it seemed to -her that what he said was true. - -“But,” he went on, “I shall be glad all my life to have known and loved -so dear and beautiful a Princess.” - -And again the Princess could think of nothing to say. - -“Princess,” he said, “tell me one thing. Do you know what I should say -to you if I were a Prince?” - -“Yes,” said Freia; “I know what you would say and I know what I should -answer, dear Ulfin, if you were only a commoner of Merland ... I mean, -you know, if your face were like ours. But since you are of the Under -Folk and I am a Mermaid, I can only say that I will never forget you, -and that I will never marry anyone else.” - -“Is it only my face then that prevents your marrying me?” he asked with -abrupt eagerness, and she answered gently, “Of course.” - -Then Ulfin sprang to his feet. “Your Majesties,” he cried, “and Lord -High Astrologer, has not the moment come when, since we are at a -banquet with friends, we may unmask?” - -The strangers exchanged wondering glances. - -The Sovereigns and the Astrologers made gestures of assent—then, with a -rustling and a rattling, helmets were unlaced and corselets unbuckled, -the Under Folk seemed to the Mer-people as though they were taking off -their very skins. But really what they took off was but their thick -scaly armor, and under it they were as softly and richly clad, and as -personable people as the Mer Folk themselves. - -“But,” said Maia, “how splendid! We thought you were always in -armor—that—that it grew on you, you know.” - -The Under Folk laughed jollily. “Of course it was always on -us—since—when you saw us, we were always at war.” - -“And you’re just like us!” said Freia to Ulfin. - -“There is no one like you,” he whispered back. Ulfin was now a handsome -dark-haired young man, and looked much more like a Prince than a great -many real Princes do. - -“Did you mean what you said just now?” the Princess whispered. And for -answer Ulfin dared to touch her hand with soft firm fingers. - -“Papa,” said Freia, “please may I marry Ulfin?” - -“By all means,” said the King, and immediately announced the -engagement, joining their hands and giving them his blessing in the -most businesslike way. - -Then said the Queen of the Under Folk: - -“Why should not these two reign over the Under Folk and let us two be -allowed to remember the things we have forgotten and go back to that -other life which I know we had somewhere—where we had a child.” - -“I think,” said Mavis, “that now everything’s settled so comfortably we -ought perhaps all of us to be thinking about getting home.” - -“I have only one charm left, unfortunately,” said the Mer King, “but if -your people will agree to your abdicating, I will divide it between you -with pleasure, dear King and Queen of the Under Folk; and I have reason -to believe that the half which you will each of you have, will be just -enough to counteract your memories of this place, and restore to you -all the memories of your other life.” - -“Could not Reuben go with us?” the Queen asked. - -“No,” said the Mer King, “but he shall follow you to earth, and that -speedily.” - -The Astrologer Royal, who had been whispering to Reuben, here -interposed. - -“It would be well, your Majesties,” he said, “if a small allowance of -the cup of oblivion were served out to these land children, so that -they may not remember their adventures here. It is not well for the -Earth People to know too much of the dwellers in the sea. There is a -sacred vessel which has long been preserved among the civic plate. I -propose that this vessel should be presented to our guests as a mark of -our esteem; that they shall bear it with them, and drink the contents -as soon as they set foot on their own shores.” - -He was at once sent to fetch the sacred vessel. It was a stone ginger -beer bottle. - -“I do really think we ought to go,” said Mavis again. - -There were farewells to be said—a very loving farewell to the -Princesses, a very friendly one to the fortunate Ulfin, and then a -little party left the Palace quietly and for the last time made the -journey to the quiet Iswater where the King of Merland had so long -professed Conchology. - -Arrived at this spot the King spoke to the King and Queen of the Under -Folk. - -“Swallow this charm,” he said, “in equal shares—then rise to the -surface of the lake and say the charm which I perceive the Earth -children have taught you as we came along. The rest will be easy and -beautiful. We shall never forget you, and your hearts will remember us, -though your minds must forget. Farewell.” - -The King and Queen rose through the waters and disappeared. - -Next moment a strong attraction like that which needles feel for -magnets drew the children from the side of the Mer King. They shut -their eyes, and when they opened them they were on dry land in a wood -by a lake—and Francis had a ginger beer bottle in his hand. The King -and Queen of the Under Folk must have said at once the charm to recall -the children to earth. - -“It works more slowly on land, the Astrologer said,” Reuben remarked. -“Before we drink and forget everything I want to tell you that I think -you’ve all been real bricks to me. And if you don’t mind, I’ll take off -these girls’ things.” - -He did, appearing in shirt and knickerbockers. - -“Good-bye,” he said, shaking hands with everyone. - -“But aren’t you coming home with us?” - -“No,” he said, “the Astrologer told me the first man and woman I should -see on land would be my long-lost Father and Mother, and I was to go -straight to them with my little shirt and my little shoe that I’ve kept -all this time, the ones that were mine when I was a stolen baby, and -they’d know me and I should belong to them. But I hope we’ll meet again -some day. Good-bye, and thank you. It was ripping being General of the -Sea Urchins.” - -With that they drank each a draught from the ginger beer bottle, and -then, making haste to act before the oblivion-cup should blot out with -other things the Astrologer’s advice, Reuben went out of the wood into -the sunshine and across a green turf. They saw him speak to a man and -a woman in blue bathing dresses who seemed to have been swimming in -the lake and now were resting on the marble steps that led down to it. -He held out the little shirt and the little shoe, and they held their -hands out to him. And as they turned the children saw that their faces -were the faces of the King and Queen of the Under Folk, only now not -sad anymore, but radiant with happiness, because they had found their -son again. - -“Of course,” said Francis, “there isn’t any time in the other world. I -expect they were swimming and just dived, and all that happened to them -just in the minute they were underwater.” - -“And Reuben is really their long-lost heir?” - -“They seemed to think so. I expect he’s exactly like an ancestor or -something, and you know how the Queen took to him from the first.” - -And then the oblivion-cup took effect—and they forgot, and forgot -forever, the wonderful world that they had known underseas, and Sabrina -fair and the circus and the Mermaid whom they had rescued. - -But Reuben, curiously enough, they did not forget: they went home to -tea with a pleasant story for their father and mother of a Spangled Boy -at the circus who had run away and found his father and mother. - -And two days after a motor stopped at their gate and Reuben got out. - -“I say,” he said, “I’ve found my father and mother, and we’ve come to -thank you for the plum pie and things. Did you ever get the plate and -spoon out of the bush? Come and see my father and mother,” he ended -proudly. - -The children went, and looked once more in the faces of the King and -Queen of the Under Folk, but now they did not know those faces, which -seemed to them only the faces of some very nice strangers. - -“I think Reuben’s jolly lucky, don’t you?” said Mavis. - -“Yes,” said Bernard. - -“So do I,” said Cathay. - -“I wish Aunt Enid had let me bring the aquarium,” said Francis. - -“Never mind,” said Mavis, “it will be something to live for when we -come back from the sea, and everything is beastly.” - -And it was. - - _The End_ - - * * * * * - -Transcriber’s Notes: - -The first chapter’s words were ALL CAPPED to match the rest of the -book’s format. Obvious punctuation errors were repaired. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Wet Magic, by E. 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Nesbit - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Wet Magic - -Author: E. Nesbit - -Illustrator: H. R. Millar - -Release Date: November 1, 2015 [EBook #50361] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WET MAGIC *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<h1 class="faux"><i>Wet Magic</i></h1> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="600" height="800" alt="Created cover. This cover was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain." /> -</div> -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - - - - - - -<div class="maintitle"><i>Wet Magic</i></div> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 157px;"> -<img src="images/i-001.jpg" width="157" height="226" alt="brick house front" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 411px;"><a id="frontispiece"></a> -<img src="images/i-002.jpg" width="411" height="515" alt="Water pouring from sky; four children being doused" /> -<div class="caption"><i>The sea came pouring in.</i></div> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - - -<div class="maintitle"><i>Wet Magic</i></div> - -<div class="center"> -<span class="author"><span class="smcap">E. Nesbit</span></span><br /> -<span class="smcap">With Illustrations by H. R. Millar</span><br /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<div class="copyright"> -<i>Copyright 1913 by E Nesbit</i><br /> -<i>Illustrations copyright 1913 by H. R. Millar</i><br /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<div class="center"> -<i>To<br /> -<big>Dr. E. N. da C. Andrade</big></i>,<br /> -<br /> -<small>FROM</small><br /> -<span class="smcap">E. Nesbit</span><br /> -<br /> -<b><big>*</big></b><br /> -<br /> -<span class="smcap"><small>Well Hall,</small><br /> -<small>Kent</small></span><br /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<h2><i>Contents</i></h2> - - - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> -<tr> -<td align="center" colspan="2"><br />CHAPTER I</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><span class="smcap">Sabrina Fair</span></td> -<td align="right"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="center" colspan="2"><br />CHAPTER II</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Captive</span></td> -<td align="right"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="center" colspan="2"><br />CHAPTER III</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Rescue</span></td> -<td align="right"><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="center" colspan="2"><br />CHAPTER IV</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><span class="smcap">Gratitude</span></td> -<td align="right"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="center" colspan="2"><br />CHAPTER V</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><span class="smcap">Consequences</span></td> -<td align="right"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="center" colspan="2"><br />CHAPTER VI</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Mermaid’s Home</span></td> -<td align="right"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="center" colspan="2"><br />CHAPTER VII</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Skies Are Falling</span> </td> -<td align="right"><a href="#Page_84">84</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="center" colspan="2"><br />CHAPTER VIII</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Water-War</span></td> -<td align="right"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="center" colspan="2"><br />CHAPTER IX</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Book People</span></td> -<td align="right"><a href="#Page_116">116</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="center" colspan="2"><br />CHAPTER X</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Under Folk</span></td> -<td align="right"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="center" colspan="2"><br />CHAPTER XI</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Peacemaker</span></td> -<td align="right"><a href="#Page_154">154</a></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="center" colspan="2"><br />CHAPTER XII</td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><span class="smcap">The End</span></td> -<td align="right"><a href="#Page_167">167</a></td> -</tr> - -</table></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<h2><i>Illustrations</i></h2> - - - - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations"> -<tr> -<td align="left"><i>The sea came pouring in.</i></td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#frontispiece">Frontispiece</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left">“<i>We die in captivity.</i>”</td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#Page_26">26</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left">“<i>‘Translucent wave,’ indeed!</i>”</td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#Page_42">42</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left">“<i>The police.</i>”</td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#Page_54">54</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><i>And disappeared entirely.</i></td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#Page_59">59</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><i>She caught Kathleen in her arms.</i></td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#Page_79">79</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><i>The golden door.</i></td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#Page_82">82</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><i>The Swordfish Brigade.</i></td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#Page_103">103</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><i>The First Dipsys.</i></td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#Page_110">110</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><i>Book Hatefuls.</i></td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#Page_122">122</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><i>Book Heroines.</i></td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#Page_130">130</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><i>In the net.</i></td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#Page_137">137</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><i>The Hall of Public Archives.</i></td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#Page_149">149</a></i></td> -</tr> - -<tr> -<td align="left"><i>The chargers of the Horse Marines.</i> </td> -<td align="right"><i><a href="#Page_152">152</a></i></td> -</tr> -</table> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_ONE" id="CHAPTER_ONE">CHAPTER ONE</a><br /> - -<small><i>Sabrina Fair</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THAT going to the seaside was the very beginning of everything—only -it seemed as though it were going to be a beginning without -an end, like the roads on the Sussex downs which look like roads -and then look like paths, and then turn into sheep tracks, and -then are just grass and furze bushes and tottergrass and harebells -and rabbits and chalk.</p> - -<p>The children had been counting the days to The Day. Bernard -indeed had made a calendar on a piece of cardboard that had once -been the bottom of the box in which his new white sandshoes -came home. He marked the divisions of the weeks quite neatly in -red ink, and the days were numbered in blue ink, and every day -he crossed off one of those numbers with a piece of green chalk he -happened to have left out of a penny box. Mavis had washed and -ironed all the dolls’ clothes at least a fortnight before The Day. -This was thoughtful and farsighted of her, of course, but it was a -little trying to Kathleen, who was much younger and who would -have preferred to go on playing with her dolls in their dirtier and -more familiar state.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, if you do,” said Mavis, a little hot and cross from the -ironing board, “I’ll never wash anything for you again, not even -your face.”</p> - -<p>Kathleen somehow felt as if she could bear that.</p> - -<p>“But mayn’t I have just one of the dolls” was, however, all she -said, “just the teeniest, weeniest one? Let me have Lord Edward. -His head’s half gone as it is, and I could dress him in a clean hanky -and pretend it was kilts.”</p> - -<p>Mavis could not object to this, because, of course, whatever -else she washed she didn’t wash hankies. So Lord Edward had his -pale kilts, and the other dolls were put away in a row in Mavis’s -corner drawer. It was after that that Mavis and Francis had long -secret consultations—and when the younger ones asked questions -they were told, “It’s secrets. You’ll know in good time.” This, of -course, excited everyone very much indeed—and it was rather a -comedown when the good time came, and the secret proved to be -nothing more interesting than a large empty aquarium which the -two elders had clubbed their money together to buy, for eight-and -ninepence in the Old Kent Road. They staggered up the front garden -path with it, very hot and tired.</p> - -<p>“But what are you going to do with it?” Kathleen asked, as -they all stood around the nursery table looking at it.</p> - -<p>“Fill it with seawater,” Francis explained, “to put sea anemones -in.”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes,” said Kathleen with enthusiasm, “and the crabs and -starfish and prawns and the yellow periwinkles—and all the common -objects of the seashore.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll stand it in the window,” Mavis added: “it’ll make the -lodgings look so distinguished.”</p> - -<p>“And then perhaps some great scientific gentleman, like -Darwin or Faraday, will see it as he goes by, and it will be such a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> -joyous surprise to him to come face-to-face with our jellyfish; he’ll -offer to teach Francis all about science for nothing—I see,” said -Kathleen hopefully.</p> - -<p>“But how will you get it to the seaside?” Bernard asked, leaning -his hands on the schoolroom table and breathing heavily into -the aquarium, so that its shining sides became dim and misty. “It’s -much too big to go in the boxes, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Then I’ll carry it,” said Francis, “it won’t be in the way at -all—I carried it home today.”</p> - -<p>“We had to take the bus, you know,” said truthful Mavis, “and -then I had to help you.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe they’ll let you take it at all,” said Bernard—if -you know anything of grown-ups you will know that Bernard -proved to be quite right.</p> - -<p>“Take an aquarium to the seaside—nonsense!” they said. And -“What for?” not waiting for the answer. “They,” just at present, -was Aunt Enid.</p> - -<p>Francis had always been passionately fond of water. Even -when he was a baby he always stopped crying the moment they -put him in the bath. And he was the little boy who, at the age of -four, was lost for three hours and then brought home by the police -who had found him sitting in a horse trough in front of the -Willing Mind, wet to the topmost hair of his head, and quite -happy, entertaining a circle of carters with pots of beer in their -hands. There was very little water in the horse trough and the -most talkative of the carters explained that, the kid being that wet -at the first start off, him and his mates thought he was as safe in -the trough as anywhere—the weather being what it was and all -them nasty motors and trams about.</p> - -<p>To Francis, passionately attracted as he was by water in all -forms, from the simple mud puddle to the complicated machinery<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> -by which your bath supply is enabled to get out of order, it was -a real tragedy that he had never seen the sea. Something had -always happened to prevent it. Holidays had been spent in green -countries where there were rivers and wells and ponds, and waters -deep and wide—but the water had been fresh water, and the green -grass had been on each side of it. One great charm of the sea, as -he had heard of it, was that it had nothing on the other side “so -far as eye could see.” There was a lot about the sea in poetry, and -Francis, curiously enough, liked poetry.</p> - -<p>The buying of the aquarium had been an attempt to make -sure that, having found the sea, he should not lose it again. He -imagined the aquarium fitted with a real rock in the middle, to -which radiant sea anemones clung and limpets stuck. There were -to be yellow periwinkles too, and seaweeds, and gold and silver -fish (which don’t live in the sea by the way, only Francis didn’t -know this), flitting about in radiant scaly splendor, among the -shadows of the growing water plants. He had thought it all out—how -a cover might be made, very light, with rubber in between, -like a screw-top bottle, to keep the water in while it traveled home -in the guard’s van to the admiration of passengers and porters at -both stations. And now—he was not to be allowed to take it.</p> - -<p>He told Mavis, and she agreed with him that it was a shame.</p> - -<p>“But I’ll tell you what,” she said, for she was not one of those -comforters who just say, “I’m sorry,” and don’t try to help. She -generally thought of something that would make things at any -rate just a little better. “Let’s fill it with fresh water, and get some -goldfish and sand and weeds; and I’ll make Eliza promise to put -ants’ eggs in—that’s what they eat—and it’ll be something to -break the dreadful shock when we have to leave the sea and come -home again.”</p> - -<p>Francis admitted that there was something in this and consented -to fill the aquarium with water from the bath. When this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> -was done the aquarium was so heavy that the combined efforts of -all four children could not begin to move it.</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” said Mavis, the consoler; “let’s empty it out -again and take it back to the common room, and then fill it by -secret jugfuls, carried separately, you know.”</p> - -<p>This might have been successful, but Aunt Enid met the first -secret jugful—and forbade the second.</p> - -<p>“Messing about,” she called it. “No, of course I shan’t allow -you to waste your money on fish.” And Mother was already at the -seaside getting the lodgings ready for them. Her last words had -been—</p> - -<p>“Be sure you do exactly what Aunt Enid says.” So, of course, -they had to. Also Mother had said, “Don’t argue,” so they had not -even the melancholy satisfaction of telling Aunt Enid that she was -quite wrong, and that they were not messing about at all.</p> - -<p>Aunt Enid was not a real aunt, but just an old friend of -Grandmamma’s, with an aunt’s name and privileges and rather -more than an aunt’s authority. She was much older than a real -aunt and not half so nice. She was what is called “firm” with children, -and no one ever called her auntie. Just Aunt Enid. That will -tell you in a moment.</p> - -<p>So there the aquarium was, dishearteningly dry—for even the -few drops left in it from its first filling dried up almost at once.</p> - -<p>Even in its unwatery state, however, the aquarium was beautiful. -It had not any of that ugly ironwork with red lead showing -between the iron and the glass which you may sometimes have -noticed in the aquariums of your friends. No, it was one solid -thick piece of clear glass, faintly green, and when you stooped -down and looked through you could almost fancy that there really -was water in it.</p> - -<p>“Let’s put flowers in it,” Kathleen suggested, “and pretend -they’re anemones. Do let’s, Francis.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I don’t care what you do,” said Francis. “I’m going to read -<i>The Water Babies</i>.”</p> - -<p>“Then we’ll do it, and make it a lovely surprise for you,” said -Kathleen cheerily.</p> - -<p>Francis sat down squarely with <i>The Water Babies</i> flat before -him on the table, where also his elbows were, and the others, -respecting his sorrow, stole quietly away. Mavis just stepped back -to say, “I say, France, you don’t mind their putting flowers? It’s to -please you, you know.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you I don’t mind <i>anything</i>,” said Francis savagely.</p> - -<p>When the three had finished with it, the aquarium really -looked rather nice, and, if you stooped down and looked sideways -through the glass, like a real aquarium.</p> - -<p>Kathleen took some clinkers from the back of the rockery—“where -they won’t show,” she said—and Mavis induced these to -stand up like an arch in the middle of the glassy square. Tufts of -long grass, rather sparingly arranged, looked not unlike waterweed. -Bernard begged from the cook some of the fine silver sand -which she uses to scrub the kitchen tables and dressers with, and -Mavis cut the thread of the Australian shell necklace that Uncle -Robert sent her last Christmas, so that there should be real, shimmery, -silvery shells on the sand. (This was rather self-sacrificing of -her, because she knew she would have to put them all back again -on their string, and you know what a bother shells are to thread.) -They shone delightfully through the glass. But the great triumph -was the sea anemones—pink and red and yellow—clinging to the -rocky arch just as though they were growing there.</p> - -<p>“Oh, lovely, lovely,” Kathleen cried, as Mavis fixed the last delicate -flesh-tinted crown. “Come and look, France.”</p> - -<p>“Not yet,” said Mavis, in a great hurry, and she tied the thread -of the necklace round a tin goldfish (out of the box with the duck -and the boat and the mackerel and the lobster and the magnet that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> -makes them all move about—you know) and hung it from the -middle of the arch. It looked just as though it were swimming—you -hardly noticed the thread at all.</p> - -<p>“<i>Now</i>, France,” she called. And Francis came slowly with his -thumb in <i>The Water Babies</i>. It was nearly dark by now, but Mavis -had lighted the four dollhouse candles in the gilt candlesticks and -set them on the table around the aquarium.</p> - -<p>“Look through the side,” she said; “isn’t it ripping?”</p> - -<p>“Why,” said Francis slowly, “you’ve got water in it—and real -anemones! Where on earth...?”</p> - -<p>“Not real,” said Mavis. “I wish they were; they’re only dahlias. -But it does look pretty, doesn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“It’s like Fairyland,” said Kathleen, and Bernard added, “I <i>am</i> -glad you bought it.”</p> - -<p>“It just shows what it will be like when we <i>do</i> get the sea creatures,” -said Mavis. “Oh, Francis, you do like it, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I like it all right,” he answered, pressing his nose against -the thick glass, “but I wanted it to be waving weeds and mysterious -wetness like the Sabrina picture.”</p> - -<p>The other three glanced at the picture which hung over the -mantelpiece—Sabrina and the water nymphs, drifting along -among the waterweeds and water lilies. There were words under -the picture, and Francis dreamily began to say them:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 3em;">“‘<i>Sabrina fair,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Listen where thou art sitting,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>In twisted braids of Lillies knitting</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair....</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Hullo—what was that?” he said in quite a different voice, and -jumped up.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span></p> - -<p>“What was what?” the others naturally asked.</p> - -<p>“Did you put something alive in there?” Francis asked.</p> - -<p>“Of course not,” said Mavis. “Why?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I saw something move, that’s all.”</p> - -<p>They all crowded around and peered over the glass walls. Nothing, -of course, but the sand and the grass and the shells, the clinkers -and the dahlias and the little suspended tin goldfish.</p> - -<p>“I expect the goldfish swung a bit,” said Bernard. “That’s what -it must have been.”</p> - -<p>“It didn’t look like that,” Francis answered. “It looked more -like—”</p> - -<p>“Like what?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know—get out of the light. Let’s have another -squint.”</p> - -<p>He stooped down and looked again through the glass.</p> - -<p>“It’s not the goldfish,” he said. “That’s as quiet as a trout -asleep. No—I suppose it was a shadow or something.”</p> - -<p>“You might tell us what it looked like,” said Kathleen.</p> - -<p>“Was it like a rat?” Bernard asked with interest.</p> - -<p>“Not a bit. It was more like—”</p> - -<p>“Well, like what?” asked three aggravated voices.</p> - -<p>“Like Sabrina—only very, very tiny.”</p> - -<p>“A sort of doll—Sabrina,” said Kathleen, “how awfully jolly!”</p> - -<p>“It wasn’t at all like a doll, and it wasn’t jolly,” said Francis -shortly—“only I wish it would come again.”</p> - -<p>It didn’t, however.</p> - -<p>“I say,” said Mavis, struck by a new idea, “perhaps it’s a magic -aquarium.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s play it is,” suggested Kathleen—“let’s play it’s a magic -glass and we can see what we like in it. I see a fairy palace with -gleaming spires of crystal and silver.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I see a football match, and our chaps winning,” said Bernard -heavily, joining in the new game.</p> - -<p>“Shut up,” said Francis. “That isn’t play. There was something.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose it is magic,” said Mavis again.</p> - -<p>“We’ve played magic so often, and nothing’s ever happened—even -when we made the fire of sweet-scented woods and eastern -gums, and all that,” said Bernard; “it’s much better to pretend -right away. We always have to in the end. Magic just wastes time. -There isn’t any magic really, is there, Mavis?”</p> - -<p>“Shut up, I tell you,” was the only answer of Francis, his nose -now once more flattened against the smooth green glass.</p> - -<p>Here Aunt Enid’s voice was heard on the landing outside, saying, -“Little ones—bed,” in no uncertain tones.</p> - -<p>The two grunted as it were in whispers, but there was no -appeal against Aunt Enid, and they went, their grunts growing -feebler as they crossed the room, and dying away in a despairing -silence as they and Aunt Enid met abruptly at the top of the stairs.</p> - -<p>“Shut the door,” said Francis, in a strained sort of voice. And -Mavis obeyed, even though he hadn’t said “please.” She really was -an excellent sister. Francis, in moments of weakness, had gone so -far as to admit that she wasn’t half bad.</p> - -<p>“I say,” she said when the click of the latch assured her that -they were alone, “how could it be magic? We never said any spell.”</p> - -<p>“No more we did,” said Francis, “unless—And besides, it’s all -nonsense, of course, about magic. It’s just a game we play, isn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course,” Mavis said doubtfully; “but what did you -mean by ‘unless’?”</p> - -<p>“We weren’t saying any spells, were we?”</p> - -<p>“No, of course we weren’t—we weren’t saying anything—”</p> - -<p>“As it happens <i>I</i> was.”</p> - -<p>“Was what? When?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span></p> - -<p>“When it happened.”</p> - -<p>“What happened?”</p> - -<p>Will it be believed that Aunt Enid chose this moment for -opening the door just wide enough to say, “Mavis—bed.” And -Mavis had to go. But as she went she said again: “What happened?”</p> - -<p>“<i>It</i>,” said Francis, “whatever it was. I was saying....”</p> - -<p>“MAVIS!” called Aunt Enid.</p> - -<p>“Yes, Aunt Enid—you were saying <i>what?</i>”</p> - -<p>“I was saying, ‘<i>Sabrina fair</i>,’” said Francis, “do you think—but, -of course, it couldn’t have been—and all dry like that, no -water or anything.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps magic <i>has</i> to be dry,” said Mavis. “Coming, Aunt -Enid! It seems to be mostly burning things, and, of course, that -wouldn’t do in the water. What <i>did</i> you see?”</p> - -<p>“It looked like Sabrina,” said Francis—“only tiny, tiny. Not -doll-small, you know, but live-small, like through the wrong end -of a telescope. I do wish you’d seen it.”</p> - -<p>“Say, ‘Sabrina fair’ again quick while I look.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 3em;">“‘<i>Sabrina fair,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Listen where thou art sitting,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Under the—</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Oh, Mavis, it is—it did. There’s something there truly. -Look!”</p> - -<p>“Where?” said Mavis. “I can’t see—oh, let me look.”</p> - -<p>“MAVIS!” called Aunt Enid very loud indeed; and Mavis tore -herself away.</p> - -<p>“I must go,” she said. “Never mind, we’ll look again tomorrow. -Oh, France, if it <i>should</i> be—magic, I mean—I’ll tell you -what—”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p> - -<p>But she never told him what, for Aunt Enid swept in and -swept out, bearing Mavis away, as it were, in a whirlwind of impatient -exasperation, and, without seeming to stop to do it, blowing -out the four candles as she came and went.</p> - -<p>At the door she turned to say, “Good night, Francis. Your -bath’s turned on ready. Be sure you wash well behind your ears. -We shan’t have much time in the morning.”</p> - -<p>“But Mavis always bathes first,” said he. “I’m the eldest.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t argue, child, for goodness’ sake,” said Aunt Enid. -“Mavis is having the flat bath in my bedroom to save time. -Come—no nonsense,” she paused at the door to say. “Let me see -you go. Right about face—quick march!”</p> - -<p>And he had to.</p> - -<p>“If she must pretend to give orders like drill, she might at least -learn to say ‘’Bout turn!’” he reflected, struggling with his collar -stud in the steaming bathroom. “Never mind. I’ll get up early and -see if I can’t see it again.”</p> - -<p>And so he did—but early as he was, Aunt Enid and the servants -were earlier. The aquarium was empty—clear, clean, shining -and quite empty.</p> - -<p>Aunt Enid could not understand why Francis ate so little -breakfast.</p> - -<p>“What has she done with them?” he wondered later.</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> know,” said Bernard solemnly. “She told Esther to put them -on the kitchen fire—I only just saved my fish.”</p> - -<p>“And what about my shells?” asked Mavis in sudden fear.</p> - -<p>“Oh, she took those to take care of. Said you weren’t old -enough to take care of them yourself.”</p> - -<p>You will wonder why the children did not ask their Aunt Enid -right out what had become of the contents of the aquarium. Well, -you don’t know their Aunt Enid. And besides, even on that first -morning, before anything that really <i>was</i> anything could be said to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -have happened—for, after all, what Francis said he had seen might -have been just fancy—there was a sort of misty, curious, trembling -feeling at the hearts of Mavis and her brother which made them -feel that they did not want to talk about the aquarium and what -had been in it to any grown-up—and least of all to their Aunt -Enid.</p> - -<p>And leaving the aquarium, that was the hardest thing of all. -They thought of telegraphing to Mother, to ask whether, after all, -they mightn’t bring it—but there was first the difficulty of wording -a telegram so that their mother would understand and not -deem it insanity or a practical joke—secondly, the fact that ten-pence -half-penny, which was all they had between them, would -not cover the baldest statement of the facts.</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><i>MRS DESMOND,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>CARE OF MRS PEARCE,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>EAST CLIFF VILLA,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>LEWIS ROAD,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 4em;"><i>WEST BEACHFIELD-ON-SEA, SUSSEX</i></span></div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="unindent">alone would be eightpence—and the simplest appeal, such as -“May we bring aquarium please say yes wire reply” brought the -whole thing hopelessly beyond their means.</p> - -<p>“It’s no good,” said Francis hopelessly. “And, anyway,” said -Kathleen, “there wouldn’t be time to get an answer before we go.”</p> - -<p>No one had thought of this. It was a sort of backhanded -consolation.</p> - -<p>“But think of coming back to it,” said Mavis: “it’ll be something -to live for, when we come back from the sea and everything -else is beastly.”</p> - -<p>And it was.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_TWO" id="CHAPTER_TWO">CHAPTER TWO</a><br /> - -<small><i>The Captive</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THE delicate pinkish bloom of newness was on the wooden -spades, the slick smoothness of the painted pails showed neither -scratch nor dent on their green and scarlet surface—the shrimping -nets were full and fluffy as, once they and sand and water had -met, they never could be again. The pails and spades and nets -formed the topmost layer of a pile of luggage—you know the sort -of thing, with the big boxes at the bottom; and the carryall -bulging with its wraps and mackers; the old portmanteau that -shows its striped lining through the crack and is so useful for putting -boots in; and the sponge bag, and all the little things that get -left out. You can almost always squeeze a ball or a paint box or a -box of chalks or any of those things—which grown-ups say you -won’t really want till you come back—into that old portmanteau—and -then when it’s being unpacked at the journey’s end the -most that can happen will be that someone will say, “I thought I -told you not to bring that,” and if you don’t answer back, that will -be all. But most likely in the agitation of unpacking and settling -in, your tennis ball, or pencil box, or whatever it is, will pass unnoticed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -Of course, you can’t shove an aquarium into the old portmanteau—nor -a pair of rabbits, nor a hedgehog—but anything in -reason you can.</p> - -<p>The luggage that goes in the van is not much trouble—of -course, it has to be packed and to be strapped, and labeled and -looked after at the junction, but apart from that the big luggage -behaves itself, keeps itself to itself, and like your elder brothers at -college never occasions its friends a moment’s anxiety. It is the -younger fry of the luggage family, the things you have with you in -the carriage that are troublesome—the bundle of umbrellas and -walking sticks, the golf clubs, the rugs, the greatcoats, the basket -of things to eat, the books you are going to read in the train and -as often as not you never look at them, the newspapers that the -grown-ups are tired of and yet don’t want to throw away, their little -bags or dispatch cases and suitcases and card cases, and scarfs -and gloves—</p> - -<p>The children were traveling under the care of Aunt Enid, who -always had far more of these tiresome odds and ends than Mother -had—and it was at the last moment, when the cab was almost to -be expected to be there, that Aunt Enid rushed out to the corner -shop and returned with four new spades, four new pails, and four -new shrimping nets, and presented them to the children just in -time for them to be added to the heap of odds and ends with -which the cab was filled up.</p> - -<p>“I hope it’s not ungrateful,” said Mavis at the station as they -stood waiting by the luggage mound while Aunt Enid went to take -the tickets—“but why couldn’t she have bought them at -Beachfield?”</p> - -<p>“Makes us look such babies,” said Francis, who would not be -above using a wooden spade at the proper time and place but did -not care to be branded in the face of all Waterloo Junction as one -of those kids off to the seaside with little spades and pails.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p> - -<p>Kathleen and Bernard were, however, young enough to derive -a certain pleasure from stroking the smooth, curved surface of the -spades till Aunt Enid came fussing back with the tickets and told -them to put their gloves on for goodness’ sake and try not to look -like street children.</p> - -<p>I am sorry that the first thing you should hear about the children -should be that they did not care about their Aunt Enid, but -this was unfortunately the case. And if you think this was not nice -of them I can only remind you that you do not know their Aunt -Enid.</p> - -<p>There was a short, sharp struggle with the porter, a flustered -passage along the platform and the children were safe in the carriage -marked “Reserved”—thrown into it, as it were, with all that -small fry of luggage which I have just described. Then Aunt Enid -fussed off again to exchange a few last home truths with the porter, -and the children were left.</p> - -<p>“We breathe again,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Not yet we don’t,” said Francis, “there’ll be some more fuss as -soon as she comes back. I’d almost as soon not go to the sea as go -with her.”</p> - -<p>“But you’ve never seen the sea,” Mavis reminded him.</p> - -<p>“I know,” said Francis, morosely, “but look at all this—” he -indicated the tangle of their possessions which littered seats and -rack—“I do wish—”</p> - -<p>He stopped, for a head appeared in the open doorway—in a -round hat very like Aunt Enid’s—but it was not Aunt Enid’s. The -face under the hat was a much younger, kinder one.</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid this carriage is reserved,” said the voice that -belonged to the face.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Kathleen, “but there’s lots of room if you like to -come too.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know if the aunt we’re with would like it,” said the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -more cautious Mavis. “We should, of course,” she added to meet -the kind smiling eyes that looked from under the hat that was like -Aunt Enid’s.</p> - -<p>The lady said: “I’m an aunt too—I’m going to meet my -nephew at the junction. The train’s frightfully crowded.... If I -were to talk to your aunt ... perhaps on the strength of our common -aunthood. The train will start in a minute. I haven’t any luggage -to be a bother—nothing but one paper.”—she had indeed a -folded newspaper in her hands.</p> - -<p>“Oh, do get in,” said Kathleen, dancing with anxiety, “I’m -sure Aunt Enid won’t mind,”—Kathleen was always hopeful—“suppose -the train were to start or anything!”</p> - -<p>“Well, if you think I may,” said the lady, and tossed her paper -into the corner in a lighthearted way which the children found -charming. Her pleasant face was rising in the oblong of the carriage -doorway, her foot was on the carriage step, when suddenly -she retreated back and down. It was almost as though someone -pulled her off the carriage step.</p> - -<p>“Excuse me,” said a voice, “this carriage is reserved.” The -pleasant face of the lady disappeared and the—well, the face of -Aunt Enid took its place. The lady vanished. Aunt Enid trod on -Kathleen’s foot, pushed against Bernard’s waistcoat, sat down, -partly on Mavis and partly on Francis and said—“Of all the -impertinence!” Then someone banged the door—the train shivered -and trembled and pulled itself together in the way we all -know so well—grunted, snorted, screamed, and was off. Aunt -Enid stood up arranging things on the rack, so that the children -could not even see if the nice lady had found a seat in the train.</p> - -<p>“Well—I do think—” Francis could not help saying.</p> - -<p>“Oh—do you?” said Aunt Enid, “I should never have thought -it of you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span></p> - -<p>When she had arranged the things in the rack to her satisfaction -she pointed out a few little faults that she had noticed in the -children and settled down to read a book by Miss Marie Corelli. -The children looked miserably at each other. They could not -understand why Mother had placed them under the control of -this most unpleasant mock aunt.</p> - -<p>There was a reason for it, of course. If your parents, who are -generally so kind and jolly, suddenly do a thing that you can’t -understand and can hardly bear, you may be quite sure they have -a good reason for it. The reason in this case was that Aunt Enid -was the only person who offered to take charge of the children at -a time when all the nice people who usually did it were having -influenza. Also she was an old friend of Granny’s. Granny’s taste -in friends must have been very odd, Francis decided, or else Aunt -Enid must have changed a good deal since she was young. And -there she sat reading her dull book. The children also had been -provided with books—<i>Eric, or Little by Little;</i> <i>Elsie, or Like a Little -Candle;</i> <i>Brave Bessie</i> and <i>Ingenious Isabel</i> had been dealt out as -though they were cards for a game, before leaving home. They had -been a great bother to carry, and they were impossible to read. -Kathleen and Bernard presently preferred looking out of the windows, -and the two elder ones tried to read the paper left by the -lady, “looking over.”</p> - -<p>Now, that is just where it was, and really what all that has been -written before is about. If that lady hadn’t happened to look in at -their door, and if she hadn’t happened to leave the paper they -would never have seen it, because they weren’t the sort of children -who read papers except under extreme provocation.</p> - -<p>You will not find it easy to believe, and I myself can’t see why -it should have happened, but the very first word they saw in that -newspaper was Beachfield, and the second was On, and the third<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -was Sea, and the fifth was Mermaid. The fourth which came -between Sea and Mermaid was Alleged.</p> - -<p>“I say,” said Mavis, “let’s look.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t pull then, you can see all right,” said Francis, and this -is what they read together:</p> - - -<p>BEACHFIELD-ON-SEA—ALLEGED MERMAID. -AMAZING STORY.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“‘At this season of the year, which has come to be designated -the silly season, the public press is deluged with puerile old-world -stories of gigantic gooseberries and enormous sea serpents. So that -it is quite in keeping with the weird traditions of this time of the -year to find a story of some wonder of the deep, arising even at so -well-known a watering place as Beachfield. Close to an excellent -golf course, and surrounded by various beauty spots, with a thoroughly -revised water supply, a newly painted pier and three rival -Cinematograph Picture Palaces, Beachfield has long been known -as a rising <i>plage</i> of exceptional attractions, the quaint charm of -its....’”</p></div> - -<p>“Hold on,” said Francis, “this isn’t about any old Mermaid.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’ll be further on,” said Mavis. “I expect they have to -put all that stuff in to be polite to Beachfield—let’s skip—‘agreeable -promenade, every modern convenience, while preserving its -quaint....’ What does quaint mean, and why do they keep on saying -it?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think it means anything,” said Francis, “it’s just a word -they use, like weird and dainty. You always see it in a newspaper. -Ah—got her. Here she is—‘The excitement may be better imagined -than described’—no, that’s about the Gymkhana—here we are:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p><div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“‘Master Wilfred Wilson, the son of a well-known and respected -resident, arrived home yesterday evening in tears. Inquiry -elicited a statement that he had been paddling in the rock pools, -which are to be found in such profusion under the West Cliff, -when something gently pinched his foot. He feared that it might -be a lobster, having read that these crustaceans sometimes attack -the unwary intruder, and he screamed. So far his story, though -unusual, contains nothing inherently impossible. But when he -went on to state that a noise “like a lady speaking” told him not -to cry, and that, on looking down, he perceived that what held -him was a hand “coming from one of the rocks under water,” his -statement was naturally received with some incredulity. It was not -until a boating party returning from a pleasure trip westward stated -that they had seen a curious sort of white seal with a dark tail -darting through the clear water below their boat that Master -Wilfred’s story obtained any measure of credence.’”</p></div> - -<p>(“What’s credence?” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Oh, never mind. It’s what you believe with, I think. Go on,” -said Francis.)</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“‘—of credence. Mr. Wilson, who seems to have urged an -early retirement to bed as a cure for telling stories and getting his -feet wet, allowed his son to rise and conduct him to the scene of -adventure. But Mr. Wilson, though he even went to the length of -paddling in some of the pools, did not see or feel any hands nor -hear any noise, ladylike or otherwise. No doubt the seal theory is -the correct one. A white seal would be a valuable acquisition to the -town, and would, no doubt, attract visitors. Several boats have -gone out, some with nets and some with lines. Mr. Carrerras, a -visitor from South America, has gone out with a lariat, which in -these latitudes is, of course, quite a novelty.’”</p></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span></p> - -<p>“That’s all,” whispered Francis, and glanced at Aunt Enid. “I -say—she’s asleep.” He beckoned the others, and they screwed -themselves along to that end of the carriage farthest from the -slumbering aunt. “Just listen to this,” he said. Then in hoarse -undertones he read all about the Mermaid.</p> - -<p>“I say,” said Bernard, “I do hope it’s a seal. I’ve never seen a -seal.”</p> - -<p>“I hope they <i>do</i> catch it,” said Kathleen. “Fancy seeing a real -live Mermaid.”</p> - -<p>“If it’s a real live Mermaid I jolly well hope they don’t catch -her,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“So do I,” said Mavis. “I’m certain she would die in captivity.”</p> - -<p>“But I’ll tell you what,” said Francis, “we’ll go and look for her, -first thing tomorrow. I suppose,” he added thoughtfully, “Sabrina -was a sort of Mermaid.”</p> - -<p>“She hasn’t a tail, you know,” Kathleen reminded him.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t the tail that makes the Mermaid,” Francis reminded -her. “It’s being able to live underwater. If it was the tail, then -mackerels would be Mermaids.”</p> - -<p>“And, of course, they’re not. <i>I</i> see,” said Kathleen.</p> - -<p>“I wish,” said Bernard, “that she’d given us bows and arrows -instead of pails and spades, and then we could have gone seal-shooting—”</p> - -<p>“Or Mermaid-shooting,” said Kathleen. “Yes, that would have -been ripping.”</p> - -<p>Before Francis and Mavis could say how shocked they were at -the idea of shooting Mermaids, Aunt Enid woke up and took the -newspaper away from them, because newspapers are not fit reading -for children.</p> - -<p>She was somehow the kind of person before whom you never -talk about anything that you really care for, and it was impossible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> -therefore to pursue either seals or Mermaids. It seemed best to -read <i>Eric</i> and the rest of the books. It was uphill work.</p> - -<p>But the last two remarks of Bernard and Kathleen had sunk -into the minds of the two elder children. That was why, when they -had reached Beachfield and found Mother and rejoiced over her, -and when Aunt Enid had unexpectedly gone on by that same train -to stay with her really relations at Bournemouth, they did not say -any more to the little ones about Mermaids or seals, but just -joined freely in the chorus of pleasure at Aunt Enid’s departure.</p> - -<p>“I thought she was going to stay with us all the time,” said -Kathleen. “Oh, Mummy, I am so glad she isn’t.”</p> - -<p>“Why? Don’t you like Aunt Enid? Isn’t she kind?”</p> - -<p>All four thought of the spades and pails and shrimping nets, -and of <i>Eric</i> and <i>Elsie</i> and the other books—and all said:</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Then what was it?” Mother asked. And they could not tell -her. It is sometimes awfully difficult to tell things to your mother, -however much you love her. The best Francis could do was:</p> - -<p>“Well—you see we’re not used to her.”</p> - -<p>And Kathleen said: “I don’t think perhaps she’s used to being -an aunt. But she was kind.”</p> - -<p>And Mother was wise and didn’t ask any more questions. Also -she at once abandoned an idea one had had of asking Aunt Enid -to come and stay at Beachfield for part of the holidays; and this -was just as well, for if Aunt Enid had not passed out of the story -exactly when she did, there would not have been any story to pass -out of. And as she does now pass out of the story I will say that -she thought she was very kind, and that she meant extremely well.</p> - -<p>There was a little whispering between Francis and Mavis just -after tea, and a little more just before bed, but it was tactfully done -and the unwhispered-to younger ones never noticed it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p> - -<p>The lodgings were very nice—a little way out of the town—not -a villa at all as everyone had feared. I suppose the landlady -thought it grander to call it a villa, but it was really a house that -had once been a mill house, and was all made of a soft-colored -gray wood with a red-tiled roof, and at the back was the old mill, -also gray and beautiful—not used now for what it was built for—but -just as a store for fishing nets and wheelbarrows and old rabbit -hutches and beehives and harnesses and odds and ends, and -the sack of food for the landlady’s chickens. There was a great corn -bin there too—that must have been in some big stable—and some -broken chairs and an old wooden cradle that hadn’t had any babies -in it since the landlady’s mother was a little girl.</p> - -<p>On any ordinary holiday the mill would have had all the -charm of a magic palace for the children, with its wonderful collection -of pleasant and unusual things to play with, but just now -all their thoughts were on Mermaids. And the two elder ones -decided that they would go out alone the first thing in the morning -and look for the Mermaid.</p> - -<p>Mavis woke Francis up very early indeed, and they got up and -dressed quite quietly, not washing, I am sorry to say, because water -makes such a noise when you pour it out. And I am afraid their -hair was not very thoroughly brushed either. There was not a soul -stirring in the road as they went out, unless you count the mill cat -who had been out all night and was creeping home very tired and -dusty looking, and a yellowhammer who sat on a tree a hundred -yards down the road and repeated his name over and over again in -that conceited way yellowhammers have, until they got close to -him; and then he wagged his tail impudently at them and flew on -to the next tree where he began to talk about himself as loudly as -ever.</p> - -<p>This desire to find the Mermaid must have been wonderfully -strong in Francis, for it completely swallowed the longing of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -years—the longing to see the sea. It had been too dark the night -before to see anything but the winking faces of the houses as the -fly went past them. But now as he and Mavis ran noiselessly down -the sandy path in their rubber shoes and turned the corner of the -road, he saw a great pale-gray something spread out in front of -him, lit with points of red and gold fire where the sun touched it. -He stopped.</p> - -<p>“Mavis,” he said, in quite an odd voice, “that’s the sea.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she said and stopped too.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t a bit what I expected,” he said, and went on running.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you like it?” asked Mavis, running after him.</p> - -<p>“Oh—like,” said Francis, “it isn’t the sort of thing you <i>like</i>.”</p> - -<p>When they got down to the shore the sands and the pebbles -were all wet because the tide had just gone down, and there were -the rocks and the little rock pools, and the limpets, and whelks, -and the little yellow periwinkles looking like particularly fine -Indian corn all scattered among the red and the brown and the -green seaweed.</p> - -<p>“Now, this <i>is</i> jolly,” said Francis. “This is jolly if you like. I -almost wish we’d wakened the others. It doesn’t seem quite fair.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, they’ve seen it before,” Mavis said, quite truly, “and I -don’t think it’s any good going by fours to look for Mermaids, do -you?”</p> - -<p>“Besides,” said Francis, saying what had been in their thoughts -since yesterday in the train, “Kathleen wanted to shoot Mermaids, -and Bernard thought it was seals, anyhow.”</p> - -<p>They had sat down and were hastily pulling off their shoes and -stockings.</p> - -<p>“Of course,” said he, “we shan’t find anything. It isn’t likely.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” she said, “for anything we jolly well know, they may -have found her already. Take care how you go over these rocks, -they’re awfully slippy.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p> - -<p>“As if I didn’t know that,” said he, and ran across the narrow -strip of sand that divided rocks from shingle and set his foot for -the first time in The Sea. It was only a shallow little green and -white rock pool, but it was the sea all the same.</p> - -<p>“I say, isn’t it cold,” said Mavis, withdrawing pink and dripping -toes; “do mind how you go—”</p> - -<p>“As if I—” said Francis, again, and sat down suddenly and -splashingly in a large, clear sparkling pool.</p> - -<p>“Now, I suppose we’ve got to go home at once and you -change,” said Mavis, not without bitterness.</p> - -<p>“Nonsense,” said Francis, getting up with some difficulty and -clinging wetly to Mavis to steady himself. “I’m quite dry, almost.”</p> - -<p>“You know what colds are like,” said Mavis, “and staying -indoors all day, or perhaps bed, and mustard plasters and gruel -with butter in it. Oh, come along home, we should never have -found the Mermaid. It’s much too bright and light and everyday-ish -for anything like magic to happen. Come on home, do.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s just go out to the end of the rocks,” Francis urged, “just -to see what it’s like where the water gets deep and the seaweed goes -swish, swish, all long and lanky and grassy, like in the Sabrina picture.”</p> - -<p>“Halfway then, not more,” said Mavis, firmly, “it’s dangerous—deep -outside—Mother said so.”</p> - -<p>And halfway they went, Mavis still cautious, and Francis, after -his wetting, almost showing off in his fine carelessness of whether -he went in again or not. It was very jolly. You know how soft and -squeezy the blobby kind of seaweed is to walk on, and how satin -smooth is the ribbon kind; how sharp are limpets, especially when -they are covered with barnacles, and how comparatively bearable -to the foot are the pale primrose-colored hemispheres of the -periwinkle.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said Mavis, “come on back. We’ll run all the way as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -soon as we get our shoes and stockings on for fear of colds.”</p> - -<p>“I almost wish we hadn’t come,” said Francis, turning with a -face of gloom.</p> - -<p>“You didn’t really think we should find a Mermaid, did you?” -Mavis asked, and laughed, though she was really annoyed with -Francis for getting wet and cutting short this exciting morning -game. But she was a good sister.</p> - -<p>“It’s all been so silly. Flopping into that pool, and talking and -rotting, and just walking out and in again. We ought to have come -by moonlight, and been very quiet and serious, and said—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“‘<i>Sabrina fair,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Listen where thou art sitting—</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Ow—Hold on a minute. I’ve caught my foot in something.”</p> - -<p>Mavis stopped and took hold of her brother’s arm to steady -him; and as she did so both children plainly heard a voice that was -not the voice of either of them. It was the sweetest voice in the -world they thought, and it said:</p> - -<p>“Save her. We die in captivity.”</p> - -<p>Francis looked down and had a sort of sudden sight of something -white and brown and green that moved and went quickly -down under the stone on which Mavis was standing. There was -nothing now holding his foot.</p> - -<p>“I say,” he said, on a deep breath of awe and wonder, “did you -hear that?”</p> - -<p>“Of course, I heard it.”</p> - -<p>“We couldn’t both have fancied it,” he said, “I wish it had told -us who to save, and where, and how—”</p> - -<p>“Whose do you think that voice was?” Mavis asked softly.</p> - -<p>“The Mermaid’s,” said Francis, “who else’s could it have -been?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 421px;"> -<img src="images/i-036.jpg" width="421" height="545" alt="Mavis holding on to Francis who is looking down at the arm reaching out of the water" /> -<div class="caption">“<i>We die in captivity.</i>”</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Then the magic’s really begun—”</p> - -<p>“Mermaids aren’t magic,” he said, “anymore than flying fishes -or giraffes are.”</p> - -<p>“But she came when you said ‘Sabrina fair,’” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Sabrina wasn’t a Mermaid,” said Francis firmly. “It’s no use -trying to join things on when they won’t. Come on, we may as -well be getting home.”</p> - -<p>“Mightn’t she be?” suggested Mavis. “A Mermaid, I mean. -Like salmon that live in rivers and go down to the sea.”</p> - -<p>“I say, I never thought of that. How simply ripping if it turned -out to be really Sabrina—wouldn’t it be? But which do you suppose -could be her—the one who spoke to us or the one she’s afraid -will die in captivity—the one she wants us to save.”</p> - -<p>They had reached the shore by now and Mavis looked up from -turning her brown stockings right way out to say:</p> - -<p>“I suppose we didn’t really both fancy it. Could we have? Isn’t -there some sort of scientific magic that makes people think the -same things as each other when it’s not true at all, like with Indian -mango tricks? Uncle Fred said so, you know, they call it ‘Tell-ee-something.’”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell <i>you</i> something,” said Francis, urgent with shoelace, “if -we keep on saying things weren’t when we know perfectly well -they were, we shall soon dish up any sort of chance of magic we -may ever have had. When do you find people in books going on -like that? They just say ‘This is magic!’ and behave as if it was. -They don’t go pretending they’re not sure. Why, no magic would -stand it.”</p> - -<p>“Aunt Dorothea once told me that all magic was like Prince -Rupert’s drop,” Mavis owned: “if once you broke it there was -nothing left but a little dust.”</p> - -<p>“That’s just what I’m saying, isn’t it? We’ve always felt there -was magic right enough, haven’t we? Well, now we’ve come across<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> -it, don’t let’s be silly and pretend. Let’s believe in it as hard as ever -we can. Mavis—shall we, eh? Believing in things makes them -stronger. Aunt Dorothea said that too—you remember.”</p> - -<p>They stood up in their shoes.</p> - -<p>“Shall we tell the others?” Mavis asked.</p> - -<p>“We must,” said Francis, “it would be so sneakish not to. But -they won’t believe us. We shall have to be like Cassandra and not -mind.”</p> - -<p>“I only wish I knew who it is we’ve got to save,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>Francis had a very strong and perfect feeling that they would -know this all in good time. He could not have explained this, but -he felt it. All he said was, “Let’s run.”</p> - -<p>And they ran.</p> - -<p>Kathleen and Bernard met them at the gate, dancing with -excitement and impatience.</p> - -<p>“Where have you been?” they cried and “What on earth?” and -“Why, you’re all wet, France.”</p> - -<p>“Down to the sea—shut up, I know I am—” their elder -brother came in and passed up the path to the gate.</p> - -<p>“You might have called us,” said Kathleen in a more-in-sorrow-than-in-anger -sort of voice, “but anyhow you’ve lost something -by going out so early without us.”</p> - -<p>“Lost something. What?”</p> - -<p>“Hearing the great news,” said Bernard, and he added, “Aha!”</p> - -<p>“What news?”</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Bernard was naturally annoyed -at having been left out of the first expedition of the holidays. -Anyone would have. Even you or I.</p> - -<p>“Out with it,” said Francis, with a hand on Bernard’s ear. -There came a yell from Bernard and Mother’s voice from the window, -saying, “Children, children.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> - -<p>“All right, Mummy. Now, Bear—don’t be a young rotter. -What’s the news?”</p> - -<p>“You’re hurting my ear,” was all Bernard’s rejoinder.</p> - -<p>“All right,” said Francis, “we’ve got some news too. But we -won’t tell, will we, Mavis?”</p> - -<p>“Oh <i>don’t</i>,” said Kathleen, “don’t let’s be sneaky, the very first -day too. It’s only that they’ve caught the Mermaid, and I’m afraid -she’ll die in captivity, like you said. What’s yours?”</p> - -<p>Francis had released Bernard’s ear and now he turned to -Mavis.</p> - -<p>“So that’s it,” he said slowly—“who’s got her?”</p> - -<p>“The circus people. What’s your news?” asked Kathleen -eagerly.</p> - -<p>“After brek,” said Francis. “Yes, Mother, half a sec! I apologize -about the ear, Bernard. We will tell you all. Oh, it’s quite different -from what you think. We meet and discuss the situation in the -mill the minute we’re free from brek. Agreed? Right! Yes, Mother, -coming!”</p> - -<p>“Then there must,” Mavis whispered to Francis, “be two -Mermaids. They can’t both be Sabrina ... then which...?”</p> - -<p>“We’ve got to save one of them anyhow,” Francis answered -with the light of big adventure in his eye, “<i>they die in captivity</i>.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_THREE" id="CHAPTER_THREE">CHAPTER THREE</a><br /> - -<small><i>The Rescue</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THE great question, of course, was—Would Mother take -them to the circus, or would she, if she wouldn’t herself take them, -let them go alone? She had once, in Buckinghamshire, allowed -them to go to a traveling menagerie, after exacting from them a -promise that they were not to touch any of the animals, and they -had seen reason to regret their promise when the showman offered -to let them stroke his tame performing wolf, who was so very like -a collie. When they had said, “No, thank you,” the showman had -said, “Oh, frightened, are you? Run along home to Mammy -then!” and the bystanders had laughed in a most insulting way. At -a circus, of course, the horses and things aren’t near enough for -you to stroke them, so this time they might not be asked to promise. -If Mother came with them her presence, though agreeable, -would certainly add to the difficulties, already quite enough—as -even Mavis could not but see—of rescuing the Mermaid. But suppose -Mother didn’t come with them.</p> - -<p>“Suppose we have to promise we won’t touch any of the animals?” -suggested Cathay. “You can’t rescue a person without -touching it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span></p> - -<p>“That’s just it,” said Mavis, “a Mermaid isn’t an animal. She’s -a person.”</p> - -<p>“But suppose it isn’t that sort of Mermaid,” said Bernard. -“Suppose it’s the sort that other people call seals, like it said in the -paper.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it isn’t,” said Francis briefly, adding, “so there!”</p> - -<p>They were talking in the front garden, leaning over the green -gate while Mother upstairs unpacked the luggage that had been -the mound with spades on top only yesterday, at Waterloo.</p> - -<p>“Mavis!” Mother called through the open window. “I can only -find—but you’d better come up.”</p> - -<p>“I ought to offer to help Mother unpack,” said Mavis, and -went walking slowly.</p> - -<p>She came back after a little while, however, quickly running.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right,” she said. “Mother’s going to meet Daddy at the -Junction this afternoon and buy us sunbonnets. And we’re to take -our spades and go down to the sea till dinnertime—it’s roast rabbit -and apple dumps—I asked Mrs. Pearce—and we can go to the -circus by ourselves—and she never said a word about promise not -to touch the animals.”</p> - -<p>So off they went, down the white road where the yellowhammer -was talking about himself as usual on the tree just beyond -wherever you happened to be walking. And so to the beach.</p> - -<p>Now, it is very difficult to care much about a Mermaid you -have never seen or heard or touched. On the other hand, when -once you have seen one and touched one and heard one speak, you -seem to care for very little else. This was why when they got to the -shore Kathleen and Bernard began at once to dig the moat of a -sandcastle, while the elder ones walked up and down, dragging the -new spades after them like some new kind of tail, and talking, -talking, talking till Kathleen said they might help dig or the tide -would be in before the castle was done.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p> - -<p>“You don’t know what a lark sandcastles are, France,” she added -kindly, “because you’ve never seen the sea before.”</p> - -<p>So then they all dug and piled and patted and made molds of -their pails to stand as towers to the castle and dug out dungeons -and tunnels and bridges, only the roof always gave way in the end -unless you had beaten the sand very tight beforehand. It was a glorious -castle, though not quite finished when the first thin flat wash -of the sea reached it. And then everyone worked twice as hard trying -to keep the sea out till all was hopeless, and then everyone -crowded into the castle and the sea washed it away bit by bit till -there was only a shapeless island left, and everyone was wet -through and had to change every single thing the minute they got -home. You will know by that how much they enjoyed themselves.</p> - -<p>After the roast rabbit and the apple dumplings Mother started -on the sunbonnet-and-meet-Daddy expedition. Francis went with -her to the station and returned a little sad.</p> - -<p>“I had to promise not to touch any of the animals,” he said. -“And perhaps a Mermaid <i>is</i> an animal.”</p> - -<p>“Not if she can speak,” said Kathleen. “I say, don’t you think -we ought to wear our best things—I do. It’s more respectable to -the wonders of the deep. She’d like us to look beautiful.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not going to change for anybody,” said Bernard firmly.</p> - -<p>“All right, Bear,” said Mavis. “Only we will. Remember it’s -magic.”</p> - -<p>“I say, France,” he said, “do you think we <i>ought</i> to change?”</p> - -<p>“No, I don’t,” Francis answered. “I don’t believe Mermaids -care a bit what you’ve got on. You see, they don’t wear anything -but tails and hair and looking glasses themselves. If there’s any -beautifulness to be done they jolly well do it themselves. But I -don’t say you wouldn’t be better for washing your hands again, and -you might as well try to get <i>some</i> of the sand out of your hair. It -looks like the wrong end of a broom as it is.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p> - -<p>He himself went so far as to put on the blue necktie that Aunt -Amy had given him, and polished his silver watch chain on the -inside of his jacket. This helped to pass the time till the girls were -ready. At last this happened though they had put on their best -things, and they started.</p> - -<p>The yellowhammer went on about himself—he was never -tired of the subject.</p> - -<p>“It’s just as if that bird was making fun of us,” Bernard said.</p> - -<p>“I daresay it is a wild-goose step we’re taking,” said Kathleen; -“but the circus will be jolly, anyhow.”</p> - -<p>There is a piece of wasteland just beyond Beachfield on the -least agreeable side of that village—the side where the flat-faced -shops are and the yellow brick houses. At the nice end of -Beachfield the shops have little fat bow windows with greenish -glass that you can hardly see through. Here also are gaunt hoardings -plastered with tattered, ugly-colored posters, asking you in -red to wear Ramsden’s Really Boots or to Vote for Wilton Ashby -in blue. Some of the corners of the posters are always loose and -flap dismally in the wind. There is always a good deal of straw and -torn paper and dust at this end of the village, and bits of dirty rag, -and old boots and tins are found under the hedges where flowers -ought to be. Also there are a great many nettles and barbed wires -instead of pleasant-colored fences. Don’t you sometimes wonder -who is to blame for all the uglification of places that might be so -pretty, and wish you could have a word with them and ask them -not to? Perhaps when these people were little nobody told them -how wrong it is to throw orange peel about, and the bits of paper -off chocolate, and the paper bag which once concealed your bun. -And it is a dreadful fact that the children who throw these things -about are little uglifiers, and they grow up to be perfect monsters -of uglification, and build hideous yellow brick cottages, and put -up hoardings, and sell Ramsden’s Really Boots (in red), and vote<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -passionately for Wilton Ashby (in blue), and care nothing for the -fields that used to be green and the hedges where once flowers -used to grow. Some people like this, and see nothing to hate in -such ugly waste places as the one, at the wrong end of the town, -where the fair was being held on that never-to-be-forgotten day -when Francis, Mavis, Bernard and Kathleen set out in their best -clothes to rescue the Mermaid because Mermaids “die in captivity.”</p> - -<p>The fair had none of those stalls and booths which old-fashioned -fairs used to have, where they sold toys, and gilt gingerbread, -and carters’ whips, and cups and saucers, and mutton pies, -and dolls, and china dogs, and shell boxes, and pincushions, and -needle cases, and penholders with views of the Isle of Wight and -Winchester Cathedral inside that you see so bright and plain when -you put your eye close to the little round hole at the top.</p> - -<p>The steam roundabouts were there—but hardly a lean back of -their spotted horses was covered by a rider. There were swings, but -no one happened to be swinging. There were no shows, no -menagerie, no boxing booth, no marionettes. No penny gaff with -the spangled lady and the fat man who beats the drum. Nor were -there any stalls. There were pink-and-white paper whips and bags of -dust-colored minced paper—the English substitute for <i>confetti</i>—there -were little metal tubes of dirty water to squirt in people’s -faces, but except for the sale of these crude instruments for making -other people uncomfortable there was not a stall in the fair. I -give you my word, there was not a single thing that you could -buy—no gingerbread, no sweets, no crockery dogs, not even a -half-penny orange or a bag of nuts. Nor was there anything to -drink—not as much as a lemonade counter or a ginger beer stall. -The revelers were no doubt drinking elsewhere. A tomblike silence -reigned—a silence which all the steam roundabout’s hideous hootings -only emphasized.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span></p> - -<p>A very dirty-nosed boy, overhearing a hurried council, volunteered -the information that the circus had not yet opened.</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” they told each other—and turned to the sideshows. -These were all of one character—the arrangement by -which you throw something or roll something at something else, -and if you hit the something you get a prize—the sort of prize that -is sold in Houndsditch at ninepence a gross.</p> - -<p>Most of these arrangements are so ordered that to get a prize -is impossible. For instance, a peculiarly offensive row of masks -with open mouths in which pipes are set up. In the golden days of -long ago if you hit a pipe it broke—and you got a “prize” worth—I -can’t do sums—put it briefly at the hundred and forty-fourth part -of ninepence. But the children found that when their wooden ball -struck the pipe it didn’t break. They wondered why! Then, looking -more closely, they saw that the pipes were not of clay, but of -painted wood. They could never be broken—and the whole thing -was a cruel mockery of hope.</p> - -<p>The coconut-shy was not what it used to be either. Once one -threw sticks, three shies a penny. Now it is a penny a shy, with -light wooden balls. You can win a coconut if you happen to hit -one that is not glued onto its support. If you really wish to win -one of these unkindly fruits it is well to stand and watch a little -and not to aim at those coconuts which, when they are hit, fail to -fall off the sticks. Are they glued on? One hopes not. But if they -are, who can wonder or reprove? It is hard to get a living, anyhow.</p> - -<p>There was one thing, though, that roused the children’s resentment—chiefly, -I think, because its owners were clean and did not -look half-starved, so there was no barrier of pity between them -and dislike—a sort of round table sloping up to its center. On this -small objects were arranged. For a penny you received two hoops. -If you could throw a hoop over an object that object was yours. -None of the rustic visitors to the fair could, it seemed, or cared to.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -It did not look difficult, however. Nor was it. At the first shot a -tiny candlestick was encircled. Between pride and shame Mavis -held out a hand.</p> - -<p>“Hard luck,” said one of the two young women, too clean to -be pitied. “Has to go flat on—see?”</p> - -<p>Francis tried again. This time the ring encircled a matchbox, -“flat on.”</p> - -<p>“Hard luck,” said the lady again.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter now?” the children asked, baffled.</p> - -<p>“Hoop has to be red side up,” said she. So she scored. Now -they went to the other side and had another penn’orth of hoops -from the other too clean young woman. And the same thing -happened. Only on the second winning she said:</p> - -<p>“Hard luck. Hoops have to be blue side up.”</p> - -<p>It was Bernard’s blood that was up. He determined to clear the -board.</p> - -<p>“Blue side up, is it,” he said sternly, and took another penn’orth. -This time he brought down a tin pin tray and a little box -which, I hope, contained something. The girl hesitated and then -handed over the prizes. “Another penn’orth of hoops,” said -Bernard, warming to the work.</p> - -<p>“Hard luck,” said she. “We don’t give more than two penn’orth -to any one party.”</p> - -<p>The prizes were not the kind of things you care to keep, even -as trophies of victory—especially when you have before you the -business of rescuing a Mermaid. The children gave their prizes to -a small female bystander and went to the shooting gallery. That, -at least, could have no nonsense about it. If you aimed at a bottle -and hit it it would break. No sordid self-seeking custodian could -rob you of the pleasant tinkling of the broken bottle. And even -with a poor weapon it is not impossible to aim at a bottle and hit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -it. This is true—but at the shooting gallery the trouble was <i>not</i> to -hit the bottles. There were so many of them and they were so near. -The children got thirteen tinkling smashes for their fourteen -shots. The bottles were hung fifteen feet away instead of thirty. -Why? Space is not valuable at the fair—can it be that the people -of Sussex are such poor shots that thirty feet is to them a prohibitive -distance?</p> - -<p>They did not throw for coconuts, nor did they ride on the little -horses or pull themselves to dizzy heights in the swings. There -was no heart left in them for such adventures—and besides everyone -in the fair, saving themselves and the small female bystander -and the hoop girls, was dirtier than you would believe possible. I -suppose Beachfield has a water supply. But you would have doubted -it if you had been at the fair. They heard no laughter, no gay -talk, no hearty give-and-take of holiday jests. A dull heavy silence -brooded over the place, and you could hear that silence under the -shallow insincere gaiety of the steam roundabout.</p> - -<p>Laughter and song, music and good-fellowship, dancing and -innocent revelry, there were none of these at Beachfield Fair. For -music there was the steam roundabout’s echoes of the sordid musical -comedy of the year before the year before last—laughter there -was not—nor revelry—only the dirty guardians of the machines -for getting your pennies stood gloomily huddled, and a few -groups of dejected girls and little boys shivered in the cold wind -that had come up with the sunset. In that wind, too, danced the -dust, the straw, the newspaper and the chocolate wrappers. The -only dancing there was. The big tent that held the circus was at -the top of the ground, and the people who were busy among the -ropes and pegs and between the bright vans resting on their shafts -seemed gayer and cleaner than the people who kept the little -arrangements for people not to win prizes at. And now the circus<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -at last was opened; the flap of the tent was pinned back, and a -gypsy-looking woman, with oily black ringlets and eyes like bright -black beads, came out at the side to take the money of those who -wished to see the circus. People were now strolling toward it in -twos and threes, and of these our four were the very first, and the -gypsy woman took four warm sixpences from their four hands.</p> - -<p>“Walk in, walk in, my little dears, and see the white elephant,” -said a stout, black-mustached man in evening dress—greenish it -was and shiny about the seams. He flourished a long whip as he -spoke, and the children stopped, although they had paid their sixpences, -to hear what they were to see when they did walk in. “The -white elephant—tail, trunk, and tusks all complete, sixpence only. -See the Back Try A or Camels, or Ships of the Arabs—heavy -drinker when he gets the chance—total abstainer while crossing -the desert. Walk up, walk up. See the Trained Wolves and -Wolverines in their great National Dance with the flags of all -countries. Walk up, walk up, walk up. See the Educated Seals and -the Unique Lotus of the Heast in her famous bare-backed act, riding -three horses at once, the wonder and envy of royalty. Walk up -and see the very table Mermaid caught on your own coast only -yesterday as ever was.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” said Francis, “I think we will.” And the four -went through the opened canvas into the pleasant yellow dusty -twilight which was the inside of a squarish sort of tent, with an -opening at the end, and through that opening you could see the -sawdust-covered ring of the circus and benches all around it, and -two men just finishing covering the front benches with red cotton -strips.</p> - -<p>“Where’s the Mermaid?” Mavis asked a little boy in tights and -a spangled cap.</p> - -<p>“In there,” he said, pointing to a little canvas door at the side<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -of the squarish tent. “I don’t advise you to touch her, though. -Spiteful, she is. Lashes out with her tail—splashed old Mother Lee -all over water she did—an’ dangerous too: our Bill ’e got ’is bone -set out in his wrist a-trying to hold on to her. An’ it’s thruppence -extry to see her close.”</p> - -<p>There are times, as we all know, when threepence extra is a -baffling obstacle—a cruel barrier to desire, but this was not, fortunately, -such a moment. The children had plenty of money, -because Mother had given them two half-crowns between them to -spend as they liked.</p> - -<p>“Even then,” said Bernard, in allusion to the threepence extra, -“we shall have two bob left.”</p> - -<p>So Mavis, who was treasurer, paid over the extra threepences -to a girl with hair as fair and lank as hemp, and a face as brown -and round as a tea cake, who sat on a kitchen chair by the Mermaid -door. Then one by one they went in through the narrow -opening, and at last there they were alone in the little canvas room -with a tank in it that held—well, there was a large label, evidently -written in a hurry, for the letters were badly made and arranged -quite crookedly, and this label declared:</p> - -<div class="center"> -<big>REAL LIVE MERMAID.</big><br /> -SAID TO BE FABULUS, BUT NOW TRUE.<br /> -CAUGHT HERE.<br /> -PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH.<br /> -DANGEROUS.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The little Spangled Boy had followed them in and pointed to -the last word.</p> - -<p>“What I tell you?” he asked proudly.</p> - -<p>The children looked at each other. Nothing could be done -with this witness at hand. At least....</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Perhaps if it’s going to be magic,” Mavis whispered to -Francis, “outsiders wouldn’t notice. They don’t sometimes—I -believe. Suppose you just said a bit of ‘Sabrina’ to start the magic.”</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t be safe,” Francis returned in the same low tones. -“Suppose he <i>wasn’t</i> an outsider, and <i>did</i> notice.”</p> - -<p>So there they stood helpless. What the label was hung on was -a large zinc tank—the kind that they have at the tops of houses for -the water supply—you must have seen one yourself often when -the pipes burst in frosty weather, and your father goes up into the -roof of the house with a candle and pail, and the water drips -through the ceilings and the plumber is sent for, and comes when -it suits him. The tank was full of water and at the bottom of it -could be seen a mass of something dark that looked as if it were -partly browny-green fish and partly greeny-brown seaweed.</p> - -<p>“Sabrina fair,” Francis suddenly whispered, “send him away.”</p> - -<p>And immediately a voice from outside called “Rube—Reuben—drat -the boy, where’s he got to?”—and the little spangled -intruder had to go.</p> - -<p>“There, now,” said Mavis, “if <i>that</i> isn’t magic!” Perhaps it was, -but still the dark fish-and-seaweed heap in the tank had not -stirred. “Say it all through,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Yes, do,” said Bernard, “then we shall know for certain -whether it’s a seal or not.”</p> - -<p>So once again—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 3em;">“‘<i>Sabrina fair,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Listen where thou art sitting,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave,</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="unindent">He got no further. There was a heaving and stirring of the seaweed -and fish tail, something gleamed white, through the brown something<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -white parted the seaweed, two white hands parted it, and a -face came to the surface of the rather dirty water and—there was -no doubt about it—spoke.</p> - -<p>“‘Translucent wave,’indeed!” was what the face said. “I wonder -you’re not ashamed to speak the invocation over a miserable -cistern like this. What do you want?”</p> - -<p>Brown hair and seaweed still veiled most of the face, but all the -children, who, after their first start back had pressed close to the -tank again, could see that the face looked exceedingly cross.</p> - -<p>“We want,” said Francis in a voice that would tremble though -he told himself again and again that he was not a baby and wasn’t -going to behave like one—“we want to help you.”</p> - -<p>“Help <i>me?</i> You?” She raised herself a little more in the tank -and looked contemptuously at them. “Why, don’t you know that -I am mistress of all water magic? I can raise a storm that will sweep -away this horrible place and my detestable captors and you with -them, and carry me on the back of a great wave down to the -depths of the sea.”</p> - -<p>“Then why on earth don’t you?” Bernard asked.</p> - -<p>“Well, I was thinking about it,” she said, a little awkwardly, -“when you interrupted with your spells. Well, you’ve called and -I’ve answered—now tell me what I can do for you.”</p> - -<p>“We’ve told you,” said Mavis gently enough, though she was -frightfully disappointed that the Mermaid after having in the -handsomest manner turned out to be a Mermaid, should be such -a very short-tempered one. And when they had talked about her -all day and paid the threepence each extra to see her close, and put -on their best white dresses too. “We’ve told you—we want to help -you. Another Sabrina in the sea told us to. <i>She</i> didn’t tell us anything -about you being a magic-mistress. She just said ‘they die in -captivity.’”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 413px;"> -<img src="images/i-052.jpg" width="413" height="421" alt="Four chilcren looking down into box" /> -<div class="caption">“<i>‘Translucent wave,’ indeed!</i>”</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, thank you for coming,” said the Mermaid. “If she really -said that it must be one of two things—either the sun is in the -House of Liber—which is impossible at this time of the year—or -else the rope I was caught with must be made of llama’s hair, and -<i>that’s</i> impossible in these latitudes. Do you know anything about -the rope they caught me with?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Bernard and Kathleen. But the others said, “It was -a lariat.”</p> - -<p>“Ah,” said the Mermaid, “my worst fears are confirmed—But -who could have expected a lariat on these shores? But that must -have been it. Now I know why, though I have been on the point -of working the magic of the Great Storm at least five hundred -times since my capture, some unseen influence has always held me -back.”</p> - -<p>“You mean,” said Bernard, “you feel that it wouldn’t work, so -you didn’t try.”</p> - -<p>A rattling, ripping sound outside, beginning softly, waxed -louder and louder so as almost to drown their voices. It was the -drum, and it announced the beginning of the circus. The -Spangled Child put his head in and said, “Hurry up or you’ll miss -my Infant Prodigious Act on the Horse with the Tambourines,” -and took his head out again.</p> - -<p>“Oh, dear,” said Mavis, “and we haven’t arranged a single -thing about rescuing you.”</p> - -<p>“No more you have,” said the Mermaid carelessly.</p> - -<p>“Look here,” said Francis, “you do <i>want</i> to be rescued, don’t -you?</p> - -<p>“Of course I do,” replied the Mermaid impatiently, “now I -know about the llama rope. But I can’t walk even if they’d let me, -and you couldn’t carry me. Couldn’t you come at dead of night -with a chariot—I could lift myself into it with your aid—then you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -could drive swiftly hence, and driving into the sea I could drop -from the chariot and escape while you swam ashore.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe we could—any of it,” said Bernard, “let alone -swimming ashore with horses and chariots. Why, Pharaoh himself -couldn’t do that, you know.” And even Mavis and Francis added -helplessly, “I don’t see how we’re to get a chariot,” and “do you -think of some other way.”</p> - -<p>“I shall await you,” said the lady in the tank with perfect -calmness, “at dead of night.”</p> - -<p>With that she twisted the seaweed closely around her head and -shoulders and sank slowly to the bottom of the tank. And the children -were left staring blankly at each other, while in the circus tent -music sounded and the soft heavy pad-pad of hoofs on sawdust.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do?” Francis broke the silence.</p> - -<p>“Go and see the circus, of course,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“Of course we can talk about the chariot afterward,” Mavis -admitted.</p> - -<p>“There’ll be lots of time to talk between now and dead of -night,” said Kathleen. “Come on, Bear.”</p> - -<p>And they went.</p> - -<p>There is nothing like a circus for making you forget your anxieties. -It is impossible to dwell on your troubles and difficulties -when performing dogs are displaying their accomplishments, and -wolves dancing their celebrated dance with the flags of all nations, -and the engaging lady who jumps through the paper hoops and -comes down miraculously on the flat back of the white horse, cannot -but drive dull care away, especially from the minds of the -young. So that for an hour and a half—it really was a good circus, -and I can’t think how it happened to be at Beachfield Fair at all—a -solid slab of breathless enjoyment was wedged in between the -interview with the Mermaid and the difficult task of procuring for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -her the chariot she wanted. But when it was all over and they were -part of a hot, tightly packed crowd pouring out of the dusty tent -into the sunshine, their responsibilities came upon them with -renewed force.</p> - -<p>“Wasn’t the clown ripping?” said Bernard, as they got free of -the crowd.</p> - -<p>“I liked the riding-habit lady best, and the horse that went like -that, best,” said Kathleen, trying with small pale hands and brown -shod legs to give an example of a horse’s conduct during an exhibition -of the <i>haute école</i>.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t you think the elephant—” Mavis was beginning, -when Francis interrupted her.</p> - -<p>“About that chariot,” he said, and after that they talked of -nothing else. And whatever they said it always came to this in the -end, that they hadn’t got a chariot, and couldn’t get a chariot, and -that anyhow they didn’t suppose there was a chariot to be got, at -any rate in Beachfield.</p> - -<p>“It wouldn’t be any good, I suppose,” said Kathleen’s last and -most helpful suggestion—“be the slightest good saying ‘Sabrina -fair’ to a pumpkin?”</p> - -<p>“We haven’t got even a pumpkin,” Bernard reminded her, “let -alone the rats and mice and lizards that Cinderella had. No, that’s -no good. But I’ll tell you what.” He stopped short. They were near -home now—it was late afternoon, in the road where the talkative -yellowhammer lived. “What about a wheelbarrow?”</p> - -<p>“Not big enough,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“There’s an extra big one in the mill,” said Bernard. “Now, -look here. I’m not any good at magic. But Uncle Tom said I was a -born general. If I tell you exactly what to do, will you two do it, -and let Cathay and me off going?”</p> - -<p>“Going to sneak out of it?” Francis asked bitterly.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p> - -<p>“It isn’t. It’s not my game at all, and I don’t want to play. And -if I do, the whole thing will be muffed—you know it will. I’m so -unlucky. You’d never get out at dead of night without me dropping -a boot on the stairs or sneezing—you know you wouldn’t.”</p> - -<p>Bernard took a sort of melancholy pride in being the kind of -boy who always gets caught. If you are that sort of boy, perhaps -that’s the best way to take it. And Francis could not deny that -there was something in what he said. He went on: “Then -Kathleen’s my special sister and I’m not going to have her dragged -into a row. (“I want to,” Kathleen put in ungratefully.) So will you -and Mavis do it on your own or not?”</p> - -<p>After some discussion, in which Kathleen was tactfully dealt -with, it was agreed that they would. Then Bernard unfolded his -plan of campaign.</p> - -<p>“Directly we get home,” he said, “we’ll begin larking about -with that old wheelbarrow—giving each other rides, and so on, -and when it’s time to go in we’ll leave it at the far end of the field -behind the old sheep hut near the gate. Then it’ll be handy for you -at dead of night. You must take towels or something and tie -around the wheel so that it doesn’t make a row. You can sleep with -my toy alarm under your pillow and it won’t wake anyone but -you. You get out through the dining room window and in the -same way. I’ll lend you my new knife, with three blades and a -corkscrew, if you’ll take care of it, to cut the canvas, and go by the -back lane that comes out behind where the circus is, but if you -took my advice you wouldn’t go at all. She’s not a nice Mermaid -at all. I’d rather have had a seal, any day. Hullo, there’s Daddy and -Mother. Come on.”</p> - -<p>They came on.</p> - -<p>The program sketched by Bernard was carried out without a -hitch. Everything went well, only Francis and Mavis were both<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -astonished to find themselves much more frightened than they -had expected to be. Any really great adventure like the rescuing of -a Mermaid does always look so very much more serious when you -carry it out, at night, than it did when you were planning it in the -daytime. Also, though they knew they were not doing anything -wrong, they had an uncomfortable feeling that Mother and -Daddy might not agree with them on that point. And of course -they could not ask leave to go and rescue a Mermaid, with a chariot, -at dead of night. It is not the sort of thing you can ask leave -to do, somehow. And the more you explained your reasons the less -grown-up people would think you fit to conduct such an expedition.</p> - -<p>Francis lay down fully dressed, under his nightshirt. And -Mavis under hers wore her short blue skirt and jersey. The alarm, -true to its trust, went off into an ear-splitting whizz and bang -under the pillow of Francis, but no one else heard it. He crept cautiously -into Mavis’s room and wakened her, and as they crept -down in stockinged feet not a board creaked. The French window -opened without noise, the wheelbarrow was where they had left it, -and they had fortunately brought quite enough string to bind -wads of towels and stockings to the tire of its wheel. Also they had -not forgotten the knife.</p> - -<p>The wheelbarrow was heavy and they rather shrank from -imagining how much heavier it would be when the discontented -Mermaid was curled up in it. However, they took it in turns, and -got along all right by the back lane that comes out above the waste -ground where Beachfield holds its fairs.</p> - -<p>“I hope the night’s dead enough,” Mavis whispered as the circus -came in sight, looking very white in the starlight, “it’s nearly -two by now I should think.”</p> - -<p>“Quite dead enough, if that’s all,” said Francis; “but suppose<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -the gypsies are awake? They do sit up to study astronomy to tell -fortunes with, don’t they? Suppose this is their astronomy night? I -vote we leave the barrow here and go and reconnoiter.”</p> - -<p>They did. Their sandshoes made no noise on the dewy grass, -and treading very carefully, on tiptoe, they came to the tent. -Francis nearly tumbled over a guy rope; he just saw it in time to -avoid it.</p> - -<p>“If I’d been Bernard I should have come a beastly noisy cropper -over that,” he told himself. They crept around the tent till they -came to the little square bulge that marked the place where the -tank was and the seaweed and the Mermaid.</p> - -<p>“They die in captivity, they die in captivity, they die in captivity,” -Mavis kept repeating to herself, trying to keep up her -courage by reminding herself of the desperately urgent nature of -the adventure. “It’s a matter of life and death,” she told herself—“life -and death.”</p> - -<p>And now they picked their way between the pegs and guy -ropes and came quite close to the canvas. Doubts of the strength -and silence of the knife possessed the trembling soul of Francis. -Mavis’s heart was beating so thickly that, as she said afterward, she -could hardly hear herself think. She scratched gently on the canvas, -while Francis felt for the knife with the three blades and the -corkscrew. An answering signal from the imprisoned Mermaid -would, she felt, give her fresh confidence. There was no answering -scratch. Instead, a dark line appeared to run up the canvas—it was -an opening made by the two hands of the Mermaid which held -back the two halves of the tent side, cut neatly from top to bottom. -Her white face peered out.</p> - -<p>“Where is the chariot?” she asked in the softest of whispers, -but not too soft to carry to the children the feeling that she was, -if possible, crosser than ever.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p> - -<p>Francis was afraid to answer. He knew that his voice could -never be subdued to anything as soft as the voice that questioned -him, a voice like the sound of tiny waves on a summer night, like -the whisper of wheat when the wind passes through it on a summer -morning. But he pointed toward the lane where they had left -the wheelbarrow and he and Mavis crept away to fetch it.</p> - -<p>As they wheeled it down the waste place both felt how much -they owed to Bernard. But for his idea of muffling the wheel they -could never have got the clumsy great thing down that bumpy -uneven slope. But as it was they and the barrow stole toward the -gypsy’s tent as silently as the Arabs in the poem stole away with -theirs, and they wheeled it close to the riven tent side. Then Mavis -scratched again, and again the tent opened.</p> - -<p>“Have you any cords?” the soft voice whispered, and Francis -pulled what was left of the string from his pocket.</p> - -<p>She had made two holes in the tent side, and now passing the -string through these she tied back the flaps of the tent.</p> - -<p>“Now,” she said, raising herself in the tank and resting her -hands on its side. “You must both help—take hold of my tail and -lift. Creep in—one on each side.”</p> - -<p>It was a wet, sloppy, slippery, heavy business, and Mavis thought -her arms would break, but she kept saying: “Die in captivity,” and -just as she was feeling that she could not bear it another minute -the strain slackened and there was the Mermaid curled up in the -barrow.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said the soft voice, “go—quickly.”</p> - -<p>It was all very well to say go quickly. It was as much as the two -children could do, with that barrow-load of dripping Mermaid, to -go at all. And very, very slowly they crept up the waste space. In -the lane, under cover of the tall hedges, they paused.</p> - -<p>“Go on,” said the Mermaid.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p> - -<p>“We can’t till we’ve rested a bit,” said Mavis, panting. “How -did you manage to get that canvas cut?”</p> - -<p>“My shell knife, of course,” said the person in the wheelbarrow. -“We always carry one in our hair, in case of sharks.”</p> - -<p>“I see,” said Francis, breathing heavily.</p> - -<p>“You had much better go on,” said the barrow’s occupant. -“This chariot is excessively uncomfortable and much too small. -Besides, delays are dangerous.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll go in half a sec,” said Francis, and Mavis added kindly:</p> - -<p>“You’re really quite safe now, you know.”</p> - -<p>“<i>You</i> aren’t,” said the Mermaid. “I don’t know whether you -realize that I’m stolen property and that it will be extremely awkward -for you if you are caught with me.”</p> - -<p>“But we shan’t be caught with you,” said Mavis hopefully.</p> - -<p>“Everybody’s sound asleep,” said Francis. It was wonderful -how brave and confident they felt now that the deed was done. -“It’s perfectly safe—Oh, what’s that! Oh!”</p> - -<p>A hand had shot from the black shadow of the hedge and -caught him by the arm.</p> - -<p>“What is it, France? What is it?” said Mavis, who could not see -what was happening.</p> - -<p>“What is it—now what is it?” asked the Mermaid more crossly -than she had yet spoken.</p> - -<p>“<i>Who</i> is it? Oh, who is it?” gasped Francis, writhing in the grip -of his invisible assailant. And from the dark shadow of the hedge -came the simple and terrible reply:</p> - -<p>“The police!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_FOUR" id="CHAPTER_FOUR">CHAPTER FOUR</a><br /> - -<small><i>Gratitude</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">IT is hardly possible to imagine a situation less attractive -than that of Mavis and Francis—even the position of the -Mermaid curled up in a dry barrow and far from her native element -was not exactly luxurious. Still, she was no worse off than -she had been when the lariat first curled itself about her fishy -extremity. But the children! They had braved the terrors of night -in an adventure of singular courage and daring, they had carried -out their desperate enterprise, the Mermaid was rescued, and success -seemed near—no further off than the sea indeed, and that, in -point of fact, was about a quarter of a mile away. To be within a -quarter of a mile of achievement, and then to have the cup of victory -dashed from your lips, the crown of victory torn from your -brow by—the police!</p> - -<p>It was indeed hard. And what was more, it was dangerous.</p> - -<p>“We shall pass the night in the cells,” thought Mavis, in -agony; “and whatever will Mother do when she finds we’re gone?” -In her mind “the cells” were underground dungeons, dark and -damp and vaulted, where toads and lizards crawled, and no daylight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -ever penetrated. That is how dungeons are described in -books about the Inquisition.</p> - -<p>When the voice from the bush had said “The police,” a stricken -silence followed. The mouth of Francis felt dry inside, just as if -he had been eating cracknels, he explained afterward, and he had -to swallow nothing before he could say:</p> - -<p>“What for?”</p> - -<p>“Let go his arm,” said Mavis to the hidden foe. “We won’t run -away. Really we won’t.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t,” said the Mermaid. “You can’t leave me.”</p> - -<p>“Leave go,” said Francis, wriggling. And then suddenly Mavis -made a dart at the clutching hand and caught it by the wrist and -whispered savagely:</p> - -<p>“It’s not a policeman at all. Come out of that bush—come -out,” and dragged. And something did come out of the bush. -Something that certainly was not a policeman. It was small and -thin, whereas policemen are almost always tall and stout. It did -not wear the blue coats our Roberts wear, but velveteen knickerbockers -and a tweed jacket. It was, in fact, a very small boy.</p> - -<p>Francis broke into a cackle of relief.</p> - -<p>“You little—animal,” he said. “What a fright you gave me.”</p> - -<p>“Animal yourself, if you come to that, let alone her and her -tail,” the boy answered; and Mavis thought his voice didn’t sound -unfriendly. “My! But I did take a rise out of you that time, eh? -Ain’t she bit you yet, nor yet strook you with that there mackerel-end -of hers?”</p> - -<p>And then they recognized him. It was the little Spangled Boy. -Only now, of course, being off duty he was no more spangled than -you and I are.</p> - -<p>“Whatever did you do it for?” Mavis asked crossly. “It was horrid of -you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span></p> - -<p>“It wasn’t only just a lark,” said the boy. “I cut around and listened -this afternoon when you was jawing, and I thought why not -be in it? Only I do sleep that heavy, what with the riding and the -tumbling and all. So I didn’t wake till you’d got her out and then -I cut up along ahind the hedge to be beforehand with you. An’ I -was. It was a fair cop, matey, eh?”</p> - -<p>“What are you going to do about it?” Francis asked flatly; “tell -your father?” But Mavis reflected that he didn’t seem to have told -his father yet, and perhaps wouldn’t.</p> - -<p>“Ain’t got no father,” said the Spangled Boy, “nor yet mother.”</p> - -<p>“If you are rested enough you’d better go on,” said the -Mermaid. “I’m getting dry through.”</p> - -<p>And Mavis understood that to her that was as bad as getting -wet through would be to us.</p> - -<p>“I’m so sorry,” she said gently, “but—”</p> - -<p>“I must say I think it’s very inconsiderate of you to keep me all -this time in the dry,” the Mermaid went on. “I really should have -thought that even <i>you</i>—”</p> - -<p>But Francis interrupted her.</p> - -<p>“What are you going to <i>do?</i>” he asked the Spangled Boy. And -that surprising child answered, spitting on his hands and rubbing -them:</p> - -<p>“Do? Why, give a ’and with the barrer.”</p> - -<p>The Mermaid put out a white arm and touched him.</p> - -<p>“You are a hero,” she said. “I can recognize true nobility even -under a once-spangled exterior. You may kiss my hand.”</p> - -<p>“Well, of all the....” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“Shall I?” the boy asked, more of himself than of the others.</p> - -<p>“Do,” Mavis whispered. “Anything to keep her in a good -temper.”</p> - -<p>So the Spangled Boy kissed the still dampish hand of the Lady<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a><br /><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> -from the Sea, took the handles of the barrow and off they all went.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;"> -<img src="images/i-064.jpg" width="410" height="577" alt="arm reaches out of bushes and grabs Francis while the children are pushing cart with mermaid in it" /> -<div class="caption">“<i>The police.</i>”</div> -</div> - -<p>Mavis and Francis were too thankful for this unexpected help -to ask any questions, though they could not help wondering exactly -what it felt like to be a boy who did not mind stealing his own -father’s Mermaid. It was the boy himself who offered, at the next -rest-halt, an explanation.</p> - -<p>“You see,” he said, “it’s like this here. This party in the barrow—”</p> - -<p>“I know you don’t mean it disrespectfully,” said the Mermaid, -sweetly; “but <i>not</i> party—and <i>not</i> a barrow.”</p> - -<p>“Lady,” suggested Mavis.</p> - -<p>“This lydy in the chariot, she’d been kidnapped—that’s how I -look at it. Same as what I was.”</p> - -<p>This was romance indeed; and Mavis recognized it and said:</p> - -<p>“You, kidnapped? I say!”</p> - -<p>“Yus,” said Spangles, “when I was a baby kid. Old Mother -Romaine told me, just afore she was took all down one side and -never spoke no more.”</p> - -<p>“But why?” Mavis asked. “I never could understand in the -books why gypsies kidnapped babies. They always seem to have so -many of their own—far, far more than anyone could possibly -want.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed,” said the Mermaid, “they prodded at me with -sticks—a multitude of them.”</p> - -<p>“It wasn’t kids as was wanted,” said the boy, “it was revenge. -That’s what Mother Romaine said—my father he was a sort of -Beak, so he give George Lee eighteen months for poaching. An’ -the day they took him the church bells was ringing like mad, and -George, as he was being took, he said: ‘What’s all that row? It ain’t -Sunday.’ And then they tells him as how the bells was ringing -’cause him that was the Beak—my father, you know—he’d got a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -son and hare. And that was me. You wouldn’t think it to look at -me,” he added, spitting pensively and taking up the barrow handles, -“but I’m a son and hare.”</p> - -<p>“And then what happened?” Mavis asked as they trudged on.</p> - -<p>“Oh, George—he done his time, and I was a kiddy then, year-and-a-half -old, all lace and ribbons and blue shoes made of glove-stuff, -and George pinched me, and it makes me breff short, wheeling -and talking.”</p> - -<p>“Pause and rest, my spangled friend,” said the Mermaid in a -voice of honey, “and continue your thrilling narrative.”</p> - -<p>“There ain’t no more to it,” said the boy, “except that I got one -of the shoes. Old Mother Romaine ’ad kep’ it, and a little shirt like -a lady’s handkercher, with R. V. on it in needlework. She didn’t -ever tell me what part of the country my dad was Beak in. Said -she’d tell me next day. An’ then there wasn’t no next day for her—not -fer telling things in, there wasn’t.”</p> - -<p>He rubbed his sleeve across his eyes.</p> - -<p>“She wasn’t half a bad sort,” he explained.</p> - -<p>“Don’t cry,” said Mavis unwisely.</p> - -<p>“Cry? Me?” he answered scornfully. “I’ve got a cold in me ’ead. -You oughter know the difference between a cold in the head and -sniveling. You been to school, I lay?—they might have taught you -that.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder the gypsies didn’t take the shoe and the shirt away -from you?”</p> - -<p>“Nobody know’d I’d got ’em; I always kep’ ’em inside my -shirt, wrapt up in a bit of paper, and when I put on me tights I -used to hide ’em. I’m a-going to take the road one of these days, -and find out who it was lost a kid with blue shoes and shirt nine -years come April.”</p> - -<p>“Then you’re ten and a half,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span></p> - -<p>And the boy answered admiringly:</p> - -<p>“How do you do it in your head so quick, miss? Yes, that’s -what I am.”</p> - -<p>Here the wheelbarrow resumed its rather bumpety progress, -and nothing more could be said till the next stoppage, which was -at that spot where the sea-front road swings around and down, -and glides into the beach so gently that you can hardly tell where -one begins and the other ends. It was much lighter there than up -on the waste space. The moon was just breaking through a fluffy -white cloud and cast a trembling sort of reflection on the sea. As -they came down the slope all hands were needed to steady the barrow, -because as soon as she saw the sea the Mermaid began to -jump up and down like a small child at a Christmas tree.</p> - -<p>“Oh, look!” she cried, “isn’t it beautiful? Isn’t it the only home -in the world?”</p> - -<p>“Not quite,” said the boy.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” said the lady in the barrow, “Of course you’re heir to one -of the—what is it...?”</p> - -<p>“‘Stately homes of England—how beautiful they stand,’” said -Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the lady. “I knew by instinct that he was of noble -birth.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><i>“‘I bid ye take care of the brat,’ said he,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>‘For he comes of a noble race,’”</i></div> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Francis hummed. He was feeling a little cross and sore. He and -Mavis had had all the anxious trouble of the adventure, and now -the Spangled Boy was the only one the Mermaid was nice to. It -was certainly hard.</p> - -<p>“But your stately home would not do for me at all,” she went<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -on. “My idea of home is all seaweed of coral and pearl—so cosy -and delightful and wet. Now—can you push the chariot to the -water’s edge, or will you carry me?”</p> - -<p>“Not much we won’t,” the Spangled Boy answered firmly. -“We’ll push you as far as we can, and then you’ll have to wriggle.”</p> - -<p>“I will do whatever you suggest,” she said amiably; “but what -is this wriggle of which you speak?”</p> - -<p>“Like a worm,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“Or an eel,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Nasty low things,” said the Mermaid; and the children never -knew whether she meant the worm and the eel, or the girl and the -boy.</p> - -<p>“Now then. All together,” said the Spangled Child. And the -barrow bumped down to the very edge of the rocks. And at the -very edge its wheel caught in a chink and the barrow went sideways. -Nobody could help it, but the Mermaid was tumbled out of -her chariot on to the seaweed.</p> - -<p>The seaweed was full and cushiony and soft, and she was not -hurt at all—but she was very angry.</p> - -<p>“You have been to school,” she said, “as my noble preserver -reminds you. You might have learned how not to upset chariots.”</p> - -<p>“It’s we who are your preservers,” Francis couldn’t help saying.</p> - -<p>“Of course you are,” she said coolly, “plain preservers. Not -noble ones. But I forgive you. You can’t help being common and -clumsy. I suppose it’s your nature—just as it’s his to be....”</p> - -<p>“Good-bye,” said Francis, firmly.</p> - -<p>“Not at all,” said the lady. “You must come with me in case -there are any places where I can’t exercise the elegant and vermiform -accomplishment you spoke about. Now, one on each side, -and one behind, and don’t walk on my tail. You can’t think how -annoying it is to have your tail walked on.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 383px;"> -<img src="images/i-069.jpg" width="383" height="473" alt="children watching mermaid going back into the water" /> -<div class="caption"><i>And disappeared entirely.</i></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Oh, can’t I,” said Mavis. “I’ll tell you something. My mother -has a tail too.”</p> - -<p>“I <i>say!</i>” said Francis.</p> - -<p>But the Spangled Child understood.</p> - -<p>“She don’t wear it every day, though,” he said; and Mavis is -almost sure that he winked. Only it is so difficult to be sure about -winks in the starlight.</p> - -<p>“Your mother must be better born than I supposed,” said the -Mermaid. “Are you <i>quite</i> sure about the tail?”</p> - -<p>“I’ve trodden on it often,” said Mavis—and then Francis saw.</p> - -<p>Wriggling and sliding and pushing herself along by her hands, -and helped now and then by the hands of the others, the Mermaid -was at last got to the edge of the water.</p> - -<p>“How glorious! In a moment I shall be quite wet,” she cried.</p> - -<p>In a moment everyone else was quite wet also—for with a -movement that was something between a squirm and a jump, she -dropped from the edge with a splashing flop.</p> - -<p>And disappeared entirely.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_FIVE" id="CHAPTER_FIVE">CHAPTER FIVE</a><br /> - -<small><i>Consequences</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THE three children looked at each other.</p> - -<p>“Well!” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“I do think she’s ungrateful,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“What did you expect?” asked the Spangled Child.</p> - -<p>They were all wet through. It was very late—they were very -tired, and the clouds were putting the moon to bed in a very great -hurry. The Mermaid was gone; the whole adventure was ended.</p> - -<p>There was nothing to do but to go home, and go to sleep, -knowing that when they woke the next morning it would be to a -day in the course of which they would have to explain their wet -clothes to their parents.</p> - -<p>“Even <i>you</i>’ll have to do that,” Mavis reminded the Spangled -Boy.</p> - -<p>He received her remark in what they afterward remembered to -have been a curiously deep silence.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know how on earth we <i>are</i> to explain,” said Francis. “I -really don’t. Come on—let’s get home. No more adventures for -me, thank you. Bernard knew what he was talking about.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mavis, very tired indeed, agreed.</p> - -<p>They had got over the beach by this time, recovered the wheelbarrow, -and trundled it up and along the road. At the corner the -Spangled Boy suddenly said:</p> - -<p>“Well then, so long, old sports,” and vanished down a side -lane.</p> - -<p>The other two went on together—with the wheelbarrow, -which, I may remind you, was as wet as any of them.</p> - -<p>They went along by the hedge and the mill and up to the -house.</p> - -<p>Suddenly Mavis clutched at her brother’s arm.</p> - -<p>“There’s a light,” she said, “in the house.”</p> - -<p>There certainly was, and the children experienced that terrible -empty sensation only too well known to all of us—the feeling of -the utterly-found-out.</p> - -<p>They could not be sure which window it was, but it was a -downstairs window, partly screened by ivy. A faint hope still -buoyed up Francis of getting up to bed unnoticed by whoever it -was that had the light; and he and his sister crept around to the -window out of which they had crept; but such a very long time -ago it seemed. The window was shut.</p> - -<p>Francis suggested hiding in the mill and trying to creep in -unobserved later on, but Mavis said:</p> - -<p>“No. I’m too tired for anything. I’m too tired to <i>live</i>, I think. -Let’s go and get it over, and then we can go to bed and sleep, and -sleep, and sleep.”</p> - -<p>So they went and peeped in at the kitchen window, and there -was no one but Mrs. Pearce, and she had a fire lighted and was -putting a big pot on it.</p> - -<p>The children went to the back door and opened it.</p> - -<p>“You’re early, for sure,” said Mrs. Pearce, not turning.</p> - -<p>This seemed a bitter sarcasm. It was too much. Mavis answered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -it with a sob. And at that Mrs. Pearce turned very quickly.</p> - -<p>“What to gracious!” she said—“whatever to gracious is the -matter? Where’ve you been?” She took Mavis by the shoulder. -“Why, you’re all sopping wet. You naughty, naughty little gell, -you. Wait till I tell your Ma—been shrimping I lay—or trying -to—never asking when the tide was right. And not a shrimp to -show for it, I know, with the tide where it is. You wait till we hear -what your Ma’s got to say about it. And look at my clean flags and -you dripping all over ’em like a fortnight’s wash in wet weather.”</p> - -<p>Mavis twisted a little in Mrs. Pearce’s grasp. “Oh, don’t scold -us, dear Mrs. Pearce,” she said, putting a wet arm up toward Mrs. -Pearce’s neck. “We <i>are</i> so miserable.”</p> - -<p>“And so you deserve to be,” said Mrs. Pearce, smartly. “Here, -young chap, you go into the washhouse and get them things off, -and drop them outside the door, and have a good rub with the -jack-towel; and little miss can undress by the fire and put hern in -this clean pail—and I’ll pop up softlike and so as your Ma don’t -hear, and bring you down something dry.”</p> - -<p>A gleam of hope fell across the children’s hearts—a gleam wild -and watery as that which the moonlight had cast across the sea, -into which the Mermaid had disappeared. Perhaps after all Mrs. -Pearce wasn’t going to tell Mother. If she was, why should she pop -up softlike? Perhaps she would keep their secret. Perhaps she -would dry their clothes. Perhaps, after all, that impossible explanation -would never have to be given.</p> - -<p>The kitchen was a pleasant place, with bright brasses and shining -crockery, and a round three-legged table with a clean cloth and -blue-and-white teacups on it.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Pearce came down with their nightgowns and the warm -dressing gowns that Aunt Enid had put in in spite of their -expressed wishes. How glad they were of them now!</p> - -<p>“There, that’s a bit more like,” said Mrs. Pearce; “here, don’t<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> -look as if I was going to eat you, you little Peter Grievouses. I’ll -hot up some milk and here’s a morsel of bread and dripping to -keep the cold out. Lucky for you I was up—getting the boys’ -breakfast ready. The boats’ll be in directly. The boys will laugh -when I tell them—laugh fit to bust their selves they will.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t tell,” said Mavis, “don’t, please don’t. Please, please -don’t.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I like that,” said Mrs. Pearce, pouring herself some tea -from a pot which, the children learned later, stood on the hob all -day and most of the night; “it’s the funniest piece I’ve heard this -many a day. Shrimping at high tide!”</p> - -<p>“I thought,” said Mavis, “perhaps you’d forgive us, and dry our -clothes, and not tell anybody.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you did, did you?” said Mrs. Pearce. “Anything else—?”</p> - -<p>“No, nothing else, thank you,” said Mavis, “only I want to say -thank you for being so kind, and it isn’t high tide yet, and please -we haven’t done any harm to the barrow—but I’m afraid it’s rather -wet, and we oughtn’t to have taken it without asking, I know, but -you were in bed and—”</p> - -<p>“The barrow?” Mrs. Pearce repeated. “That great hulking barrow—you -took the barrow to bring the shrimps home in? No—I -can’t keep it to myself—that really I can’t—” she lay back in the -armchair and shook with silent laughter.</p> - -<p>The children looked at each other. It is not pleasant to be -laughed at, especially for something you have never done—but -they both felt that Mrs. Pearce would have laughed quite as much, -or even more, if they had told her what it really was they had -wanted the barrow for.</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t go on laughing,” said Mavis, creeping close to Mrs. -Pearce, “though you are a ducky darling not to be cross any more. -And you won’t tell, will you?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Ah, well—I’ll let you off this time. But you’ll promise faithful -never to do it again, now, won’t you?”</p> - -<p>“We faithfully won’t ever,” said both children, earnestly.</p> - -<p>“Then off you go to your beds, and I’ll dry the things when -your Ma’s out. I’ll press ’em tomorrow morning while I’m waiting -for the boys to come in.”</p> - -<p>“You <i>are</i> an angel,” said Mavis, embracing her.</p> - -<p>“More than you are then, you young limbs,” said Mrs. Pearce, -returning the embrace. “Now off you go, and get what sleep you -can.”</p> - -<p>It was with a feeling that Fate had not, after all, been unduly -harsh with them that Mavis and Francis came down to a very late -breakfast.</p> - -<p>“Your Ma and Pa’s gone off on their bikes,” said Mrs. Pearce, -bringing in the eggs and bacon, “won’t be back till dinner. So I let -you have your sleep out. The little ’uns had theirs three hours ago -and out on the sands. I told them to let you sleep, though I know -they wanted to hear how many shrimps you caught. I lay they -expected a barrowful, same as what you did.”</p> - -<p>“How did you know they knew we’d been out?” Francis asked.</p> - -<p>“Oh, the way they was being secret in corners, and looking the -old barrow all over was enough to make a cat laugh. Hurry up, -now. I’ve got the washing-up to do—and your things is well-nigh -dry.”</p> - -<p>“You <i>are</i> a darling,” said Mavis. “Suppose you’d been different, -whatever would have become of us?”</p> - -<p>“You’d a got your desserts—bed and bread and water, instead -of this nice egg and bacon and the sands to play on. So now you -know,” said Mrs. Pearce.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>On the sands they found Kathleen and Bernard, and it really<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> -now, in the bright warm sunshine, seemed almost worthwhile to -have gone through last night’s adventures, if only for the pleasure -of telling the tale of them to the two who had been safe and warm -and dry in bed all the time.</p> - -<p>“Though really,” said Mavis, when the tale was told, “sitting -here and seeing the tents and the children digging, and the ladies -knitting, and the gentlemen smoking and throwing stones, it does -hardly seem as though there <i>could</i> be any magic. And yet, you -know, there was.”</p> - -<p>“It’s like I told you about radium and things,” said Bernard. -“Things aren’t magic because they haven’t been found out yet. -There’s always been Mermaids, of course, only people didn’t know -it.”</p> - -<p>“But she talks,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“Why not?” said Bernard placidly. “Even parrots do that.”</p> - -<p>“But she talks English,” Mavis urged.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Bernard, unmoved, “what would you have had -her talk?”</p> - -<p>And so, in pretty sunshine, between blue sky and good sands, -the adventure of the Mermaid seemed to come to an end, to be -now only as a tale that is told. And when the four went slowly -home to dinner all were, I think, a little sad that this should be so.</p> - -<p>“Let’s go around and have a look at the empty barrow,” Mavis -said; “it’ll bring it all back to us, and remind us of what was in it, -like ladies’ gloves and troubadours.”</p> - -<p>The barrow was where they had left it, but it was not empty. -A very dirty piece of folded paper lay in it, addressed in penciled -and uncertain characters</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">To France</span></div> -<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">To Be Opened</span>.</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span></p> - -<p>Francis opened it and read aloud:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“I went back and she came back and she wants you to come -back at ded of nite.</p> - -<div class="sig"> -RUBE.”<br /> -</div></div> - -<p>“Well, I shan’t go,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>A voice from the bush by the gate made them all start.</p> - -<p>“Don’t let on you see me,” said the Spangled Boy, putting his -head out cautiously.</p> - -<p>“You seem very fond of hiding in bushes,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“I am,” said the boy briefly. “Ain’t you going—to see her again, -I mean?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Francis, “I’ve had enough dead of night to last me -a long time.”</p> - -<p>“You a-going, miss?” the boy asked. “No? You are a half-livered -crew. It’ll be only me, I suppose.”</p> - -<p>“You’re going, then?”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the boy, “what do you think?”</p> - -<p>“I should go if I were you,” said Bernard impartially.</p> - -<p>“No, you wouldn’t; not if you were me,” said Francis. “You -don’t know how disagreeable she was. I’m fed up with her. And -besides, we simply <i>can’t</i> get out at dead of night now. Mrs. Pearce’ll -be on the lookout. No—it’s no go.”</p> - -<p>“But you <i>must</i> manage it somehow,” said Kathleen; “you can’t -let it drop like this. I shan’t believe it was magic at all if you do.”</p> - -<p>“If you were us, you’d have had enough of magic,” said -Francis. “Why don’t you go yourselves—you and Bernard.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve a good mind to,” said Bernard unexpectedly. “Only not -in the middle of the night, because of my being certain to drop my -boots. Would you come, Cathay?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p> - -<p>“You know I wanted to before,” said Kathleen reproachfully.</p> - -<p>“But how?” the others asked.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said Bernard, “we must think about that. I say, you -chap, we must get to our dinner. Will you be here after?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I ain’t going to move from here. You might bring me a -bit of grub with you—I ain’t had a bite since yesterday teatime.”</p> - -<p>“I say,” said Francis kindly, “did they stop your grub to -punish you for getting wet?”</p> - -<p>“They didn’t know nothing about my getting wet,” he said -darkly. “I didn’t never go back to the tents. I’ve cut my lucky, I ’ave -’ooked it, skedaddled, done a bunk, run away.”</p> - -<p>“And where are you going?”</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> dunno,” said the Spangled Boy. “I’m running <i>from</i>, not to.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_SIX" id="CHAPTER_SIX">CHAPTER SIX</a><br /> - -<small><i>The Mermaid’s Home</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THE parents of Mavis, Francis, Kathleen and Bernard were -extremely sensible people. If they had not been, this story could -never have happened. They were as jolly as any father and -mother you ever met, but they were not always fussing and worrying -about their children, and they understood perfectly well that -children do not care to be absolutely always under the parental eye. So -that, while there were always plenty of good times in which the -whole family took part, there were also times when Father and -Mother went off together and enjoyed themselves in their own -grown-up way, while the children enjoyed themselves in theirs. It -happened that on this particular afternoon there was to be a concert -at Lymington—Father and Mother were going. The children -were asked whether they would like to go, and replied with equal -courtesy and firmness.</p> - -<p>“Very well then,” said Mother, “you do whatever you like best. -I should play on the shore, I think, if I were you. Only don’t go -around the corner of the cliff, because that’s dangerous at high -tide. It’s safe so long as you’re within sight of the coast guards. -Anyone have any more pie? No—then I think I’ll run and dress.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Mother,” said Kathleen suddenly, “may we take some pie and -things to a little boy who said he hadn’t had anything to eat since -yesterday?”</p> - -<p>“Where is he?” Father asked.</p> - -<p>Kathleen blushed purple, but Mavis cautiously replied, “Outside. -I’m sure we shall be able to find him.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” said Mother, “and you might ask Mrs. Pearce to -give you some bread and cheese as well. Now, I must simply fly.”</p> - -<p>“Cathay and I’ll help you, Mother,” said Mavis, and escaped -the further questioning she saw in her father’s eye. The boys had -slipped away at the first word of what seemed to be Kathleen’s -amazing indiscretion about the waiting Rube.</p> - -<p>“It was quite all right,” Kathleen argued later, as they went up -the field, carefully carrying a plate of plum pie and the bread and -cheese with not so much care and a certain bundle not carefully at -all. “I saw flying in Mother’s eye before I spoke. And if you <i>can</i> ask -leave before you do a thing it’s always safer.”</p> - -<p>“And look here,” said Mavis. “If the Mermaid wants to see us -we’ve only got to go down and say ‘Sabrina fair,’ and she’s certain -to turn up. If it’s just seeing us she wants, and not another deadly -night adventure.”</p> - -<p>Reuben did not eat with such pretty manners as yours, perhaps, -but there was no doubt about his enjoyment of the food -they had brought, though he only stopped eating for half a second, -to answer, “Prime. Thank you,” to Kathleen’s earnest -inquiries.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said Francis when the last crumb of cheese had disappeared -and the last trace of plum juice had been licked from the -spoon (a tin one, because, as Mrs. Pearce very properly said, you -never know)—“now, look here. We’re going straight down to the -shore to try and see her. And if you like to come with us we can -disguise you.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span></p> - -<p>“What in?” Reuben asked. “I did disguise myself once in a -false beard and a green-colored mustache, but it didn’t take no one -in for a moment, not even the dogs.”</p> - -<p>“We thought,” said Mavis gently, “that perhaps the most -complete disguise for you would be girl’s clothes—because,” she added -hastily to dispel the thundercloud on Reuben’s brow—“because -you’re such a manly boy. Nobody would give vent to a moment’s -suspicion. It would be so very unlike <i>you</i>.”</p> - -<p>“G’a long—” said the Spangled Child, his dignity only half -soothed.</p> - -<p>“And I’ve brought you some of my things and some sandshoes -of France’s, because, of course, mine are just kiddy shoes.”</p> - -<p>At that Reuben burst out laughing and then hummed: “‘Go, -flatterer, go, I’ll not trust to thy vow,’” quite musically.</p> - -<p>“Oh, do you know the ‘Gypsy Countess’? How jolly!” said -Kathleen.</p> - -<p>“Old Mother Romaine knew a power of songs,” he said, -suddenly grave. “Come on, chuck us in the togs.”</p> - -<p>“You just take off your coat and come out and I’ll help you -dress up,” was Francis’s offer.</p> - -<p>“Best get a skirt over my kicksies first,” said Reuben, “case anyone -comes by and recognizes the gypsy cheild. Hand us in the silk -attire and jewels have to spare.”</p> - -<p>They pushed the blue serge skirt and jersey through the -branches, which he held apart.</p> - -<p>“Now the ’at,” he said, reaching a hand for it. But the hat was -too large for the opening in the bush, and he had to come out of -it. The moment he was out the girls crowned him with the big -rush-hat, around whose crown a blue scarf was twisted, and -Francis and Bernard each seizing a leg, adorned those legs with -brown stockings and white sandshoes. Reuben, the spangled runaway -from the gypsy camp, stood up among his new friends a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -rather awkward and quite presentable little girl.</p> - -<p>“Now,” he said, looking down at his serge skirts with a queer -smile, “now we shan’t be long.”</p> - -<p>Nor were they. Thrusting the tin spoon and the pie plate and -the discarded boots of Reuben into the kind shelter of the bush -they made straight for the sea.</p> - -<p>When they got to that pleasant part of the shore which is -smooth sand and piled shingle, lying between low rocks and high -cliffs, Bernard stopped short.</p> - -<p>“Now, look here,” he said, “if Sabrina fair turns up trumps I -don’t mind going on with the adventure, but I won’t do it if -Kathleen’s to be in it.”</p> - -<p>“It’s not fair,” said Kathleen; “you said I might.”</p> - -<p>“Did I?” Bernard most handsomely referred the matter to the -others.</p> - -<p>“Yes, you did,” said Francis shortly. Mavis said “Yes,” and -Reuben clinched the matter by saying, “Why, you up and asked -her yourself if she’d go along of you.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” said Bernard calmly. “Then I shan’t go myself. -That’s all.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, bother,” said at least three of the five; and Kathleen said: -“I don’t see why I should always be out of everything.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Mavis impatiently, “after all, there’s no danger in -just trying to <i>see</i> the Mermaid. You promise you won’t do anything -if Bernard says not—that’ll do, I suppose? Though why you -should be a slave to him just because he chooses to say you’re his -particular sister, I don’t see. Will <i>that</i> do, Bear?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll promise <i>anything</i>,” said Kathleen, almost in tears, “if -you’ll only let me come with you all and see the Mermaid if she -turns out to be seeable.”</p> - -<p>So that was settled.</p> - -<p>Now came the question of where the magic words should be said.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p> - -<p>Mavis and Francis voted for the edge of the rocks where the -words had once already been so successfully spoken. Bernard said, -“Why not here where we are?” Kathleen said rather sadly that any -place would do as long as the Mermaid came when she was called. -But Reuben, standing sturdily in his girl’s clothes, said:</p> - -<p>“Look ’ere. When you’ve run away like what I have, least said -soonest mended, and out of sight’s out of mind. What about -caves?”</p> - -<p>“Caves are too dry, except at high tide,” said Francis. “And -then they’re too wet. Much.”</p> - -<p>“Not all caves,” Reuben reminded him. “If we was to turn and -go up by the cliff path. There’s a cave up there. I hid in it t’other -day. Quite dry, except in one corner, and there it’s as wet as you -want—a sort of ’orse trough in the rocks it looks like—only deep.”</p> - -<p>“Is it seawater?” Mavis asked anxiously. And Reuben said:</p> - -<p>“Bound to be, so near the sea and all.”</p> - -<p>But it wasn’t. For when they had climbed the cliff path and -Reuben had shown them where to turn aside from it, and had put -aside the brambles and furze that quite hid the cave’s mouth, -Francis saw at once that the water here could not be seawater. It -was too far above the line which the waves reached, even in the -stormiest weather.</p> - -<p>“So it’s no use,” he explained.</p> - -<p>But the others said, “Oh, do let’s try, now we <i>are</i> here,” and -they went on into the dusky twilight of the cave.</p> - -<p>It was a very pretty cave, not chalk, like the cliffs, but roofed -and walled with gray flints such as the houses and churches are -built of that you see on the downs near Brighton and Eastbourne.</p> - -<p>“This isn’t an accidental cave, you know,” said Bernard importantly; -“it’s built by the hand of man in distant ages, like -Stonehenge and the Cheesewring and Kit’s Coty House.”</p> - -<p>The cave was lighted from the entrance where the sunshine<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span> -crept faintly through the brambles. Their eyes soon grew used to -the gloom and they could see that the floor of the cave was of dry -white sand, and that along one end was a narrow dark pool of -water. Ferns fringed its edge and drooped their fronds to its -smooth surface—a surface which caught a gleam of light, and -shone whitely; but the pool was very still, and they felt somehow, -without knowing why, very deep.</p> - -<p>“It’s no good, no earthly,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“But it’s an awfully pretty cave,” said Mavis consolingly. -“Thank you for showing it to us, Reuben. And it’s jolly cool. Do -let’s rest a minute or two. I’m simply boiling, climbing that cliff -path. We’ll go down to the sea in a minute. Reuben could wait -here if he felt safer.”</p> - -<p>“All right, squattez-vous,” said Bernard, and the children sat -down at the water’s edge, Reuben still very awkward in his girl’s -clothes.</p> - -<p>It was very, very quiet. Only now and then one fat drop of -water would fall from the cave’s roof into that quiet pool and just -move its surface in a spreading circle.</p> - -<p>“It’s a ripping place for a hidey-hole,” said Bernard, “better -than that old bush of yours, anyhow. I don’t believe anybody -knows of the way in.”</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> don’t think anyone does, either,” said Reuben, “because -there wasn’t any way in till it fell in two days ago, when I was trying -to dig up a furze root.”</p> - -<p>“I should hide here if you want to hide,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“I mean to,” said Reuben.</p> - -<p>“Well, if you’re rested, let’s get on,” Francis said; but Kathleen -urged:</p> - -<p>“Do let’s say ‘Sabrina fair,’ first—just to try!” So they said it—all -but the Spangled Child who did not know it—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 2em;">“‘<i>Sabrina fair</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Listen where thou art sitting</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Under the glassie, cool....</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>There was a splash and a swirl in the pool, and there was the -Mermaid herself, sure enough. Their eyes had grown used to the -dusk and they could see her quite plainly, could see too that she -was holding out her arms to them and smiling so sweetly that it -almost took their breath away.</p> - -<p>“My cherished preservers,” she cried, “my dear, darling, kind, -brave, noble, unselfish dears!”</p> - -<p>“You’re talking to Reuben, in the plural, by mistake, I suppose,” -said Francis, a little bitterly.</p> - -<p>“To him, too, of course. But you two most of all,” she said, -swishing her tail around and leaning her hands on the edge of the -pool. “I <i>am</i> so sorry I was so ungrateful the other night. I’ll tell -you how it was. It’s in your air. You see, coming out of the water -we’re very susceptible to aerial influences—and that sort of -ungratefulness and, what’s the word—?”</p> - -<p>“Snobbishness,” said Francis firmly.</p> - -<p>“Is that what you call it?—is most frightfully infectious, and -your air’s absolutely crammed with the germs of it. That’s why -I was so horrid. You do forgive me, don’t you, dears? And I was -so selfish, too—oh, horrid. But it’s all washed off now, in the -nice clean sea, and I’m as sorry as if it had been my fault, which it -really and truly wasn’t.”</p> - -<p>The children said all right, and she wasn’t to mind, and it -didn’t matter, and all the things you say when people say they are -sorry, and you cannot kiss them and say, “Right oh,” which is the -natural answer to such confessions.</p> - -<p>“It was very curious,” she said thoughtfully, “a most odd experience, -that little boy ... his having been born of people who had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -always been rich, really seemed to me to be important. I assure -you it did. Funny, wasn’t it? And now I want you all to come home -with me, and see where I live.”</p> - -<p>She smiled radiantly at them, and they all said, “Thank you,” -and looked at each other rather blankly.</p> - -<p>“All our people will be unspeakably pleased to see you. We -Mer-people are not really ungrateful. You mustn’t think that,” she -said pleadingly.</p> - -<p>She looked very kind, very friendly. But Francis thought of the -Lorelei. Just so kind and friendly must the Lady of the Rhine have -looked to the “sailor in a little skiff” whom he had disentangled -from Heine’s poem, last term, with the aid of the German dicker. -By a curious coincidence and the same hard means, Mavis had, -only last term, read of Undine, and she tried not to think that -there was any lack of soul in the Mermaid’s kind eyes. Kathleen -who, by another coincidence, had fed her fancy in English literature -on the “Forsaken Merman” was more at ease.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean down with you under the sea?” she asked—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“‘<i>Where the sea snakes coil and twine,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Dry their mail and bask in the brine,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Where great whales go sailing by,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Sail and sail with unshut eye</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Round the world for ever and aye?</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p>“Well, it’s not exactly like that, really,” said the Mermaid; “but -you’ll see soon enough.”</p> - -<p>This had, in Bernard’s ears, a sinister ring.</p> - -<p>“Why,” he asked suddenly, “did you say you wanted to see us -at dead of night?”</p> - -<p>“It’s the usual time, isn’t it?” she asked, looking at him with -innocent surprise. “It is in all the stories. You know we have air<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> -stories just as you have fairy stories and water stories—and the rescuer -almost always comes to the castle gate at dead of night, on a -coal-black steed or a dapple-gray, you know, or a red-roan steed of -might; but as there were four of you, besides me and my tail, I -thought it more considerate to suggest a chariot. Now, we really -ought to be going.”</p> - -<p>“Which way?” asked Bernard, and everyone held their breath -to hear the answer.</p> - -<p>“The way I came, of course,” she answered, “down here,” and -she pointed to the water that rippled around her.</p> - -<p>“Thank you so very, <i>very</i> much,” said Mavis, in a voice which -trembled a little; “but I don’t know whether you’ve heard that people -who go down into the water like that—people like us—without -tails, you know—they get drowned.”</p> - -<p>“Not if they’re personally conducted,” said the Mermaid. “Of -course we can’t be responsible for trespassers, though even with -them I don’t think anything very dreadful has ever happened. -Someone once told me a story about Water Babies. Did you ever -hear of that?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, but that was a made-up story,” said Bernard stolidly.</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course,” she agreed, “but a great deal of it’s quite true, -all the same. But you won’t grow fins and gills or anything like -that. You needn’t be afraid.”</p> - -<p>The children looked at each other, and then all looked at -Francis. He spoke.</p> - -<p>“Thank you,” he said. “Thank you very much, but we would -rather not—much rather.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, nonsense,” said the lady kindly. “Look here, it’s as easy -as easy. I give you each a lock of my hair,” she cut off the locks -with her shell knife as she spoke, long locks they were and soft. -“Look here, tie these round your necks—if I’d had a lock of -human hair round my neck I should never have suffered from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> -dryness as I did. And then just jump in. Keep your eyes shut. It’s -rather confusing if you don’t; but there’s no danger.”</p> - -<p>The children took the locks of hair, but no one regarded them -with any confidence at all as lifesaving apparatus. They still hung -back.</p> - -<p>“You really are silly,” said the sea lady indulgently. “Why did -you meddle with magic at all if you weren’t prepared to go through -with it? Why, this is one of the simplest forms of magic, and the -safest. Whatever would you have done if you had happened to call -up a fire spirit and had had to go down Vesuvius with a -Salamander round your little necks?”</p> - -<p>She laughed merrily at the thought. But her laugh sounded a -little angry too.</p> - -<p>“Come, don’t be foolish,” she said. “You’ll never have such a -chance again. And I feel that this air is full of your horrid human -microbes—distrust, suspicion, fear, anger, resentment—horrid little -germs. I don’t want to risk catching them. Come.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said Francis, and held out to her the lock of her hair; so -did Mavis and Bernard. But Kathleen had tied the lock of hair -round her neck, and she said:</p> - -<p>“I <i>should</i> have liked to, but I promised Bernard I would not do -anything unless he said I might.” It was toward Kathleen that the -Mermaid turned, holding out a white hand for the lock.</p> - -<p>Kathleen bent over the water trying to untie it, and in one -awful instant the Mermaid had reared herself up in the water, -caught Kathleen in her long white arms, pulled her over the edge -of the pool, and with a bubbling splash disappeared with her -beneath the dark water.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 415px;"> -<img src="images/i-089.jpg" width="415" height="474" alt="mermaid holding on to Kathleen" /> -<div class="caption"><i>She caught Kathleen in her arms.</i></div> -</div> - -<p>Mavis screamed and knew it; Francis and Bernard thought -they did not scream. It was the Spangled Child alone who said -nothing. He had not offered to give back the lock of soft hair. He, -like Kathleen, had knotted it round his neck; he now tied a further<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a><br /><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> -knot, stepped forward, and spoke in tones which the other -three thought the most noble they had ever heard.</p> - -<p>“She give me the plum pie,” he said, and leaped into the water.</p> - -<p>He sank at once. And this, curiously enough, gave the others -confidence. If he had struggled—but no—he sank like a stone, or -like a diver who means diving and diving to the very bottom.</p> - -<p>“She’s my special sister,” said Bernard, and leaped.</p> - -<p>“If it’s magic it’s all right—and if it isn’t we couldn’t go back -home without her,” said Mavis hoarsely. And she and Francis took -hands and jumped together.</p> - -<p>It was not so difficult as it sounds. From the moment of -Kathleen’s disappearance the sense of magic—which is rather like -very sleepy comfort and sweet scent and sweet music that you just -can’t hear the tune of—had been growing stronger and stronger. -And there are some things so horrible that if you can bring yourself -to face them you simply <i>can’t</i> believe that they’re true. It did -not seem possible—when they came quite close to the idea—that -a Mermaid could really come and talk so kindly and then drown -the five children who had rescued her.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right,” Francis cried as they jumped.</p> - -<p>“I ...” He shut his mouth just in time, and down they went.</p> - -<p>You have probably dreamed that you were a perfect swimmer? -You know the delight of that dream-swimming, which is no -effort at all, and yet carries you as far and as fast as you choose. It -was like that with the children. The moment they touched the -water they felt that they belonged in it—that they were as much -at home in water as in air. As they sank beneath the water their -feet went up and their heads went down, and there they were -swimming downward with long, steady, easy strokes. It was like -swimming down a well that presently widened to a cavern. -Suddenly Francis found that his head was above water. So was -Mavis’s.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> - -<p>“All right so far,” she said, “but how are we going to get back?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, the magic will do that,” he answered, and swam faster.</p> - -<p>The cave was lighted by bars of phosphorescence placed like -pillars against the walls. The water was clear and deeply green and -along the sides of the stream were sea anemones and starfish of the -most beautiful forms and the most dazzling colors. The walls were -of dark squarish shapes, and here and there a white oblong, or a -blue and a red, and the roof was of mother-of-pearl which -gleamed and glistened in the pale golden radiance of the phosphorescent -pillars. It was very beautiful, and the mere pleasure of -swimming so finely and easily swept away almost their last fear. -This, too, went when a voice far ahead called: “Hurry up, -France—Come on, Mavis,”—and the voice was the voice of -Kathleen.</p> - -<p>They hurried up, and they came on; and the gleaming soft -light grew brighter and brighter. It shone all along the way they -had to go, making a path of glory such as the moon makes across -the sea on a summer night. And presently they saw that this growing -light was from a great gate that barred the waterway in front -of them. Five steps led up to this gate, and sitting on it, waiting -for them, were Kathleen, Reuben, Bernard and the Mermaid. -Only now she had no tail. It lay beside her on the marble steps, -just as your stockings lie when you have taken them off; and there -were her white feet sticking out from under a dress of soft feathery -red seaweed.</p> - -<p>They could see it was seaweed though it was woven into a -wonderful fabric. Bernard and Kathleen and the Spangled Boy -had somehow got seaweed dresses too, and the Spangled Boy was -no longer dressed as a girl; and looking down as they scrambled -up the steps Mavis and Francis saw that they, too, wore seaweed -suits—“Very pretty, but how awkward to go home in,” Mavis -thought.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 520px;"> -<img src="images/i-092.jpg" width="520" height="413" alt="children in water rushing toward Golden Door" /> -<div class="caption"><p><i>The golden door.</i></p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Now,” said the Mer-lady, “forgive me for taking the plunge. -I knew you’d hesitate forever, and I was beginning to feel so cross! -That’s your dreadful atmosphere! Now, here we are at the door of -our kingdom. You do want to come in, don’t you? I can bring you -as far as this against your will, but not any farther. And you can’t -come any farther unless you trust me absolutely. Do you? Will -you? Try!”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the children, all but Bernard, who said stoutly:</p> - -<p>“I don’t; but I’ll try to. I want to.”</p> - -<p>“If you want to, I think you <i>do</i>,” said she very kindly. “And -now I will tell you one thing. What you’re breathing isn’t air, and -it isn’t water. It’s something that both water people and air people -can breathe.”</p> - -<p>“The greatest common measure,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“A simple equation,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Things which are equal to the same thing are equal to each -other,” said Francis; and the three looked at each other and wondered -why they had said such things.</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry,” said the lady, “it’s only the influence of the -place. This is the Cave of Learning, you know, very dark at the -beginning and getting lighter and lighter as you get nearer to the -golden door. All these rocks are made of books really, and they -exude learning from every crack. We cover them up with -anemones and seaweed and pretty things as well as we can, but the -learning will leak out. Let us go through the gate or you’ll all be -talking Sanskrit before we know where we are.”</p> - -<p>She opened the gate. A great flood of glorious sunlight met -them, the solace of green trees and the jeweled grace of bright -blossoms. She pulled them through the door, and shut it.</p> - -<p>“This is where we live,” she said. “Aren’t you glad you came?”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_SEVEN" id="CHAPTER_SEVEN">CHAPTER SEVEN</a><br /> - -<small><i>The Skies Are Falling</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">AS the children passed through the golden doors a sort of -swollen feeling which was beginning to make their heads quite -uncomfortable passed away, and left them with a curiously clear -and comfortable certainty that they were much cleverer than -usual.</p> - -<p>“I <i>could</i> do sums now, and no mistake,” Bernard whispered to -Kathleen, who replied to the effect that dates no longer presented -the slightest difficulty to her.</p> - -<p>Mavis and Francis felt as though they had never before known -what it was to have a clear brain. They followed the others through -the golden door, and then came Reuben, and the Mermaid came -last. She had picked up her discarded tail and was carrying it over -her arm as you might a shawl. She shut the gate, and its lock -clicked sharply.</p> - -<p>“We have to be careful, you know,” she said, “because of the -people in the books. They are always trying to get out of the books -that the cave is made of; and some of them are very undesirable -characters. There’s a Mrs. Fairchild—we’ve had a great deal of -trouble with her, and a person called Mrs. Markham who makes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -everybody miserable, and a lot of people who think they are being -funny when they aren’t—dreadful.”</p> - -<p>The party was now walking along a smooth grassy path, -between tall, clipped box hedges—at least they looked like box -hedges, but when Mavis stroked the close face of one she found -that it was not stiff box, but soft seaweed.</p> - -<p>“Are we in the water or not?” said she, stopping suddenly.</p> - -<p>“That depends on what you mean by water. Water’s a thing -human beings can’t breathe, isn’t it? Well, you are breathing. So -this can’t be water.”</p> - -<p>“I see that,” said Mavis, “but the soft seaweed won’t stand up -in air, and it does in water.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you’ve found out, have you?” said the Mermaid. “Well, -then, perhaps it is water. Only you see it can’t be. Everything’s like -that down here.”</p> - -<p>“Once you said you lived in water, and you wanted to be wet,” -said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Mer-people aren’t responsible for what they say in your -world. I told you that, you know,” the Mermaid reminded them.</p> - -<p>Presently they came to a little coral bridge over a stream that -flowed still and deep. “But if what we’re in is water, what’s that?” -said Bernard, pointing down.</p> - -<p>“Ah, now you’re going too deep for me,” said the Mermaid, “at -least if I were to answer I should go too deep for you. Come on—we -shall be too late for the banquet.”</p> - -<p>“What do you have for the banquet?” Bernard asked; and the -Mermaid answered sweetly: “Things to eat.”</p> - -<p>“And to drink?”</p> - -<p>“It’s no use,” said she; “you can’t get at it that way. We drink—but -you wouldn’t understand.”</p> - -<p>Here the grassy road widened, and they came onto a terrace of -mother-of-pearl, very smooth and shining. Pearly steps led down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -from it into the most beautiful garden you could invent if you -tried for a year and a day with all the loveliest pictures and the -most learned books on gardening to help you. But the odd thing -about it was that when they came to talk it over afterward they -never could agree about the shape of the beds, the direction of the -walks, the kinds and colors of the flowers, or indeed any single -thing about it. But to each it seemed and will always seem the -most beautiful garden ever imagined or invented. And everyone -saw, beyond a distant belt of trees the shining domes and minarets -of very beautiful buildings, and far, far away there was a sound of -music, so far away that at first they could only hear the music and -not the tune. But soon that too was plain, and it was the most -beautiful tune in the world.</p> - -<p>“Crikey,” said Reuben, speaking suddenly and for the first -time, “ain’t it ’evingly neither. Not arf,” he added with decision.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said the Mermaid, as they neared the belt of trees, -“you are going to receive something.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, thank you,” said everybody, and no one liked to add: -“What?”—though that simple word trembled on every tongue. It -slipped off the tip of Reuben’s, indeed, at last, and the Mermaid -answered:</p> - -<p>“An ovation.”</p> - -<p>“That’s something to do with eggs, I know,” said Kathleen. -“Father was saying so only the other day.”</p> - -<p>“There will be no eggs in this,” said the Mermaid, “and you -may find it a trifle heavy. But when it is over the fun begins. Don’t -be frightened, Kathleen—Mavis, don’t smooth your hair. Ugly -untidiness is impossible here. You are about to be publicly thanked -by our Queen. You’d rather not? You should have thought of that -before. If you will go about doing these noble deeds of rescue you -must expect to be thanked. Now, don’t forget to bow. And there’s -nothing to be frightened of.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p> - -<p>They passed through the trees and came on a sort of open -courtyard in front of a palace of gleaming pearl and gold. There -on a silver throne sat the loveliest lady in the world. She wore a -starry crown and a gown of green, and golden shoes, and she -smiled at them so kindly that they forgot any fear they may have -felt. The music ended on a note of piercing sweetness and in the -great hush that followed the children felt themselves gently -pushed forward to the foot of the throne. All around was a great -crowd, forming a circle about the pearly pavement on which they -stood.</p> - -<p>The Queen rose up in her place and reached toward them the -end of her scepter where shone a star like those that crowned her.</p> - -<p>“Welcome,” she said in a voice far sweeter than the music, -“Welcome to our Home. You have been kind, you have been -brave, you have been unselfish, and all my subjects do homage to -you.”</p> - -<p>At the word the whole of that great crowd bent toward them -like bulrushes in the wind, and the Queen herself came down the -steps of her throne and held out her hands to the children.</p> - -<p>A choking feeling in their throats became almost unbearable -as those kind hands rested on one head after another.</p> - -<p>Then the crowd raised itself and stood upright, and someone -called out in a voice like a trumpet:</p> - -<p>“The children saved one of us—<i>We die in captivity</i>. Shout for -the children. Shout!”</p> - -<p>And a roar like the roar of wild waves breaking on rocks went -up from the great crowd that stood all about them. There was a -fluttering of flags or handkerchiefs—the children could not tell -which—and then the voice of their own Mermaid, saying: -“There—that’s over. And now we shall have the banquet. Shan’t -we, Mamma?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my daughter,” said the Queen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span></p> - -<p>So the Mermaid they had rescued was a Queen’s daughter!</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know you were a Princess,” said Mavis, as they followed -the Queen along a corridor.</p> - -<p>“That’s why they have made such a fuss, I suppose,” said -Bernard.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no, we should have given the ovation to anyone who had -saved any of us from captivity. We love giving ovations. Only we -so seldom get the chance, and even ordinary entertaining is difficult. -People are so prejudiced. We can hardly ever get anyone to -come and visit us. I shouldn’t have got you if you hadn’t happened -to find that cave. It would have been quite impossible for me to -give Kathleen that clinging embrace from shallow water. The cave -water is so much more buoyant than the sea. I daresay you noticed -that.”</p> - -<p>Yes—they had.</p> - -<p>“May we sit next you at the banquet?” Kathleen asked suddenly, -“because, you know, it’s all rather strange to us.”</p> - -<p>“Of course, dear,” said the sea lady.</p> - -<p>“But,” said Bernard, “I’m awfully sorry, but I think we ought -to go home.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t talk of it,” said the Mermaid. “Why, you’ve only -just come.”</p> - -<p>Bernard muttered something about getting home in time to -wash for tea.</p> - -<p>“There’ll be heaps of time,” said Francis impatiently; “don’t -fuss and spoil everything.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not fussing,” said Bernard, stolid as ever. “I never fuss. -But I think we ought to be thinking of getting home.”</p> - -<p>“Well, think about it then,” said Francis impatiently, and -turned to admire the clusters of scarlet flowers that hung from the -pillars of the gallery.</p> - -<p>The banquet was very magnificent, but they never could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> -remember afterward what it was that they ate out of the silver -dishes and drank out of the golden cups. They none of them forgot -the footmen, however, who were dressed in tight-fitting suits -of silver scales, with silver fingerless gloves, and a sort of helmet on -that made them look less like people than like fish, as Kathleen -said.</p> - -<p>“But they <i>are</i> fish,” said the Princess, opening her beautiful -eyes; “they’re the Salmoners, and the one behind Mother’s chair is -the Grand Salmoner. In your country I have heard there are Grand -Almoners. We have Grand Salmoners.”</p> - -<p>“Are all your servants fish?” Mavis asked.</p> - -<p>“Of course,” said the Princess, “but we don’t use servants -much except for state occasions. Most of our work is done by the -lower orders—electric eels, most of them. We get all the power for -our machinery from them.”</p> - -<p>“How do you do it?” Bernard asked, with a fleeting vision of -being some day known as the great man who discovered the commercial -value of the electricity obtainable from eels.</p> - -<p>“We keep a tank of them,” said she, “and you just turn a tap—they’re -connected up to people’s houses—and you connect them -with your looms or lathes or whatever you’re working. That sets -up a continuous current and the eels swim around and around in -the current till the work’s done. It’s beautifully simple.”</p> - -<p>“It’s simply beautiful,” said Mavis warmly. “I mean all this.” -She waved her hand to the row of white arches through which the -green of the garden and the blue of what looked like the sky -showed plainly. “And you live down here and do nothing but play -all day long? How lovely.”</p> - -<p>“You’d soon get tired of play if you did nothing else,” said -Bernard wisely. “At least I know I should. Did you ever make a -steam engine?” he asked the Princess. “That’s what I call work.”</p> - -<p>“It would be, to me,” she said, “but don’t you know that work<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> -is what you have to do and don’t like doing? And play’s whatever -you want to do. Have some more Andrew Aromaticus.”</p> - -<p>She made a sign to a Salmoner, who approached with a great -salver of fruit. The company were seated by fours and fives and -sixes at little tables, such as you see in the dining rooms of the big -hotels where people feed who have motors. These little tables are -good for conversation.</p> - -<p>“Then what <i>do</i> you do?” Kathleen asked.</p> - -<p>“Well, we have to keep all the rivers flowing, for one thing—the -earthly rivers, I mean—and to see to the rain and snow taps, -and to attend to the tides and whirlpools, and open the cages -where the winds are kept. Oh, it’s no easy business being a Princess -in our country, I can tell you, whatever it may be in yours. What -do your Princesses do? Do they open the wind cages?”</p> - -<p>“I ... I don’t know,” said the children. “I think they only open -bazaars.”</p> - -<p>“Mother says they work awfully hard, and they go and see -people who are ill in hospitals,” Kathleen was beginning, but at -this moment the Queen rose and so did everyone else.</p> - -<p>“Come,” said the Princess, “I must go and take my turn at -river-filling. Only Princesses can do the finest sort of work.”</p> - -<p>“What is the hardest thing you have to do?” Francis asked as -they walked out into the garden.</p> - -<p>“Keeping the sea out of our kingdom,” was the answer, “and -fighting the Under Folk. We kept the sea out by trying very hard -with both hands, inside our minds. And, of course, the sky helps.”</p> - -<p>“And how do you fight the Under Folk—and who are they?” -Bernard wanted to know.</p> - -<p>“Why, the thick-headed, heavy people who live in the deep sea.”</p> - -<p>“Different from you?” Kathleen asked.</p> - -<p>“My dear child!”</p> - -<p>“She means,” explained Mavis, “that we didn’t know there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -were any other kind of people in the sea except your kind.”</p> - -<p>“You know much less about us than we do about you,” said -the Princess. “Of course there are different nations and tribes, and -different customs and dresses and everything. But there are two -great divisions down here besides us, the Thick-Heads and the -Thin-Skins, and we have to fight both of them. The Thin-Skins -live near the surface of the water, frivolous, silly things like nautiluses -and flying fish, very pleasant, but deceitful and light-minded. -They are very treacherous. The Thick-Heads live in the -cold deep dark waters. They are desperate people.”</p> - -<p>“Do you ever go down there?”</p> - -<p>The Princess shuddered.</p> - -<p>“No,” she said, “but we might have to. If the water ever came -into our kingdom they would attack us, and we should have to -drive them out; and then we should have to drive them right down -to their own kingdom again. It happened once, in my grandfather’s -time.”</p> - -<p>“But how on earth,” asked Bernard, “did you ever get the -water out again?”</p> - -<p>“It wasn’t on earth, you know,” said the Princess, “and the -Whales blew a good deal of it out—the Grampuses did their best, -but they don’t blow hard enough. And the Octopuses finished the -work by sucking the water out with their suckers.”</p> - -<p>“Do you have cats here then?” asked Kathleen, whose attention -had wandered, and had only caught a word that sounded like -Pussies.</p> - -<p>“Only Octopussies,” said the Princess, “but then they’re eight -times as pussy as your dry-land cats.”</p> - -<p>What Kathleen’s attention had wandered to was a tall lady -standing on a marble pedestal in the middle of a pool. She held a -big vase over her head, and from it poured a thin stream of water. -This stream fell in an arch right across the pool into a narrow<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -channel cut in the marble of the square in which they now stood, -ran across the square, and disappeared under a dark arch in the -face of the rock.</p> - -<p>“There,” said the Princess, stopping.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” asked Reuben, who had been singularly silent.</p> - -<p>“This,” she said simply, “is the source of the Nile. And of all -other rivers. And it’s my turn now. I must not speak again till my -term of source-service is at an end. Do what you will. Go where -you will. All is yours. Only beware that you do not touch the sky. -If once profane hands touch the sky the whole heaven is overwhelmed.”</p> - -<p>She ran a few steps, jumped, and landed on the marble -pedestal without touching the lady who stood there already. Then, -with the utmost care, so that the curved arc of the water should -not be slackened or diverted, she took the vase in her hands and -the other lady in her turn leaped across the pool and stood beside -the children and greeted them kindly.</p> - -<p>“I am Maia. My sister has told me all you did for her,” she -said; “it was I who pinched your foot,” and as she spoke they knew -the voice that had said, among the seaweed-covered rocks at -Beachfield: “Save her. We die in captivity.”</p> - -<p>“What will you do?” she asked, “while my sister performs her -source-service?”</p> - -<p>“Wait, I suppose,” said Bernard. “You see we want to know -about going home.”</p> - -<p>“Didn’t you fix a time to be recalled?” asked Maia. And when -they said no, her beautiful smiling face suddenly looked grave.</p> - -<p>“With whom have you left the charge of speaking the spell of -recall?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what you mean,” said Bernard. “What spell?”</p> - -<p>“The one which enabled me to speak to you that day in the -shallows,” said Maia. “Of course my sister explained to you that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -the spell which enables us to come at your call is the only one by -which you can yourselves return.”</p> - -<p>“She didn’t,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Ah, she is young and impulsive. But no doubt she arranged -with someone to speak the spell and recall you?”</p> - -<p>“No, she didn’t. She doesn’t know any land people except us. -She told me so,” said Kathleen.</p> - -<p>“Well, is the spell written anywhere?” Maia asked.</p> - -<p>“Under a picture” they told her, not knowing that it was also -written in the works of Mr. John Milton.</p> - -<p>“Then I’m afraid you’ll have to wait ’til someone happens to -read what is under the picture,” said Maia kindly.</p> - -<p>“But the house is locked up; there’s no one there to read anything,” -Bernard reminded them.</p> - -<p>There was a dismal silence. Then:</p> - -<p>“Perhaps burglars will break in and read it,” suggested Reuben -kindly. “Anyhow, what’s the use of kicking up a shine about it? <i>I</i> -can’t see what you want to go back for. It’s a little bit of all right -here, so it is—I <i>don’t</i> think. Plucky sight better than anything <i>I</i> -ever come across. I’m a-goin’ to enjoy myself I am, and see all the -sights. Miss, there, said we might.”</p> - -<p>“Well spoken indeed,” said Maia, smiling at his earnest face. -“That is the true spirit of the explorer.”</p> - -<p>“But we’re not explorers,” said Mavis, a little crossly, for her; -“and we’re not so selfish as you think, either. Mother will be awfully -frightened if we’re not home to tea. She’ll think we’re drowned.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you <i>are</i> drowned,” said Maia brightly. “At least that’s -what I believe you land people call it when you come down to us -and neglect to arrange to have the spell of return said for you.”</p> - -<p>“How horrible,” said Mavis. “Oh, Cathay,” and she clutched -her sister tightly.</p> - -<p>“But you needn’t <i>stay</i> drowned,” said the Princess. “Someone’s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> -sure to say the spell somehow or other. I assure you that this is -true; and then you will go home with the speed of an eel.”</p> - -<p>They felt, somehow, in their bones that this was true, and it -consoled them a little. Things which you feel in your bones are -most convincing.</p> - -<p>“But Mother,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“You don’t seem to know much about magic,” said Maia pityingly: -“the first principle of magic is that time spent in other -worlds doesn’t count in your own home. No, I see you don’t -understand. In your home it’s still the same time as it was when -you dived into the well in the cave.”</p> - -<p>“But that’s hours ago,” said Bernard; and she answered:</p> - -<p>“I know. But your time is not like our time at all.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the difference?”</p> - -<p>“I can’t explain,” said the Princess. “You can’t compare them -any more than you can compare a starlight and a starfish. They’re -quite, quite different. But the really important thing is that your -Mother won’t be anxious. So now why not enjoy yourselves?”</p> - -<p>And all this time the other Princess had been holding up the -jar which was the source of all the rivers in all the world.</p> - -<p>“Won’t she be very tired?” asked Reuben.</p> - -<p>“Yes, but suppose all the rivers dried up—and she had to know -how people were suffering—that would be something much harder -to bear than tiredness. Look in the pool and see what she is doing -for the world.”</p> - -<p>They looked, and it was like a colored cinematograph; and the -pictures melted into one another like the old dissolving views that -children used to love so before cinematographs were thought of.</p> - -<p>They saw the Red Indians building their wigwams by the great -rivers—and the beavers building their dams across the little rivers; -they saw brown men setting their fish traps by the Nile, and -brown girls sending out little golden-lighted love-ships on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -Ganges. They saw the stormy splendor of the St. Lawrence, and -the Medway’s pastoral peace. Little streams dappled with sunlight -and the shadow of green leaves, and the dark and secret torrents -that tear through the underworld in caverns and hidden places. -They saw women washing clothes in the Seine, and boys sailing -boats on the Serpentine. Naked savages dancing in masks beside -tropical streams overshadowed by strange trees and flowers that we -do not know—and men in flannels and girls in pink and blue, -punting in the backwaters of the Thames. They saw Niagara and -the Zambesi Falls; and all the time the surface of the pool was -smooth as a mirror and the arched stream that was the source of -all they saw poured ceaselessly over their heads and fell splashing -softly into its little marble channel.</p> - -<p>I don’t know how long they would have stayed leaning their -elbows on the cool parapet and looking down on the changing -pictures, but suddenly a trumpet sounded, drums beat, and everyone -looked up.</p> - -<p>“It’s for the review,” said Maia, through the rattle of the -drums. “Do you care for soldiers?”</p> - -<p>“Rather,” said Bernard, “but I didn’t know you had soldiers.”</p> - -<p>“We’re very proud of our troops,” said the Princess. “I am -Colonel of the Lobster Battalion, and my sister commands the -Crustacean Brigade; but we’re not going on parade today.”</p> - -<p>The sound of drums was drawing nearer. “This way to the -parade ground,” said the Princess, leading the way. They looked at -the review through a big arch, and it was like looking into a very -big aquarium.</p> - -<p>The first regiment they saw was, as it happened, the 23rd -Lobsters.</p> - -<p>If you can imagine a Lobster as big as a Guardsman, and -rather stouter, you will have some idea of the splendid appearance -of this regiment. Only don’t forget that Lobsters in their natural<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> -regimentals are not red. They wear a sort of steel-blue armor, and -carry arms of dreadful precision. They are terrible fellows, the -23rd, and they marched with an air at once proud and confident.</p> - -<p>Then came the 16th Swordfish—in uniform of delicate silver, -their drawn swords displayed.</p> - -<p>The Queen’s Own Gurnards were magnificent in pink and silver, -with real helmets and spiked collars; and the Boy Scouts—“The -Sea Urchins” as they were familiarly called—were the last of -the infantry.</p> - -<p>Then came Mer-men, mounted on Dolphins and Sea Horses, -and the Cetacean Regiments, riding on their whales. Each whale -carried a squadron.</p> - -<p>“They look like great trams going by,” said Francis. And so -they did. The children remarked that while the infantry walked -upright like any other foot soldiers, the cavalry troops seemed to -be, with their mounts, suspended in the air about a foot from the -ground.</p> - -<p>“And that shows it’s water,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“No, it doesn’t,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“Well, a whale’s not a bird,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“And there are other things besides air and water,” said -Francis.</p> - -<p>The Household Brigade was perhaps the handsomest. The -Grand Salmoner led his silvery soldiers, and the 100th Halibuts -were evidently the sort of troops to make the foes of anywhere -“feel sorry they were born.”</p> - -<p>It was a glorious review, and when it was over the children -found that they had been quite forgetting their desire to get home.</p> - -<p>But as the back of the last Halibut vanished behind the seaweed -trees the desire came back with full force. Princess Maia had -disappeared. Their own Princess was, they supposed, still performing -her source-service.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p> - -<p>Suddenly everything seemed to have grown tiresome.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I do wish we could go home,” said Kathleen. “Couldn’t -we just find the door and go out?”</p> - -<p>“We might <i>look</i> for the door,” said Bernard cautiously, “but I -don’t see how we could get up into the cave again.”</p> - -<p>“We can swim all right, you know,” Mavis reminded them.</p> - -<p>“I think it would be pretty low down to go without saying -good-bye to the Princesses,” said Francis. “Still, there’s no harm in -<i>looking</i> for the door.”</p> - -<p>They did look for the door. And they did not find it. What -they did find was a wall—a great gray wall built of solid stones—above -it nothing could be seen but blue sky.</p> - -<p>“I do wonder what’s on the other side,” said Bernard; and -someone, I will not say which, said: “Let’s climb up and see.”</p> - -<p>It was easy to climb up, for the big stones had rough edges and -so did not fit very closely, and there was room for a toe here and -a hand there. In a minute or two they were all up, but they could -not see down on the other side because the wall was about eight -feet thick. They walked toward the other edge, and still they could -not see down; quite close to the edge, and still no seeing.</p> - -<p>“It isn’t sky at all,” said Bernard suddenly. “It’s a sort of -dome—tin I shouldn’t wonder, painted to look like sky.”</p> - -<p>“It can’t be,” said someone.</p> - -<p>“It is though,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“There couldn’t be one so big,” said someone else.</p> - -<p>“But there <i>is</i>,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>And then someone—I will not tell you who—put out a hand, -and, quite forgetting the Princess’s warning, touched the sky. That -hand felt something as faint and thin as a bubble—and instantly -this something broke, and the sea came pouring into the Mer-people’s -country.</p> - -<p>“Now you’ve done it,” said one of those whose hand it wasn’t.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -And there was no doubt about it; the person who owned the hand -<i>had</i> done it—and done it very thoroughly. It was plain enough -now that what they had been living in was not water, and that this -was. The first rush of it was terrible—but in less than a moment -the whole kingdom was flooded, and then the water became clear -and quiet.</p> - -<p>The children found no difficulty in breathing, and it was as -easy to walk as it is on land in a high wind. They could not run, -but they walked as fast as they could to the place where they had -left the Princess pouring out the water for all the rivers in all the -world.</p> - -<p>And as they went, one of them said, “Oh don’t, don’t tell it was -me. You don’t know what punishments they may have here.”</p> - -<p>The others said of course they wouldn’t tell. But the one who -had touched the sky felt that it was despised and disgraced.</p> - -<p>They found the pedestal, but what had been the pool was only -part of the enormous sea, and so was the little marble channel.</p> - -<p>The Princess was not there, and they began to look for her, -more and more anxious and wretched.</p> - -<p>“It’s all your fault,” said Francis to the guilty one who had broken -the sky by touching it; and Bernard said, “You shut up, can’t -you?”</p> - -<p>It was a long time before they found their Princess, and when -they did find her they hardly knew her. She came swimming -toward them, and she was wearing her tail, and a cuirass and helmet -of the most beautiful mother-of-pearl—thin scales of it overlapping; -and the crest on her helmet was one great pearl, as big as -a billiard ball. She carried something over her arm.</p> - -<p>“Here you are,” she said. “I’ve been looking for you. The -future is full of danger. The water has got in.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we noticed that,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>And Mavis said: “Please, it was us. We touched the sky.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Will they punish us?” asked Cathay.</p> - -<p>“There are no punishments here,” said the pearly Princess -gravely, “only the consequences of your action. Our great defense -against the Under Folk is that thin blue dome which you have -broken. It can only be broken from the inside. Our enemies were -powerless to destroy it. But now they may attack us at any moment. -I am going to command my troops. Will you come too?”</p> - -<p>“Rather,” said Reuben, and the others, somewhat less cordially, -agreed. They cheered up a little when the Princess went on.</p> - -<p>“It’s the only way to make you safe. There are four posts vacant -on my staff, and I have brought you the uniforms that go with the -appointments.” She unfolded five tails, and four little pearly coats -like her own, with round pearls for buttons, pearls as big as marbles. -“Put these on quickly,” she said, “they are enchanted coats, -given by Neptune himself to an ancestor of ours. By pressing the -third button from the top you can render yourself invisible. The -third button below that will make you visible again when you wish -it, and the last button of all will enable you to become intangible -as well as invisible.”</p> - -<p>“Intangible?” said Cathay.</p> - -<p>“Unfeelable, so you’re quite safe.”</p> - -<p>“But there are only four coats,” said Francis. “That is so,” said -the Princess. “One of you will have to take its chance with the Boy -Scouts. Which is it to be?”</p> - -<p>Each of the children always said, and thought that it meant to -say “I will,” but somehow or other the person who spoke first was -Reuben. The instant the Princess had said “be,” Reuben shouted: -“Me,” adding however almost at once, “please.”</p> - -<p>“Right,” said the Princess kindly, “off with you! The Sea -Urchins’ barracks are behind that rock. Off with you! Here, don’t -forget your tail. It enables you to be as comfortable in the water as -any fish.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p> - -<p>Reuben took the tail and hastened away.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said the Princess. And they all began putting on their -tails. It was like putting both your feet into a very large stocking. -Then came the mail coats.</p> - -<p>“Don’t we have swords?” Francis asked, looking down at his -slim and silvery extremity.</p> - -<p>“Swords? In the Crustacean Brigade? Never forget, children, -that you belong to the Princess’s Own Oysters. Here are your -weapons.” She pointed to a heap of large oyster shells, as big as -Roman shields.</p> - -<p>“See,” she said, “you hold them this way as a rule. A very powerful -spring is released when you hold them <i>that</i> way.”</p> - -<p>“But what do you do with it?” Mavis asked.</p> - -<p>“Nip the feet of the enemy,” said the Princess, “and it holds -on. Under Folk have no tails. You wait till they are near a rock; -then nip a foe-man’s foot with your good weapon, laying the other -end on the rock. The oyster shell will at once attach itself to the -rock and....”</p> - -<p>A terrible shout rang out, and the Princess stopped.</p> - -<p>“What is it; oh, what is it?” said the children. And the Princess -shuddered.</p> - -<p>Again that shout—the most terrible sound the children had -ever heard.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” they said again.</p> - -<p>The Princess drew herself up, as if ashamed of her momentary -weakness, and said:</p> - -<p>“It is the war cry of the Under Folk.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_EIGHT" id="CHAPTER_EIGHT">CHAPTER EIGHT</a><br /> - -<small><i>The Water-War</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">AFTER the sound of that terrible shouting there came -silence—that is, there was silence where the children were, but all -above they could hear the rush and rustle of a quick arming.</p> - -<p>“The war cry of the People of the Depths,” said the Princess.</p> - -<p>“I suppose,” said Kathleen forlornly, “that if they’re so near as -that all is lost.”</p> - -<p>“Lost? No, indeed,” cried the Princess. “The People of the -Depths are very strong, but they are very heavy. They cannot rise -up and come to us from the water above. Before they can get in -they must scale the wall.”</p> - -<p>“But they will get over the wall—won’t they?”</p> - -<p>“Not while one of the Royal Halibuts still lives. The Halibuts -have manned the wall; they will keep back the foe. But they won’t -attack yet. They’ll send out their scouts and skirmishers. Till they -approach, the Crustacean Brigade can do nothing. It is a hard -thing to watch a fight in which you may not share. I must apologize -for appointing you to such an unsatisfactory position.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, <i>we</i> don’t mind,” said Cathay hastily. “What’s -that?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was a solid, gleaming sheet of silver that rose above them -like a great carpet—which split and tore itself into silver threads.</p> - -<p>“It is the Swordfish Brigade,” said the Princess. “We could -swim up a little and watch them, if you’re not afraid. You see, the -first attack will probably be delivered by one of their Shark regiments. -The 7th Sharks have a horrible reputation. But our brave -Swordfish are a match for them,” she added proudly.</p> - -<p>The Swordfish, who were slowly swimming to and fro above, -seemed to stiffen as though to meet some danger at present unseen -by the others. Then, with a swift, silent, terrible movement, the -Sharks rushed on the noble defenders of Merland.</p> - -<p>The Swordfish with their deadly weapons were ready—and -next moment all the water was a wild whirl of confused conflict. -The Sharks fought with a sort of harsh, rough courage, and the -children, who had drawn away to a little distance, could not help -admiring their desperate onslaught. But the Swordfish were more -than their match. With more skill, and an equally desperate gallantry, -they met and repulsed the savage onslaught of the Sharks.</p> - -<p>Shoals of large, calm Cod swept up from the depths, and -began to shoulder the dead Sharks sideways toward the water -above the walls—the dead Sharks and, alas! many a brave, dead -Swordfish, too. For the victory had not been a cheap one.</p> - -<p>The children could not help cheering as the victorious -Swordfish re-formed.</p> - -<p>“Pursuit is unnecessary,” said the Princess. “The Sharks have -lost too heavily to resume the attack.”</p> - -<p>A Shark in terror-stricken retreat passed close by her, and she -clipped its tail with her oyster shell.</p> - -<p>The Shark turned savagely, but the Princess with one tail-swish -was out of danger, pushing the children before her outspread -arms, and the Shark began to sink, still making vain efforts -to pursue them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 543px;"> -<img src="images/i-113.jpg" width="543" height="379" alt="many swordfish swimming" /> -<div class="caption"><i>The Swordfish Brigade.</i></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p> - -<p>“The shell will drag him down,” said the Princess; “and now I -must go and get a fresh shield. I wish I knew where the next attack -would be delivered.”</p> - -<p>They sank slowly through the water.</p> - -<p>“I wonder where Reuben is?” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“Oh, he’s quite safe,” said the Princess. “The Boy Scouts don’t -go outside the walls—they just do a good turn for anybody who -wants it, you know—and help the kind Soles to look after the -wounded.”</p> - -<p>They had reached the great flooded garden again and turned -toward the Palace, and as they went a Sea Urchin shell suddenly -rose from behind one of the clipped hedges—a Sea Urchin shell -and behind it a long tail.</p> - -<p>The shell was raised, and the face under it was Reuben’s.</p> - -<p>“Hi, Princess!” he shouted. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. -We’ve been scouting. I got a lot of seaweed, and they -thought I was nothing <i>but</i> seaweed; and so I got quite close to the -enemy.”</p> - -<p>“It was very rash,” said the Princess severely.</p> - -<p>“The others don’t think so,” he said, a little hurt. “They began -by saying I was only an irregular Sea Urchin, because I’ve got this -jolly tail”—he gave it a merry wag—“and they called me -Spatangus, and names like that. But they’ve made me their -General now—General Echinus. I’m a regular now, and no mistake, -and what I was going to say is the enemy is going to attack -the North Tower in force in half an hour.”</p> - -<p>“You good boy,” said the Princess. I do believe if it hadn’t been -for his Sea Urchin’s uniform she would have kissed him. “You’re -splendid. You’re a hero. If you could do it safely—there’s heaps of -seaweed—could you find out if there’s any danger from the Book -People? You know—the ones in the cave. It’s always been our fear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> -that they might attack, <i>too:</i> and if they did—well, I’d rather be the -slave of a Shark than of Mrs. Fairchild.” She gathered an armful of -seaweed from the nearest tree, and Reuben wrapped himself in it -and drifted off—looking less like a live Boy Scout than you could -believe possible.</p> - -<p>The defenders of Merland, now acting on Reuben’s information, -began to mass themselves near the North Wall.</p> - -<p>“Now is our time,” said the Princess. “We must go along the -tunnel, and when we hear the sound of their heavy feet shaking -the flow of ocean we must make sallies, and fix our shell shields in -their feet. Major, rally your men.”</p> - -<p>A tall Merchild in the Crustacean uniform blew a clear note, -and the soldiers of the Crustacean Brigade, who having nothing -particular to do had been helping anyone and everyone as best -they could, which is the way in Merland, though not in Europe, -gathered about their officers.</p> - -<p>When they were all drawn up before her, the Princess -addressed her troops.</p> - -<p>“My men,” she said, “we have been suddenly plunged into -war. But it has not found us unprepared. I am proud to think that -my regiments are ready to the last pearl button. And I know that -every man among you will be as proud as I am that our post is, as -tradition tells us it has always been, the post of danger. We shall -go out into the depths of the sea to fight the enemies of our dear -country, and to lay down our lives, if need be, for that country’s -sake.”</p> - -<p>The soldiers answered by cheers, and the Princess led the way -to one of those little buildings, like Temples of Flora in old pictures, -which the children had noticed in the gardens. At the order -given a sergeant raised a great stone by a golden ring embedded in -it and disclosed a dark passage leading underground.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p> - -<p>A splendid captain of Cockles, six feet high if he was an inch, -with a sergeant and six men, led the way. Three Oyster officers followed, -then a company of Oysters, the advance guard. At the head -of the main body following were the Princess and her Staff. As -they went the Princess explained why the tunnel was so long and -sloped so steeply.</p> - -<p>“You see,” she said, “the inside of our wall is only about ten -feet high, but it goes down on the other side for forty feet or more. -It is built on a hill. Now, I don’t want you to feel obliged to come -out and fight. You can stay inside and get the shields ready for us -to take. We shall keep on rushing back for fresh weapons. Of -course the tunnel’s much too narrow for the Under Folk to get in, -but they have their regiment of highly trained Sea Serpents, who, -of course, can make themselves thin and worm through anything.”</p> - -<p>“Cathay doesn’t like serpents,” said Mavis anxiously.</p> - -<p>“You needn’t be afraid,” said the Princess. “They’re dreadful -cowards. They know the passage is guarded by our Lobsters. They -won’t come within a mile of the entrance. But the main body of -the enemy will have to pass quite close. There’s a great sea mountain, -and the only way to our North Tower is in the narrow ravine -between that mountain and Merland.”</p> - -<p>The tunnel ended in a large rocky hall with the armory, hung -with ten thousand gleaming shields, on the one side, and the -guardroom crowded with enthusiastic Lobsters on the other. The -entrance from the sea was a short, narrow passage, in which stood -two Lobsters in their beautiful dark coats of mail.</p> - -<p>Since the moment when the blue sky that looked first so like -sky and then so like painted tin had, touched, confessed itself to -be a bubble—confessed, too, in the most practical way, by bursting -and letting the water into Merland—the children had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> -carried along by the breathless rush of preparations for the invasion, -and the world they were now in had rapidly increased in reality, -while their own world, in which till today they had always -lived, had been losing reality at exactly the same rate as that by -which the new world gained it. So it was that when the Princess -said:</p> - -<p>“You needn’t go out and attack the enemy unless you like,” -they all answered, in some astonishment:</p> - -<p>“But we <i>want</i> to.”</p> - -<p>“That’s all right,” said the Princess. “I only wanted to see if -they were in working order.”</p> - -<p>“If what were?”</p> - -<p>“Your coats. They’re coats of valor, of course.”</p> - -<p>“I think I could be brave without a coat,” said Bernard, and -began to undo his pearl buttons.</p> - -<p>“Of course you could,” said the Princess. “In fact, you must be -brave to begin with, or the coat couldn’t work. It would be no -good to a coward. It just keeps your natural valor warm and your -wits cool.”</p> - -<p>“It makes you braver,” said Kathleen suddenly. “At least I hope -it’s me—but I expect it’s the coat. Anyhow, I’m glad it does. -Because I do want to be brave. Oh, Princess!”</p> - -<p>“Well?” said the Princess, gravely, but not unkindly, “what is it?”</p> - -<p>Kathleen stood a moment, her hands twisting in each other -and her eyes downcast. Then in an instant she had unbuttoned -and pulled off her coat of pearly mail and thrown it at the -Princess’s feet.</p> - -<p>“I’ll do it without the coat,” she said, and drew a long breath.</p> - -<p>The others looked on in silence, longing to help her, but -knowing that no one could help her now but herself.</p> - -<p>“It was me,” said Kathleen suddenly, and let go a deep breath<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> -of relief. “It was me that touched the sky and let in the water; and -I am most frightfully sorry, and I know you’ll never forgive me. -But—”</p> - -<p>“Quick,” said the Princess, picking up the coat, “get into your -armor; it’ll prevent your crying.” She hustled Kathleen into the -coat and kept her arms around her. “Brave girl,” she whispered. -“I’m glad you did it without the coat.” The other three thought it -polite to turn away. “Of course,” the Princess added, “I knew—but -you didn’t know I knew.”</p> - -<p>“How did you know?” said Kathleen.</p> - -<p>“By your eyes,” said the Princess, with one last hug; “they’re -quite different now. Come, let us go to the gate and see if any of -our Scouts are signaling.”</p> - -<p>The two Lobster sentries presented claws as the Princess -passed with her Staff through the narrow arch and onto the sandy -plain of the sea bottom. The children were astonished to find that -they could see quite plain a long way through the water—as far as -they could have seen in air, and the view was very like one kind of -land view. First, the smooth flat sand dotted with copses of -branching seaweed—then woods of taller treelike weeds with -rocks shelving up and up to a tall, rocky mountain. This mountain -sent out a spur, then ran along beside the Merkingdom and -joined the rock behind it; and it was along the narrow gorge so -formed that the Under Folk were expected to advance. There were -balls of seaweed floating in the air—at least, it really now had -grown to seem like air, though, of course, it was water—but no -signs of Scouts.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the balls of seaweed drew together and the Princess -murmured, “I thought so,” as they formed into orderly lines, sank -to the ground, and remained motionless for a moment, while one -ball of seaweed stood in front of them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span></p> - -<p>“It’s the Boy Scouts,” she said. “Your Reuben is giving them -their orders.”</p> - -<p>It seemed that she was right, for next moment the balls of seaweed -drifted away in different directions, and the one who had -stood before them drifted straight to the arch where the Princess -and the children stood. It drifted in, pulled off its seaweed disguise, -and was, in effect, Reuben.</p> - -<p>“We’ve found out something more, your Highness,” he said, -saluting the Princess. “The vanguard are to be Sea Horses; you -know, not the little ones, but the great things they have in the -depths.”</p> - -<p>“No use our attacking the horses,” said the Princess. “They’re -as hard as ice. Who rides them?”</p> - -<p>“The First Dipsys,” said Reuben. “They’re the young Under -Folk who want to cut a dash. They call them the Forlorn Hopers, -for short.”</p> - -<p>“Have they got armor?”</p> - -<p>“No—that’s their swank. They’ve no armor but their natural -scales. Those look thick enough, though. I say, Princess, I suppose -we Sea Urchins are free to do exactly as we choose?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the Princess, “unless orders are given.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then—my idea is that the Lobsters are the fellows to -tackle the Sea Horses. Hold on to their tails, see? They can’t hurt -the Lobsters because they can’t get at their own tails.”</p> - -<p>“But when the Lobsters let go?” said the Princess.</p> - -<p>“The Lobsters wouldn’t let go till they had driven back the -enemy,” said the Lobster Captain, saluting. “Your Highness, may -I ask if you propose to take this Urchin’s advice?”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t it good?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes, your Highness,” the Lobster Captain answered, “but it’s -impertinent.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 472px;"> -<img src="images/i-120.jpg" width="472" height="382" alt="Sea-soldiers riding sea-horses" /> -<div class="caption"><i>The First Dipsys.</i></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p> - -<p>“I am the best judge of that,” said the Princess gently; -“remember that these are noble volunteers, who are fighting for us -of their own free will.”</p> - -<p>The Lobster saluted and was silent.</p> - -<p>“I cannot send the Lobsters,” said the Princess, “we need them -to protect the gate. But the Crabs—”</p> - -<p>“Ah, Highness, let us go,” pleaded the Lobster Captain.</p> - -<p>“The Crabs cannot keep the gate,” said the Princess kindly. -“You know they are not narrow enough. Francis, will you be my -aide-de-camp and take a message to the Queen?”</p> - -<p>“May I go, too?” asked Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Yes. But we must deliver a double assault. If the Crabs attack -the Horses, who will deal with the riders?”</p> - -<p>“I have an idea about that, too,” said Reuben.</p> - -<p>“If we could have some good heavy shoving regiment—and -someone sharp to finish them off. The Swordfish, perhaps?”</p> - -<p>“You are a born general,” the Princess said; “but you don’t -quite know our resources. The United Narwhals can do the shoving, -as you call it—and their horns are sharp and heavy. Now”—she -took a smooth white chalkstone from the seafloor, and a ready -Lobster brought her a sharpened haddock bone. She wrote quickly, -scratching the letters deep on the chalk. “Here,” she said, “take -this to the Queen. You will find her at Headquarters at the Palace -yard. Tell her everything. I have only asked for the two regiments; -you must explain the rest. I don’t suppose there’ll be any difficulty -in getting through our lines, but, if there should be, the password -is ‘Glory’ and the countersign is ‘or Death.’ And hurry, hurry, -hurry for your lives!”</p> - -<p>Never before had Mavis and Francis felt anything like the glow -of excitement and importance which warmed them as they went -up the long tunnel to take the message to the Queen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span></p> - -<p>“But where is the Palace?” Mavis said, and they stopped, looking -at each other.</p> - -<p>“I’ll show you, please,” said a little voice behind them. They -turned quickly to find a small, spruce, gentlemanly Mackerel at -their heels. “I’m one of the Guides,” it said. “I felt sure you’d need -me. This way, sir, please,” and it led the way across the gardens in -and out of the clumps of trees and between the seaweed hedges till -they came to the Palace. Rows and rows of soldiers surrounded it, -all waiting impatiently for the word of command that should send -them to meet the enemies of their country.</p> - -<p>“Glory,” said the gentlemanly Mackerel, as he passed the outposts.</p> - -<p>“Or Death,” replied the sentinel Sea Bream.</p> - -<p>The Queen was in the courtyard, in which the children had -received their ovation—so short a time ago, and yet how long it -seemed. Then the courtyard had been a scene of the calm and -charming gaiety of a nation at peace; now it was full of the ardent, -intense inactivity of waiting warriors. The Queen in her gleaming -coral armor met them as the password opened a way to her -through the close-packed ranks of the soldiers. She took the stone -and read it, and with true royal kindness she found time, even at -such a moment, for a word of thanks to the messengers.</p> - -<p>“See the Narwhals start,” she added, “and then back to your -posts with all speed. Tell your commanding officer that so far the -Book People have made no sign, but the golden gate is strongly -defended by the King’s Own Cod, and—”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know there was a King,” said Francis.</p> - -<p>The Queen looked stern, and the Mackerel guide jerked -Francis’s magic coattail warningly and whispered “Hush!”</p> - -<p>“The King,” said the Queen quietly, “is no more. He was lost -at sea.”</p> - -<p>When the splendid steady column of Narwhals had marched<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span> -off to its appointed place the children bowed to the Queen and -went back to their posts.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry I said anything,” said Francis to the Mackerel, “but -I didn’t know. Besides, how can a Mer-king be lost at sea?”</p> - -<p>“Aren’t your Kings lost on land?” asked the Mackerel, “or if -not Kings, men quite as good? What about explorers?”</p> - -<p>“I see,” said Mavis; “and doesn’t anyone know what has -become of him?”</p> - -<p>“No,” said the Mackerel; “he has been lost for a very long -time. We fear the worst. If he were alive he would have come back. -We think the Under Folk have him. They bewitch prisoners so -that they forget who they are. Of course, there’s the antidote. -Every uniform is made with a little antidote pocket just over the -heart.” He put his fin inside his scales and produced a little golden -case, just like a skate’s egg. “You’ve got them, too, of course,” -he added. “If you are taken prisoner swallow the contents at -once.”</p> - -<p>“But if you forget who you are,” said Francis, “don’t you forget -the antidote?”</p> - -<p>“No charm,” the Mackerel assured him, “is strong enough to -make one forget one’s counter-charm.”</p> - -<p>And now they were back at the Lobster-guarded gate. The -Princess ran to meet them.</p> - -<p>“What a time you’ve been,” she said. “Is all well? Have the -Narwhals taken up their position?”</p> - -<p>Satisfied on this point, she led the children up a way long and -steep to a window in the wall whence they could look down on -the ravine and see the advance of the foe. The Narwhals were halted -about halfway up the ravine, where it widened to a sort of -amphitheater. Here, among the rocks, they lay in ambush, waiting -for the advance of the foe.</p> - -<p>“If it hadn’t been for you, Reuben,” said the Princess, as they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> -leaned their elbows on the broad rocky ledge of the window, “they -might easily have stormed the North Tower—we should not have -been ready—all our strongest defenses were massed on the south -side. It was there they attacked last time, so the history books tell -us.”</p> - -<p>And now a heavy, thundering sound, faint yet terrible, -announced the approach of the enemy—and far away across the -sea plain something could be seen moving. A ball of seaweed -seemed to drift up the ravine.</p> - -<p>“A Sea Urchin gone to give the alarm,” said the Princess; “what -splendid things Boy Scouts are. We didn’t have them in the last -war. My dear father only invented them just before—” She paused -and sighed. “Look,” she said.</p> - -<p>The enemy’s heavy cavalry were moving in a solid mass toward -Merland—the great Sea Horses, twenty feet long, and their great -riders, who must have been eight or ten feet high, came more and -more quickly, heading to the ravine. The riders were the most terrible -beings the children had ever seen. Clothed from head to feet -in closely fitting scales, with large heads, large ears, large mouths -and blunt noses and large, blind-looking eyes, they sat each erect -on his armored steed, the long harpoons swaying lightly in their -enormous hands.</p> - -<p>The Sea Horses quickened their pace—and a noise like a -hoarse trumpet rang out.</p> - -<p>“They are sounding the charge,” said the Princess; and as she -spoke the Under Folk charged at the ravine, in a determined, furious -onrush.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no one can stand up against that—they can’t,” said -Cathay, in despair.</p> - -<p>From the window they could see right down onto the amphitheater, -where the Narwhals were concealed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span></p> - -<p>On came the Sea Cavalry—so far unresisted—but as they -neared the ambush bunches of seaweed drifted in the faces of the -riders. They floundered and strove to push away the clinging -stuff—and as they strove the Narwhals made their sortie—drove -their weight against the riders and hurled them from their horses, -and from the covers of the rocks the Crabs advanced with an -incredible speed and caught the tails of the Sea Horses in their -inexorable claws. The riders lay on the ground. The horses were -rearing and prancing with fear and pain as the clouds of seaweed, -each with a prickly Sea Urchin in it, flung themselves against their -faces. The riders stood up, fighting to the last; but the harpoons -were no match for the Narwhal’s horns.</p> - -<p>“Come away,” said the Princess.</p> - -<p>Already the Sea Horses, urged by the enormous Crabs, were -retreating in the wildest disorder, pursued by Narwhals and -harassed by Sea Urchins.</p> - -<p>The Princess and the children went back to the Lobster sentries.</p> - -<p>“Repulsed,” said the Princess, “with heavy loss”—and the -Lobsters cheered.</p> - -<p>“How’s that, Princess?” said a ball of seaweed, uncurling itself -at the gate and presenting the familiar features of Reuben.</p> - -<p>“How is it?” she said. “It is Victory. And we owe it to you. But -you’re wounded?”</p> - -<p>“Only a scratch,” said Reuben; “harpoon just missed me.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Reuben, you are a hero,” said Cathay.</p> - -<p>“Get along, you silly,” he answered gracefully.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_NINE" id="CHAPTER_NINE">CHAPTER NINE</a><br /> - -<small><i>The Book People</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">EVEN in the midst of war there are intervals for refreshments. -Our own soldiers, no matter how fierce, must eat to live, -and the same is the case with the submarine regiments. The -Crustacean Brigade took advantage of the lull in hostilities which -followed the defeat of the Sea Horses to march back to the Palace -and have a meal. A very plain meal it was, too, and very different -from the “Banquet of Ovations,” as Cathay pointed out afterward. -There were no prettily spread tables decorated with bunches of -seaweed, no plates or knives or forks. The food was passed around -by hand, and there was one drinking horn (a sea cow’s horn) to -every six soldiers. They all sat on the ground as you do at a picnic, -and the Queen came and spoke a few hurried words to them when -on her way to strengthen the defenses of the golden gate. And, as -I said, the food was plain. However, everyone had enough to eat, -which was the main thing. Baskets of provisions were sent down -to the Lobsters’ guardroom.</p> - -<p>“It is important,” said Princess Freia, “that our men should be -on the spot in case they are needed, and the same with the dinner.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> -I shall go down with the provisions and keep their hearts up.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, dear, do,” said the Princess Maia; “but don’t do anything -rash. No sorties now. You Lobsters are so terribly brave. But you -know Mother said you weren’t to. Ah me! War is a terrible thing! -What a state the rivers will get into with all this water going on, -and the winds all loose and doing as they like. It’s horrible to think -about. It will take ages to get things straight again.”</p> - -<p>(Her fears were only too well founded. All this happened last -year—and you know what a wet summer that was.)</p> - -<p>“I know, dear,” said Freia; “but I know now who broke the sky, -and it is very, very sorry—so we won’t rub it in, will we?”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t mean to,” said Maia, smiling kindly at the children, -and went off to encourage her Lobsters.</p> - -<p>“And now,” said Francis, when the meal was over, “what are we -going to do next?”</p> - -<p>“We can’t do anything but wait for news,” said the Princess. -“Our Scouts will let us know soon enough. I only hope the Book -People won’t attack us at the same time as the Under Folk. That’s -always the danger.”</p> - -<p>“How could they get in?” Mavis asked.</p> - -<p>“Through the golden door,” said the Princess. “Of course they -couldn’t do anything if we hadn’t read the books they’re in. That’s -the worst of Education. We’ve all read such an awful lot, and that -unlocks the books and they can come out if anyone calls them. -Even our fish are intolerably well read—except the Porpoises, dear -things, who never could read anything. That’s why the golden -door is guarded by them, of course.”</p> - -<p>“If not having read things is useful,” said Mavis, “we’ve read -almost nothing. Couldn’t we help guard the door?”</p> - -<p>“The very thing,” said the Princess joyously; “for you possess -the only weapon that can be used against these people or against<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> -the authors who created them. If you can truthfully say to them, -‘I never heard of you,’ your words become a deadly sword that -strikes at their most sensitive spot.”</p> - -<p>“What spot?” asked Bernard. And the Princess answered, -“Their vanity.”</p> - -<p>So the little party went toward the golden door and found it -behind a thick wall of Porpoises. Incessant cries came from -beyond the gates, and to every cry they answered like one -Porpoise, “We never heard of you. You can’t come in. You can’t -come in. We never heard of you.”</p> - -<p>“We shan’t be any good here,” said Bernard, among the thick, -rich voices of the Porpoises. “They can keep anyone back.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the Princess; “but if the Book Folk look through -the gate and see that they’re only Porpoises their wounded vanity -will heal, and they’ll come on as strongly as ever. Whereas if they -did find human beings who have never heard of them the wounds -ought to be mortal. As long as you are able truthfully to say that -you don’t know them they can’t get in.”</p> - -<p>“Reuben would be the person for this,” said Francis. “I don’t -believe he’s read <i>anything!</i>”</p> - -<p>“Well, we haven’t read much,” said Cathay comfortably; “at -least, not about nasty people.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I hadn’t,” sighed the Princess through the noise of the -voices outside the gate. “I know them all. You hear that cold -squeak? That’s Mrs. Fairchild. And that short, sharp, barking -sound—that’s Aunt Fortune. The sort of growl that goes on all the -time is Mr. Murdstone, and that icy voice is Rosamund’s mother—the -one who was so hateful about the purple jar.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid we know some of those,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Then be careful not to say you don’t. There are heaps you -don’t know—John Knox and Machiavelli and Don Diego and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span> -Tippoo Sahib and Sally Brass and—I <i>must</i> go back. If anything -should happen, fling your arms round the nearest Porpoise -and trust to luck. These Book People can’t kill—they can only -stupefy.”</p> - -<p>“But how do you know them all?” Mavis asked. “Do they -often attack you?”</p> - -<p>“No, only when the sky falls. But they always howl outside the -gate at the full moon.”</p> - -<p>So saying she turned away and disappeared in the crowd of -faithful Porpoises.</p> - -<p>And outside the noise grew louder and the words more definite.</p> - -<p>“I am Mrs. Randolph. Let me in!”</p> - -<p>“I am good Mrs. Brown. Let me in!”</p> - -<p>“I am Eric, or Little by Little. I <i>will</i> come in!”</p> - -<p>“I am Elsie, or Like a Little Candle. Let me in—let me in!”</p> - -<p>“I am Mrs. Markham.”</p> - -<p>“I am Mrs. Squeers.”</p> - -<p>“I am Uriah Heep.”</p> - -<p>“I am Montdidier.”</p> - -<p>“I am King John.”</p> - -<p>“I am Caliban.”</p> - -<p>“I am the Giant Blunderbore.”</p> - -<p>“I am the Dragon of Wantley.”</p> - -<p>And they all cried, again and again: “Let us in! Let me in! Let -me in!”</p> - -<p>The strain of listening for the names and calling out “I don’t -know you!” when they didn’t, and saying nothing when they did, -became almost unbearable. It was like that horrid game with the -corners of the handkerchief, “Hold fast” and “Let loose,” and you -have to remember to do the opposite. Sooner or later an accident<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> -is bound to happen, and the children felt a growing conviction -that it would be sooner.</p> - -<p>“What will happen if they do get in?” Cathay asked a neighboring -Porpoise.</p> - -<p>“Can’t say, miss, I’m sure,” it answered.</p> - -<p>“But what will you do?”</p> - -<p>“Obstruct them in the execution of our duty,” it answered. -“You see, miss, they can’t kill; they can only stupefy, and they can’t -stupefy us, ’cause why? We’re that stupid already we can’t hold no -more. That’s why they trust us to defend the golden gate,” it added -proudly.</p> - -<p>The babel of voices outside grew louder and thicker, and the -task of knowing when to say “I don’t know you,” and so wound -the vanity of the invaders, grew more and more difficult. At last -the disaster, foreseen for some time, with a growing plainness, -came upon them.</p> - -<p>“I am the Great Seal,” said a thick, furry voice.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know you,” cried Cathay.</p> - -<p>“You do—he’s in history. James the Second dropped him in -the Thames,” said Francis. “Yes, you’ve done it again.”</p> - -<p>“Shut up,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>The last two remarks were made in a deep silence, broken only -by the heavy breathing of the Porpoises. The voices behind the -golden gate had died down and ceased. The Porpoises massed -their heavy bulk close to the door.</p> - -<p>“Remember the Porpoises,” said Francis. “Don’t forget to hold -on to a Porpoise.”</p> - -<p>Four of these amiable if unintellectual creatures drew away -from their companions, and one came to the side of each child.</p> - -<p>Every eye was fixed on the golden door, and then slowly—very -slowly, the door began to open. As it opened it revealed the crowd<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -that stood without—cruel faces, stupid faces, crafty faces, sullen -faces, angry faces, not a single face that you ever could wish to see -again.</p> - -<p>Then slowly, terribly, without words, the close ranks of the -Book People advanced. Mrs. Fairchild, Mrs. Markham, and Mrs. -Barbauld led the van. Closely following came the Dragon of -Wantley, the Minotaur, and the Little Man that Sintram knew. -Then came Mr. Murdstone, neat in a folded white neckcloth, and -clothes as black as his whiskers. Miss Murdstone was with him, -every bead of her alight with gratified malice. The children found -that they knew, without being told, the name of each foe now -advancing on them. Paralyzed with terror, they watched the slow -and terrible advance. It was not till Eric, or Little by Little, broke -the silence with a whoop of joy and rushed upon them that they -remembered their own danger, and clutched the waiting -Porpoises. Alas! it was too late. Mrs. Markham had turned a frozen -glare upon them, Mrs. Fairchild had wagged an admonitory forefinger, -wave on wave of sheer stupidity swept over them, and next -moment they lost consciousness and sank, each with his faithful -Porpoise, into the dreamless sleep of the entirely unintelligent. In -vain the main body of the Porpoises hurled themselves against the -intruders; their heroism was fruitless. Overwhelmed by the heavy -truisms wielded by the enemy, they turned and fled in disorder, -and the conquering army entered Merland.</p> - -<p>Francis was the first to recover consciousness. The Porpoise to -which he had clung was fanning him with its fin, and imploring -him, for its sake, to look up, to speak.</p> - -<p>“All right, old chap,” said Francis. “I must have fallen asleep. -Where are the others?”</p> - -<p>They were all there, and the devoted Porpoises quickly -restored them to consciousness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figleft" style="width: 282px;"> -<img src="images/i-132.jpg" width="282" height="552" alt="Group of people coming through Golden Door" /> -<div class="caption"><i>Book Hatefuls.</i></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p> - -<p>The four children stood up and looked at each other.</p> - -<p>“I wish Reuben was here,” said Cathay. “He’d know what to -do.”</p> - -<p>“He wouldn’t know any more than we do,” said Francis -haughtily.</p> - -<p>“We <i>must</i> do <i>something</i>,” said Mavis. “It’s our fault again.”</p> - -<p>“It’s mine,” said Cathay, “but I couldn’t help it.”</p> - -<p>“If you hadn’t, one of us would have,” said Bernard, seeking to -console. “I say, why do only the nasty people come out of the -books?”</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> know that,” said his Porpoise, turning his black face eagerly -toward them. “The stupidest people can’t help knowing something. -The Under Folk get in and open the books—at least, they -send the Bookworms in to open them. And, of course, they only -open the pages where the enemies are quartered.”</p> - -<p>“Then—” said Bernard, looking at the golden gate, which -swung open, its lock hanging broken and useless.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Mavis, “we could, couldn’t we? Open the other -books, we mean!” She appealed to her Porpoise.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” it said, “perhaps you could. Human children can open -books, I believe. Porpoises can’t. And Mer-people can’t open the -books in the Cave of Learning, though they can unlock them. If -they want to open them they have to get them from the Public -Mer Libraries. I can’t help knowing that,” it added. The Porpoises -seemed really ashamed of not being thoroughly stupid.</p> - -<p>“Come on,” said Francis, “we’ll raise an army to fight these -Book People. Here’s something we can do that <i>isn’t</i> mischief.”</p> - -<p>“You shut up,” said Bernard, and thumping Cathay on the -back told her to never mind.</p> - -<p>They went toward the golden gate.</p> - -<p>“I suppose all the nasty people are out of the books by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -now?” Mavis asked her Porpoise, who followed her with the close -fidelity of an affectionate little dog.</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> don’t know,” it said, with some pride. “I’m stupid, I am. But -I can’t help knowing that no one can come out of books unless -they’re called. You’ve just got to tap on the back of the book and -call the name and then you open it, and the person comes out. At -least, that’s what the Bookworms do, and I don’t see why you -should be different.”</p> - -<p>What <i>was</i> different, it soon appeared, was the water in the -stream in the Cave of Learning, which was quite plainly still water -in some other sense than that in which what they were in was -water. That is, they could not walk in it; they had to swim. The -cave seemed dark, but enough light came from the golden gate to -enable them to read the titles of the books when they had pulled -away the seaweed which covered many of them. They had to hold -on to the rocks—which were books—with one hand, and clear -away the seaweed with the other.</p> - -<p>You can guess the sort of books at which they knocked—Kingsley -and Shakespeare and Marryat and Dickens, Miss Alcott -and Mrs. Ewing, Hans Andersen and Stevenson, and Mayne -Reid—and when they had knocked they called the name of the -hero whose help they desired, and “Will you help us,” they asked, -“to conquer the horrid Book People, and drive them back to -cover?”</p> - -<p>And not a hero but said, “Yes, indeed we will, with all our -hearts.”</p> - -<p>And they climbed down out of the books, and swam up to the -golden gate and waited, talking with courage and dignity among -themselves, while the children went on knocking at the backs of -books—which are books’ front doors—and calling out more and -more heroes to help in the fight.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> - -<p>Quentin Durward and Laurie were the first to come out, then -Hereward and Amyas and Will Cary, David Copperfield, Rob -Roy, Ivanhoe, Caesar and Anthony, Coriolanus and Othello; but -you can make the list for yourselves. They came forth, all alive and -splendid, with valor and the longing to strike once more a blow -for the good cause, as they had been used to do in their old lives.</p> - -<p>“These are enough,” said Francis, at last. “We ought to leave -some, in case we want more help later.”</p> - -<p>You see for yourselves what a splendid company it was that -swam to the golden gate—there was no other way than swimming, -except for Perseus—and awaited the children. And when -the children joined them—rather nervous at the thought of the -speeches they would have to make to their newly recruited regiment—they -found that there was no need of speeches. The faithful -Porpoises had not been too stupid to explain the simple facts -of danger and rescue.</p> - -<p>It was a proud moment for the children when they marched -toward the Palace at the head of the band of heroes whom they -had pressed into the service of the Merland. Between the clipped -seaweed hedges they went, and along the paths paved with pearl -and marble, and so, at last, drew near the Palace. They gave the -watchword “Glory.”</p> - -<p>“Or Death,” said the sentry. And they passed on to the Queen.</p> - -<p>“We’ve brought a reinforcement,” said Francis, who had -learned the word from Quentin Durward as they came along. And -the Queen gave one look at her reinforcement’s faces and said simply:</p> - -<p>“We are saved.”</p> - -<p>The horrible Book People had not attacked the Palace; they -had gone furtively through the country killing stray fish and -destroying any beautiful thing they happened to find. For these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -people hate beauty and happiness. They were now holding a meeting -in the Palace gardens, near the fountain where the Princesses -had been wont to do their source-service, and they were making -speeches like mad. You could hear the dull, flat murmur of them -even from the Palace. They were the sort of people who love the -sound of their own silly voices.</p> - -<p>The newcomers were ranged in orderly ranks before the -Queen, awaiting her orders. It looked like a pageant or a fancy-dress -parade. There was St. George in his armor, and Joan of Arc -in hers—heroes in plumed hats and laced shirts, heroes in ruffs -and doublets—brave gentlemen of England, gallant gentlemen of -France. For all the differences in their dress, there was nothing -motley about the band which stood before the Queen. Varied as -they were in dress and feature, they had one quality in common, -which marked them as one company. The same light of bravery -shone on them all, and became them like a fine uniform.</p> - -<p>“Will you,” the Queen asked of their leader—a pale, thin-faced -man in the dress of a Roman—“will you do just as you think -best? I would not presume,” she added, with a kind of proud -humility, “to teach the game of war to Caesar.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Queen,” he answered, “these brave men and I will drive -back the intruders, but, having driven them back, we must ourselves -return through those dark doors which we passed when your -young defenders called our names. We will drive back the <i>men</i>—and -by the look of them ’twill be an easy task. But Caesar wars not -with women, and the women on our side are few, though each, I -doubt not, has the heart of a lioness.”</p> - -<p>He turned toward Joan of Arc with a smile and she gave him -back a smile as bright as the sword she carried.</p> - -<p>“How many women are there among you?” the Queen asked, -and Joan answered:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Queen Boadicea and Torfrida and I are but three.”</p> - -<p>“But we three,” cried Torfrida, “are a match for three hundred -of such women as those. Give us but whips instead of swords, and -we will drive them like dogs to their red and blue cloth-bound -kennels.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid,” said the Queen, “they’d overcome you by sheer -weight. You’ve no idea how heavy they are.” And then Kathleen -covered herself with glory by saying, “Well, but what about -Amazons?”</p> - -<p>“The very thing,” said Caesar kindly. “Would you mind running -back? You’ll find them in the third book from the corner -where the large purple starfish is; you can’t mistake it.”</p> - -<p>The children tore off to the golden gate, rushed through it, -and swam to the spot where, unmistakably, the purplish starfish -spread its violet rays. They knocked on the book, and Cathay, by -previous arrangement, called out—</p> - -<p>“Come out, please, Queen of the Amazons, and bring all your -fighting ladies.”</p> - -<p>Then out came a very splendid lady in glorious golden armor. -“You’d better get some boats for us,” she said, standing straight -and splendid on a ledge of rock, “enough to reach from here to the -gate, or a bridge. There are all these things in Caesar’s books. I’m -sure he wouldn’t mind your calling them out. We must not swim, -I know, because of getting our bowstrings wet.”</p> - -<p>So Francis called out a bridge, and when it was not long -enough to reach the golden gate he called another. And then the -Queen called her ladies, and out came a procession, which seemed -as though it would never end, of tall and beautiful women armed -and equipped for war. They carried bows, and the children -noticed that one side of their chests was flatter than the other. And -the procession went on and on, passing along the bridge and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -through the golden gate, till Cathay grew quite dizzy; and at last -Mavis said, “Oh, your Majesty, do stop them. I’m sure there are -heaps, and we shall be too late if we wait for any more.”</p> - -<p>So the Queen stopped the procession and they went back to -the Palace, where the Queen of the Amazons greeted Joan of Arc -and the other ladies as though they were old acquaintances.</p> - -<p>In a few moments their plans were laid. I wish I could describe -to you the great fight between the Nice Book People and the others. -But I have not time, and besides, the children did not see all -of it, so I don’t see why <i>you</i> should. It was fought out in the Palace -gardens. The armies were fairly evenly matched as to numbers, -because the Bookworms had let out a great many Barbarians, and -these, though not so unpleasant as Mr. Murdstone and Mrs. -Fairchild, were quite bad enough. The children were not allowed -to join in the battle, which they would dearly have liked to do. -Only from a safe distance they heard the sound of steel on steel, -the whir of arrows, and the war cries of the combatants. And -presently a stream of fugitives darkened the pearly pathways, and -one could see the heroes with drawn swords following in pursuit.</p> - -<p>And then, among those who were left, the shouts of war -turned suddenly to shouts of laughter, and the Merlish Queen -herself moved toward the battlefield. And as she drew near she, -too, laughed. For, it would seem, the Amazons had only shot their -arrows at the men among their foes—they had disdained to shoot -the women, and so good was their aim that not a single woman -was wounded. Only, when the Book Hatefuls had been driven -back by the Book Heroes, the Book Heroines advanced and, -without more ado, fell on the remaining foes. They did not fight -them with swords or spears or arrows or the short, sharp knives -they wore—they simply picked up the screaming Bookwomen -and carried them back to the books where they belonged. Each<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -Amazon caught up one of the foe and, disregarding her screaming -and scratching, carried her back to the book where she belonged, -pushed her in, and shut the door.</p> - -<p>Boadicea carried Mrs. Markham and her brown silk under one -bare, braceleted arm as though she had been a naughty child. Joan -of Arc made herself responsible for Aunt Fortune, and the Queen -of the Amazons made nothing of picking up Miss Murdstone, -beads and all, and carrying her in her arms like a baby. Torfrida’s -was the hardest task. She had, from the beginning, singled out -Alftruda, her old and bitter enemy, and the fight between them -was a fierce one, though it was but a battle of looks. Yet before -long the fire in Torfrida’s great dark eyes seemed to scorch her -adversary, she shrank before it, and shrank and shrank till at last -she turned and crept back to her book and went in of her own -accord, and Torfrida shut the door.</p> - -<p>“But,” said Mavis, who had followed her, “don’t you live in the -same book?”</p> - -<p>Torfrida smiled.</p> - -<p>“Not quite,” she said. “That would be impossible. I live in a -different edition, where only the Nice People are alive. In hers it is -the nasty ones.”</p> - -<p>“And where is Hereward?” Cathay asked, before Mavis could -stop her. “I do love him, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Torfrida, “I love him. But he is not alive in the -book where I live. But he will be—he will be.”</p> - -<p>And smiling and sighing, she opened her book and went into -it, and the children went slowly back to the Palace. The fight was -over, the Book People had gone back into their books, and it was -almost as though they had never left them—not quite, for the -children had seen the faces of the heroes, and the books where -these lived could never again now be the same to them. All books,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a><br /><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -indeed, would now have an interest far above any they had ever -held before—for any of these people might be found in any book. -You never know.</p> - -<div class="figright" style="width: 412px;"> -<img src="images/i-140.jpg" width="412" height="536" alt="Book Heroines carrying the Book Hatefuls off" /> -<div class="caption"><i>Book Heroines.</i></div> -</div> - -<p>The Princess Freia met them in the Palace courtyard, and -clasped their hands and called them the preservers of the country, -which was extremely pleasant. She also told them that a slight -skirmish had been fought on the Mussel-beds south of the city, -and the foe had retreated.</p> - -<p>“But Reuben tells me,” she added—“that boy is really worth -his weight in pearls—that the main body are to attack at midnight. -We must sleep now, to be ready for the call of duty when it -comes. Sure you understand your duties? And the power of your -buttons and your antidotes? I might not have time to remind you -later. You can sleep in the armory—you must be awfully tired. -You’ll be asleep before you can say Jack Sprat.”</p> - -<p>So they lay down on the seaweed, heaped along one end of the -Oysters’ armory, and were instantly asleep.</p> - -<p>It may have been their natures, or it may have been the influence -of the magic coats. But whatever the cause, it is certain that -they lay down without fear, slept without dreams, and awoke -without alarm when an Oyster corporal touched their arms and -whispered, “Now!”</p> - -<p>They were wide awake on the instant and started up, picking -their oyster shields from the ground beside them.</p> - -<p>“I feel just like a Roman soldier,” Cathay said. “Don’t you?”</p> - -<p>And the others owned that so far as they knew the feelings of -a Roman soldier, those feelings were their own.</p> - -<p>The shadows of the guardroom were changed and shifted and -flung here and there by the torches carried by the busy Oysters. -Phosphorescent fish these torches were, and gave out a moony -light like that of the pillars in the Cave of Learning. Outside the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -Lobster-guarded arch the water showed darkly clear. Large phosphorescent -fish were twined round pillars of stone, rather like the -fish you see on the lampposts on the Thames Embankment, only -in this case the fish were the lamps. So strong was the illumination -that you could see as clearly as you can on a moonlit night on the -downs, where there are no trees to steal the light from the landscape -and bury it in their thick branches.</p> - -<p>All was hurry and bustle. The Salmoners had sent a detachment -to harass the flank of the enemy, and the Sea Urchins, under -the command of Reuben, were ready in their seaweed disguises.</p> - -<p>There was a waiting time, and the children used it to practice -with their shells, using the thick stems of seaweed—thick as a -man’s arm—to represent the ankles of the invading force, and they -were soon fairly expert at the trick which was their duty. Francis -had just nipped an extra fat stalk and released it again by touching -the secret spring when the word went around, “Every man to -his post!”</p> - -<p>The children proudly took up their post next to the Princess, -and hardly had they done so when a faint yet growing sound -knocked gently at their ears. It grew and grew and grew till it -seemed to shake the ground on which they stood, and the Princess -murmured, “It is the tramp of the army of the Under Folk. Now, -be ready. We shall lurk among these rocks. Hold your good oyster -shell in readiness, and when you see a foot near you clip it, and at -the same time set down the base of the shell on the rock. The -trusty shell will do the rest.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we know, thank you, dear Princess,” said Mavis. “Didn’t -you see us practicing?”</p> - -<p>But the Princess was not listening; she had enough to do to -find cover for her troops among the limpet-studded rocks.</p> - -<p>And now the tramp, tramp, tramp of the great army sounded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -nearer and more near, and through the dimly lighted water the -children could see the great Deep Sea People advancing.</p> - -<p>Very terrible they were, big beyond man-size, more stalwart -and more finely knit than the Forlorn Hopers who had led the -attack so happily and gloriously frustrated by the Crabs, the -Narwhals and the Sea Urchins. As the advance guard drew near all -the children stared, from their places of concealment, at the faces -of these terrible foes of the happy Merland. Very strong the faces -were, and, surprisingly, very, very sad. They looked—Francis at -least was able to see it—like strong folk suffering proudly an -almost intolerable injury—bearing, bravely, an almost intolerable -pain.</p> - -<p>“But I’m on the other side,” he told himself, to check a sudden -rising in his heart of—well, if it was not sympathy, what was -it?</p> - -<p>And now the head of the advancing column was level with the -Princess. True to the old tradition which bids a commander lead -and not to follow his troops, she was the first to dart out and fix a -shell to the heel of the left-rank man. The children were next. -Their practice bore its fruit. There was no blunder, no mistake. -Each oyster shell clipped sharp and clean the attached ankle of an -enemy; each oyster shell at the same moment attached itself firmly -to the rock, thus clinging to his base in the most thorough and -military way. A spring of joy and triumph welled up in the children’s -hearts. How easy it was to get the better of these foolish -Deep Sea Folk. A faint, kindly contempt floated into the children’s -minds for the Mer-people, who so dreaded and hated these stupid -giants. Why, there were fifty or sixty of them tied by the leg -already! It was as easy as—</p> - -<p>The pleasant nature of these reflections had kept our four -rooted to the spot. In the triumphant performance of one duty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> -they failed to remember the duty that should have followed. They -stood there rejoicing in their victory, when by all the rules of the -Service they should have rushed back to the armory for fresh -weapons.</p> - -<p>The omission was fatal. Even as they stood there rejoicing in -their cleverness and boldness and in the helpless anger of the -enemy, something thin and string-like spread itself around -them—their feet caught in string, their fingers caught in string, -string tweaked their ears and flattened their noses—string confined -their elbows and confused their legs. The Lobster-guarded -doorway seemed farther off—and farther, and farther.... They -turned their heads; they were following backward, and against -their will, a retreating enemy.</p> - -<p>“Oh, why didn’t we do what she said?” breathed Cathay. -“Something’s happened!”</p> - -<p>“I should think it had,” said Bernard. “We’re caught—in a -net.”</p> - -<p>They were. And a tall Infantryman of the Under Folk was -towing them away from Merland as swiftly and as easily as a running -child tows a captive air balloon.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_TEN" id="CHAPTER_TEN">CHAPTER TEN</a><br /> - -<small><i>The Under Folk</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THOSE of us who have had the misfortune to be caught in a -net in the execution of our military duty, and to be dragged away -by the enemy with all the helpless buoyancy of captive balloons, -will be able to appreciate the sensations of the four children to -whom this gloomy catastrophe had occurred.</p> - -<p>The net was very strong—made of twisted fibrous filaments of -seaweed. All efforts to break it were vain, and they had, unfortunately, -nothing to cut it with. They had not even their oyster -shells, the rough edges of which might have done something to -help, or at least would have been useful weapons, and the discomfort -of their position was extreme. They were, as Cathay put -it, “all mixed up with each other’s arms and legs,” and it was very -difficult and painful to sort themselves out without hurting each -other.</p> - -<p>“Let’s do it, one at a time,” said Mavis, after some minutes of -severe and unsuccessful struggle. “France first. Get right away, -France, and see if you can’t sit down on a piece of the net that isn’t -covered with <i>us</i>, and then Cathay can try.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p> - -<p>It was excellent advice and when all four had followed it, it was -found possible to sit side by side on what may be called the floor -of the net, only the squeezing of the net walls tended to jerk one -up from one’s place if one wasn’t very careful.</p> - -<p>By the time the rearrangement was complete, and they were -free to look about them, the whole aspect of the world had -changed. The world, for one thing, was much darker, in itself that -is, though the part of it where the children were was much lighter -than had been the sea where they were first netted. It was a curious -scene—rather like looking down on London at night from the -top of St. Paul’s. Some bright things, like trams or omnibuses, -were rushing along, and smaller lights, which looked mighty like -cabs and carriages, dotted the expanse of blackness till, where they -were thick set, the darkness disappeared in a blaze of silvery light.</p> - -<p>Other light-bearers had rows of round lights like the portholes -of great liners. One came sweeping toward them, and a wild idea -came to Cathay that perhaps when ships sink they go on living -and moving underwater just as she and the others had done. -Perhaps they do. Anyhow, this was not one of them, for, as it came -close, it was plainly to be perceived as a vast fish with phosphorescent -lights in rows along its gigantic sides. It opened its jaws as -it passed, and for an instant everyone shut their eyes and felt that -all was over. When the eyes were opened again, the mighty fish -was far away. Cathay, however, was discovered to be in tears.</p> - -<p>“I wish we hadn’t come,” she said; and the others could not but -feel that there was something in what she said. They comforted -her and themselves as best they could by expressing a curious half-certainty -which they had that everything would be all right in the -end. As I said before, there are some things so horrible that if you -can bring yourself to face them you see at once that they can’t be -true. The barest idea of poetic justice—which we all believe in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a><br /><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -at the bottom of our hearts—made it impossible to think that the -children who had nobly (they couldn’t help feeling it <i>was</i> noble) -defended their friends, the Mer Folk, should have anything really -dreadful happen to them in consequence. And when Bernard -talked about the fortunes of war he did it in an unconvinced sort -of way and Francis told him to shut up.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 561px;"> -<img src="images/i-147.jpg" width="561" height="289" alt="Children in net pulled by infantryman" /> -<div class="caption"><i>In the net.</i></div> -</div> - -<p>“But what are we to do,” sniffed Cathay for the twentieth -time, and all the while the Infantryman was going steadily on, -dragging the wretched netful after him.</p> - -<p>“Press our pearl buttons,” suggested Francis hopefully. “Then -we shall be invisible and unfeelable and we can escape.” He fumbled -with the round marble-like pearl.</p> - -<p>“No, no,” said Bernard, catching at his hand, “don’t you see? -If we do, we may never get out of the net. If they can’t see us or -feel us they’ll think the net’s empty, and perhaps hang it up on a -hook or put it away in a box.”</p> - -<p>“And forget it while years roll by. <i>I</i> see,” said Cathay.</p> - -<p>“But we can undo them the minute we’re there. Can’t we?” -said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course,” said Bernard; but as a matter of fact they -couldn’t.</p> - -<p>At last the Infantryman, after threading his way through -streets of enormous rocky palaces, passed through a colossal arch, -and so into a hall as big as St. Paul’s and Westminster Abbey into -one.</p> - -<p>A crowd of Under Folk, who were seated on stone benches -around rude tables, eating strange luminous food, rose up, and -cried, “What news?”</p> - -<p>“Four prisoners,” said the Infantryman.</p> - -<p>“Upper Folk,” the Colonel said; “and my orders are to deliver -them to the Queen herself.”</p> - -<p>He passed to the end of the hall and up a long wide flight of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -steps made of something so green and clear that it was plainly -either glass or emerald, and I don’t think it could have been glass, -because how could they have made glass in the sea? There were -lights below it which shone through the green transparency so -clear and lovely that Francis said dreamily—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> - <div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse"><span style="margin-left: 4em;">“‘<i>Sabrina fair,</i></span></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Listen where thou art sitting,</i></div> -<div class="verse"><i>Under the glassie, cool, translucent wave,</i>’”</div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="unindent">and quite suddenly there was much less room in the net, and they -were being embraced all at once and with tears of relief and joy by -the Princess Freia—their own Mer Princess.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I <i>didn’t</i> mean to—Princess dear, I <i>didn’t</i>,” said Francis. -“It was the emerald steps made me think of translucent.”</p> - -<p>“So they are,” she said, “but oh, if you knew what I’ve felt—you, -our guests, our knights-errant, our noble defenders—to be -prisoners and all of us safe. I did so hope you’d call me. And I’m -so proud that you didn’t—that you were brave enough not to call -for me until you did it by accident.”</p> - -<p>“We never thought of doing it,” said Mavis candidly, “but I -hope we shouldn’t have, if we <i>had</i> thought of it.”</p> - -<p>“Why haven’t you pressed your pearl buttons?” she asked, and -they told her why.</p> - -<p>“Wise children,” she said, “but at any rate we must all use the -charm that prevents our losing our memories.”</p> - -<p>“I shan’t use mine,” said Cathay. “I don’t want to remember. If -I didn’t remember I should forget to be frightened. Do please let -me forget to remember.” She clung pleadingly to the Princess, -who whispered to Mavis, “Perhaps it would be best,” and they let -Cathay have her way.</p> - -<p>The others had only just time to swallow their charms before<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -the Infantryman threw the net onto a great table, which seemed -to be cut out of one vast diamond, and fell on his face on the -ground. It was his way of saluting his sovereign.</p> - -<p>“Prisoners, your Majesty,” he said when he had got up again. -“Four of the young of the Upper Folk—” and he turned to the net -as he spoke, and stopped short—“there’s someone else,” he said in -an altered voice, “someone as wasn’t there when we started, I’ll -swear.”</p> - -<p>“Open the net,” said a strong, sweet voice, “and bid the prisoners -stand up that I may look upon them.”</p> - -<p>“They might escape, my love,” said another voice anxiously, -“or perhaps they bite.”</p> - -<p>“Submersia,” said the first voice, “do you and four of my -women stand ready. Take the prisoners one by one. Seize each a -prisoner and hold them, awaiting my royal pleasure.”</p> - -<p>The net was opened and large and strong hands took Bernard, -who was nearest the mouth of the net back, and held him gently -but with extreme firmness in an upright position on the table. -None of them could stand because of their tails.</p> - -<p>They saw before them, on a throne, a tall and splendid Queen, -very beautiful and very sad, and by her side a King (they knew the -royalty by their crowns), not so handsome as his wife, but still very -different from the uncouth, heavy Under Folk. And he looked sad -too. They were clad in robes of richest woven seaweed, sewn with -jewels, and their crowns were like dreams of magnificence. Their -throne was of one clear blood-bright ruby, and its canopy of green -drooping seaweed was gemmed with topazes and amethysts. The -Queen rose and came down the steps of the throne and whispered -to her whom she had called Submersia, and she in turn whispered -to the four other large ladies who held, each, a captive.</p> - -<p>And with a dreadful unanimity the five acted; with one dexterous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span> -movement they took off the magic jackets, and with another -they removed the useful tails. The Princess and the four children -stood upon the table on their own ten feet.</p> - -<p>“What funny little things,” said the King, not unkindly.</p> - -<p>“Hush,” said the Queen, “perhaps they can understand what -you say—and at any rate that Mer-girl can.”</p> - -<p>The children were furious to hear their Princess so disrespectfully -spoken of. But she herself remained beautifully calm.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said the Queen, “before we destroy your memories, -will you answer questions?”</p> - -<p>“Some questions, yes—others, no,” said the Princess.</p> - -<p>“Are these human children?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“How do they come under the sea?”</p> - -<p>“Mer-magic. You wouldn’t understand,” said the Princess -haughtily.</p> - -<p>“Were they fighting against us?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” cried Bernard and Mavis before the Princess answered.</p> - -<p>“And lucky to do it,” Francis added.</p> - -<p>“If you will tell us the fighting strength of the Merlanders, -your tails and coats shall be restored to you and you shall go free. -Will you tell?”</p> - -<p>“Is it likely?” the Princess answered. “I am a Mer-woman, and -a Princess of the Royal House. Such do not betray their country.”</p> - -<p>“No, I suppose not,” said the Queen. And she paused a -moment before she said, “Administer the cup of forgetfulness.”</p> - -<p>The cup of forgetfulness was exceedingly pleasant. It tasted of -toffee and coconuts, and pineapple ices, and plum cake, and roast -chicken, with a faint underflavor of lavender, rose leaves and the -very best <i>eau de cologne</i>.</p> - -<p>The children had tasted cider-cup and champagne-cup at parties,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> -and had disliked both, but oblivion-cup was delicious. It was -served in a goblet of opal color, in dreamy pink and pearl—and -green and blue and gray—and the sides of the goblet were -engraved with pictures of beautiful people asleep. The goblet -passed from hand to hand, and when each had drunk enough the -Lord High Cupbearer, a very handsome, reserved-looking fish, -laid a restraining touch on the goblet and, taking it between his -fins, handed it to the next drinker. So, one by one, each took the -draught. Kathleen was the last.</p> - -<p>The draught had no effect on four out of the five—but -Kathleen changed before their eyes, and though they had known -that the draught of oblivion would make her forget, it was terrible -to see it do its fell work.</p> - -<p>Mavis had her arm protectingly around Kathleen, and the -moment the draught had been swallowed Kathleen threw off that -loving arm and drew herself away. It hurt like a knife. Then she -looked at her brothers and sisters, and it is a very terrible thing -when the eyes you love look at you as though you were a stranger.</p> - -<p>Now, it had been agreed, while still the captives were in the -net, that all of them should pretend that the cup of oblivion had -taken effect, that they should just keep still and say nothing and -look as stupid as they could. But this coldness of her dear Cathay’s -was more than Mavis could bear, and no one had counted on it. -So when Cathay looked at Mavis as at a stranger whom she rather -disliked, and drew away from her arm, Mavis could not bear it, -and cried out in heart-piercing tones, “Oh, Cathay, darling, what -is it? What’s the matter?” before the Princess or the boys could -stop her. And to make matters worse, both boys said in a very -loud, plain whisper, “Shut up, Mavis,” and only the Princess kept -enough presence of mind to go on saying nothing.</p> - -<p>Cathay turned and looked at her sister.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p> - -<p>“Cathay, darling,” Mavis said again, and stopped, for no one -could go on saying “darling” to anyone who looked at you as -Cathay was looking.</p> - -<p>She turned her eyes away as Cathay looked toward the -Queen—looked, and went, to lean against the royal knee as -though it had been her mother’s.</p> - -<p>“Dear little thing,” said the Queen; “see, it’s quite tame. I shall -keep it for a pet. Nice little pet then!”</p> - -<p>“You shan’t keep her,” cried Mavis, but again the Princess -hushed her, and the Queen treated her cry with contemptuous -indifference. Cathay snuggled against her new mistress.</p> - -<p>“As for the rest of you,” said the Queen, “it is evident from -your manner that the draught of oblivion has not yet taken effect -on you. So it is impossible for me to make presents of you to those -prominent members of the nobility, who are wanting pets, as I -should otherwise have done. We will try another draught tomorrow. -In the meantime ... the fetters, Jailer.”</p> - -<p>A tall sour-looking Under-man stepped forward. Hanging -over his arm were scaly tails, which at first sight of the children’s -hearts leaped, for they hoped they were their own. But no sooner -were the tails fitted on than they knew the bitter truth.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the Queen “they are false tails. You will not be able -to take them off, and you can neither swim nor walk with them. -You can, however, move along quite comfortably on the floor of -the ocean. What’s the matter?” she asked the Jailer.</p> - -<p>“None of the tails will fit this prisoner, your Majesty,” said the -Jailer.</p> - -<p>“I am a Princess of the reigning Mer House,” said Freia, “and -your false, degrading tails cannot cling to me.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, put them all in the lockup,” said the King, “as sullen a -lot of prisoners as ever I saw—what?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span></p> - -<p>The lockup was a great building, broader at the top than at the -bottom, which seemed to be balanced on the sea floor, but really -it was propped up at both ends with great chunks of rock. The -prisoners were taken there in the net, and being dragged along in -nets is so confusing, that it was not till the Jailer had left them that -they discovered that the prison was really a ship—an enormous -ship—which lay there, perfect in every detail as on the day when -it first left dock. The water did not seem to have spoiled it at all. -They were imprisoned in the saloon, and, worn out with the varied -emotions of the day, they lay down on the comfortable red velvet -cushions and went to sleep. Even Mavis felt that Kathleen had -found a friend in the Queen, and was in no danger.</p> - -<p>The Princess was the last to close her eyes. She looked long at -the sleeping children.</p> - -<p>“Oh, <i>why</i> don’t they think of it?” she said, “and why mustn’t I -tell them?”</p> - -<p>There was no answer to either question, and presently she too -slept.</p> - -<p>I must own that I share the Princess’s wonder that the children -did not spend the night in saying “Sabrina fair” over and over -again. Because of course each invocation would have been -answered by an inhabitant of Merland, and thus a small army -could easily have been collected, the Jailer overpowered and a rush -made for freedom.</p> - -<p>I wish I had time to tell you all that happened to Kathleen, -because the daily life of a pampered lap-child to a reigning Queen -is one that you would find most interesting to read about. As -interesting as your Rover or Binkie would find it to read—if he -could read—about the life of one of Queen Alexandra’s Japanese -Spaniels. But time is getting on, and I must make a long story short. -And anyhow you can never tell all about everything, can you?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span></p> - -<p>The next day the Jailers brought food to the prison, as well as -a second draught of oblivion, which, of course, had no effect, and -they spent the day wondering how they could escape. In the -evening the Jailer’s son brought more food and more oblivion-cup, -and he lingered while they ate. He did not look at all unkind, and -Francis ventured to speak to him.</p> - -<p>“I say,” he said.</p> - -<p>“What do you say?” the Under-lad asked.</p> - -<p>“Are you forbidden to talk to us?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Then do tell us what they will do with us.”</p> - -<p>“I do not know. But we shall have to know before long. The -prisons are filling up quickly—they will soon be quite full. Then -we shall have to let some of you out on what is called ticket-of-leave—that -means with your artificial tails on, which prevent you -getting away, even if the oblivion-cup doesn’t take effect.”</p> - -<p>“I say,” it was Bernard’s turn to ask.</p> - -<p>“What do you say?”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t the King and Queen go and fight, like the Mer -Royal Family do?”</p> - -<p>“Against the law,” said the Under-lad. “We took a King prisoner -once, and our people were afraid our King and Queen might -be taken, so they made that rule.”</p> - -<p>“What did you do with him—the prisoner King?” the Princess -asked.</p> - -<p>“Put him in an Iswater,” said the lad, “a piece of water entirely -surrounded by land.”</p> - -<p>“I should like to see him,” said the Princess.</p> - -<p>“Nothing easier,” said the Under-lad, “as soon as you get your -tickets-of-leaves. It’s a good long passage to the lake—nearly all -water, of course, but lots of our young people go there three times<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> -a week. Of course, he can’t be a King anymore now—but they -made him Professor of Conchology.”</p> - -<p>“And has he forgotten he was a <i>King?</i>” asked the Princess.</p> - -<p>“Of course: but he was so learned the oblivion-cup wasn’t deep -enough to make him forget everything: that’s why he’s a -Professor.”</p> - -<p>“What was he King of?” the Princess asked anxiously.</p> - -<p>“He was King of the Barbarians,” said the Jailer’s son—and the -Princess sighed.</p> - -<p>“I thought it might have been my father,” she said, “he was -lost at sea, you know.”</p> - -<p>The Under-lad nodded sympathetically and went away.</p> - -<p>“He doesn’t seem such a bad sort,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“No,” said the Princess, “I can’t understand it. I thought all the -Under Folk were terrible fierce creatures, cruel and implacable.”</p> - -<p>“And they don’t seem so very different from us—except to -look at,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“I wonder,” said Mavis, “what the war began about?”</p> - -<p>“Oh—we’ve always been enemies,” said the Princess, carelessly.</p> - -<p>“Yes—but how did you begin being enemies?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that,” said the Princess, “is lost in the mists of antiquity, -before the dawn of history and all that.”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>But when Ulfin came with the next meal—did I tell you that -the Jailer’s son’s name was Ulfin?—Mavis asked him the same -question.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know—little land-lady,” said Ulfin, “but I will find -out—my uncle is the Keeper of the National Archives, graven on -tables of stone, so many that no one can count them, but there are -smaller tables telling what is on the big ones—” he hesitated. “If I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -could get leave to show you the Hall of the Archives, would you -promise not to try to escape?”</p> - -<p>They had now been shut up for two days and would have -promised anything in reason.</p> - -<p>“You see, the prisons are quite full now,” he said, “and I don’t -see why you shouldn’t be the first to get your leaves-tickets. I’ll ask -my father.”</p> - -<p>“I say!” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“What do you say?” said Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“Do you know anything about my sister?”</p> - -<p>“The Queen’s new lap-child? Oh—she’s a great pet—her -gold collar with her name on it came home today. My cousin’s -brother-in-law made it.”</p> - -<p>“The name—Kathleen?” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“The name on the collar is Fido,” said Ulfin.</p> - -<p>The next day Ulfin brought their tickets-of-leaves, made of -the leaves of the tree of Liberty which grows at the bottom of the -well where Truth lies.</p> - -<p>“Don’t lose them,” he said, “and come with me.” They found -it quite possible to move along slowly on hands and tails, though -they looked rather like seals as they did so.</p> - -<p>He led them through the strange streets of massive passages, -pointing out the buildings, giving them their names as you might -do if you were showing the marvels of your own city to a stranger.</p> - -<p>“That’s the Astrologers’ Tower,” he said, pointing to a huge -building high above the others. “The wise men sit there and -observe the stars.”</p> - -<p>“But you can’t see the stars down here.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, we can. The tower is fitted up with tubes and mirrors -and water transparence apparatus. The wisest men in the -country are there—all but the Professor of Conchology. He’s the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -wisest of all. He invented the nets that caught you—or rather, -making nets was one of the things that he had learned and -couldn’t forget.”</p> - -<p>“But who thought of using them for catching prisoners?”</p> - -<p>“I did,” said Ulfin proudly, “I’m to have a glass medal for it.”</p> - -<p>“Do you have glass down here?”</p> - -<p>“A little comes down, you know. It is very precious. We -engrave it. That is the Library—millions of tables of stone—the -Hall of Public Joy is next to it—that garden is the mothers’ garden -where they go to rest while their children are at school—that’s -one of our schools. And here’s the Hall of Public Archives.”</p> - -<p>The Keeper of the Records received them with grave courtesy. -The daily services of Ulfin had accustomed the children to the -appearance of the Under Folk, and they no longer found their -strange, mournful faces terrifying, and the great hall where, on -shelves cut out of the sheer rock, were stored the graven tables of -Underworld Records, was very wonderful and impressive.</p> - -<p>“What is it you want to know?” said the Keeper, rolling away -some of the stones he had been showing them. “Ulfin said there -was something special.”</p> - -<p>“Why the war began?” said Francis.</p> - -<p>“Why the King and Queen are different?” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“The war,” said the Keeper of the Records, “began exactly -three million five hundred and seventy-nine thousand three hundred -and eight years ago. An Under-man, getting off his Sea Horse -in a hurry trod on the tail of a sleeping Merman. He did not apologize -because he was under a vow not to speak for a year and a day. -If the Mer-people had only waited he would have explained, but -they went to war at once, and, of course, after that you couldn’t -expect him to apologize. And the war has gone on, off and on and -on and off, ever since.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 423px;"> -<img src="images/i-159.jpg" width="423" height="542" alt="Mer-children following children with legs" /> -<div class="caption"><i>The Hall of Public Archives.</i></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span></p> - -<p>“And won’t it ever stop?” asked Bernard.</p> - -<p>“Not till we apologize, which, of course, we can’t until <i>they</i> -find out why the war began and that it wasn’t our fault.”</p> - -<p>“How awful!” said Mavis; “then it’s all really about nothing.”</p> - -<p>“Quite so,” said the Keeper, “what are your wars about? The -other question I shouldn’t answer only I know you’ll forget it -when the oblivion-cup begins to work. Ulfin tells me it hasn’t -begun yet. Our King and Queen are <i>imported</i>. We used to be a -Republic, but Presidents were so uppish and so grasping, and all -their friends and relations too; so we decided to be a Monarchy, -and that all jealousies might be taken away we imported the two -handsomest Land Folk we could find. They’ve been a great success, -and as they have no relations we find it much less expensive.”</p> - -<p>When the Keeper had thus kindly gratified the curiosity of the -prisoners the Princess said suddenly:</p> - -<p>“Couldn’t we learn Conchology?”</p> - -<p>And the Keeper said kindly, “Why not? It’s the Professor’s day -tomorrow.”</p> - -<p>“Couldn’t we go there today?” asked the Princess, “just to -arrange about times and terms and all that?”</p> - -<p>“If my Uncle says I may take you there,” said Ulfin, “I will, for -I have never known any pleasure so great as doing anything that -you wish will give me.”</p> - -<p>The Uncle looked a little anxious, but he said he thought there -could be no harm in calling on the Professor. So they went. The -way was long for people who were not seals by nature and were -not yet compelled to walk after the manner of those charming and -intelligent animals. The Mer Princess alone was at her ease. But -when they passed a building, as long as from here to the end of the -Mile End Road, which Ulfin told them was the Cavalry Barracks, -a young Under-man leaned out of a window and said:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p> - -<p>“What ho! Ulf.”</p> - -<p>“What ho! yourself,” said Ulfin, and approaching the window -spoke in whispers. Two minutes later the young Cavalry Officer -who had leaned out of the window gave an order, and almost at -once some magnificent Sea Horses, richly caparisoned, came out -from under an arched gateway. The three children were mounted -on these, and the crowd which had collected in the street seemed -to find it most amusing to see people in fetter-tails riding on the -chargers of the Horse Marines. But their laughter was not ill-natured. -And the horses were indeed a boon to the weary tails of -the amateur seals.</p> - -<p>Riding along the bottom of the sea was a wonderful experience—but -soon the open country was left behind and they began -to go up ways cut in the heart of the rock—ways long and steep, -and lighted, as all that great Underworld was, with phosphorescent -light.</p> - -<p>When they had been traveling for some hours and the children -were beginning to think that you could perhaps have too -much even of such an excellent thing as Sea Horse exercise, the -phosphorescent lights suddenly stopped, and yet the sea was not -dark. There seemed to be a light ahead, and it got stronger and -stronger as they advanced, and presently it streamed down on -them from shallow water above their heads.</p> - -<p>“We leave the Sea Horses here,” said Ulfin, “they cannot live -in the air. Come.”</p> - -<p>They dismounted and swam up. At least Ulfin and the Princess -swam and the others held hands and were pulled by the two swimmers. -Almost at once their heads struck the surface of the water, -and there they were, on the verge of a rocky shore. They landed, -and walked—if you can call what seals do walking—across a ridge -of land, then plunged into a landlocked lake that lay beyond.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 417px;"> -<img src="images/i-162.jpg" width="417" height="508" alt="People riding seahorses" /> -<div class="caption"><i>The chargers of the Horse Marines.</i></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span></p> - -<p>“This is the Iswater,” said Ulfin as they touched bottom, “and -yonder is the King.” And indeed a stately figure in long robes was -coming toward them.</p> - -<p>“But this,” said the Princess, trembling, “is just like our garden -at home, only smaller.”</p> - -<p>“It was made as it is,” said Ulfin, “by wish of the captive King. -Majesty is Majesty, be it never so conquered.”</p> - -<p>The advancing figure was now quite near them. It saluted -them with royal courtesy.</p> - -<p>“We wanted to know,” said Mavis, “please, your Majesty, if we -might have lessons from you.”</p> - -<p>The King answered, but the Princess did not hear. She was -speaking with Ulfin, apart.</p> - -<p>“Ulfin,” she said, “this captive King is my Father.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Princess,” said Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“And he does not know me—”</p> - -<p>“He will,” said Ulfin strongly.</p> - -<p>“Did you know?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“But the people of your land will punish you for bringing us -here, if they find out that he is my Father and that you have -brought us together. They will kill you. Why did you do it, Ulfin?”</p> - -<p>“Because you wished it, Princess,” he said, “and because I -would rather die for you than live without you.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_ELEVEN" id="CHAPTER_ELEVEN">CHAPTER ELEVEN</a><br /> - -<small><i>The Peacemaker</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THE children thought they had never seen a kinder face or -more noble bearing than that of the Professor of Conchology, but -the Mer Princess could not bear to look at him. She now felt what -Mavis had felt when Cathay failed to recognize her—the misery of -being looked at without recognition by the eyes that we know and -love. She turned away, and pretended to be looking at the leaves -of the seaweed hedge while Mavis and Francis were arranging to -take lessons in Conchology three days a week, from two to four.</p> - -<p>“You had better join a class,” said the Professor, “you will learn -less that way.”</p> - -<p>“But we want to learn,” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>And the Professor looked at her very searchingly and said, “Do -you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she said, “at least—”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” he said, “I quite understand. I am only an exiled -Professor, teaching Conchology to youthful aliens, but I retain -some remnants of the wisdom of my many years. I know that I am -not what I seem, and that you are not what you seem, and that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> -your desire to learn my special subject is not sincere and whole-hearted, -but is merely, or mainly, the cloak to some other design. -Is it not so, my child?”</p> - -<p>No one answered. His question was so plainly addressed to the -Princess. And she must have felt the question, for she turned and -said, “Yes, O most wise King.”</p> - -<p>“I am no King,” said the Professor, “rather I am a weak child -picking up pebbles by the shore of an infinite sea of knowledge.”</p> - -<p>“You <i>are</i>,” the Princess was beginning impulsively, when Ulfin -interrupted her.</p> - -<p>“Lady, lady!” he said, “all will be lost! Can you not play your -part better than this? If you continue these indiscretions my head -will undoubtedly pay the forfeit. Not that I should for a moment -grudge that trifling service, but if my head is cut off you will be -left without a friend in this strange country, and I shall die with -the annoying consciousness that I shall no longer be able to serve -you.”</p> - -<p>He whispered this into the Princess’s ear while the Professor of -Conchology looked on with mild surprise.</p> - -<p>“Your attendant,” he observed, “is eloquent but inaudible.”</p> - -<p>“I mean to be,” said Ulfin, with a sudden change of manner. -“Look here, sir, I don’t suppose you care what becomes of you.”</p> - -<p>“Not in the least,” said the Professor.</p> - -<p>“But I suppose you would be sorry if anything uncomfortable -happened to your new pupils?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the Professor, and his eye dwelt on Freia.</p> - -<p>“Then please concentrate your powerful mind on being a -Professor. Think of nothing else. More depends on this than you -can easily believe.”</p> - -<p>“Believing is easy,” said the Professor. “Tomorrow at two, I -think you said?” and with a grave salutation he turned his back on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> -the company and walked away through his garden.</p> - -<p>It was a thoughtful party that rode home on the borrowed -chargers of the Deep Sea Cavalry. No one spoke. The minds of all -were busy with the strange words of Ulfin, and even the least -imaginative of them, which in this case was Bernard, could not -but think that Ulfin had in that strange oddly shaped head of his, -some plan for helping the prisoners, to one of whom at least he -was so obviously attached. He also was silent, and the others could -not help encouraging the hope that he was maturing plans.</p> - -<p>They reached the many-windowed prison, gave up their tickets-of-leaves -and reentered it. It was not till they were in the saloon -and the evening was all but over that Bernard spoke of what was -in every head.</p> - -<p>“Look here,” he said, “I think Ulfin means to help us to -escape.”</p> - -<p>“Do you,” said Mavis. “I think he means to help us to something, -but I don’t somehow think it’s as simple as that.”</p> - -<p>“Nothing near,” said Francis simply.</p> - -<p>“But that’s all we want, isn’t it?” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“It’s not all <i>I</i> want,” said Mavis, finishing the last of a fine -bunch of sea-grapes, “what I want is to get the Mer King restored -to his sorrowing relations.”</p> - -<p>The Mer Princess pressed her hand affectionately.</p> - -<p>“So do I,” said Francis, “but I want something more than that -even. I want to stop this war. For always. So that there’ll never be -any more of it.”</p> - -<p>“But how can you,” said the Mer Princess, leaning her elbows -on the table, “there’s always been war; there always will be.”</p> - -<p>“Why?” asked Francis.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know; it’s Merman nature, I suppose.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe it,” said Francis earnestly, “not for a minute I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -don’t. Why, don’t you see, all these people you’re at war with are -<i>nice</i>. Look how kind the Queen is to Cathay—look how kind -Ulfin is to us—and the Librarian, and the Keeper of the Archives, -and the soldiers who lent us the horses. They’re all as decent as -they can stick, and all the Mer-people are nice too—and then they -all go killing each other, and all those brave, jolly soldier fish too, -just all about nothing. I call it simply <i>rot</i>.”</p> - -<p>“But there always has been war I tell you,” said the Mer-Princess. -“People would get slack and silly and cowardly if there -were no wars.”</p> - -<p>“If I were King,” said Francis, who was now thoroughly -roused, “there should never be any more wars. There are plenty of -things to be brave about without hurting other brave people—exploring -and rescuing and saving your comrades in mines and in -fires and floods and things and—” his eloquence suddenly gave -way to a breathless shyness—“oh, well,” he ended, “it’s no use -gassing; you know what I mean.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Mavis, “and oh, France—I think you’re right. But -what can we <i>do?</i>”</p> - -<p>“I shall ask to see the Queen of the Under Folk, and try to -make her see sense. She didn’t look an absolute duffer.”</p> - -<p>They all gasped at the glorious and simple daring of the idea. -But the Mer Princess said:</p> - -<p>“I know you’d do everything you could—but it’s very difficult -to talk to kings unless you’ve been accustomed to it. There are -books in the cave, <i>Straight Talks with Monarchs</i>, and <i>Kings I Have -Spoken My Mind To</i>, which might help you. But, unfortunately, -we can’t get them. You see, Kings start so much further than subjects -do: they know such a lot more. Why, even I—”</p> - -<p>“Then why won’t <i>you</i> try talking to the Queen?”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t dare,” said Freia. “I’m only a girl-Princess. Oh, if -only my dear Father could talk to her. If he believed it possible<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -that war could cease ... <i>he</i> could persuade anybody of anything. -And, of course, they would start on the same footing—both -Monarchs, you know.”</p> - -<p>“I see: like belonging to the same club,” said Francis vaguely.</p> - -<p>“But, of course, as things are, my royal Father thinks of nothing -but shells—if only we could restore his memory....”</p> - -<p>“I say,” said Bernard suddenly, “does that Keep-your-Memory -charm work backward?”</p> - -<p>“Backward?”</p> - -<p>“I mean—is it any use taking it after you’ve swallowed your -dose of oblivion-cup? Is it a rester what’s its name as well as an -antidote?”</p> - -<p>“Surely,” said the Princess, “it is a restorative; only we have no -charm to give my Father—they are not made in this country—and -alas! we cannot escape and go to our own kingdom and return -with one.”</p> - -<p>“No need,” said Bernard, with growing excitement, “no need. -Cathay’s charm is there, in the inner pocket of her magic coat. If -we could get that, give the charm to your Father, and then get him -an interview with the Queen?”</p> - -<p>“But what about Cathay?” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“If my Father’s memory were restored,” said the Princess, “his -wisdom would find us a way out of all our difficulties. To find -Cathay’s coat: that is what we have to do.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Francis. “That’s all.” He spoke a little bitterly, for -he had really rather looked forward to that straight talk with the -King, and the others had not been as enthusiastic as he felt he had -a right to expect.</p> - -<p>“Let’s call Ulfin,” said the Princess, and they all scratched on -the door of polished bird’s-eye maple that separated their apartments -from the rest of the prison. The electric bells were out of -order, so one scratched instead of ringing. It was quite as easy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p> - -<p>Ulfin came with all speed.</p> - -<p>“We’re holding a council,” said Freia, “and we want you to -help. We know you will.”</p> - -<p>“I know it,” said Ulfin, “tell me your needs—”</p> - -<p>And without more ado they told him all.</p> - -<p>“You trust me, Princess, I am proud,” he told her, but when -he heard Francis’s dream of universal peace he took the freckled -paw of Francis and laid his lips to it. And Francis, even in the -midst of his pride and embarrassment at this token, could not -help noticing that the lips of Ulfin were hard, like horn.</p> - -<p>“I kiss your hand,” said Ulfin, “because you give me back my -honor, which I was willing to lay down, with all else, for the -Princess to walk on to safety and escape. I would have helped you -to find the hidden coat—for her sake alone, and that would have -been a sin against my honor and my country—but now that I -know it is to lead to peace, which, warriors as we are, the whole -nation passionately desires, then I am acting as a true and honorable -patriot. My only regret is that I have one gift the less to lay at -the feet of the Princess.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know where the coats are?” Mavis asked.</p> - -<p>“They are in the Foreign Curiosities Museum,” said Ulfin, -“strongly guarded: but the guards are the Horse Marines—whose -officer lent you your chargers today. He is my friend, and when I -tell him what is toward, he will help me. I only ask of you one -promise in return. That you will not seek to escape, or to return -to your own country, except by the free leave and license of our -gracious Sovereigns.”</p> - -<p>The children easily promised—and they thought the promise -would be easily kept.</p> - -<p>“Then tomorrow,” said Ulfin, “shall begin the splendid Peace -Plot which shall hand our names down, haloed with glory, to -remotest ages.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span></p> - -<p>He looked kindly on them and went out.</p> - -<p>“He <i>is</i> a dear, isn’t he?” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Yes, indeed,” said the Princess absently.</p> - -<p>And now next day the children, carrying their tickets-of-leaves, -were led to the great pearl and turquoise building, which -was the Museum of Foreign Curiosities. Many were the strange -objects preserved there—china and glass and books and land-things -of all kinds, taken from sunken ships. And all the things -were under dome-shaped cases, apparently of glass. The Curator -of the Museum showed them his treasures with pride, and -explained them all wrong in the most interesting way.</p> - -<p>“Those discs,” he said, pointing to the china plates, “are used -in games of skill. They are thrown from one hand to another, and -if one fails to catch them his head is broken.”</p> - -<p>An egg boiler, he explained, was a Land Queen’s jewel case, -and four egg-shaped emeralds had been fitted into it to show its -use to the vulgar. A silver ice pail was labeled: “Drinking Vessel of -the Horses of the Kings of Earth,” and a cigar case half full was -called “Charm case containing Evil Charms: probably Ancient -Barbarian.” In fact it was very like the museums you see on land.</p> - -<p>They were just coming to a large case containing something -whitish and labeled, “Very valuable indeed,” when a messenger -came to tell the Curator that a soldier was waiting with valuable -curiosities taken as loot from the enemy.</p> - -<p>“Excuse me one moment,” said the Curator, and left them.</p> - -<p>“<i>I</i> arranged that,” said Ulfin, “quick, before he returns—take -your coats if you know any spell to remove the case.”</p> - -<p>The Princess laughed and laid her hand on the glassy dome, -and lo! it broke and disappeared as a bubble does when you touch -it.</p> - -<p>“Magic,” whispered Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“Not magic,” said the Princess. “Your cases are only bubbles.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span></p> - -<p>“And I never knew,” said Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“No,” said the Princess, “because you never dared to touch -them.”</p> - -<p>The children were already busy pulling the coats off the ruby -slab where they lay. “Here’s Cathay’s,” whispered Mavis.</p> - -<p>The Princess snatched it and her own pearly coat which, in -one quick movement, she put on and buttoned over Cathay’s little -folded coat, holding this against her. “Quick,” she said, “put -yours on, all of you. Take your mer-tails on your arms.”</p> - -<p>They did. The soldiers at the end of the long hall had noticed -the movements and came charging up toward them.</p> - -<p>“Quick, quick!” said the Princess, “now—altogether. One, -two, three. Press your third buttons.”</p> - -<p>The children did, and the soldiers tearing up the hall to arrest -the breakers of the cases of the Museum—for by this time they -could see what had happened—almost fell over each other in their -confusion. For there, where a moment ago had been four children -with fin-tail fetters, was now empty space, and beside the rifled -Museum case stood only Ulfin.</p> - -<p>And then an odd thing happened. Out of nowhere, as it -seemed, a little pearly coat appeared, hanging alone in air (water, -of course, it was really. Or was it?). It seemed to grow and to twine -itself round Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“Put it on,” said a voice from invisibility, “put it on,” and -Ulfin did put it on.</p> - -<p>The soldiers were close upon him. “Press the third button,” -cried the Princess, and Ulfin did so. But as his right hand sought -the button, the foremost soldier caught his left arm with the bitter -cry—</p> - -<p>“Traitor, I arrest you in the King’s name,” and though he -could now not see that he was holding anything, he could feel that -he was, and he held on.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p> - -<p>“The last button, Ulfin,” cried the voice of the unseen -Princess, “press the last button,” and next moment the soldier, -breathless with amazement and terror, was looking stupidly at his -empty hand. Ulfin, as well as the three children and the Princess, -was not only invisible but intangible, the soldiers could not see or -feel anything.</p> - -<p>And what is more, neither could the Princess or the children -or Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“Oh, where are you? Where am I?” cried Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Silence,” said the Princess, “we must keep together by our -voices, but that is dangerous. <i>A la porte!</i>” she added. How fortunate -it was that none of the soldiers understood French!</p> - -<p>As the five were invisible and intangible and as the soldiers -were neither, it was easy to avoid them and to get to the arched -doorway. The Princess got there first. There was no enemy near—all -the soldiers were crowding around the rifled Museum case, -talking and wondering, the soldier who had seized Ulfin explaining -again and again how he had had the caitiff by the arm, “as -solid as solid, and then, all in a minute, there was nothing—nothing -at all,” and his comrades trying their best to believe him. The -Princess just waited, saying, “Are you there?” every three seconds, -as though she had been at the telephone.</p> - -<p>“Are you there?” said the Princess for the twenty-seventh time. -And then Ulfin said, “I am here, Princess.”</p> - -<p>“We must have connecting links,” she said—“bits of seaweed -would do. If you hold a piece of seaweed in your hand I will take -hold of the other end of it. We cannot feel the touch of each -other’s hands, but we shall feel the seaweed, and you will know, by -its being drawn tight that I have hold of the other end. Get some -pieces for the children, too. Good stout seaweed, such as you -made the nets of with which you captured us.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, Princess,” he said, “how can I regret that enough? And<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -yet how can I regret it at all since it has brought you to me.”</p> - -<p>“Peace, foolish child,” said the Princess, and Ulfin’s heart -leaped for joy because, when a Princess calls a grown-up man -“child,” it means that she likes him more than a little, or else, of -course, she would not take such a liberty. “But the seaweed,” she -added, “there is no time to lose.”</p> - -<p>“I have some in my pocket,” said Ulfin, blushing, only she -could not see that. “They keep me busy making nets in my spare -time—I always have some string in my pocket.”</p> - -<p>A piece of stringy seaweed suddenly became visible as Ulfin -took it out of his invisible pocket, which, of course, had the property -of making its contents invisible too, so long as they remained -in it. It floated toward the Princess, who caught the end nearest to -her and held it fast.</p> - -<p>“Where are you?” said a small voice.</p> - -<p>It was Mavis—and almost at once Francis and Bernard were -there too. The seaweed chain was explained to them, and they -each held fast to their ends of the seaweed links. So that when the -soldiers, a little late in the day, owing to the careful management -of Ulfin’s friend, reached the front door, there was nothing to be -seen but four bits of seaweed floating down the street, which, of -course, was the sort of thing that nobody could possibly notice -unless they <i>knew</i>.</p> - -<p>The bits of seaweed went drifting to the Barracks, and no one -noticed that they floated on to the stables and that invisible hands -loosed the halters of five Sea Horses. The soldier who ought to -have been looking after the horses was deeply engaged in a game -of Animal Grab with a comrade. The cards were of narwhal ivory, -very fine, indeed, and jeweled on every pip. The invisible hands -saddled the Sea Horses and invisible forms sprang to the saddles, -and urged the horses forward.</p> - -<p>The unfortunate Animal Grabber was roused from his game<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -by the sight of five retreating steeds—saddled and bridled indeed, -but, as far as he could see, riderless, and long before other horses -could be got out and saddled the fugitives were out of sight and -pursuit was vain. Just as before they went across country to the -rock cut and then swam up, holding by the linking seaweed.</p> - -<p>Because it was Tuesday and nearly two o’clock, the Professor -of Conchology was making ready to receive pupils, which he did -in an arbor of coral of various shades of pink, surrounded by specimen -shells of all the simpler species. He was alone in the garden, -and as they neared him, the Princess, the three children and Ulfin -touched the necessary buttons and became once more visible and -tangible.</p> - -<p>“Ha,” said the Professor, but without surprise. “Magic. A very -neat trick, my dears, and excellently done.”</p> - -<p>“You need not remove your jacket,” he added to Ulfin, who -was pulling off his pearly coat. “The mental exercises in which we -propose to engage do not require gymnasium costume.”</p> - -<p>But Ulfin went on taking off his coat, and when it was off he -handed it to the Princess, who at once felt in its inner pocket, -pulled out a little golden case and held it toward the Professor. It -has been well said that no charm on earth—I mean underwater—is -strong enough to make one forget one’s antidote. The moment -the Professor’s eye fell on the little golden case, he held out his -hand for it, and the Princess gave it to him. He opened it, and -without hesitation as without haste, swallowed the charm.</p> - -<p>Next moment the Princess was clasped in his arms, and the -moment after that, still clasped there, was beginning a hurried -explanation; but he stopped her.</p> - -<p>“I know, my child, I know,” he said. “You have brought me -the charm which gives back to me my memory and makes a King -of Merland out of a Professor of Conchology. But why, oh why,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -did you not bring me my coat—my pearly coat?” said the King, -“it was in the case with the others.”</p> - -<p>No one had thought of it, and everyone felt and looked -exceedingly silly, and no one spoke till Ulfin said, holding out the -coat which the Princess had given back to him—</p> - -<p>“You will have this coat, Majesty. I have no right to the magic -garments of your country.”</p> - -<p>“But,” said Francis, “you need the coat more than anybody. -The King shall have mine—I shan’t want it if you’ll let me go and -ask for an interview with the King of the Under Folk.”</p> - -<p>“No, have mine,” said Mavis—and “have mine,” said Bernard, -and the Princess said, “Of course my Father will have mine.” So -they all protested at once. But the King raised his hand, and there -was silence, and they saw that he no longer looked only a noble -and learned gentleman, but that he looked every inch a King.</p> - -<p>“Silence,” he said, “if anyone speaks with the King and Queen -of this land it is fitting that it should be I. See, we will go out by -the back door, so as to avoid the other pupils who will soon be -arriving in their thousands, for my Conchology Course is very -popular. And as we go, tell me who is this man of the Under Folk -who seems to be one of you”—(“I am the Princess’ servant,” Ulfin -put in)—“and why you desire to speak with the King of this land.”</p> - -<p>So they made great haste to go out by the back way so as not -to meet the Conchology students, and cautiously crept up to their -horses—and, of course, the biggest and best horse was given to the -King to ride. But when he saw how awkwardly their false tails -adapted themselves to the saddle he said, “My daughter, you can -remove these fetters.”</p> - -<p>“How?” said she. “My shell knife won’t cut them.”</p> - -<p>“Bite through the strings of them with your little sharp teeth,” -said the King, “nothing but Princess teeth is sharp enough to cut<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -through them. No, my son—it is not degrading. A true Princess -cannot be degraded by anything that is for the good of her subjects -and her friends.”</p> - -<p>So the Mer Princess willingly bit through the strings of the -false tails—and everybody put on his or her proper tail again, with -great comfort and enjoyment—and they all swam toward the -town.</p> - -<p>And as they went they heard a great noise of shouting, and saw -parties of Under Folk flying as if in fear.</p> - -<p>“I must make haste,” said the King, “and see to it that our -Peace Conference be not too late”—so they hurried on.</p> - -<p>And the noise grew louder and louder, and the crowds of flying -Under Folk thicker and fleeter, and by and by Ulfin made -them stand back under the arch of the Astrologers’ Tower to see -what it was from which they fled. And there, along the streets of -the great city of the Under Folk, came the flash of swords and the -swirl of banners and the army of the Mer Folk came along -between the great buildings of their foes, and on their helmets was -the light of victory, and at their head, proud and splendid, rode -the Princess Maia and—Reuben.</p> - -<p>“Oh—Reuben, Reuben! We’re saved,” called Mavis, and -would have darted out, but Francis put his hand over her mouth.</p> - -<p>“Stop!” he said, “don’t you remember we promised not to -escape without the Queen’s permission? Quick, quick to the -Palace, to make peace before our armies can attack it.”</p> - -<p>“You speak well,” said the Mer King. And Ulfin said, “This is -no time for ceremony. Quick, quick, I will take you in by the -tradesmen’s entrance.” And, turning their backs on that splendid -and victorious procession, they marched to the back entrance of -the royal Palace.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"></div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span></p> - - - - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_TWELVE" id="CHAPTER_TWELVE">CHAPTER TWELVE</a><br /> - -<small><i>The End</i></small></h2> - - -<p class="unindent">THE Queen of the Under Folk sat with her husband on their -second-best throne, which was much more comfortable than their -State one, though not so handsome. Their sad faces were lighted -up with pleasure as they watched the gambols of their new pet, -Fido, a dear little earth-child, who was playing with a ball of soft -pink seaweed, patting it, and tossing it and running after it as prettily -as any kitten.</p> - -<p>“Dear little Fido,” said the Queen, “come here then,” and -Fido, who had once been Cathay, came willingly to lean against -the Queen’s knee and be stroked and petted.</p> - -<p>“I have curious dreams sometimes,” said the Queen to the -King, “dreams so vivid that they are more like memories.”</p> - -<p>“Has it ever occurred to you,” said the King, “that we have no -memories of our childhood, of our youth—?”</p> - -<p>“I believe,” said the Queen slowly, “that we have tasted in our -time of the oblivion-cup. There is no one like us in this land. If we -were born here, why can we not remember our parents who must -have been like us? And dearest—the dream that comes to me most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> -often is that we once had a child and lost it—and that it was a -child like us—”</p> - -<p>“Fido,” said the King in a low voice, “is like us.” And he, too, -stroked the head of Cathay, who had forgotten everything except -that she was Fido and bore the Queen’s name on her collar. “But -if you remember that we had a child it cannot be true—if we -drank of the oblivion-cup, that is, because, of course, that would -make us forget everything.”</p> - -<p>“It could not make a mother forget her child,” said the Queen, -and with the word caught up Fido-which-was-Cathay and kissed -her.</p> - -<p>“Nice Queen,” purred Cathay-which-was-Fido, “I do love -you.”</p> - -<p>“I am sure we had a child once,” said the Queen, hugging her, -“and that we have been made to forget.”</p> - -<p>Even as she spoke the hangings of cloth of gold, pieced together -from the spoil of lost galleons, rustled at the touch of someone -outside. The Queen dried her eyes, which needed it, and said, -“Come in.”</p> - -<p>The arras was lifted and a tall figure entered.</p> - -<p>“Bless my soul,” said the King of the Under Folk, “it’s the -Professor of Conchology.”</p> - -<p>“No,” said the figure, advancing, “it is the King of the Mer-people. -My brother King, my sister Queen, I greet you.”</p> - -<p>“This is most irregular,” said the King.</p> - -<p>“Never mind, dear,” said the Queen, “let us hear what his -Majesty has to say.”</p> - -<p>“I say—Let there be peace between our people,” said the Mer-King. -“For countless ages these wars have been waged, for countless -ages your people and mine have suffered. Even the origin of -the war is lost in the mists of antiquity. Now I come to you, I, your<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> -prisoner—I was given to drink of the cup of oblivion and forgot -who I was and whence I came. Now a counter-charm has given me -back mind and memory. I come in the name of my people. If we -have wronged you, we ask your forgiveness. If you have wronged -us, we freely forgive you. Say: Shall it be peace, and shall all the -sons of the sea live as brothers in love and kindliness for evermore?</p> - -<p>“Really,” said the King of the Under Folk, “I think it is not at -all a bad idea—but in confidence, and between Monarchs, I may -tell you, sir, that I suspect my mind is not what it was. You, sir, -seem to possess a truly royal grasp of your subject. My mind is so -imperfect that I dare not consult it. But my heart—”</p> - -<p>“Your heart says Yes,” said the Queen. “So does mine. But our -troops are besieging your city,” she said, “they will say that in asking -for peace you were paying the tribute of the vanquished.”</p> - -<p>“My people will not think this of me,” said the King of -Merland, “nor would your people think it of you. Let us join -hands in peace and the love of royal brethren.”</p> - -<p>“What a dreadful noise they are making outside,” said the -King, and indeed the noise of shouting and singing was now to be -heard on every side of the Palace.</p> - -<p>“If there was a balcony now where we could show ourselves,” -suggested the King of Merland.</p> - -<p>“The very thing,” said the Queen, catching up her pet Fido-which-was-Cathay -in her arms and leading the way to the great -curtained arch at the end of the hall. She drew back the swinging, -sweeping hangings of woven seaweed and stepped forth on the -balcony—the two Kings close behind her. But she stopped short -and staggered back a little, so that her husband had to put an arm -about her to support her, when her first glance showed her that -the people who were shouting outside the Palace were not, as she<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -had supposed, Under Folk in some unexpected though welcome -transport of loyal enthusiasm, but ranks on ranks of the enemy, -the hated Mer Folk, all splendid and menacing in the pomp and -circumstance of glorious war.</p> - -<p>“It is the enemy!” gasped the Queen.</p> - -<p>“It is my people,” said the Mer King. “It is a beautiful thing in -you, dear Queen, that you agreed to peace, without terms, while -you thought you were victorious, and not because the legions of -the Mer Folk were thundering at your gates. May I speak for us?”</p> - -<p>They signed assent. And the Mer King stepped forward full -into view of the crowd in the street below.</p> - -<p>“My people,” he said in a voice loud, yet soft, and very, very -beautiful. And at the words the Mer Folk below looked up and -recognized their long-lost King, and a shout went up that you -could have heard a mile away.</p> - -<p>The King raised his hand for silence.</p> - -<p>“My people,” he said, “brave men of Merland—let there be -peace, now and forever, between us and our brave foes. The King -and Queen of this land agreed to make unconditional peace while -they believed themselves to be victorious. If victory has for today -been with us, let us at least be the equals of our foes in generosity -as in valor.”</p> - -<p>Another shout rang out. And the King of the Under Folk -stepped forward.</p> - -<p>“My people,” he said, and the Under Folk came quickly forward -toward him at the sound of his voice. “There shall be peace. -Let these who were your foes this morning be your guests tonight -and your friends and brothers for evermore. If we have wronged -them, we beg them to forgive us: if they have wronged us, we beg -them to allow us to forgive them.” (“Is that right?” he asked the -Mer King in a hasty whisper, who whispered back, “Admirable!”)<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> -“Now,” he went on, “cheer, Mer Folk and Under Folk, for the -splendid compact of Peace.”</p> - -<p>And they cheered.</p> - -<p>“Pardon, your Majesty”—it was Ulfin who spoke—“it was the -stranger Francis who first conceived the Peace Idea.”</p> - -<p>“True,” said the Mer King, “where is Francis?”</p> - -<p>But Francis was not to be found; it was only his name which -was presented to the people from the balcony. He himself kept his -pearly coat on and kept the invisibility button well pressed down, -till the crowd had dispersed to ring all the diving bells with which -the towers of the city were so handsomely fitted up, to hang the -city with a thousand seaweed flags, and to illuminate its every window -and door and pinnacle and buttress with more and more -phosphorescent fish. In the Palace was a banquet for the Kings and -the Queen and the Princesses, and the three children, and Cathay-who-was-Fido. -Also Reuben was called from the command of his -Sea Urchins to be a guest at the royal table. Princess Freia asked -that an invitation might be sent to Ulfin—but when the King’s -Private Secretary, a very intelligent cuttlefish, had got the invitation -ready, handsomely written in his own ink, it was discovered -that no Ulfin was to be found to receive it.</p> - -<p>It was a glorious banquet. The only blot on its rapturous -splendor was the fact that Cathay still remained Fido, the Queen’s -pet—and her eyes were still those cold, unremembering eyes -which her brothers and sister could not bear to meet. Reuben sat -at the right hand of the Queen, and from the moment he took his -place there he seemed to think of no one else. He talked with her, -sensibly and modestly, and Francis remarked that during his stay -in Merland Reuben had learned to talk as you do, and not in the -language of gypsy circus-people. The Commander-in-Chief of the -Forces of the Under Folk sat at the left hand of his King. The King<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> -of the Mer Folk sat between his happy daughters, and the children -sat together between the Chief Astrologer and the Curator of the -Museum of Foreign Curiosities, who was more pleased to see -them again than he had ever expected to be, and much more -friendly than they had ever hoped to find him. Everyone was -extremely happy, even Fido-which-was-Cathay, who sat on the -Queen’s lap and was fed with delicacies from the Queen’s own -plate.</p> - -<p>It was at about the middle of the feast, just after everybody -had drunk the health of the two Commanders-in-Chief, amid -tempestuous applause, that a serving-fish whispered behind his fin -to the Under Folk Queen:</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” she said, “show him in.”</p> - -<p>And the person who was shown in was Ulfin, and he carried -on his arm a pearly coat and a scaly tail. He sank on one knee and -held them up to the Mer King, with only one doubtful deprecating -glance at the Curator of the Museum of Foreign Curiosities.</p> - -<p>The King took them, and feeling in the pocket of the coat -drew out three golden cases.</p> - -<p>“It is the royal prerogative to have three,” he said smilingly to -the Queen, “in case of accidents. May I ask your Majesty’s permission -to administer one of them to your Majesty’s little pet. I -am sure you are longing to restore her to her brothers and her sister.”</p> - -<p>The Queen could not but agree—though her heart was sore at -losing the little Fido-Kathleen, of whom she had grown so fond. -But she was hoping that Reuben would consent to let her adopt -him, and be more to her than many Fidos. She administered the -charm herself, and the moment Cathay had swallowed it the royal -arms were loosened, and the Queen expected her pet to fly to her -brothers and sister. But to Cathay it was as though only an instant -had passed since she came into that hall, a prisoner. So that when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> -suddenly she saw her brothers and sister honored guests at what -was unmistakably a very grand and happy festival, and found herself -in the place of honor on the very lap of the Queen, she only -snuggled closer to that royal lady and called out very loud and -clear, “Hullo, Mavis! Here’s a jolly transformation scene. That was -a magic drink she gave us and it’s made everybody jolly and -friends—I am glad. You dear Queen,” she added, “it is nice of you -to nurse me.”</p> - -<p>So everybody was pleased: only Princess Freia looked sad and -puzzled and her eyes followed Ulfin as he bowed and made to -retire from the royal presence. He had almost reached the door -when she spoke quickly in the royal ear that was next to her.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Father,” she said, “don’t let him go like that. He ought to -be at the banquet. We couldn’t have done anything without him.”</p> - -<p>“True,” said the King, “but I thought he had been invited, and -refused.”</p> - -<p>“Refused?” said the Princess, “oh, call him back!”</p> - -<p>“I’ll run if I may,” said Mavis, slipping out of her place and -running down the great hall.</p> - -<p>“If you’ll sit a little nearer to me, Father,” said Maia obligingly, -“the young man can sit between you and my sister.”</p> - -<p>So that is where Ulfin found himself, and that was where he -had never dared to hope to be.</p> - -<p>The banquet was a strange as well as a magnificent scene—because, -of course, the Mer-people were beautiful as the day, the -five children were quite as pretty as any five children have any -need to be, and the King and Queen of the Under Folk were as -handsome as handsome. So that all this handsomeness was a very -curious contrast to the strange heavy features of the Under Folk -who now sat at table, so pleasant and friendly, toasting their late -enemies.</p> - -<p>The contrast between the Princess Freia and Ulfin was particularly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> -marked, for their heads bent near together as they talked.</p> - -<p>“Princess,” he was saying, “tomorrow you will go back to your -kingdom, and I shall never see you again.”</p> - -<p>The Princess could not think of anything to say, because it -seemed to her that what he said was true.</p> - -<p>“But,” he went on, “I shall be glad all my life to have known -and loved so dear and beautiful a Princess.”</p> - -<p>And again the Princess could think of nothing to say.</p> - -<p>“Princess,” he said, “tell me one thing. Do you know what I -should say to you if I were a Prince?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Freia; “I know what you would say and I know what -I should answer, dear Ulfin, if you were only a commoner of -Merland ... I mean, you know, if your face were like ours. But since -you are of the Under Folk and I am a Mermaid, I can only say that -I will never forget you, and that I will never marry anyone else.”</p> - -<p>“Is it only my face then that prevents your marrying me?” he -asked with abrupt eagerness, and she answered gently, “Of -course.”</p> - -<p>Then Ulfin sprang to his feet. “Your Majesties,” he cried, “and -Lord High Astrologer, has not the moment come when, since we -are at a banquet with friends, we may unmask?”</p> - -<p>The strangers exchanged wondering glances.</p> - -<p>The Sovereigns and the Astrologers made gestures of assent—then, -with a rustling and a rattling, helmets were unlaced and -corselets unbuckled, the Under Folk seemed to the Mer-people as -though they were taking off their very skins. But really what they -took off was but their thick scaly armor, and under it they were as -softly and richly clad, and as personable people as the Mer Folk -themselves.</p> - -<p>“But,” said Maia, “how splendid! We thought you were always -in armor—that—that it grew on you, you know.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Under Folk laughed jollily. “Of course it was always on -us—since—when you saw us, we were always at war.”</p> - -<p>“And you’re just like us!” said Freia to Ulfin.</p> - -<p>“There is no one like you,” he whispered back. Ulfin was now -a handsome dark-haired young man, and looked much more like -a Prince than a great many real Princes do.</p> - -<p>“Did you mean what you said just now?” the Princess whispered. -And for answer Ulfin dared to touch her hand with soft -firm fingers.</p> - -<p>“Papa,” said Freia, “please may I marry Ulfin?”</p> - -<p>“By all means,” said the King, and immediately announced -the engagement, joining their hands and giving them his blessing -in the most businesslike way.</p> - -<p>Then said the Queen of the Under Folk:</p> - -<p>“Why should not these two reign over the Under Folk and let -us two be allowed to remember the things we have forgotten and -go back to that other life which I know we had somewhere—where -we had a child.”</p> - -<p>“I think,” said Mavis, “that now everything’s settled so comfortably -we ought perhaps all of us to be thinking about getting -home.”</p> - -<p>“I have only one charm left, unfortunately,” said the Mer -King, “but if your people will agree to your abdicating, I will -divide it between you with pleasure, dear King and Queen of the -Under Folk; and I have reason to believe that the half which you -will each of you have, will be just enough to counteract your -memories of this place, and restore to you all the memories of your -other life.”</p> - -<p>“Could not Reuben go with us?” the Queen asked.</p> - -<p>“No,” said the Mer King, “but he shall follow you to earth, -and that speedily.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Astrologer Royal, who had been whispering to Reuben, -here interposed.</p> - -<p>“It would be well, your Majesties,” he said, “if a small -allowance of the cup of oblivion were served out to these land children, -so that they may not remember their adventures here. It is -not well for the Earth People to know too much of the dwellers in -the sea. There is a sacred vessel which has long been preserved -among the civic plate. I propose that this vessel should be presented -to our guests as a mark of our esteem; that they shall bear -it with them, and drink the contents as soon as they set foot on -their own shores.”</p> - -<p>He was at once sent to fetch the sacred vessel. It was a stone -ginger beer bottle.</p> - -<p>“I do really think we ought to go,” said Mavis again.</p> - -<p>There were farewells to be said—a very loving farewell to the -Princesses, a very friendly one to the fortunate Ulfin, and then a -little party left the Palace quietly and for the last time made the -journey to the quiet Iswater where the King of Merland had so -long professed Conchology.</p> - -<p>Arrived at this spot the King spoke to the King and Queen of -the Under Folk.</p> - -<p>“Swallow this charm,” he said, “in equal shares—then rise to -the surface of the lake and say the charm which I perceive the -Earth children have taught you as we came along. The rest will be -easy and beautiful. We shall never forget you, and your hearts will -remember us, though your minds must forget. Farewell.”</p> - -<p>The King and Queen rose through the waters and disappeared.</p> - -<p>Next moment a strong attraction like that which needles feel -for magnets drew the children from the side of the Mer King. -They shut their eyes, and when they opened them they were on -dry land in a wood by a lake—and Francis had a ginger beer bottle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -in his hand. The King and Queen of the Under Folk must have -said at once the charm to recall the children to earth.</p> - -<p>“It works more slowly on land, the Astrologer said,” Reuben -remarked. “Before we drink and forget everything I want to tell -you that I think you’ve all been real bricks to me. And if you don’t -mind, I’ll take off these girls’ things.”</p> - -<p>He did, appearing in shirt and knickerbockers.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye,” he said, shaking hands with everyone.</p> - -<p>“But aren’t you coming home with us?”</p> - -<p>“No,” he said, “the Astrologer told me the first man and woman -I should see on land would be my long-lost Father and -Mother, and I was to go straight to them with my little shirt -and my little shoe that I’ve kept all this time, the ones that were -mine when I was a stolen baby, and they’d know me and I should -belong to them. But I hope we’ll meet again some day. Good-bye, -and thank you. It was ripping being General of the Sea Urchins.”</p> - -<p>With that they drank each a draught from the ginger beer bottle, -and then, making haste to act before the oblivion-cup should -blot out with other things the Astrologer’s advice, Reuben went -out of the wood into the sunshine and across a green turf. They -saw him speak to a man and a woman in blue bathing dresses who -seemed to have been swimming in the lake and now were resting -on the marble steps that led down to it. He held out the little shirt -and the little shoe, and they held their hands out to him. And as -they turned the children saw that their faces were the faces of the -King and Queen of the Under Folk, only now not sad anymore, -but radiant with happiness, because they had found their son -again.</p> - -<p>“Of course,” said Francis, “there isn’t any time in the other -world. I expect they were swimming and just dived, and all that -happened to them just in the minute they were underwater.”</p> - -<p>“And Reuben is really their long-lost heir?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span></p> - -<p>“They seemed to think so. I expect he’s exactly like an ancestor -or something, and you know how the Queen took to him from -the first.”</p> - -<p>And then the oblivion-cup took effect—and they forgot, and -forgot forever, the wonderful world that they had known underseas, -and Sabrina fair and the circus and the Mermaid whom they -had rescued.</p> - -<p>But Reuben, curiously enough, they did not forget: they went -home to tea with a pleasant story for their father and mother of a -Spangled Boy at the circus who had run away and found his father -and mother.</p> - -<p>And two days after a motor stopped at their gate and Reuben -got out.</p> - -<p>“I say,” he said, “I’ve found my father and mother, and we’ve -come to thank you for the plum pie and things. Did you ever get -the plate and spoon out of the bush? Come and see my father and -mother,” he ended proudly.</p> - -<p>The children went, and looked once more in the faces of the -King and Queen of the Under Folk, but now they did not know -those faces, which seemed to them only the faces of some very nice -strangers.</p> - -<p>“I think Reuben’s jolly lucky, don’t you?” said Mavis.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Bernard.</p> - -<p>“So do I,” said Cathay.</p> - -<p>“I wish Aunt Enid had let me bring the aquarium,” said -Francis.</p> - -<p>“Never mind,” said Mavis, “it will be something to live for -when we come back from the sea, and everything is beastly.”</p> - -<p>And it was.</p> - -<p class="center"> -<i>The End</i><br /> -</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Wet Magic, by E. 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